Chapter 73: Obstacle

Xinfa Tobacco and Liquor Store.

This place was located in the northern suburbs of Ningtai County, which was only a few kilometers away from Jiang Village residential area.

The storefront of the tobacco and liquor store wasn't large, totaling about 20 square meters, and the inside was still a mess.

The shop owner was a woman in her forties or fifties, leaning against the rolling shutter door, stepping on glass shards, and said with heartache: "The heaven-killing robbers robbed me of several sacks of cigarettes, and also moved away a lot of wine. If they can't be found, we've worked for nothing for several years."

"Was it transported in sacks? Was one inside and one outside handing it over?" Jiang Yuan stood outside the rolling shutter door, observing the surroundings, and asking at the same time.

"One was packing inside, and one was moving outside. Both were carrying knives, making me stand in the corner." The female shop owner pointed to the position and said in a low voice: "They robbed for a long time, and no one helped."

"Did the person moving outside come into the shop?"

"He stood at the door, didn't come in, but gestured with such a long knife." The female shop owner gestured the shape of the knife.

Jiang Yuan nodded to show he knew, and asked again: "Did anyone else see it? If the time was long."

"It was raining heavily that day. I came over in the morning, and I couldn't walk. I didn't see anyone passing by either."

"This shop of yours, what kind of people usually buy cigarettes and alcohol." Jiang Yuan continued to ask.

"There are those passing by on the street, those in the nearby family buildings, and those in the barbecue and crayfish shops on the street in front. If guests want cigarettes, they call me, and I let my husband send them over, earning a one or two yuan errand fee." The female shop owner paused and added: "I often have cash here, and the cash was also robbed."

Jiang Yuan thought while recording the female shop owner's answer, and asked again: "Is there surveillance?"

"Yes, but it's not clear. It was raining that day, and all three robbers wore those hoodie sweatshirts, and their mouths were covered. They came in and moved my good cigarettes..." The landlady said and became emotional.

"Three people?" Wang Zhong confirmed.

The female shop owner nodded and said: "It was three people, one person was in the car, and two people were moving. Have you encountered a case of three people robbing?"

"Just asking clearly. By the way, our colleagues have already copied a copy of the surveillance, right?" Wang Zhong diverted the topic with one sentence.

Compared to the old criminal police, Wang Zhong was still a young man lacking experience, but he already had recognition for many basic problems.

Jiang Yuan also knew why he asked that. For an ordinary tobacco shop, the property that could be robbed was usually limited. Three people robbing, and also having to equip a car, wasn't very cost-effective.

Robbers also had to pay attention to cost-effectiveness.

Of course, their wave of robbing Xinfa Tobacco and Liquor Store was profitable. Because the boss happened to have brought a large batch of goods from the warehouse.

From this perspective, the three of them colluding to rob Xinfa Tobacco and Liquor Store was likely not a simple premeditated crime, and it wasn't the kind of robbery of "let's buy a hoodie and rob a tobacco shop," but rather knowing some of the situation of Xinfa Tobacco and Liquor Store in advance.

If this reasoning was used as a basis to find criminal suspects... that would be too troublesome.

Xinfa Tobacco and Liquor Store was a business open to the door, and the boss didn't mean to deliberately hide the inventory situation. Those who knew the situation included not only the boss's people around, the boss's relatives and friends, but also old customers nearby, that is, those barbecue shops, crayfish shops, and even their old customers...

It was also possible that friends of friends mentioned it while eating barbecue.

Unless no clues could be found, otherwise, the criminal police team would absolutely not be willing to choose this clue to follow up.

Jiang Yuan carried the scene investigation box and started sweeping from the door.

A few onlookers were also persuaded by Wang Zhong to go further away, and then he came over to be Jiang Yuan's assistant.

Wang Zhong had swept the scene of a homicide case with Jiang Yuan before, and it was a secondary scene, and he had swept out key clues that could solve the case. After such an experience, Wang Zhong had no doubt about Jiang Yuan's scene investigation ability, and was even full of admiration.

Scene investigation could be said to be the foundation of criminal science technology. Forensic doctors had to do scene investigation, and trace examiners also had to do scene investigation, but there were actually not many who could do scene investigation well.

Facing the ever-changing technology nowadays, the professional scene investigation personnel had very limited mastery. Not to mention the level of school education, even the duration of education was not enough to deal with most scenes. And experience was something that was often covered by new things in the technical field.

A technical person with a solid foundation, who could take action, and could quickly master new technology, usually couldn't stay in the county bureau for a long time.

The captain of the Criminal Science Squadron, Lu Jianfeng, pulled Jiang Yuan out, indeed because there was no one available, but also because he was greedy for Jiang Yuan's technology.

