011 Enshrouded in Mystery (Please Recommend!)

“Can you tell any other physical characteristics of the kidnapper from the footprints?” Zeng Ping asked.

“If someone with small feet wears large shoes, it affects the accuracy of footprint analysis. I’ll need more time to study it carefully,” Han Bin replied.

“So for now, all we know is the suspect’s approximate height, age, and gender, but nothing conclusive?” Zeng Ping pressed.

“Give me a little more time. I should be able to eliminate the ‘small feet in big shoes’ factor and come up with more clues,” Han Bin said.

Han Bin’s footprint analysis skills were advanced, but not yet at expert level. If he were, perhaps he could deduce the kidnapper’s features on the spot. As things stood, he wasn’t quite capable of that yet.

“Based on what we have, let’s reorganize our tasks,” Zeng Ping said seriously. “Tian Li, check the surveillance around the neighborhood. Narrow down the suspect’s height to about 160 centimeters. Li Hui, canvass the neighbors—see if anyone’s seen a similar kidnapper. Zhao Ming, contact the victim Cao Tianyou’s classmates, see if he’s acted out of the ordinary in the past two days. Han Bin, continue analyzing the footprints.”

“Yes, sir,” they all responded, splitting up immediately.

Buzz—the phone vibrated at that moment.

The victim’s father, Cao Hua, spoke up. “Captain Zeng, did the kidnapper send another message?”

“What does it say?”

“At eight tonight, the child’s mother must bring two hundred thousand yuan to exchange for the boy. No police, or you’ll never see your child again.”

“Call them back—I want to hear the child’s voice,” Zeng Ping said.

Cao Hua hurried to call, but only got a message that the phone was switched off.

“Can we locate where the message was sent from?” Zeng Ping asked.

“We’ll need some time,” the tech team replied.

“Captain Zeng, we might not have enough manpower,” Han Bin said. The footprints had all been collected—he was going to take them back to the station for further study.

“Should we ask the local police station to send a few officers for support?” Tian Li suggested.

“This is a kidnapping case. Uniformed officers would draw too much attention. It’s better to have Team One back us up,” Zeng Ping replied.

Criminal Investigation Team Three, Unit Two had only been established recently and had fewer members, not nearly as many as Team One.

“Follow my earlier instructions to check for clues. Report back by five o’clock,” Zeng Ping ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

The team members dispersed.

Half an hour later, Zhao Ying, captain of Team One, arrived with three team members.

“Captain Zhao, you’re here,” Zeng Ping stood up to greet him.

“Where’s your team?” Zhao Ying asked.

“They’re out following up on leads. If we weren’t shorthanded, I wouldn’t have called in Team One,” Zeng Ping explained.

“Any progress on the kidnapper?” Zhao Ying asked.

Zeng Ping summarized the situation.

Zhao Ying thought for a moment. “Has the location of the kidnapper’s message been determined?”

“It was sent from a base station near the outskirts,” the tech team replied.

“There’s little surveillance in the suburbs—not much hope of tracking them,” Zeng Ping remarked.

“Still, send someone out there,” Zhao Ying said, nodding to two people to get the exact location from the tech team and investigate.

“Mr. Cao, hasn’t the boy’s mother arrived yet?” Zhao Ying asked.

“I divorced her. She moved away,” Cao Hua replied.

“Can she make it back tonight? The kidnapper specifically demanded the mother deliver the money,” Zeng Ping pressed.

“I’m trying to reach our old friends and relatives, but I haven’t heard anything yet,” Cao Hua said.

“Is coming up with two hundred thousand a problem?” Zhao Ying asked.

“No, not really. Even if I have to borrow, I’ll get it together,” Cao Hua replied without hesitation.

“Then focus on raising the money. Leave the rest to us,” Zhao Ying said.

Five o’clock in the afternoon.

Li Hui, Han Bin, Tian Li, Zhao Ming, and the others gradually returned to the Huacui neighborhood.

“There are only three hours until the ransom exchange. Let’s hold a meeting and see what new leads we have,” Zeng Ping said.

“We found no trace of the kidnapper or Cao Tianyou on the nearby surveillance,” Tian Li reported.

“None of the neighbors noticed anything unusual either,” Li Hui added.

“I sent people to the outskirts—there’s no surveillance near the base station, so we can’t track the suspect’s movements,” Zhao Ying said.

“I visited several of Cao Tianyou’s classmates. One close friend mentioned that, two days ago, Cao Tianyou said he’d be seeing his mother soon. I suspect this may be connected to the kidnapping,” Zhao Ming said.

“That’s an important clue. With the kidnapper’s height at 160 centimeters and no particular advantage in build, luring the victim seems more likely than forceful abduction,” Zeng Ping said.

“So, the kidnapper might have taken advantage of the child’s longing to see his mother to orchestrate this crime,” Zhao Ying analyzed.

“The problem now is, if the boy’s mother can’t return, who’ll deliver the ransom tonight?” Tian Li asked.

“I’ll go,” Zhao Ying volunteered.

“You?” Zeng Ping said, surprised.

“Is there anyone more suitable?” Zhao Ying replied.

Zhao Ying was in her thirties—the right age to pose as a mother, composed and experienced. She was indeed an excellent choice.

Zeng Ping felt that someone was missing. He turned to see Han Bin crouched by the shoe cabinet, studying something.

“Han Bin.”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Everyone else is discussing the case—what are you doing over there?” Zeng Ping asked.

“I may have found something,” Han Bin replied.

“Come here,” Zeng Ping said.

“I don’t think Captain Zhao should deliver the ransom,” Han Bin said.

“Why not?” Zhao Ying frowned.

“The kidnapper would definitely recognize her as an imposter,” Han Bin replied.

“That’s unlikely. After the divorce, Cao Tianyou’s mother never returned. There aren’t even any photos of her at home,” Cao Hua interjected.

“I spent the afternoon at the station, studying the footprints and ruling out the ‘small feet in big shoes’ interference. I can confirm the kidnapper is male—a boy, in fact, about thirteen or fourteen years old,” Han Bin said.

“That doesn’t seem possible,” Zhao Ying doubted.

“When I got here, I checked the shoe cabinet for Cao Tianyou’s old shoes. Comparing the wear patterns, I found they matched the ‘small feet in big shoes’ footprints exactly,” Han Bin explained.

“You mean it was Cao Tianyou himself, wearing oversized shoes, who staged the kidnapping scene?” Zeng Ping asked, astonished.

“No way,” Cao Hua was even more shocked.

“So this isn’t a kidnapping?” Tian Li asked.

“Cao Tianyou wrote and directed the whole thing himself? The so-called kidnapping is pure fiction?” Li Hui said.

“All I can confirm is that it was Cao Tianyou wearing the big shoes. Whether he was lured away or not, I can’t say yet,” Han Bin replied.

Everyone fell silent. Han Bin’s finding was too significant.

“No wonder we haven’t found any leads on the kidnapper—he never set foot in the Huacui neighborhood,” Tian Li remarked.

“That’s impossible. My son has always been obedient. Why would he do this?” Cao Hua protested.

Zeng Ping paced, analyzing, “According to the classmate, Cao Tianyou did say he was going to see his mother.”

“Could it be that, never having seen his mother and missing her terribly, Cao Tianyou orchestrated this whole ‘kidnapping’ himself?” Zhao Ying mused.

“That would also explain why the message specifically demanded that his mother deliver the ransom,” Han Bin added.

Buzz—

“The kidnapper has sent another message.”