Courtyard House: I, the eldest son of the Jia family, have returned from the battlefield.

After a brief pause, he subtly changed the subject: "By the way, Director Jia, I heard you just conducted a thorough search of Liu Jiangping's residence. Did you find anything?"

The appearance of the mole and the previous series of twists and turns made Jia Dongming more cautious in his response.

He looked solemn and replied in a deep voice, "There are indeed clues."

During the search of his bedroom, we discovered a hidden compartment behind the wardrobe containing tens of thousands of yuan in cash and several gold bars. My men are still verifying and counting the exact amount.

Upon hearing "tens of thousands of yuan in cash"

Upon hearing these words, Zheng Jie couldn't help but show a hint of astonishment. He blurted out, "So much money was found in Liu Jiangping's house? This...this is a classic case of 'a lowly official embezzling a fortune'!"

"Team Leader Jia, Team Leader Chen, a cellar has been discovered in the backyard. It contains several thousand kilograms of grain, hundreds of kilograms of cured meat, and a considerable amount of canned goods."

Jia Dongming's comment to Zheng Jie, "A petty official with enormous greed."

He was silently nodding in approval, but before he could reply, Wang Bin strode over from the backyard and reported the new discovery directly.

The shock of the tens of thousands of yuan in stolen money had not yet faded from Zheng Jie's mind when Wang Bin's report abruptly pulled him back to reality.

Before Jia Dongming and Chen Weiguo could even react, he eagerly said to Wang Bin, "Where is the cellar? Take me there quickly."

Upon hearing this, Wang Bin subconsciously turned his gaze to Jia Dongming. Seeing Jia Dongming nod slightly in acknowledgment, Wang Bin then stepped aside to lead the way: "Director Zheng, please follow me. It's in the backyard."

Watching Zheng Jie and his men hurriedly leave, Chen Weiguo's brows gradually furrowed.

He lowered his voice and reminded Jia Dongming beside him, "Old Jia, judging from the demeanor of this Director Zheng, joining the task force doesn't seem to be entirely about solving the case; it looks more like he's here to make money and gain prestige."

We need to be more careful with this case in the future, lest we work hard only to end up benefiting others.

Recalling Zheng Jie's eager expression, which he could not hide his ambition, Jia Dongming nodded solemnly: "Old Chen, I originally thought that with the combined efforts of the two families, solving this case would not be difficult."

It now seems that we not only have to deal with external cases, but also have to guard against internal schemes.

From now on, we must be extra careful with every step we take.

The two were discussing the next steps of the investigation in hushed tones in the courtyard when Guo Jie, who had been pushed out by Zheng Jie to take the blame, returned.

Less than half an hour later, he led four or five people back into the courtyard.

Upon seeing this, Jia Dongming's face darkened. He stepped forward to block their path and asked sternly, "Comrade Guo Jie, the on-site investigation is not yet complete. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter."

What's the meaning of bringing these people here?

Guo Jie looked embarrassed when asked the question. Thinking of the task Zheng Jie had given him, he had no choice but to explain: "Director Jia, it's like this... Our Director Zheng believes that the property and materials seized from Liu Jiangping's house are all stolen money and goods, and should be sealed up and escorted back to the unit for disposal immediately."

These are comrades from the logistics department, here specifically to handle the moving.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming was first taken aback, then a sense of absurdity washed over him.

He never imagined that Zheng Jie, instead of thinking about how to follow up on clues and advance the case, would first worry that the stolen goods would be taken away by the police, and so eagerly sent people to "receive" them.

.

"Comrade Guo Jie!"

Chen Weiguo's anger flared, and before Jia Dongming could speak, he couldn't contain himself any longer, his words filled with suppressed rage: "You're rarely seen contributing when investigating cases, but as soon as supplies are seized, the people who come to move them arrive in a flash! Is this how your department operates?"

When Guo Jie was asked by Chen Weiguo, a bitter look immediately appeared on his face, and his voice carried a hint of pleading: "Captain Chen, I'm just a gofer. I do whatever the higher-ups say."

"I'm here on orders, so please...please don't pressure me any further."

Seeing Guo Jie's expression, Jia Dongming interjected at the opportune moment, his tone carrying a hidden meaning: "Captain Chen, Guo is right."

