nightingale
"Captain Chen, are you leaving?" Xu Jie happened to run into him when she came back from outside. Chen An's attempt to light a cigarette was interrupted, and he replied, "Yeah."
Qu Mengting had taken them back two days ago, but when they crossed the waterway, the place was already deserted, with only some scattered dried bloodstains left.
Xie Hongfei had already written the closing report on Liu Hanxiao's case yesterday and just took it to the director for stamping this morning. Before leaving, Chen An also said goodbye to Xie Hongfei, saying that it was time to go back after a month in Changping County.
Xu Jie took out some local specialties from the car and handed them to Chen An. "Captain Chen, please take some of the local specialties my mom sent me."
Chen An hesitated for a moment before accepting it. "Thank you."
Xu Jie smiled and said, "You're welcome. It's been a pleasure working with you during this time."
"Me too." He shook the box in his hand and said, "Let's go."
He placed the local specialties on the passenger seat and drove to leave Changping County. When he passed the city, he suddenly remembered that he had not told Jiang Li. Then he realized belatedly why he had to tell him. Were they very familiar with each other?
Chen An admitted that he didn't. He initially noticed him simply because of his background; it was a rare sight for him to see a reflection of his youth in someone.
He just came to Changping County to investigate a case and stayed for a while. Qu'an City was where he would live permanently.
At the red light, he picked up and put down his phone, and the car disappeared on the winding mountain road.
At 4 p.m., Qu'an City Bureau
"Boss, you're finally back!" "Deputy Captain" Cheng Xiaoxiang rushed forward when he saw him. Chen An turned sideways and he staggered and almost fell to the ground.
Back home, they could joke around freely. Chen An said with a smile, "There's no need for such grand gestures."
Bai Shuo took off his headphones, and Chen An saw a mummy face that looked like it had been up all night. The mummy face said weakly, "Boss, you're finally back."
Seeing them like this, Chen An was quite curious about what they had been through. He sat down at the table and asked, "What happened to you guys? The missions I left behind won't exhaust you like this, right?"
Lu Yuyao explained, "After Sister Ke left, we had no one to protect us, and Captain Han next door called us for help every day."
Chen An was puzzled. "What did he ask you to help with? Has he finished investigating the dismemberment case?"
Lu Yuyao hadn't slept for a few days and nodded sleepily, "They asked us to go because they hadn't finished the investigation."
At this point, Bai Shuo started to complain, "Boss, he exploited us. First, he asked us to help him organize files, and then he asked me to help him check the surveillance footage. There are hundreds of hours of surveillance footage, from more than a dozen cameras. It's almost blinding me!"
Chen An looked at Cheng Xiaoxiang and said with a smile, "How did you become the deputy captain?"
Cheng Xiaoxiang pointed at himself and said, "I..." He thought for a long time but couldn't say anything.
He was not the deputy captain. There was no deputy captain in the serious crime squad. It was just that one morning, Cheng Xiaoxiang was imagining the future and giving his speech as the captain when he happened to be bumped into by Chen An. But Chen An insisted on giving the captaincy to him, which scared him so much that he almost knelt down.
Later, Cheng Xiaoxiang ran to the office to apologize. After a long talk, Chen An waved his hand and appointed him as deputy captain.
Now that the commotion was over, it was time to get down to business. Chen An asked, "Has there been any news about Xu Qiuqiu and Cheng Minli recently?"
Cheng Xiaoxiang reported, holding a notebook, "Xu Qiuqiu's father has been gambling all this time and doesn't care about Xu Qiuqiu's life or death at all. We went to the orphanage where Cheng Minli grew up, and the director had been ill for a long time and passed away some time ago."
Chen An frowned. "Died? When?"
Cheng Xiaoxiang said: "Just two days ago."
"Did you find anything unusual?"
