Chapter 168 The Sixth Sense

After receiving Gong Weiguo's reply, Han Ying came to the Criminal Investigation Brigade early in the morning. When she pushed open the wooden door of the serious crime squad office, the scene she saw was like this——

Xia Mufan was standing by the window. Her face could not be seen clearly against the light. She was wearing the winter uniform issued by the police force. The army green tweed coat made her tall and slender figure stand out, giving people a vibrant feeling.

Xia Mufan raised his right hand, and a starling with shiny black feathers rested on his fingertips.

The starlings were chirping: "The sun sets over the mountains, the Yellow River flows into the sea..."

Several high-spirited young people gathered around Xia Mufan, teasing the little starling with a smile: "Come on, make a fortune, say congratulations on making a fortune. Let's see if we can borrow your auspicious words to give the team more bonuses at the end of this year."

The starling seemed to understand what they were saying. It opened and closed its little mouth, making a low, rough sound: "Congratulations on your prosperity. Congratulations on your prosperity."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The office of the Serious Crime Unit 7 was filled with laughter, and the room was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Han Ying followed behind Gong Weiguo, her eyes shining with excitement. She stared at the little black starling without blinking. It was obvious that she really liked birds.

Gong Weiguo brought Han Ying to Xia Mufan and introduced them seriously.

"Team leader, this is Han Ying, a reporter from the Hunan Legal Weekly."

"Reporter Han, this is Team Leader Xia from our Serious Crime Unit 7."

Xia Mufan moved his right fingertips slightly, and the little starling flapped its wings and flew up. After circling over everyone's heads, it landed on Xia Mufan's shoulder.

Xia Mufan stretched out his hand, shook hands with Han Ying, and said with a smile: "Hello, reporter Han."

Han Ying's eyes reluctantly moved from the little starling to Xia Mufan, and she smiled brightly: "Hello, Officer Xia. Yesterday, Officer Gong told me a lot of stories about you, and I admire you very much. It's great to see you here today."

Han Ying had a brief meeting with Xia Mufan yesterday and wasn't very impressed. She just thought she was a pretty and fit policewoman.

After listening to Gong Weiguo's talk about Xia Mufan's many great achievements, Han Ying's heart was filled with admiration for Xia Mufan. At the age of 23, he became a criminal investigation expert in the provincial department and single-handedly found his mother who had been missing for more than ten years. Xia Mufan can communicate well with any animal. This smart and talking little starling helped her solve two cases. Han Ying's affection for Xia Mufan reached its maximum.

Han Ying knew that she could see Bage Fa Cai in the office today because Xia Mufan brought him specially for her to see. Her heart felt warm, her smile became sweeter, and her words were full of intimacy and enthusiasm.

Reporters are good at speaking, and Han Ying is no exception. She praised the Serious Crime Unit 7, and the atmosphere in the office became more harmonious.

What Xia Mufan is more interested in now is what the parrot said that Han Ying talked about with Gong Weiguo yesterday.

Xia Mufan led Han Ying to sit down and asked, "Yesterday you said that the talking parrot might be related to the child abuse case. What's going on?"

Gong Weiguo and Xia Mufan knew about this, but the other three had not heard of it. When they heard that the parrot could talk and was related to a child abuse case, they all gathered around curiously.

The Cai Qinglian case just ended and everyone was taking a break. Seeing the female reporter report something strange, everyone looked at the female reporter: "Reporter Han, what did the parrot say? What child abuse case? Tell us about it."

Everyone was young and it was easy for them to get along well with each other. Seeing that everyone was interested, Han Ying repeated the story she had told yesterday.

Han Ying's storytelling level is higher than Gong Weiguo's. Her voice is full of intonation and vividness. When she said "Don't kill me, don't hit me", she imitated the low, shrill sound of a parrot, creating a gloomy and terrifying atmosphere.

It was a very cold winter morning and the office was very cold.

After listening to Han Ying's story, everyone gasped and got goose bumps.

