1995, Starting as a Criminal Investigation Expert

In a criminal case, all physical evidence collected at the scene is managed by the technical team before it is transferred and enters the prosecution process.

The brigade has two evidence rooms, one large and one small.

The smaller one is on the third floor, next to the team's laboratory, making it convenient for daily use and related analysis.

Generally, cases that are being investigated are first filed here.

Once the case is solved, it will be transferred to the procuratorate along with the case file, according to regulations. Any items that cannot be transferred, such as perishable items, will be photographed and attached to the case file.

The physical evidence will be temporarily stored in the team.

We'll handle it according to regulations once the case is decided.

The items will either be returned to the family or destroyed according to procedure. There are some key pieces of physical evidence, such as the murder weapon and blood-stained clothing.

In cases involving murder, the records must be kept for at least 15 years according to current laws.

These physical evidences will then be moved to a larger evidence room upstairs.

Physical evidence that cannot be used to solve a case will also be placed in the large evidence room on the fourth floor.

Li Shu took these bowls and plates out of the evidence box.

A large soup bowl and three plates.

Three dishes and one soup.

There are photos; when it was discovered, it was completely covered in mold.

Therefore, it is impossible to extract any fingerprints from the front; only the back offers a chance.

In order to preserve it, it couldn't be sealed together with the leftovers, and it couldn't be washed, so only the front was carefully treated, while the back was completely preserved, just like when the incident occurred.

Peng Rong sighed softly and said, "I still remember what crucian carp and tofu soup, braised pork, stir-fried edamame with pickled mustard greens, and stir-fried potato slices with meat. Especially the braised pork; for a period of time, I felt nauseous whenever the cafeteria served braised pork."

Li Shu chuckled to himself as he carefully examined the bowls and plates.

One of the bags was found to be slightly damp.

The smaller of these two evidence storage rooms will be managed by the physics and chemistry team.

The person on the fourth floor is managed by a female office worker surnamed He.

She was there at that moment, and when she saw Li Shu turn to look at her and notice the dampness, she quickly said, "Li Shu, it's this bag that's not working properly. It's not sealed tightly. I told them to get a sealing machine, but Captain Han refused, saying that sealed bags are enough."

"Also, it was so humid during the rainy season, and it was no use having your exhaust fan running 24 hours a day."

Li Shu hurriedly said, "Sister He, I didn't say anything. It's okay, it won't affect anything."

It's not surprising that this sealed plastic bag, which has been stored for almost a year and a half, and has been retrieved and inspected routinely, would leak air.

While Nanjiang cannot compare to 803, it is much better than other provinces in terms of the preservation of physical evidence.

At least inside the building, it's shaded, has ventilation, and is managed by dedicated personnel.

The conditions at Eagle Pool, which I visited before, were much more basic than this.

Sister He, whose real name is He Meiling, smiled again and leaned in, saying, "Li Shu, it's not that I don't want to manage things properly, but that's just how the conditions are. Take this dampness, for example. I heard people have installed air conditioning, so it's neither damp nor hot."

Li Shu nodded subconsciously.

On the system side, there are naturally relevant documents regarding the preservation of physical evidence.

The text introduces the development history of physical evidence management, mentioning that better conditions for physical evidence storage will be created in the future, with constant temperature and humidity being fundamental.

The key conditions don't allow it.

He Meiling said with a smile, "Li Shu, you're quite the favorite of Director Tang now. That coating machine, you know, it costs ten or twenty thousand yuan. You just submit a report, and Director Tang approves it immediately. It's even more effective than Lao Han. So, don't you think our evidence room should get an air conditioner too?"

Li Shu was startled; good heavens, it was coming for him.

Peng Rong, who was standing next to her, said, "Sister He, count for yourself how many rooms in our Municipal Bureau have air conditioning."

The 19-story building only has offices for Tang Weidong and several deputy bureau chiefs.

"The problem is that even if we install it, it's useless. In the summer, the power goes out all the time, and in the winter, the electric heater heats up quickly, and the circuit breaker trips all the time."

He winked at Li Shu.

He Meiling gave an awkward smile: "I was just saying that, and it's already cold today, so it's too late for you to pretend now."

