Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Chen Jiang slapped the table.

"Fifteen years ago you committed a home invasion robbery and murder, and left half a fingerprint at the scene. After comparison, it’s identical to yours."

"Three years ago you committed another home invasion robbery on Qianjin Street. The victim’s kid is your kid’s classmate, right?"

"And yesterday you killed a retired criminal police officer who was chasing you."

"We found residual skin tissue under his fingernails, and it completely matches your DNA profile."

"We won’t even talk about the other cases for now. Just these three are enough to get you the death penalty!"

"You think I’m talking nicely to you here because I’m desperate for a confession?"

"These pieces of evidence are enough to convict you without a word from you. Whether you cooperate or not, the result is the same."

"So fix your attitude. Lay out clearly every crime you’ve committed, how many cases you’ve done."

Zhang Yang looked at the furious Chen Jiang and took the last drag of his cigarette.

"Officer, I know exactly what crimes I’ve committed. There’s no escaping the death penalty."

"Besides... I’ll confess everything I’ve done these years. I only have one condition... can you let me see my son?"

...

The interrogation went very smoothly.

Of course Zhang Yang had more than just these three cases on him. Over the years he basically committed crimes every year.

He rotated through the surrounding cities.

But he had one characteristic: he rarely operated in Haizhou City. The home invasion robbery three years ago where he got 1,900 yuan was the only case he ever did in Haizhou City.

"I heard it from my son. That classmate’s family had a hundred thousand in cash at home."

"Then, right at that parent-teacher meeting, I took advantage of that woman going to the bathroom and secretly copied the key..."

Sun Biao had guessed this modus operandi very accurately.

It was just that Zhang Yang hadn’t expected that on the very morning he committed the crime, the man of the house had taken the cash and gone out.

So he only got 1,900 yuan.

"And two years ago, in Tianzhou City I..."

Thirteen cases in total.

Starting from that home invasion robbery and murder in Beizhou City, over these years Zhang Yang had committed 13 cases one after another.

But he was extremely cautious in his operations. Apart from that killing fifteen years ago, the other cases did not involve any deaths.

The next morning, after Li Tao finished seeing Zhang Yang, Lu Chuan met him briefly.

"Captain Lu, thank you all!"

Li Tao’s eyes were slightly red.

Fifteen years!

Back then, in that home invasion robbery and murder, Li Tao had actually been following the case all along. He also knew that Chen Bing had never given up on it.

Although Chen Bing had now died in the line of duty, his sacrifice still had value.

The suspect had finally been caught.

"It’s just what we’re supposed to do."

Lu Chuan waved his hand.

He could understand Li Tao’s feelings.

Take Liu Guodong for example—if Liu were killed in the line of duty, what would Lu Chuan feel?

And Li Tao’s bond with Chen Bing would only be deeper than his with Liu Guodong.

After seeing Li Tao off, Chen Bing’s remains were also arranged to be sent back to Beijing.

The follow-up handling of the case was relatively simple, mainly sorting out the paperwork.

But it might take quite a long time.

Because the crimes Zhang Yang committed span a long time period and involve many different cities.

The Criminal Investigation Team in the High-tech Zone still had to contact other cities to confirm Zhang Yang’s cases.

It probably couldn’t be finished in just a month or two.

But Lu Chuan basically didn’t need to be involved in this work.

That afternoon, after leaving, Lu Chuan went to the branch bureau and the City Public Security Bureau to deliver his work report.

"Director Song, the case is solved. Can I continue my marriage leave?"

In Song Jiangguo’s office, Lu Chuan was drinking tea.

"Take it. Keep taking your leave. You worked hard this time."

When the case broke out, Lu Chuan was on a plane that was just about to take off. He interrupted the trip and came back to work this case.

Now that the perp had been caught, Lu Chuan and Shen Yan naturally still had to continue their original marriage leave.

After Lu Chuan left, Song Jiangguo hummed a little tune in his office.

To be honest, ever since Lu Chuan came, Song Jiangguo felt the pressure on his side had dropped a lot.

Over the past three years, the Haizhou City Public Security Bureau had basically left no major unsolved cases behind.

In the past, whenever a homicide occurred, he, as bureau chief, had to rush to the scene immediately.

A single homicide could drag on for quite a while.

But now it was different.

It seemed that as long as a case was taken over by Lu Chuan, there was no such thing as unsolvable.

Although the public security bureau has a lot of work in all aspects, the most important is still homicide investigation.

With less pressure in this area, the pressure on the whole job felt much lighter.

Lu Chuan didn’t delay either. After leaving Song Jiangguo’s office, he got into his car and drove straight to the Criminal Investigation Team.

Recently things at the Criminal Investigation Team were a bit better. There were two robbery cases, one large-amount theft case, and two intentional injury cases, and that was it.

No homicides, so the Forensic Doctor side was relatively relaxed.

After the wedding this time, the couple didn’t even go home.

But as a Forensic Doctor, Shen Yan knew exactly what the criminal police job was like.

When a homicide comes up, forget three or four days—being away from home for a week or a month is possible.

This time, their private jet took off smoothly.

The round-the-world trip officially began.

Just under a month passed quickly.

During the time Lu Chuan was away, the Criminal Investigation Team in the High-tech Zone had no other major cases.

Everyone was busy with Zhang Yang’s case.

They had no choice: this guy’s crime span was too long, and every time he struck he moved on.

He was basically always drifting around, so to collect the case files on him they needed to contact local police in each place.

After nearly a month, they had only just finished sorting the thirteen cases Zhang Yang confessed to. The paperwork for eight cases was complete; the files for the other five were still not fully done.

It would take at least another half month before they could hand it over.

In the blink of an eye it was July, and Lu Chuan had already been back from his trip for a week.

"Captain Lu, there’s another fight over in East Valley. One guy’s eye got blinded. I’m heading over to take a look."

Wang Zhaokai knocked on Lu Chuan’s office door.

Lu Chuan put down the file and frowned slightly.

Recently Haizhou City was doing full-line reconstruction on National Highway 121.

Because of a temporary lane diversion, the construction crew had occupied a cemetery in a township in East Valley, so conflicts broke out frequently. He hadn’t expected someone to get an eye beaten blind today.

"Call the local police station over there, have them send people to maintain order. And tell the construction crew to be more careful."

The folks there are tough and hot-blooded; one wrong move and friction breaks out easily.

"Okay, I’ll pass it on. I’ll get going then."

There wasn’t much else. On the way he checked the time; it was already quitting time.

Today he was supposed to go back home with Shen Yan.

But just after he picked up Forensic Doctor Shen and pulled onto the main road, Lu Chuan got a call from Wang Zhaokai.

"Captain Lu, something’s happened. Under the foundation of the national highway... a body’s been found!"