Chapter 375: Chapter 358: Truly Stingy_1
"You seem to know quite a bit, she’s on a work visa, valid for three years, and now we’re within the three-year mark."
"Alright, I won’t ask any more. Have the bank staff hurry up and get in position, we’ll head back to the city bureau now. Counting this amount will take a long time."
"Good, I’ll arrange that now. Just one requirement, make sure the evidence is solid."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Dayuan waved his hand.
"Zip up the bags, go to a nearby company and get some rainproof tarps, wrap each bag thoroughly before we transport them. I see these bags are about to fall apart, we need to maintain the integrity of the outer packaging, it also makes it easier for the technical team to extract information."
Mr. Wang hurried off to get things done, and soon enough, the items were brought over. They carefully packaged each bag. Watching two detectives lift a bag, Xu Dayuan kept shaking his head.
"Lou Sanfeng didn’t seem to have much strength, and these four bags must weigh nearly two hundred pounds. He must have exhausted quite a bit of energy bringing them back."
Liu Yongxin nodded, Zhou Ning stared at the bags without speaking, Xu Dayuan nudged him.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, why aren’t you saying anything?"
Zhou Ning thought for a moment, looked at the last green backpack, and said solemnly:
"After a span of four years, he committed two sensational kidnapping cases, and killed three people. He also found such a place to hide his secrets, and it seems he didn’t spend a dime of the ransom money. What was his purpose in doing this? Was it just to vent his emotions?
If it’s to vent emotions, or to take revenge on the person he secretly loved, killing the three members of the Zhu family could be a kind of excuse. Then why kidnap Cheng Xinghui? To teach his own brother not to bow to fate, and then kill him?"
Zhou Ning’s remarks left everyone silent; indeed, Lou Sanfeng’s actions were puzzling.
It seemed that everything would have to wait for the final piece of evidence, waiting for Lou Sanfeng himself to explain.
...
Three hours later.
It was already dark outside, and the lights were brightly lit inside the laboratory on the fourth floor of the technical department.
The glass whiteboard was covered with various photographs on both sides. Hearing the door open, Zhou Ning looked back to see Mr. Zhao and Yang Xuetong entering briskly, both faces sweaty.
"What did Mrs. Cui say?"
Mr. Zhao handed several papers to Zhou Ning.
"Almost a thousand samples for testing, they won’t be finished until tomorrow. However, Lou Sanfeng’s test report is out."
Zhou Ning took it and unfolded it, Liu Yongxin leaned over, and they looked through it together.
The first report was Lou Sanfeng’s blood compared to the male DNA of Chen Gang’s close relatives found on the table at Pear Orchard, showing the two DNAs belonged to the same person.
The second report was on the DNA fragments found in the fingertip cut from Cheng Xinghui, compared with Lou Sanfeng’s DNA, showing that several DNA fragments completely matched the corresponding segments in Lou Sanfeng’s DNA sequence, confirming they belonged to the same person.
Seeing these two results, Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, with these two reports as a basis, at least it proves our analysis is not wrong. Lou Sanfeng is indeed the half-brother of Chen Gang, sharing the same father. He is also the real culprit behind the 2000 February 3rd kidnapping case. As for the other determinations, let’s wait for the results. Have the fingerprints been compared?"
Mr. Qu in front of the computer had been busy, but upon hearing Zhou Ning’s question, he quickly raised his hand.
"Director Zhou, I’ve just finished the comparison. The fingerprints on the secret door on the ground of the fifth room of the small building, and the dozens of fingerprints extracted from the attic, all belong to Lou Sanfeng. As for the other twenty-plus fingerprints collected from the attic, they all belong to the three members of the Zhu family."
Zhou Ning nodded and walked over to Mr. Qu.
Beside Mr. Qu, there were several other members of the technical team, all monitoring the surveillance footage.
"Good, print out all the comparison results. Have you found anything in the surveillance footage you’ve been reviewing? Director Xu will probably be here soon. He’s an impatient man; as soon as he sees you, he’ll want the results."
Mr. Qu showed a toothy smile and pointed at the three monitors in front of him.
"We’ve found some clues. We found that every day after Lou Sanfeng drove home, within half an hour, he would go downstairs, then circle around to the north gate to leave the community. Afterward, he switched to an electric bike and rode it to a residential building not too far away. Look, this is the community."
On the big screen, Mr. Qu constantly switched surveillance views to show Lou Sanfeng approaching an open community, parking his electric bike, then walking to a residential unit and disappearing from view.
"They say a crafty hare has three burrows; this Lou Sanfeng actually has so many residences. Well, since we’ve found the ransom money, let’s send someone to follow up and take a look there."
