Rebirth 2014: I, the King of Criminal Investigation

Chapter 583: At least one of them is a genius.
He's a craftsman... Yu Dazhang immediately concluded upon hearing the report.

Private cars cannot be painted as taxis without authorization, as this is suspected of being used for illegal operations.

No shop would dare to take on such a job.

Therefore, the kidnappers must have painted the paint themselves.

If it's just haphazard spraying of paint, any ordinary person could do it.

However, if you want to paint it with a fixed pattern, then you'll need a professional to do it.

Clearly, Lü Zhongxin was also aware of this, and he glanced at his apprentice without making a sound.

The time they spent working together on the case made the master and apprentice even more in sync than before. With just a glance, Yu Dazhang understood his master's intentions.

"Master, I think we should report this to our superiors."

Yu Dazhang suggested:

"Have the bureau allocate manpower to search the area where the taxi went missing."

"Based on my deduction, the other party should have prepared a private car in advance, and after switching cars, they will abandon the taxi in the suburbs."

"They don't care if they leave any traces, as long as they can avoid being tracked by the police."

Burning abandoned cars or pushing them into the river, as depicted in movies, are all futile efforts.

In reality, no one would do that.

The more you do, the more traces you leave behind; it's almost impossible to leave no trace at all.

Therefore, a normal person would think about how to get rid of the police, rather than cleaning up all traces.

And even if you clean it up, it won't help; footprints and tire tracks will still remain.

"Yes, you're right." Lü Zhongxin nodded, quite satisfied with his apprentice's suggestion.
"I will request support from my superiors right now."

He simply adopted his apprentice's suggestion; he was still in charge of handling the case, at least that's how it appeared to outsiders.

Since he had become a mentor, he still needed to maintain some dignity, and Lü Zhongxin was no exception.

After one hour.

The police car drove into the suburbs and stopped at a residential house.

At a glance, the houses in this area are all abandoned, with few intact houses, and some even only two walls remain.

A taxi was parked in front of one of the houses, where officers from the technical department were conducting an on-site investigation.

After getting off the bus, Lü Zhongxin and his group of four came over.

When Qian Cheng saw them arrive, he immediately went to greet them.

"What did you find?" Lü Zhongxin asked.

Upon hearing the question, Qian Cheng did not answer immediately. He first glanced at Yu Dazhang, then turned back to look at Lü Zhongxin, seemingly unsure of who to report to.

"Brother Qian, what are you spacing out for?" Yu Dazhang interjected to defuse the situation.

"My master is asking you a question."

This sentence made Qian Cheng realize something immediately. He quickly looked at Lü Zhongxin and replied:

"Based on the footprints and fingerprints collected at the scene, it can be determined that seven people were active in this area, six men and one woman."

"After investigation, no signs of a struggle or bloodstains were found."

Finally, Qian Cheng took a deep breath and continued:
"In addition to this vehicle, another set of tire tracks was found. The tire tread pattern has been extracted, but identification will take some time."

Tire tread patterns are also an important clue.

Different brands and models of tires have their own unique tread patterns.

By analyzing tire tread patterns, one can roughly determine the type of tire, thereby identifying the brand and model of the vehicle using that type of tire.

After listening to Qian Cheng's brief report, Yu Dazhang had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

There were six men and one woman. Excluding the two kidnapped individuals, there were a total of five kidnappers, which was roughly the same number he had previously estimated.

The fact that seven people's footprints could be extracted indicates that Su Mi and Bai Jincheng were conscious during the car swap and cooperated well with the kidnappers. The reason is simple.

If they are unconscious, the other party will move them by carrying or dragging.

Neither way will leave any footprints of the two people.

Moreover, there were no signs of a struggle at the scene, which is enough to show that the two of them did not resist.

"Were there no cigarette butts or anything like that left at the scene?" Lü Zhongxin asked.

He had a reason for asking that question.

If there are five kidnappers, and one of them drives a taxi to pick up the kidnappers, then there will be four people waiting here.

Long waits can make people unconsciously do things to kill time.

For example, smoking, eating, playing on your phone...

"No." Qian Cheng shook his head.
"Not to mention cigarette butts, we didn't even find any food scraps at the scene. These people didn't deliberately cover anything up, nor did they leave anything behind."

This is not good... Yu Dazhang immediately realized that this was a group of intelligent kidnappers.

Being methodical and planning before taking action indicates that at least one of these people is a thoughtful person.

That makes sense; someone who dares to even consider kidnapping must have enough confidence in their plan.

The fact that they had a specially painted taxi and a private car for transfers indicates that they had a certain level of financial resources.

From this perspective, these people did not become kidnappers out of desperation.

"Besides this taxi, only one other car's tire tracks were found?"

The question was asked by Yu Dazhang.

It is also a disciple's duty to help their master identify and fill in any gaps in their knowledge.

“Yes,” Qian Cheng replied affirmatively.

There was only one car.

This question and answer immediately attracted the attention of others.

Lu Zhongxin and his group moved closer and looked at the tire tracks on the ground.

Now that only one car has left, a problem has arisen for them.

What kind of car can carry seven people?
A regular sedan is definitely not suitable.

If two people sit in the front, five people have to squeeze into the back; it seems unlikely.

Even if you manage to squeeze in, you're very likely to be spotted by traffic police halfway through, which undoubtedly increases the risk of being exposed.

"These tire tracks don't look like they belong to a minivan."

One of the group members stared at the marks on the ground and said thoughtfully:

“I own a mini car, so I’m quite familiar with this type of vehicle. Relatively speaking, mini tires are more compact in size.”

He crouched down, carefully observing the width of the tire tracks, and then added:
"In terms of width, it should be at least one or two sizes smaller than the mark on the ground."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to the tire tread pattern, frowned slightly, and continued his analysis:
"The tread pattern is also wrong. Miniature tires have more complex tread patterns, which can provide stronger grip and are more suitable for driving on asphalt and concrete roads."

There was even a minivan expert in the group... Yu Dazhang listened in stunned silence.

They can glean so much from just looking at tire tracks on the ground, and they analyze it in great detail.

Since it's not a microcar, the range of possibilities for further speculation is greatly narrowed.

Aside from microcars, the most likely vehicle type that can accommodate seven people is a commercial vehicle.

Moreover, commercial vehicles are usually designed to have seven seats to meet the needs of business travel and multiple passengers.

Just as they were guessing which car it was, a police officer holding a walkie-talkie suddenly jogged up to Lü Zhongxin's side.

His expression was somewhat solemn. He glanced at everyone before speaking:
"A male corpse was found in the unfinished building in the south."

(End of this chapter)