Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 453: 427

Mr. Qu was squeezed so tightly that he barely had any space left, so he pushed the person above him and shouted.

"Don’t block my screen, I’m still comparing!"

In an instant, everyone made room, and Zhou Ning glanced at those two screenshots. To be honest, the dark silhouettes were so blurry that one couldn’t make out any facial features. He wondered what Mr. Qu was comparing.

However, from this angle, one could clearly see the heads of three people, two in front and one behind. The person sitting in the back was very thin, with a small head, leaning into the gap between the driver’s seat and the front passenger’s seat, his chin resting on his hands, allowing one to see the profile of his face.

This discovery made Zhou Ning pause, and he quickly turned his attention to the other two silhouettes.

And just by looking, he found a problem. The person in the driver’s seat was obviously Zhang Wannian, because his jaw had a distinctive feature: malocclusion, causing his face to be crooked. It wasn’t noticeable when he wasn’t talking, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his jaw would twist to one side.

In this image, the person slightly turned his head towards the direction of the screenshot. Although it was just a dark blur, the misaligned teeth were visible, and one could tell it was him immediately.

Zhou Ning eagerly tapped Mr. Qu’s shoulder, pointing at the display and said:

"Can you zoom in on this screenshot? I just need the person in the front passenger seat."

"Zooming in makes it even blurrier."

Zhou Ning thought for a moment.

"I don’t care about the picture quality, just make the contrast stronger. I just need to be able to see their bone structure clearly, shades will do. I was overthinking earlier; this screenshot can still aid in identifying people, just not with the previous method of using skull search.

"You can refer to the kind of images in X-rays, enhancing just the contrast. After all, from this image, we can already distinguish Zhang Wannian and Liu Xiangrui. Zhang Wannian has a malocclusion, while Liu Xiangrui is very skinny, with a skull, ulna, and radius smaller than the average person’s."

As Zhou Ning spoke, Liu Yongxin also crowded in to take a closer look, nodding constantly on the side.

"You’re right, this makes them distinguishable. Although the window tint is too dark, after your processing, the contours and teeth are somewhat visible. The one driving is indeed Zhang Wannian, and that small head in the back is Liu Xiangrui. However, the head of the person in the front passenger seat, why is it so big?"

This remark made everyone take a glance, and Mr. Qu blinked.

"Maybe it’s an issue with the angle. In sequence from front to back, the closest to the surveillance position is the person in the front passenger seat, then Liu Xiangrui sitting in the middle row, and the furthest is Zhang Wannian in the driver’s seat. The closest head will definitely appear largest, but pity that this person has only one side of his face visible, with no abnormalities."

As he spoke, Mr. Qu’s hands didn’t stop moving, performing operations that seemed dizzying, but in a moment, the image was processed again, and the facial features of the person in the front passenger seat were no longer discernible as a photograph. But after enhancing the contrast, Zhou Ning stared at the screen and pushed up his glasses.

"Does this person have glasses on his nose bridge?"

The people all looked at the screen, and Liu Yongxin shook his head.

"Can’t tell, it’s just a black line, indistinguishable."

Zhou Ning shook his head, pointing to the area behind the person’s ear.

"Here, after Mr. Qu adjusted it, you can see that this person’s outer ear is standing erect. If we looked from the front, it would be what we typically call ’ears that catch the wind.’ Moreover, there’s an indentation behind the ear at the temporal bone, from the 1-7 o’clock direction, where you can see a shadow.

"I think this is the arm of the glasses and this indentation in the temporal bone just proves that this person has been wearing glasses since a young age. And, the skull isn’t small; the head is quite wide. It’s very likely there are indentations from glasses’ arms on both sides below the temples, so his large head isn’t a matter of proportion but natural size."

After saying this, Zhou Ning paused for a moment, casting his gaze over Mr. Zhao and Yang Xuetong. Mr. Yang wasn’t as heavy as Mr. Zhao, but he was also sizable. With a height of 178 cm, his weight was close to that figure, sturdy in build, a typical broad square face from Ludong with a head size similar to Mr. Zhao’s.

An idea popped into his head, and Zhou Ning hurriedly continued:

"Mr. Zhao, take Mr. Yang, Sun Gaotie, and Mr. Zou downstairs now. Have Zou Jialong sit in the middle back seat of the Peugeot, with Mr. Zhao in the front passenger seat and Mr. Yang in the driver’s seat. Sun Gaotie should take pictures from the side, roll down all the windows, and then we’ll come up and compare."

Mr. Zhao had a moment of realization. He understood what Zhou Ning was trying to do—it was an experiment. He quickly gestured and led the others downstairs.

Zhou Ning walked to the window, with Xia Momo standing to one side. She looked at Zhou Ning and asked:

"Do you think the person in the front passenger seat looks like someone you know?"

Zhou Ning nodded.

"I have an idea, but I’m not certain yet."

Xia Momo didn’t say anything more, and after a short while, the group ran back in, rushing to Mr. Qu, connecting the camera to the computer, and importing the pictures.

Everyone gathered around, and Zhou Ning pushed Mr. Zhao aside, speaking to Zhu Xingxing:

"Measure the head circumferences and front-back diameters for Mr. Zhao, Zou Jialong, and Yang Xuetong. I think Mr. Yang’s head circumference might be a bit larger than Mr. Zhao’s, with Zou Jialong’s being the smallest."

"Impossible!"

Mr. Yang immediately objected.

Mr. Zhao slapped him playfully and said with a teasing smile,

"Don’t get heated, although you are thinner than me, you have a larger bone structure. I have a smaller frame; my head isn’t that big."

