National Forensic Doctor

Chapter 1302: Chapter 1228: Searching for the Corpse

Investigating until midnight, Jiang Yuan had only finished examining the scene he suspected, but there was still a long way to go before he could sweep the entire road section.

At this time, everyone in the four cars was exhausted.

The people like Mu Zhiyang responsible for security were a bit better off, while the forensics technicians who came with the investigation car had to constantly carry various lamps and instruments back and forth, utterly fatigued.

Cui Qishan and Xiao Si, who were thinking things over, Liu Jinghui also exhausted his brain to the limit.

"Alright. Let’s take a break." Jiang Yuan waved his big hand, announcing the dismissal.

"Okay. Let’s rest first and then think it through again." Liu Jinghui breathed a sigh of relief. He was in his forties, a time when he could have been contributing to society for ten years if in a private company. Staying up late like this, he couldn’t take it anymore.

Everyone cheered, "Long live," and began packing up.

Xiao Si popped out and said, "Aren’t we waiting for the dogs?"

The group of detectives who were packing up all froze.

Cui Qishan pulled Xiao Si with a frustration for his lack of thoughtfulness: "Can’t you give it a rest? Director Jiang has already given the orders, what are you suggesting here? With so many people, do you have to stand out?"

He was also worried that Xiao Si would draw everyone’s ire.

But Xiao Si wasn’t afraid. Being used to being in the minority, he calmly said, "The scene has been like this for so many days. The time window for using the dogs is getting shorter. In two more hours, it’s going to be daylight, and then the police dogs should come over. Once it’s rush hour, cars will pass by, and with the exhaust fumes, no dog will be able to track anything."

Normal police dogs have no problem sniffing out scents within a few days, and if it’s indoors, they can even detect scents from a few weeks ago.

The conditions in the mountains can’t be compared to indoors, whether or not the dogs can detect the victim’s scent depends on various factors, including the dog’s abilities and the temperature and humidity in recent days. The time is definitely less than indoors, but how much less is uncertain.

In short, since they’ve decided to use the police dogs, they need to act as quickly as possible.

All the detectives on the scene understood what Xiao Si meant, so even though they all looked dead tired, a few of them reluctantly slowed down their steps.

Working continuously for 24 hours is a routine in the detective squad.

"Alright, everyone else can rest first. I’ll wait here," Jiang Yuan waved his hand and then called out: "Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming stay with me, we’ll handle the night here."

"Okay." Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming stayed close by Jiang Yuan, wearing bulletproof vests, making sure not to leave Jiang Yuan alone in the wilderness.

"I’ll stay too," Xiao Si, knowing the principle of the minority getting beaten up, offered.

Cui Qishan cursed in his heart but spoke as a middle-aged man: "This is our Fourth Squad’s case, I’ll stay too."

"There’s no need for you guys to stay, it’s not necessary, we can just stay at a hotel in Jin Mountain," Jiang Yuan answered unexpectedly.

Cui Qishan: "Just two hours..."

Xiao Si: "A five-star hotel?"

If detectives are out on assignment, they share a room, and the stipend wouldn’t cover a five-star hotel in Beijing, let alone now when it’s not really a trip. As for staying in a hotel just for two hours of rest, it’s even less reasonable; the normal practice would be to get by in the car overnight. Keeping surveillance for more than ten hours is common; what can’t be endured for two hours?

But looking at Jiang Yuan across from them, Cui Qishan and Xiao Si were speechless again.

"Then... should we leave then?" Cui Qishan felt like he wouldn’t be of much use staying, but leaving didn’t seem right either, so he gave Xiao Si a stern look.

"Yes," Jiang Yuan noticed Cui Qishan’s look and then said, "Shen Yaowei, you handle the communication with the local police dog squad, call me when they arrive."

"Yes, sir!" Shen Yaowei stood at attention and saluted.

Cui Qishan began to feel embarrassed again, quickly saying, "How about I stay, I’m more familiar with the police dog team too."

