Chapter 24.2: Moving to Municipal Bureau
Jiang Xia quickly realized that now was the best opportunity to make requests. Thinking about making things more convenient for herself in the future, she said:
“Section Chief Liao, if I’m drawing portraits inside the bureau, that’s easy enough. The main trouble is going out for fieldwork. I’ll have to carry all the equipment with me. It would be best to make a small portrait-printing box to hold everything. Also, the mimeograph machine is too large and inconvenient to carry. If we could customize a smaller one, that would be much better.”
“Customize?”
Section Chief Liao slightly furrowed his brows.
A mimeograph machine was roughly sixty by forty centimeters in size. It wasn’t exactly small. Carrying just the machine itself would be manageable, but adding in printing paper, wax stencils, styluses, steel plates, rollers, and the entire set of printing supplies would make things much more troublesome.
It really did need to be made smaller.
That meant they would have to find someone specifically to make one.
“I’ll think of a way to handle this.”
Fortunately, a mimeograph machine wasn’t particularly complicated. Even an individual could make one. Liao Zhongsheng kept this matter in mind and said:
“I’ll see if I can contact a carpenter. When the time comes, you can discuss it with him. Have him make the portrait-printing box at the same time. Hmm… anything else?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Xia continued:
“There’s also the ink. The ink currently available on the market dries too slowly, which wastes a lot of time. It would be best to get some quick-drying ink. That way, the time it takes for the portraits to reach people can be shortened by quite a bit.”
Ink?
Liao Zhongsheng couldn’t help feeling a headache coming on.
The bureau was also using mimeograph machines, so he knew exactly how slow the ink was to dry. To be honest, if this waiting time could be reduced, then in some major cases where every second counted, it might very well play a crucial role.
The problem was that while he could find a carpenter to modify the size of the mimeograph machine, where was he supposed to find quick-drying ink?
If such a thing existed, the bureau would have already been using it!
Click.
Just as Liao Zhongsheng was feeling troubled, the door suddenly opened.
Tan Bingyi pushed the door open and walked in. At a glance, he saw Jiang Xia behind the desk, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
“Jiang Xia, you’re here? I was just looking for you. By the way, what were you two saying about ink just now?”
“Captain Tan.”
Jiang Xia greeted him and explained:
“I was thinking of getting some quick-drying ink. That way, when we print portraits in the future, we won’t have to wait such a long time. The problem is that this kind of ink can’t be bought on the market, so I’m currently stuck on that.”
Tan Bingyi understood.
He thought for a moment.
“Ink, huh… That really isn’t easy to get. Wait, Jiang Xia, don’t you think printing factories should have quick-drying ink? As it happens, I’ll need to ask them to print another portrait later. I’ll give them a call then and ask.”
As he spoke, Tan Bingyi threw a disdainful glance at Liao Zhongsheng, then continued:
“Anyway, the victim from the suspected robbery-murder case has arrived. Jiang Xia, bring your tools and come take a look. See if you can draw a portrait of the suspect.”
While taking out her notebook from her bag, Jiang Xia looked toward Liao Zhongsheng.
“Section Chief Liao, then I’ll go with Captain Tan first?”
“Alright, go ahead.”
Liao Zhongsheng waved his hand in agreement and reminded her:
“Remember to come back and collect the money. You don’t need to hurry in tomorrow either. Buy everything you need first, then we’ll talk.”
Jiang Xia agreed.
She and Captain Tan walked toward the reception room together.
On the way, Jiang Xia took the initiative to ask:
“Captain Tan, what happened with this robbery-murder case?”
“It’s a case that happened earlier this month. Someone died.”
As they walked, Tan Bingyi said:
“Let me think… it should have been seventeen days ago. A corpse was discovered on the road to Hongxing Commune.”
“The victim was under forty years old. He was stabbed three times in the abdomen and died from blood loss. There were signs of a struggle on his body, and all of his belongings had been taken.”
“After our investigation, we confirmed that he was Chen Shaoming, a cadre from Hongxing Commune. He had been carrying three hundred yuan and fertilizer purchase coupons, preparing to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy fertilizer.”
“At the time, our initial assessment was that this was a typical robbery-murder case. Since the victim had been alone while carrying a large amount of money to the supply and marketing cooperative, we suspected that it was a crime committed by someone familiar with him.”
At this point, Tan Bingyi paused, and a hint of frustration appeared on his face.
“But after investigating, we discovered that neither the people at Hongxing Commune nor the neighbors who knew about this had the opportunity to commit the crime. In other words, our investigative direction was wrong, and we wasted quite a bit of time.”
