Chapter 174 Half a Fingerprint
Later, news came out that the department was investigating a traitor, but he was not too worried. His resume was clear, and his hometown had been cleared out with the cooperation of the higher-ups. In addition, he had never taken any action in the Military Intelligence Department. No matter who investigated, they would not be able to find him.
However, he still made careful arrangements and observed carefully to make sure that there was no one following him.
Time passed slowly, and he thought that this time the search for the traitor would end in vain. After all, the department had searched for traitors many times, almost every year, and so far they had only found Zhu Lihua.
He continues to lie dormant as before until today.
The phone call notifying him to evacuate further proved that he had indeed been exposed.
But he couldn't figure out why he was exposed. He just carefully recalled everything about his life, but couldn't find the reason why he was exposed.
"Liu Dazhuang."
He Nian personally sat in the presiding judge's seat. There were not many people who could be interrogated personally by He Nian. Wang Wei was one of them before, and now there was Liu Dazhuang.
"Your fake parents have been caught. Tell the truth."
He Nian was just like Chu Lingyun, and he started out by deceiving people. Liu Dazhuang's fake parents were never caught, and it would probably be difficult to catch them in the future.
"Chief He, I don't understand what you are talking about."
Liu Dazhuang's heart trembled. He understood where the problem lay. In order to facilitate his disguise and to avoid the various scrutiny he might face in the future, the higher-ups had specially arranged a pair of parents for him.
The parents assigned to him were not professional intelligence officers, but warriors extremely loyal to the empire. They were also a real couple who had undergone special training for a long time to cooperate with him.
Liu Dazhuang didn't understand how they got into trouble.
"You're a veteran in the department, and you know our attitude towards Japanese spies. If you don't tell the truth, these torture instruments will not go easy on you."
Henian pointed at the various gloomy torture instruments in the interrogation room. Most people who came in would be frightened and tremble. People who had not been trained or did not have firm beliefs would not be able to withstand these at all.
"Section Chief He, I'm innocent. I don't have any fake parents. I don't know who you're talking about, but I can confront them face to face."
Liu Dazhuang still refused to admit it. He was not a fool and would not believe everything said in the New Year's greeting. He would not be easily fooled before meeting the person.
The reason why Chu Lingyun was able to deceive Kawamoto Jiro before was purely because Kawamoto Jiro's mind was already confused. Under normal circumstances, Kawamoto Jiro would not easily believe his words.
"You are stubborn and refuse to change your ways. I will torture you if you give me a chance."
This is the advantage of He Nian personally conducting the trial. If it were Chu Lingyun, if Liu Dazhuang did not confess and there was no sufficient evidence, he could not torture Liu Dazhuang at will. After all, Liu Dazhuang's rank was only half a level lower than his.
It was different for Henian. He was the section chief, and no one dared to say anything about Liu Dazhuang's torture.
In the interrogation room, Liu Dazhuang's screams and cries for justice were soon heard. He Nian ignored him and continued to torture him to extract a confession.
All kinds of torture instruments were used, including whips, tiger benches, branding irons, and braziers.
Liu Dazhuang was tortured to the point of being on the verge of death, but he still cried out for injustice, refusing to admit that he was a Japanese or a spy. His stubbornness gave Henian a headache.
"Team leader, Captain Zhao called."
A team member walked over and reported to Chu Lingyun in a low voice. Loach's full name was Zhao San. Chu Lingyun could call him Loach, but no one else dared to. Apart from Chu Lingyun and Shen Hanwen, even Chu Yuan would respectfully call Loach Captain Zhao when he saw him.
"Go ahead, I'll interrogate him."
After hearing the team members' report, He Nian asked Chu Lingyun to answer the phone first.
"Team Leader, we've tracked down the car. It's owned by a man named Ren Han, who bought it just three days ago. He registered the license plate. I found Ren Han, and he's currently searching the streets for his car. He said it was stolen over two hours ago."
The car was stolen?
It is possible that the Japanese spy stole a car to make the warning call. The notice given to Liu Dazhuang today was very urgent. Riding a bicycle could indeed save time, and a stolen car would not easily reveal the identity of the spy.
"Check this Ren Han and find out when and where his car was stolen."
Chu Lingyun instructed Niu Qiu that he would not wrongly accuse anyone and that he would carefully verify all the information related to the informant.
At the same time, the people who were sent to search Liu Dazhuang's house came back with news that nothing useful was found in his house.