After finishing the story, Han Ying looked at Xia Mufan: "My cousin Xiaoman said that this parrot lives in a strange family. The father is an alcoholic and violent, and the mother is in danger of her life. Is her guess right? If we call the police, will they accept this case?"

Xia Muchan pondered in silence.

Han Ying didn't wait for Xia Mufan's answer before she explained her analysis in detail.

"All our current speculations are the result of our analysis of the parrot's words. After all, a parrot is not a human being, so its words probably cannot serve as evidence, right? I have a lot of dealings with the police because of my work, and I know that the police handle cases based on evidence and science, but Xiaoman insisted on calling the police, and we almost had a quarrel."

"The parrot said 'Don't interfere', and its voice was very strange and ambiguous. It could be 'Don't kill me' or 'Don't play with fire'. It also said 'big white goose'. Could it be a favorite toy of children, a big white goose?"

"As for the 'Red Mom, Stinky Mom, and So Many Moms', maybe it's the child's nickname for his mother. When the mother wears red clothes, the child calls her Red Mom; when the mother makes the child unhappy, the child calls her Stinky Mom; the child lives in a loving family, the mother has twin sisters, or has many good friends, so the child would say So Many Moms?"

Han Ying's explanation sounded reasonable, and the terrifying atmosphere just now suddenly dissipated.

Feng Xiaoyu let out a long sigh and rubbed her arms, as if to shake off the anxiety she had just felt. "Reporter Han, could you please not be so rhythmic when telling your story? Just now you lowered your voice and imitated the speech of a parrot, saying things like 'don't kill me' and 'don't hit me'. It was really creepy to hear."

Han Ying smiled a little embarrassedly: "Maybe it's because of work. I like to read detective novels. After I bought this parrot, I heard it say some inexplicable things every day. In fact, I was quite curious about what its former owner was like and what kind of family it lived in. Why would it sell such a good pet? Maybe it was because of this curiosity that I analyzed the words the parrot said. I don't know if my analysis is correct."

At this point, Han Ying raised her head and looked at the five young men from the Serious Crime Unit 7, her eyes sparkling. "I didn't mention this matter to anyone except my cousin. If I told my parents, they would definitely say that I had nothing to do after eating. In their eyes, pets are just pets, just a kind of seasoning in life, and there is no need to invest too much emotion in them. Xiaoman has a gentle personality and rarely argues with others. After listening to the parrot's words, she stubbornly believed that the little owner of the parrot was a child who was beaten by his father every day. She felt very sad and cried and said she wanted to save the poor child."

After a moment, Han Ying realized that she was being a bit long-winded, so she quickened her pace and said, "I can't find anyone else to discuss this with. Today, I came to the Serious Case Team 7 and I feel that everyone is very friendly. I want to ask for your opinions. As the saying goes, one person can only make plans for the short term, while two people can make plans for the long term. Please help me analyze this and come up with some ideas."

After hearing what Han Ying said, Feng Xiaoyu immediately took out a pen and paper, intending to write down what the parrot said: "Okay, let's discuss it together. Let's write down everything the parrot said first. The most controversial one now should be the one about not getting involved and the white goose, right?"

Seeing everyone gathered together to talk, the starling bird Fa Cai became a bit of a show-off. It flapped its wings and jumped onto the table. It jumped up and down on the white paper where Feng Xiaoyu was writing, and chirped, "Get lost!"

Han Ying couldn't believe her ears. She widened her eyes and looked at the starling, then at Xia Mufan: "Is it cursing?"

Xia Mufan reached out his hand, grabbed Fa Cai's mouth, and whispered, "Don't say that!"

Fa Cai saw that the situation was not good and was afraid of being put in solitary confinement again, so he nodded his head desperately, meaning that he understood.

Xia Mufan then let go of his hand. "Its name is Fa Cai. Its previous owner was a murderer. After making money, he became a hands-off boss. He walks his bird around the streets every day and lives a carefree life. But although he loves birds, he doesn't understand the habits of starlings and often keeps it in a cage. If Fa Cai doesn't listen, he will yell at it. Before he knows it, Fa Cai has learned a lot of swear words."

