novelslam Chapter 48 Case Closed
Chapter 48 Case Closed
Pengcheng Municipal Public Security Bureau, conference room.
Smoke swirled around.
Wang Weiguo sat in the main seat, with Luo Zhenbang's notebook spread out in front of him.
It was a thick stack of pages, totaling forty-seven pages.
"This case involves twelve incidents in Guangzhou and two in Shenzhen, with a total of fourteen victims. The main tools used in the crimes were nylon ropes, with scissors used occasionally."
The modus operandi is relatively fixed: the perpetrators drive around in the rain to find targets, mostly women traveling alone, and a small number of prostitutes. They lure these women into their car, tie them up, and extract their genitals while they are still alive. The genitals are then preserved in formaldehyde.
The hiding place was his rented room, and he was eventually found inside a modified speedboat next to a crematorium.
Wu Feilin finished reading the main contents of the case file and put the materials down.
The people inside the room exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief at the case information.
"Have you matched the victim's information yet?" Wang Weiguo asked.
"It's out." Wu Feilin opened the folder. "Based on the suspect Luo Zhenbang's confession, the bodies of those victims have been matched one by one. After the meeting, I will contact the Guangzhou authorities and have them notify the victims' families."
"Where is Luo Zhenbang's wife, Li Xiumei?"
"Luo Zhenbang has provided a contact method, and we are trying to get in touch," Lao Zhou replied.
Wang Weiguo was silent for a moment, then nodded heavily. "This case is closed."
As he spoke, he stood up. "First, Luo Zhenbang is suspected of intentional homicide. The evidence is conclusive, and the evidence will be secured and transferred to the procuratorate afterward."
Second, notify the Guangzhou authorities to merge the cases for investigation and share all materials.
Third, efforts should be made to comfort and reassure the families of the deceased.
"Understood!" everyone answered in unison.
"Let's adjourn the meeting."
After Wang Weiguo gave the order, everyone immediately scattered like birds and beasts.
Just as Gu Huai was about to get up and leave, Wang Weiguo's voice came from behind him, "Little Gu, stay for a moment."
After everyone left the meeting room, Wang Weiguo got up and walked up to Gu Huai.
"You deserve a lot of credit for this case."
Gu Huai shook his head, "This is all thanks to everyone. I only played a small role."
"Stop with the official jargon," Wang Weiguo waved his hand. "Young people should act like young people. What's the point of being so mature?"
Gu Huai nodded and lowered his head.
"Don't pretend to be all learned. You weren't like this when you talked back to Old Wu," Wang Weiguo said with a laugh.
"I've seen your performance these past few days. From discovering the suspicious points to locking onto Luo Zhenbang, and finally finding the speedboat, every step you took was perfectly timed. Especially your interrogation of Luo Zhenbang, using his son to break through his psychological defenses, that was brilliantly done."
"I just did what I was supposed to do."
"What should be done?" Wang Weiguo laughed. "Do you know how many people in our city bureau have been police officers for over a decade and still haven't achieved this kind of result?"
Faced with Wang Weiguo's praise, Gu Huai simply kept his head down and didn't respond.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Wang Weiguo patted him on the shoulder. "I will personally handle your formal employment procedures. As for your issue with Lao Wu, I will also personally talk to him about it when I come down. You should rest for the next few days and wait for further notice."
"Wang Zhi...that taxi case..." Gu Huai asked in a low voice.
"Don't worry, the team will let you know as soon as there's news," Wang Weiguo said with a smile. "The team is short-staffed right now. If there's any progress on the case, you won't be able to take a break even if you want to."
"Thank you, Branch Manager Wang."
Gu Huai stood up, saluted Wang Weiguo, and turned to leave the conference room.
In the corridor, Ling Yue was leaning against the railing, holding a folder and lost in thought.
Seeing Gu Huai come out, she immediately came over and asked, "What did Wang Zhi just say to you?"
"Praise me."
"It's that simple?"
"It's that simple!"
"That's a good thing." Ling Yue shoved the filing cabinet into Gu Huai's arms. "The whole team has seen your performance these past few days. Some people may not say it, but they're all dissatisfied. Now that Wang Zhi has endorsed you, let's see what they dare to say."
Seeing Ling Yue's angry expression, Gu Huai smiled. "Where's Brother Hou? I haven't seen him."
"He's in the archives." Ling Yue looked around. "He hasn't been doing well these past few days."
"It's not because of me, is it?" Gu Huai shrank back, saying somewhat insecurely.
"What are you thinking?" Ling Yue rolled her eyes at Gu Huai. "Haozi isn't that kind of person."
"The case has already been solved, so why is he still unhappy?"
"You'll find out when you get there," Ling Yue said mysteriously, then swung her hand and headed towards the archives.
Gu Huai weighed the heavy documents in his hand. "No wonder they were waiting for me at the door. Looks like they thought I was a laborer."
