Chapter 171 The Hongmen Banquet
Chen Yan was the last one to return to the Municipal Bureau. When he entered the meeting room, everyone else had already arrived.
In addition to the people from the Third Brigade, there were also several unfamiliar policemen, all sitting opposite the Third Brigade.
Wu Yongcheng introduced that the people opposite were comrades from the Nanhu Street Police Station. Chen Yan immediately understood what was going on. These were all Zhou Yi's family members.
The only thing Chen Yan found a little strange was that Wu Yongcheng did not sit in the main seat in the center, but sat in the first seat in the row. In addition, there was an empty seat between Jiang Biao and Zhou Yi. There was information on the seat, but Qiao Jiali was not there.
Wu Yongcheng said, "Everyone, please wait a moment. We are still missing one person."
Chen Yan thought he was waiting for Director Xie, but unexpectedly, after a while, Qiao Jiali led Ni Jianrong in with a gloomy face.
As soon as Ni Jianrong came in, Wu Yongcheng immediately stood up, smiled and pulled open the main seat in the middle, saying, "Come on, everyone, welcome Captain Ni to guide our work."
Ni Jianrong had no idea what the other party was up to. He had just privately targeted him a few hours ago, but suddenly he received a phone call and was told that there was a major case that required a decision from him, the head of the criminal investigation detachment.
He originally didn't want to bother with Wu Yongcheng, but he was afraid that something might really go wrong. Plus, he was curious about what Wu was trying to do, so he went back to the Municipal Bureau.
At this moment, Wu Yongcheng pulled out his chair and looked at him, so Ni Jianrong could only sit down first.
At the same time, everyone present clapped their hands symbolically, especially Jiang Biao. Although he clapped his hands, the sound was loud, as if he was going to hit the other person.
Wu Yongcheng raised his hand to the crowd and said, "Everyone, be more enthusiastic. It's rare for Captain Ni to personally guide the work."
"Hala--" applause broke out.
Ni Jianrong frowned, pressed his hands in the air and said, "Alright, alright. Captain Wu, what's the big case? Why are you calling me back so urgently?"
Wu Yongcheng's actions also confused the other people in the Third Brigade, especially his inexplicable attitude, which was a bit abnormal.
Only Zhou Yi vaguely guessed that Wu Yongcheng was going to put Ni Jianrong on the fire.
While the Nanhu Police Station offered assistance, its police force and operational focus differed significantly from those of the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Brigade. The local police officers' jurisdiction was limited, and their ability to respond to serious incidents and suspects was limited.
The most important thing is that unless there is a major case or mission, local police officers rarely carry guns when on duty.
In the current situation of this case, the police are not equipped with guns, which is not only detrimental to the capture of the kidnappers, but will also greatly increase the danger level of the police themselves.
Therefore, Wu Yongcheng was very clear that in order to solve the case quickly and ensure the safety of the hostages to the greatest extent possible, he had to mobilize the detachment's most professional police force.
Even though they have to go back to work tomorrow, Monday, Wu Yongcheng, in his capacity as deputy captain, can force everyone to cooperate with the action. In this case, Ni Jianrong probably won't be able to openly object.
But the kidnappers asked Qian Hongxing to go to the bank to withdraw money at 8 o'clock. It would be too late to synchronize the case and deploy tasks by then.
Therefore, inviting Ni Jianrong here today is most likely a Hongmen Banquet.
But Zhou Yi didn't know how Wu Yongcheng would start this fire.
Ni Jianrong glanced at the few people in police uniforms to his right, all of whom were strangers, and asked in confusion, "Who are they?"
Wu Yongcheng quickly introduced, "This is Director Jin Leijin of the Nanhu Subdistrict Police Station. While we were investigating, we happened to find some clues that overlapped with the suspicious individuals they had identified, so they came to assist us."
Wu Yongcheng's words were very vague, but this reason also made it difficult for Ni Jianrong to find any problems.
I was just muttering in my heart: "Jin Lei, I seem to have heard this name somewhere..."
"Xiao Qiao, please report the information we found to Team Ni first."
"Okay, Captain Wu, wait a moment while I get ready." Qiao Jiali said, standing up and walking to the back of the conference room, where there was a huge blackboard with some slogans and spiritual instructions conveyed on it.
There is a device next to the blackboard, which is a slide projector. Before the popularization of computers, this thing was an essential equipment for teaching in many schools and meetings in enterprises and institutions.
After turning on the machine, put transparent films on it and the content on the films can be projected directly in front of you.
The film can be printed directly by a machine, or it can be written on manually and then erased for repeated use.
Normally, the Municipal Bureau didn't use this device often. For example, during routine case analysis meetings, they would write down the details on a whiteboard. Larger meetings were held directly in the auditorium, as projectors and large screens weren't readily available back then.
This machine is usually used in either internal training courses or when reporting work to leaders.
Similar to the early PPT.
