I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 90 One Month Period
Thanks to the efforts of the electronic evidence room of the criminal technology squadron, Cao Kexuan's mobile phone data was recovered.

The investigators carefully reviewed the information on the phone but found no direct clues related to the death.

There are many photos.

Photos included travel photos, photos of parents, photos of relatives, photos of girlfriend, and landscape photos. Among them was a photo of him and Wei Tianyong, both of them smiling happily, exuding youthful energy and a strong sense of friendship.

The photos show that Cao Kexuan and Wei Tianyong have a very good relationship.

The old saying goes that childhood friends are one of the most important interpersonal relationships in life, and they are hard to change due to external forces.

"Where are these mountain scenes photographed recently? Tiezhu Mountain, right?" Ji Bowei noticed this.

Fangzhou: "It should be. There are fruit trees, as well as cattle, sheep, and poultry."

There are more than a dozen photos of the mountain scenery; these were the last photos taken by Cao Kexuan before his death.

The Cao family leased a hilltop to grow fruit trees, so it's not surprising that Cao Kexuan would go up the mountain to take some photos when he had nothing else to do.

Since there were no clues on the phone, there was nothing we could do but continue the investigation.

The investigation lasted for seven days. During this time, Ji Bowei increased the number of police officers, and the local town police station also participated in the investigation, covering the entire village.

Including the previous three days, the criminal investigation team has spent ten days on this case, but still has not found any evidence or clues pointing to homicide.

The First Squadron is very busy, and the Criminal Investigation Brigade is also very busy; the police force needs to be reduced.

Whether Cao Kexuan died in an accident is uncertain, and the Criminal Investigation Brigade needs to prioritize handling cases that have already been confirmed.

Ji Bowei convened a meeting with the First Squadron.

After several days of investigation, there are roughly four possible scenarios for accidental death.

Scenario 1: Homicide is ruled out, and the deceased is confirmed to have died in an accident or by suicide.

Scenario 2: The cause of death cannot be determined, and there are unresolved doubts.

Scenario 3: There is strong suspicion of homicide, but the evidence is insufficient.

Scenario 4: Murder is confirmed, the suspect is identified and arrested.

Currently, Cao Kexuan's death falls under scenario two.

“Leave one investigation team to continue the investigation for one month. If there is no progress after one month, issue a certificate of ‘unknown cause of death’ and archive the case.”

After weighing the options, Ji Bowei made a decision.

It is classified as a cold case, meaning it is dormant but not closed. The investigation can be restarted at any time if new leads emerge, such as through a tip-off from another person.

Currently, the criminal investigation team can only withdraw from routine investigations.

Withdrawal does not mean abandonment.

This is not irresponsible; classifying it as a cold case is precisely a reflection of the rigor of criminal investigation work and a demonstration of responsibility towards the deceased.

"Are there any investigation teams willing to continue the investigation?" Ji Bowei asked.

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Ling immediately raised his hand: "I'll go."

Cao Kexuan's death is likely suspicious, and the lack of investigation suggests it's a difficult case. However, with sufficient time and police resources, there should be new leads.

However, the criminal investigation team has limited manpower and resources, and it is impossible to keep an eye on one unknown case indefinitely, otherwise other cases would pile up.

Taking all factors into account, Ji Bowei's decision is correct.

In that case, he should investigate; he doesn't trust anyone else to do it.

Seeing that Han Ling had spoken first, the colleagues didn't interfere; it didn't matter who went.

Tong Feng had no objection; he didn't care.

Ji Bowei looked at Han Ling and nodded, saying, "Okay, Han Ling and Tong Feng's team will continue to follow up on the Weijiazhuang Village case. Return to the team in a month. If you need anything, just let us know now."

Han Ling: "Yes, I'd like to stay in Huaiyan Town occasionally this month. It's too much trouble to travel back and forth. Could you reimburse my travel expenses?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Bowei thought for a moment and then said, "Okay, I agree. Take your sidearms and call if you need support."

