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

Chapter 377 Murder in the Snow!

December 7, 1998, 8 p.m.

When Yang Jinwen led the Third Brigade to the west side of the Hongxing Brick Factory, he could see the dim yellow halo of flashlights gathering in the wasteland from afar.

Police officers from the local police station, dressed in military overcoats, surrounded a silver minivan, as snowflakes fell heavily on their hats and shoulders.

The cordon was not set up because it was already completely dark, the place was deserted, and there was no one around to watch.

To Yang Jinwen's right, inside the wall of the Hongxing Brick Factory, stand two chimneys, which stand out against the silvery-gray night sky.

After Yao Weihua and Maozi got out of the car, they turned on the flashlight and led the way, heading towards the crime scene.

The wasteland was covered with a thin layer of snow, making it easy to slip and crunch underfoot.

"Little Sprout, do you need me to help you?" Yao Weihua asked with concern.

Feng Xiaocai declined: "Thank you, Uncle Yao, I can do it."

Cai Ting complained, "How could they be in the mood to kill in such cold weather? What were these murderers thinking?"

Cat's cold is getting worse, and he keeps taking out tissues to wipe his nose: "Who knows? Just don't let me catch him. If I do, I'll make him run naked in the snow for hours first."

Li Yang asked, "Brother Cat, can you hold on?"

"It's okay, I just took my medicine."

Upon seeing the flashlight beams shining from the roadside, the police officers at the scene quickly turned around and shone their flashlights in the direction of Yang Jinwen and his group.

Seemingly recognizing them, Wu Kai, wearing a military overcoat, walked over with one person.

"Jinwen, come here and let me introduce you. This is the director of the North Suburb Police Station. His surname is Gu, Gu Wenjun. Old Gu is a veteran director, with more seniority than me."

"Good day, Mr. Gu." Yang Jinwen greeted him and shook hands with him.

Gu Wenjun is an old man nearing fifty, with sharp eyes but a furrowed brow.

Upon meeting Yang Jinwen, he nodded: "Captain Yang is a handsome and talented man. The taxi driver murder case you solved not long ago was even featured in the Qincheng Evening News. It seems that the reporter who published the news had a very good impression of you."

Upon hearing this, Wu Kai's lips twitched. The person who published this legal news article was his old flame, Xiong Lei.

He had read the newspaper; Xiong Lei had taken the photos secretly without the branch's permission, which made the bureau leaders quite angry!

The reason for the anger was that the bureau did not review the content, and Xiong Lei's report was full of praise for the Third Brigade, especially flattering Yang Jinwen!
Not to mention Wu Kai or Wen Mo, they didn't even mention the name of the bureau chief!

What do you mean?
This is utterly disorganized and undisciplined!

Without a leader, how could Yang Jinwen's Third Brigade be so powerful?
The model of police-community cooperation should not be Yang Jinwen's Third Brigade, but the entire Qincheng Public Security Bureau!

Xiong Lei's report practically portrayed Yang Jinwen as a criminal investigation hero, putting the bureau's propaganda department in a very passive position!

Of course, the leader vented his anger on Wen Mo and Wu Kai, but it didn't reach Yang Jinwen.

"Director Gu, you flatter me," Yang Jinwen said modestly, then got straight to the point: "What's the situation on the ground?"

"The deceased's name was Li Song, deputy director of the Xingye District Shelter."

There was another seriously injured person named Fan Chuanping, who was also a staff member of the shelter. He has been taken to the hospital.

Yang Jinwen looked at the secondhand silver van, where Wei Ming, a technical police officer from the detachment, was peering inside with a flashlight.

The van's tires were covered in a thick layer of mud, which had frozen solid.

As Yang Jinwen walked towards the van, he asked, "Who called the police?"

"A truck driver at the brick factory."

Is the person reliable?

"It should be reliable. He wasn't the only one who found the van and the body. There were three people in the van at the time: the driver and two loaders. They were questioned separately, and their testimonies were consistent."

The body was discovered around 4 p.m. It was getting dark because of the snow. The three men saw the van in the wasteland and thought it was strange. They got out of the van and went to take a look, and found that the door was open.

Li Song lay in the mud at the front of the car, shot in the chest.

Another one is Fan Chuanping, who was lying in the back seat of the van and had been stabbed three times.

Fortunately, the witness discovered it early; otherwise, the person would certainly be dead.

Yang Jinwen stopped and looked at the brick factory on his left.

Wu Kai said, "It's quite far away. Will the gunshots carry?"

Yao Weihua frowned and said, "If it's just one shot, the people in the brick factory should have a hard time noticing it."

Yang Jinwen asked, "How did you determine the identities of the two deceased?"

Gu Wenjun replied, "After receiving the report, our police station arrived at nearly five o'clock."

The reason we knew the identities of the injured and the deceased was because we both knew Li Song and Fan Chuanping; they worked at the shelter and frequently interacted with our police station.