Chu Lingyun was not surprised by this. Liu Dazhuang was in a dormant state and worked in the military intelligence department. There were things placed randomly in his home that might expose his identity. So he had no right to ask Zhu Lihua to cover for him.
The Japanese would never make such a mistake.
Back in the interrogation room, the interrogation of Liu Dazhuang had been suspended and he did not confess.
Henian didn't dare to torture him too much. If he beat him to death without solid evidence, he would have a hard time explaining to Han Xianghui, let alone reporting to the director.
"Lingyun, it seems you'll have to work harder to find evidence of Liu Dazhuang being a Japanese spy."
"Chief, don't worry, I will find the evidence as soon as possible."
Chu Lingyun responded that this was his job.
Without evidence, even if Liu Dazhuang was executed, other people in the department would not be convinced and would stay away from him.
Especially the Inspection Department, if there is no evidence, it is equivalent to completely offending them.
"Team leader, the bicycle has been found. It was parked on the roadside one kilometer away from the hotel. I'll be back with it right away."
More than an hour later, Loach called again and said the bicycle had been found, which was good news.
"Be careful to protect the evidence and don't damage the fingerprints on it."
Chu Lingyun reminded him that fingerprint identification technology already existed at that time, both in Shanghai and Nanjing.
Fingerprint identification technology was born as early as 1907. In recent years, domestic police and intelligence agencies have begun to use it many times, but there is no such complete fingerprint database. After the fingerprint is found, it can only be compared and verified.
"Don't worry, I understand."
Loach was experienced in handling cases and understood the seriousness of the matter. Soon he returned to the Military Intelligence Department with the bicycle.
"Team leader, this is the car."
Loach pointed to a brand new bicycle and said, Chu Lingyun walked over and found that there was no paint on the edge of the seat as the guy said.
Chu Lingyun checked it carefully and used tweezers to pick out some residual dark yellow paint from the leather seam at the bottom of the seat.
"Have the technical department come and analyze this thing. Also, have them find a way to extract all the fingerprints from the bicycle."
Chu Lingyun put the clip away. The hotel waiter did not lie. There was indeed paint on the bicycle, but it had been wiped off when it was abandoned.
The technical department came over quickly and found no fingerprints on the handles, seats, or crossbars of the car.
Chu Lingyun had asked the waiter before, and the person who made the call was not wearing gloves, which showed that he had strong mental qualities. He did not leave in a hurry after making the call, but cleaned up the traces on the car before abandoning it.
"Team Leader Hu, please check carefully, especially the locks."
Chu Lingyun said to Team Leader Hu who came from the Technical Department that the Technical Department was not a big department. There were only two groups in total, and the two groups together had no more than eight people. Although he was a team leader, his status was much lower than Chu Lingyun's.
"Don't worry, Team Leader Chu, we will never let go of any place."
Team leader Hu brought three of his men to check the vehicle again, especially the location of the car lock mentioned by Chu Lingyun, and checked it most carefully.
"Team leader, we've found half a fingerprint."
Not long after, a technician called out, Chu Lingyun, all the loaches poked their heads over.
On the back of the car lock, half a fingerprint slowly emerged.
"Team Leader Chu, the car lock shows signs of being opened. If this is truly a stolen car, then the thief must be an expert locksmith. He didn't damage the lock's structure and simply opened it. He even cleaned up all traces afterwards. But there's always an oversight. When he grasped the lock with his hand, he left half a fingerprint of his middle finger on the back of the lock."
Team leader Hu said happily that they had found a fingerprint, even if only half of it was very important evidence.
If they can help the Operations Department solve the case, they will also be able to get a little credit.
The Technical Department is not the Intelligence Department or the Operations Department, nor is it the Telecommunications Department or the Interrogation Department. They are not used very often in normal times, let alone to achieve meritorious service.
"Thank you, Team Leader Hu, for keeping this half fingerprint safe."
"Don't worry, I'll extract it right away and protect it so it's easier for you to compare later."
The technical department may not be good at other things, but they are experts in testing items, checking physical evidence, and extracting fingerprints. As long as this half fingerprint is discovered, they can preserve it well.
After the technical staff left, Chu Lingyun asked Niu Qiu, "Where is the car owner now?"
"I'll go ask. I've put someone next to him, so I'm sure I can find him."
Loach immediately replied that regardless of whether the car was really stolen or not, the owner was a very important person. After meeting the owner, Loach did not bring him back, but arranged for someone to follow him at all times.
