Chapter 114 — Wavering Between Gain and Loss
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
She knocked, and from within came the director's "Come in." Only then did Qiu Lingshan push the door open: "Director, you wanted to see me?"
"Xiao Song, there you are." Chen Dafei adjusted his glasses and set down the documents in his hand. "Have a seat. Tell me how the bank robbery case stands. Any progress?"
"Director, our criminal investigation team has already set up Task Force 313. We've sent people out to sketch the suspect and conduct door-to-door inquiries, but so far there's no news..." Qiu Lingshan reported cautiously.
This case was hers to handle. Yang Huaijun had recently been seconded to the provincial department to deal with a case in a neighboring city, and word had it he would be promoted to deputy director afterward, so everything in the criminal investigation team had fallen on Qiu Lingshan's shoulders.
Yet only now, bereft of Yang Huaijun's protection, did Qiu Lingshan realize how crushing the pressure of leading a task force could be. In the past, Yang Huaijun had made the decisions and she had simply led the men to carry them out; she had never imagined the pressure that came from every direction... Now that she was in charge, Qiu Lingshan found it grueling.
But however grueling, she had to grit her teeth and push through. The Song family had no weaklings. If she gave up now and slunk back to the Song household, the rest of the family would look down on her...
"Get a move on, then. I needn't dwell on how important this case is—it involves Gu Pengzhan's daughter, and it must be solved quickly! The suspects must be brought to justice!" Chen Dafei said. "How about this: give me a time limit. How long until the case is cracked?"
"That..." Qiu Lingshan hesitated for a moment. In the past it had always been Captain Yang Huaijun who stood in the director's office and pledged himself to a deadline; this time it was her turn... Though Qiu Lingshan had no confidence whatsoever, now that the burden had fallen on her shoulders, she said, "Director, I guarantee that within half a month... no, within ten days, the suspects will be caught and brought to justice!"
When she said "half a month," she saw Chen Dafei's brow twitch slightly, and she hurriedly amended it to ten days!
"Mm, so be it then. Ten days. I'll await your good news!" Chen Dafei nodded in satisfaction.
Qiu Lingshan returned to her own office, her dark brows knitted tight as she painstakingly retraced the ground, wondering from which angle Yang Huaijun would have approached the case... Yet after pondering for the longest time, Qiu Lingshan could only massage her temples in frustration, unable to find any thread to grasp.
Every case differed in its circumstances, and the methods of cracking one could not be applied wholesale to another... Just as Qiu Lingshan stood at an impasse, the telephone on her desk suddenly rang out, jarringly loud. Qiu Lingshan hurried to pick it up: "Hello, Criminal Investigation Unit, Qiu Lingshan speaking."
"Captain Song, this is Lou Liqiang of the Outer City Sub-bureau..." Lou Liqiang was the captain of the criminal investigation unit at the Outer City Sub-bureau. "Captain Song, we have received a report. Two male corpses have been discovered in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. From our preliminary identification, one should be Lü Jieyan, the ringleader of the suspects in the 313 bank robbery case, nicknamed Baldy... There is another corpse as well, presumably one of his men; the identity is still pending verification..."