National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1063 - 996: More Reasonable

"Don’t rush into it just yet."

Tao Lu had just started listening to Liu Jinghui’s speech and knew what he wanted to say; he had already pondered over this question.

He was actually very familiar with police officers like Liu Jinghui, or, to be precise, almost all police officers in blue shirts were similar. Without considering other motives, those willing to commit to their careers and cases are almost always the type to rush into action without considering consequences, let alone politics.

Of course, the current system also encourages this kind of behavior. As Old Ma said, the police force is a violent mechanism for maintaining rule; a mechanism naturally shouldn’t require too much thought.

But as a detective in a white shirt, Tao Lu couldn’t possibly fight with his muscles alone.

He immediately held back Liu Jinghui and said, "It’s not that we can’t look into the Zhang Family, but as we discussed from the start, are we ready to reopen the Jianmen Court case? The prerequisite for reopening it is the ability to crack this case. Are we prepared to do so?"

Tao Lu then continued, "We’ve discussed so much and are actually uncertain about cracking it. Therefore, I suggest we better not disturb the Zhang Family for now."

"Zhang Xiaoya did come," said Liu Jinghui.

"That’s different," Tao Lu paused before explaining, "Her seeking an update on the case is one thing, but for us to actively ask about the Zhang Family in pursuit of solving the case... I’m not afraid that she won’t speak; I’m afraid she might be too willing to speak. The volume of information could be more than we can handle."

This remark sent chills down some people’s spines, while others dug their toes into the floor.

After all, Liu Jinghui was not subordinate to Tao Lu, so he insisted, "The case lacks clues, and the Zhang Family likely holds some, maybe even ones they’re unaware of. If we don’t contact the Zhang Family, we can’t solve the case. But if we can’t solve the case, we can’t contact the Zhang Family either. Wouldn’t that lead us into a vicious cycle?"

"Prove your mom is your mom," Cui Qishan couldn’t help blurting out. He knew it was inappropriate to say this, but he was eager to make a statement, to show he could stack shit straighter than anyone else.

Tao Lu glared at Cui Qishan fiercely before adding, "At the very least, we should try every other method before turning to the Zhang Family."

"The previous task force is down to checking one last thing," sighed Liu Jinghui.

Seeing Liu Jinghui wasn’t insisting stubbornly, Tao Lu couldn’t help but smile and responded, "One of the primary objectives they wanted to investigate that day was to check Wang Futing’s fingerprints. Wang Futing ran away that day, so even if we proceed with the checking, it’s uncertain whether anything will come of it."

Having said that, Tao Lu continued: "But now, our clues have advanced further, with Wang Futing himself involved. We also know about the Kite incident. What if we follow these two leads?"

So many years have passed; to say they are "checking" is pointless unless it concerns physical evidence like DNA, fingerprints, or bullet marks. What Tao Lu means is essentially that resources could be better allocated.

Seeing Tao Lu’s clear stance, Liu Jinghui glanced at Jiang Yuan, shifted his tone, and said, "The clues on Wang Futing and Kite eventually lead to the suspect who uses the Kite. I remember Wang Futing mentioned that this person is nicknamed Yao Zi and has an unknown background, introduced by a friend."

"Which friend?" Tao Lu asked, pleased to see the investigation heading in the right direction.

"Fat Head Seven, who died the following year." Without waiting for Liu Jinghui’s response, Wang Chuanxing, looking at the interrogation record, answered.

Tao Lu was stunned; it seemed this clue had been severed again.

Liu Jinghui waved his hand and said, "It doesn’t matter if he’s dead. Dying the next year means he lived an extra year, spoke for an extra year. Let’s look into Fat Head Seven’s background, find all his friends, relatives, and family from that year, visit and inquire to see if Fat Head Seven mentioned anything. How did this Kite suspect, Yao Zi, get to know Fat Head Seven?"

"Yao Zi might have been dealing with stolen goods to Fat Head Seven." It was again Wang Chuanxing who answered. The interrogation records were extensive and detailed, too much for everyone to remember.

"What did Fat Head Seven do?" Liu Jinghui had too much to look at; he quickly browsed some details, and now that Wang Chuanxing had read them, he used him to rapidly gather information.

No one has the time to read hundreds of case files before making a decision. The task force doesn’t have that kind of time to waste either. Rapid and accurate information gathering is an essential skill in this trade.

Wang Chuanxing hadn’t finished reading everything, but he had experience with the Cold Case Squad, and had sorted and read through several boxes beforehand, which allowed for more detailed investigation.

As Wang Chuanxing quickly flipped through his notes, he replied, "In the 1990s, Fat Head Seven primarily picked pockets on trains and also bought items to resell to genuine fences."

Nowadays, long-haul freight is mostly managed by truck drivers who are easy targets, mostly for oil theft, which sustains many professional thieves. But back in the 1990s, although truck drivers were robbed too, they tended to be tough, with relatively high social status, so they weren’t the preferred targets for thieves.

Long-term professional thieves mainly operated as pickpockets on public buses and crowded areas or targeted trains. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Many of the freight trains back then lacked secured carriages; even if they had them, it was no use. Villagers along the railway would often loot trains not guarded by armed police. In an era when industrial products were generally more valuable than agricultural ones, even a stolen basin could be sold.

The loot was first for personal use, and if there was excess, they would sell it, and Fat Head Seven was among those in the same business they would sell to.

Essentially, it wasn’t much different from the gold farming groups in 21st-century games.

One can imagine that a person like Fat Head Seven must have had very complex social connections.

Without further hesitation, Liu Jinghui said, "We need to thoroughly investigate Fat Head Seven’s background, look into his history with Yao Zi, and how many rascals hung around with Fat Head Seven back then?"

"There were four people in total. We’ll learn more," Wang Chuanxing took note.

Tao Lu also breathed a sigh of relief; this finally gave them a direction.

At that moment, Cui Qishan said, "By learning about Yao Zi through Fat Head Seven—what if Yao Zi was silenced? Then wouldn’t we lose all leads?"

At this, not just Tao Lu, but even Liu Jinghui glared at Cui Qishan.

Cui Qishan felt slightly embarrassed and whispered, "I was just thinking that Wang Futing has been gone for over a year, comes back and there’s no issue. If there’s really a conspiracy, would the mastermind behind it really wait for Wang Futing’s return? Killing Yao Zi directly seems more logical, right?"