ebookland Chapter 1065 The Clues Have Gone Cold
Chapter 1065 The Clues Have Gone Cold
The doorbell rang, and the store was filled with the distinctive chemical smell of waterproof fabric. The hiking boots neatly arranged on the shelves gleamed under the warm yellow light. He took out his phone, pulled up a picture of the sole pattern, and showed it to the clerk: "Could you please check if you've recently sold any size 42 hiking boots with this X-shaped serrated pattern?"
The shop assistant, a young man, frowned upon hearing this and skillfully began typing on the computer. Xiao Yang stood to the side, his gaze sweeping over the outdoor sports posters hanging on the wall, silently calculating the time—a full 48 hours had passed since he received the assignment, and the number of shops he had visited had long since exceeded three digits, yet he had still come up empty-handed.
"Sorry, no relevant records were found." The shop assistant's voice pulled him back to reality. After thanking him, Xiao Yang turned and walked into the rain. Rainwater slid down the umbrella ribs, splashing small water droplets on the ground. Looking at the rows of shop signs on both sides of the street, a wave of fatigue washed over him.
"Team Leader Yang, we still have no leads at the 89th store." Team member Xiao Wang's voice came through the walkie-talkie, visibly frustrated. "I've carefully checked all these sales records, and there are no orders that match the criteria."
"Keep investigating, even if it's like finding a needle in a haystack, we'll get to the bottom of it." Xiao Yang's voice was firm, but even he could hear the helplessness in his words. He opened his notebook, every page filled with dense records. He had even visited some shops two or three times, repeatedly checking sales records and surveillance videos.
In a long-established outdoor gear store, Xiao Yang met an experienced owner. The owner, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, carefully examined the photo, pondered for a moment, and then said, "This kind of sole pattern is indeed quite rare, and size 42 is a common size. If someone bought it, I should remember. But I haven't seen any orders like this in the last three months. However," the owner paused, "online shopping is so prevalent now, the murderer might not even have bought the shoes in a physical store."
These words were like a bucket of cold water, chilling Xiao Yang to the bone. He suddenly realized that he might have fallen into a trap from the very beginning. With the rapid development of e-commerce platforms, who could guarantee that the murderer would actually buy hiking boots from a physical store? Even so, he couldn't give up on this clue; after all, without any other breakthroughs, it was the only straw they could grasp.
The next morning, Xiao Yang led his team to the wholesale market. The outdoor equipment stores there were even more densely packed, and the environment was far more chaotic. They went from store to store asking questions, meticulously reviewing sales records, searching through mountains of receipts for any possible clue. Their clothes were soaked with sweat, only to be dried by the cold wind, and they were met with disappointment time and time again.
"Team Leader Yang, this is the sales record from the 127th store we visited today." Team member Xiao Li held a thick folder, his eyes bloodshot. "Still no results." Xiao Yang took the folder, casually flipped through a few pages, and a sense of helplessness welled up inside him. He knew that everyone had done their best. For the past two days, everyone had worked tirelessly, checking thousands of sales records, but the results were still unsatisfactory.
As night fell, the city lights gradually came on. Standing on the street, gazing at the bustling traffic, Xiao Yang suddenly felt a wave of confusion. Had this lead truly gone cold? He was unwilling to accept it, yet he had no choice but to face reality. Back at the Criminal Investigation Division, he reported his findings to Li Ming in a low voice: "Captain Li, after two days of investigation, we searched every possible outdoor equipment store, but found no valuable clues. This lead... is dead."
Li Ming remained silent for a long time, then patted Xiao Yang on the shoulder: "You've worked hard. This isn't your fault. Let's re-examine the clues; we're sure to find a new breakthrough." Xiao Yang nodded, secretly vowing that no matter how difficult it was, he would never give up on finding the truth, even if the road ahead was full of thorns.
The blue light from the traffic monitoring center illuminated Xiao Wang's bloodshot eyes. His fingers mechanically slid across the keyboard, while 128 monitoring images simultaneously flashed on the large screen in front of him, like 128 silent witnesses. The printer spat out a long list of vehicles, the papers rustling as they piled on the table, seemingly sighing for this arduous investigation.
"Captain Wang, the owner of the 37th silver sedan explained that he was a designated driver taking his drunk friend home." Auxiliary police officer Xiao Li, holding a thick notebook, sounded a little tired. "We've reviewed the dashcam video initially and haven't found anything unusual yet." Xiao Wang nodded and checked the "silver sedan" box on the list. He had repeated this simple action 37 times today.
The investigation was fraught with difficulties from the very beginning. Road surveillance near the crime scene had numerous blind spots; only a handful of cameras could capture vehicle information, and the image quality varied greatly. Some cameras had blurry pixels, only vaguely revealing the vehicle's color and general outline; others, due to insufficient light at night, made the license plate numbers completely illegible. Xiao Wang and his team had to analyze the video frame by frame, zooming in, pausing, taking screenshots, and then comparing information with the vehicle registration office based on vehicle characteristics.
The 52nd vehicle was a black SUV, and surveillance footage showed it had passed through the vicinity three times during the time of the incident. This discovery was a relief to everyone, but when the team found the owner, they were greatly disappointed. The owner was a night shift taxi driver who provided his passenger records and contact information for that night, and after verification, it was confirmed that he was indeed operating normally. "I drive this route every night," the driver said helplessly, "I never expected to get involved."
As the investigation deepened, the pressure of time increased. Each vehicle investigation required a significant amount of time and effort, including verifying the owner's identity and purpose of travel, as well as checking for signs of struggle or towing. Some owners were highly cooperative, proactively providing various documents; others were full of complaints, feeling that the police were disrupting their lives, and even refusing to cooperate with the investigation, requiring repeated communication to obtain information.
"Team Leader Wang, the memory card of the dashcam in vehicle number 89 is damaged." Technician Xiao Zhang held up a small memory card, looking helpless. "It will take at least two days to recover the data, and we can't afford to wait!" Xiao Wang rubbed his temples. Such unexpected situations often occur during investigations, each time like a blow to the head, disrupting the already tense pace of the investigation.
Night fell again, but the traffic monitoring center remained brightly lit. Looking at the remaining 39 vehicles, Xiao Wang felt a deep sense of anxiety.