“We had no choice but to adjust our direction again. We determined that the most likely possibility was a random robbery and murder. Considering that the victim showed signs of having fought back, we suspected it might have been a crime of passion.”
“After reanalyzing the scene, Old Li discovered three suspicious footprints at the location and estimated that the person’s age was around twenty to twenty-five years old.”
“Generally speaking, criminals who commit armed robbery do it for money rather than to kill. After all, the consequences of the two crimes are different, and criminals don’t necessarily have the courage to go that far.”
“Based on this judgment, I divided the investigation into three groups. One group conducted interviews, one group kept watch and waited for suspects, and the final group contacted various police stations to check whether there had been any recent reports of three young men committing armed robberies with knives.”
“However, both the interviews and surveillance produced no results. Fortunately, when we checked through the case files, we actually found several similar cases.”
“And among those similar cases, one victim had seen the face of one of the robbers.”
Aside from the investigation direction initially going astray, there were no major issues with their method of solving the case.
Jiang Xia organized the details of the case in her mind and nodded slightly.
“If they really are the same group of people, then this is a typical case of criminal escalation.”
“Exactly.”
Tan Bingyi nodded in agreement, then spoke with some regret:
“The victim’s family has three children. The oldest is only twelve years old. With him gone, no one knows how their family will get through the days ahead.”
“Sigh.”
Jiang Xia let out a soft sigh.
Things like this were undoubtedly the most difficult to bear.
The deceased were already gone. The only thing the police could do was solve the case as quickly as possible and give some comfort to the victim’s family.
As they spoke, they arrived at the reception room.
Jiang Xia pushed open the door.
Inside the room sat a man in his thirties. His face was somewhat pale, and dark circles surrounded his eyes. The sound of the door opening startled him. He instantly pressed himself tightly against the back of the chair, his hand gripping the edge of the table and trembling slightly. It wasn’t until he saw that the person who had entered was a young woman, along with Captain Tan whom he had met before, that he gradually relaxed.
Jiang Xia’s hand paused.
This was clearly post-traumatic stress disorder.
And that made sense. Regardless of whether someone was a man or a woman, they were still ordinary people. Without professional training, being robbed at knifepoint would definitely terrify them. It would be difficult to recover in a short period of time.
But staying this tense was not good. She needed to calm the other person’s emotions first.
“Sorry, I forgot to knock.”
Jiang Xia softened her voice, making herself appear as harmless as possible.
“May I ask your surname, Comrade?”
The victim answered:
“Li.”
He tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a smile to show goodwill, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t smile. He could only say with a bitter expression:
“Comrade police officer, it’s been almost two months since I reported this. I wake up frightened every night, and there still hasn’t been any news. Just how much longer will it take before you can catch those three robbers?”
“We’re very sorry, Comrade Li. We have too little information and haven’t been able to determine the identities of the criminals.”
Being robbed was a major incident. A single complaint directed at the police was nothing excessive. Jiang Xia remained calm.
While answering, she sat down beside him, leaving one empty seat between them. She opened her notebook and picked up a pencil.
“The reason we asked you to come today is to draw a portrait of the robbers. Once we have the portrait, we’ll be able to determine their identities and arrest them as soon as possible. Then you’ll be able to sleep peacefully again.”
“A… portrait?”
The victim looked at Jiang Xia suspiciously.
“Can you really draw it?”
“That depends on how much of the robbers’ appearances you still remember, Comrade Li.”
Jiang Xia skillfully drew auxiliary lines on the notebook, establishing the positions of the facial features of a young man around twenty years old. She continued asking:
“Do you remember whether his face was round or square?”
The victim hesitated. As he recalled the scene from that time, his brows immediately knitted together, and his eyes instinctively shifted away. He clearly didn’t want to think about it again, yet he had no choice but to force himself to remember.
“Round, I think? But his chin was a little pointed.”
“What about his hair? Approximately how long was it, and what style was it?”
“Longer, about down to here.”
“What shape were his eyes?”
“Seems like… he had triangular eyes.”
“Was his mouth big or small?”
“Probably neither big nor small. Oh, right, it seemed a little thin. Anyway, it wasn’t thick.”
“Were there any other more obvious features on his face?”
“No. I didn’t see any scars or moles or anything like that…”
……
Tan Bingyi sat opposite them. As he listened to Jiang Xia’s questioning, he gradually began to sense something different.
It was unlike yesterday when she drew portraits of the three children. Back then, the family members’ descriptions had been very clear. This time, many of the answers were along the lines of “seems like” or “I think,” and the victim sounded extremely uncertain.
Could a portrait drawn like this really be accurate?
Tan Bingyi became somewhat anxious again.
But there was nothing he could say. He could only keep quiet and wait for Jiang Xia to finish.
