Chapter 53 Red Leaves 14
The next morning, new progress was made in other areas of the investigation.
Luo Siwei came to the whiteboard and summarized the case investigation progress for the team members.
Luo Siwei first told the team members about what she and Chi Li discovered yesterday, as well as the information she got from Jian Xunqiu.
She then distributed copies of the forensic report to everyone. "We've further clarified the cause of death for the third victim. The forensic doctor discovered some toxins during the bone examination. This means the third victim may have died from poisoning."
Guo Zhengyao said, "The third deceased...was that old man in his eighties?"
During the initial investigation, the cause of death was difficult to determine due to the severe decomposition of the body. In addition, the deceased was very old, so the forensic doctor suspected that he died of natural causes.
Fortunately, the forensic doctor found some clues during the examination of the ground bone tissue, and further testing yielded the final result.
Now, only the fifth corpse remains - the earliest deceased Qiao Xiangjun, whose cause of death is unknown.
Ni Xiang looked at the report with some confusion: "Why would the murderer poison an octogenarian?"
Shen Qing said: "Could it be an accidental ingestion?"
Huo Cunsheng looked at the various causes of death listed on the whiteboard. "Except for the first victim whose cause of death is unknown, the others are listed in chronological order. The second victim suffered a head injury, the third was poisoned, the fourth was strangled, and the fifth, the most recent landlord, was stabbed. Every time he kills someone, he uses a different method of death. This murderer is quite creative..."
"The third victim was poisoned, which is consistent with the murderer's escalating pattern of violence," Luo Siwei continued. "There's also another important clue. I had Tang Xi look up information about Qiao Xiangjun and discovered someone had been applying for pension benefits on her behalf. Even years after her death, her pension was still being paid out as normal."
Shen Qing frowned and thought: "Could this be because the murderer did not cremate Qiao Xiangjun's body according to the normal procedure?"
Luo Siwei said: "There is such a possibility."
Ni Xiang asked, "Is someone applying for an old-age allowance on behalf of Qiao Xiangjun? How did they do that? My grandmother applied, and I heard from my family that there's now a video verification process for old-age allowance applications."
Huo Cunsheng is not surprised: "Online verification for the elderly is relatively simple, and there are loopholes that can be exploited. It is not uncommon for people to fraudulently claim old-age allowances. There are also many people who continue to fraudulently claim the wages of elderly people after they have passed away."
Tang Xi also explained: "Identity information is more comprehensively regulated for young people, but simpler for older people. Take ID cards, for example. Young people's ID cards need to be replaced promptly, while those over 46 years old have permanent ID cards and do not need to be replaced."
Ni Xiang thought about it and said, "So... as long as the other party is interested, they can find an elderly person of similar age and appearance, give their ID number and name, and deceive the staff?"
Luo Siwei nodded.
As people age, their appearance changes: hair falls out, skin loosens, and even fingerprints become blurred and difficult to detect. Even relatives who haven't seen each other for a while can struggle to identify an elderly person, let alone staff who only have a photo. As long as the clothing, height, and hairstyle are similar, the identity can be verified.
Luo Siwei said, "However, this kind of behavior by the other party will definitely leave some clues. I asked Tang Xi to check Qiao Xiangjun's card. Almost every month, the allowance is withdrawn from the ATM as soon as it arrives."
Guo Zhengyao asked: "What is the pattern of withdrawal?"
Luo Siwei showed them the receipt: "Basically, it's on the afternoons of the 8th to the 10th of every month, at various ATMs in Dongmao District."
"The one with the most withdrawals is..." Tang Xi opened the map and checked, "The ATM in front of the Donglan Jinbei Savings Bank!"
Guo Zhengyao checked the calendar and said, "In other words, it will be the day after tomorrow at the earliest."
The emergence of such clues ignited the police force's hope of solving the case.
"Qiao Xiangjun's pension card is direct evidence. It proves those people had contact with Qiao Xiangjun before his death," Luo Siwei analyzed calmly. "Please retrieve the surveillance footage of the previous withdrawals. We can develop an action plan based on their withdrawal patterns and see if we can catch them red-handed."
When he really started to implement the plan, Luo Siwei discovered the difficulty of the plan.
There are a total of 132 ATMs in Dongmao District. The other party had withdrawn money from six ATMs nearby. The ATM outside the Jinbei Savings Bank had the most withdrawals.
Tang Xi retrieved the withdrawal videos of Qiao Xiangjun's allowance card from the previous few months and found that the people who came to withdraw money looked different each time, and those people would use masks and hats to deliberately block the camera.
The last two times, the person who came to withdraw money was a woman in her sixties. She was wearing a large sun hat and blocked the camera when she walked over.
