1995, Starting as a Criminal Investigation Expert

Tang Weidong tapped the table to signal everyone to be quiet, and nodded to Xu Qiang, indicating that he should continue.

Xu Qiang returned to the table, picked up a stack of papers, and said, "From the beginning, we requested that during inspections, the focus be on motorcycles, and that all motorcyclists be registered."

"I've compiled a preliminary list, it's about two hundred vehicles."

Cars are still a rarity, and not many families own one.

However, because there are more and more domestic manufacturers in recent years, there are a lot of motorcycles on the streets.

Within the entire city, a simple search would reveal hundreds or even thousands of such vehicles.

Xu Qiang continued, "I only have a small portion of it; it hasn't been fully organized yet, but it's all recorded."

"My idea is that this kind of blockade and vehicle inspection should last at least two or three days, because the suspects may still be staying in hotels or renting rooms near the crime scene to temporarily hide. Only by investigating for several days can we collect information from them."

"If all else fails, we could investigate all similar motorcycle owners in the city; that would be one solution."

For cases like this, no expense is too high; checking every motorcycle in the city wouldn't be a big deal.

"Then today, within twelve hours, I believe there is a high probability that our suspects will be among all the motorcycles that have been checked and registered."

He sat back down.

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves.

Tang Weidong whispered something to Luo Peng beside him, then nodded and said, "That's one way. Just like Xu Qiang said, we can simply check all the motorcycles in the city. Also, we should collect fingerprints from every motorcycle owner and compare them with the fingerprints left in the fourth case."

By the time of the fourth case, the investigation had been quite thorough, but at that time it was unknown that the suspect was riding a motorcycle.

Now that we know, Tang Weidong's idea is to collect the fingerprints of all owners of similar motorcycles in the city and compare them, if all else fails.

The group exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Xu Qiang's analysis is not without merit, and it is also a very good, albeit clumsy, approach.

At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through Li Shu's mind.

Li Shuzhen took Zhao Yong's words to heart that morning.

Therefore, when attending meetings now, we should not let things go in one ear and out the other, nor should we slack off as if it doesn't concern us. Instead, we should follow the pace of the discussion and keep thinking.

"I……"

Overwhelmed with excitement, Li Shu jumped up.

But after standing up, he realized that he was just a technical police officer, and a newcomer at that.

However, the movement was too big, making a loud splash that attracted the attention of some people.

Especially Tang Weidong.

"What's wrong, Li Shu?" Tang Weidong asked.

All eyes turned to Li Shu.

Han Jianjun gave him a questioning look.

"No...it's nothing."

Li Shu stammered a little, then realized that it might be inappropriate not to have communicated with Han Jianjun beforehand.

He was about to sit back down when he said that.

Tang Weidong said, "Alright, just say what you're thinking."

Despite only meeting once, he had a good impression of Li Shu because he was intelligent and proactive.

He likes young, energetic people like this.

Li Shu quickly glanced at Han Jianjun, and seeing Han Jianjun nod slightly, he said, "Director Tang, it's like this, I suddenly have an idea, but I'm not sure if it's right."

Since he was allowed to speak, Li Shu decided not to worry about anything else.

Just as Zhao Yong said before, it is true that he is a technical police officer, but when a case is in his hands, the purpose of everything is to solve the case.

Li Shudao said, "Chief Xu mentioned the motorcycle, and then the fingerprint in the fourth case was analyzed by the team, and the analysis showed that it contained oily components."

"At first, the team speculated that there might have been oil on the angle grinder, which got on their hands when using it."

"Then I wondered, could this oil spill be related to motorcycles? For example, could one of the suspects be a motorcycle repairman?"

With more motorcycles, there are naturally more motorcycle repair shops.

And since the other party has tools like an angle grinder, there might be a connection between them; he might be a motorcycle mechanic.

"So what I mean is, could we look up all the motorcycle repair shops in the city?"

Li finished speaking.

Everyone was staring at him, which made him feel a little guilty. Li Shu gave an awkward smile and sat down.

Xu Qiang frowned quickly, crossed his arms, and fell into deep thought.

