Chapter 138 Details Determine Success or Failure
"I started to have some doubts after seeing the ransom payment location written on the second note. A bus station, with its many people and eyes, wasn't a good choice."
"If the kidnappers choose to take a risky approach like using a human body for ransom, they should at least consider the safety of the transaction location. They should either choose a place with few people where they won't be discovered, or a crowded but open area, such as a shopping mall or commercial street, where they can easily escape."
"Choosing a bus stop in the middle of nowhere is bizarre. If the police had simply commandeered the bus and replaced the driver and the passengers with police, how would the kidnappers have escaped?"
Everyone nodded. This was indeed very abnormal. Moreover, the transaction time set by the kidnappers was six o'clock tomorrow morning. Isn't this giving the police an opportunity to arrest them? Which kidnapper could be so stupid?
Zhou Yi continued, "So I immediately went alone and went to the Gangcun stop for bus number 7. I deliberately started the bus from the starting point and got off at Gangcun. Later, I found the third note left by the kidnappers in the bushes behind the Gangcun stop sign."
"What?" Wu Yongcheng was shocked. This was indeed something he had not expected.
"Where is the note?" Wu Yongcheng asked hurriedly.
Zhou Yi replied, "After I memorized the contents of the note, I restored it to its original state. I was afraid that if the kidnappers found it, it would alert them."
"That's good."
Zhou Yi is indeed very careful in his work.
"What's written on the third note?" Chen Yan asked.
Zhou Yi not only told the information on the third note, but also told the fourth note immediately afterwards.
After listening to this, Wu Yongcheng frowned and thought while reaching out to take out a cigarette.
Just as he was about to order, Qiao Jiali beside him whispered, "Captain Wu, the TV station is recording it."
"Oh oh..." Wu Yongcheng put the cigarette back.
"Zhou Yi, didn't you find any follow-up notes at the long-distance bus station?" Wu Yongcheng asked.
Zhou Yi shook his head. "The station is crowded and full of people, and the cleaners clean it regularly. I looked up and down twice, but I couldn't find any follow-up notes."
Of course there was a note, but the fifth note was not at the long-distance bus station. It was the information provided by Sun Kun in his second phone call.
But Zhou Yi couldn't say it, otherwise he couldn't explain it.
Wu Yongcheng touched his chin and said, "So it seems...the kidnappers left these notes from the very beginning."
"Yes, I think we can't rule out the possibility that there are other notes."
"What on earth is this guy up to?" Wu Yongcheng looked up and said, "Zhou Yi, what's your second discovery?"
"Captain Wu, the second discovery actually came to me when Brother Biao mentioned it just now. Brother Biao mentioned that when Sun Kun borrowed the van, the reason he gave was that he wanted to go to his cousin's house in the countryside to pick up some things. I think this cousin in the countryside is very likely a real person. We can check if Sun Kun has any cousins living in the rural areas of this city."
"If Sun Kun used a note to pass on information, in addition to reducing his own risk of exposure, it was probably because there were no available phones near where he held the hostages."
"Rural areas have low population density and many dilapidated houses, making them easy locations for holding hostages. But Sun Kun wouldn't rashly go to a random old house in the countryside; that's too risky. He must have familiarized himself with the local area before choosing a location. If we can identify this country cousin, we'll have a good chance of pinpointing the area where the hostages are being held."
After hearing this, Wu Yongcheng slammed the table and said, "Zhou Yi is right. Tiny details like these can sometimes be the key to solving a case. Biaozi, immediately find out the identity of this country cousin."
"Zhou Yi, is there anything else?"
Zhou Yi nodded: "Captain Wu, I still need to check one more person."
"who?"
"Qian Hongxing's driver, Xiao Liu, whose real name is Liu Jianshe, is 31 years old and from the neighboring city of Tai. He's unmarried and has been Qian Hongxing's driver for four or five years. This is all the information I have at the moment. The rest will require the bureau's help in investigating."
After listening to this, Wu Yongcheng asked, "Do you suspect that Liu Jianshe and Sun Kun are accomplices, colluding with each other?"
"While this possibility cannot be ruled out, we can focus on checking whether there is any overlap between Liu Jianshe and Sun Kun's daily routines."
Wu Yongcheng asked: "Do you have any evidence... or any signs?"
Zhou Yi answered directly: "Not yet."
"Then let's put Liu Jianshe aside for now. We're short on manpower right now, so we'll prioritize looking for Sun Kun."
"Captain Wu, I understand." Zhou Yi certainly knew that without any evidence or signs indicating that there was anything wrong with Liu Jianshe, it would be difficult to get Wu Yongcheng to agree to deploy police forces to investigate this man.
But his purpose was just to make an appointment with Wu Yongcheng first.
"Captain Wu, the truth is, Qian Hongxing and I have already discussed this. If we capture Sun Kun and rescue the hostage, he's willing to cooperate with us to continue concealing the fact that Qian Lailai was rescued, and then test this Liu Jianshe."
Wu Yongcheng was stunned, wondering why Zhou Yi was so obsessed with Liu Jianshe.
At this time, Shi Tao said, "Zhou Yi, this is inappropriate, isn't it? You're just stinging people."