Pushing open the door to the archives room, Hou Hao was sitting at the table, with a photograph in front of him.
Upon seeing someone approaching, he quickly pulled the photo away and put it in his inner pocket.
"Brother Hou?"
Hou Hao looked up, his eyes a little red. "Ah Huai, you're here."
Gu Huai walked over, placed the file on the table, and sat down opposite Hou Hao. "Brother Hou, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine." Hou Hao rubbed his face, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace. "You two go ahead and do your work. I'm going to check on my master."
After saying that, Hou Hao got up and walked out.
Looking at his hurried back, there was no need to think that his words about going to find Wu Feilin were just an excuse.
All he really wanted was to leave.
Gu Huai looked at Ling Yue with some confusion, "What exactly happened to Brother Hou?"
"Today is Haozi's birthday," Lingyue said calmly. "That photo just now was Haozi's family portrait."
"Birthday?" Gu Huai frowned. "Then why is he..."
"You want to ask why his birthday is also at the bureau, right?" Ling Yue understood Gu Huai's thoughts.
"Mm." Gu Huai nodded.
"Ah Huai, Haozi has no relatives left in Pengcheng." Ling Yue took out a cigarette from her pocket and lit it. "I've looked at Haozi's file. His grandparents have both passed away, and his maternal grandparents are both living in other places."
Upon hearing this, Gu Huai couldn't help but reach out, take a cigarette from Ling Yue's cigarette case, and light it.
The two of them sat silently in the archives and quietly finished smoking a cigarette.
"Ah Huai, do you think people like Luo Zhenbang should be hated or pitied?"
Gu Huai thought for a moment, "They should be arrested."
Ling Yue paused for a moment, then chuckled, "That's true."
After saying that, she stood up and prepared to get back to work.
The case was closed, but as the only clerk in the team, she still had a huge pile of documents to process.
Seeing that he couldn't help, Gu Huai tried several times to ask Ling Yue for Hou Hao's father's case file, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Amidst the desolation, Gu Huai quietly left the office.
After Gu Huai left, Ling Yue, who had been busy, suddenly stopped.
Looking at the door that had been closed again, Ling Yue pulled out a thin file from the bottom of the first drawer on his right.
After glancing at it, I put it back in the drawer.
The case file clearly stated "[Hou Jianguo Intentional Homicide Case]".
-----------------
I left the archives.
Downstairs, a taxi was parked at the entrance.
Zhang Shengli paced back and forth beside the car, carrying a plastic bag in his hand.
As a taxi driver, he couldn't hide the fact that he had spent the entire night searching for the large chimney.
Furthermore, Luo Zhenbang was taken away right under his nose, so he naturally knew immediately that the case had been solved.
"Officer Gu!" Upon seeing Gu Huai, he strode over. "I've been looking for you."
"Master Zhang, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Zhang Shengli stuffed the plastic bag into Gu Huai's hand. "It's just a little something. Yan Ni asked me to give it to you. She said that without you, she doesn't know when this case would be solved."
Gu Huai opened the plastic bag; inside were several lunch boxes.
"this……"
"Keep it," Zhang Shengli waved his hand. "It's worthless, it's homemade food, and it doesn't violate any rules."
Gu Huai didn't refuse any longer and took the plastic bag.
"Mr. Zhang, how is Ms. Liu doing?"
"How can things possibly get better after something like this?" Zhang Shengli sighed. "The house burned down, my husband is dead, we can only barely make ends meet."
Upon hearing this, Gu Huai's eyelids drooped, and he felt quite uncomfortable.
Although Zhang Zhenhua's actions of not reporting the case to the police after learning about it and instead trying to blackmail Luo Zhenbang were indeed illegal, these are not reasons for Luo Zhenbang to kill him.
Now that the man is dead, the bureau has no intention of pursuing Zhang Zhenhua's responsibility.
As for the reason why Zhang Zhenhua died, Gu Huai was not prepared to tell Zhang Shengli at this time.
"Fortunately, the village arranged accommodation for her." After sighing, Zhang Shengli continued, "Uncle said he would help her family build a house in the spring, and the company also promised to pay for Zhenhua's work injury."
"That's good." Gu Huai nodded, planning to ask the legal department about the situation afterward to see if he could help.
Being able to help this poor widow and her child is Gu Huai's way of doing his last bit of help for Zhang Zhenhua, whom he has never met.
Zhang Shengli said a few more words of thanks, then turned and left.
Gu Huai carried the plastic bag, opened the lunchbox, and ate the pan-fried buns one by one.
After finishing his meal, Gu Huai carefully put away the lunchbox, intending to return it to Zhang Shengli the next time he encountered him.
After finishing everything, Gu Huai stretched lazily.
"Never mind everything else for now, let's go to sleep!"