This time, they had a relatively comfortable amount of time. Moreover, because the victim’s memory was not particularly clear, Jiang Xia repeatedly adjusted the portrait several times before finally settling on the final version.
She pushed the completed portrait in front of the victim and asked:
“Take a look. Is this the robber you saw that night?”
The victim glanced at it and instinctively shuddered.
“Similar. Really similar.”
After saying that, he felt he had been too certain and quickly changed his words.
“But that night I only saw him once. It was so dark, and so much time has passed. I can’t say that robber was one hundred percent exactly like this, but it should be about sixty to seventy percent similar.”
“Alright, thank you, Comrade Li, for your help with the police investigation.”
Jiang Xia nodded, then reminded him:
“For safety reasons, after you return home, please don’t tell anyone what you did today. Even after the case is solved, don’t mention it.”
“Why is that?”
The victim was extremely puzzled.
“Before the case is solved, I understand not letting me say anything is to prevent the robbers from taking revenge. But why can’t I mention it even after they’re caught?”
As he spoke, he glanced at the portrait.
The fact that a police officer could draw a robber’s face just from his description was such a novel thing. He would have to brag about it to everyone around him at least a hundred times!
“If criminals know that the police can draw their portraits based on descriptions, then they’ll cover their faces whenever they commit crimes.”
Jiang Xia explained, her tone becoming slightly more serious.
“By then, this method of solving cases won’t be useful anymore. Criminals may be able to escape police capture, continue committing crimes, and harm more people. So, for your own safety, please don’t spread the details of how the police solve cases.”
“Oh, oh, oh.”
The victim suddenly understood. He nodded repeatedly.
“I really didn’t think of that. Alright, Comrade Police Officer, don’t worry. I definitely won’t tell anyone.”
After saying that, the victim stood up and left, feeling slightly regretful inside.
Not being able to tell anyone about something this interesting really was quite frustrating.
After seeing him leave, Tan Bingyi, who had been keeping a stern expression the whole time, finally relaxed.
“I really didn’t expect that, Jiang Xia. You even thought of this level?”
No wonder young people were impressive. Their minds really did work well.
“It was something they mentioned at school.”
Jiang Xia didn’t take credit for it herself.
After the year 2000, this was considered “common knowledge.” The police rarely revealed their crime-solving techniques to the public, in order to prevent criminals from studying them and learning how to conduct counter-investigations.
However, technology always had a limited period of effectiveness.
For example, when fingerprint extraction technology was first introduced on a large scale, many thieves and other criminals were caught because they left fingerprints behind. But as time passed and they learned about the technology, they all started wearing gloves.
The same applied to her portrait-drawing technique. As time went on, criminals would inevitably learn about it and start covering their faces with masks or hoods so their features couldn’t be seen.
This was unavoidable, but the timing could be delayed as much as possible. For example, by telling the victims who came in for portraits not to spread the information.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xia said to Tan Bingyi:
“Speaking of which, I didn’t have time to emphasize this point to the parents of those three missing children yesterday. Captain Tan, I hope you can have someone mention it to them when you have the chance.”
“I’ll make a note of it.”
This matter was quite important, so Tan Bingyi immediately agreed. Then he added:
“I still need to make a printing plate of that portrait. It would be best to send the image to the printing factory today, so that tomorrow afternoon I can get enough copies and send them to the various streets.”
“No problem, Captain Tan.”
Jiang Xia agreed.
“Then I’ll go make a call to the printing factory first and ask about the ink situation for you.”
As he spoke, Tan Bingyi stood up and pushed open the door, leaving.
Jiang Xia rested for a while before beginning to draw the printing plate image.
Many pieces of knowledge related to ink surfaced in her mind.
The printing factory definitely had quick-drying types of ink, but she most likely wouldn’t be able to use them.
Given the current circumstances, the best solution was still to buy some related materials and basic ink herself, then mix her own formula.
However, she had only practiced drawing for three years while at school, and her classmates and teachers all knew about that. As for ink, she had never researched it before.
If she suddenly knew exactly what materials to buy and how to mix them, it would indeed seem rather suspicious.
It would be best to first get in contact with someone related to the field and have them provide some credibility for her abilities before trying to mix the ink herself.
The printing factory was actually a good choice. The only question was, what excuse should she use to approach them?
More than ten minutes later, Tan Bingyi returned.
“Jiang Xia, I have good news!”
Tan Bingyi said:
“Section Chief Ye said that their factory does have quick-drying ink. However, he doesn’t know whether it’s the kind you’re looking for. It would be best if you went over there and took a look yourself.”
Hmm?
Jiang Xia’s eyes lit up.
This really was exactly what she needed at the perfect time!
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