Sweeping Mouse Ridge – Chapter One : 4

Du Jianping jumped out of the police car, and all the officers showed surprise on their faces, then simultaneously let out a long sigh of relief.

Xu Ruilong, the Chief of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, was a highly responsible and farsighted individual. Having spent his entire life in the police force, he realized early on that with the dramatic changes of the times, criminal investigation work must keep pace. Besides introducing advanced police equipment and reforming cumbersome police systems, it was also essential to promote young officers with more scientific minds and modern thinking, based on qualities such as “bravery, loyalty, and hard work.”

After years of careful selection, he had secured three outstanding young talents for the city’s security for decades to come: Lin Xiangming in charge of Criminal Investigation, Liu Simiao in charge of Forensic Technology, and Lei Rong in charge of Forensic Pathology. All three were graduates of China Police University, had years of overseas study experience, and were top talents in their respective fields.

Criminal investigation, forensic technology, and forensic pathology were the three core departments of criminal case investigation, known as the “Three Judicial Departments.” With these three elites at the helm, Xu Ruilong could not only sleep soundly but also smile in his dreams.

But man proposes, God disposes. Lin Xiangming ran into trouble halfway through, leaving a huge gap in the criminal investigation department. They couldn’t find a suitable replacement, so they had to put Liu Simiao on the job. After a year, Liu Simiao became seriously ill from exhaustion. Even the department leaders called Xu Ruilong, saying, “If Simiao were your own daughter, would you let her work so hard?”

In desperation, Xu Ruilong brought back Du Jianping, the former head of the Criminal Investigation Department who had been suspended for personal reasons, to take charge of criminal investigation work, while Liu Simiao continued to manage her criminal case technical department.

Therefore, when the city police learned that a case had occurred in Sweeping Mouse Ridge and that there might be children among the victims, they did not hesitate to send the leader of the Three Judicial Departments to the crime scene and ordered Du Jianping to take charge of the criminal investigation.

The lower-ranking officers weren’t well informed and assumed that the person in charge today was still the ever cold-faced Liu Simiao, so they were understandably apprehensive. Therefore, when they first saw Du Jianping, they were overjoyed. Although “Boss Du” was known for his fiery temper at work, often unleashing a torrent of abuse, he treated every officer like an elder brother in private, sharing drinks and feasts after solving cases…

Unlike Liu Simiao, who only dealt with official business and had no personal relationships, she was incredibly dedicated to her work and extremely strict with her subordinates, not allowing even the slightest mistake, or else they would be in serious trouble. For over a year, the detectives had been working tirelessly, barely drinking water, taking off their shoes, or washing their faces. They slept with one eye open, ensuring the city’s security was excellent, but they were all exhausted and worn out. Seeing Du Jianping return was like a huge relief to everyone.

Du Jianping greeted his old subordinates with a smile, as if they had never been apart. The officers rushed forward to shake his hand, their gazes filled with warmth and respect, but also with a hint of surprise: in two years, Du Jianping had aged drastically. The burly, towering “Boss Du” of the past was gone, replaced by a stiff, slightly hunched old man with gray hair. Considering he was only forty-nine years old and the reasons for his transformation, many felt a lump in their throats. The only comforting thing was that, under the bright halogen lamps that had just been set up, his large, calloused hands, which could have been squeezed to the bone, were still rough and ruddy, warm and strong to the touch.

Lin Fengchong, the Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, who had arrived earlier, briefly introduced his team to Du Jianping: twenty shrewd and capable detectives drawn from the Major Cases Division, and then explained the inner and outer perimeter cordons with a combination of words and gestures. Seeing his older subordinate, dressed in a black leather jacket and sporting a small mustache, unconsciously stomping his heels on the ground, Du Jianping knew he was craving a cigarette. He pulled a pack from his pocket and offered it to him: “Get yourself together. We’ll probably be working all night; this tap dancing won’t do.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Lin Fengchong said. “Director Liu set the rules to prevent contamination of the evidence.”

“We’re not even on site; what’s there to be afraid of?” Du Jianping said with a laugh.

