Animal Detective

Chapter 267 Don’t take the usual path

Shen Xin never expected that his police dog support team would actually come in handy.

Speed ​​is of the essence. Considering Fan Lei's attempt to interfere with the police dogs' tracking by using disinfectant, Geng Ke sped off in the police car and quickly picked up Tiger Stripe and Dou Dou.

Using three dogs together should be effective.

By the time we were ready to set off, it was already getting dark.

But there's no way around it; I can't just leave work on time and try to catch up again when I start work at eight tomorrow.

It was Fan Lei's quilt again. Dou Dou and Odin smelled it very seriously, but Tiger Stripe was completely indifferent. He just sniffed it casually and then stuck out his tongue and yawned.

I followed them.

DouDou and Odin track people, and Tiger Stripe tracks them both; they'll never get lost.

The tiger striped man had barely let out a yawn when he sensed a murderous aura.

Without even looking up, Tiger Stripe was certain that Shen Xin had his eye on him.

He immediately came over and started sniffing the blankets.

【Hate】

"Hey!"

Shen Xin raised an eyebrow. "If you don't discipline someone for three days, they'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. You've been staying at the police dog base lately, and you need to be taught a lesson again."

DouDou barked and looked at Shen Xin; she was ready.

Shen Xin looked around.

Leaders like Zhang Hancheng naturally wouldn't follow along; they still had to direct and coordinate.

Fan Lei's suspicion has just been confirmed, and there is still a lot of investigation work to be done.

Geng Ke, Zhao Tianxing, and Zhao Tong followed.

They are all brand new, young cattle and horses.

It relies on dogs; sending too many people wouldn't make a difference.

Ding Yuwei wanted to go, but Shen Xin decisively refused.

Why bother climbing mountains and venturing into forests?

"Set off."

Shen Xin gave a shout, and the three dogs immediately ran out.

Let's start from the dormitory entrance.

Fan Lei has been gone for more than 30 hours, but the temperature has been relatively cool these past two days, so there is still hope.

High temperatures and abundant sunlight can destroy odor residue.

Odin was still walking in front.

With real combat experience, he became more and more experienced. Without Shen Xin's command, he would take the initiative to expand the search area to find the residual scents in the air that only they could smell.

Shen Xin and his three companions followed, flashlights in hand.

Despite the long time that has passed and the slow tracking speed, Shen Xin has not disrupted Odin and his team's work rhythm, even though there is only one road up the mountain.

The dead-end road ends at a small path leading up the mountain.

From here, all you can do is hike.

Judging from Fan Lei's movements, he was climbing up this path that people had trodden out.

The higher you go, the less obvious the road becomes.

Then various small trees began to grow densely, and Geng Ke walked in front, clearing the way with his baton.

After climbing halfway up the mountain, the four of them were already panting.

Zhao Tianxing, leaning against the sapling, said, "This old man really doesn't follow the usual path."

Shen Xin nodded in agreement.

Fan Lei's counter-surveillance awareness is really strong.

Zhao Tong then asked, "You tell me... how much does it cost to hire someone to kill someone in this day and age?"

Regarding the bank, they found a salary card under Fan Lei's name.

My savings amount to 1633 yuan and 8 mao.

The records included both small and large sums of money, all related to daily expenses, as well as transfer records with his wife, Yao Qian.

He worked as a laborer on the construction site. The wage for a worker was 180 yuan, which was paid every three months. He had received 800 yuan for living expenses since the Chinese New Year.

Yao Qian and Fan Shunxi also had little savings in their bank accounts, and no large transfers.

Zhang Hancheng and his colleagues speculated that Fan Lei probably received cash.

The current tasks are to search Fan Lei's home, interrogate Yao Qian and Fan Shunxi, and investigate Hu Yueqin's large withdrawals.

Geng Ke, who was clearing the way, said, "I feel like one million isn't enough."

Even if you have money, you have to be alive to enjoy it.

The cost of committing crimes is very high these days.