After analyzing for a long time, the police were unable to capture a clear image of the suspect.
However, the police were not completely unsuccessful. Luo Siwei observed the surveillance footage and made a new discovery: "Based on the suspect's duration of stay, the person who withdrew money from the ATM used more than one card."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xi retrieved more information from the system and compared it with the surveillance footage, concluding, "She withdrew from eleven cards in total! All from pension allowance accounts."
Huo Cunsheng said: "It really is a gang crime!"
Luo Siwei felt this was a clue that could be followed up, so she instructed Tang Xi: "Mark all the problematic cards. See if you can find the information and contact information of other elderly people."
Tang Xi quickly found out the results: "The card owners are all elderly people. I just made a few calls, but their phones were all turned off. I can't contact them or their families, and I can't confirm whether they are alive or dead."
Luo Siwei pointed to one of the files and said, "This person's face looks very similar to deceased No. 3, whose identity has never been confirmed."
As the investigation deepened, the fox's tail was finally revealed.
Some people are deliberately collecting old-age allowances for deceased or missing elderly people.
Huo Cunsheng immediately stood up: "I will go to the forensic office and verify the information with them. If they match, then the identity of deceased No. 3 can also be confirmed."
The forensic results came out quickly, and the information was a complete match. The third deceased was named Liang Wenyi, and he was 78 years old at the time of death.
At this point, the identities of all five victims have been confirmed.
Luo Siwei went to meet Chi Li with the latest investigation results, and she and Chi Li reported in detail the situation that the police had already grasped.
"The first to die was deceased number five, Qiao Xiangjun. Her pension had been misappropriated. Deceased number three, whose identity we hadn't previously confirmed, has also been found. There are several more cards like this, and someone regularly withdraws money from them."
Luo Siwei had a feeling that no matter who the other party was, they were starting to get closer and closer to those people.
Chi Li said: "So, whether those people will withdraw the money after the recent old-age allowance is paid out depends on whether they urgently need the money."
Luo Siwei nodded and handed Chi Li a form with withdrawal time.
"Based on the timing of pension payments and their receipt, the gap has been shrinking. Initially, withdrawals were made within a week of payment, then around three days, and recently within a day. I think they're desperate for money, so they'll collect it promptly this time. Poverty can drive them to take risks."
Counting the days, the other party should be able to withdraw the money in two days.
If the police miss this opportunity, they may have to wait another month. And once this wait-and-see investigation method is discovered by the other party, they may cut off their arms and abandon those cards for safety, making it difficult for them to pull the suspect out of the crowd.
"We can't miss this opportunity." Chi Li pressed his finger against his forehead and made a decision. "I will temporarily open the bank's surveillance and withdrawal systems to the police. When a card from a suspicious account is inserted into an ATM, the police will be alerted immediately. You will monitor the ATMs in Dongmao District in the near future and get as close to them as possible."
Luo Siwei: "Understood. I will lead the people there myself."
The two men marked the locations of ATMs in several blocks on a map.
Chi Li asked: "Which place do you think they will choose to withdraw the money this time?"
Luo Siwei thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "I think it's still the ATMs at Jinbei Savings. The people who were responsible for withdrawing money the last few times were all in their fifties or sixties. People of this age like to choose places they are familiar with. Those familiar environments give them a sense of security."
The Jinbei Savings ATM was located next to a small plaza in a busy downtown area, with four machines lined up side by side. Beyond the plaza was a heavily trafficked main road, with several smaller roads nearby, creating a complex traffic situation. Next to the ATM were two large shopping malls, with a high volume of pedestrians, making it easy to escape without attracting attention.
Chi Li lowered his head and thought: "If I withdraw money here, it will be more difficult for the police to track me."
Luo Siwei surveyed the surroundings and said, "It's difficult to park for long periods of time nearby, and it's difficult for the police to set up tracking points. The square is very crowded, and there are many blind spots for surveillance. The main road next to it leads in all directions. Under such circumstances, if we're not careful, we'll lose track and be difficult to capture. We can only do our best."
The two of them worked out the details of the plan step by step. Looking at the plan in front of him, Chi Li felt that it was not perfect enough. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I think we need a backup plan..."
Luo Siwei hummed and asked him, "How are you going to do it?"
Chi Li stared at the map and said, "Just now we were thinking about how to encircle and capture the opponent. If this were a game of chess, we would be using the white pieces to encircle the black pieces. As for now..." He drew a reverse mark on the map, "Let's assume that we are the black pieces. What kind of withdrawal plan and escape route will we arrange?"
Only in this way can we come up with a foolproof plan to deal with emergencies.
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