Chapter 11: The Director's Father-in-Law's House Was Burglarized

Scene Investigation Warehouse.

Yang Sen found a yellow cardboard box in a corner and blew off the non-existent dust. The warehouse, kept at a constant temperature and humidity, was spotless.

"Xiao Lu, this case has quite a backstory. If you can find the suspect for this one, our Scene Investigation unit will really be able to hold our heads high!"

Seeing the box Yang Sen picked up, Liu Guodong and Old Bai knew exactly what he was planning.

Liu Guodong nodded in agreement: "Old Yang is right. You should take a look at the case file first."

Although Lu Chuan felt the three of them were being a bit mysterious, it didn't matter to him. Having just acquired the Footprint Analysis skill, Lu Chuan had already scored a success with his first attempt and was currently riding a wave of enthusiasm.

"A theft case?"

Lu Chuan opened the file and was slightly taken aback. How could there be a cold case involving theft in the Criminal Investigation Detachment?

Theft cases were not among the "Eight Major Categories" of crimes; generally, they were handled by the local police stations.

There is a set procedure for handling cases, and it is strictly regulated which types of cases are handled by whom.

Going over one's superiors or overstepping one's jurisdiction is not permitted.

Of course, the nature of some cases can be difficult to define, such as robbery versus larceny.

As long as it is a robbery, regardless of whether someone was injured or the amount stolen, the minimum sentence starts at three years. If it occurs on a bus, involves breaking and entering, or is a repeat offense, it is ten years or more.

However, larceny generally caps at three years, though it can lead to life imprisonment if the amount is massive.

The dividing line lies in whether violence or coercion was used during the crime. If yes, it is robbery; if not, it is something else.

For example, if a "motorcycle gang" snatches a bag without using violence and without causing injury, it might be classified as larceny.

For ordinary theft, unless it involves a particularly large sum or has a severe social impact, the Criminal Investigation unit doesn't get involved; small cases are the business of the local station.

And this case involved only a little over ten thousand yuan—oh, and some gold jewelry, but it didn't seem to reach the threshold of a "huge amount."

"Brother Yang, the amount in this case doesn't seem very large. Why is it sitting with the detachment?"

A mysterious curve appeared at the corner of Yang Sen's mouth: "Because the victim is someone special."

"Special?"

Lu Chuan opened the file. The victim was an old man in his sixties. "Is he some kind of leader?"

Yang Sen shook his head: "Guess again."

How the hell was he supposed to guess that?

Liu Guodong took the remaining documents out of the box: "Stop guessing. The victim is Song Jianguo's father-in-law."

"Huh?"

"Who is Song Jianguo?"

"The Bureau Chief..."

Lu Chuan: "..."

The case was two years old. As Lu Chuan read the file, he asked curiously, "Did Captain Qin... get scolded pretty badly?"

"No, Bureau Chief Song isn't that petty."

"Huh?"

"It's just that the car Captain Qin was driving was supposed to be replaced, but he's still driving it ten years later..."

Oh.

Lu Chuan nodded. That made sense.

The file was simple. The thief was a repeat offender; the scene was clean and efficient. Aside from a set of footprints, nothing else was left behind.

"We went to the scene back then. The lock-picking method was very professional; it was definitely a repeat offender."

"The Bureau Chief's father-in-law being robbed—even though it wasn't publicized, it caused quite a stir internally. That week, every repeat thief in Haizhou City was swept up, but we found nothing."

"The perpetrator was likely a transient criminal, and the Bureau Chief's father-in-law lived in an old residential complex with no surveillance cameras. In the end, we had no choice but to shelve it."

"Oh, right. Bureau Chief Song made it clear at the time: whenever the case is solved, that's when Captain Qin gets a new car."

"Ding!"

"Advanced Task: Analyze the suspect's physical characteristics based on the footprints from the theft case, issue an internal wanted notice, and assist in the arrest of the suspect."

Back at the same desk from the morning, Lu Chuan laid out all the photos of the footprints taken at the scene one by one and observed them carefully.

"Master, didn't you look for a footprint analysis expert to examine the prints back then?"

Liu Guodong gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Because of this incident, the three of them hadn't been able to hold their heads up for a full six months: "The Haizhou Public Security Bureau Chief's father-in-law was robbed. How could we have the face to ask others for help? One shouldn't air dirty laundry in public."

That was a fair point. If they had really asked an outsider for help, Song Jianguo probably would have chopped Qin Yong to pieces.

The footprints were very complete; the suspect clearly hadn't put any effort into obscuring their shoe prints.

That’s how repeat thieves are. As long as they don't leave fingerprints, they figure no one can find them, and even if they are found, they won't admit to it.

Few thieves know that one can be convicted based on footprints.

After observing for a while, Lu Chuan picked up a millimeter ruler and began measuring the data.

Compared to fingerprint measurement, the error tolerance for footprint measurement is not as strict.

Generally, millimeter-level precision is sufficient for calculation and analysis.

But fingerprint measurement is different. Compared to footprints, fingerprints are smaller, and calipers are often used for measurement; sometimes, laser measurement is even required.

Of course, the latter is only used by expert fingerprint analysts. Ordinary people... can't even use calipers.

Yang Sen watched Lu Chuan begin to measure, rubbing his hands together eagerly: "Xiao Lu... haha, can we watch how you do this?"

As soon as Yang Sen spoke, Old Bai and Liu Guodong also turned to look.

Footprint analysis is different from fingerprint analysis. Currently, there are standard procedures and mature methods for learning fingerprint analysis.

But footprint analysis is different. What is written on paper is only superficial; the real "secret techniques" are in the hands of a very few.

For example, they knew of a footprint expert in a northern province whose skills were passed down from grandfather to son, and son to daughter.

Therefore, Yang Sen wanted to learn, but he had to ask for Lu Chuan's consent.

"Why wouldn't you be able to watch?"

Lu Chuan didn't mind; it wasn't a secret.

It was just that some things seemed to be inherent to the skill. Compared to data calculation, the selection of certain measurement points relied on intuition, or rather, experience.

As soon as Lu Chuan started, he knew exactly which points to choose.

"When I was in college, I picked up a few things about footprint analysis and scene photography. For everything else, I'm counting on you seniors to teach me."

Lu Chuan was telling the truth. He had only acquired these two skills; he really wasn't good at the rest.

Moreover, Liu Guodong, Yang Sen, and Old Bai had all been quite supportive of him.

Yesterday, while at the scene, they hadn't hesitated to teach him some small tricks.

Reciprocity is human nature; Lu Chuan had no reason to hoard his knowledge.

With Lu Chuan saying that, the atmosphere eased up significantly, and the expressions of the three men became less awkward.

However, as they watched, the three of them began to frown deeply.

"Xiao Lu... why did you choose these two points to measure?"

"Xiao Lu, what is the purpose of the ratio between these two data points?"

Many things cannot be learned just by watching. It’s like how everyone knows a master chef's technique is unique, but so many people have watched them, yet you never hear of anyone actually learning it.

Of course, this is partly due to technical reasons and partly due to a lack of experimental material.

Furthermore, some people are naturally gifted, and you can't compare them to the average person.

With three people asking and one answering, time passed quickly.

5:32 PM.

Looking at the draft paper where the calculations were finished, Lu Chuan stretched.

"Finally finished."

On the draft paper, the suspect's physical characteristics had been fully analyzed.

(End of chapter)