"One million?" Zhao Tianxing curled his lip and said, "It's more like several times that. Tell me, what can one million do? It can't even buy a house. Taking a life isn't worth it."

Shen Xin nodded in agreement.

Indeed, in this day and age, a million is simply not enough to cover expenses.

As the four were chatting, Odin suddenly sneezed and stopped in his tracks.

DouDou then sneezed as well.

The tabby barked once and immediately ran back.

Shen Xin quickly walked forward to check what was going on.

Odin and DouDou were a little restless.

The smell is off.

Odin sneezed again.

Shen shone his flashlight around and found nothing unusual.

But the smell is off?
Shen Xin shone the light on the ground and suddenly noticed some white powder on the decaying leaves.

It's probably because too much was sprinkled on it; it's quite obvious.

Shen Xin picked up some, rubbed it between his fingers, and smelled it. Then his nose itched, and he sneezed.

"Holy crap, pepper."

Shen shone his flashlight forward, and under the light, he could see sparse traces of powder scattered ahead.

"It really is."

Zhao Tianxing leaned closer and sniffed, then exclaimed in surprise, "This old man is something else! Last time he used bleach, this time he's just using pepper."

Shen Xin restrained Odin and the others, then frowned as he looked at the desolate mountains and forests.

Last time, Fan Lei used 84 disinfectant to mask his body odor with its pungent smell.

He was pouring out bottles by bottles, and there were residues, which is why Shen Xinwen saw them.

Now they've gone even further, sprinkling pepper powder along the way, which not only masks their own odor but also interferes with the police dogs.

"Zhao Tong, you keep an eye on Odin and the others."

Shen Xin gave a word of advice, then bent down and followed the trail of pepper powder upwards.

The dog can no longer be chased, but the pepper spray keeps falling, so people can continue chasing.

However, after walking a dozen meters, there was no trace of pepper powder anywhere.

Clearly, Fan Lei wasn't foolish enough to sprinkle pepper powder all the way; he probably sprinkled it at intervals. This way, even with people and police dogs searching together, it would be difficult to pinpoint his direction.

Zhao Tianxing said angrily, "This old man is something else."

They really have a knack for causing trouble for people.

Shen Xin had Zhao Tong bring Odin and the others over, and then, starting from a position where no one had been seen, they tried to chase after them.

Odin and his companions sniffed around and wandered about, but found nothing.

Using pepper to interfere is not just about masking your own smell, but also because this pungent odor irritates the dog's nasal mucosa and affects its sense of smell.

Their sense of smell is tens of thousands of times stronger than that of humans, but it is also very sensitive.

Shen Xin then tried to expand the search area in several directions, and several people went down to look for traces of pepper.

They did find traces of pepper, but there was no way to track it continuously.

Left with no other option, Shen Xin used a walkie-talkie to explain the situation to Zhang Hancheng.

Zhang Hancheng sighed softly on the other end of the walkie-talkie and told Shen Xin to return the way he came.

The four of them descended the mountain.

As expected, Zhang Hancheng had already begun arranging for people to conduct a large-scale screening of surveillance footage near Shitang Mountain.

Although it was only less than two days of surveillance footage, it was still no easy task.

Shen Xindu temporarily returned to the New District Branch to help review the video footage.

Yao Qian and Fan Shunxi were taken back to the branch office, where Liu Baoqing and his men interrogated them.

Shen Xin went over and took a look.

Yao Qian, weathered by wind and sun, had long, gray hair and looked very old.

When asked about Fan Lei's situation, she kept repeating the same answer: "I don't know."

The same applies to Fan Shunxi's side.

He wasn't very tall, had his hair dyed with a perm, wore earrings, and dressed in a punk style.

He went in and out of the police station many times without any fear, displaying an arrogant demeanor. He even slammed his fist on the table with the colleague who was interrogating him, yelling, "Fan Lei killed someone, go find Fan Lei, why are you looking for me?"

She was also cursing and swearing at her father.

It's clear that the father and son don't have a good relationship.

Fan Lei was arrested in 04 when he was 37 years old.