Han Ying thought thoughtfully: "It seems that people speak in different ways according to their owners. Every word that this parrot I bought learned from its owner or the people close to it."

Xia Mufan nodded: "Yes, that's right. Although what the parrot said cannot be used as direct evidence, it can be used as supporting evidence. The police should consider it."

Han Ying looked at Xia Mufan with admiration in her eyes: "You are really good at raising birds. This myna is so smart, it can understand what you say, it's almost like a spirit. Unfortunately, the parrot I bought never communicates with me, it just talks to itself every day, saying some incomprehensible things."

Xia Mushige sorted out his thoughts and began to express his own judgment: "The reason why we feel puzzled is that we don't understand the environment in which the parrot once lived, and we don't know what the parrot's owner has experienced. But some people have experienced pain and empathy, and their sixth sense makes them nervous. Your cousin is such a person."

Han Ying's expression changed, and she looked at Xia Mufan nervously: "Xiaoman's mother is my mother's biological sister. Xiaoman and I grew up together. I remember that Xiaoman used to be outgoing, but I don't know when she started to become more and more introverted and talk less and less."

Xia Mufan asked: "Did something happen to her family?"

Han Ying hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth: "Yes, Xiaoman's parents divorced when she was ten years old, and her aunt remarried a year later. Xiaoman's stepfather was in the building materials business and was very rich, but he was not good to Xiaoman. Xiaoman came out to study in a boarding school early, and after graduating from junior college, she found a job and rented a house outside and rarely went home."

Xia Mufan glanced at Han Ying and asked, "Did your cousin suffer domestic violence when she was a child? What kind of person is her stepfather?"

Han Ying was stunned for a moment, her face turned pale. "No way? I have seen the husband behind my aunt. He is a few years older than my aunt. He was divorced and had no children. After marrying my aunt, they had a son and lived a happy life. My uncle-in-law smiles at everyone and is very polite to our relatives. Will he abuse Xiaoman?"

Although he had never met Qi Xiaoman, Xia Mufan could feel from Han Ying's words that she was a kind and caring girl.

You've been caught in the rain before, so you want to hold an umbrella for the poor child in the parrot's mouth, right? Qi Xiaoman insisted on calling the police and was determined to find the owner of the parrot. This was not only to save the child, but also a kind of redemption for herself, right?

Xia Mufan slowed down his speech and his voice became softer: "Han Ying, I remember you told me yesterday that in child molestation cases, most victims choose to endure it because they are afraid of suffering secondary harm. Judging from your cousin's reaction to the parrot incident, I advise you to communicate with her more. Maybe she needs your help."

Han Ying's eyes turned red and she felt a strong sense of guilt. She was a reporter for Legal Weekly. She interviewed and wrote reports everywhere, calling for the protection of the physical and mental health of women and children. However, she never thought that her closest sister might also be one of the victims.

She nodded repeatedly and said in a hoarse voice, "Okay, I will ask Xiaoman about this when I get back. If she has ever been hurt, I will definitely help her and bring those who hurt her to justice."

Xia Mufan knew that Han Ying was upset, so he reached out and patted her arm: "I believe in your cousin's sixth sense. Even if the final investigation reveals that it was a misunderstanding, our police should intervene."

The four members of Serious Crime Unit 7 nodded together.

"Yes, children are the flowers of the motherland, and child abuse cases must be severely punished."

"Yes, in a case like this, we would rather kill three thousand people by mistake than let one go."

"Even if what we do is useless, we still have to investigate."

"Yeah, what if what the parrot said is right? What if the parrot is asking for help from people around me to save its little master? Didn't you just say that the person who sold the parrot was a drunk, unshaven middle-aged man? This man might be the suspect in the child abuse case."

Seeing that everyone was so unanimous and worried about the child who she didn't know whether he really existed or not, Han Ying was deeply moved: "You are really so kind. If all the police officers I met were as responsible as you, there would be fewer bad people and evil things in this world."

