Chapter 868: The Retired Detective’s Pension
Some cases are solved because the detectives following them persist for 10, 20, even 30 or 40 years, finally cracking the case and capturing the suspect.
Just a month ago, the Criminal Investigation Team caught a murderer who had been on the run for 40 years.
That case was quite interesting; the fugitive had killed her husband’s mistress and fled, concealing her identity in a different province.
She also remarried and had children.
When she committed the murder, she was in her thirties, but by the time she was captured after 40 years, she was already in her seventies.
She even had two grandchildren.
However, justice is served, and those who kill must pay the price.
Cases like this are solved because detectives from back then never gave up pursuing them.
This is why the fugitive was caught after forty years of evasion.
"Fifteen years ago, the suspect broke into a house, assaulted and then killed the daughter before fleeing."
Chen Jiang understood the case and realized that if it were up to him, he wouldn’t be able to let it go either.
"Ten years ago, a retired detective’s colleague discovered a clue, but when they rushed there, they were killed, and the suspect went on the run again."
"The two had joined the police together, one in the Criminal Investigation Team, the other in the office..."
"The detective followed the case for 10 years but never found any leads; after retiring, even without enforcement powers, he still couldn’t let it go. Whenever he heard a whisper of information, he’d check it out. Last month he heard the suspect was in Haizhou City, so he followed."
Lu Chuan took a deep breath: "Where is he? Let’s meet him."
"He just finished recording his statement, resting in the lounge. He hasn’t eaten all day. It’s perfect timing; the canteen is serving braised pork today..."
With that, Chen Jiang led Lu Chuan to meet the retired detective nearby.
"Brother Chen, this is our team captain, Lu Chuan."
In the lounge, Chen Jiang introduced the retired detective to Lu Chuan.
"Hello, Captain Lu!"
Chen Bing, who was in the middle of eating, stood up immediately and saluted Lu Chuan.
Chen Bing comes from a small place; he retired from the Criminal Investigation Team in a county under Beizhou City.
"Captain Lu, this is Chen Bing. Before retiring, he worked at the Criminal Investigation Team in Lanchen County, Beizhou City."
Lu Chuan quickly returned the salute and stepped forward to shake hands: "Hello, Brother Chen, thank you so much for today."
Even though this fugitive wasn’t issued by the City Public Security Bureau of Haizhou City, at least he was caught within the range of the High-tech Zone’s Criminal Investigation Team.
From an evaluation standpoint, catching a fugitive adds significant points to the Criminal Investigation Team at the end of the year.
The most direct outcome is that everyone’s year-end bonus can increase a bit.
So Lu Chuan certainly wanted to express gratitude.
Moreover, although Chen Bing was just an ordinary detective, since he has retired, Lu Chuan made sure to be more courteous.
"Captain Lu, you’re too kind. Instead, I’m the one causing you trouble."
Chen Bing seemed a bit apprehensive as he spoke.
Lu Chuan noticed and sat across from him: "Take a seat, Brother."
Then he turned to Chen Jiang: "Go to the canteen and get some food; we’ll eat here together."
Chen Bing was initially eating, but once Lu Chuan arrived, naturally, he was too embarrassed to continue.
Luckily, Lu Chuan had Chen Jiang bring over the food, and once everyone sat and ate together, it was much better.
Chen Jiang agreed and left.
Leaving Lu Chuan and Chen Bing alone, Lu Chuan casually asked: "Brother Chen, I just heard from Chen Jiang that you’re retired but still following a case?"
Chen Bing sighed.
"The case is over ten years old, just some old stuff; the bureau actually has someone on it. But since I’m retired and have nothing else to do, I can’t sit idle. That case was mine back then, so any lead, I’ll follow it. It’s like traveling for me."
Though he spoke lightly, Lu Chuan could sense the weight of the case on Chen Bing.
Furthermore, regarding the investigation, as Chen Bing said, the matter wouldn’t be ignored just because he retired; someone else would be on it.
Some cases have a statute of limitations, like robbery and theft.
After it expires, even if the suspect is caught, it’s useless.
But murder cases are different.
As long as it’s a murder case, the local police will keep track regardless of how many years pass.
When a person retires, the case is handed over to the next person, and then the next upon retirement.
And as long as there’s downtime without new cases, they’ll focus entirely on older cases.
The Criminal Investigation Team in the High-tech Zone where Lu Chuan sits has several of these cases.
As for what Chen Bing said about traveling, Lu Chuan definitely didn’t believe it.
Though Chen Bing has a retirement pension, it’s not substantial.
Staying in his small county, he could live decently.
However, roaming around for years, a retirement pension isn’t enough to cover lodging.
For instance, a standard hotel in Haizhou City costs a couple of hundred yuan a night.
Earlier on the road, Lu Chuan and Chen Jiang roughly understood the situation.
Chen Bing’s retirement pension is over 5,000 yuan a month.
Even if he spends it all on lodging, he wouldn’t afford thirty days in a hotel costing two to three hundred yuan a day.
He also needs food, people to locate, and transportation.
So Chen Jiang said Chen Bing stays in youth hostels, renting a bed for ten or twenty yuan a night.
With daily meals costing twenty to thirty yuan, keeping spending below fifty yuan a day, means 1,500 yuan is enough for a month.
His retirement pay sets aside 2,000 yuan for his son since his son had a child, and he can’t be there, so he sends money.
This leaves Chen Bing with 3,000 yuan for himself, with 1,500 used for living expenses, the rest goes to travel costs.
Just now, Chen Jiang mentioned Chen Bing hadn’t eaten meat for over a month, hence the deliberate braised pork from the canteen.
A detective with over 5,000 yuan in retirement pension chooses indefinitely wandering over a comfortable home life, just to catch a criminal.
"Here it comes!"
While chatting, Chen Jiang returned from the canteen.
"Brother Chen, it’s your lucky day, we’ve got braised big bones, give them a try!"
Chen Jiang brought over a small pot of braised big bones.
The group ate and chatted.
"Brother, are there any clues on your case, like fingerprints, footprints?"
Even though investigative methods from over a decade ago were vastly different from modern forensics, basic information should still have been collected.
Lu Chuan didn’t inquire about the case details, given that a colleague sacrificed their life back then.