National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 586 - 532: Kidnapping Case

Chapter 586: Chapter 532: Kidnapping Case

That night, many people had not yet fallen asleep.

Huang Qiangmin tossed and turned in bed for a long time, like practicing the rolls of death alone, or like simulating the tension on the line when big fish are hooked.

Huang Qiangmin put himself in the shoes of others, considering what he would be willing to give if there were a major unresolved case on his list.

First, the twenty or thirty main forces of the special case team, the so-called officers, would forget about going home or sleeping. If there was something pressing, they would take leave; if not, they would stay and work. There was no need to talk about overtime—the concept didn’t even exist for police, as it wasn’t supported by laws or regulations!

Next, other police officers in the criminal investigation brigade would have to bear two to three times their usual workload while still being ready to assist the special case team at any moment.

In this state, Huang Qiangmin could hold on for upwards of four months, spending up to 90 percent of the team’s funds!

And what about if it were a major cold case? Huang Qiangmin felt that he could conscientiously persist for half a year without a problem—provided that the case could be solved.

The crux of the problem was actually being able to solve the case. If everyone expected the case to be solved, then hard and selfless work was worth the sacrifice of one’s spouse and children.

But without such expectations, no matter how loudly those above shouted, the officers below knew plenty of ways to slack off.

This was exactly the problem with Longli County—the lower the criminal case clearance rate, the weaker everyone’s motivation, creating a vicious cycle in the end.

Latterly, Longli County was willing to pay a substantial amount to hire Jiang Yuan, and even while subject to Huang Qiangmin’s scrutinizing gaze, part of their motivation was to break this cycle.

It was just unknown how things were in Jingji.

Unknown whether the local police stations were slacking.

And whether they placed high demands on solving cases.

The more Huang Qiangmin considered others, the sounder he slept, until he finally fell into a deep slumber.

The next day.

Huang Qiangmin came to work looking radiant and soon met Cui Xiaohu and Fang Jingxin, who appeared listless.

"Did you have trouble sleeping?" Huang Qiangmin asked with concern.

Both shook their heads in unison.

"Barely slept at all," Fang Jingxin said, rubbing his forehead. "We had meetings for half the night and then prepared materials for the other half. Director Huang, about our cases here..."

"Director Huang, let us borrow Jiang Yuan for a bit," Cui Xiaohu interrupted Fang Jingxin, addressing Huang Qiangmin, "Director Song also heard our report and instructed me to take good care of Expert Jiang’s well-being. The ministry has accumulated many cases, lots of them significant ones from various places. Expert Jiang working on these cases would really demonstrate his capabilities."

After Cui Xiaohu finished speaking, Huang Qiangmin just smiled without a word and turned to look at Fang Jingxin.

Fang Jingxin clenched his teeth and stamped his foot, saying, "Director Huang, our Hongqiao Sub-bureau has a targeted support project this year, and after discussions within the bureau, we wanted to place it here at Ningtai County Bureau. We hope Ningtai County Bureau can work together with us on this project, to tackle cases together, like one big family..."

Cui Xiaohu coughed softly twice, whispering loud enough for everyone to hear, "That’s pretty direct, isn’t it?"

Fang Jingxin looked calmly at Cui Xiaohu, his expression placid yet slightly provocative.

Huang Qiangmin’s smile grew even more refined, 33.3 degrees, so to speak. Using a popular metaphor nowadays, what would this be called?

This was what they call a double hook setting at once, shielding blown away, signaling the drums of harvest in a fish-filled pond!

After putting out so much bait, it was time for the payoff.

Cui Xiaohu and Li Haochen exchanged glances.

This situation had been discussed during their meeting yesterday, though they hadn’t expected it to come so quickly.

Cui Xiaohu frowned, glanced at Fang Jingxin, and then said to Huang Qiangmin, "As for targeted projects, our ministry has them too, and on a larger scale, better projects. They are just a sub-bureau; what good targeted projects can they have?"

"Our targeted support is ongoing," Fang Jingxin countered.

Cui Xiaohu: "Our targeted support isn’t one-off either."

Fang Jingxin: "We have ready equipment and personnel, willing to help hands-on."

Cui Xiaohu: "We have that too; we can choose the best technicians to assist."

Fang Jingxin: "We can also provide manpower."

Cui Xiaohu: "We can borrow and send people over!"

...

