Chapter 940 - 487: A New Discovery in the Night! (2)

"Without concrete and sufficient evidence to support our case, even if we are internally convinced that the suspect is the criminal, we cannot take him to court, let alone convict him."

"This is the rigorous requirement of the legal system, and it is also the challenge we must face."

Director Hou turned to Mr. Qin and asked gravely, "Mr. Qin, with your many years of interrogation experience, what do you estimate is the likelihood of him being the suspect in this case?"

Mr. Qin slightly furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke, "Based on my observations during the interrogation just now, I preliminarily judge that the likelihood of him being the suspect is very high."

"Earlier, I intentionally inserted several key questions related to the core of the case into the interrogation, such as the specific road segment where the crime occurred, and the reconstruction of the timeline of the crime."

"Whenever these critical points were touched, his reactions were noticeably abnormal."

"Not only did his expression suddenly tense, but his eyes frequently wandered from side to side, and his body posture would become suddenly rigid, even intentionally averting his gaze or looking down to avoid eye contact with me."

"This kind of subconscious avoidance and nervousness often indicates that the interrogated person is aware of this information, or may have experienced it personally, but is currently trying hard to cover it up and unwilling to confess."

After listening, Director Hou sighed softly and responded, "In that case, maybe we should adjust our investigation direction, focus on him as the primary suspect, and further gather trace material evidence related to him."

Mr. Qin, however, sighed deeply at this time, showing a tinge of helplessness in his voice, "The rationale sounds clear, but actually implementing it is quite challenging."

"The clues we currently have are really limited. Apart from his own testimony and reactions, there is almost only that involved truck we can rely on as tangible evidence."

At this moment, Jiang An interjected, his voice steady, "Perhaps we can explore that vehicle a bit deeper."

Mr. Qin looked puzzled, "But haven’t we already conducted all related measurements and investigations?"

"We’ve thoroughly examined the cab and the interior of the compartment, and the scope of contact is limited, where else can we start?"

"Would he have left the victim in the driver’s seat after the collision?"

"Moreover, the distance between the crime scene and the body disposal site is very short in a straight line, and there is no specific surveillance coverage along the way; trying to track the truck’s movement trajectory is almost impossible too."

Director Hou nodded in agreement with a hint of doubt in his voice, "Indeed."

"From a common-sense perspective, it doesn’t seem likely that the killer would leave the injured person in the driver’s area, and the proximity of the body disposal site to the crime scene diminishes the tracing value of the vehicle’s movement trajectory."

"But if the vehicle itself has no traceable points, then where should our next evidence breakthrough come from?"

At this moment, the corridor of the interrogation room was filled with a near solidified silence.

Everyone lowered their heads, furrowing their brows tightly, as if trying to press all their thoughts into the tight frowns between their brows.

Jiang An suddenly raised his head, his gaze piercing, "Although we have yet to determine where exactly the evidence is hidden, we have at least established the direction for our search."

"Let’s go, we’ll go back beside the truck and re-examine the markings on the vehicle body to see if there’s anything we might have missed before."

"Check again? We haven’t we already checked repeatedly?"

"What we saw previously was just the surface."

Jiang An spoke with determination, "This time, we will disassemble the front part of the vehicle and start from the internal structure to see if there are any hidden clues."

Director Hou and Political Commissioner Li exchanged a glance and saw a look of contemplation in each other’s eyes.

After a moment, Director Hou slowly nodded, "In the absence of a better option, this is indeed the most feasible plan."

Political Commissioner Li also agreed, "I concur."

"Some clues might be hidden in those overlooked details."

"Then it’s decided." Director Hou decided decisively, "Mr. Qin, you continue to be in charge of the interrogation and tracking work."

"The three of us will accompany Jiang An to the parking lot again, bringing several search lights and a full set of tools to conduct a thorough disassembly inspection of the vehicle front."

Soon, Director Hou, Political Commissioner Li, and Jiang An reequipped themselves with high-power search lights and a toolbox, once again stepping into the night.

The parking lot of the traffic police vehicle management office was particularly empty in the late night, and the three of them stood front of the vehicle’s front.

Jiang An took a deep breath, "Let’s start from the hood."

Under the strong light of the searchlights, they cooperated seamlessly and deftly removed the heavy hood.

The moment the cover was lifted, the oil-stained engine and exhaust fan were exposed under the lights—this truck, which had been on the road for many years, had accumulated a thick layer of grime inside.

They gently placed the removed front cover on the ground, and Jiang An crouched down and raised his flashlight to carefully examine.

A few inconspicuous dents on the inside of the cover caught his attention.

Compared to the marks on the outside, these inward dents were clearer.

Immediately, Director Hou and Political Commissioner Li crouched down simultaneously, gathering on both sides of Jiang An.

Their expressions were focused, and their eyes followed Jiang An’s every move diligently.

Jiang An’s gaze was firmly locked on the bumper area of the vehicle front.

A thick layer of dust had accumulated there, obviously indicating that this truck hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned for a long time.

His gaze swept over every inch of the surface as meticulously as a probe, finally stopping at the seam between the bumper and the front face.

Director Hou and Political Commissioner Li exchanged a look, and each read the same doubts in the other’s eyes: obvious collision traces were hard to find, and even if there once were some faint clues, after so long, they were probably already covered by wind, rain, and dust.

However, Jiang An seemed completely immersed in his thoughts.

He leaned closer, almost pressing his face against the front face of the vehicle as he intently examined the structure inside.

In his mind, the crime scene images began reappearing frame by frame—if a collision did occur, why was there only this one dent?

The victim’s height, the impact angle, the distribution of force points...

Suddenly, it was as if he captured a key clue, and his whole body shook with excitement.

"Bleeding!" Jiang An suddenly raised his head, "If the nasal bone suffered a slight impact, it might not cause a fracture but could very well cause a rupture and bleeding of the nasal mucosa."

"What we need to find might be traces of blood!"

This conclusion invigorated the spirits of the two leaders.

Jiang An immediately suggested, "Let’s stand this front cover upright together and inspect it."

Without hesitation, Director Hou and Political Commissioner Li stepped forward to cooperate.

The three of them worked together to slowly stand the heavy front cover upright, revealing the complex structure on the inside.

Jiang An took out a marker and began marking precisely at the corresponding height according to the principles of human anatomy.

"Based on the victim’s height," he said while marking, "the area corresponding to the forehead at the time of the impact should be around this region, and the nasal bone’s position..."

The marker stopped at the third air grille, "...should be here."

His voice rose slightly due to excitement, "If the victim’s nasal bone had been damaged and bleeding at the time, when the face went close to the grille, it could easily leave spray-like bloodstains inside."

Jiang An eagerly requested, "Lower the front face a bit more, please."

As the front cover slanted downward, he quickly moved to the other side, switched on his flashlight, and inspected the corresponding area thoroughly.

Sure enough, within the accumulated dust, there was an area with a noticeably different viscosity than the surroundings, creating a subtle color difference.

"Director Hou, Political Commissioner Li," Jiang An’s voice carried restrained excitement, "I believe the marks here are extremely crucial!"

Under the beam of the flashlight, the stain appeared still dark and seemed indistinguishable from the surrounding area on the surface.

At that moment, the attention of all three was focused on this inconspicuous stain, and the air seemed to solidify.