HPDBC Chapter 6 Patrol in the Rain
Chapter 6 Patrol in the Rain
"Swish..."
Back at the branch office, Xu Bin suddenly spread out a map of the branch office's jurisdiction.
He picked up a pen and quickly began to draw on the picture.
"In the first two cases, the victims were made into scarecrows and dumped in farmland in the northern suburbs. The dumping sites were less than five meters from the asphalt and cement roads! After the rain, the cement and asphalt roads were washed away, so much so that even now, we don't know what kind of vehicle the murderer used to dump the bodies!"
If there were a third time, and I were the killer, I would most likely do it again.
Before he finished speaking, the pen tip swiftly fell, drawing four areas in the suburban part of the branch's jurisdiction.
One big piece and three small pieces.
"The suburbs within our jurisdiction cover approximately 300 square kilometers, and Liu Shutong and I are responsible for the largest part by car."
For the remaining three areas, you will split into three groups and patrol on motorcycles.
Lao Cao and Wu Song are in the same group.
A set of documents by Lao Ma.
Jiang Yang, you and Xiao Wu are in the same group.
Grab your gear and put on your raincoat.
Set off!"
No one uttered a word, and the action unfolded swiftly in silence.
"You're not qualified to carry a gun yet, here you go!" Cao Dahua took out two daggers from his body and handed them to Wu Song. "Your throwing knife on the bus was pretty good. With your skills, at close range, this thing is no worse than a gun."
"Thank you, Master!"
"Okay, I'm putting on my raincoat and off I go."
Wu Song put on the raincoat called the Type 97 High-End Rain and Wind Suit, put on his helmet, and went out of the building with his master Cao Dahua, walking together towards the green Changjiang 750.
Commonly known as a sidecar motorcycle, it is the standard equipment of the branch office.
It was originally agreed that Cao Dahua would ride the bicycle and Wu Song would ride in the back.
He glanced at Wu Song sitting in the truck bed and thought he looked like he was in a toy car, and laughed. "You drive, I'll sit in the truck bed."
"Why!"
The two switched places, turned the key, stepped on the gas, and the motorcycle plunged into the rainy night!
The rain was heavy, and the raindrops pelted the helmet visor, blurring Wu Song's vision.
Wu Song had to raise his hand to wipe it every now and then.
But if you push the glass up, the raindrops will get directly into your eyes, which is even more uncomfortable.
That was all he could do, struggling to keep riding forward.
Fortunately, the rain finally subsided after we arrived in the suburbs.
"Disciple, say something!" Cao Dahua patted Wu Song on the back seat. "Otherwise, the atmosphere will be too heavy."
"Master, could you tell me about the Scarecrow Case?"
"I thought you'd ask about your teacher's wife!" Cao Dahua chuckled. "Most people would ask me how I won over your teacher's wife first, and no one would believe that it was your teacher's wife who pursued me."
Let's talk about the scarecrow case. The first one happened on May 15th. A passing villager discovered it. He found a scarecrow that had inexplicably appeared in his field. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the scarecrow was wearing a mask. After removing the mask, he discovered that what was tied to it was a dead person with a smashed face. He then reported it to the police.
"How far is the scarecrow from the road?" Wu Song asked.
"Three meters!" Cao Dahua squinted and clicked his tongue. "To be precise, it's only 2.8 meters, less than three meters!"
"So close? It feels like the killer is afraid no one will notice the body!"
"That's right!" Cao Dahua nodded. "It was too conspicuous. The killer even put a red hat on the scarecrow. We realized then that this case was unusual."
First, there was the autopsy. The deceased was 1.83 meters tall and weighed 200 kilograms, which was quite strong. However, there were not many signs of struggle on his body. He was knocked unconscious by a rear naked choke and then strangled with an electric wire. The murderer did it quite cleanly and efficiently.
In addition, a King of Spades was found in the deceased's pocket!
Because the deceased's height and build were quite unusual, and the belt and clothing indicated that he was financially well-off, the deceased's identity was confirmed after an investigation of missing persons.
Zhuang Zhengzhi, head of the supply department at Gaotan Steel Plant.
After thoroughly investigating Zhuang Zhengzhi's interpersonal relationships, we discovered that his reputation wasn't very good. He was known for extorting money, accepting kickbacks, colluding with outsiders, selling inferior goods as superior ones, inflating quantities, and shortchanging customers. There was almost nothing he wouldn't dare to do.
However, after our investigation, we found no one who had a major grudge against him, nor did we find a suspect with strong suspicion.
The second incident occurred on June 10th, with the same manner of death, the same scarecrow, and the same playing card in the pocket—a Joker.
It also appeared in farmland by the roadside, this time only three and a half meters away from the highway.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the deceased was a security guard at the city's steel factory. Interviews revealed he was also somewhat dishonest, but a thorough search of his acquaintances and others in the network yielded no significant suspects. Moreover, as a mere security guard, his share of the network's profits was minimal.
"Was it done by someone inside the factory?" Wu Song asked, going over the details in his mind.
"It's very possible, we think so too, but firstly, the investigation didn't find any suspects; secondly, the heavy rain washed away all the evidence at the scene, not even a single valuable footprint; and thirdly, Gotham Steel has a full eight thousand employees, don't you think the scope of this 'internal personnel' is a bit too broad?"
"If we can start with his skills, and he knows how to do a rear naked choke, he must have some fighting experience, right? And he was able to put a 200-pound dead man on the railing, so he must have quite a bit of strength," Wu Song said.
"I couldn't find anything. Those with combat experience, or even military service experience, all have solid alibis! Hey, let's not talk about that. Let me tell you how my wife pursued me. Back in the day, I was a well-known handsome young man in our neighborhood..."
……
Wu Song and Cao Dahua are responsible for an area of approximately 60 square kilometers.
The two rode their motorcycles and drove all the routes in the area that met the requirements.
One hour and twenty minutes passed, and nothing was found.
Turn around.
Patrol for the second time!
I don't know how long I rode, but as the bike headlights swept across the distance, a flash of red appeared in the rain in Wu Song's peripheral vision.
Something's up!
Wu Song subconsciously twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle roared as it sped toward the location where the red color had appeared.
A wooden cross had appeared on the roadside ahead, seemingly out of nowhere.
In the middle of the cross is a scarecrow wearing a red hat.
"It wasn't here when I passed by just now!"
"This guy really attacked again!" Cao Dahua shone his flashlight on the scarecrow, only to find it wasn't a scarecrow at all. He immediately slammed his hand on the car, "Wu Song, stop the car!"
Stop the car, walk over, and the scarecrow is less than a meter from the road.
The flashlight shone on his face.
The deceased's face was already a bright red, covered in a dozen or so crisscrossing knife wounds that had slashed his entire face.
The exposed wounds and blood glistened wetly under the light.
"Snap!"
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the night with a stark white light, making the "scarecrow" appear even more terrifying.
Wu Song and Cao Dahua exchanged a glance, and the next moment they picked up the walkie-talkie.