Diary of a Criminal Investigator

The investigation of this case has entered a relatively long stagnation period.

Haizhou City has a large population, and the volume of orthopedic surgeries has actually been quite significant over the years.

Moreover, there are 13 hospitals in Haizhou City capable of performing relatively complex orthopedic surgeries.

Although the body found in the small park on Qianjin Street had unique fracture characteristics, surgeries involving arm plates aren’t uncommon.

Especially since the information is quite outdated, many hospitals have already locked case files from over a decade ago in their archives.

The investigation requires not only tedious and lengthy procedures but also substantial time.

In fact, the hospital archivists have retired, and they know very little about old files.

This requires detectives to personally verify and match each one carefully.

Additionally, there’s something Lu Chuan hadn’t considered: some smaller hospitals have incomplete or inaccurate medical records.

Furthermore, some case files are rather vague.

"This is from Northern Hospital, Captain Lu. Look at what this case says: right arm fracture, direct insertion of steel plate, done."

Three days have passed.

The Criminal Investigation Team in the High-tech Zone hasn’t had other cases these days, so Lu Chuan allocated considerable resources to investigate case files.

However, the materials collected from the investigation are quite disappointing, such as the case file just read by Wang Zhaokai.

Leaving aside the content, there’s only one sentence, and the name field only states Wang, leaving other areas blank.

And this is just one of many problematic case files.

"Let me explain to everyone; we still need to be more careful. Let’s see if we can get some results this week. If not, we’ll just have to put it aside temporarily."

Lu Chuan is no longer just a regular detective sitting in the Criminal Investigation Team’s office.

So the tasks on his hands aren’t merely technical issues related to one or two cases.

The entire Criminal Investigation Team in the High-tech Zone has to settle past cases, take on new assignments, handle team training, and various tasks assigned by superiors.

Overall, police resources are still limited, and Qin Chuan can’t allocate all resources to this one case.

Thus, if no significant discoveries emerge, this case may have to be put aside.

"Alright, I’ll inform the team too."

Wang Zhaokai shook his head, personally, he wasn’t optimistic about this case.

On one hand, the time span is too extensive since the death; on the other, identifying the deceased is incredibly challenging.

Unclothed, sealed in a vacuum bag, and buried underground for over a decade, where do you even start identifying this person?

Moreover, as everyone initially feared, if the surgery wasn’t performed in Haizhou City, the right arm fracture and steel plate lead becomes useless.

Furthermore, even if identified, case files may not confirm the identity since the truthfulness is unknown.

Then, on the fifth-day afternoon, a turn in the investigation emerged.

The Criminal Investigation Team in the High-tech Zone had been handling this case for almost a week, which was Lu Chuan’s longest established timeline.

"This case from Fifth People’s Hospital..."

The discoverer was a rookie detective named Zhang Ping from Wang Zhaokai’s squad, employed last year.

The young man has an introverted personality, rarely speaks, but works diligently.

"Captain Wang, I feel this case meets the conditions."

Zhang Ping was responsible for the investigation of all orthopedic cases at Fifth Hospital from 13 years ago to 10 years ago.

Compared to other hospitals, the Fifth Hospital’s orthopedic case information is relatively complete. Although its authenticity can’t be verified, at least the name, gender, and age are fully detailed, and the case entries are quite comprehensive.

Wang Zhaokai took the case file Zhang Ping mentioned, reading while listening to his explanation.

"Captain Lu said the deceased’s arm fracture likely occurred between 11 to 16 years ago, and this case is from 13 years ago."

"The subject is also female, aged... twenty at the time."

"Height is 167 cm."

"Specifically, the fracture description: penetrating fracture, the fracture at the ulna and radius near the wrist, seven centimeters..."

What caught Wang Zhaokai’s attention wasn’t the individual’s information.

It was that "seven centimeters"!

The forensic report from Guo Jianfeng mentioned the fracture distance on the deceased’s right arm is seven centimeters from the wrist!

Even among 10,000 bone fractures in the same area, they can’t be entirely identical.

During these five days, similar fracture cases were found, but none confirmed the identity.

However, this case file’s description is the closest match to the deceased’s right arm fracture profile Wang Zhaokai has seen.

"Zhang Manman?"

"Investigate the subject’s information!"

"Okay!"

With a target, the task of finding someone becomes simpler.

Now entering the information into the registration system, there are 12 Zhang Manmans in Haizhou City.

Filtering by age matches, two are age-comparable.

However, the system shows both individuals are alive and well.

"Captain Wang... this case file is likely invalid."

They’re searching for the information of a deceased, but ended up finding two living individuals.

This clearly indicates the case file isn’t for the deceased.

Wang Zhaokai sighed again.

But it’s not a big deal, he’s been frustrated numerous times over this case in recent days.

Being a detective, conducting investigations and interviews, it’s like this: even out of 100 times, there may not be a single useful finding.

However, for that one useful outcome, even among thousands or tens of thousands of unsuccessful attempts, they must persist.

"Alright then, make calls to these two people, contact and confirm identities, then move on to the next."

This is precautionary against someone using another’s identity.

In the past, for special circumstances, many people used others’ names during hospital visits.

Zhang Ping acknowledged and turned to make calls.

And it was this call that uncovered the truth.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhaokai was already en route with Lu Chuan and others toward Zhang Manman’s residence.

"After discovering this case file, we did a telephone interview with Zhang Manman. She mentioned she never had that surgery, but remembered a friend using her name for surgery at Fifth Hospital over a decade ago."

"But they both worked at the KTV. Zhang Manman sold drinks, and her friend entertained customers."

"Based on some situations described by Zhang Manman, upon comparison, we suspect the deceased is indeed Zhang Manman’s friend who worked as a hostess!"