“Even the perimeter isn’t an option,” Lin Fengchong said with a wry smile.

Du Jianping put the cigarette back in his pocket and, together with Lin Fengchong, went to the iron gate. While putting on shoe covers, he inquired about the situation from the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Police Chief, the District Branch Deputy Director responsible for criminal investigation, and the fire brigade chief. Then, he turned to walk inside but suddenly stopped: “Wait a minute.”

Wait for what? He didn’t say.

This left his subordinates completely bewildered. Less than a minute later, a black Camry pulled up. After the car came to a stop, a very beautiful young woman stepped out. Her black casual wool coat made her look capable yet couldn’t hide her beautiful figure. The high collar of her beige knit sweater underneath accentuated her fair, oval face, making her appear exceptionally elegant. Her slightly raised chin gave her an air of aloofness, and her willow-leaf eyes shone with a cold light. All the male police officers who saw her tensed up, unable to resist stealing glances at her.

“Simiao!” Du Jianping greeted her as he walked forward.

Liu Simiao shook his hand and called out, “Director Du,” her palm icy cold.

Looking at the somewhat thin-faced Liu Simiao, Du Jianping felt a complex mix of emotions. When this young woman first returned from studying abroad, her arrogance led to her being ostracized and relegated to a propaganda position in the news department. It wasn’t until the “Serial Breast Cutting Murder Case” occurred in the city that Du Jianping went to great lengths to bring her into the Special Task Force, allowing her to showcase her talents and essentially helping her take the first step on her path to promotion. However, Liu Simiao showed no gratitude whatsoever, always maintaining the politeness and respect due from a subordinate towards a superior. After that, she consistently earned merits, and her rank rose rapidly, especially after Du Jianping was suspended. She quickly rose to become the most powerful division-level officer in the city’s police history, in charge of two of the “Three Judicial Departments.” This time, it was largely because her superiors felt sorry for her overwork that they transferred him back to fill the vacancy, which gives an idea of ​​Du Jianping’s feelings. Furthermore, there was something that pained him deeply, something he didn’t want to share with outsiders: after his family’s misfortune, many of his former subordinates, including Lei Rong, came to offer their concern and did their best to help him soothe his grief. Only Liu Simiao seemed oblivious, keeping her distance. This gave him, usually so easygoing, an unprecedented understanding of the coldness of human relationships.

However, things were different now. Liu Simiao was now a highly valued talent by both the city and department leaders. His superiors had ordered him to lead the criminal investigation of the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case, but since she had been assigned, it was best to discuss everything with her. This was precisely why he insisted on “waiting.”

At this point, a Forensic Pathology vehicle, converted from an ambulance, drove in from the alley entrance. Bodies at the scene of a burning and explosion were often severely damaged, and valuable bodily evidence may be lost or misplaced during the process of moving and transporting the body to the autopsy room. Therefore, preliminary autopsies were mostly performed in the Forensic Pathology vehicle. Liu Simiao and Du Jianping thought it was Lei Rong, but when the car stopped, a girl with a ponytail jumped out of the passenger seat. She had a round face and adorable features like Angela Cat. She rushed over and hugged Liu Simiao, grinning, “Sister Simiao, you didn’t expect it to be me, did you?”

“Little Tang?” Liu Simiao was also surprised. “What brings you here?”

Tang Xiaotang was once Lei Rong’s student. After graduation, she worked at Lei Rong’s Forensic Pathologist Research Center. She had been away for over six months for some reason, only returning at the end of last year. After experiencing some things, this once spoiled and domineering second-generation official’s daughter had matured considerably. She became exceptionally diligent and hardworking, becoming an indispensable assistant to Lei Rong. However, considering she was, after all, a girl, Lei Rong usually assigned on-site tasks to male colleagues. Sending her here today was a novelty.

“The municipal bureau organized a study session on some documents, and they didn’t give Lei Rong any work. Several others also had assignments, so I took this task,” said Tang Xiaotang.

