Investigation

Half an hour later, Han Bin met with Zeng Ping and gave a brief report on the situation.

After listening, Zeng Ping also felt that this Meng Chengyong was quite suspicious.

However, Meng Chengyong was already aware of the police's neighborhood inquiries. If he were to leave right after the investigation, it might arouse his vigilance.

Besides, an apple ornament could be installed by anyone, and the possibility of coincidence could not be ruled out. Based solely on an apple ornament and without other evidence, making a direct arrest was impossible.

Village Chief Chen had already helped inquire about villagers who owned minivans. Once a detailed list was compiled, Zeng Ping planned to check house by house to see if any other minivans in the village had apple ornaments.

Of course, the investigation into Meng Chengyong could not be neglected either.

Zeng Ping sent the information of Meng Chengyong and his two alibi-providing friends to Tian Li and Zhao Ming, instructing them to investigate the detailed backgrounds and communication records of the three individuals.

Throughout the morning, the trio of Han Bin visited all the minivan owners in Daxicun. While quite a few cars had interior decorations and ornaments, only Meng Chengyong's family had an apple ornament.

Meng Chengyong's suspicion grew even stronger.

……

In the afternoon, Han Bin and the others returned to the sub-bureau.

Han Bin sat in his chair and let out a sigh of relief. Having spent the entire morning vetting suspected vehicles and walking all over Daxicun, his legs felt rather sore.

"We walked the entire morning, and aside from Meng Chengyong, none of the other vehicles showed any problems. We should have just come straight back if we had known," Li Hui said, stretching lazily.

Han Bin smiled. "No problems found are themselves a kind of clue."

"Criminal investigation is never smooth sailing, and we are not Sherlock Holmes. Since the other vehicles are fine, let's focus the investigation direction entirely on Meng Chengyong," Zeng Ping said, gesturing toward Tian Li nearby. "How is the investigation coming along on you two's end?"

"Meng Chengyong, Yao Chuang, and Sun Jixiang are in close contact, especially between September 3rd and September 8th, when they called each other every day." Tian Li took out a document and projected it onto the screen, displaying the detailed information of the three suspects while briefly introducing them:

"Yao Chuang is from Liujicun, not far from Daxicun, and has a prior record for theft."

"Sun Jixiang used to work for a telecommunications company and now lives in Qingdao city proper."

"The circumstances of these three individuals completely align with our deductions regarding the suspects."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's just go ahead and make the arrests, then separate them for interrogation. As long as one of them cracks, this case is solved," Li Hui said.

"The crucial issue is that we lack evidence. If the three of them coordinate their stories beforehand and hold out for twenty-four hours, trying to arrest them again will become extremely difficult," Han Bin analyzed.

"If only we could find the stolen goods, then we could catch them red-handed and they wouldn't be able to quibble anymore," Tian Li said.

"I think we can approach the investigation from two angles: first, visit nearby recycling stations to see if they have purchased any stolen goods; second, if the three of them haven't had time to fence the loot, the stolen goods are very likely hidden in one of their homes," Han Bin suggested.

Li Hui picked up the thread. "We've been to Meng Chengyong's house, and there were no battery packs found; although Sun Jixiang used to work in telecommunications, his home is in Qingdao city proper, which isn't convenient for storing battery packs either; if the battery packs are really hidden at one of their homes, it's very likely Yao Chuang's place."

"This hypothesis matches the division of labor among the three: Meng Chengyong had the tools; Sun Jixiang had the telecom technology; Yao Chuang had the theft experience and was also responsible for fencing the stolen goods," Tian Li agreed.

"Shall we go search Yao Chuang's house?" Zhao Ming proposed.

"These are all just our speculations. Relying solely on a similar apple ornament is not enough to prove their connection to this case, making it very difficult to apply for a search warrant," Zeng Ping frowned and said.

Han Bin pondered for a moment and smiled. "I do have an idea, but it will require some operational funds."

……

Liujicun.

"Scrap recycling!"

A man in his early twenties was peddling a dilapidated tricycle loaded with waste cardboard boxes, wandering from house to house in the village.

This man was none other than Han Bin's informant, Chen San.

There were certain things the police could not do directly, but informants could.

Han Bin had briefly explained the situation of the base station theft case to Chen San. At first, Chen San had no clue and worried he wouldn't be of any help, but after receiving pointers from Han Bin, he went over to Liujutou to sniff around for information.

Chen San was no stranger to theft, having committed his fair share of it in the past, and considered himself to have some experience in the trade.

Riding his beat-up tricycle, Chen San found Yao Chuang's house. Yao Chuang's courtyard was quite spacious, guarded by a pair of large red iron gates at the entrance. Chen San parked the tricycle, walked up to the iron gate, and listened for any movement.

Silence.

Chen San gave the gate a push; it wasn't locked, just pulled half-shut.

In villages with good public security, as long as someone was home during the day, courtyard gates were generally left unlocked.

Chen San pushed the gate open, tiptoed into the entryway, and peered into the courtyard. No figure was in sight. The north-facing rooms appeared to be living quarters, the south-facing rooms looked like a kitchen, and the east-facing room looked rather old, making it very likely a storage space.

The door of the east-facing room was locked, but the window had an old-style small wooden frame. Chen San craned his neck to look inside and discovered that the east room was piled high with plenty of items: a grain bin, an old bed, cupboards, and a stack of storage batteries piled in the corner.

"Tap, tap, tap..." At that moment, footsteps sounded.

It was already too late for Chen San to run.

Fortunately, he was quite quick-witted. Retreating backward, he shouted, "Scrap recycling!"

The curtain of the north room was lifted aside, and a man emerged holding a small stool, yelling, "Hey, who are you? Why are you sneaking into my yard?"

"I'm here to collect scrap. Do you have anything to sell?" Chen San forced a smile.

"Damn it, who are you trying to fool? Sneaking into someone else's house without a sound, is that how you collect scrap?" The man tossed the stool aside and glared at him with an unfriendly expression.

"I really do collect scrap. My scrap cart is parked right outside. When I saw your gate open, I just wanted to see if there was any scrap to buy," Chen San hurriedly explained.

"Still making up stories? You're so young, looking even younger than me, there's no way you collect scrap," the man strode over aggressively and said.

"I really am a scrap collector."

Chen San felt somewhat nervous, worried his identity had been seen through.

"Sneaking into someone else's place—if someone's home, you claim to be a scrap collector; if no one's home, you just swipe their stuff. You think I don't know these cheap tricks?" The man spat and cursed.

"Big brother, you really misunderstood me," Chen San said as he began to back toward the exit.

The storage batteries had been found, and his mission was accomplished.

The man chased him to the entrance, pointing at Chen San's retreating back and cursing, "Get lost, you punk! If I catch you around here again, I'll beat the living daylights out of you."

Chen San pedaled his tricycle away in a hurry, cursing inwardly, "Bah! How dare you curse at me, just you wait. Your bad luck is coming, go wash your butt and get ready for prison."