Detective: From the Police Academy

Chapter 289 Major clues
The rain from the previous night was still drizzling.

Linjiang City was shrouded in mist, and with the low-hanging sky, it made people feel depressed and breathless.

A black SUV was parked on the roadside in front of the court gate for an hour.

Then, another police car with the word "Public Security" printed on the body drove over. Kang Bolin and a man in a prison guard uniform got out of the car, walked to the side of the black SUV, and knocked on the door.

Luo Rui opened the car door and asked, "How is it?"

"Let's talk in the car." Kang Bolin opened the back door.

The back seat was empty, so he got into the car with the prison guard and slammed the door shut.

Kang Bolin immediately introduced: "This is the deputy warden of Linjiang Prison, Luo Bo."

Luo Rui was sitting in the passenger seat. He quickly stretched out his hand and shook hands with the other party.

"Hello, Warden Luo."

Luo Bo smiled and said, "Hello, Team Leader Luo. When I came here, I checked the family tree and found that we are from the same clan."

"Really?" Luo Rui was surprised.

"Is your great-grandfather called Luo Bingwen? Was he a scholar?"

"That's true." Luo Rui looked at the other person carefully. Luo Bo was in his forties, tall and strong. He was in the prime of his life, but his hair on the temples was a little gray.

"Your great-grandfather's name is on my family's genealogy, but he later branched out, and the names of his descendants are not recorded. When I have time, I will give you a copy of the family tree, and you can take a look at it then."

"Okay, thank you then." Luo Rui did not refuse. Seeing how serious he was speaking, this should not be a fake.

Besides, a deputy warden is at the deputy county level, so there is no need for him to get close to me. Although it is called Linjiang Prison, it is not under the management of Linjiang City, but directly managed by the Haidong Provincial Prison Administration Bureau.

Seeing that the two people were familiar with each other, Kang Bolin said, "Let's talk about business."

Luo Rui pondered, "I just came out of the court. The people inside told me that after the coal mine owner Xin Zongliang fled, Hong Bo was responsible for the major accident. He forced production despite knowing that the coal mine had safety hazards, resulting in six miners being buried underground, and none of them survived. They said there is no possibility of commuting his sentence."

"Will you tell them the details of the case we have?" asked Cumberlin.

Luo Rui spread his hands and said, "I told you, it's because of this that they refused to give in."

Although these words were said in a very obscure way, everyone in the car understood them.

"How is things in prison?" Luo Rui asked.

Kang Bolin looked at Luo Bo, who shook his head: "We had a meeting this morning, and the prison also disagreed with Hong Bo's sentence reduction."

"What's the reason?"

"It was said that Hongbo behaved badly in prison."

"Why is your performance so bad?"

"Hongbo once had a fight with a fellow prisoner and almost stabbed him with a sharpened toothbrush handle." Luo Bo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Not only that, I'm afraid you may not be able to see him next time you visit him..."

Luo Rui sighed, turned around and leaned back in his chair.

Kang Bolin said in frustration: "Is there really no other way? Luo Rui, you went to the prison yesterday and didn't just meet him. What did Wang Guoxiao say?"

"He knows nothing. Hong Bo is right when he says that a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment knows more than a person sentenced to 20 years in prison."

"What should we do now? If Hongbo doesn't speak up, we won't be able to find out the truth."

Luo Rui didn't say anything. He thought for a while, then turned around and smiled.

Kang Bolin looked at his smiling face and said, "You can still smile, Luo Rui. There is so much resistance in this case. What should we do now? I made several phone calls yesterday. The meaning of the calls was that we should catch the murderer as soon as possible and hand him over to the procuratorate. Don't worry about other things."

Luo Rui curled his lips and looked at Luo Bo.

"Warden Luo, we can't contact Hong Bo, you should be able to see him, right?"

Luo Bo blinked, startled: "You want to..."

