Chapter 1106

"Pour another cup of water."

Huang Qiangmin entered the office and gulped down Jiang Yuan's tea until it was all gone.

Jiang Yuan stood up to refill it for him, then said with a chuckle: "Drink slowly, don't feel uncomfortable in a bit."

Huang Qiangmin looked travel-worn and didn't speak, first unbuttoning the collar of his shirt, then taking a few deep breaths before saying: "I left at 4:30 in the morning to catch my flight. They only gave me one cup of water on the plane, and the meal was very salty..."

Jiang Yuan listened to his complaints with a chuckle and stood up to light a stick of sandalwood incense.

Miao Ruixiang bowed subconsciously, then turned and silently brewed a separate cup of tea for Huang Qiangmin.

"This is Tieguanyin, right? It's actually quite good. Isn't it said that Tieguanyin has high pesticide residues?" Huang Qiangmin started to recover and began to be picky while turning the cup.

"This was grown by an old man in the village. His daughter married over there and specifically set up a mountain plot. Every time they pick tea, they bring some back to the village..." Jiang Yuan also signaled Miao Ruixiang to brew a fresh cup for himself.

Brewing tea in a large cup isn't considered high-class by tea drinkers, but it's convenient. Moreover, it's not appropriate for a tea table or tea set to appear in a police office. Since ancient times, the masses are like bosses; seeing public servants leisurely brewing tea, regardless of the reason, would certainly lead to a wave of criticism first.

Huang Qiangmin drank another half cup of tea before saying: "It's settled. We'll cover the expenses in Luojin City; Dai Mingsheng just needs to deal with us."

Jiang Yuan looked at Huang Qiangmin suspiciously.

Huang Qiangmin felt a bit uncomfortable, immediately put down the cup, and said: "Don't think badly of people. I didn't take any price difference. Dai Mingsheng and Old Xu are both smart people and have each other's phone numbers; how could I scam them?"

"Old Dai can't provide what Xu Ju wants, and Xu Ju doesn't care for the price Old Dai offered." Liu Jinghui, who was originally sitting nearby reading interrogation records, couldn't help but offer an analysis upon hearing this.

Huang Qiangmin glanced at him: "Something like that. Mainly... trust is also quite hard to build."

"They aren't short of money." Liu Jinghui pointed out what was primary.

"Sigh... same people, different fates." Huang Qiangmin let out a long sigh. He started as a county-level criminal investigation detachment captain and is now just a political commissar of the county bureau; he's not even worth a detachment captain of a provincial capital's criminal investigation detachment.

The funding is the same; it's always the most at the top. From the capital to the provincial capital and then to the prefecture-level city, each level is very different.

The funding for a district bureau in the capital can be two or three billion, which is higher than the entire expenditure of Ningtai County. Of course, the administrative level is also higher. Large bureaus in provincial capitals like Lanyue City or Luojin City don't lack daily funding, unlike small county bureaus like Ningtai County, which either have to reach out for money or catch gambling and prostitution.

Whether it's Dai Mingsheng of Lanyue City or Xu Ju of Luojin City, they aren't truly short of money, but what they lack is big money.

Of course, the liquid cash in both their hands is not much. To some extent, government units are the same as the working class; it's normal to spend money before it's even in hand, but if you want me to sell my smile for a number, that number has to be very large.

Liu Jinghui said sharply: "You used Jiang Yuan to stitch it together, didn't you?"

Huang Qiangmin chuckled: "I'll have to go to Luojin sooner or later. Pang Jidong is a really good person; he kept calling me 'Uncle Master' until I was confused. By the way, how is the case?"

"How do you think their interrogation is going?" Liu Jinghui asked back.

"Above standard. Compared to the bureaus we've dealt with, the level is acceptable. They also transferred a few capable people." Huang Qiangmin knew what Liu Jinghui meant and said: "With the time and intensity of this interrogation, as well as the number and scope of the suspects caught, if we still can't find clues now, Zhang Lei's death might really have nothing to do with them."

Huang Qiangmin is a true veteran criminal investigator. In terms of seniority, he has been around longer than Liu Jinghui and Jiang Yuan combined. The judgment he made was absolutely well-considered. Because Huang Qiangmin himself knew that once his opinion was voiced, it meant rejecting an investigation route, and given his status and ability, Liu Jinghui and Jiang Yuan would definitely consider his suggestion carefully.

Liu Jinghui indeed began to ponder.

Jiang Yuan also gently picked up his teacup and began to slurp his tea.

The office that the Lanyue City Criminal Investigation Detachment gave to Jiang Yuan was not very large, but because Jiang Yuan's cold case task force had many people, Wang Chuanxing, Shen Yaowei, Liu Wenkai, and others were also working inside. Feeling the atmosphere, the sound of each person typing on their keyboards weakened and gradually fell silent.

"In terms of the current public security environment, it's actually not that easy for ordinary people to die. Let alone someone like Zhang Lei." Liu Jinghui explained his reasoning: "Moreover, after Zhang Lei died, he was dumped over a distance of thousands of kilometers. This distance is something an ordinary person wouldn't do. I've studied some papers on geographic profiling; for normal body dumping, 5 or 10 kilometers is about it, and dumping 20 kilometers away is relatively rare."