When he travels to remote mountain villages to investigate cases, he sometimes stays there, and there are only two of them, so he has to consider safety issues.

In special circumstances, criminal police officers may keep their service weapons personally and return them upon expiration.

“Okay,” Han Ling said.

After the meeting, Ji Bowei waved to Fang Zhou: "Come out for a moment, I have a case for you to handle."

Fang Zhou followed the captain away, nodding to Han Ling and the other before leaving, a gesture that served as both encouragement and a farewell as they went their separate ways to investigate the case.

Soon, only Han Ling and Tong Feng remained in the meeting room.

Tong Feng stretched. In his opinion, investigating an accidental death case that was about to be classified as a cold case was relatively easy, at least he didn't have to bear the pressure and responsibility.

So when Han Ling raised his hand first, he felt a little bit happy.

Of course, he knew that Han Ling was not trying to relax or put pressure on him; he genuinely believed that there were suspicious circumstances surrounding Cao Kexuan's death.

Han Ling lit a cigarette and fell into deep thought. He needed to consider how to proceed with the investigation; he couldn't rely on Tong Feng, this "mascot."

Tong Feng is a very qualified criminal police officer, but relatively speaking, there is a gap between him and himself in terms of skill level.

"I'll go get the approval form. You wait here for a moment."

Tong Feng got up and left the meeting room. He quickly returned, placed the "Approval Form for Official Use of Firearms" in front of Han Ling, and handed her a pen.

Two people filled it out.

"You're willing to go to Weijiazhuang Village, right?" Han Ling asked, having not asked the other person's opinion beforehand when he raised his hand.

Tong Feng laughed and said, "What's there to be willing or not? Even if we don't go to Weijiazhuang Village, we still have to deal with other cases. Weijiazhuang Village is easier and there's not much pressure there."

Most importantly, we're practically family! The other day there was a staff transfer opportunity in the publicity department, and I didn't go. See how much I love you?

"Hmm?" Han Ling paused, turning her head: "The propaganda department is so comfortable, why don't you go if you have the chance?" Tong Feng: "Isn't it because you came to the First Squadron? Without me, the Peerless Duo can't be formed."

Han Ling: "..."

"Why is the publicity department suddenly short-staffed?" he asked.

Tong Feng explained: "You don't usually go online? Sina Weibo."

The bureau has registered an official account on Sina Weibo, and it needs someone to manage and promote it regularly; I think they need two or three.

Weibo?

Han Ling said "Oh," and then remembered that Weibo began to develop rapidly in 2010, and public security organs in various places began to attach importance to police-civilian communication and the dissemination of online information.

This year was the inaugural year of Weibo.

"Why not just treat it as a side job? Why bother hiring someone specifically?" Han Ling said.

Tong Feng shook his head: "I don't know, I don't understand Weibo either. Maybe it's too much time and energy to do as a side job. It needs to be handled by a dedicated person. If I were to go, I would maintain the Criminal Police Online section and help netizens solve problems. It would be an easy and enjoyable job."

Han Ling: "What, you really want to be a front-line criminal investigator?"

He naturally didn't believe the joke about the two peerless heroes. Perhaps that was part of the reason, but it was definitely not the main reason.

This involves life and career planning, a lifelong matter; Tong Feng couldn't possibly treat it so lightly.

“Being a criminal investigator is great.” Tong Feng said as he filled out the form, “Hou Jiarou’s case shocked me. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, if it weren’t for you, if it weren’t for us criminal investigators, who would have redressed Hou Jiarou’s injustice?”

Han Ling remained silent, feeling that Tong Feng's soul seemed to have been sublimated and he had matured a lot, and began to re-examine his police uniform.

Initially, I took the exam because my family wanted me to, but now I have developed my own independent thinking.

You can only do better if you love your work.

"Fengzi has grown up and become sensible," Han Ling exclaimed.

Tong Feng snapped, "Why have you become so sarcastic and unpredictable! You little devil! I'm not sending you a phone next year!"

