Chapter 300 Iron Police
"I...my wallet is missing." Zhang Xianglan said in panic.
"Look again."
"I looked for it. I clearly put it in my pocket." Zhang Xianglan said as she searched all her pockets.
Shit! Zhou Yi cursed in his heart, what he feared would come true.
Zhang Xianglan went to Anyuan to apply for the cremation of Li Youqiang, so she must have relevant documents of her and Li Youqiang.
The ID was in my wallet, and since my wallet was stolen, I couldn't file a report.
Not only did Zhang Xianglan lose time and train ticket money, she also had to go back to Hongcheng to apply for a new document.
But Li Youqiang had taken his ID card with him. If he wanted to apply for a new household registration booklet and marriage certificate, he had to go in person with his ID card.
But I don’t have an ID card, and it’s impossible for me to go there in person.
So this is an extremely devastating thing for Zhang Xianglan now.
Although I just caught a thief, it was because I happened to see him, so I naturally couldn't let him go.
He had no intention of catching a thief on the train, after all, that was the job of the railway police.
But now, Zhang Xianglan’s ID has been stolen, which is a different matter.
"I remember I put it in my pocket, how come it disappeared?" Zhang Xianglan said in a crying voice.
The people around looked over and said in unison: "Did you run too fast when you got on the car just now?"
"Could it have been stolen?"
"How much money is in your wallet?"
Zhang Xianglan also knew what it meant to have no ID, so she rummaged through her bag while crying, taking out everything inside.
Zhou Yi said, "Don't worry, I'll figure it out. Tell me what happened from the moment you checked your ticket until you sat down in your seat."
Zhou Yi was basically certain that the thief who stole the wallet was from the car.
Because when he was checking tickets, he was not in a hurry to squeeze into the crowd. When he let Zhang Xianglan get on the bus first, there were not many people behind her.
Zhang Xianglan was at the end of the ticket checking line, so the chances of her being robbed were very small.
It must have been stolen after he got on the train and was passing through the crowded carriage.
Zhang Xianglan's speech was incoherent and confusing, but Zhou Yi still managed to make sense of it.
Their seats were in the fourth carriage. Zhang Xianglan asked the staff on the platform and found the carriage location before getting on the train through the door between the fifth and fourth carriages.
When I got on the bus, there were not many people around, and most of them were storing their luggage in the carriage.
Their seats were near the end of the third carriage, which meant they had to pass through most of the fourth carriage.
After sitting down, she didn't move anymore, just looking out the window, waiting for Zhou Yi.
Therefore, the most likely place for your wallet to be stolen is the short ten meters between the door and the seat.
There are two possibilities for the thief. One is that he was someone in this carriage and took the opportunity to steal when Zhang Xianglan passed by.
The other method was to walk towards Zhang Xianglan from the opposite side, steal when passing by her, and then go towards carriage number five.
Zhou Yi is more inclined to the second option, that the pickpockets on the train must be mobile, taking advantage of the chaos when getting on and off the train and when people go to the toilet to steal.
If the person is sitting, there is no need to act so quickly against the people in the same compartment, because if the owner quickly discovers the theft, it will easily alert other passengers and increase the difficulty of subsequent crimes.
"From the time you entered the train until you sat down, did you bump into anyone?" Zhou Yi asked. "Think about it carefully."
Zhang Xianglan's eyes were red, and she frowned as she thought desperately: "It seemed like someone bumped into me head-on, said sorry to me, and then turned aside to let me pass first."
"Is this person a man or a woman? How old is he? Does he have any characteristics?"
"He's a man, he looks to be in his thirties, I don't remember his appearance."
Zhou Yi frowned. He was a man in his thirties. This was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Oh, I remember now, this person has a smell in his mouth." said Zhang Xianglan.
"What's that smell? Smoke?"
"No..." Zhang Xianglan thought for a moment and said, "It tastes a bit like... mint... but stronger than mint. It's also a bit like alcohol, but not... I can't really put my finger on it."
Hearing her description, Zhou Yi guessed it was almost right.
This smell is most likely betel nut.
In addition to the smell, people who chew betel nut have some other notable characteristics. Their cheeks on both sides of their face become more developed due to long-term chewing, and their cheeks are more prominent than those of ordinary people.
"Don't worry, I'll find a way to get your wallet back."
"Really?" Zhang Xianglan asked in disbelief.
"You take a rest first." Zhou Yi said as he stood up.
In the past, green-skinned trains basically had seats facing each other, with a small table in the middle, three seats on one side and two seats on the other.
Zhou Yi and his friends bought tickets for two seats. Opposite them sat an elderly couple who looked like simple working people. Their fingers were black, thick, and covered with calluses.
"Don't worry, sister. If it doesn't work, ask your brother to ask the train operator. I have some oranges here, try one." The aunt comforted her, probably referring to the staff on the train.
