National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 997 - 933: Issue Identity Card Number

Finding the right direction is more important than completing any number of tasks.

Before stumbling upon that leather shoe, Jiang Yuan wasn’t actually sure of the next direction of the investigation—such is the nature of forensic anthropology: you don’t know what you might find on the bones; therefore, you can’t presuppose any stance.

Of course, information such as age, gender, and height are the basics of forensic anthropology, things that can be determined as long as you find the bones. They don’t really indicate any particular direction.

The appearance of the shoe at least proved one thing: the murderer did not meticulously handle the victim’s belongings.

At the very least, lacking the confidence to take off the shoes likely means they wouldn’t have emptied the pockets either—the killer was probably panicked, especially if it was their first murder, and the body was dumped at a village pond. Logically, if they wanted to minimize the body’s personal items, they should have done so beforehand, not at the time of dumping the body.

Of course, since the cause of death was not certain, the killer might have killed the victim right by the pond. In this case, it would be practically impossible to meticulously clean the victim’s belongings, which could become a breakthrough in the case.

For an investigator, solving a case without the perpetrator making any mistakes indeed demonstrates ability. But if one can seize upon a mistake made by the killer and make a breakthrough, that too can achieve the goal.

Reality is no competition; even for the "master detective" Jiang Yuan, solving the case is the top priority. Expecting a highly intelligent opponent, wanting an equally matched enemy—that’s just self-indulgence in European and American culture. Chinese people don’t need such things to prove themselves.

If one must aspire to greatness, the Chinese way of aspiring to greatness involves conquering the world, reforming society, not defeating an individual.

After discovering the shoe, Jiang Yuan didn’t rush to trace its origin, waiting until Shen Yaowei had turned out all of the shoes from the "evidence pile" and inspected them all before handing this task over to Shen Yaowei.

If it’s possible to connect or discover the identity of the victim through the shoes themselves, or other items like belts, then that would be ideal.

Although clothing sales volumes are large and there are many production and distribution links, which usually do not make them good for tracing, this is still a worthwhile clue.

After careful consideration, Shen Yaowei suggested, "Captain Jiang, I want to take this shoe to the manufacturer for testing. As far as I know, each batch of shoes may have variations in the specific materials used on the inside. Especially the adhesive and the type of real leather, the tanning process, and so on, we might be able to match it to a specific batch."

"Sure," Jiang Yuan readily agreed. Even if it’s narrowed down to a specific batch, it may still be hard to determine the victim’s identity, but this remains a good lead.

Shen Yaowei immediately rolled up two swollen smelly shoes, carefully placed them into an evidence bag, and began to call the manufacturer.

Jiang Yuan waved, and the conveyor belt started up again.

Under Jiang Yuan’s direction, the conveyor belt moved more slowly.

Jiang Yuan felt the need for more time to think.

Creak.

Liu Jinghui and Lang Heng arrived after hearing the news.

The two quickly looked at the photos of the leather shoes and belt. Lang Heng spoke first, a bit surprised: "Identifying the shoes worn by the deceased through the bones, your judgment is quite remarkable."

"Actually, it’s not difficult to deduce, but it requires consideration of many points. Mainly because the victim’s shoes were worn for a long enough time that they had become worn," Jiang Yuan paused, then stopped the conveyor belt again and explained, "For instance, a person with flat feet, the middle of their shoes tends to wear out faster, which wouldn’t happen for someone with a good arch. Additionally, someone who walks with their feet turned outwards would have more wear on the inner side of their shoe soles."

Jiang Yuan flattened his hand as an example: "Or say, a person with an out-turned ankle, the outer side of their shoe sole would be more worn. An out-turned ankle is closely associated with flat feet. If the person is old enough and doesn’t correct it, they could easily have both conditions. Similarly, an in-turned ankle is closely associated with a high arch, likely leading to wear on the inside of the shoe sole."

Jiang Yuan mimed the ankle movement and added, "The victim had previously suffered an impact on the left side, and there was a fracture in the ankle bone. Because of this, the victim’s shoes would have uneven pressure on one side, making it quite easy to judge. However, it’s easy to confuse this with scoliosis and abnormal pelvic conditions, so I made a point of examining the victim’s spine and pelvis. Furthermore, the markings on the victim’s knees could also serve as supporting evidence..."

Lang Heng listened in bewilderment.