For a long time, Liu Simiao looked down on Tang Xiaotang, and Tang Xiaotang was somewhat afraid of her; they would at most nod when they met. But after a harrowing night last year when Liu Simiao risked her life to save Tang Xiaotang from the brink of death, Tang Xiaotang became an unwavering “die-hard fan,” much to Liu Simiao’s amusement and exasperation. Gradually, Liu Simiao developed feelings for her, seeing her as a little sister. She immediately cautioned, “Little Tang, this case might require examining several bodies that were burned in the well. Be prepared.”

“Don’t worry, nothing else, just a lot of courage!” Tang Xiaotang replied.

“Director Du, Director Liu!” Another police car pulled into the alley, and out stepped Chu Tianying, the former head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. He was originally the director of the Criminal Investigation Department in a neighboring province, renowned in the police force for his youth and exceptional investigative abilities. Xu Ruilong transferred him to a high ranking position in the municipal bureau, but later, for unknown reasons, he was dismissed and relegated to a police officer position at the Wangyue Garden police station, where he continued to serve the people diligently. As his mentor during his studies at China Police University, Liu Simiao couldn’t bear to see such talent relegated to a low-level post, so she devised a way to transfer him to the Criminal Technology Department, where he would be in charge of crime scene investigations in major cases.

All the officers standing in the alley understood: now, the elite forces of the municipal bureau’s criminal investigation department, except for Lei Rong, were all present, waiting for Du Jianping’s orders.

To everyone’s surprise, Du Jianping’s first order was, “Simiao, you assign the tasks!”

Many were taken aback by this, but Liu Simiao glanced at Du Jianping and nodded. She first gathered information about the events leading up to the incident, then donned a white disposable protective jacket and shoe covers. She walked through the gate and surveyed the inner side of the wall, finding that the entire wall completely enclosed the Sweeping Mouse Ridge subway station within a rectangle.

The top of the wall was embedded with shards of glass, making it impossible to climb over. The subway station had three ground-level entrances, each identical in design: a reclining rectangle with a protruding lid at the top, resembling a sliding coffin. However, the Sweeping Mouse Ridge subway station lacked maintenance; it hadn’t even been repainted after construction, retaining its original cement color.

Entrance A, the only one not sealed off with cement slabs but with a steel security door, was located in the southeast corner of the nursery. The security door protruded from the wall, facing the alley. Entrance B was in the northeast corner. Entrance C was far from Entrances A and B, located in the southwest corner. The ventilation shaft where the fire occurred was located in a small earthen mound north of Entrance C.

Besides pine trees supported by scaffolds and withered roses, the nursery contained dozens of ancient locust trees, their bare branches swaying in the cold wind, looking like a group of middle-aged women dancing gracefully. A dilapidated windmill was entangled in the branches of a locust tree near Entrance C, clattering along like a musical accompaniment. An irrigation ditch ran through the nursery, but it was dry and clogged with curled, withered leaves.

After leaving the nursery, Liu Simiao gathered the leaders together and began assigning tasks.

“I’ve temporarily narrowed the investigation area to this nursery, with the central area being the tunnel ventilation shaft,” Liu Simiao said. She laid a large, clean sheet of drawing paper on the car hood, carefully using two police ceiling lights to hold down the edges to prevent it from being blown away by the fierce night wind. She sketched a scene plan on it with a carbon pen, marking key points with police symbols.

“The camera crew should take panoramic photos from different angles as soon as possible, including location shots, overview shots, and shots of the central area… It’s a pity that firefighters went down into the tunnel ventilation shaft and didn’t get to take photos in time. I hope their work didn’t cover up or damage the original traces.”

“Director Liu, don’t worry. After discovering the body, the firefighter didn’t move anything in the shaft, and he even took some photos, which I’ve already sent to my phone. I’ll send them to you now,” said the Deputy Director in charge of criminal investigations at the District Branch, forwarding the photos to Liu Simiao via WeChat.

Liu Simiao was quite surprised. She opened and looked at the photos one by one and immediately said, “Where is that firefighter? Find him right away!”

Chen Guoliang was brought over by several detectives, still wearing his firefighter’s uniform. Liu Simiao gave him a look: “You used to be a detective?”

