Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Want to ask Teacher Lu for help? ...
The next morning was the second case report meeting on the national treasure theft case.
Ji Yinhe was sitting at the table organizing his notes early in the morning. When he was about to go out, the phone rang again.
Across from him was Huo Zongping. Well-informed, he had already heard that Li Tunan had been taken away by the Municipal Bureau and was eager to see if there would be any new progress in his Buddha head case.
He also complained that he had nightmares every day and was plagued by bad luck ever since he lost the Buddha head, and asked the police to pay attention to his great treasure.
Ji Yinhe followed the example of Brother Cheng Mo and decisively hung up the phone during his long speech.
She has submitted the detailed information of the Buddha head case to the Cultural Relics Bureau. If the item can be successfully recovered, the staff of the Cultural Relics Bureau will come to persuade Huo Zongping to hand it over to the country.
Because of the delay due to the phone call, Comrade Xiao Ji left the office a few minutes later than others.
I just happened to hear two policemen who came from the police station chatting on the stairs -
"Have you been busy lately?"
"Yes, it's almost the end of the year, and there are a lot of thefts."
"Alas, it's not easy for everyone, but now all the people in Jiangtan are eyeing this national treasure, so we still have to do our part."
"Of course... By the way, last month, an Alto was stolen from the Silihe Jinqiao Hotel. Was that case transferred from your branch?"
"Yes, the Jinqiao Hotel is right at the junction of Changwu County and the urban area. Leaders on both sides don't want to get involved, otherwise why would it have been delayed for so long—"
Ji Yinhe leaned on the handrail of the stairs and squinted his eyes slightly.
...Alto?
If she remembered correctly, most of the Altos on the roads in Jiangtan were white, and the Jinqiao Hotel was a must-go place on the way from Changwu County to Jiangtan City.
Xiao Wu and his colleagues led the traffic police in launching a human wave tactic, investigating the white car that the sanitation worker saw on the night of the incident, and checked all the cars and people in the surrounding area that met the requirements.
But so many days have passed and there has been no new progress.
Tang Ci also said some time ago that there have been several car theft cases recently.
Could it be that the stolen Alto was the one the criminal was driving that night?
Comrade Xiao Ji ran into the meeting room and reported the situation to Director Rao.
Rao happened to be holding a large teapot and took a sip slowly, then made a decision immediately.
"Well, now that we've got some clues, I'll have Tang Ci convey the contents of today's summary meeting to you later. Without further ado, take a few people with you, call the police officer who handled the case at the time, and go to the Jinqiao Hotel!"
*
"...Officer, this is the person's registration information. His name is Song Alei."
In the lobby of Jinqiao Hotel, the manager took out a registration book from the table, turned to the current page, and pointed to the name circled in red to show Ji Yinhe.
"Song Alei, male... is that all you remember?"
Officer Xiao Ji was a little dumbfounded.
The manager explained, "Well...some people are more concerned about their privacy. Can't we just pull them aside and ask more questions?"
"Okay..." Ji Yinhe flipped through the registration book, "He came alone?"
The police officer handling the case said: "We also asked about this, it's just one person."
"Yes, Director Fu from Handong Electromechanical Company was also staying in our hotel's long-term hotel room. Song A Lei asked us for Director Fu's room number many times!" the manager said vividly. "Of course we couldn't tell him! He was staking out the lobby and intercepted him!"
The police officer explained: "Song Alei wants to discuss the purchase of a car with Director Fu."
"Does it take so much effort for an ordinary person to buy a car?" Ji Yinhe was puzzled for a moment, but soon figured it out. "He wants to order a large batch of cars?"
The police officer nodded.
Ji Yinhe frowned slightly.
But this doesn't fit the criminal's situation...
"You're right, but it didn't work out!" The manager spread his hands and said, "The day after Song Alei and Director Fu talked, he wanted to test drive the car... Director Fu happened to drive an Alto and parked it outside the hotel. Comrade Song took the keys and drove away. Director Fu waited and waited, but he didn't come back, so he asked us to report it to the police!"
The police officer added: "Yes, we searched Song Alei's room, but there was nothing inside. It was clean and tidy, not even a fingerprint was left. It was obvious that he was here to steal the car."
Ji Yinhe grasped the key point, "Is that car white?" The manager nodded, "It's a pity that the streets are full of white Altos, and we don't know which one is Director Fu's! Oh, right, this is the license plate number of that car!"
Ji Yinhe quickly wrote down the number, then took out Li Tunan's photo and asked, "Have you seen this girl?"
The manager and the police officer both shook their heads. "No!"
"But..." the manager raised his index finger. "I remember Song Alei carrying a Handong University bag when he went out one day. Do you think his family members are university teachers?"
*
"...The suspect used an alias, came alone, left no fingerprints, and possessed considerable evasiveness. Coupled with the same messenger bag, this individual's profile closely matches that of the museum thief."
In the director's office, Ji Yinhe tore off a page from the notebook in his hand, placed it on the table in front of Rao Zhenghao, rubbed his hands and said:
"Director Rao, this is Song A'lei's physical description provided by the hotel manager and the electromechanical company. I heard from Teacher Lu that some experts at the provincial department can create a simulated portrait of the suspect based on the description. Can we get someone to come... and help?"
Rao Zhenghao gave a rare teasing laugh, "Do you want to ask Teacher Lu for help?"
