Riverside police

At nine o'clock in the morning, a black Santana turned from the riverside road onto the Yangtze River embankment along the road built during flood control.

It was the dry season and the embankment was far away from the river.

The gentle slope outside the embankment is covered with weeds. Among the weeds are a lot of garbage brought during the flood season. To the south is a large piece of reeds swaying in the wind. Further south on the river, three 100-ton river cargo ships were anchored, probably waiting to row across the river to the small dock on the other side for loading.

The main and auxiliary channels further away are as busy as ever, and a cargo ship with a visual estimate of at least 20,000 tons is moving upstream.

When working on the riverside, or even enforcing the law on the river, identifying ships is a basic skill that can be mastered quickly without deliberate learning.

Although the flag of the People's Republic of China was hoisted on the top of the foremast of the cargo ship, Xu Haoran parked the car and took a closer look and knew that it was a Panamanian foreign ship and that there was a pilot on board. Because the Panama flag was hoisted on the stern of the ship, and the "H" flag representing the pilot on board was also hoisted.

Zhao Hongxing, who came by car together, was more concerned about the weather.

As soon as he got out of the car, he tightened the fur collar of his fur coat, rubbed his hands and said with a smile, "I don't feel much when I'm sitting in the car. It's only when I get out of the car that I realize how cold it is."

"Bureau Zhao, is it cold today?" Liu Guixiang, deputy detachment of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Changhang Branch, asked.

"The weather forecast says that today's minimum is 3 degrees. Isn't this cold enough?" Zhao Hongxing looked back at Han Yu and Li Jun, chief of staff of the border inspection station who had just got out of the car, and said with a bit of self-deprecation: "I'm already in my forties. Now, I can’t compare with you guys. It’s normal for you to be strong-blooded and not afraid of the cold.”

The security of the Binjiang section of the Yangtze River has been good over the years, but the recent serial thefts on the river have not only slapped the faces of the Shuangshui Branch and the Changhang Branch, but also the Binjiang Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station.

Just a month ago, a foreign ship anchored at the inspection anchorage waiting to enter the port was also stolen. It happened under the customary supervision of officers and soldiers at the border inspection station, and the impact was extremely bad.

The Border Inspection Station and Water Branch have boarded the ship to investigate and can rule out an "insider" committing the crime. There are various indications that it is probably the work of the "jiangyang bandit" who is being investigated by the Water Branch and the Changhang Branch.

Because of this, as soon as Li Jun heard that Han Yu was going to lead the joint investigation between the Water Branch and the Changhang Branch, he took the initiative to join this unofficial "task force."

Studying the case files in the conference room of the Shuangshui Branch is not as good as seeing it in person.

Hence, today’s trip to the riverside.

To avoid alerting others, none of the five people wore police uniforms.

Today, Han Yu put on the pilot jacket that his senior asked for from the Hong Kong Regulatory Bureau. Looking at the charming sandbanks in the river, the rippling blue waves, the reflected blue sky, the lush aquatic plants on the river beach, and the gathering of waterbirds, he sighed: "Bureau Zhao, Lao Liu, have you noticed that things have gotten really warm in recent years?"

Zhao Hongxing was stunned and said, "It's a bit cold today, but it's definitely not as cold as before."

Liu Guixiang has worked in the Changhang Navigation Branch for more than ten years and is most sensitive to climate change. Pointing to the reeds on the riverside, he said: "In the two years when I first started working, the riverside was freezing in winter. Don't say that in the past two years. Riversides and even inland rivers rarely freeze, and ice can only be seen occasionally in remote ditches and canals."

It used to be really cold in winter.

It snows as soon as winter comes, and the snow is knee-deep at its peak.

To this day, Xu Haoran can never forget the scene of trudging in the snow to go to school when he was a child. Walking in the snow was fun at first, but when he got to school and entered the classroom, he sat down and found that his shoes were all wet. After a while, his feet became wet. It was cold and painful, and my whole body felt like I was in an ice cellar.

