civil forensic

Chapter 1343 Heavy Responsibility
At 5 p.m., Jiang Yuan chose to leave work on time.

Seeing this, the police officers who remained at the city bureau packed up their belongings and went home.

Working hours have exceeded the limit, the number of personnel from Anwan City Bureau on business trips has also exceeded the limit, and more importantly, the budget has also exceeded the limit.

"We're having mutton hotpot tonight. The sheep are raised on wild leeks and garlic on the grasslands, so it's delicious. They're freshly slaughtered and cooked." As the head of the criminal investigation team, Liu Zhuangshi is actually very busy. The various branch teams he's sent out might need to find him, but he still feels that he should take good care of Jiang Yuan first.

Jiang Yuan was very experienced in this matter, and said with a smile, "Lamb hotpot is fine, you don't need to accompany me. Just send someone to lead the way."

"That won't do." That was actually what Liu Zhuangshi wanted to say, but he rubbed his hands together, feeling embarrassed.

Zhang Limin caught up from behind and said, "Let me do it. I know Director Jiang's preferences very well. Besides, I've just learned how to roast cow's eyes. I'll roast a sheep's eye for Director Jiang to try later."

Like all frontline cadres, Liu Zhuangshi didn't particularly like government officials like Zhang Limin, but at this time, Zhang Limin was able to take over the reception duties, so he actually felt that the people from the provincial department were somewhat useful.

Liu Zhuangshi feigned a simple and honest demeanor, huffing and puffing as he said, "This isn't quite right..."

He usually commands his subordinates with great efficiency and decisiveness, as Jiang Yuan and Zhang Limin have both witnessed. So, seeing him acting shy now is a bit hard for them to accept.

Jiang Yuan was too lazy to argue with the middle-aged man, so he turned his head and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Director Zhang. However, it's better to cook the sheep's eyes. Make a sheep offal soup and cook the sheep's head in it as well. Just grill the kidneys."

He made his demands without any hesitation, which actually made Zhang Limin and Liu Zhuangshi feel more at ease.

After saying a few more words, Liu Zhuangshi hurried back to the command room. Zhang Limin smiled and took Jiang Yuan's arm, saying, "I can grill kidneys too, but to be honest, what I'm best at is grilling lamb testicles. I'll have them cut off a few more lamb testicles later, and I'll grill them for you to try."

Mu Zhiyang, standing nearby, looked slightly curious: "A sheep only has two eggs, right? You probably couldn't finish eating them all if you killed a sheep."

"We can borrow a few sheep's eggs first," Zhang Limin suggested.

"Borrow?" Mu Zhiyang asked, "What if the customers find there are no sheep testicles when the sheep are sold later?"

“Just say it’s castrated sheep, just like the pigs we usually eat. These days, all pigs are castrated, right? The people who come later will be encountering castrated sheep.” Zhang Limin laughed as he spoke, then took out his phone and said, “I’ll tell them in advance to borrow all the testicles from the sheep we’re going to slaughter today. The testicles here are absolutely good. There’s also epimedium and cordyceps on the grassland, so the medicine will be absorbed into their bodies!”

While telling the truth as a joke, Zhang Limin called for several cars, and they headed to the mutton restaurant in a grand procession.

Having borrowed sheep testicles for the night, Jiang Yuan couldn't last long without alcohol, so he returned to his dormitory early and slept until 6 a.m. before heading to the Criminal Investigation Detachment.

The first batch of police officers who went to "interrogate" the suspects in the Cuiling 211 case have almost all taken people to the nearby police station. The fingerprints have been collected, and some have taken statements from the suspects, asking them to describe in detail their actions in the days before and after the incident.

Jiang Yuan compared the newly obtained high-definition fingerprints one by one in order. The process was exactly the same as before, but it had lost the novelty at the beginning and was a bit boring and silent, even a little bit torturous.

Because the tertiary features of fingerprints are so detailed, even with high-resolution magnification, they are still very difficult to identify and require complete concentration for comparison. Unlike the secondary features of fingerprints, which have many readily available techniques, this process becomes extremely tedious if it takes a little longer.

Both Jiang Yuan and the experts accompanying him quickly fell silent, yet felt it was only natural.

If solving a case is considered a success, the hard work involved in that success is certainly there, and the occasional bursts of excitement are exhilarating. But most of the time, it's just agonizing waiting, whether you're a criminal technician or a detective.

Three police cars silently drove into the Criminal Investigation Detachment compound. Liu Zhuangshi received the news and hurriedly ran downstairs, only managing to meet a few people at the elevator entrance.

"Director, what brings you here?" Liu Zhuangshi asked breathlessly. He had run down the stairs.

The bureau chief waved his hand: "I was afraid you would come asking me for funding again, so I had no choice but to come to you myself and see how things are going?"

