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

Chapter 341 Accident!

The park on Xiangyuan Road belongs to the Municipal Bureau of Parks and Gardens, so the dormitory building in front of us belongs to the Bureau. It is a five-story, single-sided, square building.

Before the arrest, the Third Brigade had already learned that Kou Tao lived in room 403. He had been on the night shift the previous night and was resting in his dormitory at the moment.

Just in case, Gao Jie had a few people block the two exits on the upper and lower floors, which were the left and right stairwells, while the others went straight to the fourth floor from the left.

When they reached the fourth floor, they bumped into two middle-aged women carrying laundry basins.

Gu Jun stepped forward and asked, "Comrade, may I ask which room Kou Tao, an employee of the Parks and Gardens Bureau, lives in?"

"Kou Tao from our workplace?"

Gao Jie frowned: "Are there any other people named Kou Tao in this building?"

The other person nodded: "Yes, one is younger and the other is older."

Gao Jie opened his briefcase and took out a photo of Kou Tao from the 711 case.

"We're looking for Kou Tao from the Parks and Forestry Bureau. He's 28 years old. Is that him?"

“That’s someone from our unit; he lives in room 403.”

"Is he in the dorm?" Just in case, Gao Jie asked again.

"They came back this morning, they should be sleeping."

"Is he the only one in the dorm?"

“We all live together as a couple, but Xiao Zhu, who lives with him, should be working the day shift today.”

Where can I get the key to room 403?

Two middle-aged women looked at him warily: "Who are you...?"

Feng Xiaocai pulled out his identification: "Municipal Public Security Bureau."

"This……"

"Don't be afraid, we just want to find out what's going on with Kou Tao."

"I...I have a key in my house, I'll go get it for you."

A woman walked back, and Feng Xiaocai followed her into the house.

Gao Jie looked at the other woman and asked, "Excuse me again, who is this older Kou Tao you mentioned? Which organization does he work for?"

“The fifth floor of our dormitory building has been vacant for over a year. It was rented to the Petroleum Bureau, and their employees also live in the building.”

Is he in the dorm?

"He must have gone to work."

"Okay, excuse me."

Gao Jie thanked them, and when he looked up again, the team members had already surrounded the room at the end of the corridor, which was room 403.

The room on the floor where Gao Jie went up is 418, which means there are 18 dorm rooms on one floor.

To his left were rows of rooms, and to his right was a 1.5-meter-high stone railing with openwork at the bottom.

Gao Jie took the briefcase from under his arm, unzipped it, took out his sidearm, and snapped the hammer.

When he arrived at the door, he nodded to Gu Jun.

Feng Xiaocai hurriedly came out of the room next door. Just as she was about to come over, she whispered to the woman inside, "Stay inside and don't come out yet."

The woman had no choice but to pull her head back, and another woman in the corridor hurriedly ran back to the same dormitory room.

Gu Jun took the key from Feng Xiaocai's hand. The door had an embedded round lock that could be locked as soon as the door was closed.

Because he didn't know if there was a chain behind the door, Gu Jun inserted the key very gently.

With a gentle turn of the key, the door opened.

Gu Jun pushed again, and the door opened a crack about an inch wide.

Immediately afterwards, the door was pushed open completely, and Gao Jie and Gu Jun rushed in first.

There were two bunk beds in the room, both next to the innermost one.

There was no one in the two lower bunks. When they looked up, they saw someone in the upper bunk turn over and get up, seemingly still half asleep.

"Little Zhu?"

He called out, opened his eyes, and saw a large group of people standing in the room. He became fully awake.

"Come down!"

"Kou Tao!"

"Raise your hands, and don't move anything else!"

Before Kou Tao could fully react, he was pulled down, several hands pressed down on his shoulders and head, and his hands were twisted behind his back.

"who are you?"

Why are you looking for me?

Gao Jie saw Gu Jun and the others put handcuffs on him, then squatted down and stared at his face.

Do you recognize me?

"You...you are..." Kou Tao's eyes widened: "You're the police?"

Gao Jie nodded: "You still recognize us, so you know why we're here! Confess honestly!"

"What should I confess? I didn't do anything!" Kou Tao swallowed hard, his expression extremely tense.

Gu Jun slapped him on the back of the head.

"You didn't do anything? If you didn't do anything, we wouldn't be looking for you! Are you going to explain or not?"

Kou Tao shook his head vigorously: "I really don't know anything!"

Gao Jie stared intently into his eyes: "I'm asking you, where were you on the night of June 9th?"

"It was just a few days ago, I was in my dorm."

What about after 8 PM?

"I told you I was in the dorm."

Where are you after 10 PM?

When asked this question, Kou Tao's expression hardened, and he then avoided Gao Jie's gaze.

"I've been staying in the dorm the whole time." "Is there anyone who can vouch for you being in the dorm?"

“I am telling the truth, I am not lying.”

"So, no one can prove it? Right?"

Kou Tao's face turned pale, and he asked tremblingly, "No, what exactly do you want to ask?"

Did you appear on Sihai Street after 6 PM on June 9th?

Kou Tao changed the subject: "My legs are numb!"

