You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 178 Are you kidding me?
There are only a few hardware stores in Lingmeng County, clustered together.

Yang Jinwen asked several shops, showing them photos of the nylon tape taken separately, and asked the owners to identify it, but to no avail.

The store does have nylon straps, but they don't meet the 1.5cm width requirement; most are 3cm.

"What are nylon straps of this width typically used for?"

The shop owner glanced at the Zhonghua cigarettes Yang Jinwen offered, took them, and smiled: "We usually sell them to construction sites. They use them to carry bricks or to tie up things."

"Picking bricks?"

"Yes."

The boss looked around but didn't see anything that matched his description.

The cat suddenly realized, "I understand, it's like that..."

As he gestured, he said, "Captain Yang, have you ever seen those bamboo baskets from the countryside, the kind that are carried on a shoulder pole?"

Yang Jinwen nodded: "I saw it when I went back to the countryside half a year ago. They used it to carry rice."

The boss, smoking a good cigarette, seemed very enthusiastic and immediately took control of the conversation: "They buy nylon straps, which are threaded through bamboo baskets and then carried on their shoulders with a carrying pole."

"Whether it's carrying bricks on a construction site, or carrying rice as this comrade mentioned, these nylon straps are used."

Cat felt his voice stolen, glared at the boss, and really wanted to snatch the half-smoked Zhonghua cigarette from him.

"What about the length?" Yang Jinwen asked. "Isn't a two-meter nylon strap too long to go through the bamboo basket and then carry it on your shoulder with a carrying pole?"

The boss nodded: "We don't need two meters, a little over one meter will do."

Cat immediately said, "They have this in the basket too."

He pointed down the steps and saw a middle-aged woman in the opposite vegetable market carrying a basket for selling vegetables on her back. The shoulder straps on her shoulders were made of nylon.

The cat was very excited: "Look, it's 1.5 meters wide, isn't it? Xiao Qi, tell me, isn't it?"

Qi Bin sighed: "Then the sources are wide-ranging. Every household in the county has a bamboo basket. How can we investigate? Besides, the shoulder straps of the bamboo basket aren't that long, only about a meter. And the nylon straps are white. If it's for working, would you buy white ones?"

Yang Jinwen shook his head: "It's hard to say whether those people bought this nylon strap or if they just took it from somewhere."

Because the boss was present, Yang Jinwen spoke very vaguely.

But the other party immediately asked, "Are you investigating the family annihilation case at the fertilizer plant?"

Qi Bin frowned: "No, how come you..."

The boss said, "Those damned murderers! These people deserve to die! The whole county knows about this. How could the county not know?"

The boss sighed, took out a pack of Wuniu brand cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one to Yang Jinwen.

"Here, have a smoke of mine. I urge you police officers to catch the murderer. I heard there were two girls dead inside the house. You must catch these people and execute them. Those bastards are inhuman!"

Yang Jinwen waved his hand, but the boss insisted on giving it to him, so he had no choice but to accept it.

The three returned to the car, and Maozi said, "Captain Yang, the hardware store in Lingmeng County doesn't sell 1.5cm wide nylon straps, so we can't trace the source."

Qi Bin said, "I think I still have to go to the construction site. Didn't Team Leader Yang say that the nylon tape has powder from red bricks on it?"

“Besides construction sites, it’s all self-built houses.” Yang Jinwen got into the car: “Let’s rule out construction sites first. If we can’t find anything similar, then it’s something used when building houses in rural areas.”

As for where these 1.5cm wide nylon straps came from, I suspect they either came from Annam City or the neighboring Dayang City; the source is indeed difficult to trace.

There are three construction sites under construction in Lingmeng County.

Yang Jinwen, Maozi, and Qi Bin visited two construction sites, but the other party used 3cm wide or wider nylon straps to hoist things or suspend goods.

In addition, docks also use this kind of thing to secure cargo, etc.

However, Lingmeng County has no dock at all, so this option is excluded.

At noon, Yang Jinwen and his group had a simple meal. Because they had only slept for two or three hours the night before, they couldn't stay awake any longer and could only rest in the car for an hour.

After waking up, they set off for the last construction site.

This construction site is on the outskirts of the county town, and they are preparing to build the Civil Affairs Bureau building.

The construction site was chaotic. The workers didn't even have safety helmets, and there was very little heavy machinery. However, instead of carrying bamboo baskets, the workers used small carts to move the bricks.

Small carts are the most common cargo-carrying tools on construction sites. They can hold anything and do not require manual labor to carry the load.

Yang Jinwen and his two companions walked around the construction site but found nothing.

It was already 5 p.m., so they had no choice but to head back home.

This case is very different from the cases that Yang Jinwen solved before.

Because what they are doing now is the process of elimination, just like solving a math problem. There are four options, A, B, C, and D, and one of them is always correct.

If you don't know how to solve a problem, try to eliminate answers that you think are wrong.

But there are also some very clever murderers who will give you a wrong answer, so no matter which option you choose, you will be wrong.

In this family annihilation case in Lingmeng County, the perpetrator cleaned up the crime scene, wore work gloves during the crime, and may have even brought the condoms himself.