"Find some of the clothes and hats the hotel clerk mentioned, have the driver put them on, and bring them to the clerk for identification."
Chu Lingyun nodded. Loach was smooth-talking, but he was serious about his work and rarely made mistakes in the tasks assigned to him.
"Team leader, do you suspect Ren Han is a Japanese spy?" Loach asked doubtfully.
"It's not suspicion, it's identification. Also, remember to collect all his fingerprints."
As the owner of the car, Ren Han must be checked regardless of whether he is the person who reported the news. It would be best if he is not the one, but if he is, it will save them a lot of effort.
"Yes, Team Leader."
Loach took the order and went out. These things were not difficult for him. Chu Lingyun waited quietly for news.
Two hours later, Section Chief Hu from the Technical Department called and said, "Team Leader Chu, the preliminary test results are out. It's indeed paint, a type of paint commonly used on furniture. Detailed test results will take several days. I'll let you know when they come out."
"Team Leader Hu, if I give you all the paints on the market, can you quickly detect the same paints?"
A few days is too long, and this matter cannot be delayed for too long. The identity of the person who reported the news is unknown, and he may leave Nanjing at any time.
After waiting for a few days, the daylily was cold.
The person who reported the news could not be found, and Liu Dazhuang's parents had not been caught. He had always refused to admit it, and no one would believe it even if he was killed.
"Of course, if there is a comparison, the results will be out soon." Team leader Hu replied cheerfully.
"Please wait a moment. I'll have someone buy some paint and send it to you right away."
Chu Lingyun hung up the phone, called Zhao Dong, and asked him to take people to the street to buy all kinds of paint they could find, regardless of color.
Paint is a clue. Whether now or in the future, paint is used by specific types of people. The fact that there is paint on the car seat means that he must have this paint on his body and it accidentally got on the car.
The next direction of investigation is to find the corresponding paint and identify the buyer.
The direction of the investigation is very important and cannot be wrong. If it is wrong, it will only waste time and even go in the opposite direction.
Before Zhao Dong returned, Niqiu called: "Team Leader, I found Ren Han and asked him to change his clothes. The guys checked and it's not him. His figure is different."
The guy didn't see the person who called clearly, but he had seen this person before.
This happened not long ago, and he was questioned at gunpoint. He had a deep impression that the person who called was obviously stronger than the person brought by Loach. They were not the same person at all.
"I've got Ren Han's fingerprints. I'm going back to the office now."
Loach made the call right at the hotel, and after hanging up, he didn't forget to pay the waiter for the phone bill.
The guy is not the boss, he is just an employee. Loach does not need this little money, so there is no need to let the guy pay for it himself.
"Sir, have you found my car?"
Ren Han on the side asked anxiously. He was very worried when his bike was lost. It was a new bike he had just bought and had only ridden for three days.
I went out to do some business today and locked my car outside. Unexpectedly, it was stolen by a damn thief in a short time. The moment he found out that the car was gone, he wanted to die.
He is just an ordinary person. He saved up money for a long time to buy this car. Losing it was a huge blow to him.
"Not yet. Don't worry. I'll definitely give it to you when I find it."
Loach didn't tell the truth. If he told him that the car was found, he would definitely come after it. Loach didn't have time to bother with him at this moment.
"Thank you, thank you, sir. You must help me find it."
Ren Han kept clasping his fists and bowing, and the waiter confirmed that it was not him, so he was eliminated as a suspicion. Even if the fingerprints on the car were his, it could not be concluded that he was a Japanese spy.
After all, it was his car, so it was normal for his fingerprints to be left on it.
Zhao Dong returned to the department to purchase paint. There were many types of paint in this era, but the colors could be mixed, so he just needed to buy the main types.
The paint was sent to the technical department for comparison, and Chu Lingyun could only wait.
In front of Chu Lingyun was a detailed map of Nanjing City. The hotel he called was marked with a dot, and Chu Lingyun drew three circles around this dot.
One inside another, the distance between them is not too far.
Since it was an emergency notification, they would not run far away to make the call, as that would only waste time, but they would not be too close either, as that would easily expose themselves.
The most suitable distance is one kilometer. To be on the safe side, Chu Lingyun drew two more circles outwards, two kilometers and two and a half kilometers respectively.
1400 monthly tickets will be used for additional updates. Updates will be completed today.