Luo Rui pondered and said, "What I mean is that last night, Hong Bo was asking for a price and wanted to reduce his sentence. Of course, this was his best plan, but now the situation is different. It's not a matter of reducing the sentence or not, but a matter of saving his life!
He should know who he has offended and how deep the involvement behind this is. If he wants to stay safe in prison, he'd better tell us what he knows. Otherwise, the further we investigate, the more dangerous he will be.

If he wants to survive, he'd better tell him what he knows honestly."

Upon hearing this, Kang Bolin slapped his knee and looked at Luo Bo with burning eyes.

Luo Bo hesitated and seemed very embarrassed.

Luo Rui's meaning was very clear. He wanted him to trick Hong Bo into talking, and given the current situation, he was the only one who could contact the other party.

But if you do this and let others know, it will be difficult to move forward in the future.

Seeing his embarrassment, Kang Bolin quickly persuaded him: "Warden Luo, we are all police officers. Although our division of labor is different, our goal is the same, which is to uphold justice and reduce the number of criminals and termites in society.

We have known each other for such a long time, I know you well and you have a warm heart, I believe you will make a wise choice. "

Luo Bo was not moved by his sweet words. He thought for a long time, glanced at Kang Bolin, then looked at Luo Rui, and remained silent for a long time.

Kang Bolin was anxious: "Lao Luo, stop wasting time. Just give me a word if you agree or not."

Luo Bo gritted his teeth and said, "Team Leader Luo, I want a promise."

Seeing his eager look, Luo Rui quickly leaned forward and turned his head.

Luo Bo stood up from his seat, leaned his head against the roof of the car, and whispered to Luo Rui for a while.

After saying that, Luo Rui took out his cell phone without saying anything, opened the car door, got out of the car and made a call.

Fang Yonghui, who was driving the car, quickly got out of the car, stretched out his hand and wanted to give it to him, but he refused.

Kang Bolin was a little puzzled. He looked at Luo Bo suspiciously. The latter was leaning back in his chair with a heavy face and his eyes closed.

About ten minutes later, Luo Rui opened the car door.

Luo Bo immediately opened his eyes, his eyes burning.

"Warden Luo, your phone number."

Luo Bo quickly opened the car door, jumped out, took the phone with both hands, and then trotted to the steps.

Behind him was the courthouse, with its long steps, looking solemn and majestic.

The rain fell on Luo Bo's head, but he didn't care.

After a long while, Luo Bo hung up the phone and returned the phone to Luo Rui with a smile.

"Thank you, Team Leader Luo. Please don't think that I want to..."

Luo Rui quickly waved his hand to stop him from continuing: "If it were me, I would also think about my future. There is nothing wrong with what you are doing."

After the call, Kang Bolin got out of the car. He heard Luo Rui ask, "When can you get Hong Bo's confession?"

Luo Bo replied: "Hongbo was moved to a new cell this morning. He has been placed in solitary confinement. I will give you news tomorrow morning at the latest, but his confession cannot be used as evidence."

"Of course."

"Okay, I'll go first." Luo Bo looked at Kang Bolin, smiled and nodded.

"Okay!" Luo Rui responded.

Luo Bo walked to the police car and opened the door. Just as he was about to get in, he suddenly said, "Captain Luo, according to seniority, we are brothers."

Luo Rui grinned: "Yes, brothers!"

After he got in the car and left, Luo Rui's face immediately turned cold.

Seeing this, Kang Bolin hesitated for a moment and asked, "What conditions did you agree to?"

"It's not me, it's Director Wu."

"what?"

"There is no such thing as a free lunch. My brother is very ambitious."

After finishing the job, Luo Rui and Kang Bolin got in the car together and rushed back to the Municipal Bureau.

In the conference room, all four criminal police brigades were present. After more than ten hours of investigation, the full picture of the case had unfolded.

Zhang Qiang, the captain of the first team, reported: "Director Wang, Team Leader Luo, Team Leader Kang, we have investigated all the accounts of Jiuling Coal Mine. In addition to the collapse accident eleven years ago, the mine also falsified accounts and was suspected of H being involved in H, involving..."