He recalled his childhood, looked back around, and said with a smile: "The weather is getting warmer. Look, the leaves have not fallen off, and the wheat and rapeseed are all green. This was not the case before."

"It may be that the world is warming as scientists say, or it may be affected by the El Niño phenomenon."

"Xianyu, are you saying that the glaciers in the Antarctic and Arctic will melt, the sea water will rise, the earth will be destroyed, and humans will become extinct?" Li Jun took out his cigarette and asked with a smile.

This statement from a good friend may seem like a joke, but there is a real market for "eschatology" like this now.

At the turn of the century, various fallacies and heresies emerged one after another, otherwise there would not be so many people believing in cults.

In fact, China is much better than abroad. Xiaoyu has learned how to surf the Internet. He knows everything about China and abroad. According to him, there are more cults abroad than in China, and they all believe that mankind will perish in the next ten days.

Han Yu didn't believe that and said with a smile: "Global warming and the melting of the glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic require a process. If you and I can see that day, not only is it not a bad thing but a good thing."

"Good thing?"

"This means that we will live a long life, doesn't it mean we will live a long life?"

"That's true, hahaha."

"No more joking, let's get down to business." Han Yu changed the topic, looked at the anchorage in the distance and asked: "Bureau Zhao, Lao Li, the foreign ship was stolen. When you came to investigate, did you inspect the river beach?"

"I didn't expect it at the time."

Zhao Hongxing sighed and said helplessly: "The anchorage of the cruise ship is estimated to be two kilometers away from the river beach. The weather at the time of the incident was not as cold as it is now, but it was not warm either. Who would have thought that someone would swim to the anchorage from the shore and climb up the anchor chain?" Outer ship theft!”

Li Jun was convinced and added: "We first suspected that an 'insider' committed the crime. The composition of the crew on that freighter was quite complex. There were Taiwanese crew members, Filipino crew members, and even Indian crew members, and half of the crew members came here." We boarded the ship in Hong Kong in front of Binjiang."

"Then how did you exclude the mole from committing the crime?" Han Yu asked in a low voice.

"When we investigated, several crew members were very resistant. The captain was German. He also suspected that the crew members were responsible. When he saw that the crew members were not cooperating, he became angry and summoned all the crew members to the bridge. Not only did he ask the crew members to cooperate with the investigation, he even asked us to Search the crew cabin and even search the body."

"Have you searched?"

"We searched it three times, inside and out, but no stolen money was found."

"Are those crew members so cooperative?"

"The German captain said that if anyone did not cooperate, he would call the company and ask the company to arrange crew rotation."

"What was lost on the ship?"

"cash."

Zhao Hongxing was deeply impressed by foreign-related cases and said without hesitation: "A sailor in the deck department lost more than 13,600 US dollars, and a mechanic in the engine department lost more than 8,000 US dollars. Their rooms are on the second floor of the living area. No one lives on the first floor, and as soon as you go up the ladder, it’s their room.”

Han Yu asked: "The door was forced open?"

"Well, the room was turned into a mess. What's strange is that the crew's laptop on the desk and the digital camera in the cabinet were not missing."

Han Yu thought about it and asked: "The two crew members were not in the room when the crime occurred?"

Before Zhao Hongxing could speak, Li Jun introduced: "On the afternoon of the incident, we boarded the ship with customs and quarantine for inspection. Although the German captain was very old-fashioned, he was very kind to the crew and asked us if we could let some crew members go ashore first. , we agreed, so when the incident occurred, six crew members went through immigration formalities and took the transport boat ashore first."

"How many people are there on board?"

"Including the captain, there are eighteen people in total."

"There were twelve people on the ship, and the thief dared to break open the door and steal, and he broke into a cabin that was unoccupied that night. What does this mean?" Han Yu was silent for a moment, asking and answering: "If we want to arrest this theft case, If there is a connection with the criminal thief, then this criminal thief should have a certain understanding of shipping, especially cargo ships."

Liu Guixiang raised his head and said, "It's probably not related."

"That's right. Although you have searched the ship and even the crew members, what was stolen was more than 20,000 US dollars. The cargo ship is so big. It is not difficult to hide more than 20,000 US dollars so that you can't find it."

