Chapter 747: Chapter 400: Locking Down Two Suspects (Part 2)

After a while, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice low yet clear: "Analyzing from the existing morphology of injuries and the traces at the scene, your conclusion that the murderer targeted the male owner is logically sound, and the direction is correct."

"This inference based on the severity and distribution characteristics of the injuries is one of the fundamental methods of forensic pathology and scene reconstruction."

While speaking, he walked to the table, picked up the document that still carried the scent of ink, quickly flipping through it in an orderly manner.

"With this preliminary judgment, the subsequent investigation should focus on the male owner’s social relationships and conflicts of interest."

"During your visits, you mentioned someone in the village who has a business competition with the male owner. Immediately arrange personnel to legally summon him to the bureau for questioning."

"Focus on understanding the economic disputes between them and whether there have been any recent intense conflicts."

Then, Jiang An turned to another page of records: "Also, the man in the village who had repeatedly harassed the deceased female’s wife cannot be ignored."

"Find him immediately and bring him in for questioning. Pay attention to the manner of inquiry."

"We must ascertain his whereabouts at the time of the crime and the specific points of conflict with the couple."

Jiang An raised his head, his gaze sharply sweeping over the two.

"I have handled similar cases before, where the cause was the harasser coming to pester the wife, being caught by the male owner, resulting in a heated conflict, and ultimately spiraling out of control into a massacre."

"Extreme violence stemming from emotional disputes or dignity provocations has a high probability."

Just then, Wan seemed to remember something and interjected: "Mr. Jiang, regarding those two female corpses... has the forensic team detected any male semen components?"

"This is crucial for judging whether sexual assault has occurred, which might directly relate to the motive."

Wan took a deep breath, shook his head, and replied gravely: "The female corpse on the bed was heavily carbonized due to the fire, with the tissue severely damaged."

"Even if there had been sexual activity before death, after experiencing local high-temperature burning, relevant biological evidence is almost impossible to preserve."

Jiang An paused and supplemented: "However, this does not mean the relevant motive can be completely ruled out; other evidence needs to be combined for a comprehensive judgment."

Upon hearing Jiang An’s work arrangements, Wan and Qin Feng nodded in unison.

In fact, during their low conversation earlier, their preliminary conclusions coincided with Jiang An’s arrangements.

Based on the clues currently held, it can be broadly inferred that the male deceased was likely the main target of the murderer, and the others were probably collateral casualties encountered during the crime, with their deaths not being part of the original intent."

Subsequently, Qin Feng further added: "Mr. Jiang, regarding the mother and daughter found under the bed, numbered as victims 3 and 4, I have a hypothesis."

"Go ahead."

"The murderer might not have intentionally targeted them; he might not have even noticed them hiding under the bed."

"The mother choosing to hide with her child under the bed was probably a decision made out of instinct to protect the child in an extremely critical moment."

"In such situations, people often grasp at the last straw, no matter how unreliable it may seem."

Jiang An expressed agreement: "Indeed!"

"Similar scenarios are not uncommon in cases."

"Parents often go to great lengths to protect their children in moments of crisis, even if it’s just a temporary psychological shield."

"Besides, we need to clarify another key issue—the family’s eldest daughter, the second victim, why was she ultimately found on the bed?"

"More notably, her remains were covered with some kind of concealment, these details are very worthy of scrutiny."

Immediately, Wan responded: "Without external injuries, could suffocation be considered?"

"For instance, due to pressure on the mouth and nose. Suffocation often leaves no obvious marks on the surface, especially when the body has undergone severe burning, making initial forensic examination difficult to identify typical features."

"If the murderer was targeting the male owner and family members, this girl might have hidden herself under the covers due to extreme fear during the crime."

"People facing extreme threats often exhibit behaviors that seem irrational but stem from instinctive reactions."

"Like how children might hide under the covers when scared."

"If she was avoiding in that state, the murderer might not have noticed her specific location, possibly carrying out the suffocation separated by the sheets."

Upon hearing Wan’s series of detailed and logical analyses, Jiang An couldn’t help showing a hint of surprise.

He did not expect Wan to demonstrate such meticulous thinking and keen observation in today’s case analysis.

He promptly affirmed: "Wan, your scenario indeed aligns with the psychological and behavioral patterns of individuals under stress."

"Speaking of which, back when I was in middle school, there was a classmate in the dormitory who subconsciously covered his head with the blanket because of nightmares—this is a self-protection mechanism rooted in fear, almost instinctual."

Though expressing agreement verbally, Jiang An internally sensed something was off.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong momentarily.

The instincts cultivated from years of criminal investigation work kept him from fully relaxing.

He clearly realized that despite the four corpses being located in three different places, the relational distances between them, the state of the remains, the possible psychological motives of the murderer, and the spatial logic between the living room and bedroom, all still have many unresolved mysteries.

More troublesome is the fact that most of the corpses are highly carbonized, making it almost impossible to extract contact marks and trace evidence from the skin surface, significantly hindering judgments on specific methods of crime and obstructing the path to truth.

However, getting caught up in these details is no longer important; the real priority is to continue the investigation deeply along the existing clues.

Overall, considerable progress has been made in solving the case, with each new discovery like a puzzle piece, gradually outlining the silhouette of the truth.

Thinking of this, Jiang An softly sighed, his tone resolute yet not devoid of exhaustion: "Alright, you two, go bring back those two suspects now."

"See if you can find any clues from their words."

As soon as the words fell, they immediately set off.

Just stepping out of the office, Wan and Qin Feng seemed to be infused with new energy, full of vigor.

Facing this major case causing four deaths, both are eager to prove their judgments and abilities in solving it.

The office door softly closed, leaving Jiang An alone in the room.

He slowly sat back in the chair, his head slightly leaned back, and his eyes lightly closed, but not resting.

His mind was replaying the entire scene of the crime like film footage, every detail, every feature, vividly clear and suffocating.

He kept asking himself: Why was the male deceased stabbed multiple times in the living room?

What was he wearing at the time?

Regrettably, as the corpse is severely carbonized, clothing and skin have almost merged, making it difficult to recover these key pieces of information.

Even more puzzling, how did the murderer manage to enter the premises?

Did he forcibly intrude while the deceased was still awake, or did he quietly sneak in after they fell asleep?

The answers to these questions are now buried in a sea of ashes and silence.

The key to solving the case lies first in finding traces and then in interpreting them.

But when the traces themselves are no longer available, where should the direction of the investigation be found?

For a moment, Jiang An felt a temporary loss of direction.

He lifted his hand, using his knuckles to rub his furrowed eyebrows, trying to suppress the anxious pangs creeping in.