With that, she told everyone to get busy and to call her if they needed anything, then turned and left.

Peng Rong watched her leave before whispering, "Li Shu, don't listen to her. I think she's just pretending."

With the air conditioner installed, He Meiling has been staying here every day, and it's very comfortable.

Li Shu understood, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Actually, it really is necessary to install an air conditioner or a dehumidifier here. You see, 803 already has one."

It's not just for people's enjoyment, but also for the preservation of physical evidence.

Peng Rong said, "How can that be the same? Matsuura is much richer."

Li Shu nodded, "That's true."

At this moment, Shen Chuan reached into a box next to him and took out a sealed test tube, frowning as he said, "This must be the blood soup."

That is, the tissue fluid formed after the body thaws and decomposes in the freezer was sampled and kept as evidence.

Li Shu glanced at it and asked, "By the way, what about the freezer?"

We pulled the freezer back then.

The item wasn't damaged, and it was a large appliance. Logically, after extracting evidence, it should be preserved and returned to the family after the case is closed.

The key case remained unsolved, and Huang Youjun's entire family was murdered, leaving him with no relatives.

"It seems to be with Lao Qin."

Peng Rong knew a little, and added, "But don't even think about it. We searched inside and out, and there wasn't a single fingerprint or bloodstain. The suspect wiped it clean to the bone."

After spraying luminol, there was absolutely no reaction to any bloodstains, and after wiping, fingerprints were naturally impossible to leave behind.

As for the inside, the whole pot of blood soup was infested with maggots. If there were any bloodstains or fingerprints, they would have degraded long ago and could not have been preserved.

Li Shu asked the question casually.

But after thinking about it, I still wanted to go and see it, since it was important physical evidence.

After watching the video, Peng Rong asked if there was any chance of success.

"Who can guarantee that? I can only say there's hope."

I've looked at the items.

The better thing is that when a normal person takes a plate, if they are using one hand, their thumb grips the edge and the other fingers support the bottom.

There was leftover food on the front of the plate, so it was contaminated.

Therefore, it is indeed possible to leave fingerprints on an intact back.

This is probably also an important reason why Han Jianjun and his team were willing to handle it carefully and preserve it.

"Especially that soup bowl, it's quite big, you probably can't hold it with one hand. If we're lucky, the suspect's personal habit is to hold it with both hands instead of pinching the edge, then I think the probability of extracting fingerprints from that soup bowl would be the highest."

"Especially in May, when it was already hot, we saw that the house had no windows, no ceiling fan, and not even a regular fan."

"Older people aren't afraid of the heat, but younger people aren't. When it gets hot, they sweat, which increases the chance of leaving fingerprints."

Of course, that's just what Li Shu thought.

That's the ideal scenario, but whether it will actually work or not, we'll only know after we try.

Peng Rong understood and patted Li Shu on the shoulder, saying, "You're lucky, kid. I think it should work."

Shen Chuan nodded in agreement, and Lin Wanping often said that Li Shu was a lucky charm.

As they talked, they went downstairs to the forensic office.

"Freezer?"

Li Sheng looked bewildered, and only realized what was happening after Peng Rong reminded him.

I suffered terribly last year, so it's impossible for the memory to be unforgettable.

"It's in the warehouse. What's wrong? Are we investigating this case again?"

He got up and led everyone to the warehouse, and couldn't help but grumble, saying that it was a terrible time back then.

Especially afterwards, as the youngest forensic doctor in the team, he was the one who cleaned the freezer.

"I washed it countless times before it was clean."

We arrived at the warehouse.

"It should be this one," Li Sheng said, pointing to a freezer.

Li Shu stepped forward and took a look; indeed, it was an Aucma.

"Are you using it?" Li Shu noticed that the freezer was powered on and running.

As he spoke, he casually opened the freezer.

There were things piled up inside.

It wasn't the various body parts that forensic doctors needed to freeze and preserve, but the flesh.

The topmost bag contains frozen chicken legs in a large plastic bag.

"Holy shit!"

Li Sheng suddenly let out a strange cry, his expression changing drastically.

Upon hearing his shout, Li Shu, looking at the chicken legs in the freezer, also suddenly changed color.

This... could it be that the cafeteria put it here to freeze?