Zhou Yi said, "Captain Shi, this isn't a sting operation. Sting operations involve someone who has no criminal intent but is lured into committing a crime by law enforcement officers. At best, I'm just waiting for the rabbit to hit the tree. If the rabbit doesn't hit the tree, then there's nothing I can do."
Shi Tao was stunned: "Okay...it seems to make sense."
Wu Yongcheng said, "It's too early to talk about this now. Let's first capture Sun Kun and rescue the hostages. We can talk about other things later!"
Everyone answered in unison: "Yes!"
Then everyone takes up their duties and starts to carry out the task.
"Zhou Yi." Wu Yongcheng pointed, "Stay a moment."
Soon, Zhou Yi and Wu Yongcheng were the only two people left in the huge conference room.
"Zhou Yi, what exactly is going on with this Liu Jianshe?"
Wu Yongcheng believed that Zhou Yi was not someone who would just follow rumors without any basis.
Zhou Yi smiled and said, "Captain Wu is really smart. Nothing can be hidden from you."
"If you have something to say, just say it."
"Okay. So, after retrieving the note from Guandi Temple, I didn't get in the car. I was standing outside when Qian Hongxing passed me the note through the window. While doing so, he explained that the kidnappers were demanding a 50,000 yuan ransom."
"Then what?"
"When Qian Hongxing mentioned the 50,000 yuan ransom, I was able to see the rearview mirror from my angle. I noticed something strange in the driver Liu Jianshe's eyes. It was an instinctive desire for money."
This is also one of the reasons why Zhou Yi directly suspected the driver Xiao Liu after discovering that the eighteenth note had been swapped.
A person's eyes can be hidden, but cannot be faked.
At that time, Ding Chunmei and Qian Hongxing's attention was on themselves and the note. Only Xiao Liu did not look back, but his eyes were exposed in the rearview mirror.
"From this look, I'm sure there must be something wrong with Liu Jianshe's financial situation. That's why I want to investigate him."
Wu Yongcheng pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you think he will take advantage of the situation?"
"Yes." Zhou Yi nodded. "Qian Hongxing should be quite nice to Liu Jianshe. At least a big businessman's driver's salary is definitely not too low. Liu Jianshe doesn't look like a ruthless type, and he probably doesn't have the guts to commit kidnapping. And if he was the mastermind or involved, why now? There's no opportunity."
"So I think the probability of him taking advantage of the situation is higher, because he didn't commit the kidnapping, and if he did, he wouldn't have a strong psychological burden or sense of guilt."
Wu Yongcheng patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder and said, "Well, the priority is to rescue the hostages. As for this Liu Jianshe, since you've already convinced Qian Hongxing to cooperate with you, I have no objection. If there really is something wrong with this Liu Jianshe, leaving it alone will easily lead to new problems in the future. I'll have Chen Yan cooperate with you to investigate this Liu Jianshe."
"There's no rush for this. Just like what you said, Captain Wu, let's first go all out to search for Sun Kun." Zhou Yi said.
Since the number has been hung up, he doesn't have to worry anymore.
When the time comes, we can find an opportunity to lure this driver Xiao Liu into the trap.
Wu Yongcheng also gave Zhou Yi a task, which was to take Ding Chunmei to the front line and shoot more scenes of public security officers working hard on their duties.
Zhou Yi knew Wu Yongcheng's intention. In addition to showing the professionalism and case-solving ability of the city bureau's criminal police, he also wanted to show the hard work and dedication of the vast majority of ordinary police officers.
"Officer Zhou, do so many police officers work overtime every time there is a mission?" Ding Chunmei asked after shooting some footage.
Zhou Yi nodded. "Yes, overtime is the norm. If we encounter a major case, it is normal to work overtime all night. Especially for grassroots police officers, the work is very hard."
"Look, Hongcheng has a population of just over two million, but the number of police officers on staff is less than two thousand. In other words, there are less than ten police officers for every ten thousand people. This number is extremely low, because according to Western police theory, there must be twenty-five police officers for every ten thousand people to effectively maintain public order."
Ding Chunmei was surprised: "Is the difference so big? What about other places?"
"First-tier cities are certainly better, but the current size of our police force is indeed generally insufficient. In some remote areas, even the ratio of 10,000 to 10 may be out of reach."
Ding Chunmei immediately said to the camera: "Our police officers are truly so hardworking and admirable. They have made tremendous sacrifices for the security of Hongcheng and the safety of the people. I hope that after this program airs, everyone will appreciate the hard work and efforts of our police comrades, know the law, abide by the law, and popularize the law, so that we can work together to build our beautiful city home."
After she finished speaking, Ding Chunmei smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, Officer Zhou, the camera is almost out of battery."
"Oh, it's okay. How about I take you back first?"
Ding Chunmei immediately said, "No need. I have a charger in my bag. I can just go to your city bureau and charge it for a while."
Zhou Yi looked at the police officer who was checking vehicles not far away and said, "Actually, you don't have to keep wasting time with us. The search and arrest operation won't produce results that quickly."
"It doesn't matter. My boss gave me the task of filming the whole process. How can I feel comfortable with you all still working hard while I'm the only one going back to rest?"
Ding Chunmei said, looking at Zhou Yi with gratitude: "Besides, it wasn't originally my turn as a young reporter. It was you, Officer Zhou, who helped me get this opportunity. I'm not so precious that I can't bear the hardship."
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