After Qiao Jiali turned on the slide projector, she pulled down a pull-out curtain fixed above the blackboard, placed a film on it, and adjusted the focus accuracy.
Soon, a screen appeared in front of everyone, with some information on it.
But what is strange is that this is not the case information of Qian Lailai's case.
Because it says on it, the September 23rd Ducheng major kidnapping and murder case.
Qiao Jiali pointed at the screen and said, "This is a case that happened in Ducheng in September 1994."
Everyone was stunned, especially Ni Jianrong, who frowned. Although Ducheng was also in the province, it was more than 200 kilometers away from Hongcheng and had nothing to do with it.
"The daughter of a businessman in Ducheng who sells building materials was kidnapped. Instead of reporting the incident to the police, her family paid the kidnappers a ransom of 600,000 yuan."
Everyone's heart sank upon hearing this, because the image on the slide projector showed a naked female corpse, but it was so badly disfigured that it was difficult to tell whether it was a girl or an adult woman.
Pointing to a slide, Qiao Jiali said, "Even after the family paid the ransom, the kidnappers refused to release the hostage. Two days later, the body of the merchant's daughter was found in a reed bush in the far suburbs. The forensic autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a severe blow to the head, resulting in massive intracranial hemorrhage. She had also been subjected to numerous violent beatings, resulting in severe subcutaneous bleeding and damage to multiple internal organs."
Qiao Jiali paused and said in a heavy voice, "In addition... the forensic doctor also found that the deceased had been severely sexually assaulted before his death."
No one asked questions or expressed any opinions, and the air was almost frozen.
Wu Yongcheng said softly: "Continue."
Qiao Jiali nodded and changed the slide. "The following case happened last June in Suiyuan City."
Ni Jianrong's eyes twitched noticeably. If it was Ducheng, it would be fine, after all, it was within the province. Suiyuan City, that was a city in another province thousands of miles away. How did Wu Yongcheng get this information?
"Similarly, it was a kidnapping case. The hostage was an eleven-year-old boy who was abducted on his way home from school in an unlicensed van. Local police later found the van through a city-wide search. It was a stolen vehicle, and the owner had reported it to the police. The license plate had been deliberately removed."
In the upper left corner of the slide is a photo of the van, and in the lower right corner is a photo of a corpse.
Qiao Jiali said: "This time the kidnappers demanded 500,000 yuan from the family, and the family immediately called the police. Unfortunately, during the ransom payment process, the police may have been exposed, and the kidnappers did not appear to collect the ransom. Instead, they provided an address over the phone. When the police arrived at the address provided by the kidnappers, they discovered the victim's body."
"As you can see, the kidnappers' methods of killing hostages are extremely brutal."
Qiao Jiali did not describe the cause of death because everyone saw it through the slides.
The victim's body was separated.
Several police officers from Nanhu Police Station were completely dumbfounded, and their shock, anger, and sadness were beyond words.
Even the members of the Third Brigade, which specializes in handling major cases, were moved.
Zhou Yi knew without looking at the case files that the kidnappers could have found a deserted place to dispose of the body after killing the hostage, but they chose to inform the family and the police.
There is only one purpose, which is to demonstrate.
Demonstrate to the police, protest to the law!
This is simply not something an ordinary criminal would do.
Moreover, Zhou Yi had read the files of the Ducheng case, which was an unsolved case with no clue at all.
For this case, the Ducheng police turned all the social relationships of the victim upside down and summoned and interrogated anyone who was slightly suspicious. In the end, they were complained by many people for being too radical in handling the case, which led to many people being demoted and the case was completely left unresolved.
However, Zhou Yi already understood what Wu Yongcheng was going to do.
Zhou Yi understood it, and Ni Jianrong naturally understood it too.
The tragic deaths of the victims in these two cases indeed moved him.
"What does Captain Wu want to express by sharing these two cases with us?" Ni Jianrong asked.
Wu Yongcheng stood up, walked to the slide projector and picked up another slide.
"Let me add that the Ducheng case three years ago and the Suiyuan case a year ago have one thing in common."
Wu Yongcheng said this and replaced the slide in his hand.
Two photos appeared on the white cloth, showing two fingers.
Wu Yongcheng pointed at the white cloth and said, "The one on the left is the right pinky finger of the victim in the Suiyuan case, and the one on the right is the left ring finger of the victim in the Ducheng case. Just like in this hostage-taking case, after kidnapping the hostages, the kidnappers cut off a finger and gave it to their families without asking for a ransom."
"So, everyone, I have reason to believe that these three cases are very likely the work of the same criminal gang. The number of members in this gang is unknown, and their identities are unknown, but their kidnapping methods are extremely professional, and their murders are extremely cruel. They are an extremely organized and vicious criminal gang. There may even be far more than these three cases!"
"From Ducheng to Suiyuan and then to Hongcheng, I believe this criminal gang is likely to be roaming around the country and committing crimes."
Wu Yongcheng's words made Zhou Yi understand something instantly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