"It would have been nice to have surveyed the river beach at that time. If it was really the gangster who did it, he would definitely come ashore after he succeeded. As long as he came ashore, he would leave footprints on the nearby river beach."

If you are on the shore, you can ask the traffic police department for assistance and check the nearby traffic monitoring.

If you are at a dock, you can ask the port for assistance. CCTV surveillance is now installed at the docks.

But here is the riverside. There is a reed marsh on the outside of the embankment and a crop field on the inside of the embankment. Which unit will install surveillance cameras to monitor the river beach.

The five people just walked eastward along the embankment, stopping and stopping based on the location of the crime they knew.

At noon, we passed by the Yingchuangang Water Rescue Center, had a quick meal at the rescue center, and walked all the way to the junction of the main line of the Yangtze River and the North Branch of the Yangtze River.

At half past six in the afternoon, it was already dark.

The five people visited more than a dozen crime scenes and did not rush back to the city. Instead, they borrowed the small conference room on the third floor of the Changzhou Maritime Department to look at the crime locations marked on the waterway map and summarize and analyze the crimes of Jiang Yang's thieves. law.

"In terms of the choice of crime targets, the suspects chose relatively remote waters. There were very few anchored ships at that time, and there was a certain distance between anchored ships."

Han Yu held his chin and continued: "Then there are seventeen theft cases. All the items stolen were cash, and mobile phones, VCD players and other valuable electrical appliances were not lost. Although it made it impossible for us to trace the stolen goods, it also confirmed that Zhao According to the previous judgment of the Bureau, he swam over and climbed onto the boat to steal, and valuable electronic items such as mobile phones cannot be taken away, and even if they were taken, they would be damaged by water."

Liu Guixiang said by analogy: "He is very familiar with the terrain in our area and has a certain understanding of shipping and even ships. He may have run a ship, may have worked at a dock, or may have worked in a shipyard."

"Judging from the frequency of committing crimes, he should not be young, and is probably over 25 years old." Zhao Hongxing added as he put out his cigarette butt.

"Director Zhao, where did your guess come from?" Xu Haoran asked curiously.

"It's very simple. He committed more than a dozen crimes and only missed one. He succeeded in almost all of them before, and each time he gained a lot of money. The amount of cash stolen can easily reach tens of thousands. If it were a young man who could steal so much money at once, He will definitely spend a lot of money and wait until all the stolen money is spent before committing crimes."

Zhao Hongxing paused and added: "But this Jiangyang thief is different. He may really be from our Binjiang people. He only knows how to steal money but not how to spend it. Otherwise, he would not commit crimes frequently after he succeeds."

The people on the boat are different from those on the shore.

Ships need to burn oil when sailing, and it costs tens of thousands to fill up with oil. People from all over the world don't know where they will go on their next voyage, let alone whether there is a bank near the next gas station where they can withdraw money, so they always have a lot of cash on board. .

Thinking that the total amount stolen by the suspects was more than 300,000 yuan, Han Yu pondered: "Bureau Zhao's analysis makes sense."

Xu Haoran said while recording: "Then he has good water resistance and good physical fitness. He dares to go into the water on such a cold day. With these characteristics, it should not be difficult to check."

"Xianyu, it's up to you next. You have more dignity than us. What you say to your local colleagues is better than what we say to others!"

"It's not as exaggerated as you said. After all, I have someone else's job."

Han Yu picked up the pen and drew a long and narrow investigation area on the map: "Drawing on the water, the suspect should be from the riverside, or working on the riverside. Just ask the police stations in the towns and villages along the river to investigate. What do you think?" "

"I think it will work."

"Xianyu, what about the theft of the foreign ship?"

"What's the meaning?"

"What was stolen from the foreign ship was U.S. dollars. How can we use U.S. dollars without converting them into RMB? I think this line should also be checked."

"There are a total of seventeen theft cases known so far. Sixteen of the stolen ships were inland river cargo ships, with the largest tonnage being 3,000 tons. Only one was a foreign seagoing ship."

