National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1126 - 1057: Ever-Changing

Thump.

A long ladder was placed against the wall. Mu Zhiyang climbed up first to test its stability, then came down and handed it to Jiang Yuan. He also secured a safety harness for Jiang Yuan. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Jiang Yuan climbed up without hesitation, taking a hoof mirror with him.

The traces on the wall mainly fell into several categories: some formed naturally, such as moss, peeling paint, discoloration caused by varnish, erosion from rain, and other reasons. Others were caused by clothing, leaving smudges and contact marks. Lastly, there were marks resembling footprints.

Jiang Yuan needed to set aside the first two categories and focus on examining the latter two.

He scrutinized them attentively, at one point tilting his body to a 90-degree angle with the ladder.

Shen Yaowei ordered another safety rope to be lowered from mid-air so that Jiang Yuan could use it to steady himself.

On the opposite side of Jiang Yuan, another detective held a camera and continually snapped photos. Meanwhile, someone below used a video camera to record the evidence-gathering process.

A single wall saw nearly 10 people working busily.

Some villagers who noticed their actions from afar silently came closer to watch.

Life in the village was monotonous. Events like a missing sheep were major news that shook the entire village, comparable to the disappearance of a shepherd.

The presence of so many police officers readily attracted the attention of the entire village.

Wang Chuanxing and his team had cordoned off the area in advance, but the ground outside the barriers had already been trampled into a muddy mess.

Some brave souls even slipped into the cordoned-off area. Although they were swiftly apprehended, the atmosphere on-site became tense as a result.

If these had been regular crime scene investigators, they probably would have been thoroughly annoyed by now. Jiang Yuan, however, didn’t even glance back. He wasn’t leading a team for nothing.

Jiang Yuan himself concentrated on studying the footprints.

The marks left by clothing were harder to determine in terms of type or form—likely associated with denim jeans crumpled up in a wardrobe. Later, it might be possible to match the smudged stains rubbed off against similar materials.

In contrast, footprints were easier to assess directly at the scene.

Jiang Yuan’s focus was on two aspects: first, identifying whose footprints these were, and second, determining whether the footprints indicated someone climbing up or climbing down.

Before long, Jiang Yuan reached a judgment—

The footprints indicated both climbing up and climbing down.

In other words, not only did someone climb up into the victim’s room on the second floor using a rope fashioned from denim jeans, but they did so more than once.

Typically, a trace examination stops at this level of investigation.

Jiang Yuan, however, instructed the team to make prints of the footprints and carefully analyze them. Soon, they found that the footprints largely belonged to two individuals: one male and one female.

The male appeared to be a minor, while the female’s footprints matched those of the victim, Sun Xiuwen.

Furthermore, judging by the weight distribution, these footprints clearly indicated movement both upward and downward.

In the fairy tale "Lettuce Girl," Lettuce Girl let down her long hair so the Prince could climb up the tower and meet her secretly.

From the traces on the wall of the Sun Family residence, what Jiang Yuan saw most likely represented evidence of secret rendezvous after rendezvous.

In other words, although Sun Xiuwen was still young and a virgin, she likely had a boyfriend she was secretly meeting through such means.

In a murder case, this clue had to be thoroughly investigated.

However, out of consideration for the deceased’s reputation, Jiang Yuan climbed down the ladder without causing a stir. Instead, he first asked the village committee to step in and persuade the villagers to leave. Then, in the living room of the Sun Family residence, he instructed Meng Chengbiao to further question the victim’s mother.

...

"Did Sun Xiuwen have a boyfriend?" Meng Chengbiao noted that the victim’s mother seemed emotionally unstable. Since time was pressing, he dispensed with pleasantries and got straight to the point.

The victim’s mother was startled, then shocked: "How is that possible? Wenwen is only 15 years old."

"Do you know or not?"

With no one else nearby, Meng Chengbiao asked coldly and bluntly.

The victim’s mother froze for a moment and then spoke in a small voice: "She might have a crush on a boy, but I don’t think she had a boyfriend."

"What’s the name of the boy she liked?" Meng Chengbiao pressed further.

"I’m not sure. I only noticed it when I secretly went through her desk," the victim’s mother hesitantly replied.

With a stern tone, Meng Chengbiao demanded, "A name!"

"Li Haojie. He’s a classmate from the neighboring class," the victim’s mother said with a muted voice.

Meng Chengbiao instructed the victim’s mother to write down the name, then forwarded it to the group chat and Jiang Yuan’s private inbox. He continued with his questioning: "What did you find while going through her belongings to come across this name? Take us there."

Now he was gathering evidence. What the victim’s mother said could not be taken at face value. For one, her husband was still a suspect. Her own degree of suspicion might be weaker by comparison, but she was not entirely cleared either.

While cases often suggested that having a stepmother might lead to having issues with a stepfather, occasionally the reverse pattern appeared—having a stepfather led to challenges with the stepmother.

Children in blended families faced greater risks, even life-threatening dangers, which were not too hard to comprehend.

The Sun Family residence contained no evidence of being the primary crime scene; thus, while the stepfather’s suspicion weakened, it hadn’t been ruled out.

The victim’s mother had no choice but to lead Meng Chengbiao and another officer upstairs, where they searched her daughter’s desk under the watchful eye of a video camera.

Soon, in a notebook painted with a butterfly, the victim’s mother found several pages containing Li Haojie’s name.

Meng Chengbiao nodded, ordered some photos to be taken and sent them to Jiang Yuan.

At the same time, Wang Chuanxing had located Li Haojie.

"A week ago, Li Haojie’s entire family moved to the city. They rented an apartment and he transferred to City No. 32 Middle School," Wang Chuanxing reported to Jiang Yuan.

"What was the reason for the move?" Jiang Yuan asked.

"They claimed it was to work in Changyang City and earn more money."

"What do his parents do?"

"His father works as a carpenter, and his mother found a cleaning job," Wang Chuanxing described objectively, careful not to implicate Li Haojie as the culprit prematurely.

"Does his family own property in Changyang City?"

"They’re renting."

"Does renting for work make sense financially?"

"It doesn’t make sense at all," Wang Chuanxing replied without needing to check the data. "The rent for their city apartment would be at least 1,200 yuan per month. His mother’s cleaning job pays barely over 1,000 yuan monthly. They were better off staying in the village, where they could farm, look after the elderly and children, and raise some chickens and ducks."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "Bring Li Haojie’s entire family in for questioning."

"Understood." Wang Chuanxing eagerly went to deliver the orders.

The case was starting to take shape, and the detectives involved felt a deep sense of accomplishment—higher even than the reward of making money.

"Where does Li Haojie’s family live? Investigate their home," Jiang Yuan instructed, wasting no time.

For murder cases, it was best to locate the primary crime scene.

Li Haojie’s home was situated on a small hill in the middle of the village.

The family lived in a three-story house built ten years ago. It appeared somewhat worn yet not entirely old, with a relatively large yard.

Jiang Yuan first walked around the house, then inspected each room one by one.

A long time passed.

Wang Chuanxing reported, "We’ve brought in Li Haojie, along with his parents and brother."

Jiang Yuan exhaled deeply. He had already walked two laps around Li Haojie’s house but found no trace or evidence suggesting it was the primary crime scene.