At this time, the conference room was silent, the door was closed, and only a few people responsible for the investigation were present.

Luo Rui raised his head, turned the marker in his hand, and glanced at Lin Chen's laptop. The camera of the computer was on, and the faces of Zhu Yong and Wu Chaoxiong appeared on the screen.

Wang Mu, who was sitting next to him, said, "You can talk as you like."

Zhang Qiang carefully said a few names, one of whom was Yang Xudong.

Luo Rui knew this person.

Wang Mu glanced at the words that appeared on the computer screen and said to Zhang Qiang: "Submit the information to the Anti-Tan Bureau and the accounts to the Economic Detachment. We have no control over this matter!"

"Okay!" Zhang Qiang nodded quickly and let out a long sigh. He was also afraid of getting into trouble.

"Also, after visiting and investigating, we found out that the coal mine was using illegal workers. One of the people involved was named Shi Mingdong, and he was the logistics director of Jiuling Coal Mine."

"Has he been interrogated?" Luo Rui asked.

"not yet."

"Leave him alone for a while. I don't believe he won't speak."

Then the captain of the second brigade reported: "We found out that Liu Jiafu and Ding Li started driving buses in 90 after they were laid off from the cotton mill. During this period, we did not find any evidence that they trafficked children. However, in May 97, the anti-trafficking office caught a human trafficker on their bus..."

Information about the incident appeared on the big screen, with photos of the traffickers and missing children.

The trafficker was a middle-aged woman holding a child about two years old in her arms.

In addition, there are scenes of police officers arresting people on a bus.

Luo Rui asked: "Where is this human trafficker now?"

"This woman was only sentenced to five years and was released from prison a long time ago. Now I can't find her."

"Damn it!" Luo Rui cursed.

Wang Mu analyzed: "It should be from this time that Liu Jiafu and Ding Li started to engage in child trafficking."

The captain of the second brigade said, "From the evidence we found, this should be the case. In 99, the couple bought a bus and registered it under the name of a bus transportation company. According to the person in charge of the company, each trip took them twice as long as others. We have also found passengers who have taken this bus many times. According to their recollections, Ding Li always held a child in her arms, pretending to be a passenger. Not only that, at the beginning of 99, there were eight children in their bus, aged between thirteen and fifteen."

Hearing this, Luo Rui quickly asked: "Is there a list of these people?"

"No, no one knows their names or where they come from, and there are no adults to look after them. But we found a rest stop during transportation, and according to the boss of the bus rest stop, these children were all dressed in rags and malnourished."

Lin Chen was shocked and said, "Eight children? They are so bold to kidnap so many at once! Don't these children resist?"

Luo Rui shook his head and explained, "They are probably beggars. These children have no parents, or they have left home due to family misfortunes and are wandering outside.

They are not yet adults, do not have ID cards, and cannot find jobs. They have to run around all day just to get food to eat.

It is possible that they were just encountered by Liu Jiafu, who tricked them into believing that he could find them jobs, and then sold them to the Jiuling Coal Mine.”

Lin Chen clenched his fists and cursed, "What a beast!"

At this moment, Wu Chaoxiong on the computer screen was leaning back in his chair, looking solemn and frowning slightly.

When Lin Chen saw his look, he quickly stuck out his tongue.

Wu Chaoxiong rolled his eyes at her.

Wang Mu said: "It would be nice if there was a list of these children."

Although he said so, he understood that it would be extremely difficult to find out the names of these people unless he found one of them.

"How did the interrogation by Kou Tao and Wu Qiang go?" Luo Rui asked.

The captain of the Third Brigade stood up and replied, "We kept them awake all night and they all confessed. In addition to their previous confessions, they also revealed the true identity of the man called Nie Lin.

Eleven years ago, Nie Lin was an illegal worker in Jiuling Coal Mine. He was only 15 years old at that time. This is his sketch..."

