Chapter 164: One Image Breaks It

Boom boom boom!

A bolt of lightning split the sky, followed by the roar of thunder.

The bright sunshine suddenly turned gloomy.

Jiang Yuan tucked the USB drive into his pocket and ran back to the Criminal Investigation Brigade building, with Liu Jinghui closely following.

"I actually have headphones," Jiang Yuan sighed, leading Liu Jinghui back to the office.

Shhhhh.

The downpour began instantly, pounding against the glass with a patter.

Jiang Yuan quickly closed the window and turned on the computer.

Liu Jinghui found a seat on his own, as if he were a guest, watching Jiang Yuan bustle about, feeling a deep sense of security.

"Tea or coffee?" Jiang Yuan asked politely after closing the window.

"Tea," Liu Jinghui considered for a moment.

Jiang Yuan pulled a bottle of "Cha Pi" from under his desk and placed it in front of Liu Jinghui.

At forty, Liu Jinghui barely held back.

But when he looked up and saw Jiang Yuan already reviewing the USB's case files, he had to suppress his impatience.

"This is last month's case, from a residential community in Yun Chang City. The victim is a 45-year-old woman, an accountant at the Yun Chang Evening News, who had a habit of buying gold and silver jewelry. Suspected homicide resulting from a burglary or robbery escalating." Liu Jinghui's two sentences not only introduced the case but also hinted at its complexities.

Cases involving the media must be handled with extra care.

The victim being the unit's accountant adds another layer of caution.

"Multiple fingerprints were collected from the crime scene, but none were blood fingerprints, and none could be linked to the case. There were also blood footprints—shown to two experts from the provincial bureau—who could not identify the suspect."

Liu Jinghui continued his briefing.

The case was clearly difficult, but Liu Jinghui was not overly anxious.

He always handled difficult cases.

Any case with usable fingerprints, potential DNA, footprints, weapons, or other traceable physical evidence never landed on Liu Jinghui's desk.

In Shannan Province, Liu Jinghui was the only detective who solved cases purely through reasoning.

Of course, reasoning didn't mean he didn't need technical support.

Liu Jinghui's thinking was simple: "I think the crime scene investigators in Yun Chang City lack skill. There were many blood footprints, yet not a single blood fingerprint, no fabric fibers or other physical evidence. I want you to go back and re-examine the scene."

All physical evidence—including unknown fingerprints, footprints, and bloodstains—had been reviewed by provincial experts.

But all this evidence had been collected by Yun Chang City's crime scene team.

From Liu Jinghui's perspective, if the existing evidence couldn't yield results, they might as well re-examine the crime scene.

He also hoped re-examining the scene would help him reconstruct his mental model of the case.

Compared to fingerprints, Liu Jinghui remembered Jiang Yuan's crime scene analysis skills vividly and trusted them deeply.

In fact, Jiang Yuan's crime scene analysis ability truly surpassed fingerprint identification—Ningtai County's detectives couldn't tell, and Liu Jinghui hadn't figured it out either, but he'd seen enough to form a vague yet accurate understanding.

Jiang Yuan scrolled slowly through the photos on the computer, saying nothing.

Liu Jinghui grew slightly annoyed, speaking several times without getting a word from Jiang Yuan. As a self-proclaimed reasoning expert, his mind shifted, and he guessed:

"Yes, I came by on a whim, but I didn't originally want to trouble you. You know, I'm going on a business trip, and you've been tied up with several cases lately, so I thought I'd bring another crime scene investigator along."

"Then, just as the ministry officials arrived and said they'd come to Ningtai County, I specifically tagged along. I trust your crime scene analysis skills—if I didn't, I wouldn't have come all this way."

"By the way, when I took this case two days ago, you were still working on the last homicide. I had no idea when you'd solve it. Yun Chang City couldn't wait any longer."

Jiang Yuan waved his hand and grunted, "I know. You're overthinking."

Liu Jinghui's eyes lit up—people who said "you're overthinking" usually meant, "Why didn't you think of this sooner?"

"Ahem." Liu Jinghui changed tactics: "Why don't you rest today? It's raining anyway—you can't leave. Let's talk tomorrow."

"No need. I already rested yesterday," Jiang Yuan waved again.

Liu Jinghui mentally reconstructed his reasoning: "I understand—I may have come too suddenly, didn't call ahead..."

"Was the crime scene properly secured?" Jiang Yuan cut off Liu Jinghui's mental monologue.

Liu Jinghui paused two seconds before replying: "The crime scene was indoors, mainly the victim's master bedroom—no wind or rain could have affected it."

"If possible, seal off the crime scene immediately. Prevent anyone from entering or leaving," Jiang Yuan said.

Liu Jinghui's thoughts snapped back: "You have an idea? What is it?"

"I need to study the photos more before I can draw conclusions," Jiang Yuan emphasized. "Once I have a direction, I'll reassess the crime scene. For now, keep people away—preserve the scene."

"Don't go full mystic," Liu Jinghui grumbled. "In TV dramas and movies, those overly dramatic tech guys always die before the results come out."

Jiang Yuan glanced at Liu Jinghui and said slowly: "I think the footprints are suspicious. I'll think about it more when I get back."

Liu Jinghui couldn't help asking: "I showed the footprints to Old Zuo. What's wrong with them?"

"The previous experts probably just looked at the images statically," Jiang Yuan countered.

Liu Jinghui thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "Yes, more or less. How else would you analyze the footprint images?"

"I can consider multiple angles—I don't have a firm conclusion yet," Jiang Yuan said, then stood up. "Liu Chu, why don't you rest? I'll give you my findings tomorrow."

"This... fine," Liu Jinghui fell silent.

But outside, it was still raining, and Liu Jinghui had nowhere to go.

Jiang Yuan glanced out the window, sat back down, and quietly reviewed the USB's photos.

Liu Jinghui had dumped all the local crime scene photos into the USB—there were an enormous number of them.

As Jiang Yuan studied them, the rain outside stopped.

The air after the rain was sweet and fresh.

Jiang Yuan stood up, opened the window, breathed in deeply, then turned around—Liu Jinghui startled awake and rose to his feet.

Rarely did Liu Jinghui stay silent. Jiang Yuan shook his head and spoke up: "Liu Chu, I have a hypothesis."

"Oh? Go on," Liu Jinghui replied quickly.

"Some of the blood footprints at the crime scene were deliberately planted," Jiang Yuan answered.

Liu Jinghui frowned: "Deliberately planted?"

"Look at the overall pattern. These footprints here are the most distinct—they look like entry prints, but they're actually the suspect walking backward out of the room," Jiang Yuan pointed at the screen, his tone growing firmer.

Footprints with different weight distributions vary, but static footprints can have multiple interpretations. Only by combining them with the scene and gait can you make a definitive judgment.

The key insight: backward walking produces a consistently smaller stride.

Liu Jinghui never cared for technical details—he immediately followed the logic: "Faking the crime scene means the suspect has real anti-investigation skills. If he's going to fake evidence to evade suspicion, he's likely already under suspicion—probably the prime suspect..."

Jiang Yuan watched silently as Liu Jinghui fully entered reasoning mode.

Liu Jinghui grew more and more excited.

After a moment, he turned back to Jiang Yuan and sighed: "If those footprints were indeed faked, it's likely an inside job—the prime suspect is almost certainly the victim's husband. If that's true, the case is solved."

Liu Jinghui stared at Jiang Yuan with intense eyes.