Zhu Xingxing rolled his eyes and approached with the measuring tape.

"Whatever the chief said, just get on with it, no more blabbering, sit down and let me measure it, and we’ll know,"

"Can’t you just use a tape measure? Strapping that thing around the head, are you trying to commit murder or something?"

Zhou Ning slapped Mr. Zhao’s hand away, who then stopped talking, and Zhu Xingxing measured all three of them one by one, then looked at the ruler and said to Zhou Ning:

"Mr. Yang’s head circumference is a bit larger, about 62, and the front-to-back diameter is 18.3. Zhao Xinli’s head circumference is around 60 with a diameter of 18.2, and Zou Jialong’s is the smallest at 54, with a diameter of 15.4."

Zhou Ning looked at the screen, directing Mr. Qu to measure the length of the three peoples’ heads in the car; then he asked Zhu Xingxing to measure their front-to-back diameters again. The difference between Mr. Zhao and Mr. Yang in the pictures was negligible, but Zou Jialong’s was significant, a full 1.3 centimeters difference.

After this series of actions, Mr. Qu seemed to realize something and took a few more pictures to measure.

"Comparing with this method, the person in the passenger seat has a head circumference and height somewhat similar to Mr. Yang, just slightly shorter, and the difference in body shape isn’t much. The most important thing is the glasses,"

Everyone turned to look at Yang Xuetong, making him feel quite embarrassed.

"It can’t be that they chose someone based on my build?"

Zhou Ning took out his phone and called Xu Dayuan.

"Sir, we have an analysis here that may be of help to your investigation. Why don’t you come and take a look? Also, we need to contact Mrs. Fei and Mr. Bai. I need the height, weight, and photos of all those related to Zhang Wannian and Liu Xiangrui. We can make comparisons."

"Wait for me; I’ll be right there."

Half an hour later, Xu Dayuan arrived at Zhou Ning’s office, and after some explanation, he understood the comparison method. He looked at Zhou Ning.

"Just say it, do you have a suspect in mind?"

Zhou Ning nodded.

"Currently, from height to head circumference, the most suspicious one is Zhang Wannian’s brother-in-law, Zhang Song. Director Xu once showed me his administrative detention photo. In terms of height, body weight, and head circumference, Zhang Song fits the bill very well.

What I can’t figure out, though, based on the information sent back from Dayao City, is that Zhang Song had no more relations with his former brother-in-law Zhang Wannian, even had disputes at the police station. Even if they had severed ties, how could they be closely seen together like that? Another thing is, the person in the passenger seat seems to be wearing glasses in the surveillance. I’m not sure if Zhang Song is short-sighted, as there were no glasses on his administrative detention photo. If he doesn’t wear glasses, I suspect someone else."

Mr. Zhao, always quick to speak, stared at Zhou Ning and asked:

"Who?"

Liu Yongxin seemed to be deep in thought, as if he had realized something. Zhou Ning did not beat around the bush this time, saying directly:

"Wang Kaitao, his height, body shape, and head circumference also match. Haven’t you noticed? Zhang Wannian, Wang Kaitao, and Zhang Song all have very similar builds."

Mr. Zhao blinked, disbelief on his face, and spread his hands in confusion:

"I can believe it if you say Zhang Song, with gambling and scraping for money, he could do anything, after all, because he’s a gambler! But Wang Kaitao? He graduated in nursing and only resigned because he was earning too little, he makes thirty or forty thousand easily, is it worth it?"

Liu Yongxin pushed Mr. Zhao, who quickly shut his mouth, while Sun Gaotie seemed eager.

"The boss must be right. Whether it’s Zhang Song or Wang Kaitao, just compare their DNA and that will settle it. It’s better than arguing here."

At that statement, everyone quieted down, looking at Zhou Ning and Xu Dayuan. After a moment of silence, Xu Dayuan took out his phone. Having a direction was better than waiting blindly after all; Zhang Song was still unaccounted for, so it was time to find and deal with one at a time. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"I’ll have someone bring in Wang Kaitao once more. Last time we were in a rush and failed to keep a blood sample and fingerprints. You guys start the system comparison, as for Zhang Song, after Yufei and the others arrived in Huining, I’m not sure what the procedure is, it seems they met Sun Nan, then went to check the surveillance in the place where Zhang Song appeared."

As he spoke, the call had already gone through. The city bureau had a lot of personnel invested, and Xu Dayuan was calling Zhang Ping. "Hello Zhang Ping, now contact Wang Kaitao for me. I remember he has two jobs in the afternoon that he runs, you should have that recorded, go and bring him directly to the city bureau for a blood sample."

"Okay, we’re near the central hospital, it’s just a short drive from there, sir, wait a moment, and I’ll call you when we have him."

With that order, it was clear what it meant. Understanding the urgency, Zhang Ping didn’t waste words and ended the call. Xu Dayuan then contacted Liu Yufei, and this time the call was longer; they had just landed.

Liu Yongxin moved closer to Zhou Ning and poked his arm.

"If Wang Kaitao is the murderer, and we already approached him once before, does that mean we startled the snake by hitting the grass?"

Zhou Ning let out a breath, of course, he was worried about this.

"It’s 2013 now. To take a train or plane, you need real-name registration. Even if he wants to quickly flee, it wouldn’t be without a trace. In fact, if he runs, it could be a good thing because as long as he’s on the run, he’s definitely the murderer."

Liu Yongxin nodded, agreeing with his student’s analysis. Just then, Xu Dayuan’s phone rang; it was Zhang Ping calling.

"Hello, any luck? Did you find Wang Kaitao?"

"Sir, Wang Kaitao has run off!"

....