My chat group members are all legendary criminals.

Chapter 44 Kidnapping

Gu Qiu rubbed her temples, feeling a terrible headache.

This is a crucial moment in his mayoral campaign.

To make matters worse, the head of the police homicide squad was kidnapped from his own home! If word got out, it would be an absolute joke!

If you can't even protect your own men, how can you talk about protecting the safety of citizens?

Isn't his carefully cultivated "iron-fisted protector" persona about to collapse?

We absolutely cannot let the media know! At least not a single word can leak out until we bring them back to life!

He scanned the officers in the conference room and said in a deep voice:

"Everyone, listen up! Before this case is solved, you are not allowed to divulge a single word to any media outlet. Violation of this rule will be treated as a leak of classified information and you will be immediately dismissed!"

Everyone tensed, and replied in unison, "Yes, Sir!"

Lu Yiming responded in unison, his mind racing with thoughts.

Who did this? How's the boss doing now?

Although Marcus usually slacks off, he treats his subordinates fairly well.

dong dong dong-

Gu Qiu banged on the table forcefully, drawing everyone's attention back.

"This case must be solved as quickly as possible, and the rescue operation must be carried out with maximum effort!"

He raised his voice and said, "From this moment forward, everyone is canceled from vacation and is on standby 24 hours a day! Until Marcus is rescued!"

A series of rustling sighs filled the conference room.

It's only been two days since things calmed down! Are they in Fremont or Gotham?!

Seeing that everyone was in low spirits, Gu Qiu knew that simply putting pressure on them wouldn't work; she also needed to offer some incentives.

He cleared his throat:

"As you all know, I have officially announced my candidacy for mayor. Once I assume the office..."

He paused, looked at everyone, and said, "Marcus Hunter will succeed me as the new Fremont Police Chief."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the conference room looked up.

If the bureau chief is to be promoted to mayor, and the team leader is to be promoted to bureau chief... then the powerful position of homicide team leader will be vacant.

Gu Qiu was very satisfied with the result and continued:

"Therefore, whoever performs the best and makes the greatest contribution during this rescue of Team Leader Hunter will be the leader of the homicide squad!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the police officers who had just been sighing and complaining lit up!

A promotion and a raise are just around the corner!

Lu Yiming swallowed hard.

The head of the homicide squad? That's equivalent to a police chief.

He was just wondering how to climb up faster!

For a promotion! For justice! And for the boss!

This case must be solved!

"Lu Yiming!" Gu Qiu suddenly called out his name.

"Yes!" Lu Yiming stood up subconsciously.

"You've solved two major cases in a row, demonstrating outstanding performance. What are your thoughts on this case?"

Gu Qiu looked at him with expectant eyes.

All eyes were on him.

Then they all noticed something: what was that red mark on the guy's neck?

Wow, that's quite a fancy move.

Lu Yiming composed himself, thought quickly for a moment, and said, "Director, I think we can start the investigation from several aspects at the same time."

"First, immediately contact Hunter's family and send people to protect them secretly 24 hours a day. Kidnappings are mostly for money, and the kidnappers will likely contact the family to demand a ransom."

"Second, if we rule out financial gain, then it's very likely revenge. Review all the cases that Chief Hunter has handled, especially those involving people with whom he has a grudge."

After listening, Gu Qiu shook his head:

"We've already considered these things. Marcus's family hasn't received any extortion calls or messages. As for the enemies..."

He gave a wry smile. "He's the head of the homicide squad. Over the past ten years, he's offended at least eighty or a hundred desperate criminals. The scope of the investigation is too broad."

Lu Yiming frowned, some words swirling on his lips, unsure whether he should say them.

"If you have any thoughts, feel free to speak them." Gu Qiu noticed his hesitation.

Lu Yiming gritted his teeth and said:

"Chief, the other party was able to carry out the attack in the police station garage and track the boss's movements. They have an extremely good understanding of the police station's internal workings."

He didn't finish his sentence; he didn't dare say the second half.

Why does the other party know so much about this? And why can they come and go freely?

There can only be one explanation: they have an inside man within the police station.

Saying that offended everyone in the room.

Gu Qiu understood his words and pondered for a while.

"So, everyone is divided into three groups: Group A will continue to protect and monitor Team Leader Hunter's family and listen to all possible communications; Group B will work overtime to sort out all the major cases that Team Leader Hunter has handled in the past five years and screen out suspects with the motive and ability to kidnap; Group C will expand the scope of monitoring and investigation, centered on the abandoned car scene."

