Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 285: The Tianzhou City Skeleton Case

Chapter 285: Chapter 285: The Tianzhou City Skeleton Case

Within the public security system, no matter the level, from the grassroots police stations on every street, to the district and county criminal investigation teams, and up to the city’s criminal investigation division, solving cold cases is always a big deal worthy of praise.

However, the nature and scale of the cases managed by different levels vary.

The grassroots police stations mostly handle petty thefts, occasional fights, hit-and-run incidents due to drunk driving, or a few people gathering to gamble.

Cases that rise to the level of the district and county criminal investigation teams tend to be more serious, such as theft, robbery, and serious injury.

And by the time they reach the criminal investigation division level, the cold cases are mostly murder cases.

This time, the High-tech Zone Criminal Investigation Team solved a three-year-old attempted abduction case, which can be considered a significant achievement.

As long as no major cases occur in the second half of the year, or if they occur and can be solved, everyone’s year-end bonus is likely to increase significantly.

Yuan Shaokang can also add a glorious entry to his resume.

Of course, Yuan Shaokang is almost 50 years old, and at his age, the possibility of further promotion is very small.

Having worked as a criminal police officer for a lifetime, solving cases is not just about promotion and salary increases for Yuan Shaokang.

It’s a responsibility, a dedication, a promise made when facing the police badge during the oath.

The circle of police, although they interact with people from various walks of life when solving cases, is relatively narrow in reality.

In the process of solving cases, the police mostly encounter suspects or people associated with the suspects.

The police work with the purpose of solving cases and catching criminals, making it difficult to make friends during this process.

So just like Old Bai, who is about to retire, he doesn’t have many friends outside the system.

There are only two or three, who were childhood friends, originally four, but one died of cancer a few years ago.

Lu Chuan is the same, having entered the Criminal Investigation Team for over a year, aside from the Qiangsheng Group, he is only acquainted with people within the system.

This relatively closed circle leads to a direct impact where many police officers can be described as simple-minded from the time they join the police until they retire.

Deeper down, this might be related to human nature.

The game of cat and mouse never goes out of style, and there are always new tricks.

Crime Scene Investigation office.

Days without cases are days of idleness.

Old Bai’s Beijing opera singing sounds increasingly awful, yet Lu Chuan has gotten somewhat used to it.

He even understands some excerpts that he couldn’t before.

As a child, Lu Chuan particularly disliked listening to Beijing opera.

One sentence could last a minute.

But now, it seems to have its charm.

Much like the twists and turns of life, only those with experience can savor a thing or two, different singing styles give a different feeling.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking.

"Come in."

Yang Sen finished speaking and looked at Liu Guodong and the other two: "Such polite knocking, it definitely isn’t about a case."

Sure enough, it was Zhang Hui from Action Group Two who entered.

"Brother Liu, Brother Bai, Brother Yang, Lu Chuan."

Zhang Hui greeted as he entered, and Lu Chuan stood up to welcome him to the sofa.

"How come you have time to come today?"

While speaking, he casually handed a cigarette over.

Although Zhang Hui and Lu Chuan hadn’t known each other for long, they were comrades through tough times, so naturally, there was no need for formalities.

He took the Chunghwa and sniffed it under his nose: "Hmm, still that rich aroma."

"I’ve still got more, take a pack with you later."

"No, no, a whole box? Just a pack will do."

Zhang Hui waved his hand: "Not much going on recently, just came by to hang out."

The Action Group and the Crime Scene Investigation office are different, even without current cases, they still need to sort through older cases regularly.

Generally, only after cracking a major case do they have a few days of relaxation, but typically it’s just two or three days.

Slowly, once the leaders’ excitement cools off, they remember the work again.

A little is arranged today, a little more tomorrow, and the day after, something else is arranged.

Bit by bit, overtime starts until a new case arrives.

Previous work is put aside, and after solving the new case, it gradually comes back again.

"Nothing going on at Ren Qiang’s place either?"

Liu Guodong was the one speaking.

"No, Brother Liu, Brother Qiang is making tea in the office, want me to call him over?"

"Sure, I’ll give him a call."

With that, Liu Guodong picked up the phone and dialed.

"Old Ren, nothing going on? Ah, want to come over?"

"He’ll be here soon," Liu Guodong said, putting down the phone: "Lu, make some good tea for Group Leader Ren."

"Got it."

The tea in the Crime Scene Investigation office, aside from the Jasmine Tea issued by the unit, was all brought by Lu Chuan.

It really was good tea.

"Everyone’s here?"

In a few minutes, Ren Qiang arrived at the Crime Scene Investigation office.

"Here, Old Ren, heard you were coming, Lu Chuan made special Da Hong Pao Tea for you."

The six sat around the tea table, discussing recent events.

"Heard the big news lately?"

Liu Guodong poured tea for Ren Qiang: "Oh? A case?"

"No, if it were a case, we wouldn’t be in the dark." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Then what’s the news, is Captain Qin getting promoted?"

"No, it’s not on our side, it’s in Tianzhou City."

Ren Qiang took the teacup: "Last year, didn’t Lu help the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Team with a Skeleton Identification Analysis."

The group nodded, remembering the incident clearly.

Back then, Lu Chuan had just begun to shine, earning a lot of face for the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team with the Tianzhou City Criminal Investigation Team.

"What, that case solved?"

The case was complex, and everyone had discussed it before.

Furthermore, a long time had passed, and many people were involved.

"Recently solved, involving many people, and there are still ongoing matters, they’re continuing the investigation over there."

"Oh? Who’s involved?"

"Hehe," Ren Qiang chuckled, lowering his voice: "You’d never guess, that case brought down a deputy director of the Tianzhou City Public Security Bureau."

Huh?

"That intense?"

"This is just the beginning, the real shockers are yet to come, that old case actually involved a mining disaster."

"A mining disaster?"

"Yes, a mining disaster, you know about the Dingfa Coal Mine, right?"

"I know that, it’s a leading coal company in Tianzhou City, the boss is Meng Zhensheng, a well-known entrepreneur in Tianzhou City."

Although Lu Chuan wasn’t in business, some things he had heard quite a bit about.

"Yes, it’s that Meng, his coal mine had a flooding accident many years ago, they claimed no deaths, but the truth is, they had dug eleven layers, but only reported ten."

"No one died in the ten layers, but those in the eleventh layer all perished."

"Now, Tianzhou City has sealed off the entire Dingfa Coal Mine and is digging up the bodies."

A whole layer of people...