The two swept into the shop all the way, and what they found most was still footprints.

And the fingerprints Jiang Yuan was best at were also swept out quite a few, but there wasn't a single one that could be used.

You didn't need to check the surveillance to know that three robbers who knew how to wear hoodies would definitely wear gloves.

As for trace evidence, etc., in this kind of case, it still belonged to the small dragon-slaying technique—too expensive, and required help from the provincial department or the Changyang City Trace Evidence Laboratory, and required queuing. Unless it was a last resort, Captain Huang Qiangmin would definitely not be willing to approve it.

Therefore, the only thing that could be done was homicide cases.

"Let's ask the merchants around, and collect more surveillance videos." Jiang Yuan naturally thought of video.

The so-called three treasures of criminal investigation, video, mobile phone, DNA, not to mention that Jiang Yuan had the skill of image enhancement, even if he didn't, when encountering this kind of case happening on the street, the first thing to collect was surveillance video.

However, videos had good and bad, far and near, and usually it wasn't the more the better.

Ordinary criminal police handling cases were all looking for a few suitable videos in suitable positions, enough to solve the case. But for the location of Xinfa Tobacco and Liquor Store, and the heavy rain at the time of the case, just such a small requirement was difficult to satisfy.

Jiang Yuan and Wang Zhong, the first one they watched was the surveillance video of the parking lot opposite, and they saw the vast rain, a white van came, a white van left, which could be said to have no clues at all.

"What can be determined is that the car went north." Wang Zhong sighed after watching.

From the northern suburbs to the north, it was on the national highway, so what was useful and what could be found was just such a section nearby.

Jiang Yuan paused several times, and could only frown, asking: "When the case happened before, the police officers from the police station came? Did they find surveillance? Did they see the license plate number?"

Jiang Yuan was considering the possibility of image enhancement.

Wang Zhong said: "Saw it, fake license plate."

"Considered so comprehensively?" Jiang Yuan was quite surprised.

"En, there are small roads and intersections everywhere in the northern suburbs, just find a place to change it, and change it back later, there's nowhere to find it." Wang Zhong said in a low voice, slightly frustrated, only feeling that his scene investigation this time was a loneliness.

Jiang Yuan's mood was okay. He had so many skills now, and what he needed to consider more was how to turn the three robbers out with cost-effectiveness.

The rain had become much smaller, and Jiang Yuan reorganized his clothes and hat, saying: "Collect more videos first, I'll go back and process them slowly."

Wang Zhong followed his footsteps, but couldn't help but complain: "These three found a good time. When the case happened, it was just heavy rain, and it was stuck at the busiest time of the criminal police team. Finally, the evidence that might be there was also washed away by the heavy rain..."

He was purely a technical person's train of thought, and therefore felt quite helpless. If it were an experienced old criminal police officer, they could still follow the vine and find the melon according to the traditional mode of criminal means, criminal methods, etc.

But from Wang Zhong's perspective, this heavy rain had wasted 90% of his skill.

According to his estimation, Jiang Yuan would probably have to be wasted by 80%.

In one breath, he copied nearly ten sets of data, and after turning around, he saw the landlady standing at the door of the tobacco and liquor store, looking at the two with eager eyes. Seeing them walk in, she hurriedly handed each of them a box of cigarettes and a bottle of water, saying: "How is it? Can you find them?"

"We are trying our best to find them for you." Wang Zhong was wearing a law enforcement recorder, and immediately pushed it away: "Don't worry, we take robbery cases very seriously, and we all hope to solve the case."

"I know, I know." The landlady nodded hurriedly, and added: "We are also a small business. Don't look at the storefront and the warehouse, all the money our family earned is here. My husband and I were both working for others before, and we worked from our teens to 30, then moved from Changyang to Qinghe, and then moved to our Ningtai, before we stood firm. Look, I'm a 50-year-old person, and I bought a house a few years ago, with a loan..."

"Don't cry..." Wang Zhong was shaken by the landlady, hurriedly handed her tissues, and asked: "What about your husband? Let him watch the shop together."

"My husband went to the warehouse to count the goods. Many of the wines in the warehouse were owed to us by the channels. Now that they heard we had an accident, they all ran over wanting to pull them back, and there were also those forcing us to settle the account. My husband was angry, and went to the warehouse to return them." The landlady took the tissue, blew her nose, and her mood was better.

Wang Zhong let out a turbid breath, forced a smile and said: "Okay, we'll go back and watch the surveillance first, and when there is news, we'll notify you."

"Can the goods be found back?" The landlady held a last bit of hope.

"We'll try our best." Wang Zhong said.

Jiang Yuan said: "If they are caught quickly, they might not have had time to sell the stolen goods." ===== CHAPTER 74 =====