Chapter 180: Wang Anguo’s Exam Paper

Municipal Bureau. Criminal Investigation Division. Conference Room.

The meeting room, with its windows wide open, was still filled with smoke. Regardless of their age, every one of these detectives loved to have a smoke.

It wasn’t that they didn’t know smoking was harmful to their health; it was simply that the pressure was too great.

Whenever a major case occurred, the public demanded the truth, and the government needed to provide an explanation—so all the pressure inevitably fell squarely on their shoulders.

What with withstanding the pressure and meeting deadlines to solve cases, most people simply couldn’t handle such immense pressure.

Because the case had erupted so suddenly, Wang Anguo, the newly appointed captain, hadn’t even had time to get to know everyone on the team yet, but he was now forced to step into his role immediately and take charge of this case involving a body hidden in a gasoline drum.

This sudden and heinous crime immediately became the focus of everyone’s attention.

For the members of the Municipal Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Team—and even higher-ranking officials—this case is like an exam, specifically designed for Wang Anguo, the newly appointed captain.

Solving the case is the only correct answer!

If the case is solved, it will prove Wang Anguo’s competence as a criminal investigation team captain, and he will be able to establish himself within the team as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, if the case remains unsolved, Wang Anguo’s competence will be called into question by everyone.

To establish a firm foothold at the Municipal Bureau, he’ll have to work even harder.

“Is everyone here? Then let’s get started!”

Finally, Wang Anguo added, “First, let’s discuss the stance of the municipal bureau leadership. We must solve this case within a set timeframe. Since the crime occurred so long ago, they’ve given us one month.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Deputy Captain Zhang Yongmao frowned and said, “Solving a case from over a decade ago within a month? That’s a bit too short a timeframe, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. This isn’t a recent case—how could we possibly solve it in a month?”

“What were the higher-ups thinking? We’d be lucky to even identify the victim within a month!”

“You’re right. Solving this case within a month is completely impossible…”

Once everyone had had their say, Wang Anguo tapped the table and said, “I understand how you all feel, but an order is an order. The higher-ups have given us one month to solve this case, so we must solve it within that time! As for how we do it, that depends on our own abilities!”

Then, Wang Anguo added, “Besides, I personally believe a month is plenty of time!”

Upon hearing this, the looks in everyone’s eyes toward Wang Anguo changed.

Shock, confusion, and disdain—every kind of expression was there. Some even looked at him as if he were a complete fool.

Wang Anguo didn’t care what they thought; he already had some leads on this case.

At the very least, Brother Li Yi was there; if worse came to worst, he could always ask him for help. A month was more than enough time.

“Captain Wang, how do you plan to solve this case, guys…”

Before Deputy Captain Zhang could finish, Wang Anguo cut him off and said, “I already have a plan, and I’ve even found some leads!”

Then, Wang Anguo pulled a thick case file from a dusty folder and said, “The victim’s identity has been basically confirmed—he is Tan Yuanqiao, the accountant at the former municipal textile factory!”

Upon hearing the name Tan Yuanqiao, the veteran detectives present were stunned.

“Captain Wang, is… is this true? Is it really Accountant Tan?”

“No way—weren’t we told that Accountant Tan had absconded with the funds? How could he have died here!”

“I knew it. How could there be no trace of him at all? So he was murdered after all…”

Tan Yuanqiao was actually quite a well-known figure within the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division, as his disappearance years ago had caused quite a stir, and it was the Municipal Criminal Investigation Team that had handled the case at the time.

Wang Anguo motioned for everyone to quiet down, then said, “Based on the clothes the deceased was wearing, a colleague at the scene immediately pointed out that these were the standard work uniforms of the Municipal Textile Factory employees. I then had my team investigate whether there had been any missing persons from the Municipal Textile Factory over the past decade or so.”

“Our investigation revealed that, over the past decade or so, the only person to have gone missing from the Municipal Textile Factory was the former accountant, Tan Yuanqiao. He disappeared 11 years ago, and judging by the degree of skeletal decomposition, it has been roughly the same amount of time—the timeline essentially matches.”

“Furthermore, this afternoon we found a medal in the deceased’s pocket—one awarded by the city to Model Workers. Tan Yuanqiao was, in fact, one of the recipients. All the evidence points to the deceased being Tan Yuanqiao.”

Wang Anguo continued, “This afternoon, I had the case files from Tan Yuanqiao’s disappearance retrieved. After reviewing the basic details of that case, I believe we can merge the two investigations!”

Deputy Captain Zhang frowned and said, “Combining the cases is fine, but we must first confirm that the deceased is indeed Tan Yuanqiao. Otherwise, it will only cloud our judgment!”

“The forensic team is currently determining the time of death, and we’re also collecting other items from the gasoline drum. I’m confident we’ll soon have substantial evidence to confirm the victim’s identity!”

Wang Anguo continued, “But until then, we can’t just sit around waiting. Based on reasonable assumptions, we can proceed with investigating the relevant circumstances!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhou Daqiang, the head of Criminal Investigation Unit 1, immediately replied, “I think Captain Wang makes a good point. Isn’t solving cases all about making bold assumptions and carefully verifying them? Since we can already roughly confirm the victim’s identity, we can certainly conduct our investigation while waiting for new evidence!”

“Right, I think Captain Wang makes a good point!”

“I also agree with Captain Wang’s approach…”

After receiving support from several team leaders, Wang Anguo said in a solemn tone, “In that case, let’s start by looking into the disappearance of Tan Yuanqiao!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Yuanqing, the head of the Second Criminal Investigation Unit, said in a firm tone, “I handled this case personally, so I’m quite familiar with the details!”

“Then please, Comrade Yuanqing, give us an overview of this case!” Wang Anguo said.

“Hmm!”

Li Yuanqing gathered his thoughts and began, “I remember this case very clearly. It happened during the summer 11 years ago—in August of ’69, to be exact. I had just been transferred back to the Municipal Bureau from a township. On my fifth day on the job, we suddenly received a report from the Municipal Textile Factory that their accountant, Tan Yuanqiao, had gone missing.”

“We didn’t think much of it at the time, but later we learned that it wasn’t just the person who was missing—more than 30,000 yuan was gone as well.”

“The day Tan Yuanqiao disappeared happened to be the factory’s payday. As the factory’s accountant, Tan Yuanqiao was responsible for withdrawing the workers’ wages from the bank every month. And along with Tan Yuanqiao, the wages for the entire factory’s workforce vanished.”

Li Yuanqing continued, “At the time, all the evidence pointed to Tan Yuanqiao having absconded with the funds. After all, the total amount of workers’ wages he had withdrawn from the bank amounted to 30,000 yuan—no small sum, and certainly enough to tempt the greed of most people.”

“Since he could not be found, the case was ultimately classified as embezzlement and flight, and it remains unsolved to this day.”

“If the remains found this time are indeed those of Tan Yuanqiao, then he didn’t abscond with the funds back then—he was murdered. The direction of the investigation all those years ago was completely wrong!”

After hearing Li Yuanqing’s words, the room fell into silence.

After a long pause, Wang Anguo said in a solemn voice, “Regardless of the direction of the investigation back then, I believe what we need to do now is to conduct interviews with the veteran employees of the textile factory as soon as possible.”

“At the same time, contact Tan Yuanqiao’s family immediately. After all, they are his relatives and have a clear understanding of his personal relationships; perhaps they’ll provide some new leads!”

“Furthermore, the most important task is to examine the items at the scene, especially those found on the victim’s person! Remember, while the dead cannot speak, they also cannot lie—the evidence on their bodies is often the truth!”

“Yes!”

…….