1993, Pengcheng Police Affairs

Chapter 77 Case Analysis

When he walked out of the office, Wang Weiguo's pace was noticeably faster.

He stopped as he turned the corner of the corridor and looked at Gu Huai, who was quickly following behind.

"Tell me the truth, how confident are you about what Ren Qi said?"

"Eight points." Gu Huai replied without hesitation.

Wang Weiguo glanced at him but didn't press the matter further. Judging from Gu Huai's attitude, what he had just said in the office was probably not fabricated by Gu Huai.

After looking at Gu Huai for two seconds, he nodded and said, "Okay."

The case analysis meeting was held in the conference room on the second floor of the Panyu Branch.

In addition to the key members of the Second Brigade brought by Wang Weiguo, people from the Panyu Branch also participated.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Wang Weiguo stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and wrote the three words "Chen Haoyu".

"Shouzheng, go through the information you've gathered on your end first."

Zhou Shouzhen pulled out a chair and stood up. He took out a brown paper bag from his briefcase, which contained several photos and a few pages of paper.

"Chen Haoyu disappeared five days ago. That afternoon, around 2 p.m., he left the company in his Cherokee, saying he was going to Dongguan to discuss steel business."

That evening, he didn't go home. The next day, when his wife tried to contact him, she found his phone was switched off and he remained unreachable until late into the night. It was then that she finally contacted Director Chen.

"Has the destination been confirmed?" Gu Huai asked.

"It's confirmed." Zhou Shouzhen nodded and said, "We contacted the steel mill in Dongguan. They said they had arranged to meet Chen Haoyu that day, but Chen Haoyu didn't show up until that evening. However, they didn't seem to care and just assumed it was a rescheduled date."

As he spoke, Zhou Shouzhen added, "We have contacted all of Chen Haoyu's partners, and none of them saw him on the day he disappeared."

After listening, Gu Huai nodded silently. It was now basically certain that Chen Haoyu had encountered the suspect after leaving the company and was subsequently murdered.

However, according to Gu Huai's memory of the case, the suspect's modus operandi was very unusual.

Gu Huai was unsure whether he should bring this up.

Seeing Wang Weiguo's solemn expression, Gu Huai finally decided to talk to him privately after the meeting.

While he was pondering, Zhou Shouzhen interjected, "Xiao Gu, should we bring your informant back for questioning?"

"No!" Gu Huai answered almost instinctively, leaving Zhou Shouzhen momentarily speechless.

"From my observation, Ren Qi is a typical person who responds to gentle persuasion but not to force. The reason he met with me was because I found a middleman."

If we dare to detain him tonight, it will be very difficult for us to get any information about the receivers of stolen goods from him. At that point, our entire source of information will be cut off.

Zhou Shouzhen wanted to say something more, but Wang Weiguo interrupted him by raising his hand.

"Listen to Xiao Gu, he's the only one who's ever met this person, so his judgment is the most accurate."

Zhou Shouzhen's lips moved, but in the end, he couldn't argue with the powerful and nodded.

The meeting lasted for another twenty minutes. After everyone received their tasks, it was almost eleven o'clock when the meeting ended.

Just as Gu Huai was about to follow the group out of the conference room, Wang Weiguo called him back.

"Xiao Gu, wait a moment."

Amidst the concerned and questioning gazes of the crowd, Gu Huai stayed.

After most of the people had left, Wang Weiguo slowly walked to the window, looked at the team members whispering among themselves in the courtyard, and muttered to himself.

"Director Chen is here."

Gu Huai was taken aback. "Where is Director Chen?"

If Chen Shoucheng had been present during the competition for the hosting rights, he could have secured the rights with just a word, without Gu Huai having to go to such great lengths.

"He's in the lounge next door." Wang Weiguo turned and glanced at Gu Huai. "Because of the principle of family members' recusal, he can't participate in this case."

Gu Huai nodded, indicating his understanding.

"However, the case analysis meeting has now ended, and since you were in charge of this case, I think Director Chen would like to meet with you."

"it is good."

Led by Wang Weiguo, Gu Huai arrived at the adjacent lounge.

The door to the lounge was open, but the lights were off.

Through the light from the window, Gu Huai could only vaguely see a person sitting in a chair by the window.

The only light source in the entire room was the cigarette in the man's hand, its flickering light highlighting its presence.

"Director Chen," Wang Weiguo said, bowing slightly, "I've brought the person to you."

Chen Shoucheng in the room didn't seem to react at first. After a long while, Wang Weiguo asked him again before he finally realized what was happening.

"Weiguo, turn on the lights."

"Eh."

After Wang Weiguo responded, the lights in the lounge turned on.

Gu Huai looked in the direction the light was illuminating and found that Chen Shoucheng's complexion was quite bad.

A few days ago, when Gu Huai met Chen Shoucheng, he still had a head of jet-black hair. However, at this moment, the hair on Chen Shoucheng's head has turned white to the naked eye.

In Gu Huai's eyes, the person sitting in front of him at this moment no longer seemed to be the deputy director of the municipal bureau, but a father who had just lost his child.

"sit."

Chen Shoucheng stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

Gu Huai noticed that the cigarette butts in the ashtray were almost piled up into a small mountain.

In less than an hour, Chen Shoucheng had smoked countless cigarettes.

Gu Huai strolled inside and found a seat.

"Xiao Gu," Chen Shoucheng took another cigarette from the pack and lit it, "I heard you had Xiao Hou investigating sex workers?"

"Um."

"Is it related to this case?" Chen Shoucheng asked.

"Yes," Gu Huai replied. "According to our investigation, the taxi drivers who went missing previously all had a habit of patronizing prostitutes."

From Chen Shoucheng's words, Gu Huai had basically guessed what he was going to ask next.

Although this question would certainly be difficult for him to accept, he would answer truthfully if Chen Shoucheng asked him.

"Haoyu, he..." Chen Shoucheng's voice trembled as he asked the question, "Is he... like those taxi drivers?"

"Yes." Gu Huai answered without any hesitation.

"Gu Huai!" Wang Weiguo said from the side, "Think before you answer questions, don't answer so quickly."

Clearly, Wang Weiguo wanted Gu Huai to put it more tactfully.

The fact that the son of the deputy director of the municipal bureau was killed for soliciting prostitution is a sensitive topic, and it could negatively impact Chen Shoucheng's reputation.

"Weiguo, don't interrupt, let Xiao Gu speak." Upon hearing the reply, Chen Shoucheng seemed to age even more, and his voice became weak and feeble.

Although Wang Weiguo nodded in agreement, his gaze toward Gu Huai was full of warning.

Gu Huai was silent for a few seconds before speaking:

"Director Chen, Chen Haoyu is a young man in the steel business. He has worked his way up in a place like Pengcheng. It's almost normal for him to accompany clients to nightclubs. How could he not have tasted meat?"

Chen Shoucheng nodded. "I know, and I've tried to persuade him... but he said he only drinks and hasn't done anything illegal or disorderly."

Wang Weiguo sat beside him, hesitant to speak, wanting to offer words of comfort several times, but unsure how to do so.

Seeing this, Gu Huai knew that he could finally articulate his investigative approach.

So, he pretended to think for a moment, and then said:

"Actually, I think the criminals might not be prostitutes, but rather people pretending to be prostitutes. Haoyu might have been deceived."