The others reacted similarly, whispering amongst themselves.

Han Jianjun frowned slightly, lost in thought.

Zhao Yong secretly gave Li Shu a thumbs-up and nodded in approval.

In his view, having ideas is a good thing, regardless of whether they are right or wrong.

Moreover, he felt that Li Shu's analysis was quite reasonable.

He probably works on motorcycles and deals with engine oil all year round, which is why his hands are covered in oil.

Tan Guoxiong, standing next to him, gave him a look that said, "You're really something."

Li Shu shook his head slightly, his heart still pounding.

At this moment, Xu Qiang spoke up: "I think Li Shu's idea makes some sense. Think about it, if the suspect is a motorcycle repairman, he can not only easily obtain vehicles, but also ride other people's motorcycles to evade investigation."

"There's also oil stains. People who frequently repair motorcycles have oil stains on their hands that are impossible to wash off, and they can leave fingerprints."

At this point, Xu Qiang remembered something and asked Han Jianjun, "By the way, Lao Han, did you examine that half fingerprint? Was it also stained with oil?"

Han Jianjun nodded; trace amounts of oil were detected in both fingerprints.

Xu Qiang turned to Tang Weidong and said, "Director Tang, Li Shu's idea is good. We can prioritize checking all the motorcycle repair shops in the city, collect fingerprints from everyone, and compare them first."

Tang Weidong nodded, glanced at Li Shu in the corner, quickly looked away, and reminded him, "Be careful with your approach, don't startle the suspect."

After speaking, he looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, "What's wrong? You all consider yourselves seasoned veterans with years of experience in solving cases, but you have no ideas?"

These words made many people present feel a little embarrassed.

But how can one simply come up with an idea in a short time?

However, there are still some.

The deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Division of the New Taipei Precinct suggested that they organize a team to conduct a detailed search of the area surrounding the crime scene.

According to Xu Qiang, the suspect would hide a cash box and a handgun.

If it was buried, there will be fresh traces.

If you're lucky, you might find it.

Once found, you can wait and wait for it to come to you.

This slowly opened up the conversation, and they began a lively discussion, each offering their own perspective.

The meeting lasted until after 11 p.m. before Tang Weidong finally got up.

However, before leaving, he gave everyone another set of constraints.

"Five days. Don't tell me about any difficulties. Just five days. If the case isn't solved, I won't let you off the hook, not one of you."

After saying that, he waved to Han Jianjun and quickly left.

The deadline for solving the case immediately made the atmosphere tense again.

Han Jianjun stood up and gave Li Shu a wink.

Li Shu was puzzled and quickly followed.

Upon arriving outside, Tang Weidong didn't leave. After chatting with Luo Peng for a few moments, he turned around and greeted him.

"This young man is good; he has some ideas."

For the first time, Tang Weidong smiled slightly, and then said to Han Jianjun, "Old Han, I've talked to Xu Qiang. Don't rush to publicize the half-fingerprint comparison, so as not to give the lower-ups any hope, since they're all counting on this."

Li Shu was secretly startled.

It seems that Tang Weidong and his team had already thought of that half fingerprint.

The reason they haven't said anything is probably because they know the chances are slim and they don't dare to put all their eggs in one basket.

Han Jianjun nodded to indicate that he understood.

Tang Weidong continued, "I contacted Lao Cao and the manufacturer this afternoon, and they agreed. They can bring the equipment over by the day after tomorrow at the latest. You can start preparing now, and we can begin the comparison work as soon as the system arrives."

Li Shu was startled again.

Originally, it was just a statement of agreement to introduce the AFIS system, but now it's clearly been expedited.

That means the team will be able to use this system as early as the day after tomorrow.

Tang Weidong nodded slightly to Li Shu and then quickly left.

Han Jianjun turned around, his expression serious: "Li Shu, from now on you don't need to do anything else. Just follow your methods and carefully study this half of the fingerprint."

There was too little physical evidence at the scene.

Having handled so many cases over the years, Han Jianjun has his own judgment.

If the investigation on the other side doesn't yield results, then the hope of solving the case may still lie in this one and a half fingerprints.