Gu Jun said, "Tell me about this first. Once you've done so, I'll let you sit down."

Gao Jie grabbed his chin: "Tell me! Did you go to Sihai Street that night?"

"No!" Kou Tao denied it outright.

"Where are you?"

Kou Tao was about to cry: "Didn't I tell you I was in the dorm?"

"you are lying!"

"I……"

"Tell me, did you kill him?"

"Who? Who died? How could I kill someone?"

"If you didn't kill anyone, then why are you lying?"

Gao Jie asked questions very quickly, and Kou Tao panicked. He blurted out, "I only told one lie. I really didn't kill anyone."

Gao Jie's eyes narrowed: "What lie did you tell?"

“Last year… on July 11th last year, the woman who died in the woods, I admit, I admit that I took her money.”

"Fuck your mother!" Gu Jun cursed, "Do you know how much trouble you've caused us!"

Some of the more hot-tempered members of the Third Brigade shouted, "Captain Gao, he definitely killed the man! And the victim on Sihai Street, he killed him too!"

"Kou Tao, let me tell you, because you concealed crucial facts, this case will be pinned on you!"

Everyone in the Third Brigade glared fiercely at Kou Tao, their eyes seeming as if they wanted to devour him.

The victim Zhou Lei's belongings were taken away. In the initial stage of the investigation, most of the police force of the Third Brigade focused on the crime of murder for money, which was a waste of investigation time.

In this case, the Third Brigade could have surpassed the First Brigade and achieved the highest case-solving rate in the first half of 96. However, because of this, by the end of 96, the Third Brigade's case-solving rate was at the bottom, making it the worst-performing brigade in Qincheng District.

The dozen or so people looked at Kou Tao with very unfriendly eyes, and at Gao Jie with suspicion.

Looking back on the 711 case, the time and place of Zhou Lei's death were too suspicious. Kou Tao, the person who reported the crime, could have been the perpetrator, but Gao Jie ruled him out.

What does this mean?
This shows that Gao Jie's case-handling ability is inadequate and is far inferior to that of Lu Ruixiang and Shen Wenzhu.

If it were the First or Second Battalion, they probably would have broken through this barrier long ago.

At this moment, Kou Tao shouted, "I'm innocent! I didn't! I only took the money from her, I never went to Sihai Street!"

Gao Jie stood up, looked at the team members' eyes, and understood what they were thinking. So he said to Gu Jun, "I'm going out for a smoke. Let him confess. Be disciplined and don't do anything reckless."

Gu Jun nodded, turned around, and blocked the doorway.

Gao Jie stepped out of the dormitory, with Feng Xiaocai following behind him.

The two went to the balcony, and Feng Xiaocai asked, "Master, did he kill the person?"

Gao Jie lit a cigarette and shook his head: "It's hard to say. If this kid really did the 711 case last year, then he's been hiding it too well. You've been following both cases, what do you think?"

Feng Xiaocai thought for a moment and replied, "I don't think it's him. The case files of the 711 case were reviewed by Captain Lu of the First Brigade and Captain Shen of the Second Brigade. Captain Lu, in particular, has a very sharp eye. There's no way he wouldn't have noticed the problem."

"So my eyesight isn't sharp anymore?"

"No, you're all amazing. Otherwise, Kou Tao would have been arrested long ago. We all want you to learn from us."

"That's reverse reasoning. If he really did it, then it's my incompetence that's the problem." Gao Jie took a drag of his cigarette and then asked, "By the way, who found the eyewitness at the convenience store on Dayuan Road?"

"Zhou Xiaochuan and Yue Feng found it out."

"You……"

Gao Jie tapped her head with his finger: "You're the youngest in the team, so you should call them seniors."

Feng Xiaocai grinned: "Although they are seniors, they are the least diligent in investigating cases. They always feel that our Third Brigade is not as strong as the First and Second Brigades. They have wanted to be transferred away for a long time."

Gao Jie sighed: "It's because I'm not a good enough captain..."

Feng Xiaocai quickly shook her head: "Master, don't say that, I think you're right..."

Gao Jie gave a wry smile; he knew, of course, that his apprentice was just trying to comfort him.

He turned around and faced the sky outside.

It was already afternoon. Under the azure sky, birds flew by and landed on the power lines in the distance.

Suddenly, a shout erupted from dormitory 403.

"Hold him down!"

"quick!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"Captain Gao, stop him!"

Gao Jie quickly turned around and saw a shadow dart past him. Just as he was about to chase after it, the shadow leaped off the balcony.

"Oh!"

Gao Jie chased after him and reached out his hand, but it was too late.

He quickly bent down to look and saw that Kou Tao had fallen on the steps on the first floor.

His hands were handcuffed behind his back, and his body bumped into the edge of the steps.

Kou Tao's body rolled downwards and landed on the flat cement ground.

He lay face up, his body convulsing, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on Gao Jie on the fourth floor.

The azure sky resembled ripples spreading across a lake, then transformed into the white fluorescent tubes on the ceiling.

Yang Jinwen held the photos he had taken of Kou Tao's fall from the sky. He looked up and let out a soft breath...

(End of this chapter)