He's just a clerk, and he's even taken the blame for others before. Why should we make things difficult for him? Besides, it's just a matter of a few thousand kilograms of grain.

Chen Weiguo's eyes flashed, and he immediately understood. He turned to his subordinate and shouted, "Old Zhong! Has that money been counted? Whether it's counted or not, take him back to the station immediately!"

Old Zhong was watching the figures carrying winter goods out of the backyard when he heard this and immediately replied, "Don't worry, Captain, Old Zhang and I will take care of it right away."

Just as Lao Zhong and Lao Zhang left with the valuables they had taken from Liu Jiangping's bedroom, Zheng Jie directed a group of people to carry the grain and supplies from the cellar to the front yard.

He walked up to Jia Dongming and said in his usual tone, "Director Jia, where is the embezzled money? Let's make a handover. I'll send someone to deliver it back to the unit and hand it over to the authorities."

Jia Dongming looked surprised, as if he had just remembered this: "Director Zheng, we have already sent someone back to the bureau for that money."

"If we had known it should have been your turn, we wouldn't have had to make this trip."

Zheng Jie's face darkened, and his voice rose involuntarily: "Director Jia, that money was obtained through corruption, and according to regulations, it should be seized by our disciplinary department."

How could your police handle this without authorization?

Jia Dongming spread his hands apologetically: "Director Zheng, this is the first time I've worked with you, and I really don't know these procedures."

If I had known about this rule, I wouldn't have bothered with all this trouble.

Zheng Jie stared at the note filled with "helplessness."

His face, like a mirror in his mind, reflected the truth: the other party had no intention of paying; they were just making excuses.

Regretfully, he had only focused on the supplies and overlooked the most important part: the stolen money. He suppressed his anger and reminded, "Director Jia, your police force has no problem handling money in other cases, but Liu Jiangping's case is different."

His source of wealth must be registered and seized by our disciplinary department.

Jia Dongming simply shrugged, his tone remaining calm: "Director Zheng, this isn't the first time we've worked together, so I really don't know much about the rules."

If you insist on the handover, why don't you let the superiors on both sides communicate?

As the sun approached noon, Jia Dongming rode his sidecar tricycle back to the Municipal Bureau and strode into his office.

He asked a young police officer inside the room, "Zhiguo, where are Zhou Gang and Wang Zhi?"

Zhiguo immediately stood up and reported: "Captain, they brought two thieves back from the district police station and have been questioning them in the interrogation room."

Jia Dongming nodded and waved to Wang Bin, who had just followed him in: "Come on, let's go check out the interrogation room."

Before they even reached the door, they could hear Zhou Gang's suppressed roar coming from inside.

Jia Dongming paused, already knowing what was going on—they hadn't managed to get him to talk yet.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door, calling out, "Zhou Gang, it's me."

The door clicked.

It opened from the inside with a sound.

Zhou Gang stood inside the door, his face ashen.

Jia Dongming's gaze swept in and he saw a middle-aged man crouching awkwardly in front of a radiator.

He asked in a deep voice, "What, still won't say who ordered it?"

It turns out that in the early hours of this morning, when Zhou Gang and Wang Zhi were carrying out a surveillance mission, the target they were monitoring was killed because of the sudden appearance of these two men.

This was like a slap in the face for the two of them.

Upon learning that the monitored target had been removed, Zhou Gang immediately transferred the two thieves from the police station to the municipal bureau and began questioning them.

However, during several hours of interrogation, the two men only confessed to the theft and firmly denied that there was anyone instigating them.

Faced with Jia Dongming's questioning, Zhou Gang's eyes were sharp as a hawk, staring intently at the man handcuffed to the radiator, who was pretending to be confused. His tone was irritated: "Captain, this guy is very stubborn. He refuses to admit that anyone ordered him to do this."

I'm considering trying a different approach to get him to talk.

After listening, Jia Dongming pondered for a moment, then turned to Wang Bin, who had entered the interrogation room with him: "Did you bring Dongxi, whom I asked you to prepare before? Now, extract his footprints and compare them with the traces found at the scene."

On the way there, Jia Dongming had already instructed Wang Bin to return to the Municipal Bureau and immediately prepare evidence-gathering tools to collect the footprints of the two suspects for comparison.