"Yes!" The crowd accepted the order and stood up to prepare for action.

Lu Yiming also took out his phone and sent a message to Mike.

Let's see if there's any news from the gang.

But this time, this usually reliable channel disappointed him.

Mike replied quickly, making his point clear: "It wasn't the gang; they had absolutely no information about it."

Even the local bigwigs haven't made a move? Lu Yiming frowned.

It seems like the other party has some connections.

The only clue left is that surveillance footage. He decided to watch it carefully a few more times.

Just then, two former colleagues from the police academy, who had a good relationship with each other, came over and deliberately nudged each other with ambiguous expressions.

Lu Yiming looked bewildered: "What?"

A colleague patted him on the shoulder with a laugh: "Wow, Ming-ge, you've been keeping a low profile! No wonder the young lady and that senior had such a falling out back then, turns out she was possessive of her food!"

Another one chimed in cheekily, "Hey, Ming-ge, your senior's practically an FBI agent now. Be careful your watch gets checked! Let's go, time to get to work!"

After saying that, the two of them gave him a meaningful nod of their chins, then walked away with smiles.

Lu Yiming: ? ? ?

He didn't understand a word they were saying. He and Mia were just colleagues!

Just as he was wondering, Mia walked over with a flushed face. Without saying a word, she reached out and zipped up his uniform all the way to the top, tightening the zipper around his neck.

"What are you doing?" Lu Yiming asked, bewildered.

"Shut up!"

Mia's cheeks flushed red as she fiercely commanded, "This week, keep your zippers zipped all the way up! If you dare let them down, you're dead!"

After saying that, she glared at him fiercely, turned around, and walked away quickly.

He quickly ran to the glass window next to him and took a look.

Holy crap! A clear red mark on the side of my neck!

When was it put up?! I have absolutely no recollection of it!

Lu Yiming was immediately at his wit's end.

Forget it, now's not the time to think about that! Saving the boss is the priority!

He forced himself to calm down, returned to the monitor screen, and watched the video frame by frame at 0.5x speed.

The hood and robe concealed all physical features, making it difficult to distinguish whether someone was male or female.

and many more!

The moment the scene showed the red-robed man standing behind Marcus stabbing him in the neck with a syringe.

Lu Yiming abruptly pressed the pause button!

He pressed his entire body against the screen, concentrating his senses to the extreme.

He stared intently at the red-robed man's outstretched wrist.

The sleeves of his robe tucked up slightly with the movement, revealing a small section of a tattoo on his wrist.

Most of the tattoo was covered up; only a small tail was visible.

The tattoo was small and its color was close to the skin tone, making it almost invisible in the blurry surveillance footage.

But Lu Yiming's heart skipped a beat!

This pattern looks familiar...

He immediately took out his phone and found the inverted cross and rattlesnake tattoo of Lazarus from before.

Get closer to the surveillance footage and compare it carefully.

Although it was only a very small corner, the lines and patterns... were at least seven or eight parts similar!

Lu Yiming swallowed hard, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Lazarus...it was Lazarus who did it?!

Old Mike had warned him before.

This cult is very complex and its influence is deeply entrenched.

What is their purpose? Revenge? Or... to rescue Timothy, the imprisoned leader of Lazarus?

Wait! Timothy! He definitely knows more.

At least he knows about the other strongholds!

In any case, this is definitely a major breakthrough!

Lu Yiming suppressed his excitement and immediately went to find Gu Qiu.

"Chief! I've made an important discovery!"

Gu Qiu turned his head in surprise. The coffee in his hand had just been brewed and he hadn't even taken a sip yet.

"So fast? Tell me."

Lu Yiming quickly recounted his findings and speculations.

Gu Qiu's expression also turned serious after hearing this.

"Chief, I want to interrogate Timothy, who is currently in custody! He may know the inside story!"

This is currently the most likely way to obtain clues.

Gu Qiu looked at Lu Yiming with a complicated expression.

"Director?" Lu Yiming asked, puzzled. What time is it? What are you still hesitating about?

"Ahem... Okay, I'll give you a note, but you need to be careful this time..."

Lu Yiming took the note, even more puzzled.

What should I be aware of when interrogating a prisoner in jail?

When he saw the location of the detention center, he was stunned.

The interrogation form clearly states the location of detention:

Arkham State Mental Hospital