The man's face immediately appeared on the big screen, and after being magnified, his face could be seen clearly.

This is a young face with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes and long hair.

When the car exploded, a roadside surveillance camera captured his eyes.

Comparing the two, the eyes are exactly the same, it is indeed this person.

The captain of the third team continued, "There are many illegal workers in Jiuling Coal Mine, most of whom do not have ID cards. Kou Tao and Wu Qiang only know Nie Lin, and he doesn't know the others.

The illegal workers work in a different place from them, and the work area is separated by barbed wire, so they are not allowed to come into contact with each other.”

"Why do you want to hire these underage kids?" Wang Mu asked.

"Kou Tao said that since some dangerous jobs require human intervention, those illegal workers are not only cheap, but even if they die, they don't have to pay a large sum of money for compensation. After they eliminate the danger, they will let regular workers do the mining. This way, the risk of casualties among regular workers can be reduced."

"Even so, it still led to a collapse accident eleven years ago, killing six workers? What caused this?"

Kang Bolin took out a document, looked at it, and replied: "This is an old file. It says that the collapse was caused by water seeping into the mine and the rock wall was not supported."

Luo Rui narrowed his eyes: "Could it be man-made?"

"what?"

Luo Rui buried his doubts in his heart and said nothing more.

But the seeds of doubt rose in everyone's heart.

If Jiuling Coal Mine first used illegal workers to check for dangers, why did it later lead to a collapse accident?
To put it more cruelly, if the dead were illegal workers, these people have no identity and no one cares about them, then...

Also, when I went to the prison yesterday, Hong Bo once said that the death toll was far more than that. Where are these illegal workers now? This is what Luo Rui is most concerned about now.

Wang Mu broke the silence and asked, "Did Kou Tao tell us how many of these black tools there are?"

The third captain shook his head: "He doesn't know either. The meals and accommodation are separated."

"Okay, sit down." Wang Mu looked at the captain of the Fourth Brigade: "Have you found out why Nie Lin wanted to kill Liu Jinhan and Zhang Shirong? Have you found out their identities and backgrounds?"

"Director Wang, Liu Jinhan and Zhang Shirong are both local hooligans with criminal records. They have no contact with Jiuling Coal Mine. I suspect that Nie Lin simply wants to kill them."

What this means is that he found nothing.

Seeing the other party's embarrassment, Luo Rui raised his hand and said, "I agree with this view. Nie Lin is most likely a beggar sold to the coal mine by Liu Jiafu. These beggars have been bullied by hooligans. It should be a simple revenge against this kind of people..."

Luo Rui didn't finish his words, but judging from Nie Lin's behavior, there might be more to it.

People like this feel that they have suffered too much injustice and probably don't have any good feelings towards the police, otherwise they wouldn't do these things.

The focus of the investigation has now shifted to the collapse accident at Jiuling Coal Mine eleven years ago.

Wang Mu and his men immediately went to the abandoned coal mine, hoping to find the real cause of the accident and the list of those illegal workers.

If we find one of them, the truth of the case may be revealed.

Half an hour later, in the interrogation room.

Shi Mingdong sat in the chair uncomfortably, holding a plush hat in his hand.

His eyes were wandering and he looked very nervous.

The door of the interrogation room was suddenly pushed open, and he quickly stood up, hunching his back.

After Luo Rui came in, he looked at him and pointed at the chair: "Please sit down."

"Officer, I've been sitting here long enough. What is the reason for calling me here?"

"I know you are in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry." Luo Rui replied, then sat in the chair opposite Fang Yonghui.

"Your name is Shi Mingdong?"

"Yes!"

"You really don't know why we are looking for you?"

Shi Mingdong swallowed, lowered his head, and then shook his head.

Luo Rui took the information handed over by Fang Yonghui, looked at it, and said, "Jiuling Coal Mine used to be a state-owned mine, and you were also a regular worker. Later, after it was contracted to Xin Zongliang, you continued to serve as the logistics director of the coal mine until the year after the coal mine was abandoned. You retired, and you still received the retirement benefits of a regular employee?"

