Chapter 299 Pickpocket
When Zhou Yi arrived at Hongcheng Railway Station, Zhang Xianglan had been waiting for a long time.
She sat there with her head down, holding a schoolbag in her arms.
This schoolbag is obviously not suitable for her age. There are faded cartoon patterns on it, and the corners are also severely worn. It is most likely an old schoolbag that her son Li Changwei had replaced.
"Ms. Zhang, have you bought your ticket?" Zhou Yi found her in the crowd, walked up to her and asked.
Zhang Xianglan looked up, saw Zhou Yi, and quickly stood up. "Officer Zhou, you're here. I...I haven't bought a ticket yet."
Her eyes were bloodshot, probably because she didn't sleep well last night.
"Okay, I'll go buy the ticket then."
"Then Officer Zhou, I'll give you the money..."
"Don't worry, let's talk about it later. Sit down and rest for a while."
Zhou Yi said as he walked towards the ticket window.
Hongcheng has only one railway station and one long-distance bus station, and Hongcheng itself does not serve as a transportation hub connecting the north and the south. Therefore, as long as it is not the Spring Festival travel rush, train tickets will not be in short supply. Of course, the number of trains is relatively limited.
Before he called Zhang Xianglan yesterday, he checked the train schedules that could reach Anyuan.
After buying two tickets for a train departing in half an hour, Zhou Yi gave one of the tickets to Zhang Xianglan.
Zhang Xianglan took out a wallet from her coat pocket and gave Zhou Yi the money according to the face value of the ticket.
Zhou Yi did not refuse because the municipal bureau would reimburse his expenses, but Zhang Xianglan had to pay for it herself.
"Officer Zhou, have you eaten? I brought some food, including eggs..." Zhang Xianglan said as she opened her schoolbag and was about to take something out.
"No, no, I've already eaten."
"Oh, okay." So she zipped up her backpack again. Due to age, the zipper head had loosened, and the zipper would open after it was zipped up. She zipped it up several times before it got it right.
The two of them didn't speak. Zhou Yi didn't want to comfort her too much. As a family member of the victim, she had to slowly digest the situation on her own.
His duty is to find out the truth and catch the murderer.
Soon, a staff member at the ticket gate opened the gate and shouted that ticket checking for train No. XX had started. Those who had bought tickets should hurry up and check their tickets so as not to miss the train.
As soon as he finished speaking, a large group of people rushed towards the ticket gate, making a mess with their large and small bags on their backs.
Zhou Yi looked at this scene, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar. It seemed like it used to be like this, with everyone scrambling to get in. He didn't know when it started, but everyone's quality improved, and they started queuing up in a rigid, conventional way.
Zhang Xianglan originally wanted to stand up, but seeing that Zhou Yi didn't move, she didn't dare to move.
After a while, Zhou Yi suddenly stood up, and she quickly stood up as well.
"Ms. Zhang, please get in the car first. We'll meet you there later. Please be sure to take good care of your belongings."
"Oh, okay." Zhang Xianglan felt very strange when she saw Zhou Yi pick up his bag and walk in the opposite direction of the crowd after he finished speaking, but she didn't dare to ask more questions.
Zhou Yi carried his bag and walked forward, avoiding the noisy crowd.
Just a minute ago, he was looking at the chaotic crowd and suddenly noticed something unusual.
There was a person in the crowd who had already squeezed to the front, but suddenly squeezed out against the crowd.
After squeezing out of the crowd, Zhou Yi saw that the man had no luggage. He just carried a small shoulder bag and walked quickly towards the station gate.
Zhou Yi was certain that this man was most likely a pickpocket.
Take advantage of the chaos to blend into the crowd and wait for an opportunity to steal. Walking out means you have succeeded.
Zhou Yi quickly followed. The other party was a young man in his twenties. His steps were very light and it was obvious that he was in a good mood after succeeding.
Suddenly, Zhou Yi discovered that the opponent's pace became faster and obviously heavier.
He knew that the other party was aware of his presence.
Zhou Yi rushed forward without any hesitation.
The other party also ran, but was still a step too late. Just as he was about to rush out of the train station gate, Zhou Yi knocked him down from behind.
He tried to resist, but Zhou Yi grabbed him and pinned him to the ground, unable to move. He yelled, "Let me go! Are you fucking sick?"
Zhou Yi controlled the other person with one hand, pressing his knee against his back, while searching his body with the other hand.
Soon, two wallets and a stack of money wrapped in a handkerchief were found in the other person's pocket and shoulder bag.
There was also a folding knife and several blades in the bag. These blades were extremely sharp and almost cut Zhou Yi's hand.
"Who the hell are you? Believe it or not, I will kill you!" the pickpocket shouted.
Zhou Yi looked up at the people around him. Most of them looked at the two of them in surprise and didn't dare to get close.
But there were two people, standing in different positions, staring at him intently, and one of them had his hand inside his clothes.
At this time, a policeman ran over, pointed his baton at the two men and shouted, "What are you doing? Let go!"
Seeing the police coming, the two people in the crowd who were about to step forward stopped immediately.
The pickpocket who was cursing on the ground suddenly stopped shouting.