Xia Mufan waved his hand and said, "Don't rush to praise us. Come on, let's analyze it together and try to find useful clues to see if we can find the parrot's former owner."

Feng Xiaoyu said: "The person who sold the parrot may or may not be the owner, but no matter what, since he was able to dispose of the parrot, he must be a family member of the parrot's owner."

Everyone agreed with this point.

Han Ying also nodded: "The pet shop owner said that the man smelled of alcohol and had an untidy beard. Unfortunately, the shop owner only roughly remembered his appearance and did not recognize him, let alone where he lived."

Xia Mufan said, "We do have a solution. We can ask the provincial government's administrative portrait experts to draw a portrait of this man and search the entire city to see if we can find him."

Han Ying is from Xing City. If this case really needs to be investigated, we have to go to Xing City. Bai Yu, the administrative portrait expert from the provincial department, is in Xin City, so it will be easy to find her.

Han Ying was overjoyed: "That's great! It turns out that you police have a solution."

Xia Mushige said: "Okay, this problem has been solved. Next, let's discuss what the parrot said."

The little starling was standing on the white paper that Feng Xiaoyu had taken out earlier. She took another notebook and wrote down everything the parrot had said.

Han Ying reminded: "I listened carefully to what the parrot said. It speaks in two tones. One tone is like the shrill sound of a child when he loses his temper. The other tone is relatively low and sounds a bit eerie."

Xia Mufan thought for a moment and said, "Parrots imitate human speech and intonation. The high-pitched and thin voice you mentioned may be the voice of a child. The other relatively low-pitched voice may be the voice of an adult at home."

Han Ying nodded and continued to watch Feng Xiaoyu record: "The child's words mainly fall into two categories. One is what he just said, 'Don't get involved' and 'Big white goose'. The parrot's voice was trembling when it said this. It felt like the child was afraid."

"Another type is the description of the mother, such as 'red mother', 'stinky mother', 'many, many mothers'. After hearing this, Xiaoman was so scared that she huddled at the foot of the bed and trembled. She said that the child's father must have killed his mother.

Feng Xiaoyu once again felt the chill in the room. She rubbed her hands and her voice trembled unconsciously: "That Hong Mama, did they say that his mother was covered in blood?"

Sun Xianbing also reacted quickly: "Then stinky mother, does it mean that his mother's body has been left for a long time and it stinks?"

Gong Weiguo suddenly yelled "Ah!", startling everyone.

Sun Xianbing punched him and said angrily, "Why are you screaming?"

After all, Gong Weiguo has been a criminal policeman for six or seven years and has handled many cases, big and small. I didn't expect him to be so jumpy here. It's really embarrassing.

Gong Weiguo shouted, "I just suddenly remembered that I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed that a man was in the kitchen with a knife, chopping his wife's body into pieces."

Yu Jing had been through battles and was considered a brave man in the team, but he couldn't help but frown when he heard Gong Weiguo's words: "Could it be that 'many, many mothers' means that the child's father cut up his mother's body and put it in bags, so the ignorant child would say there are many, many mothers?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole office fell silent.

If this is true, it is a vicious murder case. The child was too young to call the police, so wouldn’t his mother have died in obscure and silent circumstances?

Thinking of this, everyone in the Serious Crime Unit 7 could no longer sit still.

Perhaps everyone's analysis may not be accurate. As Han Ying just said, maybe this mother likes to wear red clothes, maybe the stinky mother is the child expressing dissatisfaction, and maybe many, many mothers are mothers with many good friends.

But...what if it is really like this?

Can everyone just sit back and watch?

Gong Weiguo found the map of Xing City, opened it and spread it on the table, then looked at Han Ying: "Which pet store did you buy the parrot from?"

Han Ying pointed to a street in Xingnan District and said, "Here. This is the largest flower and bird market in Xinshi, with a large number of pet shops. The shop where I bought the parrot mainly sells birds and fish. Although the shop is not big, it does good business. I also live in Xingnan District, so I go there to have a look when I have nothing to do."

