Rebirth 2014: I, the King of Criminal Investigation

Chapter 452 Sometimes the Victims Are More Hateful

You can tell from Qu Tuotuo's tears just now that her relationship with the Zhou family's daughter is unusual.

When Qu Tuotuo first went abroad to study, Zhou's daughter was only about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Logically speaking, people with such an age difference shouldn't be able to get along.

What fun can college students and junior high school students have together? Their interests are different too.

"I watched her grow up."

Qu Tuotuo sighed:
“I’ve always treated her like a younger sister; I never imagined something like this would happen to her.”

Over the next week, Yu Dazhang accompanied Qu Tuotuo twice more. Each time, Zhou Dong was very enthusiastic, seemingly happy that the two of them could come so often.

He even suggested decorating two rooms for the two of them inside the castle, with the style up to them.

Yu Dazhang and Qu Tuotuo naturally would not agree to such an arrangement.

They understand the saying, "There's no place like home."

The First Brigade has been quite quiet lately, with no particularly urgent cases to handle. Yu Dazhang spends his days following his mentor around on missions to increase the police visibility at the branch office.

For him, such days were almost like a vacation, pleasant and relaxing.

One day in mid-January, Yu Dazhang helped his master handle a robbery case.

"Were you robbed by your online friend's husband and his accomplices?"

Inside the hotel, Lü Zhongxin looked at the slightly overweight man in front of him with some curiosity:
"So, you're here to meet someone you met online?"

In such matters, the police naturally cannot speak too bluntly, and must also consider the victim's self-esteem.

"Yes." The slightly overweight man nodded in acknowledgment.
“I chatted with that woman online and we got along well. I’m not from this area, so she invited me here.”

"It's really addictive..." Yu Dazhang, who was listening nearby, kept grimacing.

You've come all this way just for that little thing, it would be a miracle if you didn't get into trouble.

What happened next was quite vulgar: the man suggested getting a hotel room as soon as he arrived, and the girl readily agreed.

Just as they were about to get down to business, two men suddenly burst in, beat him up, and stole all the cash he had on him.

Before leaving, they took a picture of his ID card and threatened him not to call the police.

"Didn't you open the door for them?" Lü Zhongxin quickly sensed something was wrong.

Once a hotel room door is closed, it cannot be opened from the outside without a key, unless the door is ajar and not completely closed.

"No." The man shook his head.

"No one opened the door for them; they just walked right in."

Upon hearing this, Lü Zhongxin and Yu Dazhang exchanged a glance, and they both guessed what had happened.

The girl deliberately left the door open for the people outside.

That's unprofessional.

The master and apprentice had already realized that this was a typical "honey trap".

The suspects took advantage of the victim's desire for casual sex, set a trap, and then robbed her.

This kind of honey trap constitutes two types of crimes:
1. Robbery.

2. Extortion.

It depends on whether violence is used on the spot.

If a victim is forced to hand over money or property through non-violent means, it constitutes extortion.

For example, privacy threats.

The suspect will offer to settle the matter privately, or else tell the other person's family and workplace.

If violence is used or the victim is directly controlled to obtain property, it constitutes robbery.

This is what happens when someone enters a house and beats you up first – that's definitely robbery.

Anyone with a modicum of expertise would not use this method.

However, this method also has an advantage: the thief will not leave empty-handed.

Compared to privacy threats, violence is more likely to subdue people and greatly increases the success rate of obtaining money.

"Do we need to get a medical examination?" Lu Zhongxin asked, staring at the man in front of him.

On the surface, he couldn't see any obvious injuries on the man, not even his hair was disheveled. "No need," the man waved his hand, seemingly indifferent.

"They just hit me a few times, not hard, I wasn't hurt much, all they want is for me to get my money back."

While the man was speaking, Yu Dazhang watched quietly beside his master without interrupting.

But he kept observing the other person's facial expressions.

lie!

When the man was speaking, his eyes darted around and his head swayed slightly involuntarily, which indicated that he was very nervous and flustered.

"What did they take from you? Be as specific as possible."

As Lü Zhongxin asked his questions, two team members behind him also took out paper and pen and began taking notes.

They only took the money I had on me.

The man thought for a moment and replied:
"It's about 12,000, all in cash."

Even Lü Zhongxin realized something was wrong.

Why are you carrying so much money?

It's 2015 now, and electronic payments are widespread; very few people carry that much cash with them anymore.

Furthermore, the man appears to be under thirty years old and uses a smartphone, making it even less likely that he would be carrying a large amount of cash.

"When you're traveling, it's more reassuring to carry more money with you."

The man's explanation made the officers present frown.

"They're treating people like fools..." Yu Dazhang couldn't hold back any longer and interjected from the side:
Can we see your bag?

"Of course." The man readily agreed and handed over his bag.

Yu Dazhang didn't take it, but instead pointed to the large bed inside the room:

"Take the items out of your bag one by one and place them on the bed, then check them in front of us."

The man didn't seem surprised by the request; he nodded obediently and then placed the items from his bag onto the bed one by one.

Cell phone, keys, cigarettes, tissues, wallet...

"Open your wallet," Yu Dazhang commanded.

The man did as he was told.

Soon, red bills appeared before everyone's eyes, estimated to be over a thousand.

Yu Dazhang said with a stern face:
"Could you please explain why the other party didn't take the money? Did they not find the wallet, or did they intentionally leave it for you?"

"Well..." The man was momentarily speechless, seemingly unsure how to answer.

Yu Dazhang wasn't in a hurry; he just stood quietly to the side and watched him.

Lu Zhongxin and the other two team members also frowned and stared intently at each other.

They already knew the answer in their hearts, but as police officers, they couldn't say it aloud.

"I hid my wallet under my pillow while things were in chaos."

The man finally found a reason, and he stammered an explanation:
"After they left, I took it out again and put it back in my bag."

The reason is a bit far-fetched, but it's passable.

Yu Dazhang no longer wanted to pay attention to him, so he took a step back and gestured for his master to continue.

"You mean they searched your bag?"

Lu Zhongxin knew exactly what his apprentice was thinking, but he still had to ask the questions he needed to ask.

"Yes." The man nodded, his eyes resolute.

Originally not wanting to cause trouble, Lü Zhongxin couldn't help but offer a reminder in the end:
"Let me confirm with you one last time, is everything I've said true?"

Without a second thought, the man immediately replied:

"of course."

There's no hope for him... Yu Dazhang turned away, no longer wanting to see him.

Sometimes the victim's face is more repulsive than the suspect's.

(End of this chapter)