Chapter 1348: Chapter 165: Evidence Is a Must! (Part 2)

"Right, right, right, how could I forget Wang Xiaoyan!"

"We must find Wang Xiaoyan as soon as possible and explain the policy to her clearly. As long as we can break through with her, the rest will be easier to handle.

Everyone was analyzing the case, and Zhao Hongxing called again.

"Director Wang, Boss Chen, who contracted the brick and tile factory, admitted that he indeed went gambling at an underground casino in Guzhou with Liu Jie and lost a lot—nineteen thousand in one night!"

"Is that all?"

"Not just that!"

Zhao Hongxing looked at the interrogation records that Director Huang just brought over and reported, "He suspects that the gambling session was a trap set by Liu Jie, and he hates Liu Jie to the core. Since then, he has had no contact with him. He confirmed that Liu Jie indeed has a white Changhe van, which seems to have been won in a gambling session from a Zhehai boss."

Director Wang pressed, "Does he know where Liu Jie is staying?"

"No, last year Liu Jie picked him up to go to Guzhou to gamble. He said they went directly to a township enterprise that manufactures hardware tools and, after losing everything gambling, Liu Jie sent him to the long-distance bus station, gave him two hundred yuan, and told him to buy a ticket home himself."

"Does he know where that township enterprise is?"

"He doesn’t know the exact location or the specific township because it was nighttime, and he was unfamiliar with the area; he couldn’t even tell east from west."

"At least he should know which district or county it’s in."

"He came back from Wujiang bus station, so that township should be in Wujiang."

This newly acquired information isn’t very helpful to solving the case.

Zhao Hongxing put down the record materials and added, "Director Wang, I’ve discussed with Director Huang, Wang Xiaoyan’s husband works abroad, right? We want to ask the town government to step in under the pretext of compiling statistics on people working abroad and see if she returns the call tomorrow morning."

If Wang Xiaoyan returns the call, they can trace her number to find out where she is. Various signs indicate that finding her will lead to Liu Jie!

Director Wang thought for a moment and asked, "And then?"

"We don’t have evidence of him stealing on board, so I think once we find him, we shouldn’t alert him. Someone like him can’t live a straightforward life, so if we keep an eye on him, we might indeed catch something unexpectedly."

"Like raiding a gambling den?"

"At least it’s better than arresting someone without solid evidence."

Salted Fish insisted that evidence was necessary.

Jiang Hechun also felt that just making an arrest would be inappropriate.

Even Zhao Hongxing emphasized the need for solid evidence now.

Wang Wenhong could only respect their opinions and said thoughtfully, "Alright, let’s do it your way."

Zhao Hongxing was worried that the case, which had finally shown some progress, would end up unresolved. Seeing the director agree, he finally relaxed, thought for a moment, and said, "Also, the Dujiang Police Bureau’s leadership says that the suspect committed crimes in their jurisdiction, too, and they need to explain to their superiors and the victimized shipman, so they want to conduct a joint investigation with us."

Wang Wenhong instinctively asked, "How do we conduct a joint investigation?"

"They said once the suspect is apprehended, they will hand him over to us, and the case can be transferred to us as long as they get a mention in the report."

"No problem."

Don’t expect any seizures in such a case.

For Director Wang and Director Qi, as long as the case is solved, it doesn’t matter if there’s a seizure or not. Han Yu found it amusing when suddenly his phone rang; he took it out and saw it was from Captain Wei.

There was a phone on the table, so he directly used the conference table’s phone to return the call.

As soon as he dialed, he heard Captain Wei on the other end ask, "Salted Fish?"

"It’s me, Uncle Wei; is something up?"

"Did you go to the traffic police brigade today?"

"Yes, I did."

"And you gave a heroism report at the traffic police brigade?"

Han Yu didn’t expect Captain Wei to be so well-informed and replied with a wry smile, "It wasn’t really a heroism report; I was roped into it by Director Xu and Political Commissioner Cui, and when I followed them into the big meeting, I realized they had it all set up. The room was packed, and everyone was applauding, so I had to say a few words."