As he spoke, Zhou Ning lifted his head. Mr. Zhao and Yang Xuetong were organizing photos and the inspection report content. Zhu Xingxing was fiddling with the video camera, and Zhou Ning’s gaze fell on Sun Gaotie.
"Mr. Yang and Sun Gaotie go take a look. I’ll call Liu Yufei. You follow them to Lou Sanfeng’s residence. It’s better if you find something, but even if you don’t, take pictures for the record. You still need to see the scene. One of his houses is spotless, while the other preserves all the memories he deems important. I guess that must be the residence."
Yang Xuetong stood up and went to prepare things with Sun Gaotie, while Zhou Ning dialed Liu Yufei’s number, which connected on the second ring.
"Director Zhou, have you gotten the results?"
Zhou Ning gave an affirmative sound.
"Two reports came out, just as we deduced. Chen Gang’s and Lou Sanfeng’s blood analyses belong to the male related to Chen Gang by blood. Moreover, the DNA fragments found on Cheng Xinghui’s severed finger also match Lou Sanfeng. The other reports haven’t come out yet. I feared Director Xu might be interrogating, so I didn’t call him."
Liu Yufei sounded relieved.
"Phew, that’s good! Director Xu isn’t interrogating; Lou Sanfeng is just sitting in the interrogation room, ignored. Director Xu was called away by Mr. Hu. Do you have any other discoveries on your side?"
"Yeah, other tests will only come out tomorrow, but fingerprint comparison is completed. In the small building on Nan Island, we found fingerprints of Lou Sanfeng and all three members of the Zhu family. Regarding the surveillance we had Mr. Qu and the technician track, we’ve found some information. We think Lou Sanfeng might have another property. How about Mrs. Fei, you send someone to take a look? I won’t bother Director Xu."
Liu Yufei readily agreed.
"Okay, I’ll report to Director Xu, then organize the personnel. I’ll call you before we set off."
Zhou Ning ended the call, and at that moment, Mr. Zhao raised his head. The map in front of him needed markings for the investigation site, filled with colorful annotations. Finding so much information at one scene was quite surprising, but it was not friendly to the investigators due to the massive workload.
"What does it mean, Director Xu could actually hold his patience and not interrogate Lou Sanfeng?"
Zhou Ning nodded and started to smile as well.
"It’s understandable. He probably wants to wait until the evidence is surefire before beginning the interrogation. After all, everything about Lou Sanfeng’s behavior is extremely irrational. With such a person, it’s difficult to analyze his inner thoughts. Especially considering the multiple houses, he likely suffers from a multifaceted personality. Exposing more information would be better."
Mr. Zhao realized and shook his finger in understanding.
"I get it now. They hope to keep Lou Sanfeng under surveillance, letting him become anxious and fill in the blanks himself. After all, the more a person with heavy thoughts imagines, the greater the psychological pressure. In such a condition, perhaps another hidden personality will reveal itself."
Zhou Ning looked out the window and nodded.
"Perhaps!"
...
"Perhaps!"
In the city bureau’s Office 501, Xu Dayuan looked out the window and nodded.
"Hey, don’t wax philosophical with me. Put away all those messy emotions. My request is simple; it’s not just about solving the case. I want to know the true story behind the leak of the case from that year. What do you mean, ’perhaps’? Although the test results aren’t out yet, I’ve seen the fingerprint comparison chart, and I’m pretty much certain about it. I trust in Director Zhou and the chubby technician’s capabilities. You even found the ransom, so as long as we’re diligent, we’re sure to find some traces.
It’s too late now. My suggestion is to have someone closely watch Lou Sanfeng. You suspect he has multiple personalities? Then let’s provoke him, exacerbate his fear and his time to imagine, which will be beneficial for the interrogation. Don’t be too hasty to deliberate.
Also, there’s a vacancy for the chief of the second squad in the criminal investigation division. After this case, put some more responsibility on Liu Yufei. I think she’s quite capable, bold, strategic, talented, and calm—definitely a promising newcomer for criminal investigations."
Xu Dayuan raised his hand and placed it on Mr. Hu’s forehead, only for Mr. Hu to slap it away.
"You’re getting bold, kid. Why the fidgeting?"
Xu Dayuan rubbed his nose.
"No worries, just checking to see if the boss has a fever. I have no objections to Liu Yufei’s promotion. She wanted to apply for work at a local substation, but I don’t think that suits her. She should stay in criminal investigations where she can fully demonstrate her capabilities. Alright, I’ve said enough. I still need to arrange for someone to find a place rigged with hidden cameras to keep Lou Sanfeng."
Hu Guangjian waved his hand.
"Go ahead, oh and by the way, arrange for the bank staff to eat at the cafeteria."
Xu Dayuan pursed his lips.
"Such a miser!"
