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

Chapter 183 This is what you call a surprise.

January 14th, 6:00 AM.

Before dawn, He Jinbo got up very early. He had no choice but to get up, as the county bureau compound was bustling with activity because of this family annihilation case.

Director Wan Feng also stayed up all night, wishing he could blow the bugle in the yard and wake up all the old folks.

It's no wonder Wan Feng is anxious. Three days have passed since the massacre, and this is the fourth day. Apart from a sketch drawn by Yang Jinwen, there are still no clues.

What we fear most is random crime, that is, crime committed while on the move.

The director of the fertilizer plant's office and his family were murdered. The perpetrators were extremely cunning, vicious, and had strong counter-surveillance capabilities. They must have already fled Lingmeng County. Where can we find them?

Yesterday, the county bureau, together with the local police stations, public security brigade, and patrol brigade, checked the migrant population from those days, but they couldn't find a woman who matched the sketch.

In addition, people from the provincial department and Yuncheng will also be coming.

This made Wan Feng and other county bureau leaders even more anxious.

Wan Feng is a man of action. Normally, he would have the logistics staff start mopping, cleaning, and wiping tables early in the morning, but today, he was in no mood for it at all.

As He Jinbo passed by him, he saw him staring at the dormitory building of the old guard and greeted him, "Good morning, Director Wan."

"Team Leader He."

He Jinbo yawned and said, "Team Leader Zhang and the others didn't get back until after 3 a.m., and they've only slept for less than three hours. Let them sleep a little longer."

Wan Feng sighed: "Captain He, how do you think we should solve this case? It's been dragging on in Yuncheng for a year and a half, and we still haven't been able to identify the perpetrator. The pressure on our county bureau is immense."

He Jinbo expressed his understanding, saying, "Then let's shout it out! Find a loudspeaker, yell a couple of times, it'll work."

After saying that, He Jinbo slipped away to the cafeteria, where Wen Mo, Wen Ling, and the city bureau's trace evidence team were already having breakfast.

Upon seeing He Jinbo, Wen Ling glanced behind him twice.

"Captain He, where are Cat and the others?"

Wen Ling turned a corner and asked Yang Jinwen, but she didn't really care about the cat.

“I contacted them last night and they said they went to Shuanglong Township.”

Wen Mo was drinking his porridge when he looked up and asked, "Investigate that nylon belt?"

"Yes."

He Jinbo answered, then quickly walked two steps to the window, got a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns, and hurriedly sat back down to continue the previous topic.

"Director Wen, I think the lead Yang Jinwen is investigating has potential."

Yesterday I went to the fertilizer plant and checked around. They didn't have 1.5cm white nylon tape with a herringbone pattern. All they had were those yellow, very thin and narrow woven packaging tapes.

Furthermore, I went to the apartment building, from the first to the fifth floor, and entered every household's home. None of them had this herringbone patterned nylon strap. Therefore, it's highly likely that the nylon strap was brought by the murderer.

Regarding physical evidence, Song Jun, the captain of the trace evidence team, has a lot to say. He said, "Even so, what if the murderer just stole this nylon belt from somewhere? Where would we even begin to investigate?"

Wen Mo shook his head: "Even if it was stolen, it can still reveal the activity range of several murderers, but it also depends on luck."

Wen Ling lowered her head and muttered, "There will definitely be luck. They will catch these murderers. Wang Yu and He Xiao are too young."

As the group was chatting, Wan Feng's voice suddenly rang out from the loudspeaker in the courtyard outside.

"Detectives, get up! Get up! The case isn't solved yet, how can you sleep?! Hurry up, don't make me go upstairs!"

He Jinbo raised an eyebrow as he ate his porridge.

Not long after, a group of criminal police officers walked into the canteen looking dejected.

Besides the golden period for solving murder cases, another very important reason is the amount of energy required.

This is similar to marching and fighting a war. On the first day, the old men saw the crime scene. Their desire to uphold justice was stronger than anyone else's. They were full of fighting spirit and fervent patriotism, determined to catch the murderer.

The next day, after staying up for a whole day and night, I had faith in my heart and was able to persevere.

By the third day, due to long hours of high-intensity work, I couldn't eat or sleep well, and my head was spinning.

By the fourth day, people were exhausted. It wasn't that they didn't want to solve the case, but their energy and stamina were simply not up to par.

This went on for a week or two, leaving the person in a state of exhaustion, and the case remained unsolved.

In the process of solving a case, in addition to having a strong sense of conviction, one must also gain something in order to create a positive feedback loop.

This is the fourth day since the incident. Apart from having a vague understanding of the situation of the criminals, we have gained nothing else, and our fighting spirit is slowly being worn down.

Wan Feng was well aware of this; otherwise, he wouldn't have used a loudspeaker to call people.

With dark circles under his eyes and a bowl of rice in hand, Zhang Yong approached He Jinbo.

"Director Wen, Captain He, I suspect this group must have a means of transportation and is committing crimes while moving around."

The security team and patrols searched for two days but couldn't find a female suspect matching their description. We also inquired at the train and bus stations, but still couldn't find any trace of the gang of criminals.

Wen Mo nodded: "I've thought about that too. Lingmeng County is such a small place. If it's an outsider who committed the crime, it's impossible not to leave some clues."

Humans need to eat, smoke, drink, use the toilet, or find shelter, but after three days of investigation, we haven't found any suspicious individuals.

So this group must have a car. They drove up, a few people stayed in the car, and the woman went to scout out the area.

