Chapter 982 - 505: Visiting the Psychiatric Hospital (Part 3)

After listening, Lu Shaohua paused briefly, then waved his hand, his attitude obviously softening.

"Since you put it that way, I won’t insist on keeping you."

"How about this, I’ll arrange for two officers who are familiar with the local situation to accompany you and Jiang An."

"They not only know the area well, but can also help liaise with the hospital if needed, or assist with any physical tasks or errands, easing your burden somewhat."

Director Hou nodded upon hearing this, looking calm: "That works too."

"Having local colleagues accompany us indeed makes things much more convenient for both directions and communication."

"Let’s settle it this way, thank you for the arrangement, Director Lu."

Lu Shaohua then turned to Captain Zhang Biao of the Criminal Investigation Team and instructed: "Captain Zhang, quickly arrange for two people to accompany Director Hou and Jiang An to the People’s Hospital to retrieve medical records that may be related to the case. Be sure to fully cooperate and be cautious about safety."

Zhang Biao immediately responded: "Understood! Director, I’ll arrange it right away."

Half an hour later, Jiang An and Director Hou, accompanied by two police officers driving, arrived at the Dongcheng City Psychiatric Rehabilitation Hospital.

The three got out of the car and headed straight to the medical records management office on the first floor.

A gray-uniformed administrator, looking around fifty years old, stood up from behind the desk and came forward to greet them.

"Hello, we are from the East City Public Security Bureau, and we need to retrieve some historical medical records of related personnel," the officer spoke first, "The condition is..."

About 10 minutes later, the administrator returned with a stack of organized file folders, the edges of the papers slightly curled.

"According to the scope and conditions you requested, all the relevant medical records that could be found are here."

Jiang An reached out to take them, nodding slightly: "Thank you for your hard work."

Back in the car, he sat down directly in the rear seat and opened the topmost file.

At this time, the young officer sitting in the front passenger seat turned around, holding his notebook, and reported: "Mr. Jiang, based on our preliminary collation of these records, there are 5 registered psychiatric patients within a 5-kilometer radius of the crime scene."

"Among them, 2 have passed away in previous years, leaving 3 still alive: two females and one male."

"Their detailed personal information, medical histories, and home addresses are all attached at the back."

Jiang An did not take his eyes off the document, only nodded almost imperceptibly, while with his pen he lightly circled a name.

Jiang An gently placed the documents on the table. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly said: "First of all, we can temporarily rule out the possibility that the female psychiatric patients committed the crime."

"From the characteristics of the crime scene, the methods used, and the preliminary analysis by the forensic team, the perpetrator should possess considerable physical strength, relatively stable emotional control, and the ability to perform a series of complex actions."

"Combining this with my previous analysis, I am more inclined to believe the perpetrator is an adult male—if it were a child or an elderly person, it’s hard to imagine them independently carrying out such a continuous and violent act."

His gaze then fell on another document, the basic information of the only male psychiatric patient.

"Li Mountain, 59 years old, previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, clinically cured five years ago after treatment. He currently maintains a normal life but still exhibits paranoid symptoms of being victimized."

He read out the key information on the document in a low voice, his brows gradually furrowed, "It is noteworthy that, according to family reports, he exhibited a significant tendency for violence during childhood and has multiple records of animal abuse."

"This behavior pattern, although occurring many years ago, is often associated with deep-seated psychological motivations."

Jiang An laid the document flat on the table, his gaze lingering on those lines for a long time.

"Director Hou, please take a look at this material." He handed over the document.

Director Hou opened his eyes, quickly scanned the document, then looked up and asked, "What, do you think this person is problematic?"

Jiang An nodded, his expression growing more serious: "This person not only has a psychiatric illness but also lives less than three kilometers from the crime scene."

"If we further hypothesize that there exists some sort of social connection between him and the victim, such as knowing each other or even having daily contact, then his level of suspicion would rise significantly."

"I believe it’s necessary to list him as a key investigative subject."

"Oh?" Director Hou leaned slightly forward, a sharp glint in his eyes, "Are you saying he is a suspect in the case?"

Jiang An pondered for several seconds, speaking cautiously: "It’s still undetermined for now, but based on the existing clues, this person’s background, medical history, behavioral history, and his geographical connection to the crime scene all match highly."