"We are currently identifying the fingerprints of several suspects in the Cuiling 211 case." Liu Zhuangshi quickly updated the progress, saying, "Director Jiang has confirmed 48 suspects. Our people have confirmed that they have brought 14 suspects to the police station. There are about 10 more groups whose suspects have been identified. The remaining 20 or so groups are either on their way or are further confirming the identities of the suspects."

The bureau chief listened and nodded, following Liu Zhuangshi while asking for details.

Liu Zhuangshi first spoke of the successful parts, which drew nods of approval from everyone.

The three-level fingerprint feature is still very popular in the police system. It is equivalent to the clarity of satellites being improved by tens or hundreds of times, or to artillery being replaced by missiles. It is troublesome and expensive, but the effect is really good.

Upon entering the conference room, one could see Jiang Yuan and the others busily engaged in conversation, the sounds of keyboards and mice filling the air like a marketplace.

The director preemptively said, "Don't bother them. Let's see what's going on ourselves first. Are you facing any difficulties? Don't mention funding to me; I don't have any funds left!"

The others who accompanied them chuckled.

Liu Zhuangshi did not laugh: "There are indeed difficulties. Because the scope of this case is relatively large, with 48 suspects, and they were identified through cross-referencing, some of the suspects may have various problems or other reasons, making it difficult to determine their location and identity."

The bureau chief suddenly realized that Liu Zhuangshi's earlier statement about "further confirming the suspect's identity" had a deeper meaning, and his expression changed slightly: "Has someone fled?"

This is the most dreaded situation when investigating cold cases. When you painstakingly define a small circle of suspects, it turns out that some of them are no longer in normal social relationships. At this point, finding them requires a lot of effort, but if you don't look for them, you're afraid that some of them might slip through the net.

Ordinary suspects are different from almost certain suspects, because certain suspects are usually just one or two people, at most a larger gang, and they are usually connected to each other. By catching a few fools, you can basically capture them all at once.

However, there can be many ordinary suspects who are not in contact with each other. If such people temporarily break away from their old networks of relationships, the cost of finding them will increase significantly for the police. If someone among them has actually committed a crime and intends to hide, fleeing to other places or even foreign countries, it will naturally bring even more search costs.

Liu Zhuangshi didn't dare to make any guarantees at this point, and said cautiously, "The investigation is still ongoing, but some suspects already have criminal records, and some have become defaulters due to small loans. They no longer use their mobile phones or ID cards. Some can be contacted through their family members, and we are trying our best to do so. Some situations are still uncertain, and we are still investigating."

"Is this equivalent to a manhunt? How many are like this? Are any of them abroad?" The director immediately got to the point.

The men behind the bureau chief also looked grim. All the bureau's money had been spent on Liu Zhuangshi; it was like the dragons had given him their hardest scales to make armor. Now, to say you can't find the enemy is incredibly disheartening.

Liu Zhuangshi swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "So far, no one has been found to have left the country, but there are several people whose current situation is uncertain. We don't know exactly how many people there are."

The bureau chief, who had come incognito with great enthusiasm, looked grave and seemed reluctant to speak. He, too, felt the pressure, especially since requesting money from superiors required accountability; one couldn't simply take the money and then later talk about practical difficulties and idealism.

Jiang Yuan stood up at this moment and said, "It hasn't reached the point of pursuing them yet."

With just one sentence from him, Liu Zhuangshi, whose back was about to be bent over, suddenly regained his spinal health.

Jiang Yuanxian said, "The cost of fingerprint comparison here is not high. Let's first check if we can match the fingerprints in the previous ones. If not, then we'll deal with the suspects who can't be found separately..."

The bureau chief wasn't so easily persuaded. He rationally stated, "As far as I know, the perpetrator in the Cuiling 211 case is most likely a transient criminal. Therefore, he is more likely among these suspects whose identities cannot be confirmed..."

“I don’t necessarily require a real person for comparison,” Jiang Yuan continued, picking up where the bureau chief left off. “Finding the suspect as soon as possible is the most reliable, easiest, and cheapest way to confirm their identity, and it also prevents the suspect from getting wind of the situation and escaping…”

Jiang Yuan looked at the attentive audience and continued, "But if we really can't find the real person, I just need to find a way to get some of their fingerprints and footprints. The suspect's hometown, the house they used before their escape, and even items they used before, can all be used for secondary comparisons."

Jiang Yuan looked at Liu Zhuangshi one last time: "In the worst-case scenario, even if these plans cannot confirm the suspect's identity, they should be able to rule out most of them. As for the rest... we have experience in pursuing fugitives. Whether they are hiding from debt collectors or for some other reason, it's just a matter of opening another case, it won't be too difficult."

The same words spoken by different people have different effects. When "Ningtai Jiangyuan" endorsed the statement, saying "it's just another case," the people present felt unusually reassured.

What does one case mean to Jiang Yuan?

The director immediately applauded and praised Jiang Yuan highly: "As expected of Director Jiang, Jiang Yuan of Ningtai, his fierce arrogance is evident today!"

A burst of applause erupted instantly, as if the case had been solved.