Zhang Xianglan felt very uncomfortable. She closed her eyes, frowned, waved to the aunt, and said thank you.
Zhou Yi walked to the connection between the carriages, took out his phone and called the Third Squadron. It was Chen Yan who answered the call.
He told Chen Yan to contact the railway police at the train station and ask them to help search along the railway.
Because there is a certain possibility that the pickpocket stole the wallet, took the money, and threw the ID and wallet out the window.
It hasn't been long since the train started, so there's no need to look a long way.
Moreover, the railway police must be very familiar with this kind of thing. If a pickpocket does this, they will definitely know it.
But Zhou Yi thinks that the possibility is slightly lower, because the green-skinned trains have face-to-face seats, and throwing a wallet out of the window is too obvious and can easily be noticed by others.
Unless all the people sitting at one window are accomplices of the pickpocket.
But this possibility is extremely low.
First, train tickets used to be sold manually, unlike online ticketing, which allows users to choose their own tickets. Tickets were sold in a sequential order, and passengers could be connected, but only in rows across the aisle, not across from each other. Therefore, this was not practical.
Second, pickpockets are not on the train for group travel, they are on the train to work. Regardless of the convenience of theft or the degree of risk, it is impossible for a group of pickpockets to sit face to face.
Unless they intend to give performance rewards to the railway police, they will be wiped out at once.
Therefore, Zhou Yi's conclusion is that the stolen wallets are kept by a dedicated person. This person is not responsible for stealing, but only for handling these "stolen goods", so they can be hidden well.
After all, to catch a thief you have to seize the stolen goods, so finding a wallet from someone is irrefutable evidence. But finding only money is useless, because money looks the same in everyone's pocket.
Zhou Yi looked at his watch because he was worried that the person who was handling the stolen goods might get off at the next stop and dispose of the stolen goods.
This bus doesn't start from Hongcheng, nor does it go only to Anyuan. Hongcheng and Anyuan are both stops, with several more stops in between. The next stop is Cannes, which takes about an hour.
If the pickpocket is not found before this, it will probably be impossible to get Zhang Xianglan's wallet back later.
Zhou Yi took a deep breath and walked towards the front of the car.
There are a total of twenty carriages on the entire train, with only three in the front and sixteen in the back, so naturally we have to start checking from the fewest.
But it would take nearly half an hour to walk through these twenty carriages from beginning to end, looking for suspicious targets.
Zhou Yi walked to the front of the car, then started walking back, observing the passengers on both sides.
He automatically ignored women, children, and the elderly, and just glanced past them without stopping.
For an adult male, his gaze will stay for two seconds, paying attention to the other person's cheek.
He walked from the front of the train to the back, paying special attention to the men walking in the aisle and staying at the connection between the carriages.
But the suspicious target was not found.
There were also people who were clearly wary of him, but they did not fit the profile of the target he was looking for.
After looking around, Zhou Yi was a little confused. Could it be that this person got off the car after stealing?
That's impossible. From the time I entered the ticket gate until I got on the bus, I didn't see anyone leaving.
I was helpless. I looked at the time and could only look around from the back of the car to the front.
When Zhou Yi reached the junction of carriages 15 and 14, he had just opened the carriage door when a person in front of him blocked his way.
"Sorry, let me pass." Zhou Yi said as he moved to the side, trying to pass sideways.
But unexpectedly, this person also moved to the side, blocking Zhou Yi's way.
At this moment, another person suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed his arm.
The man blocking the way in front also grabbed his other arm and pulled him to the side without saying a word.
"What are you doing? We've been watching you for a long time, acting sneaky!" someone asked sternly.
Zhou Yi immediately understood that he had met his colleagues. These two people should be plainclothes railway police in the car. It was probably because he was walking around that aroused their suspicion.
"One of us, I am..."
Before Zhou Yi could finish his words, another person shouted, "What do you mean by 'one of us'? Be quiet!"
"I'm one of us. I'm from the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Hongcheng City Public Security Bureau. My ID is in the inside pocket of my coat. If you don't believe me, take it yourself."
The two looked at each other and one of them reached out to take it.
Then he took out Zhou Yi's police ID. The two of them looked at it and immediately let go of each other's hands.
"Zhou Yi..." Someone looked at the photo and name on the ID and compared it with Zhou Yi himself. "I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."
"I'm sorry, Comrade Zhou Yi, it's our duty." The man returned the certificate to Zhou Yi and said.
Zhou Yi touched his left arm. Wow, the guy on the left had a really strong arm.
"It's okay, I understand. My behavior is indeed a bit suspicious." Zhou Yi said with a helpless smile.
"Are you on a mission or..."
"Oh, that's right."
Zhou Yi was about to explain the situation when the toilet door suddenly opened.
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