National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1147 - 1078: Hide and Seek

"The murderer is still hiding at the crime scene?"

Liu Jinghui’s words were clear to everyone, but most found them hard to believe. freёwebnoѵel.com

Liu Jinghui didn’t answer directly. He merely said, "We have now discovered that there’s a high probability of two murderers. One of them is likely the props master; he’s already in the interrogation room, still refusing to confess. As for the second murderer, their footprints don’t match those of the crew members, meaning there’s an extra person at the scene. After committing the crime, if this person didn’t have the chance to leave, where could they be hiding?"

"The crime scene—the replica Ming-style courtyard—is quite large and architecturally complex. It’s definitely capable of hiding someone," Wang Chuanxing said.

Jiang Yuan also agreed with Liu Jinghui’s statement. He wasn’t encountering a case of "murderer returning to the scene" for the first time, so he nodded and said, "It’s quite likely. The suspect, Wang Yuxian, is a props master, so he probably knows how to hide his accomplice well."

"If we look at it this way, last night—or rather, in the early hours of this morning—the disturbance makes sense, doesn’t it? If they had managed to cause enough chaos or if a new film crew moved in, the hidden murderer at the scene could easily take advantage of the situation to escape," Wang Chuanxing reasoned as his thoughts began to align.

Liu Jinghui smirked slightly and said, "The plan is even more intricate than what you described. If the new crew moves in, the director would be eager to start filming. If surveillance cameras interfere with that, the director would likely order the cameras to be shut down. At that time, the murderer could stealthily slip away, leaving outsiders completely unaware of what had transpired. It would be like vanishing into thin air."

Mu Zhiyang said, "Looking at the surveillance footage, there might be gaps in the timeline, no?"

"That depends on the person reviewing the surveillance footage. If there are few personnel or those doing the review aren’t meticulous—if they don’t examine the footage at a steady pace from start to finish—they may not notice. Alternatively, if such gaps occur frequently, noticing won’t make much difference. Short-term camera outages are not unusual, and without evidence, the officers in Image Investigation won’t be able to say much. This type of negligence doesn’t surprise me—I’ve seen countless mishandlings." Liu Jinghui spoke with the expertise of someone who knew every detail of procedural investigation, including its common pitfalls.

Some case investigators have displayed such carelessness or ineptitude that their actions could even be deemed laughable. Some of these cases were later reviewed, summarized, and published in academic papers. To paraphrase a common saying: "How big a mess have you made at work?"

Police officers are human, too.

To be brutally honest, it’s not just private-sector employees who slack off; civil servants can be guilty of the same.

Rather than trusting a group, Liu Jinghui trusted his own reasoning more.

The convoy reversed direction and headed toward the film studio.

When Jiang Yuan, Liu Jinghui, and the others arrived back at the replica Ming-style courtyard inside the studio, the officers dispatched by Dai Mingsheng had already cordoned off the area entirely.

This time, the perimeter was truly secure, unlike before when they had placed undue trust in tall walls and wire fences.

Even so, Liu Jinghui’s first order upon arriving at the scene was to have Liu Wenkai personally go to the surveillance room to retrieve all the latest footage.

According to Deputy Squad Leader Lin Xunlei, the surveillance system should have been functioning normally after the crew left, with no one able to exit the courtyard unnoticed.

Liu Wenkai collected the footage and started reviewing it with a team, working backward. If the murderer was an agile individual and had managed to jump out of the courtyard during that time, it would pose a real headache.

Soon, Dai Mingsheng arrived and asked, "What’s the plan? A full-fledged search or something else? Too many people entering might compromise the crime scene."

He was already familiar with Jiang Yuan’s investigative style. With over sixty suspects in the mix, whether recording videos or collecting footprints, there was no way to fully document all the overlapping prints in such a large area. Existing methods could only capture impressions, and extracting meaningful prints afterward would prove futile.

Because of this, too many personnel entering the crime scene would make Jiang Yuan’s preferred investigative approach more difficult.

Additionally, the scene had been meticulously preserved thus far, with transparent acrylic footbridges reflecting the Lanyue City Bureau’s ample budget. However, a search wouldn’t allow everyone to work while balancing on narrow bridges.

Of course, apprehending the second suspect would qualify as solving the case, making scene preservation unnecessary. But this required Jiang Yuan’s determination. After all, the theory that the second suspect remained at the crime scene was based on Liu Jinghui’s deduction, lacking conclusive evidence. If Jiang Yuan made an all-or-nothing bet by disturbing the scene and failed to apprehend or convict anyone, the risk would be substantial.

Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui exchanged a glance before Jiang Yuan said to Dai Mingsheng, "Even if the scene gets disturbed, it shouldn’t be a major issue. We’ve already collected most of the necessary evidence. Moving forward, we’ll likely need to find separate clues. However, we don’t need a full-fledged search yet—summon the police dogs."

"Police dogs? Alright. I’m just worried their movements might cause more damage to the scene," Dai Mingsheng responded.

Jiang Yuan waved dismissively. "Dog paws and human footprints are easy to distinguish—no need to worry."

"Okay, I’ll call the K-9 Unit right now." Dai Mingsheng strode out to make a series of calls.

