CHAPTER 215: CHAPTER 155: THE TWO VICTIMS BEAR SOME RESEMBLANCE (6K)

"It’s very inconvenient for the suspect to climb over the wall carrying a gasoline can."

"So, it seems to me, the murderer likely entered the house first, then pulled the gasoline can inside."

As he spoke, another idea occurred to Jiang An.

If the murderer used a rope to pull it, there would certainly be a pulley-like support structure at the window’s edge.

Immediately, he turned and said, "Mr. Zhang, could you get a stepladder? I’d like to take a look at the windowsill."

"No problem, I’ll arrange it right away."

Five minutes later, two policemen arrived with a stepladder.

After stabilizing the ladder, Chen He and Wan held its ends while Jiang An slowly climbed up.

Li Jian said, "Be careful."

"No problem, you can’t die from this height."

Soon, Jiang An climbed the ladder.

When his sight was completely parallel with the windowsill, he observed intently.

As expected, directly above the vertical scratch, he could see friction marks on the window edge, with slight damage in some areas.

He turned his head and said, "The suspect indeed used a rope to pull."

Upon hearing this, Li Jian also climbed the ladder.

He looked carefully and said, "The wear marks on the window edge are indeed very clear."

As he spoke, Jiang An looked again at the edge of the windowsill.

Two minutes later, two fiber residues were visible at the worn edge of the windowsill.

He turned and said, "Wan, please bring an evidence bag."

"I found fibers on the outer edge of this windowsill, which are very likely left by the rope the suspect used."

"Please wait a moment; I’ll get it from the toolbox right away."

Li Jian turned and looked at the base of the windowsill, "The height of this windowsill is not low, and it’s difficult for an ordinary person to climb up."

"This suggests that the suspect is physically strong."

Jiang An lowered his gaze and looked again at the climbing marks on the outer wall.

"These climbing marks were made very quickly, and there are multiple attempts visible at the wall base."

"Nonetheless, overall, the person climbing in must be very agile and likely someone who exercises regularly."

Li Jian nodded slightly after hearing this.

Even with many attempts at the police academy, climbing up from this height wouldn’t be successful in one go.

Then they both descended the stepladder.

Li Jian dusted off his hands.

He said, "From the current perspective, it’s very likely that the two deceased were murdered."

"If Chen Minghao had committed suicide after the murder, there shouldn’t be any climbing marks on the windowsill."

At this point, Chen He said, "Mr. Li, do these climbing marks really have a significant connection to the case?"

Li Jian didn’t answer immediately but looked at Jiang An.

Jiang An said, "If there haven’t been any recent burglaries at the factory, these climbing tracks are very likely clues left by the murderer."

Zhang Hu, standing nearby, said, "Mr. Li, Mr. Chen, we haven’t received any burglary reports from the Minghao Clothing Factory this week."

Li Jian nodded.

"For such a specific entry method, there must be a special purpose."

"It’s not for theft, so it’s very likely for murder."

After some time, he said, "Now it looks like both individuals were killed first, then burned afterward."

At this moment, Zhang Yean asked, "But how did the murderer get inside?"

"Moreover, since the crime happened at night, how did the murderer know Chen Minghao was resting in the office?"

"From my understanding, such an office with a bedroom is only used for midday rests; how would they know someone was there at night?"

After a while, Li Jian said, "This clearly shows the murderer was familiar with the layout of the victim’s office and knew his movements that day."

Jiang An nodded, "My views align with the captain’s."

"The murderer must be someone known to the victim and knows the layout of the victim’s office."

Finally, Li Jian concluded, "Mr. Chen, you need to intensify the investigation of all relations related to the deceased Chen Minghao."

"I don’t believe in hatred without cause, nor love without reason."

"Behind every murder, there must be a significant motive."

"Moreover, you must extend the investigation beyond just this year, even investigating significant events from many years ago."

"Because some criminal cases might be retaliatory actions carried out after years of dormancy."

"Yes! Mr. Li!"

Then Li Jian turned to Jiang An.

"Jiang An, you need to enhance the facial reconstruction of the deceased, aiming to restore the likeness."

"If we can clearly establish the victim’s likeness, it will greatly guide our subsequent investigation."

Jiang An nodded and said, "Mr. Li, rest assured, I’ll start reconstructing the skull fragments immediately to produce the facial reconstruction as soon as possible."

Li Jian nodded, "Thank you for your hard work!"

Then Li Jian said, "Wan, let’s check the gas stations in Jiangcheng together to trace the gasoline’s origin."

"Currently, non-motor vehicles need ID registration to purchase gasoline privately."

"So, this is also a good investigation direction."

Wan immediately replied, "Yes! Mr. Li! I will follow your lead at any time."

Li Jian looked at Zhang Hu.

"Mr. Zhang, please arrange your men to continue protecting the crime scene."

"We may need to re-examine the scene, so no one is allowed to enter the central area."

"Yes! Mr. Li, rest assured, we will definitely maintain the site’s original condition."

After dividing tasks, everyone got into action quickly.

Forty minutes later, Jiang An and Zhang Yean returned to the evidence lab.

They immediately emptied the evidence box of skull fragments onto the lab table.

Seeing the fragments piled up like a small hill, Zhang Yean showed a look of difficulty.

"Junior, how long will it take us to piece together so many skull fragments?"

"Should we buy some glue to stick them together?"

Jiang An smiled and said, "Senior, glue won’t be convenient."

"I think we can use modeling clay instead."

"Modeling clay again?"

Jiang An said, "Modeling clay is very malleable."

"The human skull is round; we can shape the clay into a sphere and then attach the skull fragments to the clay’s outer surface."

"This way, we can reconstruct the female victim’s appearance."

Hearing this, Zhang Yean became instantly curious.

She said, "This method is great; I remember there’s a big bag of clay in the lab cupboard."

"That’s even better, no need to spend time going out to buy more."

Then, Zhang Yean went to the storage room to get the clay.

Ensuring the size was consistent with a normal human skull, Jiang An shaped the clay into a sphere.

Next, he began to separate, identify, and attach the skull fragments piece by piece to the clay surface.

Perhaps assembling over a hundred skull fragments is complex for the average person.

However, Jiang An had perfect scores in human anatomy.

For him, this task was incredibly simple.

Even without visual reference, his mind had the entire skull mapped out.

Each skull structure was clear in his mind.

Forty minutes later, the overall skull structure was mostly assembled.

Although parts were still incomplete, lacking bone material,

it was already sufficient for facial reconstruction.

Zhang Yuan was thrilled by the result of the work.

"Junior, you’re amazing. I didn’t expect you to piece together this heap of bone fragments into a complete skull structure."

Jiang An smiled, "These are basic medical skills."

"Once you learn the skull’s structure, assembling it isn’t complicated."

Zhang Yean said excitedly, "Shall we proceed with the facial reconstruction?"

Jiang An nodded.

At this moment, another officer from the criminal investigation team knocked and entered.

"Mr. Jiang, here are the materials you requested; they’re all in the box."

Jiang An opened the box and glanced inside.

"Thank you, Senior."

"No problem, continue with your work, and call me if you need anything."

Subsequently, Jiang An and Zhang Yean closely collaborated to begin the facial reconstruction experiment.

Having practiced this technique before, this time they operated even more smoothly.

After two hours, they successfully reconstructed the entire facial structure.

Finally, they put the tools down.

Zhang Yean exclaimed as she looked out the window, seeing the fruits of their labor, "It’s finally complete!"

She then turned to Jiang An and asked, "What’s wrong?"

After a long pause, Jiang An said, "Senior, don’t you think this female victim bears some resemblance to someone we know?"