With this matter settled, it was easier to handle.

Captain Wei suppressed a laugh and said with an undeniable tone, "If you can speak at the traffic police brigade, you can come speak at our brigade too. We’ll schedule it for Friday at 2 PM. Will you come on your own, or should I arrange a car to pick you up?"

"Do I have to speak?"

"You can’t favor one over the other, and besides, what’s our relationship? And what about my relationship with your master? It’s said that Xu Debao bragged onstage today about being friends with your master back in the day; I can tell you for sure that among the people in our Criminal Investigation Department back then, the one your master looked down on the most was him!"

"Ah..."

"You just need to know that. After all, no matter what, he’s now considered half a bureau leader, so we need to save some face for him. Cui Hongwei is a good person; when Scholar Yu was at his lowest, many people in the City Bureau offices laughed at him, but Cui Hongwei did not."

Old Wei recalled the past and sighed, "Thirty years on the east side of the river, thirty years on the west. Scholar Yu is now prosperous, and those who laughed at him back then are now trying to connect and ingratiate themselves with him. Cui Hongwei is different from them, as far as I know, he’s never sought anything from Scholar Yu."

Wang Wenhong listened intently and couldn’t help but laugh and ask, "Captain Wei, what about me?"

"Old Wang, you’re in too!"

"You’re talking to our branch’s phone right now."

To talk about Xu Debao behind his back and have Wang Xiazhi overhear it!

Captain Wei felt a bit aggrieved but couldn’t help but laugh and scold, "Aren’t you embarrassed to ask? Back then, Xu Sanye looked down on you the same way, and Salted Fish knows this too without me saying anything."

There were many people around, and Wang Wenhong didn’t want the earlier conversation to get out, so that’s why he asked.

Seeing Captain Wei react so quickly, he chuckled with a hint of self-deprecation, "So it’s not shameful to be looked down on by Sanye?"

Captain Wei, knowing Wang Xiazhi’s crafty intentions, secretly praised him as indeed being a sly old fox, and said with half a smile, "It’s not a shame to be looked down on by Sanye, just like it’s not a shame to be spat on by Salted Fish, because not everyone is worthy of being looked down on by Sanye, just like not everyone is worthy of being spat on by Salted Fish."

"That makes sense, hahaha."

"No more joking, I need to go to the airport to pick someone up, I’ll hang up first."

"Going to the airport to pick someone up, is it a leader coming to inspect the work?"

"It’s not a leader, it’s a police intern returning. Director Chen personally instructed me; I must go pick him up, and host him well, and arrange everything properly."

Wang Wenhong found it incredible and curiously asked, "A police intern, and you need to personally pick them up? Do they have a background or some influence?"

Captain Wei, descending the stairs, explained, "This intern coming back doesn’t have any particular background, but he’s competent. He’s a graduate student from Public University and also from Beijing Medical College, and serves as a Public University instructor. You might remember the republic’s first big taxation case; he solved it."

"Si Gang Police Station’s Han Daji!"

"That’s him; he switched careers and is now doing forensic science. I almost forgot; he’s also a second-level model in the Binjiang Police System."

The former director of Liangzhuang Police Station, a top student amongst top students!

Old Lu mentioned him more than once; it’s said he already earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Law several years ago.

Two years ago, the city held its first public civil service exam, and Si Gang Police Station organized contract-based police officers who met the requirements to take the test; all twenty-something passed, reportedly trained by ’Han Daji’ himself.

Han Yu never attended college, not even high school.

In Han Yu’s mind, that ’Han Daji’ from his father-in-law’s hometown is truly Heaven’s Chosen Son.

Reflecting on someone who’s both a graduate student at Public University and Beijing University, as well as an instructor, he truly seemed like a distinguished individual. Realizing that Director Chen instructed Captain Wei to personally pick up such a person made sense, knowing there wasn’t a single graduate from Public University in the entire Binjiang Police System, let alone a Beijing University graduate police officer.