Crazy Detective

Chapter 1196: A Special Type of Boat

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

By the time Zhao Yu left Bei Gang City and returned to the Seven Stars Hanging Coffins, it was already well after three in the afternoon.

Control over the arrest of the suspect, Bai Lang, had been handed over to Leader Fang Kaiyu to deal with. As for the interrogation of the funeral parlor staff to find Bai Lang’s associates, that issue was entrusted to Wu Xiumin.

Therefore, at the present moment, Xiong Wendong and his team of police officers were accompanying Zhao Yu back to the cliff under the Seven Stars Hanging Coffin.

Based on a prior arrangement, when Zhao Yu and the others arrived, there were already several local boatmen who often operated boats, as well as professional ship engineers waiting on site.

Although the exact method was still unclear, Zhao Yu was now more inclined to believe that the criminals had used ships to put the corpses into the hanging coffins.

He believed that the criminals were most likely able to modify an ordinary ship, and then install a set of lifting mechanisms in the cabin. Or they had simply placed the elevation lift on the boat to achieve the lifting.

However, in order to verify this possibility, he still brought in local boatmen and professional ship engineers to discuss with them and get a second opinion.

The section of the Bai Sha River below the Seven Stars Hanging Coffins was more than 30 meters wide, and although there was sediment on both sides of the river, the middle part still had sufficient depth.

Many ships passed by that stretch of the Bai Sha River, although most of them were cargo ships carrying goods.

In order to get a clearer vantage point, the local police had arranged for a few simple wooden boats. Zhao Yu and the others had taken those wooden boats to arrive at the bottom of the cliff.

While observing the hanging coffins on the cliff, he discussed the methods of transporting the corpses.

Looking up from below, the 70-meter high cliff looked even more majestic.

Because the cliff was tilted inwards from top to bottom, it felt oppressive, and the tilt would make people dizzy.

“Police officer…” At that point, a bespectacled young engineer spoke up. “I have calculated it according to your thoughts from earlier, and it seems very difficult to use such a lifting mechanism!”

“Oh,” Xiong Wendong said to Zhao Yu as soon as he saw the engineer. “This is our engineer, Wang Rong, of Song Zhou Shipping Company!”

Zhao Yu nodded, considering it as a greeting.

“Police officer,” engineer Wang continued to elaborate his theory, pointing at the river under his feet. “The main difficulty is due to the heavy weight.

“Look, this side of the river close to the cliff is full of muddy shoals. Boats in the middle of the river must stay far away. If we were to make scientific assumptions, we, just as an example, must use at least the highest, which is 40 meters.

“With such a great height, even with modern lifting equipment, a scissor lift, or lifting platform like the one used in street lighting, it would be impossible.

“All that’s left would be a hydraulic lift or the ladder in the fire truck of the fire brigade.”

Oh…

Listening to engineer Wang’s explanation, Zhao Yu couldn’t help but admire him. He seemed to deserve his education as an engineer. The way he spoke was logical and clear.

“Let’s talk about the hydraulic lift first. It relies on hydraulic cantilevers to achieve high capacity!

“As far as I know, even the most advanced lifts can only reach a height of about 30 meters,” engineer Wang continued. “And the extension of the cantilever is strong. Even if the boat were to stop in the middle of the river, it would still be able to reach the cliff.

“In this way, the boat wouldn’t need to worry about being too close to the edge of the cliff wall, causing it to run around.

“But… taking a lift of this class is not only bulky, but it also weighs about 20 tons. And that’s not including the weight of the hull itself. Sailing is simply impossible!”

“Yeah, Bai Sha River is only that big…” one of the boatmen echoed immediately. “The area around Kong Jia Bend is particularly shallow, and such a large boat can’t sail through at all!”

“Yeah, Bai Sha River is nothing like those bigger rivers out there,” said another boatman. “The sand and earth materials our company loads are limited to only about ten tons!”

“So… what about the fire ladder?” Zhao Yu asked.

“Yes, I was about to come to that…” engineer Wang said. “The ladder that the fire trucks use to save people is more collapsible due to it having a different purpose and functionality.

“As far as I know, the highest aerial ladder fire truck in the world is produced in Finland and can be raised to 110 meters!

“Most mainstream equipment of fire brigades in big cities can easily reach more than 50 meters!” Engineer Wang said. “Moreover, the ladder is extendable, so it can also reach the hanging coffins without being too close to the cliff.”

“Oh… in that case… doesn’t that solve the entire mystery about the coffins?” Xiong Wendong said. “The criminal put the body in the hanging coffins using a fire ladder?”

“But…” Engineer Wang frowned and said abashedly, “There are two difficult problems that still exist if we were to look at this objectively.

“First, there is still the problem of weight! A ladder can rise to about 50 meters, and although it would weigh less than a hydraulic lift, at the minimum, it would still be about 15 tons.

“Such a weight can barely be moved during Bai Sha River’s high tide,” he said, waving, “And this period is usually only from July to August every year. The timeframe is very short!”

“Hmm,” Zhao Yu began, nodding. “These coffin cases happened after September last year, so this inference can’t be valid. What about the second problem?”

“Secondly,” engineer Wang replied. “The ladders that fire trucks use are all custom-made, and their prices are prohibitive! Take the ladder that can be raised to about 50 meters. The cost of such a ladder would easily be about 10 million yuan!

“Also, since such ladders only serve one purpose, nobody other than the fire brigade will pay for it!”

“Then…” Xiong Wendong interjected quickly, “Could it be possible they rented it from the fire brigade? I’ll… I’ll call and ask!”

As he said this, Xiong Wendong hurried to the back of the boat and made a call.

“I feel,” engineer Wang continued, “Whether it is Song Zhou or Bei Gang, there should not be a fire truck that can extend this far. These two places don’t have any skyscrapers either!”

“Also…” Zhao Yu said, shaking his head, “The fire brigade wouldn’t rent something like this out, and the criminal wouldn’t dare borrow it either.”

“The key is…” Wang Rong said, “Even if a ladder can be obtained, the problem of a heavy ship still cannot be solved!”

“Officer Zhao!” Xiong Wendong shouted from the back of the boat. “I asked, and our fire brigade doesn’t have such impressive equipment at all!

“They told me that in the entire Fu Lai Province, only Xia Kou City and the provincial capital Fu Lai City would have it. There are not many, so there is no chance the fire brigade would have lent it out!”

Wang Rong glanced at Zhao Yu as if to say, ‘See? Isn’t that the same as what I just said?’

“But…” Zhao Yu said, not looking discouraged in the slightest. “Regardless of whether or not the hull is heavy, or what kind of equipment they used…

“There is one thing, and it is for sure! If they used a ship to place the corpses, then the ship must be very large and different, right?”

“Oh, yes! You’re absolutely right,” Wang Rong said hurriedly, immediately understanding what Zhao Yu meant. “Pan Jiawan Bridge and Song Zhou Pier have monitoring cameras overlooking the Bai Sha River!”

“We’ve also figured out the approximate time they placed the corpses in the coffins,” Zhao Yu said, nodding to Wang Rong. “Engineer Wang, at this time, I have to trouble you for your help! Help us with this special ship and find it!!”