As Jiang An’s voice fell, Li Jian and Zhang Chao put on shoe covers and walked in.
Li Jian softly asked, "How is it?"
Jiang An, holding the femur, stood up and said solemnly, "Mr. Li, this is a body disposal case."
In an instant, Zhang Chao’s eyes widened, an incredulous look on his face, focusing on Jiang An.
He glanced down at the skull on the ground and then at the femur in Jiang An’s hand.
"Isn’t this bone intact? I don’t see any fractures."
"Can we already determine it’s a body disposal case?"
Eventually, Zhang Chao said excitedly, "The nature of this case is no joking matter."
Compared to Zhang Chao, Li Jian was much calmer.
Li Jian’s gaze shifted between the skull and the femur, finally settling on Jiang An.
Seeing the determination on Jiang An’s face, Li Jian nodded and asked, "Are you sure?"
Jiang An said, "Mr. Li, look here."
He raised the femur by 20cm and pointed to the lower end, saying, "Here are signs of cutting."
Instantly, the four people’s gazes concentrated on the lower end of the femur.
Following Jiang An’s finger, they could see a piece missing from the femur’s lower end.
Zhang Yean speculated and asked, "Is it a fracture?"
As soon as she spoke, Zhang Chao said, "Could it be that when an animal was tearing the flesh off the bone, it yanked off part of the bone?"
Jiang An said, "Mr. Zhang, what you’re talking about in forensic anthropology is called avulsion fracture."
"At the area where muscles attach to bones, known as the tendon and bone junction, strong muscle pull can cause tiny fractures."
Immediately, Jiang An looked at the fracture and said, "The fracture shape here is not consistent with avulsion fracture."
"The missing part of this bone is due to cutting."
"What tool?"
Li Jian asked.
"The missing area at the lower end of the femur has neat edges, and the surface is relatively smooth, consistent with a one-time continuous cut."
"I don’t see any signs of repeated chopping by a kitchen knife or axe in this fracture area."
Jiang An firmly stated, "From the fracture shape here, I deduce it was cut with a tool like an electric saw."
Upon hearing the words "electric saw," scenes from the movie "Saw" immediately popped into Zhang Yean’s mind.
After listening, Zhang Chao glanced at Jiang An.
"Mr. Wu, didn’t come today?"
Zhang Yean answered, "Mr. Wu took leave to go back to his hometown!"
"Mr. Li, do you think we need to call in an experienced forensic expert from another city?"
"Now every area is trying to reduce the rate of criminal cases. Once defined as a body disposal case, this is a homicide case."
"I can’t explain this to the district leadership."
Having just solved an old case, his body was already utterly exhausted.
Before the suspect was delivered to the detention center, another white bone case came up.
Now, Li Jian was also filled with anger.
After hearing Mr. Zhang’s continuous nagging, he turned around seriously and said, "I’m a criminal investigation team leader here for a case, and you still want to interfere?"
Suddenly wanting to say something else, Zhang Chao swallowed his words.
"Mr. Li, you are the leader!"
"Forensics is a very complex field. I just don’t trust this new young man."
Li Jian said, "Jiang An is the youngest officer in our detective squad, having worked for less than a week."
"But Jiang An played an irreplaceable role in investigating three criminal cases consecutively."
"Now, he has already received two third-class merits and one first-class merit."
Instantly, Zhang Chao looked at Jiang An with eyes wide as if more surprised than seeing an alien.
Finally, Li Jian asked solemnly, "Mr. Zhang, do you still think his level is insufficient?"
Zhang Chao quickly nodded, saying, "Enough! Absolutely enough! I was blind."
Li Jian walked over and patted Mr. Zhang on the shoulder.
"It’s okay! Ignorance is not a fault."
"You’ll soon know how high Jiang An’s investigation capabilities are."
Then, Li Jian said, "It’s getting dark; please, Mr. Zhang, prepare some lighting tools and a shovel."
"Alright! Alright! I’ll get on it right away."
Mr. Zhang jogged off.
Li Jian glanced at Jiang An and said, "Don’t take it to heart."
"You’re the youngest and most handsome member of the detective squad."
"But only we know your investigative capabilities."
Jiang An grinned and said, "Mr. Li, after you praised me so much, I feel pressured."
Li Jian walked over and said, "Pressure creates motivation."
"How about it?"
"What are your thoughts regarding the scene?"
Jiang An said, "Currently, I’m sure this is a site of body disposal and burial."
"But we can only see part of the white bone, some buried underground."
"The urgent task is to excavate all the white bones and analyze the deceased’s age, gender, height, and other individual characteristics."
After hearing this, Li Jian nodded.
"I will immediately ask Mr. Zhang to arrange people for excavation."
After a while, Zhang Chao led 10 police officers from the precinct, carrying shovels and rakes, and walked up.
Li Jian said, "Mr. Zhang, I appreciate you and your brothers for this."
"No need for thanks!"
"This is a case within our precinct’s jurisdiction; I apologize for the trouble."
He then looked at Jiang An and asked, "Mr. Jiang, are there any notes for us to be mindful of during the excavation?"
Jiang An said, "Please everyone, be gentle, and try not to cause fractures to the bones during excavation."
"Alright!"
"Brothers, let’s start! Be gentle."
After 30 minutes, a large pit 1.5 meters deep had been dug at the site where the white bone was discovered.
Li Jian and Jiang An stepped forward to inspect.
Jiang An said, "Mr. Li, I think the depth is enough."
Li Jian nodded and turned to say, "Mr. Zhang, let’s pause the excavation for now, and allow your brothers to rest."
Zhang Chao, drenched in sweat and panting, said, "Mr. Li, okay! Just let me know if you need anything."
Jiang An put on gloves and stepped forward.
Zhang Yean followed.
Looking at the scattered white bones, Jiang An crouched down and began examining each one.
Zhang Yean stood beside him, holding a camera to photograph and record.
At this time, Li Jian and Wan Junjie, wearing gloves, also approached.
Li Jian said, "Let’s help clear the mud off the bones!"
Moments later, Wan Junjie picked up a long bone and handed it to Jiang An.
He said, "It seems this is a thigh bone too, matching a pair with the previous thigh bone."
Jiang An took the long bone, looked at it, and with a surprised expression said, "No! This is another femur from the left thigh."
Zhang Yean looked terrified, saying, "I remember the first one discovered was also a femur from the left thigh."
Instantly, the four were stunned.