Huang Qiangmin’s teeth were nearly loose from laughing, listening to the increasingly heated exchange between the two. He quickly said, "Alright, that’s enough. Jiang Yuan works on cases very quickly, and he isn’t limited to just one case. Let’s take them one at a time, right? First, let’s look at the cases, let’s look at the cases..."

He was a meticulous man, who understood the principle of not draining the pond to catch all the fish. Both departments were quite lucrative, and since there would be other lucrative departments in the future, everyone should abide by some rules and not truly engage in a game of the highest bidder winning.

Of course, the price needed to be high, but the initiative had to be in his own hands.

Cui Xiaohu and Li Haochen immediately took out their laptops to show Jiang Yuan the backend.

Jiang Yuan politely thanked them twice and began to select familiarly.

After much deliberation, Jiang Yuan still chose Cui Xiaohu’s side.

Even if the size of the fish was about the same, the fish on the side of the ministry definitely had a greater variety of patterns.

Fang Jingxin felt somewhat disheartened.

Auctions are fine until you start setting price limits; then things get tricky.

Huang Qiangmin comforted him while pouring tea and saying nice things.

Fang Jingxin choked down the pie-in-the-sky promises Huang Qiangmin sketched out with the tea.

At that moment, Jiang Yuan also chose a case.

A kidnapping case from Luo Jin City, Baijiang Province.

Luo Jin City. Jiang Yuan had been there before and, with such a foundation, in conjunction with cooperation from the ministry, things might go more smoothly.

Additionally, the kidnapping case had just occurred recently. Since the kidnapper had abducted two elementary school students, causing an uproar in the parents’ group, the incident spread rapidly. The ministry had no choice but to intervene ahead of time.

Seeing Jiang Yuan pick this case, Cui Xiaohu was both surprised and pleased, saying, "Captain Jiang, if you can crack this case, the department will be overjoyed. It’s been a week since the case occurred, and I can see the colleagues involved in the case are almost anxious to death... However, this case seems to have hit a dead end."

"Let’s go to Luo Jin City and see. We’ll talk more after I have a look." Jiang Yuan chose this case because there was still a possibility the two victims could be alive, and also because the case left quite a few clues behind.

Beyond fingerprints and footprints, the special case team had found the house rented by the three kidnappers, knew their names and appearances, had discovered tools they had used, and even found a car they had abandoned.

The problem was, in such a kidnapping case, the key wasn’t in bringing the criminals to justice, but in rescuing the kidnapped children as much as possible.

The detectives in Luo Jin City had no big issue with the former and, given enough time, it was possible to dig out these three people in a few days.

However, as for the latter, they were temporarily at a loss.

"Let’s set off." Jiang Yuan confirmed the case and got up to leave.

Cui Xiaohu, still in shock, asked, "Are you going to Luo Jin City? Right now?"

"Yes, make the arrangements with them on the way. You can make the arrangements, right?" Jiang Yuan asked Cui Xiaohu.

Faced with a professional challenge, Cui Xiaohu snorted and said, "Don’t worry. Everything will be sorted out by the time we get there."

"That’s good."

Huang Qiangmin and the others didn’t have much to say, they just packed up and rushed to the airport.

Late at night.

Huang Qiangmin and his team smoothly arrived at the airport of Luo Jin City.

The local criminal police brigade was indeed prepared and sent a political commissar to welcome them.

Silent all the way, they entered the prepared conference room of the criminal police brigade, and all the evidence, as per Jiang Yuan’s request, filled the tables.

What surprised everyone slightly was that Jiang Yuan did not examine the fingerprints and footprints evidence he was most familiar with but began to pick up the criminals’ clothes one by one.

These clothes, some found in the rental house and others left in that abandoned car, indicated that the kidnappers had invested a significant amount of energy and cost into the kidnapping.

Of course, the returns were astonishing — to date, two million yuan in ransom had been delivered by the families, yet more was still being demanded.

"That abandoned car is still around, right?" Jiang Yuan suddenly asked.

"It’s still here," replied the political commissar of Luo Jin City, still a bit perplexed.

In fact, everyone was a bit perplexed.

Just in the afternoon, they were in Ningtai County, and now, after a car ride and a flight, they found themselves in the provincial capital of another province, surrounded by unfamiliar faces.

Only Jiang Yuan was excited about the newfound application for forensic botany and said, "I would like to see that car, and also, send a microscope to the garage."