red moscow

Chapter 2594

The fake captain recognized the man, but at the same time he had a misunderstanding. He thought he had beaten the man and asked him to call the police, and then the police would come to arrest him. So he said unconvincedly: "Yes, I beat you a few days ago. But wasn't I drunk? If you feel unconvinced, we can have a fair fight. There is no need to call the police for this matter."

"Okay, stop pretending." The director of the bureau interrupted the fake captain and said impatiently: "If it was really a small matter like a fight, do you think we would come to arrest you with a big fanfare? Tell me the truth, how many accomplices do you have, and where are they all?"

Hearing the question from the director of the bureau, the fake captain's eyes flashed with panic, then he stiffened his neck and said arrogantly: "I don't have any accomplices, I live alone."

"You're talking nonsense." As soon as the fake captain finished speaking, the man jumped out to refute him: "Why did you beat me up that day and smash my bicycle? It was because my son had a conflict with your son."

"I don't have a son. You must be mistaken." The fake captain said casually, "He was just an ordinary child who was bullied by a group of older kids. I couldn't stand it, so I came out to stop them."

When the fake captain's eyes flashed with panic, Sokov had already seen it. He said to the director of the bureau office: "Comrade Director, ask the landlord who rented the house to him whether he lives here alone or with his family."

"Comrade General, the landlord will come out soon, and then we will be able to get to the bottom of this matter."

As soon as the director of the bureau finished speaking, an old lady was brought out by the police. As she walked out, she answered in a panic, "I just rented the house to him, but I really don't know what he did. Please, don't arrest me, please don't arrest me."

When the old lady was brought to him, Sokov comforted her and said, "Don't worry, old lady. We just want to ask you a few questions."

Seeing that Sokov was in plain clothes and very young, the old lady ignored him and turned her gaze to the director of the bureau office next to her: "Comrade police officer, what I said is true. I just rented the house to him. I don't know what he did specifically."

"Old man, we have a few questions for you, and we hope you can answer us truthfully."

The old lady nodded vigorously and replied hurriedly, "Ask, officer."

"When did he move in?"

"In late November." The old lady tried her best to defend herself: "When he moved in, he said that his military allowance had not been paid yet, so he hoped that I could collect his rent after a while."

"You agree?"

"Of course, I thought he was a soldier and would not lie to me." The old lady said, "And he didn't come alone."

The director of the bureau turned his head and looked at Sokov. They happened to meet each other's eyes and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. They brought the landlord here just to find out whether the fake captain lived here alone or with others. Unexpectedly, before he had time to ask, the old lady told him first.

"Old man," the director of the bureau continued to ask, "who else lives with him?"

"His wife and son."

Upon learning that the fake captain had a wife and children, the director of the bureau was stunned and asked, "Where are they now?"

The old lady glanced at the fake captain who was being held captive by the police and said cautiously, "Her wife works in a coffee shop in town, and her son should be in school."

"Do you know which coffee shop it is?"

"Yes, of course I know." The old lady took the initiative to say, "I can take you to find her."

The director of the bureau called a policeman and told him, "Follow this old man to the coffee shop and bring the captain's wife to the police duty station."

"Where is the child?" the police officer asked.

"Don't worry about the child. I will arrange it."

Not long after the police followed the old lady out, the police officers who were searching the house came out with two suitcases and said to the director of the bureau with some excitement: "Comrade Director, look at what we found?"

Sokov looked into the open box and found that there was no radio or anything like that inside, only things like silver candlesticks, silver cutlery, and some gold and silver jewelry.

Just as he was still wondering, he heard the director of the bureau sneer and say, "I never thought you were a thief. Come back with us now and tell us the truth about what you have done."

When the police were escorting the fake captain back, the director of the bureau said to Bakanidze: "Comrade Bakanidze, we have caught the person we wanted to arrest. You militia can withdraw now."

Sokov was worried that Bakanidze would not have a car to go back, so he offered, "I'll take you back."

"No thanks." But Bakanidze guessed that Sokov might want to participate in the interrogation of the fake captain. In order to prevent him from running back and forth, he declined his kindness: "I will take the militia company's truck back, and you stay here to participate in the interrogation of this fake captain."

"Comrade Director," Sokov asked curiously as he saw his father-in-law off and walked towards the police duty point with the director of the bureau office, "How do you know that the fake captain is a thief?"

"Comrade General, didn't you see what was in the suitcase?"

"I saw it."

"Those silver candlesticks, silver tableware, and gold and silver jewelry are obviously not what this captain should own." The director of the bureau replied briefly: "Based on my many years of experience in handling cases, these things must have been stolen. The specific details can only be clarified after we interrogate him."

Ten minutes later, in the interrogation room of the police duty point, Sokov, the director of the bureau and the police chief began to interrogate the fake captain.

"Tell me," the sheriff pointed to the suitcase on the ground, "where did all this stuff come from?"

"Mine."

The sheriff sneered and said, "I heard from the landlord that you can't even pay the rent, how can you own so many valuable things?" The fake captain was silent for a long time, and finally began to speak: "I am a soldier. Even if I own these things, I can't just take them out and sell them, otherwise it will affect my reputation."

"Hahaha." The sheriff laughed a few times after hearing this and said in a disdainful tone, "A thief is actually worried about his reputation being affected. You said you are a soldier, then show me your military ID."

"I don't have a military ID," the fake captain said hesitantly, "and it was stolen while I was on the train."

