Chapter 1166 - 596: Jiang An’s New Approach! (2)

"Therefore, regarding the upcoming investigation, I want to add one more point on the basis of what Director Hou just deployed."

"Check every person within five to ten kilometers around the scene, leave no one unexamined."

"Whether they are migrant workers occasionally returning home or teenagers and able-bodied residents in the village year-round, or even elderly people who are still relatively healthy and mobile, all must be inspected and questioned thoroughly."

"Because what we are facing might very well be an ongoing serial killing case."

Originally, after hearing Director Hou’s words, Deputy Director Chen Guan felt slightly relieved.

But after listening to Jiang An’s analysis, his heart instantly leapt to his throat, his face turning even grimmer than before.

At this moment, a dense layer of sweat was already seeping out from his forehead, trickling down his cheeks, and the back of his uniform was soaked with sweat.

Five minutes later, Chen Guan steadied himself and said, "Director Hou, Mr. Jiang, rest assured!"

"I’ll immediately mobilize everyone from the team, getting them on duty, dividing them into several groups to instantly conduct a grid-like investigation and visit all the nearby residents, questioning door to door, leaving no useful clue unexamined!"

Director Hou nodded, "I think Mr. Jiang’s analysis just now was very reasonable and comprehensive."

"Moving forward, we need to proceed on two fronts—on one hand, start from the angle of the criminal suspect, inspecting suspicious individuals around the scene to figure out the movement trajectory;

on the other hand, also start from identifying the deceased, immediately retrieving the missing persons’ archives from the past three years in Guangling, and compare one by one, making sure to quickly identify the deceased for a breakthrough in solving the case."

....

Director Hou, Jiang An, and Chen Guan returned to the Guangling City Public Security Bureau.

Deputy Director Chen Guan walked to the small fridge by his desk, bent down and opened the door, pulling out a bag of well-sealed tea leaves.

"Director Hou, Mr. Jiang, I’m really sorry. Originally, you came here just to help us with tackling some major unsolved cases, but unexpectedly these two current cases have troubled you again."

"In the end, it’s because our Guangling Criminal Investigation’s capability is not strong enough. As the deputy director in charge, I truly feel embarrassed."

While speaking, he handed a cup to Director Hou, then gave another to Jiang An.

Director Hou reached out and took the teacup, gently blew over the floating tea leaves, and took a small sip.

"Mr. Chen, the difficulty of this case, to be honest, not only to you in Guangling, but also for any other city in the province, would be a tough nut to crack for anyone. It’s not connected to your capability."

As soon as the words fell, he turned to look at Jiang An beside him, "Of course, if this case happened in Jiangcheng, the situation might be different. With Mr. Jiang’s capability, I believe our provincial department’s support might not even be needed."

Jiang An lifted his teacup and took a small sip, waving his hand with a smile, "Director Hou, you’re flattering me."

"If I can’t solve this case in Guangling, going back home would really bring shame on me."

"Don’t put too much pressure on yourself."

Director Hou laughed heartily, "Mr. Zhang says Guangling Criminal Investigation has improved rapidly over the past few years, significantly enhancing in capability."

"Our visit is ultimately just assistant work; the real burden is yours, the Criminal Investigation Team. Making the case thorough, clear, and comprehensive is the key."

Upon saying this, Chen Guan quickly picked up his cup of tea, saying: "Director Hou, Mr. Jiang, I hereby toast to you with tea as a substitute for wine!"

"Please pay more attention to this case."

"Honestly, I’m really at my wit’s end, especially since Mr. Jiang mentioned the culprit might be doing serial crimes, and there might be other victims, my heart has been racing incessantly."

"If the culprit continues to commit crimes in another place, I, as the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation, might really have to resign and apologize!"

"No need to." Jiang An gently shook his head, "We just considered the worst case, but the probability is indeed very low."

In the conversation, his brows suddenly furrowed into a character 川 shape.

Over the years, the country’s public security construction has improved significantly, and gun management has also been extremely strict, with rare occurrences of vicious serial killings.

However, Jiang An knew in his heart that once human nature becomes distorted, it would breed various extreme evils and always find an outlet for relief.

Just like the past serial killings of women in Baiyin, Gansu, and the murder case of university students in Yunnan.

The cruelty of the culprits’ methods still sends chills down the spine.

Of course, the probability of such extreme cases is very low, but once they occur, they result in irrevocable tragedies.

...

At half-past six in the afternoon, the reception room’s door was gently pushed open, and Qin Feng, holding a thick pile of documents, hurriedly walked in.

His expression was grave as he quickly walked up to the three people.

"Director Hou, Mr. Chen, Mr. Jiang, we’ve been busy all day, and we’ve already thoroughly sorted the city’s missing persons."

"Oh? How’s the result?" Director Hou asked urgently.

"In the past three years, a total of 107 people were registered as missing in the city, 32 of whom have been found, leaving 75 who remain missing to date."

As Qin Feng spoke, he quickly distributed the statistical reports to the three people.

"We focused on sorting out the characteristics of these 75 unreturned individuals, finding that most were elderly, children, and teenagers."

"As for individuals missing within the age range of 30 to 35, there are only 5 in the entire list, and... all 5 are female."

As the words fell, the three exchanged looks, with complex expressions on their faces, showing surprise and doubt.

After a moment, Chen Guan asked, "How can this be?"

"Men in their thirties are often the backbone of their families; once missing, how is it possible that their families wouldn’t report it? This is too abnormal, it shouldn’t be!"

Director Hou held the report in his hand, his brows knitting tightly.

They were originally hoping to find a match with the deceased by examining the missing persons.

However, this report subsequently doused their hopes with cold water.

None of the missing individuals in Guangling City matched the deceased.

A thought occurred simultaneously to Director Hou and Chen Guan: Was the area they examined too small, or was there an issue with the estimation of the time of death?

As both fell into doubt, Jiang An gently said, "About the time of death for these three deceased, while I cannot be 100% sure, I am 95% confident that it doesn’t exceed three years at the most."

He paused before making a suggestion, "I think it might be worth collecting information on missing persons from neighboring cities around Guangling."

Chen Guan immediately nodded and said, "It’s no problem for us to put in more effort; expanding the scope is worth it if it gives us a lead."

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng quickly picked up the documents on the table and hurried out of the reception room.

At this moment, Jiang An leaned slightly forward, staring intently at the missing persons list on the table,

which was quite detailed, with each missing person’s age, gender, and reason for disappearance clearly labeled.

Why was there not a single match with the characteristics of the three deceased?

Such a situation was extremely rare in his many years of criminal investigation experience.

After a while, a question emerged in his mind: If these three deceased were not locals of Guangling, was there any special significance for the killer to choose this place to dispose of the bodies?

Or were these three people originally locals of Guangling, but the families never reported it?

A man in his prime suddenly missing, with the family not reporting it, is highly improbable.

Unless, the man was a bachelor, living alone for years, and even if he went missing, no one would notice.

Now the three deceased are reduced to mere white bone remains, with the only confirmation being their age and gender.

Following this thread, Jiang An thought perhaps he could review the single men in Guangling City.