Chapter 609 Attempted Kidnapping

Today, the two of them were going to find Zhang Chuang. He worked at a nightclub and didn’t work during the day. After some difficulty, they finally contacted the manager and found Zhang Chuang’s residence.

Before knocking on the door, Chen Shi asked, “Have you researched this kid’s background?”

“I’ve seen his file.”

“You do the questioning later.”

Xu Xiaodong knocked on the door a few times. A drunken man opened the door and asked who they were looking for. When he saw the police badge, he instantly sobered up and asked, “I’m Zhang Chuang. What’s the matter?”

“Are you friends with Liu Jin?”

“Yeah, we’ve had drinks together.”

“Do you know if he’s been wanting to buy a house recently?”

“Yeah, the Tiancheng International Community. He mentioned wanting to buy one, asked me to borrow money for the down payment. But I’m broke. No money at all.” Zhang Chuang managed a forced smile. “What’s this about, officers? Has Liu Jin committed a crime? I want to clarify we’re just acquaintances.”

“But I’ve checked Liu Jin’s recent call records, and he’s been in frequent contact with you.”

“He was borrowing money. That kid’s been asking everyone for money.” Zhang Chuang scratched his neck nervously, his anxiety apparent to Chen Shi.

“Do you know someone named Zhang Haichang?”

“Well… Let me put my pants on first. Standing here talking with my legs freezing, excuse me.” Zhang Chuang tried to close the door, but Chen Shi blocked it with his foot. Startled, Zhang Chuang darted away like a frightened bird and jumped out the second-floor window.

Xu Xiaodong was astonished. Before they could say much, Zhang Chuang had fled. He immediately ran downstairs in pursuit.

Shortly after, Xu Xiaodong brought Zhang Chuang back. Zhang Chuang started moaning in pain, “Ouch, my foot. Could you be gentler?”

“Why did you run!?” Xu Xiaodong demanded.

“I… I thought…” Zhang Chuang stuttered.

“Straighten out and speak clearly.”

Zhang Chuang looked nervous, unable to speak. Xu Xiaodong took out handcuffs and restrained him to the staircase railing. Chen Shi gestured towards the room, and they entered Zhang Chuang’s residence together.

“That was close, Chen Ge. How did you know he was going in to change pants?” Xu Xiaodong asked.

“Nervous, sweating profusely, clearly lying.”

“Sure enough, something’s fishy. Why else would he run at the sight of police!” Chen Shi nodded. “His answers earlier, all seemed like lies.”

The room was a mess, bottles and dust everywhere. On the coffee table lay a bank card. Xu Xiaodong picked it up, brushed off the powder, and asked Chen Shi, “Is this drugs?”

“You taste it.”

“Taste it?”

“If your gums go numb, it’s heroin. If it has a stimulating acidic taste, it’s meth.”

“Chen Ge, you know about this too!” Xu Xiaodong exclaimed, tasted it, spat it out. “It’s meth.”

“Haha, we’ll take him back for a urine test, detain him for questioning… You watch him outside, this type doesn’t stay cuffed easily.” Xu Xiaodong went outside, seeing Zhang Chuang pretending to bend his thumb backward. “What are you up to?”

“Just messing around. Officer, you’re here so early to investigate. Had breakfast yet?” Zhang Chuang smiled.

“Be straight with me!” Xu Xiaodong didn’t want to waste time with him.

Inside, Chen Shi found a drawer with a knife, walkie-talkie, rope, and suspicious liquid in a bottle, along with a photo of Zhang Chao, Zhang Haichang’s son, taken from a hidden angle.

Chen Shi had Xu Xiaodong contact headquarters for evidence collection and take the computer for examination. At 10 AM, Zhang Chuang was detained. Lin Qiupu sent someone to also apprehend Liu Jin, as chat records on Zhang Chuang’s computer revealed their plan for a kidnapping.

Their target was Zhang Chao, but it seemed they hadn’t carried it out yet.

Excitedly, Xu Xiaodong found Chen Shi, “Chen Ge, a colleague found Liu Jin on surveillance footage at the crime scene that day. He visited the neighborhood. It must be these two who did the murder.”

“No, you’ve got it wrong,” Chen Shi countered.

Xu Xiaodong felt deflated. “The evidence is solid. How can it be wrong?”

“We haven’t confirmed DNA on the knife at Zhang Chuang’s house. They planned a kidnapping, not murder. Remember, at the crime scene, nothing was stolen. The target wasn’t money, just a person… It’s coincidental, unintentionally revealing two attempted kidnappers.”

“This…”

Chen Shi patted him on the shoulder. “But you did well. I won’t go to the interrogation.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll check the files, see if there’s anything we missed.”

Indeed, Zhang Chuang and Liu Jin confessed to their plan. Liu Jin wanted the house, Zhang Chuang needed money for drugs. They teamed up and targeted Zhang Haichang’s son. Liu Jin overheard Zhang Haichang at the sales office, saying he planned to buy the house outright, assuming he had a lot of money.

In fact, years ago, they planned a kidnapping, demanding 600,000 ransom. The victim didn’t report it. However, they had a bit of conscience, didn’t tear the money, let the child go back himself.

All for the house, they went all out.

Alone in the meeting room, Chen Shi reviewed the documents collected so far. The list previously made, every person had police following them, all madly wanting the No. 1818 house.

Looking through it all, none fit Chen Shi’s expected suspects.

Only Gong Jianqin seemed to fit, but unclear about her motive. Just suspicion.

To outsiders, Chen Shi always seemed to pinpoint suspects like an eagle catching a rabbit, precise. But in reality, he always had a vague outline of a suspect in mind, testing each person encountered in the investigation.

Every case, starting from the reporter, Chen Shi’s suspicion radar opened, and this intuition was usually accurate.

If Gong Jianqin wasn’t the killer, then the suspect was out of the police’s sight, perhaps someone wanting the house but never appearing, or perhaps their goal was to bring down the real estate company.

“Maybe I can find a way to verify!” he thought, a whimsical thought crossing his mind…