Han Ling: "Then what should we give?"

Tong Feng: "Give...give a computer."

Han Ling was also a little vulnerable: "It's good to be rich. You remind me of an old friend from my childhood. He was also a rich second-generation and a criminal police officer, but he was much better than you."

Tong Feng was slightly taken aback, then asked curiously, "Who is it? Not... from your younger days? How old are you!"

Han Ling stood up: "You wouldn't know this place even if I told you. Have you finished writing? If you're done, get your gun and head to Huaiyan Town."

Tong Feng caught up with him: "So, how are we going to investigate? What are we going to investigate? With the number of people reduced to two, even if there are problems, it will be much harder to find them."

Han Ling responded: "Investigate however you need to."

After receiving the pistol, the two drove straight to Huaiyan Town and arrived at the Huaiyan Town Police Station.

The two had worked together a few days ago and were already acquainted. They met the team leader of the police station's case-handling post in the office.

The internal structure of a town police station varies greatly depending on the region. The Huaiyan Town Police Station is very small and does not have a professional case-handling team. It only has case-handling positions in principle.

Although they are called team leaders, it's really just a title. Their role is similar to that of a Young Pioneers brigade leader in elementary school, and they have little binding power over the police officers in the station.

"Why are there only two people here today?" the team leader asked, pouring tea.

Han Ling gave a brief explanation, and the team leader expressed his understanding. The two sat down and started chatting.

Han Ling didn't ask about the issues they had already discussed, and instead focused on other low-probability events.

The criminal investigation team has already investigated everything they needed to. If Cao Kexuan died from homicide, then the motive can only be a low-probability event.

“Weijiazhuang Village is relatively isolated.” The team leader repeated, “In all these years, the station has never received a call for help. It’s impossible to say there are no incidents. If they don’t call the police, we naturally can’t go to their homes on our own initiative.”

Han Ling understood that the police station was actually well aware of the situation, but they were simply too afraid of getting involved.

With so many villages in the jurisdiction, all sorts of things are bound to happen over time, and it's impossible to manage them all.

Therefore, they have a tacitly agreed-upon standard for handling such cases: if you call the police, I will respond; if you don't, I will pretend I don't know anything, provided that it doesn't cause too much trouble.

"Has anything unusual happened in the town, or been any minor case, that's related to Weijiazhuang Village?" Han Ling asked.

After all, it was a case handled by the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the branch bureau, so the team leader didn't dare to be sloppy. He thought about it carefully and replied, "There was a fight, it was... about four or five years ago, I remember. The person who was beaten was from the town, and the person who beat him was a villager from Weijiazhuang Village."

Han Ling: "Because of what?"

The team leader laughed: "His wife cheated on him, and that villager from Weijiazhuang Village was the other woman. He was going to town every few days. One night, he was caught in the house."

This plot sounds familiar.

Han Ling had handled similar cases when he was at the police station. One brother cheated on his brother with his girlfriend, but the one who was cuckolded was actually weak and got his head split open, suffering minor injuries.

In the end, the two parties reached a settlement, and the person who caused minor injuries paid a large sum of money and was given a suspended sentence, without serving a prison term.

"How did you handle it?" Han Ling asked.

Team leader: "We settled with compensation."

Han Ling: "Can I see the mediation agreement from back then?"

There are no case files for settled fights; only the mediation agreement is kept, which the police station calls a mediation document, and it serves as the station's work file.

Weijiazhuang Village is considered a closed-off area by the police station, and fights rarely occur there. Since it is related to Weijiazhuang Village, they need to take a look and not let go of any clues, just in case they are useful.
Team leader: "Okay, I'll go find it."

There are no confidential cases at the police station, so he naturally wouldn't refuse since the criminal police from the branch bureau needed him.

The team leader returned quickly and handed the mediation agreement from that year to Han Ling.

Han Ling quickly scanned the page, focusing on remembering the names. The incident itself was simple and there was nothing to investigate.

(End of this chapter)