Fan Shunxi was 27 years old, which means that when Fan Lei went to prison, he was already a ten-year-old child.

They're old enough to understand things now.

Judging from their reactions alone, it seems they were unaware of what Fan Lei had done.

Kong Lingzhi also discussed this point with Zhang Hancheng.

It's possible that Fan Lei did this secretly, since it's a serious crime like murder, and it's normal not to tell his family.

Aside from his brother Fan Jun's family, Fan Lei has no other relatives.

Fan Jun also asked about it.

He works at the factory, and according to him, he hasn't contacted Fan Lei in the past six months except for the Chinese New Year.

He avoided the police's inquiries about Fan Lei, refusing to pay any attention.

"Let's find the person first," Kong Lingzhi said in a deep voice.

The most important thing now is to find the person.

With surveillance cameras everywhere in a single day, how could this person possibly grow wings and fly away?

Zhang Hancheng nodded slightly without saying anything.

The feedback we've received so far is quite strange.

For example, public transportation.

In 12, the national real-name system was implemented, and last year a pilot program was launched to allow entry to stations by scanning faces. Even if someone bought a fake ID card, they would not be able to enter the station.

The same applies to railways, airplanes, and highways.

Therefore, even if Fan Lei wanted to escape, his options were limited.

But the most important thing is that after leaving the dormitory yesterday, he just disappeared.

In the large conference room.

Shen Xin sat in front of the computer screen, scanning a road surveillance camera at 2x speed.

Considering that Fan Lei might be disguised, the key is his handbag.

The old-fashioned, most common type, handheld, gray-blue, I guess very few people carry those anymore.

After watching a video, Shen Xin stretched.

It's already past 2 a.m.

Ding Yuwei brought over a bucket of instant noodles, saying she had added extra ingredients.

Upon opening it, I found not only ham sausages and braised eggs, but also beef strips for Tiger and the others.

Shen Xin thanked him, ate, and then opened another video from a different angle to continue watching.

After taking a couple of bites, Shen Xin asked, "Where do you think he hid the money?"

They killed two people; that's worth at least a few million.

Millions of dollars in cash, very heavy, can't fit in a single suitcase.

If Fan Lei is going to run away, he'll definitely need to take cash with him.

How could he possibly cross mountains and valleys with so much cash on his back?

Unless the cash was already hidden somewhere else.

Ding Yuwei shook her head and continued watching the video in silence.

The entire new district branch, along with surrounding police stations and personnel from other branches, came to provide support.

The task force organized dozens of people to specifically review the video footage.

The monitoring coverage extends to all roads surrounding Shitangshan.

Actually, Shitang Mountain is located on the shore of Lihu Lake. It consists of several mountains running from north to south, stretching for about seven or eight kilometers from north to south and one or two kilometers from east to west, making it a small mountain range.

With so many people organized, there was still some efficiency.

After finishing his part, Shen Xin couldn't stay awake and dozed off for a while, but was later woken up by Ding Yuwei.

When I checked the time, it was already past five in the morning.

Looking around, he saw Zhang Hancheng, Liu Baoqing, and the others huddled together, discussing something nervously.

Shen Xin asked what was wrong.

Ding Yuwei said, "We've reviewed the surveillance footage, and we didn't find Fan Lei."

Shen Xin was taken aback.

That's strange. With so many surveillance cameras, even if there's a blind spot in one place, there will be surveillance in the next place. With such wide coverage, he's bound to find something as long as he passes by.

Ding Yuwei continued, "Now Zhang Zhi and the others are discussing whether to continue watching the surveillance footage. It's possible that Fan Lei left in a taxi in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras, which is why we didn't notice him."

After crossing the mountain, at a point on the highway without surveillance cameras, you can hail a taxi, sit in the back, and find that the cameras won't capture you, so you have no idea where you've gone.

"Then Captain Liu suggested that Fan Lei might be hiding on the mountain, so he didn't come down."

Shen Xin frowned. Hidden on the mountain?

How many days can they hide there? How will they manage to eat and drink?

(End of this chapter)