National Forensic Doctor

Chapter 1297: Chapter 1223: No Motive

Beep beep...

The lift, modified from a pickup truck, buzzed as it raised Jiang Yuan to the height of the sixth floor, allowing him to inspect the exterior wall.

In a county or prefecture city, the police would typically borrow a fire truck from the fire department. But in a well-off bureau like the Beijing Bureau, they have professional lifts. The characteristic is that the vehicle can be custom-painted.

Jiang Yuan was hoisted by the lift, descending slowly from the top floor, accompanied by Cui Qishan and Xiao Si, who were there to assist.

As the lift tirelessly hummed, Xiao Si couldn’t help but say, "Why did we always rappel down before?"

"Because borrowing a truck from the municipal bureau is too much trouble," Cui Qishan replied matter-of-factly, then looked at Xiao Si’s annoyed expression and added, "If you’re not happy, you could borrow it next time." noveldrama

"They hang up on me," Xiao Si pouted, "If I had the title of a senior officer or something, I would’ve borrowed the truck long ago."

Cui Qishan stared at Xiao Si with a high-and-mighty gaze, "Are you saying my position as a senior officer is useless?"

Xiao Si said, "It’s not the first time I’ve said this, of course, maybe my wording isn’t as sophisticated as yours."

"Oh, now you know how to use respectful language?" Cui Qishan raised his hand only to lower it again, saying, "I won’t slap you, we’re up so high, we’d be a laughing stock down there."

"Doesn’t matter," Xiao Si’s tone carried a hint of insouciance, "We’ve been the subject of ridicule for a long time."

"On to the next," Jiang Yuan interrupted their bickering. It was only then that Cui Qishan realized the lift had already returned to the truck, and as the vehicle moved to a new position, they were lifted again.

Jiang Yuan looked at the wall, occasionally glancing around, especially at the greenery and the street outside.

"Rappelling would be faster," Jiang Yuan remarked as he studied the slowly changing wall, feeling a bit bored. A wall with no traces is like a fake antique; a quick glance tells you it’s of no interest, but the lift’s speed meant most time was spent waiting.

However, it was also necessary to observe the greenery and the road beyond. Investigating a crime scene is partly about analyzing the criminal’s psychology, guessing their path to better focus on key areas during the investigation.

This method develops to the highest point, which is crime scene reenactment, directly simulating the perpetrator’s activities in a given space. Of course, this mode demands high standards of evidence, which is considered an advanced skill of Bloodstain Analysis because only a large amount of blood can provide so many footprints, fingerprints, handprints, tool marks, and other scene clues.

Cui Qishan didn’t understand Jiang Yuan’s thoughts but respected him: "Rappelling is strenuous, and doing it for long is tough for most people."

Xiao Si sneered beside him, muttering to himself in a voice only Cui Qishan could hear, "So we’re not considered people."

Cui Qishan actually had a high tolerance for Xiao Si; as long as he didn’t affect others, he usually let him talk. As a detective, if you can communicate with informants whose minds are muddled by drugs, mouthy colleagues are tolerable, especially since Xiao Si is useful.

Cui Qishan turned his head and said, "Here, you take a camera with you, and don’t just wait for Captain Jiang to find a trace. Take photos of all the walls we pass according to the lift’s descending speed. We’ll sort and mark them later to aid Captain Jiang’s follow-up search and comparisons."

Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but nod. Although it wasn’t very necessary, this meticulous attitude towards evidence was essential.

Xiao Si, who initially only needed to stand by, suddenly had a large task. His face fell, but he obediently picked up the camera, muttering, "I didn’t take pictures of the one and a half we passed earlier."

"Then you rappel down later to take them," Cui Qishan offered a reasonable solution.

Xiao Si turned green, "Even with a lift, you’re not letting me use it? I’ll wait for Captain Jiang to finish and then fill in."

"Director Jiang’s habits, you haven’t memorized at all. After he finishes the investigation, he begins analyzing and comparing immediately. By then, if you haven’t got photos, will you use the lift to take them? Waste of time! I’m getting someone ready with a rope. You’ll rappel down to take the overlooked ones soon, and speed up the rappe; that way, you’ll catch up with us." Cui Qishan arranged Xiao Si neatly and clearly.

Jiang Yuan silently nodded in approval, and oddly enough, thought of Shen Yaowei, though Shen Yaowei was far more pleasant to listen to, albeit needing more practice in his work.