A little while later, three police dogs arrived at the scene via a modified minibus.

The vehicle was retrofitted, identical at its core to the minibus Jiang Yuan’s team had used. Upon arrival, the number of people and dogs disembarking were roughly the same. The three dogs included two German Shepherds and one Labrador Retriever, each paired with a trainer, accompanied by the K-9 Unit’s captain and political officer.

After a brief pep talk, the dogs were led into the replica Ming-style courtyard, their sharp barks marking the start of their day’s work.

Mu Zhiyang, clad in a bulletproof vest and helmet, his Type 79 rifle slung across his chest, followed closely behind Jiang Yuan. Observing the dogs from a distance, he remarked, "These police dogs have it tough—this hot weather has made the ground blistering, yet they still have to run around tirelessly."

Wen Ming, dressed identically to Mu Zhiyang save for his weaponry—he had a Type 92 pistol holstered at his waist and an electric baton strapped on—chuckled at Mu Zhiyang’s comment. "Sure, it’s tough for the dogs, but they get a break every hour with dedicated care for drinking and eating. No one slacks off where they’re concerned."

"How about you grab yourself a bottle of saline soda?" Mu Zhiyang suggested, scanning his surroundings as he spoke.

"Not thirsty yet. Still, we need to maintain peak alertness," Wen Ming said seriously. "If the murderer leaps out, it’ll be a matter of seconds. You’d better not let your guard down."

Mu Zhiyang paused, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Now you’re stealing my lines."

Wen Ming laughed. "I’ve heard you say that too many times—just thought I’d help you out."

"Point taken," Mu Zhiyang replied, nodding. He gestured ahead. "Why don’t you take the lead—should we grab a shield?"

"No need. If the murderer comes at us, a small shield won’t help. I’ll be the shield myself," Wen Ming said firmly, drawing his baton. "Your job’s to watch my back."

"You’ve got it," Mu Zhiyang replied resolutely, gripping the stock of his Type 79 rifle.

The two bantered while appropriately delegating responsibilities. Wen Ming, being less experienced with firearms and almost untouched by danger in his career, was perfect to lead the way since placing him in the rear might result in misjudgments under pressure.

Conversely, Wen Ming’s instincts to protect himself when directly facing danger were reliable enough. As the murderer was unlikely to have a firearm, even if they wielded a knife, the danger remained manageable.

Aside from Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming, other detectives fanned out to secure the flanks of Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui. Despite the spaciousness of the replica Ming-style building for living or filming, it was still inadequate for such a large group to maneuver freely.

The only people standing directly beside Jiang Yuan were Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming.

Jiang Yuan began systematically entering each room.

Most of the rooms in the replica courtyard were mere façades, often consisting of just windows and doors or a short entry space. Nevertheless, the few square meters inside—along with the furniture—were enough to hide a person.

Previously, Jiang Yuan’s team hadn’t focused much on these small rooms. Aside from a few designated as changing rooms, most were irrelevant to the crew’s work and the victim’s case.

At this stage of "hide-and-seek," however, the perspective shifted entirely.

"Any findings?" Dai Mingsheng returned after coordinating with various units, approaching Jiang Yuan.

"Nothing so far," Jiang Yuan responded. Then he asked, "What about the police dogs?"

"They haven’t found anything yet," Dai Mingsheng answered.

Mu Zhiyang chuckled. "Our progress matches the dogs’."

The nearby officers couldn’t help but laugh.

Dai Mingsheng didn’t see the humor in comparing humans to dogs. He simply said, "The three dogs have sniffed through the entire courtyard and found nothing so far."

"So the dogs are ahead of us?" Mu Zhiyang quipped.

Dai Mingsheng sighed, "It’s normal. In a space this size, these three dogs should have no problem finding someone. Among them is a German Shepherd specialized in tracking people."

Jiang Yuan nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "Have all areas been sniffed?"

"Yes, everywhere," Dai Mingsheng confirmed.

"Focus the search on the western wing," Jiang Yuan suddenly decided. Before Dai Mingsheng could question him, Jiang Yuan explained, "Room 3 in the western annex clearly shows signs of recent renovation. The floor appears to have been pried open. While other rooms show similar changes, the timeframes indicate Room 3 was altered most recently—within the past week or two."

Dai Mingsheng quickly caught on: "Creating an enclosed underground space would be the most effective way to evade the dogs’ scent."

"It’s simply the easiest solution," Jiang Yuan added, as he began moving westward.

Mu Zhiyang immediately contacted additional personnel through his radio, and Dai Mingsheng did the same.

Soon, Room 3 in the western wing was encircled by officers, and equipment was brought in.

"Any footprints?" Liu Jinghui whispered to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan shook his head slightly. "Swept clean."

"Perhaps they were tidying up the floor, incidentally wiping away footprints," Liu Jinghui quickly deduced, adding, "This location is definitely suspicious. Stay vigilant, Mu Team."

"If he dares to charge out, I’ll give him a full burst," Mu Zhiyang said, keeping his hand near his submachine gun.

"One, two, three..."

Two workers shouted their count, uprooting a large patch of faux blue bricks to reveal a manhole cover below.