National Forensic Doctor

Chapter 1329: Chapter 1255 Fan Family Village

The interrogation didn’t last long.

After Meng Chengbiao made the siblings cry, they began to talk about their suspicions from over the years.

"Although other women in the village have run away, most were those without children, at least none who had been married for over ten years and then ran away."

"The women who left tried to take as much money as possible with them. Some even borrowed money to run away. They didn’t leave behind any gold jewelry."

"When others leave, they more or less say goodbye to their children. There are none who ran away without a word."

Meng Chengbiao, based on this, began asking about the hammer, more importantly, inquiring about the days when their mother left.

The days surrounding their mother’s departure were unforgettable for the teenage siblings, and under Meng Chengbiao’s guidance, their memories became clear and detailed.

No one definitively mentioned "father," but the questions and answers all revolved around him.

In the observation room, Huang Qiangmin and others smoked cigarette after cigarette, losing interest in chatting.

After being a detective for a long time, there are some cases where you don’t need insiders to speak up; you can guess most of it, like matters of love, marriage, and divorce. It’s true that some odd people can do bizarre things and become famous online, but most of the time, ordinary people’s life experiences are just that ordinary, ordinary to the point where even the neighborhood granny has chewed them over thoroughly.

However, even if everyone can predict the direction of these cases and events, confirming them still makes one feel quite sentimental.

Of course, more importantly, is how to convict the suspect.

The police need evidence to resolve cases.

Given the current situation, even if the suspect confessed, the evidence still seems overly thin.

Jiang Yuan confirmed the victim’s identity and immediately pointed suspicion towards the victim’s husband—the wife disappeared for years without a report, clearly struck by a blunt object and thrown into the river, yet he portrayed her as abandoning her husband and child. These contradictions make him as conspicuous as a light bulb.

But all this evidence is circumstantial.

The crime scene is uncertain—Jiang Yuan has already gone to Fan Family Village to investigate, but rural houses differ from city apartments. In cities, cameras are abundant, and activities mostly occur indoors, with spousal murder cases often concentrated in buildings where, unless there’s been a renovation, using reagents like Luminal, it’s relatively easy to find bloodstains and such evidence indoors.

The rural lifestyle is different; people often prefer outdoor activities, with murders occurring in courtyards or fields being quite common. Spraying Luminal indoors and not finding blood means there’s little hope of finding it elsewhere.

Besides, eight years later, the murder weapon is also unlikely to be found.

There could be many motives for murder, but none profound enough to justify it, and there might be reasons not to kill.

Therefore, Meng Chengbiao’s purpose in questioning is to find a witness or accomplice, at least a knowledgeable person—Fan Family Village has many relatives of the same clan living together. From Meng Chengbiao’s experience, the suspect might discuss with someone or even seek help, and afterward, they might accidentally let something slip.

The easiest thing to happen here is letting something slip. Such situations are frequent; "keeping lips sealed" is difficult, especially under immense psychological pressure.

While Meng Chengbiao questioned in the interrogation room, Jiang Yuan roamed around Fan Family Village.

Fan Family Village is only over 10 kilometers from Ningtai County, allowing easy access for villagers. The village is home to four to five hundred people. Jiang Yuan specifically took a walk along the riverside, a single-lane road built during the village-to-village road construction period, mainly connecting to nearby towns, with several branch roads leading to adjacent villages.

Based on database-assessed corpse disposal points, the nearest road is about 30 to 40 meters away in a straight line, but the path is difficult, featuring a slope of around 10 meters in elevation, filled with assorted shrubs, the tallest reaching two stories high, and others as small as over a meter.

Jiang Yuan got out of the car and walked along the path trampled by people. Naturally, the path was winding and rugged, almost like an S-bend with an additional turn, to reach the riverside. The total route exceeded 100 meters, and two spots along the way had drops of over a meter, prompting Mu Zhiyang, the burly middle-aged detective along, to grasp nearby tree trunks before jumping down; otherwise, he’d easily tumble down. noveldrama

"It’s impossible for someone to carry a body down here alone," Mu Zhiyang was sweating by the riverside.

"It’s hard to say..." Shen Yaowei, experienced in navigating rough terrain and carrying equipment, opined: "In this landscape, if you put the body in a sturdy bag and dragged it, sliding down may actually be easier than carrying it on flat ground."

"That would leave a long trail."

"There’s no proof now."

"Wasn’t he uncertain whether there were police investigations? Should this be considered? Also, did he have a suitable bag?"

"Suitcase?" Mu Zhiyang proposed the classic body disposal tool.

"Ignoring traces could produce a similar effect." Jiang Yuan nodded slowly: "It’s quite difficult, hardly feasible but realistically very challenging."

Investigations theorize that 100 meters is the upper limit for dragging a corpse on foot—a number derived from various practices instead of being pulled from thin air.

Many people might believe before committing crimes that they can strive tirelessly, persist tirelessly, and surpass ordinary limits—haven’t they considered if they’ve surpassed those limits before? Even if they just crossed over yesterday, a quick test today would reveal they don’t need to try after committing a murder.

Regarding corpse transport, buying a pig to test might be pricey, but perhaps getting a friend drunk for testing could be an alternative—moving a living person compared to a corpse differs due to weight distribution, making body transport harder than moving an equivalent weight of ordinary objects.

Moreover, factors like time and stress during corpse transport can distort actions and increase difficulty. Especially for first-timers, mere increased heart rate consumes considerable energy.

Lastly, corpse transport and murder often occur in sequence; generally, before moving a corpse, one must create one. Unless a poison is used, the process of creating a corpse tends to be intense enough to exhaust a normal person’s stamina.

During this period, fierce psychological battles occur, especially when the murder wasn’t premeditated. Whether to dispose or bury the corpse, or hide it first, requires deliberation on the method and approach, consuming physical and mental effort, exhausting middle-aged folks before even starting this step.

"The likelihood of the suspect disposing of the body alone is low; considering assistance should be prioritized," Jiang Yuan paused to recall before asking, "Who are his immediate relatives?"

"The suspect’s parents are still alive, with one brother and one sister. The sister married out long ago, so she’s not in the village; the brother still lives there. Moreover, the suspect has a dozen cousins."

"Question them separately. Take them back for interrogation." Jiang Yuan immediately decided.

"Should we also question the cousins? Wouldn’t that cause too wide a sweep?" Wei Shikan, who had been silent all along, instinctively expressed concern.

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "The victim may have only been in shock when she fell into the water, not yet dead. Therefore, those accompanying the suspect in disposing of the body are also committing murder, in which case, the sweep isn’t too wide. Also, during interrogations, refrain from mentioning this issue."