"Can you see any other physical characteristics of the kidnappers from the footprints?" Zeng Ping asked.
"Small feet wearing big shoes will affect the judgment of footprints. I need time to study it carefully."
"In other words, we only know the height, age, and gender of the suspect, but not for the time being?"
"Give me some time. I should be able to eliminate the influence of small feet wearing big shoes and get more clues."
Han Bin's Footprint Identification skill was only at the advanced level. If he could reach the expert level, he might be able to analyze the physical characteristics of the kidnappers on the spot. But now, he did not have that ability.
"According to the current clues, rearrange the task." Zeng Ping ordered, "Tian Li, check the surveillance around the neighborhood and set the height of the kidnappers at about 160 meters."
"Li Hui, visit the surrounding people to see if there are similar kidnappers."
"Zhao Ming, contact the classmate of the victim, Cao Tianyou, and see if there is anything unusual about Cao Tianyou in the past two days."
"Han Bin, continue to study the footprints."
"Yes."
Everyone agreed and split up.
"Buzz …" At this moment, the phone rang.
The victim's father, Cao Hua, showed a panicked expression. "Captain Zeng, the kidnappers sent a text message?"
"What did they say?"
"At eight o 'clock, let the child's mother bring 200,000 yuan to ransom the child. Don't call the police. Otherwise, don't think about seeing the child again."
"Call them. I want to hear the child's voice."
Cao Hua hurriedly called, but received a notification that the phone was turned off.
Zeng Ping turned his head and looked at the technical team. "Can you determine the location of the message?"
"I need some time."
"Captain Zeng, I'm afraid we don't have enough manpower."
The footprints had been collected, and Han Bin was ready to bring them back to the station for research.
"How about we ask the local police station to send a few police officers to support?" Tian Li suggested.
Zeng Ping hesitated. "This is a kidnapping case. The police are too conspicuous. Let's find Team One."
Team 2 of the Criminal Investigation Team 3 was established not too long ago and had fewer members. It was far from being comparable to Team 1 of the Criminal Investigation Team 3.
"The few of you, investigate according to my previous instructions. Come back at 5pm to report the situation."
"Yes."
Everyone split up.
…
Half an hour later, Zhao Ying, the leader of the Criminal Investigation Team 3, arrived at the scene with three other team members.
"Captain Zhao, you're here." Zeng Ping stood up to welcome him.
Zhao Ying had short hair and a capable demeanor. She glanced around the room. "Ol 'Zeng, where's your team?"
"They've all gone to investigate for clues. If it weren't for the lack of manpower, they wouldn't have sent Team 1 to support us," Zeng Ping said helplessly.
"Any clues about the kidnappers?"
Ceng Ping gave a brief account of the situation.
Zhao Ying pondered for a moment. "Have you confirmed the location of the kidnappers?"
"It was sent from a base station in the suburbs," the technician said.
"There are few surveillance cameras in the suburbs. There's not much hope of finding it," Zeng Ping said.
"Let's send someone there." Zhao Ying picked two people and asked them to ask for the specific location from the technician team.
"Mr. Cao, is the child's mother not here yet?"
"I divorced the child's mother. She went to another city."
"Can she come back tonight? The kidnappers specifically asked the child's mother to pay for the ransom, "Zeng Ping said.
"I'm trying to contact my former relatives and friends, but there's no news yet."
"Is there a problem with 200,000 yuan?" Zhao Ying asked.
Cao Hua said without hesitation, "There's not much of a problem. Even if I borrow it, I'll definitely be able to gather it."
"Then you find a way to gather the money. The police will handle the rest."
…
Five in the afternoon.
Li Hui, Han Bin, Tian Li, Zhao Ming, and the others returned to Huacui District.
"There are still three hours before the ransom is due. Let's have a summary meeting and see if there are any new clues," Zeng Ping said.
"The nearby surveillance cameras did not find any traces of the kidnappers or Cao Tianyou," Tian Li said.
"The people around didn't find anything unusual either," Li Hui said.
"I've sent someone to the suburbs. There are no surveillance cameras near the base station. They can't find any traces of the suspect," Zhao Ying said.
"I've interviewed a few of Cao Tianyou's classmates. According to a close friend, Cao Tianyou said that he was going to see his mother soon. I suspect that it might be related to the kidnapping," Zhao Ming said.
Zeng Ping pointed at Zhao Ming. "This is a very important clue. The kidnappers are 160cm tall. They don't have much of an advantage in terms of body size. The possibility of kidnapping is higher."
"In other words, the kidnappers might have used the child's desire to see his mother to plan the kidnapping," Zhao Ying analyzed.
"The problem now is that the child's mother can't come back in time. Who will deliver the ransom tonight?" Tian Li said.
"I'll go." Zhao Ying volunteered.
"You?"
"Is there a more suitable candidate other than me?"
Zhao Ying was in her thirties, which matched the age of a mother. Moreover, she was calm and experienced. She was indeed a good candidate.
Zeng Ping felt that someone was missing. He turned around and saw Han Bin squatting beside the shoe cabinet. He didn't know what he was doing.
"Han Bin."
"Captain Zeng, you called for me?"
"Everyone is discussing the case. What are you doing there?"
"Captain Zeng, I found something."
Zeng Ping waved. "Come here."
Han Bin walked over and sat on the sofa. "I don't recommend Captain Zhao to deliver the ransom."
Zhao Ying frowned. "Why?"
"If Captain Zhao goes, she will definitely be recognized. It's a fake." Han Bin's tone was firm.
"That's not possible. After I divorced Cao Tianyou's mother, she never came here. There are no photos of her at home," Cao Hua said.
"I went back to the police station and studied for the whole afternoon. I eliminated the interference of small feet wearing big shoes and confirmed the kidnapper's gender. It should be a male. To be exact, it's a boy. He's around 13 or 14 years old."
Zhao Ying looked doubtful. "That's not possible."
"After I came here, I went to the shoe cabinet and found Cao Tianyou's old shoes. I compared the wear and tear marks and found that they matched the footprints of a small foot wearing big shoes."
"You mean, Cao Tianyou wore big shoes and faked the kidnapping scene?!" Zeng Ping said in surprise.
"No way." Cao Hua was even more shocked.
"Then is this still a kidnapping?" Tian Li asked.
"Cao Tianyou wrote and directed it himself. So the so-called kidnapping is also fake?" Li Hui said.
"I can only confirm that the small foot wearing big shoes is Cao Tianyou. As for whether he was kidnapped or not, I can't be sure," Han Bin said.
Everyone was silent. The clue Han Bin mentioned was too important.
"No wonder. We have been investigating for a long time and still can't find any clues about the kidnapper. It turns out that the kidnapper never came to Huacui." Tian Li suddenly realized.
"That's impossible. My son has always been obedient. Why would he do this?" Cao Hua couldn't believe it.
Zeng Ping paced around and analyzed, "According to the clues provided by his classmates, Cao Tianyou did say that he was going to see his mother."
"Could it be that Cao Tianyou hasn't seen his mother and misses his mother? That's why he wrote and directed the kidnapping?" Zhao Ying said.
"That also proves why the message was sent. It was for Cao Tianyou's mother to pay the ransom," Han Bin said.
"Buzz …"
"The kidnapper sent another message."
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