Wang Bin responded by taking out his tools, quickly walking to the thief's side, squatting down, and starting to work.

When Liu Si, who was trapped next to the radiator, saw Wang Bin's actions, he felt a sudden tightness in his heart and twisted his legs to try to stop him.

Seeing this, Zhou Gang grabbed a short stick from the table, strode forward, and struck the man on the shoulder and back, shouting sternly, "Liu Si! If you obstruct official business again, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

Liu Si grinned and pretended to be in pain, hunching his back: "Officer, I really didn't cause any trouble... My leg is cramping so badly, I can't control it."

"Wang Bin, if his shoe print matches the one extracted from the dilapidated temple, that would be enough to explain the inscription problem."

Simply remove the shoe and make the print; there's no need to hold his leg down.

Jia Dongming coldly observed Liu Si's reaction, becoming increasingly convinced that this person was connected to the murderer, and spoke up to remind him.

Liu Si, who was still struggling, heard "murderer"

"Dilapidated Temple"

At those two words, he abruptly stopped, looked up sharply at Jia Dongming: "Boss...you just said murderer? What dilapidated temple?"

Jia Dongming caught the surprise and doubt in Liu Si's expression and immediately realized that this person had no idea what the person who ordered them had done, and probably still naively thought that he could get a light sentence by denying everything.

He slightly curled the corners of his mouth, looked directly at Liu Si's gradually paling face, and slowly said, "Yesterday, the family of five we were monitoring was all killed."

Before the incident, it was the two of you who deliberately created a disturbance to distract the surveillance personnel.

"In an old temple near the scene, we found the killer's footprints, as well as two other sets of unfamiliar footprints."

Based on preliminary deductions, those two groups... are very likely to belong to you.

A sudden thought struck Liu Si.

He originally thought it was just theft for money, and at most he would be sentenced to one or two years, especially since the employer's payment was generous.

But now he's been implicated in a family annihilation case and become an accomplice?

Panic washed over him like a bucket of ice water. He screamed uncontrollably at Jia Dongming, "Boss! We were just taking the money to steal some vegetables! How did we become accomplices in murder?!"

Taking advantage of the situation, Jia Dongming stepped closer, his gaze sharp as a needle: "If you hadn't used a diversionary tactic, how could the murderer have succeeded so easily? Throughout the interrogation, you've consistently concealed the fact that you were employed; isn't that covering for the murderer?"

Liu Si trembled all over, his lips drained of color, and even his voice trembled: "Innocent... Officers, we really didn't know someone would die!"

"We just took Tiger's money to steal a bottle from that house for him. We don't know anything else, let alone have anything to do with any murder case. Officer, we've really been wronged."

No sooner had Liu Si finished shouting his innocence than Jia Dongming pressed on, "Liu Si, you say you're innocent, then why were you in that deserted temple? And why did you meet with the people inside?"

"Tiger told us to wait at the temple after dark, saying that someone would come to explain the details of that family."

Liu Si answered quickly, "We had no idea that the person who came was the murderer."

A barely perceptible glint flashed in Jia Dongming's eyes as he continued, "What's Tiger's real name? Where does he live? Also, do you recognize the person you saw at the temple? Was there anything unusual about his appearance?"

Liu Si quickly replied, "We all just call him Tiger, we don't know his real name or where he lives."

However, he had a lover in Hanjia Hutong, where he often spent the night.

"As for the person in the temple..."

Liu Si paused, recalling, "It was too dark that night, I couldn't see his face clearly, but when he walked, one of his legs seemed unsteady, like he was a cripple."

"Tap, tap, tap."

There was a knock on the interrogation room door.

Zhou Gang stood up and opened the iron gate. A middle-aged man stood outside. He immediately straightened his expression and said, "Director Lin, you wanted to see me?"

Director Lin glanced inside and saw Jia Dongming interrogating someone. He said solemnly, "Zhou Gang, tell Director Jia that the chief captain wants to see him."

Jia Dongming had already overheard the conversation. He stood up and walked towards the door: "Director Lin, what does the chief commander want with me?"

Director Lin smiled, but his tone was indifferent: "Director Jia, I don't know the specifics either. It's just that the discipline department called the chief, and then the chief asked me to come and see if you had returned."

After listening, Jia Dongming had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.