The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Chapter 844 - 444: A New Lead in the Case (2)

"I just went over the entire case file again.""Aside from the key information that all five confirmed deceased victims come from the same area, I also noticed an undeniable commonality—all the victims were females."

Jiang An’s voice gradually deepens, "Five women killed in succession, the pattern hidden behind this number forces me to consider a possibility."

"What do all of you think about this?"

"I believe we should focus the investigation on male suspects."

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Yean furrowed her brow: "But based on the current chain of evidence, checks at and around the crime scenes haven’t turned up any male suspects fitting the criteria. Unless..."

She paused, "Unless it’s those transient gamblers."

"But if it’s a random act by a transient gambler, committing one murder is possible, but five in succession? The odds are too low."

Jiang An nodded slightly and turned to look at Wan, sitting on the right: "What’s the background check on the foot massage shop owner like?"

"Does she have any closely related male relatives?"

Immediately, Wan opened the notebook before him, "According to current investigation records: she is 47 years old, married, her husband is alive, and the two have no children."

"Where is her husband now?" Jiang An pressed.

"This detail still needs further verification."

Jiang An stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and drew a relationship diagram with a marker pen.

"I believe we must quickly verify all information about the husband of the owner."

"This case has two notable characteristics worth vigilance: first, all the victims are female; second, the murderer is well aware of the victims’ life trajectories."

"These two characteristics occurring simultaneously are no coincidence."

His pen heavily dots next to "owner."

"Besides the owner herself, her husband Chen Guan is also very likely in a position to contact these victims."

"This is someone we must investigate thoroughly."

Wan immediately began operating his laptop.

Five minutes later, he lifted his head, his tone grave: "Mr. Jiang, found it."

"Chen Guan, 48 years old, local resident, no fixed occupation."

"More importantly, he has quite a few records of prior offenses in his file."

"Specifically, what are the records?"

Jiang An quickly walked behind Wan, his eyes staring intently at the screen.

"Five years ago, administratively punished for theft, three years ago, dealt with for provoking trouble."

"The most noteworthy is a case of intentional injury two years ago, where he was detained for fifteen days."

"Intentional injury?"

"According to case records, the victim was a high-interest loan debt collector. It is said at the time, Chen Guan owed money on a high-interest loan and during collection clashed intensely with the opposite side, resulting in minor injury to the collector."

Upon hearing this, Jiang An pursued, "By your account, very likely Chen Guan has high-interest loans owed externally?"

"Now, the focus is to inspect whether Chen Guan, her husband, has any suspect tendencies, first categorizing him as a potential suspect for investigation."

Upon this declaration, a subtle commotion spread through the office.

A few officers who were organizing materials simultaneously lifted their heads, exchanging puzzled glances.

Note that throughout the investigation of this serial murder case, the owner’s husband Chen Guan has always been a marginal figure.

He neither participates in daily operations of the foot massage shop nor directly interacts with the victims; all prior investigations indicated he had no connection with the case.

Moreover, solving cases requires a motive, so where does Chen Guan’s motive to commit a crime originate?

These doubts swirled in everyone’s mind, but facing Jiang An’s undeniable determined expression, everyone swallowed back the skepticism lying on the tip of their tongue.

Wan immediately stood and replied: "Understood, Mr. Jiang."

"I’ll make arrangements right away."

Ten minutes later, only Jiang An, Zhang Yean, and two other officers remained in the office.

Zhang Yean finally couldn’t resist the pressing question in her heart, cautiously opening: "Mr. Jiang, could you share why we’re suddenly investigating the owner’s husband?"

"In our existing clues, there seems to be no evidence pointing to him, no?"

Jiang An turned around, instead asking back: "Senior sister, did you take any courses in criminal psychology during your time at police academy?"

"Especially related courses in abnormal psychology?"

"I didn’t study it systematically."

Jiang An nodded slightly, walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker: "I specifically studied abnormal psychology and put a lot of effort into it."

