Chapter 932

"The initial suspect, Mai Zuqing, went out drinking with people at a KTV that day. He arrived home around 11:00 PM, saw the bodies of his wife and daughter, and then called the police. The police arrived at the scene around 11:40 PM."

"Mai Zuqing worked as a cost analyst in the cost department of a real estate company, which was considered a relatively high-paying profession back then. His work was also quite busy; he often worked overtime, frequently went out for social engagements, and he himself liked to drink. Consequently, there were many arguments between Mai Zuqing and his wife. Mai Zuqing also had a history of physical violence, having once broken the corner of his wife Sui Yingxue's mouth."

"However, Mai Zuqing was still very good to his son and daughter. After we communicated with and questioned his colleagues, we felt he didn't seem like the kind of perpetrator who would kill his own daughter. Furthermore, if Mai Zuqing had returned home, there would have been no need for the mother, Sui Yingxue, to hide their son. Likewise, if Mai Zuqing had intended to kill his wife and children, he wouldn't have left the son behind."

"We collected testimonies from several relevant witnesses, which basically all support the alibi provided by Mai Zuqing. Plus, there's the survivor's testimony..."

Lang Heng gave a general explanation of the case, then looked at Jiang Yuan and asked, "Do you want to see this surviving young man?" Lang Heng asked this core question again.

The child who was 8 years old back then is now 18 and can fully express what he saw, heard, and thought. But from another perspective, because one of the suspects is his father, whether this young man can truthfully express what he saw, heard, and thought is another matter entirely.

However, compared to having no information, false information is also useful; besides, there is still a high possibility that the survivor is telling the truth.

"Let Meng Chengbiao talk to him." Jiang Yuan was not very good at dealing with people. A witness like this, who had clearly been questioned multiple times, was like a sponge that had been wrung out many times; Jiang Yuan didn't have the energy to wring it again.

Lang Heng responded, then stared longingly at Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan was deep in thought; when he looked up and caught Lang Heng's gaze, he couldn't help but say, "Captain Lang, that expression of yours... do you have any thoughts?"

"I don't have any thoughts... I just wanted to see if it were possible for you to look at the photos or something and solve the case in one go." Lang Heng laughed twice.

He belonged to the group that had witnessed Jiang Yuan's level of speed, so his expectations were naturally different.

Jiang Yuan was amused by him and said decisively, "That's not possible; this case is still a bit complicated."

"Alright. I just thought we could settle this case a bit faster." Lang Heng felt slightly disappointed, but conversely, he felt a bit more at ease.

If a case his side had been working on for 8 years were solved by Jiang Yuan with a wave of his hand, someone would truly have their defenses broken.

"However..." Jiang Yuan's voice came over again.

Lang Heng widened his eyes: "However what?"

"However, your exclusion of this suspect was still a bit hasty." Jiang Yuan didn't give Lang Heng too much hope and continued: "I'm not saying this suspect is the killer. But in the reasons you used to exclude him, such as the witness testimonies, the suspect's colleagues' testimonies, mobile phone signals, and surveillance videos from his workplace, those alibis..."

"Is there a problem?" Lang Heng didn't know whether to be happy or unhappy.

Jiang Yuan's finger slid across the PAD, and he thought as he spoke: "Only the alibis are relatively objective evidence; we won't discuss the other testimonies for now. The problem is that the alibis are based on the time of death, and your time of death isn't very accurate either. Excluding the deceased's husband just like that seems a bit hasty."

"There's a problem with the time of death?" Lang Heng sat up.

"There isn't a huge problem, it's just not accurate enough. I think it can be pushed back by two hours, or at least an hour and a half." Jiang Yuan slid the image to the number he had noted earlier and added: "Look here, the windows were completely closed, and the air conditioning wasn't on... By the time the forensic experts arrived, the initial crime scene investigators had already opened all the windows and doors. With people going in and out, the airflow must have lowered the indoor temperature by several degrees."

Lang Heng suddenly realized, and then said with some embarrassment: "The crime scene investigation from those early years was indeed not standardized enough."

It's actually not standardized enough now either, but that's just the nature of human work patterns and management levels.

Jiang Yuan naturally wouldn't delve into how the crime scene investigation for a case from 10 years ago was conducted; he only said: "Defining the time of death more precisely might be useful, or it might not. Regardless, the suspect still needs to be investigated further. Even if he was indeed at a social engagement in the evening, he would have been free at noon."

His LV6 judgment of the time of death was his ultimate weapon, and he definitely had to use it. Regardless of whether the suspect is the killer, many subsequent judgments might require this.

Lang Heng, however, was already getting excited: "If Mai Zuqing doesn't have an alibi, then his suspicion is still very high... He could have taken advantage of the noon hour to come and commit the crime, and during that lunch break, there was no one around Mai Zuqing..."

"Then why kill the daughter and leave the son?" Jiang Yuan countered.

Lang Heng only thought for a moment and said: "The daughter was older and might not have followed Mai Zuqing's wishes, so he had to kill her to silence her. The son was only 8 years old at the time; he might not have been very sensible, or he didn't see the whole picture, or he was truly hidden away by his mother who foresaw the danger..."

Jiang Yuan felt Lang Heng's explanation was slightly forced. If we're talking about being sensible or not, an 8-year-old is actually sensible enough. This can be seen from the later interrogation records; the 8-year-old spoke clearly and expressed what he knew very well. And Mai Zuqing, as his father, should have had some understanding of his son's linguistic state and comprehension ability.

However, Jiang Yuan never delves into this level of reasoning.

Humans are irrational animals; rational reasoning can only reveal trends, but it is very difficult to explain whether that person, at that time and in that environment, would commit such an act.

Jiang Yuan thought about it and said: "We can follow up on Mai Zuqing... but you must have interrogated Mai Zuqing very thoroughly back then, right?"

Lang Heng hesitated for a moment, sighed, and said: "That is indeed true."

Although it is said that those involved in murder cases know the charges are very serious and will have relatively strong resistance, the police's interrogation methods are not to be underestimated.

Given that Mai Zuqing himself had numerous suspicious points, the police's interrogation that day must have asked everything down to the bottom. Although there is new evidence now, to be honest, compared to the dimensions of the police's suspicions, it is still too immature.

"Is the evidence involved still stored?"

Jiang Yuan asked another question, raising Lang Heng's expectations again.

"It is, it is." Lang Heng said hurriedly: "We have specifically organized the evidence for this case. Hey, back then it was little Su who was organizing the physical evidence for the special task force with a tearful face; now, in the blink of an eye, we have to call him old Su."

Ten years ago, Su Shanming was probably not yet a team leader.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said: "Let's get the evidence first and take a look; some things are better seen in person. Especially this door lock, see if it's still around."