Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“I’m almost done with my stuff here!” At lunchtime, Zhang Jingfeng handed over a stack of documents to Zhao Yu and said, “There are four members in Feng Kuo’s family. Besides his parents, he has a younger brother, who is two years younger than him. All of them currently live in Qinshan.”
“Oh…” Zhao Yu put down his lunchbox, picked up the document, and looked at it. He asked, “Why? Why do they not have the same surname?”
“Well, the mother remarried, bringing Feng Kuo along!” Zhang Jingfeng said, “Feng Kuo follows his mother’s surname, and his stepfather and younger brother have the surname ‘Xiao’! His mother used to be an actress in films and TV dramas. Later on, because of what happened to Feng Kuo, his mother was deeply affected, and became mentally unstable, thus quitting showbiz! His stepfather runs a furniture factory, so the financial situation at home is pretty good!”
“Oh…”
Next, Zhao Yu looked at Lan Shuping’s resume. As opposed to Feng Kuo, ever since the murder case 10 years ago, it had been smooth sailing for Lan Shuping. He had been making a lot of films and TV dramas. He also had joined a Qinshan TV station, acting as a host for many programs.
In addition, this person also seemed to have gotten an earlier start in his life. For example, he got married and had children when he was 22 years old. Now, his daughter is already in grade three. His wife works in television too, but works in editing.
Breathe…
Zhao Yu took a heavy breath, laid down the documents, and nodded at Zhang Jingfeng, beckoning him to hurry and finish his lunch. Because of the urgency of the situation, the detectives had no time to go out to eat, so all of them ordered takeout.
Suddenly, after eating a few mouthfuls from the lunchbox, the person who went to survey the crime scene with Liu Xueshan reported back. His name was Bai Bintao, and his colleagues addressed him as ‘Xiao Bai’, affectionately.
“Group leader!” Once Xiao Bai came into the room, he said to Zhao Yu immediately. “You are right, Feng Kuo must have an accomplice!”
Zhang Jingfeng took a lunchbox and handed it over to Xiao Bai. He said, “Take a breather, and speak slowly!”
“Uh…” Xiao Bai accepted the lunchbox, still breathing heavily. “Lan Shuping’s home is in Qinshan. Is it not summer vacation now? His daughter goes to the art school to learn painting every day, and the art school is just outside the residential area. There is no need to even cross a road. Moreover, the child is already in grade three, so she goes to and from the art school, all by herself.”
“Oh?” Zhao Yu gave pondered this, then seemed to suddenly have thought of something.
“When we reached the crime scene, Lan Bo from group B was already secretly investigating there!” Xiao Bai went on to say, “Now, we can be sure that the kidnapping took place on the way to the art school.”
“Since it is a residential area, there is no reason that no traces were left behind, right?” Zhang Jingfeng asked.
“Or Feng Kuo could have an accomplice!” Xiao Bai said. “Along the path from the home to the art school, the only place that is not monitored by surveillance cameras is within thirty meters from the entrance of the school! From this, you can see that the kidnappers have prepared well ahead of time for this well-thought-out plan!”
“Then, look up any suspicious characters and vehicles nearby!” Zhang Jingfeng added, “For such a big, living thing to go missing, it cannot just disappear into thin air, all of the sudden, right?”
“Old Liu and his team are investigating!” Xiao Bai frowned and said. “Because we are carrying out the investigation in secret, we cannot alarm anyone. This means that, even the retrieval of the surveillance video, will deem troublesome! Moreover, the art school is particularly popular. At 8 a.m., the art school would have been flooded with people, cars, and tricycles. If you want to check every vehicle that would have been there, it would be very challenging!”
“That is true!” Zhang Jingfeng nodded slightly. “If the investigation was carried out normally, we would definitely check every single car! However, if we were to put up a large scale check, Feng Kuo would likely learn about it.”
“Yes!” Xiao Bai said helplessly. “It is really troublesome. We cannot even question the students and parents! I think that the students should be very familiar with each other, hence, maybe someone might know something!”
“At 8 a.m…. The child is 9 years old…” Zhao Yu frowned and said. “Look, there were so many people at the scene. To kidnap the child so quietly, would… Would it be that easy?”