The lift came down again and moved up, scanning the walls of Avi’s Apartment.

Journalists below craned their necks to watch, snapping photos occasionally, but quickly succumbed to boredom too.

Watching a crime scene investigation is quite dull. Some experienced people might have seen detectives working a scene, but to the untrained eye, it looks like they’re preparing a room, touching around cluelessly. But to those in the know, who understand where the sensitive spots are, it often brings a knowing smile.

"Stop."

As the lift reached between the second and third floors, Cui Qishan finally heard what he wanted to hear.

Jiang Yuan raised his hand to halt, which pretty much signified the case was cracked.

Cui Qishan’s stance shifted from attention to at ease.

Unaware of Cui Qishan’s thoughts, Jiang Yuan focused on the marks on the wall and began dusting powder.

The marks on the walls were harder to preserve compared to indoor traces, not very visible, especially on dry-hung stone. They were even harder to detect.

Moreover, Jiang Yuan’s currently favored multi-wavelength light source wasn’t suitable for daytime use on a small lift. In the end, the traditional powder worked best.

As the powder was sprinkled, faint scratches and wear became visible. As Xiaosi rushed to take photos, Jiang Yuan paid more attention to position, direction, and depth.

This spot was above the second floor but below the third. Jiang Yuan only saw traces of hand and foot marks, no tool marks. Upon closer inspection, the traces before him were all downward, with no upward traces.

This implies that the perpetrator either used another method to ascend or took two separate paths to go up and down.

"Judging by the traces, the perpetrator descended from the top floor’s terrace without using other windows," Jiang Yuan explained while taking notes.

"No inside accomplice in the apartment?" Cui Qishan asked.

"This is the exit route, indicating that when he left, he exited the victim’s home, reached the rooftop terrace, and climbed down, but how he got in remains to be seen," Jiang Yuan slightly shook his head.

Cui Qishan frowned, "Why not just leave directly from Matina’s place? Climbing all the way to the terrace seems redundant."

"Leaving from Matina’s window would pass by other residents’ windows, besides, this climbing route likely isn’t easy. It’s rather better to descend from the top along a wall with eaves... For someone skilled in rock climbing, descending six floors from a route like this should be quite straightforward."

Jiang Yuan had pondered this question before, responding promptly.

Cui Qishan raised his eyebrows, "The perpetrator is an expert at rock climbing?"

"Most likely is. He did it freehand," Jiang Yuan finished examining the wall, then intentionally jumped off the lift to inspect the ground.

"The ground is cleaned daily," Cui Qishan reminded quietly, "After the incident, outdoor cleaning in the apartment hasn’t stopped. They have subcontracted it to a cleaning company, and we only stopped them yesterday."

"There’s no trace on the ground, but there’s an indentation on the nearby lawn... The perpetrator climbed down from the second floor or more and jumped directly," Jiang Yuan stated his observation results without speculating further.

Xiao Si clicked his tongue, "Jumping from four or five meters high? Isn’t that painful?"

Jiang Yuan wiped his hands and continued, "As it stands, our suspect is a rock climbing expert, freehand climbing. From the distances chosen for each climbing point, he has an arm span of over 1.9 meters, a tall stature. Moreover, the suspect has some anti-investigation skills, not only cleaning some traces in Matina’s room but also on the terrace."

After Jiang Yuan finished speaking, he gestured for the lift to move forward. The apartment building’s exterior hadn’t been fully inspected, and the ascend route wasn’t yet found.

However, there weren’t many areas left, so Jiang Yuan let Cui Qishan go and took Xiao Si and Wang Chuanxing around, not feeling rushed this time.

Within three more ups and downs, Jiang Yuan found another ascending route, this time at the northwest corner of the building, still in the mode of freehand climbing.

Upon seeing it, Jiang Yuan instantly understood the reasoning for two routes, as the needs for ascending and descending were different. The suspect clearly chose the easiest paths.

Similar to the previous route, this one also led the suspect to climb to the terrace.

With this conclusion, Cui Qishan couldn’t wait to say, "The suspect lured someone to open the door? I have a suspect! Matina has an ex-boyfriend who works at a private company in Hu City, loves rock climbing, and frequently participates in various freehand climbing events!"

"Prohibit entry, bring him back!" Tao Lu didn’t even ask for motive; at this point, motive wasn’t important!