Huang Qiangmin and the others nodded gently.

The "geographic profiling" Liu Jinghui mentioned is applied more abroad. Usually, it involves marking the crime scenes of a series of cases on a map, then analyzing the spatial distribution map of the crime locations to determine the investigation method for the suspect's coming and going.

Liu Jinghui simply closed his laptop and said with focus: "Of course, the 5-kilometer data is mainly for dumping after dismemberment. Theoretically, the more pieces a body is dismembered into, the shorter the dumping distance. Our body is in one piece, so it's normal to dump it further, but dumping it across provinces must have a reason; it's impossible to do this just for the sake of dumping a body."

Liu Jinghui continued: "In addition, for normal body dumping, killers are accustomed to dumping in places they are familiar with. There are many psychological factors involved here, and everyone understands this, so I don't need to say more. But overall, transporting a body across provinces requires considerable confidence. Without multiple experiences crossing provinces and familiarity with the situation at the Lanyue City Film City, there's no reason to do this."

Liu Jinghui counted on his fingers: "Classic theories of criminal psychology: first, be familiar with the crime location; second, avoid acquaintances; third, don't be too far from the residence... From this perspective, the suspect is very likely engaged in transportation or trade, frequently traveling between Lanyue City and Luojin City; at the very least, they must have traveled back and forth many times."

Wang Chuanxing stood up at this time: "The Lanyue Municipal Bureau and the Luojin Municipal Bureau have also invested a lot of resources in this regard, screening all license plates of vehicles traveling between the two provinces at checkpoints and through video surveillance."

"There's one more point." Liu Jinghui added: "The body dumping site is 300 meters from the nearest road. This distance is too far; one person almost has no way to move a body that far. Therefore, it's either a very strong man, or it was moved by two or even multiple people working together. No matter how you look at it, I tend to think the killer has a certain degree of professionalism. Professional crime."

Liu Jinghui could be said to have explained his train of thought very completely. Huang Qiangmin also drank tea, lit a cigarette, and pondered silently.

Jiang Yuan took another pack of "He Tianxia" from the drawer, placed it on the table, and said: "In terms of Zhang Lei's life and work, not only would he come into contact with professional criminals during work, but he would also come into contact with many professional criminals in his life, right?"

Huang Qiangmin's eyes lit up: "That's the logic."

Turning his head, Huang Qiangmin handed a "He Tianxia" to Liu Jinghui and helped him light it: "Director Liu, no offense, but based on what I saw when I went over, the Binren Gang was all caught, and the internal contradictions of their organization weren't great enough to reach the level of killing someone. You've also seen the interrogation records; what do you think?"

Liu Jinghui smiled, took a puff of the cigarette, and filled the room with smoke: "I don't deny that these people on the street can't be loyal at this point. If there were relevant news or they heard any wind, they would definitely offer up the killer. But based on what they've confessed so far, the possibility of internal killing is indeed not high. However... work relationships aren't necessarily relationships within the organization."

"For these 'energetic organizations' now, the relationships between them aren't that complicated." Huang Qiangmin had stayed in Luojin City for several days, and the time spent on bureau matters was less than the time spent understanding the case, so he wasn't very optimistic about Liu Jinghui's judgment.

Liu Jinghui, as an expert from the provincial department, often supported county-level criminal investigation teams. Hearing Huang Qiangmin's opinion, a familiar feeling welled up in his heart.

The opinions of local criminal investigators like Huang Qiangmin are always a double-edged sword. On one hand, they have their own limitations, just like an old farmer in an arid region who hasn't seen a rainy season and wouldn't consider carrying an umbrella when going out. But on the other hand, if an outside expert insists on considering the rainy season in an arid region, their brain is also missing something.

Furthermore, do girls in arid regions carry umbrellas when they go out? Actually, many do, not to prevent rain, but to prevent UV sunburn and tanning.

For a homicide case, repeated deliberation is indispensable.

Liu Jinghui wasn't in a hurry. He waited until he finished the whole cigarette and lit a new one, not even smoking it, just letting it burn, before saying: "Zhang Lei had been hanging out on the street since he was a teenager. The 'big brothers' he followed in his early years have already been executed twice. From this perspective, Zhang Lei's life was actually life on the street, life in the 'Heishe' society."

Liu Jinghui flicked the non-existent ash and said: "Zhang Lei was killed without a whisper of wind; this actually proves one thing: this is definitely not because of life matters. For someone like him, what life problem is there that he couldn't chat about with his brothers on the street? He could even talk vividly about what position he used last night. Only work matters, or matters on the street, would..."

"F***ing a big brother's wife." Liu Wenkai had been listening on the side, taking advantage of the cigarettes, and with this one sentence, he killed Liu Jinghui's logic.

Liu Jinghui was stunned for a long time, finished another cigarette, and was unable to refute it, saying: "What you said also makes some sense..."