"Captain Cui, you should rest. I can easily contact members of the Cold Case Squad when necessary," Shen Yaowei, standing tall, earnestly persuaded Cui Qishan. Lately, many of his achievements had been overshadowed by the newly arrived Wei Shikan, so he didn’t feel tired at all when given this opportunity to stand on his own.

Cui Qishan carefully observed Shen Yaowei’s expression, felt moved, then turned and said, "Alright, Xiao Si, you stay and accompany Shen Yaowei, just in case the perpetrator returns to the crime scene, so you can have each other’s back."

"Yes." It was a direct order, and Xiao Si had no choice but to comply.

...

As dawn broke, the police dog competition began, handlers raising their hands...

Five police dogs sniffed the old clothes used by the victim, Yan Meixuan, for a long time, then began sniffing along the road accompanied by their handlers.

Jiang Yuan, having slept for less than two hours, forced himself to stay alert and said a word to the handlers from the police dog squad before following behind the dogs.

The police dogs hadn’t picked up a scent yet, and it was uncertain when they would, so they could only wait around.

Jiang Yuan occasionally looked around, hoping to catch something visible in the daylight that he had missed in the dark, but to no avail. In truth, nothing was picked up.

Two hours later, the five police dogs returned with no results, and the team leader of the police dog squad could only helplessly come over, saying: "We need to rest first, there’s no suspect scent in the area we’ve searched so far."

"Then take a break, let’s find a place by the road for breakfast," Jiang Yuan knew there was no rushing things, so he found a rest area he’d seen earlier, where the group sat down to eat the pancakes Cui Qishan had bought.

The pancakes were quite tasty, with crispy pastries inside, even paired with the somewhat bland soy milk, it was still acceptable.

Jiang Yuan, starving from the whole night, wolfed down one pancake, took another, and drank the remaining half cup of soy milk, then rose to look around, seeing that the police dogs hadn’t finished eating yet.

The traffic on the road, however, was increasing.

Before noon, all the police dogs became listless.

The effort of sniffing was a huge drain on the dogs, especially in complex areas.

However, the resources of the Beijing Bureau were remarkable, and with Jiang Yuan leading the special task force, the team leader of the police dog squad redeployed five more police dogs and sent the previous ones back to rest.

Jiang Yuan and the team didn’t get the chance to rotate out, following the newly assigned police dogs to Jinshan Park, yet still found nothing.

There were surveillance cameras here already, having found nothing on the cameras, allowing the dogs to sniff again was unnecessary.

"Director Jiang, we’ve done all we can from the police dog squad; we couldn’t be of help, my apologies," the team leader of the police dog squad sighed softly, not exactly relieved, but with a quiet exhale.

"It’s alright." Jiang Yuan waved it off.

"Then we’ll head back first." The team leader felt noticeably at ease, sensing that Ningtai Jiangyuan seemed easy to talk to.

But Jiang Yuan shook his head, saying, "There’s no need to rush." noveldrama

"Hmm?"

"Help us eliminate one more possibility," Jiang Yuan looked at the recently arrived Liu Jinghui.

Liu Jinghui, upon hearing Jiang Yuan’s tone, understood what he was thinking, so he asked, "How large is the area you want to search?"

"Assuming the perpetrator lives or works within the metro station to Jinshan Park range, sniff a radius of several kilometers," Jiang Yuan replied.

The police dog squad leader’s face turned green at the thought and quickly said, "A radius of several kilometers, it’s too large; it’s not feasible to sniff it all."

"We’re not trying to track traces," Jiang Yuan paused and then said, "Search for a body."

A professional cadaver dog has a large operational range, with well-trained dogs scanning over one square kilometer per hour on open terrain; difficult terrains might cut this in half, but the efficiency remains high, and the accuracy is quite good.

The police dog squad leader, understanding, said, "All the available cadaver dogs, I’ll have them dispatched here." After seeing Jiang Yuan nod.

An hour later, two specialized police dog transport vehicles arrived.

The squad leader, a Level 3 Police Supervisor, approached Jiang Yuan and others. "I’ve brought every available tracker dog that can be put into action immediately."

Two more hours later, a report spread throughout the task force: a female body has been discovered.