Without a doubt, their intention was to interfere with the judgment of the criminal police. To be able to calmly handle the scene after killing someone requires a level of mental fortitude that only a seasoned professional possesses.

When they returned to the county criminal investigation team, He Jinbo and his team had already come back.

Upon seeing Yang Jinwen, the three men looked excited.

Cat raised an eyebrow: "Master, have you found a clue?"

He Jinbo nodded: "These criminals did indeed scout the area. Some residents in the family building reported that around 5 p.m. on the 10th, a female salesperson came to their door to sell dishwashing liquid."

Qi Bin asked, "We asked those residents yesterday, but they didn't mention this."

Yao Weihua raised his chin: "You'll know once you go and see the person." Yang Jinwen asked: "Did you bring the person back?"

He Jinbo nodded: "We've been waiting for you. I remember the burglary and murder case we solved in the north of the city. We solved the case based on your sketch. This time, we'll have to rely on you too."

Yang Jinwen followed He Jinbo toward the criminal investigation team's office, asking as he went, "Which room is the resident of?"

"202, and 104."

Yang Jinwen immediately sensed something was wrong: "Are they all on the third floor or below? Have we asked the residents on the third floor or above?"

He Jinbo nodded: "We asked everyone, even the factory manager's wife, and they all said they had never seen anyone come to our door to sell."

"That means the woman didn't go upstairs. She used the excuse of selling to scout out the place and then targeted 301, Li Xiumei's family."

"should be."

As they were talking, they arrived at the county criminal investigation team's office.

The criminal police team in Lingmeng County was even more rudimentary than that in the north of the city, located on the first floor.

Upon entering the reception room, Yang Jinwen was dumbfounded to see the two people sitting inside.

Inside, a boy who looked like an elementary school student was sitting to one side, accompanied by his parents.

In addition, there was a boy who looked like a junior high school student, also accompanied by his parents, sitting on the other side.

Yang Jinwen swallowed hard: "Could it be..."

Yao Weihua patted him on the shoulder: "That's right, just like you think, which is why we didn't get any witnesses when the incident happened yesterday."

Yang Jinwen let out a breath, asked Maozi to find some sketch paper, and then said, "I'll draw two, so I don't mix them up."

Next, based on the junior high school student's description, Yang Jinwen drew a portrait of a woman.

When asked his age, the young man replied, "The same age as my mother."

What year was your mother born?

"Uh……"

"What about height?"

"A little shorter than my mom."

Yang Jinwen nodded and had no choice but to draw it according to his description. When he showed it to the young man, the young man nodded and said, "That's about it."

Yang Jinwen asked, "How similar?"

"Seven or eight points."

"it is good."

Next, Yang Jinwen found a primary school student, and after checking his age, he felt that he probably couldn't judge the woman's age and height, so he asked questions about her appearance.

His parents, sitting next to him, were even more nervous than he was, and they kept bothering him. His mother sighed repeatedly.

"It's all your fault. You don't earn much money, yet you're always ordering people around at home, and you always make Tiger open the door for you."

Wang Jian and his family of three died a terrible death, and even He Xiao from the staff dormitory was killed..."

The man sighed, "Luckily, I don't earn much money, otherwise my whole family would have been killed."

The woman's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "Yes, yes, safety is more important than anything else. No matter what, we can't live in that building anymore. All the cadres on the third floor and above moved out overnight."

"Hmm, let me think of a way."

Yang Jinwen looked at them and said, "You can go over there and chat."

The couple exchanged a glance and then fell silent.

The elementary school student named Hu Zi didn't describe it very clearly. He went to the toilet twice and ate the apples, biscuits, and White Rabbit milk candies that his mother had brought with her. Yang Jinwen drew for two hours, stumbling and bumping along the way.

He Jinbo and the others stood to the side, eagerly waiting, holding the sketch described by the junior high school student in their hands, comparing it from time to time.

The more He Jinbo compared them, the more something seemed off: "This doesn't look like it at all."

“Yes, it just doesn’t look like it.” Yang Jinwen stood up and handed him the completed sketch: “It doesn’t look like it to me either.”

Cat tilted its head: "This woman looks familiar. I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

Qi Bin said, "Yes, I feel the same way."

Yang Jinwen looked at Hu Zi's chubby face; the boy's eyes were watery.

He Jinbo scratched the back of his head: "Which sketch is correct?"

Seeing that they were still hesitating, Yang Jinwen sighed: "Haven't you seen Calabash Brothers? This is the snake demon from the cartoon! Only the hair is different, but the chin is pointed and the eyes are snake-like, exactly the same."

The cat nodded: "I knew it!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and He Jinbo glared at Hu Zi: "You little brat, all you know is eating..."

At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed in the reception room. Wen Mo, carrying a briefcase, strode across the corridor.

Upon seeing He Jinbo and the others, Wen Mo, with a solemn and unsmiling expression, called out, "Let's start the meeting immediately."

He Jinbo was adept at reading people's expressions, and he could tell something was wrong as soon as he saw Wen Mo's expression.

"Director Wen, what's wrong?"

Wen Mo glanced at him and replied, "There's a similar case of a family being wiped out in another province."

(End of this chapter)