"Yes!" Shi Mingdong nodded.

"You are in charge of logistics, so you should know what Jiuling Coal Mine has been trying to cover up, right?"

Hearing this, Shi Mingdong immediately looked up with a look of panic in his eyes.

"No, no, I'm just in charge of logistics. The major matters are handled by the production manager and the safety manager. It's not my turn."

Luo Rui laughed and said, "Ha, you are trying to completely deny the matter. Then let me ask you, is hiring underage illegal workers a big deal or a small matter?"

"Ah?" The plush hat in Shi Mingdong's hand fell on the table.

Cold sweat oozed from his forehead and the wrinkles on his face were tense.

Luo Rui stared at him closely: "Shi Mingdong, I'm telling you the truth. I just came back from prison. Hong Wei has confessed everything to the police. He has revealed everything he knows. We are looking for you now. Do you know why?"

"Hong Chang, he..." Shi Mingdong stammered, "Did Hong Wei really tell you?"

Luo Rui threw a document on the table to him: "This is his confession..."

Shi Mingdong picked it up tremblingly, read only a few lines, and then Luo Rui snatched it away.

"Sorry, I almost forgot. I can't show you this."

Shi Mingdong hesitated for a while, then raised his head as if he had made up his mind: "I have kept this matter in my heart for more than ten years. Since you police have found out about me, I will not hide it anymore. Jiuling Coal Mine did employ underage illegal workers!"

Seeing that he had let go, Luo Rui leaned forward and asked, "How many people are there in total?"

"There were 11 adults without ID cards and five minors, all of whom were teenagers."

Luo Rui glanced at the camera on the tripod. The red light was on, indicating that it was recording.

Fang Yonghui also began to record with a pen.

"How do you know so clearly?"

Shi Mingdong didn't evade his gaze and answered, "Because I manage their three meals a day."

“How many people know about this?”

"Many people know that coal mines employ illegal workers. This is normal. It happens in every coal mine. But only Xin Zongliang, Hong Wei and I know about the existence of those children!
I didn't know it at first, but when Hong Wei asked me to manage these people, I found out that there were half-grown children among these illegal workers. They were all beggars who were sold to the mine.

The work they do is very dangerous and hard. After the mine is blasted, they are the first to go down the mine, eliminate the danger, and wait until it is safe before letting the regular workers go down to work..."

Seeing him pause, Luo Rui was about to ask a question, but Shi Mingdong spoke again: "These illegal workers have a very difficult life. Adults without ID cards can get some very low wages, but those children can't get a penny, just give them food.

Moreover, several of them wanted to run away, but were chased back by Hong Wei's subordinates and beaten half to death.

There are two older children among them, and…"

"What else happened?"

Shi Mingdong sighed: "They were beaten to death by the security personnel in the mine!"

Luo Rui's heart trembled: "Who did it? Tell me their names!"

"I only remember one person's name. He was the boss Xin Zongliang's brother-in-law. He was the security captain of the mine. His name was Jia Quan."

"Where are the bodies of the two children buried?"

Shi Mingdong shook his head: "I don't know, Hong Wei should know that after the death, Jia Quan called Hong Wei immediately."

“After the coal mine closed down, do you know where these illegal workers went?”

“I don’t know. Because there was a collapse accident and six workers died, Xin Zongliang and his team were afraid that these people would be found out, so they quickly dismissed them.

However, those underage children have no home and no money. If they are allowed to leave, they will not go far, but I have never seen them in the town.

I doubt……"

Luo Rui's eyes were sharp, and he asked, "What do you suspect?"

Shi Mingdong took a deep breath and met Luo Rui's gaze.

He answered word by word: "I suspect they are all dead, because it was not a mine that collapsed..."

Hearing this, Luo Rui stood up suddenly, and felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen.

(End of this chapter)