"Well, even if you don't have a military ID, you can at least tell me which unit you're from, right?" The sheriff looked at the fake captain and continued, "I can call your unit and find out about your situation."

"I'm from the 53rd Army Group," the fake captain said unexpectedly, "I'm from the Army Group Guards, and my responsibility is to protect the safety of the headquarters."

Sokov just picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. When he heard the fake captain's unit number, the water in his mouth immediately sprayed out.

He put down his teacup, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then asked, "You said you were from the 53rd Army Group. When did you join the guard unit of the Army Group Headquarters?"

"I was transferred from the 3rd Belorussian Front in July this year."

If the fake captain said he was from another unit, Sokov really couldn't get a word in. He didn't expect the other party to pretend to be a guard unit directly under the 53rd Army Headquarters. You know, he basically knows all the lieutenants in the guard unit, but he has never seen this person.

"Since you said you joined the 53rd Army in July this year, and you were a member of the headquarters guard unit, let me ask you," Sokov asked coldly, "Before the August Storm began, who was the commander of the 53rd Army, and who were the deputy commander and chief of staff?"

Sokov's series of questions stumped the fake captain. He hesitated for a long time but couldn't explain the reason.

Sokov slapped his hand hard on the table and said angrily: "To tell you the truth, I was the commander of the 53rd Army before the August Storm Campaign began. As an officer in the guard unit of the army headquarters, it is impossible that you don't even know me."

"I know you," the fake captain said in a panic, "Comrade Commander, you were in plain clothes, I just didn't recognize you at first."

Sokov laughed in anger: "Then tell me, what's my name? I was wearing civilian clothes, so it's understandable that you didn't recognize me. But as an officer of the headquarters guard troop, it's impossible that you don't even know the commander's name? In the 53rd Army, not to mention a member of the headquarters guard troop, even every soldier in the subordinate divisions knows my name."

Sokov's words completely silenced the fake captain.

Since the commander of the 53rd Army was sitting in front of him, it was obviously impossible for him to pretend to be a member of the headquarters' guard force.

"Now, you can tell me your problem honestly," the sheriff said sternly, "If you continue to resist, I don't mind taking some severe measures."

Unexpectedly, as soon as the sheriff's words came out, the fake captain panicked: "No, I'll tell you, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Where did you get that military uniform?" the sheriff asked.

"Stealed."

"On the train," the fake captain replied, "I was on the train from Moscow back to Nizhny Novgorod when I met a captain from the 53rd Army. I stole his uniform by the window while he was sleeping."

"Is there a military ID in the uniform?"

"Yes," the fake captain said, "but I was afraid of being exposed, so I came out of the box, opened the window in the corridor, and threw the torn military ID out."

"I heard from the landlord that you have a wife and son. What's going on?"

"Actually, they were not my wife and son," the fake captain said. Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of the people in front of him, he continued, "Victoria is the person the landlord thought was my wife. I met her on the train. At that time, I saw her with a child, sitting in the hard seat compartment. I thought that if I could establish a relationship with her, it would be helpful for my future actions..."

"What help?" the sheriff asked sternly.

"Of course it's to provide cover." The fake captain shrugged his shoulders and continued, "You know, if there are women and children around, it will be easier for me to steal, and it will not easily arouse suspicion from others."

"You took the initiative to chat with Victoria, didn't she doubt your identity?"

"No." The fake captain shook his head and said, "After all, the war had just ended not long ago, and women have an inexplicable liking for men in military uniforms. In addition, I was wearing a captain's uniform with a medal on my chest, which made her have no doubts about my identity. After arriving in Nizhny Novgorod, she got off the car with me."

When Sokov realized that the fake captain in front of him was actually a thief, he couldn't help but become interested. He was eager to know how the other party stole, and couldn't help asking: "Are you from Nizhny Novgorod?"

"No." The fake captain shook his head and replied, "I am from Smolensk. After the war broke out, I was evacuated to Nizhny Novgorod with my parents. Later, they died of illness one after another, leaving me alone, and I began my career as a thief. Unfortunately, I was arrested by the relevant authorities in early 42, and then sentenced to three years in prison and sent to Siberia for reform. When I met Victoria on the train, it was not long after I was released from prison."

"So that's how it is." The sheriff continued to ask, "Then how did you steal after you were released?"

"I've just said that having a woman and a child around, who look like a family of three, can lower other people's vigilance." The fake captain said, "What I usually do is to find a place that looks good, rent a house, and move in with Victoria and her son. Then I usually get along well with the neighbors and learn about their family situations through conversations. If possible, I will also find an excuse to enter their homes and see where their valuables are kept."

Sokov didn't expect that the fake captain would be so creative in his scouting of the locations of his thefts, so he asked again: "Have your neighbors never had any doubts about you?"

"No." The fake captain said confidently: "My military uniform is the best amulet for me. When those people see that the person they are dealing with is an officer wearing medals, they will naturally not be wary at all, and they may even take the initiative to invite me to their homes. In this way, I can more easily understand their family situation."

"Even if you know the situation of someone's home, it's probably not an easy thing to break in and steal." The director of the bureau, who had been silent, asked at this moment: "Tell us, how did you succeed in breaking into the house and stealing?"

"Yes." Hearing the director of the bureau's office ask this question, the police chief also agreed: "Tell me the truth about how you committed the burglary."

"It's actually very simple." The fake captain said with a relaxed expression, "It's very easy to get into their house. I just need to find a way to get them out of the way, and then I can implement my plan."