After assessing the situation at the home, the other perpetrators got out of the car, broke into the victim's house, committed the crime, and then fled the scene, without lingering in Lingmeng County.

He Jinbo said, "Then let's find a car. Captain Zhang, today we'll conduct a search around the fertilizer plant's residential area, starting with license plates from other cities or provinces." Zhang Yong nodded, "Okay."

Wen Mo waved his hand: "Don't rush, the people from the provincial department and Yuncheng will be here soon. We need to have a meeting first and set up a special task force."

Then, compare the two family annihilation cases in Yuncheng and Lingmeng County to see if any clues can be found.

At this moment, Wen Ling said, "Yang Jinwen said in the meeting yesterday that if we can find the first case committed by this gang of criminals, they may have left a lot of clues when they committed the crime."

Wen Mo replied, "I've called every province and city in the surrounding area, but I haven't found any similar cases."

"Once the expert team from the provincial department arrives, we can ask the comrades from the ministries; they have more knowledge of the cases and might make some discoveries."

While everyone was talking, Zhang Yong lowered his head and fell asleep; he was just too tired.

He Jinbo could still smell the sour smell and the smell of smoke on him, probably because he hadn't showered for several days and was using smoking to stay awake.

He Jinbo asked, "Director Wen, which expert has come? Do I know him?"

"You should have met him before, Comrade Shao Jianfeng, the director of the First Investigation Division of the Qin Province Public Security Bureau."

He was supposed to lead the team in the last case of the arson and murder at the guesthouse, but the case was solved later.

He Jinbo clicked his tongue and said, "Shao Jianfeng, I remember he came to our An'nan City to give a lecture a few years ago."

The lecture was given in the city bureau's auditorium, and it covered criminal investigation. All the captains and deputy captains from the three districts and six counties were present; the hall was packed. The lecture was very engaging.

At this moment, Zhang Yong opened his eyes: "I've also listened to it. It's really impressive. He also talked about criminal psychology, criminal behavior, and reconstructing crime scenes."

He Jinbo laughed and said, "You're amazing, I've never even heard of these words before."

Wen Ling interrupted their conversation: "Yang Jinwen and the others have been out all night and haven't come back yet. Captain He, why don't you give him a call?"

He Jinbo shrugged: "He used my old mobile phone."

Wen Mo said, "Don't worry, he'll call back if anything happens."

Wen Ling pouted: "You don't care about other people at all."

Wen Mo frowned, about to lecture her, when a cadre from the county bureau climbed into the canteen and said, "Director Wen, Captain He, Captain Zhang, people from the provincial department have arrived."

"Okay." Wen Mo put down his chopsticks and prepared to take the bowl back to the window.

Wen Ling waved her hand: "You go ahead, I'll take care of the tidying up."

He Jinbo smiled and said, "Wen Ling, I'm counting on you."

The group went to the front yard and happened to see Shao Jianfeng and his group getting out of the car.

In terms of position, Wen Mo, the deputy director of the municipal bureau, and Wan Feng, the director of the county bureau, are all at the same level as Shao Jianfeng, namely deputy division chief.

However, Wen Mo and Wan Feng hold official positions and are leaders with real power, so they are naturally half a rank higher.

"Director Wen, Director Wan, hello there."

Wan Feng took his hand and greeted him warmly, "Director Shao, it's great that you can come. We've been waiting for you to solve this case. We're really at our wits' end and have no idea what to do."

Normally, Wan Feng would have extremely high emotional intelligence, but at this critical juncture, he also said the wrong thing.

Wen Mo and He Jinbo, who were standing to one side, visibly became serious.

After all, the city's major crime squad had been there for three days but hadn't found a single clue, so Wan Feng could only rely on the expert team from the provincial department.

If this case cannot be solved, it will be a sore spot for the Lingmeng County Public Security Bureau and a deep-seated resentment for Wan Feng.

Shao Jianfeng was in his fifties. He was a very upright man with a strong presence, and it was obvious that he came from the provincial capital.

He said in a friendly manner, "I have already reviewed the case file of the Yuncheng case. By cross-referencing it with your new murder case, I have found a few breakthroughs. It shouldn't be difficult to solve."

Wan Feng nodded: "That's great."

Shao Jianfeng looked at Wen Mo: "Director Wen, I wanted to come to An'nan City last month, but I didn't have the chance."

The case you solved—the arson and murder at the guesthouse—was handled brilliantly; I never imagined it was a case within a case.

When I was reviewing the case file, I saw that the person who deserved the most credit for solving this case was a comrade named Yang Jinwen.

Wen Mo smiled and nodded: "Yes, it's him."

"Where is he? I remember he led the investigation of several cases in An'nan City. That comrade is amazing. By the way, where is Comrade Yang Jinwen? I haven't seen him."

He carried an air of arrogance, and when he said this, his tone carried a hint of doubt.

Just as Wen Mo was about to answer, he suddenly heard a car horn sound outside the county bureau gate.

When everyone looked over, they saw three cars parked outside the gate, waiting for the gatekeeper to open it. The cars and tires were covered in mud.

Yao Weihua was the first to get out of the car and rushed forward, asking in bewilderment, "Director Wen, Captain He, what's wrong? Do you know we've arrested someone? I don't recall Captain Yang calling you."

He Jinbo looked completely bewildered: "What did you say?"

"The person has been caught."

"Who is it? Which case?"

Yao Weihua looked at him with disdain: "A family annihilation case, what other case could it be? I stayed up all night without closing my eyes."

(End of this chapter)