"No, no, I'm talking about the provincial and ministerial experts." Ji Yinhe waved his hand righteously, "Anyone will do!"
"I told Xiao Lu about this case a few days ago. He just came back from Xiazhou and was assigned to Wugang... This provincial department is really something. It's rare to have such a young talent, but they treat him like a donkey and don't even give him a break..." Rao Zhengzheng spoke a long string of words as if to explain to Lu Zheng, slowly sipping tea, "Since you said anyone can do it, then I'll let the provincial department help out!"
"Okay!" Comrade Xiao Ji fawningly brought the water bottle to help add hot water.
Director Rao leaned back in his chair comfortably. "However, this portrait can only be used as a reference. It's difficult to pinpoint the exact location, and we can't rely on it too much. Besides, we can't say for sure whether Song A Lei is the one who stole the national treasure."
“Understood!”
"Well, go ahead and get busy. Tang Ci just called and said the hospital can discharge Li Tunan."
"Discharged from the hospital?" Ji Yinhe threw the water bottle to the ground, pulled Ye Qing out of the municipal bureau, got on his motorcycle and headed straight to the hospital.
Li Tunan was sitting at the payment counter on the first floor. When he saw the two policewomen, he stood up nervously.
"Officer Ji, I..."
Ji Yinhe understood at a glance that the little girl had no money and no one from her family had visited her in the past two days, so she was worried about the hospital expenses.
Without saying a word, she walked to the payment window, took out her wallet, and paid for her.
Li Tunan, who was standing behind him, opened his eyes wide and whispered in disbelief, "Officer Ji, thank you..."
On the other side, Ye Qing showed her ID to the doctor and asked about the general condition.
Ji Yinhe ignored Li Tunan's thanks and trotted over to ask, "Is it what we thought?"
Ye Qing nodded without saying anything.
"..." Ji Yinhe looked back at the little girl and stuffed the medicine handed by the nurse into her hand. "Take the medicine on time, don't contact that person again, and...if you have anything to tell me, be sure to call me."
Li Tunan curled his lips, lowered his head and left with the medicine box in his arms.
Ye Qing watched her disappear through the doorway and whispered, "Yinhe, do you think her boyfriend is the treasure thief we're looking for?"
"It's hard to say." Ji Yinhe sighed deeply, "But I just left a code on Xiao Wu's pager, asking him to keep an eye on Li Tunan's whereabouts. If that person still has a conscience, he should come to care about her..."
Ye Qing sighed and patted her sister's shoulder.
*
The next day, the provincial and ministerial experts faxed the simulated portrait.
Although the portraits looked very ambiguous, at the command of the headquarters, Tang Ci Cheng Mo led a dozen police officers to post them all over the streets and alleys of Jiangtan that day despite the severe cold.
On Lihua Road in the city center, the bleak winter wind carried a few snow seeds and blew down the portraits that were not yet firmly attached to the telephone poles.
The paper pages fell to the ground and were stepped on by countless passers-by.
Until a bearded man with glasses and wavy hair passed by, bent down, picked it up, and blew away the dust and snow.
The man looked at the portrait above and whistled.
Then he crumpled up the paper, threw it into the trash can next to him, and strode towards a roasted sweet potato stall not far away.
"Two sweet potatoes, freshly baked!"
Li Tunan, who was sitting behind the stove holding his stomach, stood up and was stunned for a few seconds when he saw the other person.
"Why haven't you left yet? The police are looking for me again..."
"I know you didn't betray me." The man laughed. "That portrait looks like any other man on the street. It's definitely not what you told the police."
"..." Li Tunan lowered his head and picked up the sweet potatoes with tongs. "I had stomachache a few days ago, and the police took me to the hospital. I, I think I'm pregnant..."
"You're being too hypocritical. You're young and it's just a minor illness. Can't you just take some medicine?" the man said unhappily. "Hurry up, I'm leaving."
Li Tunan shed tears in grievance, "Didn't you say you would take me away after you were done with that?"
"Why are you crying?" The man took out his wallet and threw a dollar into the stall. "I'll come back to pick you up when this storm is over!"
After saying that, he picked up the sweet potato wrapped in oil paper and was about to leave.
"Can you give me some money first?" Li Tunan said anxiously, "I really have something urgent to do!"
The man didn't answer, but looked around, "Shit, there's a cop!"
He ignored Li Tunan's shouts behind him, put on his sunglasses, and quickly merged into the crowd.
On the street across the street, Xiao Wu came over with two policemen. "Comrade Li, what happened to you just now?"
"No, nothing..." Li Tunan wiped his eyes in the mist he exhaled, "Someone wants to eat for free..."
"Really? Isn't there a dollar here?" Xiao Wu turned around and looked around suspiciously.
But the people on the road were in a hurry, and no one looked like the one in the portrait.
"Okay." Xiao Wu retracted his gaze and took out a few bills from his bag. "Sister Xiao Ji asked me to give it to you. She said you're not feeling well. It's so cold, you should go home."
"Ah?" Li Tunan counted and looked up in surprise, "Three, three hundred..."
"Sister Ji said she lent it to you, and she believes that you will have a chance to mend your ways in the future... No, pay me back." Xiao Wu smiled and repeated the lines from the script that Ji Yinhe wrote for him.
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