The two forensic doctors from Chang Le City were present, wearing naive smiles on their faces. Some things sound simple upon hearing, but don’t think you understand just by listening.

In some ways, forensic anthropology is similar to antiques studying; it appears to be a skill, yet carries a hint of art. What’s heard is logic, but what’s seen is feeling. And yet, they manage to prove they are right with people’s lives and money.

"It’s good that you’ve found something," Lang Heng said, understanding the expressions on the faces of his subordinates, and realizing the discussion was over their heads, he decisively chose to trust them.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Jinghui said, "Now that we have found a belt and leather shoes, combined with the shirt the victim was wearing, perhaps we can conjecture about the victim’s image."

"Salesman?" Lang Heng had experience in this regard and immediately joined in.

"A 38-year-old township salesman? It’s not impossible, just a bit too tragic, tragically to the point of not being worth being murdered," Liu Jinghui commented half-jokingly, but everyone knew he wasn’t really joking.

If a person is worthless, then they have no value to be killed for.

"Infidelity? A date?" Lang Heng proposed another very plausible reason.

A man in a suit and shoes, if he came for a date, could explain both the attire and the motive for the murder.

Liu Jinghui refuted, "If it’s about an affair, strutting into the village where his lover lives is too arrogant, plus, if it’s the disappearance of a cheating husband, even if the village doesn’t report it, the mistress should, right?"

"Indeed," Lang Heng agreed, then habitually asked, "Throwing out a brick to attract jade, what do you think?"

Liu Jinghui: "I tend to believe that the deceased had no strong ties to the village. Otherwise, when you were screening for missing people, you should have been able to find him. All things considered, the salesman theory actually fits better, but I think we can still search for his upper garment. Based on the garment, we may be able to make more deductions, like whether he was wearing a suit or a jacket... He couldn’t have just come wearing a shirt, the weather isn’t that warm yet."

Liu Jinghui paused here, then continued, "The search for the garment should be thorough. If there really is no upper garment, judging by the weather at the time of the victim’s death, we can assume the killer kept the victim’s garment at home, or the victim drove a car, leaving the garment in the car, or there might even have been a companion. In that case, the nature of the case changes."

Jiang Yuan immediately nodded and said, "Let’s dig through the pile of evidence, see if there are any clothes, and be careful not to tear the textiles."

That’s the advantage of digging up the entire pond, you can search for anything you want. However, this was also based on Jiang Yuan finding the shoes; otherwise, no one would have even thought in this direction.

Several young officers selected by Lang Heng were sent off to dig through the pile of evidence for textiles.

Lang Heng had just dispatched his most efficient police force this morning, and seeing Jiang Yuan’s discovery, he felt both relieved and regretful. After all, it wasn’t a conclusive finding, but it did make his decision seem very correct.

At this moment, Lang Heng also felt a strong sense of participation.

Lang Heng simply stood up and went over to the pile of evidence to take a look, even though it was emanating a strong stench, the feeling of getting down to the grassroots was still pretty good.

Buzz buzz...

Lang Heng’s mobile phone would ring from time to time—that was the detectives he had sent out reporting their situation to him.

Making inquiries is arduous work, often resulting in leg cramps without any results. If your area of inquiry happens not to contain any trace of the target, how can extra hardship help?

Therefore, Lang Heng, with his background as a detective, paid a lot of attention to communicating with his subordinates, fully acknowledging the possibly fruitless efforts they made, which also served as a form of emotional recognition for his team. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"Is this a piece of clothing?" a young officer picked up a strip of rag.

If the rag has a collar, then it’s not a simple rag anymore.

An experienced forensic doctor immediately came over, took photos first, then examined it.

As the forensic doctor examined, a hard card slipped out of a zippered pocket.

"This looks like... an internet card?" the forensic doctor carefully took it out, glanced at it, and his eyes lit up.

The internet card had the name and number of the internet cafe on it, and most crucially, like hotels, internet cafes are also key places managed by the police. Normally, they would link to an identity card number and perform facial recognition.

Lang Heng immediately took a few photos and sent them to his subordinates via WeChat.

In just a few minutes, a subordinate called: "The internet card is from an internet cafe in the town. Based on the number, the person who registered the card is Cai Tingxun, 38 years old, an individual vendor at the wholesale market... The photo and ID number, I’ve sent to your WeChat."

Lang Heng then opened his WeChat and saw the photo of an ordinary middle-aged man with wide, round edges to his face, right below a string of ID numbers.