We found that Fan Chuanping was still breathing, so we immediately took him to the nearest hospital. Two colleagues from our institute are still at the hospital with him; they'll call me as soon as they have any news.

"Tell me about Li Song."

Yang Jinwen looked at the front of the car, where forensic doctor Li Yuanquan was squatting in the snow, wearing disposable gloves, examining the wounds of the deceased Li Song.

Snowflakes fell from the night sky, fluttering and dancing in the air. Under the halo of the flashlight, they looked like fireflies as they landed on the corpse.

The deceased was wearing a green military overcoat, black cotton trousers, brown military-style shoes, and black woolen gloves with a red butterfly pattern on the back.

The body was lying on its side, and forensic doctor Li Yuanquan forcefully turned it over.

Yang Jinwen squinted at the deceased's face. The man, named Li Song, had a large bruise on his forehead, and blood was flowing from his nose, congealing on his beard.

His yellow sweater had a large hole in it, which was also the location of the wound, on his left chest.

The nearby sweater fibers were stained orange with blood, making it impossible to see the original color of the blood.

At this moment, Gu Wenjun looked at the face of the deceased, sighed deeply, and said, "Li Song was assigned to work in the detention center after being demobilized from the army in 76."

He is 47 years old and has worked at the shelter in Wutong Lane, Xingye District for 22 years.

Over the years, he has saved many people, such as homeless people, abandoned babies, homeless mental patients, and those who have been abandoned by their families.

In short, Li Song was a good comrade and a qualified soldier!

At this point, everyone present sighed, feeling very sorry.

In the beam of the flashlight, everyone was exhaling white mist from their mouths, which then coalesced together.

Yang Jinwen asked, "Have his family been notified?"

Gu Wenjun shook his head: "No."

"No?"

"Li Song is all alone. His parents died long ago, he has never been married, and he has no relatives."

Feng Xiaocai felt a pang of sadness: "Why?"

"No woman wants to marry him. He uses all his income to subsidize the shelter. Who would want such a pushover?"

Wu Kai exclaimed, "He's a good person."

“Who can argue with that?” Gu Wenjun nodded. “What a pity.”

At this moment, forensic doctor Li Yuanquan tried to stand up, but perhaps because he had been squatting for too long, his body slumped down.

Yang Jinwen reacted quickly and helped him up.

Yao Weihua also lent a helping hand: "Forensic Doctor Li, are you alright?"

Li Yuanquan touched his forehead: "I don't feel well."

Wu Kai said, "You're getting old and will retire next year. It's my fault for having you come to the scene. Quickly help the forensic doctor into the car and take the body back to the funeral home first."

Yang Jinwen touched Li's forehead and frowned, saying, "He has a high fever; we need to get him to the hospital right away."

Wu Kai hesitated: "The victim died from a gunshot wound, the autopsy..."

"I think we should find someone else."

Forensic doctor Li waved his hand and said, "I'll go rest in the car for a while. I'll be fine after a rest. If it doesn't work, I'll take some medicine."

Cat took out a string of pills from his pocket and handed them to him: "I have some on me."

After taking it, the forensic doctor Li nodded to the cat and said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." The cat felt good about helping others.

But after glancing at the corpse on the ground, his mood turned heavy again.

Just then, a piercing scream came from afar.

The detectives at the scene looked at the dirt road not far away and saw a car stop. The glaring headlights shone on the road, and snowflakes fluttered in the light.

Yang Jinwen took Yao Weihua's flashlight and shone it on the car.

In the halo of light, a girl wearing a blue down jacket opened the passenger door and stumbled as she ran towards the wasteland.

Because the snow in the wasteland was too slippery, she slipped and fell when she jumped down, but she got up without hesitation and continued running forward.

A man wearing a black cotton coat got out of the car from the driver's side. He walked around the front of the car, shouting something as he anxiously chased after the girl.

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, the girl stumbled and ran, shouting something loudly.

Because of the distance, Yang Jinwen couldn't hear very clearly.

At this moment, Yao Weihua and Cai Ting walked towards the direction the girl was running, preparing to stop her.

Yang Jinwen didn't put down the flashlight; its beam followed the girl's figure as he walked towards her.

As they got a little closer, Yang Jinwen heard the girl shouting, but he still couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

However, the voice of the man who was pursuing her could be heard very clearly.

"Girl!"

"Girl, girl..."

When the girl bumped into Cai Ting's arms, Yang Jinwen finally heard her call out, "Second Uncle, Second Uncle!"

Yang Jinwen shone his flashlight on the girl's face and saw that her upper lip was split, so her shouts were not very clear.

The girl's eyes were red and swollen, and tears streamed down her chin.

"Second Dad! I want my second dad!"

Yang Jinwen noticed that the girl was wearing black woolen gloves with red butterflies on the back.

These gloves are exactly the same as those of the deceased Li Song!
When Yao Weihua saw the girl's face, he was stunned for a moment. When he looked up again, he saw his old classmate, Du Feng, a retired veteran who could repair tanks.

(End of this chapter)