Chen Guoliang had never seen such a beautiful policewoman, especially one with such a high rank. He paused for a moment, then nodded, admitting that he had previously worked as a detective in a certain province.

“I knew it,” said Liu Simiao. “The photos were very well organized. Just the fact that you used a helmet light instead of a phone flash deserves praise. Did you take any other on-site protection measures?”

Chen Guoliang explained how he avoided touching the well wall when he came up, how he placed his boots upside down on the fire blanket to prevent them from getting any evidence on them, and so on. Liu Simiao nodded after listening, “Very good, very good!” and then let him go to rest.

“In all these years, I’ve never heard Director Liu praise us once,” Lin Fengchong said with a smile.

Liu Simiao glared at him and said to the Deputy Director in charge of criminal investigations at the District Branch, “Select a few capable subordinates to visit every household within a one-kilometer radius, door to door. Find out if they saw or heard anything unusual before or after the incident. It’s the middle of the night; most people are probably asleep, and they won’t be very friendly if you wake them up, but you must hurry and visit them; don’t miss a single one.”

After receiving the order, Deputy Director told Lin Fengchong, “Contact the Municipal Traffic Management Bureau and the Municipal Cyber ​​Security Office immediately. Obtain surveillance videos from all streets and units near the Sweeping Mouse Ridge subway station within two hours before and after the report was received. Lead a team to review these videos personally, edit any suspicious images and videos, and make them readily available for our review. Find out as quickly as possible what vehicle the suspect used to transport the body and escape, and thus determine his specific route. If you need the Skynet system’s assistance, directly request ‘open the way’ (provide full technical support such as high definition data processing or facial recognition) from the bureau. No application report is required!”

Next was the crime scene investigation, the core of criminal investigation work. Perhaps sensing the gravity of the case, Liu Simiao couldn’t help but glance at the nursery gate, now cordoned off with yellow and white police tape. At this moment, the six 2,000-watt police halogen lamps illuminated the nursery as if it were daytime; the ground, trees, ditches, and even the police officers sketching the entrance and exit routes with white chalk all appeared deathly pale, as if they had lost too much blood. The three subway entrances, which had been hidden deep in the woods but were now exposed under the lamplight, looked menacing and restless, as if they might open their jaws at any moment and devour all the creatures that had disturbed their peace.

“Tianying, divide the detectives Fengchong brought into two teams. Team A will move south along the north wall, and Team B will move west along the east wall, both in a single line, advancing in one direction at arm’s length intervals, searching for evidence—be careful to avoid the central ten square meter area around the tunnel ventilation shaft. After both teams have finished searching, switch and conduct a second search. Team A will move east along the west wall, and Team B will move north along the south wall.” She suddenly raised her voice, “I’m warning you upfront: if Team A finds evidence that Team B missed, I will punish Team B; if Team B finds evidence that Team A missed, I will punish Team A!”

“This—” Chu Tianying felt this was a bit unreasonable.

“This is an order; execute it!” Liu Simiao said without hesitation. “As for you, two things: first, separate and extract the tire tracks of any suspicious vehicles that entered this nursery; second, walk around the central area of ​​the tunnel ventilation shaft to conduct a site investigation. Tang Xiaotang and I will go into the shaft to conduct the investigation and autopsy.” She looked up and asked, “Did everyone understand? Any questions—”

Before she could finish, Lin Fengchong coughed softly twice.

Liu Simiao suddenly realized something, quickly stood up straight, and asked Du Jianping beside her, “Director Du, do you think my arrangement is okay? Is there anything else to add?”

“I think it’s fine,” Du Jianping smiled, “but someone’s doing the surface survey; why isn’t anyone doing the underground survey?”

Lin Fengchong and Chu Tianying exchanged glances, not understanding what he meant, but Liu Simiao suddenly realized and was about to speak when Du Jianping waved his hand at her twice, “Alright, alright, you’re both busy; leave this to me, the idle one.” He then walked towards the steel security door of Exit A of the subway station, which was exposed outside the wall.