"Look at this case—" he drew a timeline on the board, "although the five victims are not young women, they are all fallen women."

"The killer specifically targets this particular group, indicating he holds a deep bias and hatred towards this profession, which has become strong enough that it must be vented through serial killings."

"More importantly, I wonder if you all noticed that the work timing of these victims was very regular, and they were the best business at the shop."

"Such targeted selection often reflects the killer’s familiarity with the foot massage shop’s internal situation."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yean responded thoughtfully, "Perhaps Chen Guan developed extreme resentment towards this industry for some reason?"

Jiang An nodded and added: "Not just that."

"What we need to consider is that the source of this hatred may be buried deeply—perhaps it’s personal experience, maybe it’s family upheaval, but eventually, all transformed into a destructive desire towards a specific group."

"This is why we need to dig deep into Chen Guan’s background."

"Based on current evidence, we indeed cannot rule out this possibility."

"After all, up to now the information we have remains on the surface and lacks any strong evidence directly pointing to other suspects."

"There is no such thing as erstwhile hatred."

Zhang Yean pondered, "Just as seeds need soil to sprout, hatred also needs a breeding reason."

"This reason is likely hidden within his life trajectory."

Jiang An pushed the case file in his hand: "I meticulously combed through Chen Guan’s unlawful acts and found a noteworthy pattern—his three punishments have all been related to chasing high-interest debt."

"What’s more shocking is that, according to the case documents back then, the principal and interest of his high-interest debt accumulated to a total of one million yuan. This number possibly hides a life deeply mired in gambling."

He paused for a moment, his gaze turned profound: "Only addictive behavior like gambling can swallow such a huge amount of wealth in a short time."

"Imagine, when debts pile up high, his wife chooses to run a foot massage shop, quite likely more out of necessity for making a living."

"If we assume Chen Guan is someone with an extremely high self-esteem, then such a situation of relying on his wife’s hard work to maintain the household may very likely create intense psychological conflict within him."

Hearing this, Zhang Yean was momentarily stunned, a flash of realization passed through her eyes.

"Mr. Jiang, the psychological mechanism you just mentioned reminds me of the ’projection defense’ theory in criminal psychology."

"When a person cannot accept certain traits or circumstances of themselves, they unconsciously transfer these negative emotions onto others."

"His choice to retaliate against other practitioners perfectly aligns with this psychological pattern!"

Jiang An nodded slightly, a faint smile emerged at the corners of his lips: "These are still speculations based on existing clues."

"The biggest taboo in criminal investigation is preconceived notions."

"What we need to do now is to use evidence to verify this hypothesis."

"When Chen Guan is invited back to cooperate with the investigation, many enigmas will naturally unravel."

While they were delving deep into the case, the action group led by investigator Wan had already reached Chen Guan’s residence.

Situated in a resettlement community at the junction of urban and rural areas.

In the night, the windows of the first-floor apartment of Building 7, Unit 1 remain pitch black, the whole building is silent save for occasional distant dog barking.

Wan moved forward and knocked on the security door, the crisp knocking sound echoing in the corridor.

Five whole minutes passed before any rustling sounds emerged from inside, a hoarse voice tinged with sleep asked behind the door, "Who’s there? What do you want this late?"

Wan did not immediately respond, choosing instead to wait patiently.

Two more minutes passed before the door lock emitted a "click."

A haggard face peeked out from the crack of the door, the whole person appeared drained of vitality.

"Are you Chen Guan?"

Wan showed his police badge, his sharp eyes scanning the other party.

"I am."

"We are from the Municipal Public Security Bureau and need you to cooperate with the investigation now."

Chen Guan’s eyes visibly panicked: "To the Public Security Bureau? I-I haven’t done anything wrong..."

"We will formally inform you of the specific matters."

"Is it about the foot massage shop?"

Chen Guan suddenly grew agitated, "That shop was opened by my wife, it’s got nothing to do with me! Look for her if you want anyone!"