Brian Hall turned his head to look. Juice had been spilled beside the table, and there were two sets of footprints on the floor, varying in depth—one set was relatively clear, the other somewhat blurred.

David Thompson walked over and pointed at the shoe prints on the ground. “Judging from the tread pattern, these should be a pair of leather shoes, size 44. From the foot length, we can infer that his height is around 180 centimeters.”

After speaking, David Thompson spread his hands, as if to say, see, you’re not the only one who can analyze footprints.

I can do it too!

Paul Bennett ignored David Thompson and turned to look at Brian Hall. “What do you think?”

Brian Hall walked over and carefully examined the two sets of shoe prints. “Have you found any trace of the kidnapper?”

“No.”

“When you were screening suspects, did you set the kidnapper’s physical characteristics as a male about 180 centimeters tall?”

“A woman wouldn’t wear this style of leather shoes.” David Thompson shrugged.

Brian Hall stood up and shook his head. “The direction of your investigation is wrong.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The kidnapper’s height isn’t around 1.8 meters, but about 1.6 meters.”

“That’s impossible. Take another look—can someone who’s 1.6 meters tall wear size 44 leather shoes?” David Thompson questioned.

Brian Hall smiled and explained, “This is a rather clumsy disguise—small feet in big shoes.”

“Small feet in big shoes?” David Thompson muttered. “How can you tell?”

“First, the heel area of the shoe print often shows heavy heel marks; second, the big toe presses heavily against the front edge of the shoe print, while the other four toes show reverse pressure; third, the heel presses obviously under the arch area of the shoe print.”

“So, our investigation direction was completely wrong?” Lily Turner spread her hands.

Brian Hall reached out and patted David Thompson on the shoulder. “Young man, you’re still a bit inexperienced.”

“If the kidnapper is only about 1.6 meters tall, not much taller than the victim, it’s unlikely to be a kidnapping—more like an abduction.” James Reed analyzed.

Paul Bennett frowned. “Reinvestigate!”

Chapter 0011: Full of Twists and Turns

“Can you tell any other physical characteristics of the kidnapper from the footprints?” Paul Bennett asked.

“Small feet in big shoes will affect the footprint analysis. I’ll need more time to study it carefully.”

“So right now, we only know the suspect’s height, but can’t determine age or gender yet?”

“Give me some time. I should be able to rule out the effects of small feet in big shoes and find more clues.”

Brian Hall’s footprint analysis skill was still at an advanced level. If he could reach expert level, he might be able to analyze the kidnapper’s physical characteristics on the spot, but for now, he didn’t have that ability.

“Based on the current clues, let’s rearrange the tasks.” Paul Bennett instructed, “Lily Turner, check the surveillance around the neighborhood and set the kidnapper’s height at about 160 centimeters.”

“David Thompson, visit the surrounding residents and see if there have been similar kidnappers.”

“James Reed, contact the victim Thomas Carter’s classmates and see if Thomas Carter showed any unusual behavior in the past two days.”

“Brian Hall, continue studying the footprints.”

“Yes.”

Everyone responded and split up to take action.

“Bzz…” Just then, a phone rang.

The victim’s father, Helen Carter, looked flustered. “Captain Bennett, the kidnapper just sent a text message?”

“What did it say?”

‘At 8 p.m., have the child’s mother bring 200,000 yuan to ransom the child. No police, or you’ll never see the child again.’

“Call them back. We need to hear the child’s voice.”

Helen Carter hurriedly called, but only got a message that the phone was turned off.

Paul Bennett turned to the tech team nearby. “Can you determine the location where the message was sent?”

“It’ll take some time.”

“Captain Bennett, we might not have enough manpower.”

The footprints had already been collected, and Brian Hall was preparing to take them back to the station for analysis.

“How about asking the local police station to send a few officers to assist?” Lily Turner suggested.

Paul Bennett hesitated. “This is a kidnapping case. Uniformed officers would be too conspicuous. Better to get people from Team One.”

The second squad of the third criminal investigation team had only been established recently and had fewer members, far less than Team One.

“You all follow my previous instructions to investigate. Report back at 5 p.m.”

“Yes.”

Everyone went off to carry out their tasks.

……

Half an hour later, Emily Reed, the leader of Team One of the third criminal investigation team, arrived at the scene with three team members.

“Captain Reed, you’re here.” Paul Bennett stood up to greet him.

Emily Reed had short hair and a capable manner. She glanced around the room. “Old Bennett, where’s your team?”

“They’re all out investigating clues. If we weren’t short-handed, we wouldn’t have asked Team One for support.” Paul Bennett said helplessly.

“Any leads on the kidnapper?”

Paul Bennett briefly explained the situation.

Emily Reed pondered for a moment. “Have you determined where the kidnapper sent the text from?”

“It was sent from a base station near the outskirts,” said someone from the tech team.

“There’s little surveillance in the suburbs, so the chances of tracking them are slim,” Paul Bennett said.

“Still, send someone to check it out.” Emily Reed picked two people, had them get the exact location from the tech team, and sent them to investigate.

“Mr. Carter, hasn’t the child’s mother arrived yet?”