Han Yu thought for a while and then said: "Bureau Zhao, Lao Li, I think the theft of the foreign ship has nothing to do with the criminal thief we are talking about, but we can also check it out, just in case he did it."

…

While they were studying, Han Xiangning knocked on the door and walked in.

"Dear Holmes, are you going back? If not, I'll ask my colleagues on duty at night to cook some noodles for you."

"Han Chu, are you just going to treat us to some noodles?"

"Yes, we don't come here every day. Treating us to noodles is not in line with your status as director!"

"We are the Marine Department here, not a restaurant. It's good to have noodles." Han Xiangning smiled and urged: "Director Zhao, are you leaving or not? If you don't leave, I will leave first. There will be a big day tomorrow." There’s a lot of trouble!”

"What's the matter?" Han Yu asked subconsciously.

"Tomorrow there will be experts coming for on-the-spot investigation. We cannot take it seriously because the other side is not active. I have to accompany him throughout the whole process. Mayor Ding made the call in person, and I don't have to accompany him even if I don't want to."

"What about the construction of the Yangtze River Bridge?"

"Well, I'm responsible for that now."

There is a lot of preparatory work for the construction of the bridge. Leaders at all levels come to investigate, experts come to investigate and even evaluate, and survey units come to survey. No matter who comes to the Changzhou Maritime Department, they must arrange coast guard boats to take them to the river to see it.

As Director of Marine Affairs, Han Xiangning even had to accompany him.

For city leaders, this is the real deal.

Zhao Hongxing didn't want to affect her work, so she stood up and said with a smile: "We won't eat the noodles, let's go back together."

…

Han Xiangning drove a Qingqi to work in the morning.

Now when he comes home from get off work, Han Yu can no longer ride Santana in the intelligence department, so he can only drive a Qingqi with her.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the yard, Han Xiangning lay on his shoulder and smiled: "Uncle Ge called in the afternoon. He said that at noon the day after tomorrow, a staff officer named Wu from the Navy Headquarters would come to Binjiang with the head of the East China Sea Base to express condolences. By the way, I would like to say to you. The rescue boat brigade commended."

When I returned from participating in the last exercise, Director Zheng of the dry rest station only read out the merit-recording order on his behalf, but did not award medals, certificates or bonuses.

It's New Year's Day, and it's customary for the head of the Donghai Base to come to express condolences to the seniors at the Binjiang Sanctuary.

Han Yu reacted and grinned: "Consultant Wu came here specially to commend the outstanding reserve officers and outstanding reserve soldiers of our rescue ship brigade."

"You know each other well?"

"We are very familiar with each other. We were observers together during the exercise. We are colleagues in the observation team."

"Since we are familiar with each other and they are here, do you want to treat them to a meal?"

"The reception at the unit is a business matter."

"All right."

Han Xiangning smiled, thinking to herself that you wouldn't have enough money to treat us.

The rescue boat brigade had funds in its account. Han Yu was not worried about the reception at all. Instead, he smiled and said: "Ning Ning, our bureau has already arranged the funds to modify the 825 boat. Later, we sold the wood for hundreds of thousands more." . I did some calculations and found that after the modification, there are still tens of thousands left."

"How are you going to spend it?"

"I want to buy a computer and a printer, and then ask the telecommunications bureau to install it. I personally can't afford it, but our water anti-smuggling department can!"

No need to ask, you all know that this is stimulated by the small fish.

Han Xiangning suppressed a smile and said, "You don't need to ask me for instructions on how to spend your department's funds."

"I'm telling you, it's already the year 2000. Xiaoyu is right. You can't be ignorant of computers. I also have to learn it. It's not just me, but all the cadres and workers in our department must learn it."

"It's good to study, but you can't go too far."

"How can it be possible to become obsessed with learning!"

"Xiaoyu has become obsessed. Yuzhen called me and said that Xiaoyu now plays on the computer after work and doesn't go to bed until midnight every day. Just like your father likes to quarrel with others on the radio, he plays without even eating. I don’t even care about eating.”