Zhou Yi threw the three stolen goods aside and took out his ID with one free hand: "I'm from the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Municipal Bureau. This guy is a thief."
The police officers on duty at the railway station belong to the railway public security, commonly known as the railway police. They are not in the same system as Zhou Yi and his team. They are under the jurisdiction of the Public Security Department of the Railway Bureau.
However, they all belonged to the large public security system, so they naturally recognized Zhou Yi's ID at a glance.
The railway police quickly stepped forward, took out handcuffs and restrained the man.
Zhou Yi clapped his hands, stood up, and pointed at the ground, saying, "These are stolen goods. I'll leave them to you. I have to catch the train. Sorry."
After that, Zhou Yi whispered into the railway policeman's ear, "The man in dark blue at three o'clock and the man in brown corduroy pants at ten o'clock are this guy's accomplices. Keep an eye out for them."
The railway police nodded repeatedly: "Okay, thank you for your hard work."
Then call for reinforcements by radio.
Zhou Yi quickly ran to the ticket gate. The gate that was crowded just now was now empty. The ticket inspector was about to close the gate and turn around to leave.
Zhou Yi shouted, "Wait a minute, there's another one."
The ticket inspector glared at him in dissatisfaction: "I've been calling you for a long time, why are you just taking your time?
Zhou Yi was too lazy to talk nonsense and handed the ticket to her.
The ticket inspector looked at the ticket, punched a hole in it, and returned it to Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi ran in hurriedly. A green train was parked on the platform. Two staff members were doing the final inspection before departure and were about to close the door.
"Wait a minute, sorry to have to wait." Zhou Yi hurried over.
"Hurry up, we're going to close the car door." The staff member waved and shouted.
"Officer Zhou?" Zhou Yi ran to the door and the man shouted in surprise.
Zhou Yi looked carefully and found that it was Han Jiajia, as expected, everyone meets each other everywhere in life.
Before Zhou Yi could even say hello, Han Jiajia urged him, "Hurry up and get on the train. We have to close the door, otherwise it will affect the train's punctuality."
Zhou Yi quickly said thank you and got in the car.
Han Jiajia closed the car door and waved to Zhou Yi through the glass.
Zhou Yi also responded, then took his ticket and carefully looked at the carriage and seat.
I was in such a hurry to get on the train just now that I rushed through the first door I saw. Now I look at my ticket and realize I have to cross half the train.
Zhou Yi could only walk through each carriage, carefully passing through the crowded crowd and bags, and had to keep saying sorry and give way.
In the 1990s, the national population mobility was not high. Generally, people went from one city to another. Basically, there were two most common situations: visiting relatives and working.
There are also business and medical treatment. In the 1990s, for most ordinary people, traveling was still a luxury.
So whether working or visiting relatives, I would carry large and small bags. At that time, there was no security check, so basically anything could be brought on the train.
Besides that, there are pickpockets on almost every train.
What Zhou Yi caught just now was just a small shrimp.
Places like train stations and long-distance bus stations are where pickpockets are most rampant.
The difference between the two is that pickpockets at long-distance bus stations are mainly concentrated inside the station because there are many people and eyes around, making it easier for them to act.
Once on board, the space for movement in a long-distance bus is limited, making it difficult to steal.
But trains are different. The space on trains is large and people move around more frequently, making theft easier to commit.
So what Zhou Yi knew was that people in the train station and on the train were divided into two groups.
Pickpockets are different from murderers and robbers. They are closer to gangsters and have strict organization and circles. Not just anyone can steal.
Pickpockets will mark their territory. There is a clear division between where you can steal and where is our territory.
Once someone crosses the line, it may cause conflict, and in serious cases it may even turn into a large-scale fight.
Even pickpockets have a division of labor. Some are responsible for stealing, some are responsible for moving the goods, some are responsible for surveillance, and some are responsible for selling the stolen goods at the back end.
The guy Zhou Yi caught just now was the one responsible for stealing, and the accomplice waiting outside was most likely responsible for the transfer.
So sometimes, even if you find out that something has been stolen and suspect who stole it, you won’t be able to find the stolen property.
In those days, few people had never fallen down at the train station, and in the end they could only blame themselves for their bad luck.
At the train station, there was a group of people in the station, and another group of people got on the train.
Therefore, the main job of the railway police is to fight these pickpockets with wits and courage. In addition to the train police, there are also several plainclothes railway police on each train.
Zhou Yi walked along, his eyes instinctively sweeping over the faces of the people around him, and he made mental notes of those whose eyes and behaviors were unusual.
Zhang Xianglan watched the train start and the seat next to her was still empty. She suddenly became very nervous and kept looking out the window.
Suddenly, I felt something sink beside me. I turned around immediately and found that Zhou Yi was already sitting in the seat.
Only then did Zhang Xianglan breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, I had to run something." Zhou Yi said as he stuffed his luggage under the seat.
He just brought some change of clothes in his backpack.
He carried his ID, cash, cell phone, and of course, a gun.
"I thought you had something urgent to do and couldn't go." Zhang Xianglan said fearfully.
Her hand subconsciously touched her pocket and her face suddenly turned pale.
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