With Zhao Yu’s question, all the detectives were in deep thought.
“Hey?” Zhang Jingfeng quickly asked Xiao Bai, “Xiao Bai, the location where the hostage was kidnapped, is there any retail store there, and so on?”
“Yes, there are many stationery shops, restaurants, and more!” Xiao Bai asked in surprise, “Old Zhang, what do you mean? Are you implying that the kidnappers are the shop owners? That is… Is it too blatant?”
“That cannot be ruled out!” Zhang Jingfeng agreed with his own opinion.
“No!” Zhao Yu thought and said, “There is… Another possibility!”
“What possibility?” everyone asked.
“A friend!” Zhao Yu said with squinted eyes. “The little girl knew the kidnapper, and was cheated away.”
Ah?
“How could that be?” Xiao Bai was the first in shaking his head. “Isn’t the kidnapper Feng Kuo? Feng Kuo had been locked up in the prison. How could the daughter of Lan Shuping know him? Leader, you make me confused!”
“Although we know that Feng Kuo kidnapped Lan Shuping’s daughter,” Zhao Yu said, “that doesn’t mean that Feng Kuo had to do it himself! After all, he has just recently managed to escape from the prison!”
“So… It was an accomplice? ” Xiao Bai said in astonishment. “The accomplice not only helped Feng Kuo escape from prison, but also brought him to Qinshan, then helped him to kidnap Lan Shuping’s daughter. Also… Among the accomplices, there is a friend to Lan Shuping’s daughter?”
“Wow! That is unbelievable!” Zhang Jingfeng sighed. “It is such a well-thought-out plan! I wonder if we will be able to completely solve this case?”
“Little Zhao!” At this time, Liang Huan said to Zhao Yu, “Detailed information about Feng Kuo’s prison escape has arrived! That night, Feng Kuo ate something, then developed some allergic symptoms to the meal in the prison, causing him to foam at the mouth and go into shock!”
“The prison guards were worried, and sent him to the hospital in the Yun state overnight for treatment! After the doctor’s urgent treatment, Feng Kuo’s condition was slightly stabilized, but he still had to be observed for 24 hours.”
“There were two prison guards in charge of monitoring Feng Kuo that night, one in the room and the other at the door. Moreover, according to the procedures, Feng Kuo’s right hand was handcuffed to the sickbed.”
“Feng Kuo’s behavior in the prison was good, and so he had a good relationship with the guards. Thus, the two guards were not too uptight about their vigils, and hence, fell asleep that night.”
“Unexpectedly, at three o’clock, Feng Kuo not only unlocked his handcuffs, but also escaped, without a trace!”
“Wow!” Zhang Jingfeng exclaimed. “This plot is really catching up with Mission Impossible!”
“According to the post investigations, the prison guard watching Feng Kuo in the room had signs showing that he had been placed under mild anesthesia,” Liang Huan said. “According to the experts, it could have been from a spray-like anesthesia!”
“Also, according to video surveillance, Feng Kuo should have escaped from the window,” Liang Huan said solemnly. “The window had a security net. But… When Feng Kuo fled, the three crossbars of the security net were broken! It should have been broken ahead of time! Moreover, according to the final surveillance video, Feng Kuo had changed his clothes when he left the hospital.”
“Oh my God!” Hearing this, everyone could not help exclaiming.
Looking at the details of Feng Kuo’s prison escape, this was indeed a well-thought-out plan!
“So…” Zhao Yu turned to Li Beini and asked, “Beini, how are you doing there?”
“That is weird! So weird!” Li Beini said with a worried face. “Senior, I have already investigated Feng Kuo’s situation in the Yun state prison. But… Because of his outstanding carpentry skills, he had been living in a mechanic workshop cell, without any contact with the other common criminals. Besides, I have checked on the prisoners who were living with him in the same area. For so many years, only two people have been released from that prison: one is 85 years old, and the other is suffering from an advanced stage of liver cancer.”
“Senior, I think…” Li Beini shook head and said, “Feng Kuo’s accomplice does not seem to be his prison friend.”
“Tsk tsk…” Zhao Yu had not expected such a result. He frowned and said, “If it was not a prison friend, who else could it be?”