At this point, Han Ying explained a little embarrassedly: "I heard that parrots have a very long lifespan and can see their owners off. If you keep a cat or a dog, they only live for a dozen years and will definitely feel sad when facing death, so I decided to keep a parrot with a long lifespan. It happened that this parrot has beautiful feathers and can talk. And because it was resold, the store owner didn't ask for a high price, so I only spent 200 yuan to buy it."

Gong Weiguo drew a circle near the pet store and searched on the map, saying, "The man who sold the parrot should live nearby. After all, it's not convenient for him to take the bus with a parrot."

Sun Xianbing shook his head: "Not necessarily. If he has a car, he doesn't necessarily live near the pet store."

Feng Xiaoyu said, "Didn't the shop owner say that the parrot seller reeked of alcohol? He shouldn't be driving after drinking, right?"

Yu Jing had a different opinion: "If he is really a man who abuses his own children and dismembers his wife, do you think he will obey traffic rules and not drink and drive?"

Gong Weiguo thought about it and felt a little headache: "In this case, the radius of the search range will be too large."

Xing City is the provincial capital, twice the size of Hui City, and has a very developed road network. It is extremely difficult to find the owner of the parrot in such a big city.

Sun Xianbing thought of a detail: "Didn't reporter Han just say that the parrot would imitate the sound of a train crossing the tracks? The environment where the parrot is located should be near the railway tracks, so this will narrow the scope of our search."

Everyone got closer to the Star City map and began to study the railway lines of Star City.

Only then did I realize that Xing City not only had a dense road network, but also a crisscrossing railway network. Passenger routes passed through half of the city, and there was also a dedicated freight route in the north of the city.

How can I find this?

Gong Weiguo looked at Han Ying and said, "Reporter Han, think about it again. Have you heard anything else the parrot said? Are there any clues that you missed?"

Han Ying thought for a long time and finally remembered something: "Well, the parrot sometimes calls out 'Time to eat', 'Time to eat', and after that it will imitate the sound of a wall clock, ding-ding-ding. And the number of ding-ding sounds it makes is fixed, ten times at a time and eight times at a time. I wonder if this means that the parrot's owner eats two meals a day, one at ten o'clock and one at eight o'clock? But, this time point is really weird."

It is indeed a bit strange. Not to mention that people only eat two meals a day, few people eat at 10 am and 8 pm.

Yu Jing said: "It may be 8 o'clock in the morning or 10 o'clock in the evening. Night shift drivers usually have this schedule: get up around 10 o'clock in the evening to eat, then go to take over the night shift, hand over the shift around 8 o'clock in the morning, and go home to eat."

Han Ying suddenly realized: "Oh, yes, does that mean that the owner of the parrot is a taxi driver working the night shift?"

Xia Mushi shook his head: "There are too few clues at the moment, so I can only say that this is a possibility."

Han Ying was a little anxious: "What should we do now? The city is too big, it's not easy to find this person. Even if we find someone to draw a portrait and identify the taxi driver who works the night shift, there are tens of thousands of people to investigate. Where can we find him in such a short time?"

Gong Weiguo and others also remained silent.

This case is really difficult and no ordinary police station would take it.

First of all, everyone’s analysis is very objective, but after all, that’s what the parrot said, and there is no actual evidence, child abuse and wife murder? Where are the witnesses and physical evidence?

Secondly, the clues that the parrot could provide were very limited, and the police had to mobilize a large number of police forces to search the entire city. Even if we could create an accurate portrait based on the pet shop owner's description, it would be difficult to find this person in a short period of time.

The four members of the serious crime squad all looked at Xia Mufan, with inquiring eyes, as if asking: Do you want to take the case? What should we do?

Xia Mufan stood up, his back straight, his eyes firm: "No matter how difficult it is, we will take care of it."

Xia Mufan knew that the case could only be solved if he took over the case himself. The clues Han Ying got from the parrot were limited, but Xia Mufan was different.

She can understand the thoughts of animals, so whenever she sees the parrot, she can ask for more information.