CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 56: MYSTERIES IN THE MIND

Inside the interrogation room.

Chen He asked some other questions, but they were of little significance.

At 6:30 in the morning, the interrogation work temporarily came to a halt.

The entire night of interrogation, Mr. Ma accompanied them throughout.

Mr. Ma is very concerned about this case.

If this case cannot be solved during his lifetime, it will become a regret in Mr. Ma’s criminal investigation history.

Li Jian and Chen He walked out of the interrogation room.

Mr. Ma said, "Great work!"

"Everyone has been busy all night."

"I’ll treat everyone to soup buns at the breakfast shop across the street to replenish some energy."

Li Jian said, "Mr. Ma, thank you! You’ve gone to great expense."

After breakfast, Li Jian said, "Mr. Chen, you worked hard last night."

"Today, you and your team can take a rest first."

Chen He said, "Mr. Li, it’s fine."

"I feel like I’ve been invigorated and don’t feel tired at all."

"Today, let me accompany you."

Li Jian nodded and didn’t try to persuade him further.

He understood this state of excitement.

Especially during the investigation of a case, the moment when one is about to catch the culprit, every detective’s excitement is hard to restrain.

"Alright then! Thank you for your hard work."

Immediately, Captain Li Jian turned and said, "Jiang An, Zhang Yean, you two also worked hard last night."

"Arrange your rest time, and wait for our good news."

Jiang An and Zhang Yean nodded, watching Mr. Li leave.

Then, they also walked together toward the criminal investigation building.

Along the way, Zhang Yean yawned repeatedly and said, "Want to rest in the duty room together?"

"Staying up all night like this, my body can’t handle it."

Jiang An shook his head and said, "Senior! You go rest first."

"I will go to the detective team’s meeting room to review the case files."

Zhang Yean looked surprised, "You’re still going to look?"

"Last night, you looked for quite a long time."

"Do you still hope to uncover other valuable clues?"

Jiang An nodded.

"Although I looked at the case files the whole night, I feel that I haven’t grasped all the clues."

"Some things, I still haven’t figured out, I want to check again."

Zhang Yean hesitated for a moment and said, "Alright then, my eyelids are drooping, I really can’t hold on, so I won’t keep you company."

"I’ll go to the duty preparation room to rest for a while, if you need anything, give me a call."

"Okay!"

Jiang An nodded, turned, and walked toward the detective team’s meeting room.

At this moment.

The sunlight outside the window spread across the meeting room windowsill, where a pot of lush green philodendron looked large and plump.

On the table inside the meeting room lay the thick case file.

Scattered around the file were many sheets of draft paper.

These were notes he made last night.

Jiang An came here mainly to clarify the order of death times of the four victims.

In cases of multiple deaths, the sequence of deaths is very important.

Because if the order in which the killer commits murders is different, it reflects different criminal psychology.

Immediately, he opened the file images and brought up the electronic photo on the projection screen.

Determining the time of death falls within an important area of forensic study.

The time of death is the duration elapsed after a person’s death.

In the forensic study of death time in Dragon Country, there are many indicators.

For example, livor mortis, rigor mortis, corneal clouding, etc.

The result deduced from just one indicator may have significant errors.

Only by combining them can the data deduced be most accurate.

Then, Jiang An opened the case file again and found the page of the forensic autopsy records.

This page recorded the conditions of the four victims when the forensic experts entered the death scene.

Zhang Qian: Rigidness in the body not reaching the whole body, light rigor mortis, livor mortis located on the back, pressure fades out completely, mild corneal clouding.

Zhang Qian’s husband: Rigor mortis throughout the body, very strong rigor mortis, livor mortis located on the chest, pressure does not fade out, severe corneal clouding.

Zhang Qian’s sister: Rigor mortis throughout the body, moderate rigor mortis, livor mortis located on the back, mild pressure fades out, moderate corneal clouding.

Zhang Qian’s mother: Rigor mortis throughout the body, moderate rigor mortis, livor mortis located on the back, mild pressure fades out, moderate corneal clouding.

Upon seeing these records, Jiang An already had a deduction in his mind.

To further verify his hypothesis, he moved the mouse to bring up the original photos of the four victims on site.

Integrating these textual materials with the photos, Jiang An already had a clear conclusion in his mind.

In the field of forensic research in Dragon Country, the longer the death time, the more severe the body’s stiffening.

It’s like when you buy a fish at the market, if it’s just died, the body won’t be very stiff.

However, if the fish has been dead for more than 5 hours, the body will be very stiff.

The pattern for livor mortis is also the same, initially appearing as specks, then merging into small patches, and eventually merging into a large patch.

Regarding the color change of livor mortis, it starts with a light pressure fading out, gradually transitioning to pressure fading out, and finally not fading out under heavy pressure.

Corneal clouding also progresses from initially clear, to mild clouding, moderate clouding, and finally severe clouding.

Based on his understanding and judgment of these indicators, Jiang An clearly determined the order of deaths of the four victims.

Zhang Qian had light rigor mortis, livor mortis faded under pressure, mild corneal clouding, so she had the shortest death time and was the last to die among the four.

Zhang Qian’s husband had very strong rigor mortis, severe corneal clouding, so he had the longest death time and was the first to die among the four.

Zhang Qian’s sister and Zhang Qian’s mother had moderate rigor mortis, moderate corneal clouding, their death times were close, placing them in the middle of the four.

After analyzing the death order of the four people, Jiang An fell into thought.

Earlier, after analyzing the scene and the bodies, the deceased Zhang Qian was the target of the killer.

Why did Zhang Qian die last, then?

It’s significant because Zhang Qian died closest to the living room entrance.

When attacking her sister and mother, one would need to pass through the living room.

Two minutes later, Jiang An moved the mouse, browsing images to seek inspiration for the case.

However, when he opened the corridor image from the living room to the bedroom, he suddenly halted.

Instantly, Jiang An moved closer to the projection screen.

He had made a startling discovery.

Why were the footprints of the third female suspect not present in the corridor?

Could it be that this female suspect’s movements were confined to the living room?

His fingers accidentally slid the mouse, and Jiang An saw an image from Room 2 playing on the projector screen.

The semicircular indentation along the edge of Zhang Qian’s mother’s bed, what could it indicate?

Why did the murderer linger in this bedroom?

And also sit by the bed?

Instantly, like a brainstorm, Jiang An’s mind was filled with many riddles.