The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective-Chapter 581 - 327: I Suspect You Are Involved in a Criminal Case!

Chapter 581: Chapter 327: I Suspect You Are Involved in a Criminal Case!

"If I’m not mistaken, it should have headed in this direction."

Mr. Wang squatted down to examine closely, nodding thoughtfully, "That makes sense."

"These traces are shallow, but the shape is unique, likely left by treads."

He stood up, dusted off his pants, "Let’s go, let’s continue the chase."

The convoy started again, this time proceeding more cautiously along the faint traces.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at a crossroads where the traces completely disappeared.

Mr. Wang got out of the car and looked around, frowning slightly, "This is..."

He took out his phone to check the map, "We’re near a neighboring city’s village now, we rarely come here."

Turning to his companions, he said, "Could it be someone from this village? Let’s go ask."

The four parked the car by the roadside and walked along a narrow village path.

They arrived at a small shop, where Mr. Ma and Captain Li Jian approached.

"Hello, sir," Mr. Ma showed his credentials, "We are from Jiangcheng City’s Criminal Investigation Team, and we have some questions for you."

"Do you know if anyone in your village operates an excavator?"

The middle-aged shop owner, organizing shelves, turned around, "There is someone, but he went out early this morning."

Li Jian’s eyes lit up, "Went out?"

"Do you know where he went?"

"Sounds like he went to work."

The shop owner said, curiously sizing up the strangers.

"Do you know this person?"

"Is it him?" Li Jian eagerly pulled out a photo of Li Dong, his face full of anticipation.

The shop owner accepted the photo and examined it carefully, then shook his head, "It’s not him, their face shapes are very different."

Mr. Ma stepped forward, his voice somber, "Is this person from the village?"

"No!"

The shop owner shook his head, "Moved here many years ago, at least five or six years."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately tensed up, exchanging glances.

Li Jian pressed further, "From out of town? Do you know where he’s from?"

"I’m not sure specifically, only heard he mentioned he was from another province."

The shop owner recalled, "Maybe he saw there were many projects here. This area has been developing a lot in the past few years, plenty of work."

"Is he alone?"

Jiang An interjected.

"Yes, just one person."

The shop owner nodded.

This answer left the group puzzled.

Jiang An pondered for a moment, asking, "Do you know where he lives, sir? We’d like to find him."

"Back village!"

The shop owner pointed, "Follow this road, turn left at the end, then go another hundred meters."

Immediately, the four drove there.

Five minutes later, they stopped in front of a walled yard.

The iron gate was locked, the yard silent, not a soul in sight.

Jiang An stepped out of the car, walked slowly to the edge of the yard, picked up a flat stone as a step, rose on tiptoes, and held onto the top of the wall to peek inside.

Indeed, on the ground inside the wall, there were obvious oil stains reflecting strange hues in the sunset, scattered nearby were a few large wrenches and repair tools.

His gaze swept over the ground, discovering deep tread marks extending into the depths of the yard.

Jiang An murmured to himself, "This is it."

Not far away, Mr. Wang and Mr. Ma were standing by the police car, both with particularly grave expressions.

Mr. Wang crossed his arms, furrowing his brow, his gaze fixed on the yard.

He pondered for a while, then in a hoarse voice said, "It seems we’ll have to wait here for the suspect tonight."

Mr. Ma nodded, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one up.

"We need to find out whether this person is the culprit we’re looking for."

"Besides, even if we leave here, we don’t have better clues at the moment."

Thus, after deliberation, they decided to move a backup car to a hidden spot, quietly waiting for nightfall.

Time ticked away, until nine at night, a roar of machinery suddenly shattered the night’s silence.

The sound of treads crushing the ground grew nearer, strikingly loud in the serene village night.

"Attention! Attention!"

Mr. Ma immediately signaled everyone to stay quiet, through the car window they clearly saw a huge excavator slowly driving into the yard.

"Go, action!" Mr. Wang decisively gave the order.

The police car started quickly, silently approaching the target location.

Twenty meters from the yard gate, Mr. Ma suddenly turned to ask, "Are we ready?"

Li Jian patted his bulging waist confidently, "Mr. Ma, I’m always prepared, ready for any sudden situation."

Mr. Ma nodded with satisfaction, then looked to Mr. Wang, "Mr. Wang, should you stay in the car?"

"No!" Mr. Wang’s gaze was exceptionally firm.

"I want to join you in action."

After getting out of the car, the four quickly spread out, forming an encirclement, approaching the yard gate.

Just then, a burly man jumped down from the excavator.

He had just reached the gate, ready to close it, when he suddenly found four strangers before him.

"What do you want?"

The man asked warily, with clear annoyance in his voice.

Mr. Ma immediately pulled out his police badge from his waist, "We’re from Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau and need your cooperation on a matter."

"What matter?"

"We’d like to check your ID."

The man paused for a moment.

Then he said, "Oh, I’ll fetch it."

Two minutes later, the man returned with an ID card.

By the light of the police car’s headlights, the information on the ID card was clearly visible.

Liu Tie, 46 years old.......

Jiang An took the ID, pulled out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and carefully compared the photo with the man.

Returning his gaze repeatedly, he deliberately slowed his speech to ask, "When was this photo taken?"

"Quite a while ago, seven or eight years."

The man rubbed his hands explaining, "I guess I don’t look quite like it anymore, was slimmer back then, now much chubbier."

Jiang An nodded thoughtfully, "Indeed, looked quite lean back then."

Just as Jiang An prepared to return the ID card, the phone’s light happened to shine on the man’s left face.

He sharply noticed a slight defect in the left lip, whereas the photo showed a complete lip corner.

Jiang An immediately asked, "What happened to your left lip corner?"

The man instinctively touched his lip corner, "Once fell while drinking, the glass shard cut the lip."

"It took out a chunk of flesh, couldn’t be stitched up at the hospital, just left it that way."

"Glass shards? Where did this happen?"

Jiang An pursued relentlessly.

"Can’t remember!"

At this, Mr. Wang and Mr. Ma exchanged a glance, seemingly about to conclude the questioning.

After many years, it’s common for photo IDs to no longer reflect the actual appearance.

But Jiang An noticed the man’s gaze shifted before answering questions, his speech also sped up considerably.

This subtle anomaly heightened his vigilance.

Jiang An continued probing, "Your ID shows you’re from out of town, why choose this place for excavator work?"

"Oh!" The man scratched his head.

"Isn’t there big development around here these years?"

"I figured there’d be plenty of projects, so came to earn money."

Speaking, the man laughed helplessly, turned to look at the enormous excavator behind him.

"Do you have parents, family, children?"

Jiang An abruptly shifted topics.

"Oh, no."

The man’s expression stiffened immediately, "I’ve always been an orphan."

"Lost my parents early, so always been single."

Mr. Ma and Li Jian nodded after hearing, prepared to turn and leave.

Suddenly, Jiang An stepped forward, firmly saying, "We may need you to come with us to the police station."

"Why to the station?"

The man’s voice rose sharply.

"Because I suspect you’re involved in a criminal case."