Chapter 1067 - 546: A Detective’s Intuition (Part 2)

If Li Xu really entered it, even after so long, it’s still possible to find biological evidence or subtle traces left behind.

Fingerprints, skin flakes, or even a strand of hair that unintentionally fell out, may be preserved within the enclosed driving space.

Jiang An’s thoughts quickly extend: there’s limited personnel who normally use the excavator, not everyone can operate it.

If Li Xu indeed touched the machine that night, which parts would he most likely contact?

The control levers?

The dashboard?

The car door handle?

What forms of traces might be left on these contact points?

With this in mind, Jiang An slowly stands upright.

He realizes that he must immediately return to the scene for a systematic and meticulous inspection of the excavator’s cabin.

Although half a year has passed, scientific evidence collection may still capture the silent fingerprints left by the culprit in that confined space.

With this thought, he suddenly turns, urgently asking, "Regarding the excavator at the crime scene—has anyone moved it after the crime?"

Hearing this question, Chen Guan looks up, recalls briefly, and carefully speaks, "From what we currently know, it hasn’t been moved."

"We arrived at the scene for preliminary investigation early enough, the site hadn’t fully entered operational status."

"According to follow-up investigation records, shortly after the crime, the site was shut down entirely due to a funding break, and all equipment was sealed in place."

"That excavator remains in the same place to this day, according to the scene photos and positioning markers, the position has always been consistent."

Jiang An’s eyes suddenly brighten, barely able to contain the thrill in his heart.

As long as the excavator hasn’t been moved, it means it has stayed in its original state since the crime occurred.

And for on-site investigation, the stability of object positions and the continuity of traces are often the crucial base for breaking a case.

This undoubtedly creates excellent conditions for the next step of fine-grained investigation—a pristine, undisturbed original scene holds invaluable evidential value.

As an experienced forensic expert, Jiang An has long ingrained the "site first" principle in his heart.

In his years of professional practice, whenever a case falls into a deadlock with confusing clues, returning to the scene and extracting evidence has always been his most trusted approach.

He firmly believes: people may excel at concealment and fabrication, but physical evidence never lies.

Every subtle trace, every overlooked positional relationship, silently states the facts.

Only through rigorous scientific methods to extract evidence and meticulously logical deduction processes, can a solid and reliable chain of evidence be constructed, resolving the case under the dual tests of reality and logic.

Meanwhile, in another interrogation room, the atmosphere is tense and taut.

Qin Feng and Wan have been persistently pressuring for twenty minutes, yet Li Xu sitting across remains calm, offering airtight responses.

Ultimately, they exchange a glance and temporarily pause, gathering materials and stepping out.

In the hallway outside the interrogation room, both stop in unison.

Qin Feng retrieves a cigarette pack from his pocket, offering Wan one, and lights one himself.

Just then, footsteps sound from the other end of the hallway—Mr. Chen, Director Hou, and Jiang An are walking side by side.

Mr. Chen stops before them, scanning their slightly weary faces, warmly saying, "You’ve worked hard. This case is complex, and the prolonged effort puts significant pressure on you."

He pauses, voice turning somber, "But the more complex a case, the more we need to maintain our stance."

"Step by step, hard work won’t betray the diligent."

Director Hou first smiles wryly and shakes his head, his face full of helplessness;

Next, in a slightly hoarse voice, he says, "Mr. Chen, this man is extremely tight-lipped, after continuous questioning, not a useful word was pried out. But..."

He pauses, his eyes gradually sharpening with a hint of insight, "My many years of case-handling experience gives me an intuitive feeling—he could very well be the killer."

"Oh? Are you that certain?"

Mr. Chen’s tone holds obvious surprise, and then he quickly exchanges a look with Director Hou.

Both simultaneously harbor a clear, shared suspicion—since the suspect was first brought into the interrogation room until now, he hasn’t admitted to any crime, nor shown any hint of yielding.

As an experienced and consistently composed detective team leader, Qin Feng shouldn’t hastily make such a judgment.

Mr. Chen leans slightly forward, gaze sharp, locking onto Qin Feng’s face, pursuing, "Why are you so sure?"

Qin Feng nods, expression becoming completely serious, voice low yet clear, "I’m certain."

"From taking the case until now, we’ve closely followed every step, every detail with utmost attentiveness."

He lightly places his hands on the table edge, continuing, "During Li Xu’s interrogation just now, even though he tightly avoided critical questions, I sensed—at a few key time points, he clearly hid something."

"He admits to drinking in the dormitory the night of the crime, that might be true, but I believe he definitely left the dorm at some point."

"As for why he left, where he went, who he saw, he resolutely denies, even displaying unusual resistance."

Qin Feng pauses here, tone more determined, "In a relatively enclosed site like that, for a suspect to deliberately conceal an outing reason, it’s very likely... directly related to the case."

Hearing this, Mr. Chen thoughtfully nods, responding, "So you were so firm in the interrogation, repeatedly pressing, continually verifying whether he went out, based on this judgment?"

Qin Feng responds, "Normally, I wouldn’t easily jump to conclusions on intuition alone, but this time, his subtle reactions during the interrogation—vaguely point to him."

"But right now, our biggest issue is indeed the evidence."

He shifts his focus, expression turning grave, "Where can we find solid, conclusive evidence to form a complete chain? After all, it’s been a full six months since the case."

As his words fall, a brief silence descends in the hallway.

Mr. Chen and Director Hou simultaneously take a deep breath, then slowly exhale.

As if silently echoing in their minds the same heavy question: yes, it’s been so long, the scene may have changed, where should the evidence search begin?

A while later, Mr. Chen suddenly looks up, eyes falling on Qin Feng’s face.

"Qin Feng, do you have any specific ideas over there?"

"Or rather, which direction should we proceed next?"

After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Feng, upon hearing this, shakes his head, a deep sense of helplessness rising on his face.

Then, he turns his head, looking towards the always silent Jiang An seated to the side, sincerely asking, "Mr. Jiang, you have more experience than us, handling countless major cases."

"Do you have any suggestions for the next step of our work?"

Instantly, everyone’s gaze shifts to Jiang An.

Jiang An slowly raises his head, gaze calm yet powerful as it sweeps over each person present, saying, "I suggest—returning to the crime scene."

"Despite the passage of time, perhaps investigative means can’t penetrate, but evidence won’t vanish!"

Hearing Jiang An’s suggestion, the others are slightly taken aback, especially the young officer beside, who immediately asks, "Mr. Jiang, it’s been a long time since the scene, if we go back now, could there still be valuable clues to find?"

The moment these words fall, a daunting expression also appears on Captain Qin’s face, "It’s been nearly half a year since that scene, and we’ve also revisited without finding many valuable clues."

Beside them, Director Hou and Mr. Chen don’t immediately express themselves, but their facial expressions say it all.