"No, the director of the welfare home is not the one we visited last time, but an old director who retired a long time ago. I heard that she was the one who took care of Cheng Minli and raised her. Her surname is Kui." Cheng Xiaoxiang handed him the introduction. "She is 56 years old this year. She was diagnosed with uremia six months ago. She went to the hospital to see Cheng Minli before she disappeared, but she only saw her once and the content of their conversation was relatively normal. Then Cheng Minli disappeared."
When Cheng Minli disappeared, Chen An went to Jiale Welfare Home immediately. They were greeted by a middle-aged man. They chatted briefly and got very little information. A few days later, the incident with Liu Hanxiao happened.
Dean Kui's experience made Chen An couldn't help but speculate that the relative who had taken care of her growing up was dying, she was not a doctor, and the disease was very expensive, so Cheng Minli was also short of money. This information undoubtedly deepened the possibility that Sister Li was Cheng Minli.
There was a photo of Cheng Minli in the folder. He held it up to the sunlight. Her face, about fifteen or sixteen years old, was very pure. He showed this photo to Qu Mengting, but Qu Mengting said it didn't look like her.
But it seems understandable that she doesn't look like him under heavy makeup.
Chen An's head hurt from thinking so much. He thought about these clues from Changping County to Qu'an City, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure anything out.
"Captain Chen!" Han Ming happened to pass by and knocked on the glass.
As soon as Han Ming appeared, they almost buried their heads in the computer. Chen An took a glance and thought: It's just right, I can find someone to settle the foreign aid fee.
He pushed the door open and went out. Han Ming took his arm and took the initiative to explain, "Hey, since you're not here, I borrowed some from you. Do you mind?"
What a good "borrow", a "borrow" without even saying hello. If it were someone else, Chen An would have gone back to the underworld long ago, but he and Han Ming became team leaders almost at the same time, and they knew each other very well, so he could use his people unscrupulously.
Their personal relationship was theirs, but it was his teammates who suffered, not him, so he still had to protect them. Chen An said, "Then treat them to a meal."
"Okay—" Han Ming drawled out his tone and said with a click of his tongue, "You're really protective of your shortcomings."
As they were talking, they walked to the vending machine. Han Ming asked him, "What would you like to drink?"
Chen An said, "Mineral water."
After closing the door, he handed him the honey grapefruit tea again. Chen An rolled his eyes at him and said, "It's superfluous for me to say that."
Han Ming smiled, and the two of them leaned against the vending machine. Chen An asked him, "How's the investigation going?"
"It's almost done." Han Ming said, "The murderer has been caught, and the case will be closed in the next few days."
This dismemberment case happened after Chen An left. His wife could no longer bear the domestic violence from her husband for many years. After finding that divorce was fruitless, she teamed up with her son to kill and dismember him. They originally planned to let Chen An do it, but he was not at the Municipal Bureau, so they asked Han Ming to investigate.
"I heard there's no movement from your side?"
"Hmm," Chen An said, "I didn't find any connection."
"Well, the longer a missing person's case drags on, the fewer clues there are, and the harder it is to find the person, that's the way it is."
Chen An did not refute.
Han Ming finished his grapefruit tea and threw it into the trash can. As he turned around, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "Are you still following the chemical plant explosion?"
Hearing this, Chen An lowered his eyelids. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on him, but there was an indelible sadness.
Five years ago, during the chemical plant explosion, his teacher Qiao Qingfeng led a team to wipe out a drug manufacturing den in Hemu Village on the border of Jianan Province. On the day of the operation, more than half of the police force in the entire Jianan Province was dispatched, and everyone was on high alert. However, the operation failed. After the assault team entered the village, a serious explosion occurred in the drug-producing chemical plant, and 21 tons of explosives buried underground were activated at the same time. All the front-line team members involved in the operation were killed.
Some said a corrupt cop in the team had tipped off the drug lords, which was why they came up empty-handed. Not only did they lose several talented drug enforcement officers in this operation, but they also reduced Hemu Village, where the evidence was located, to rubble, leaving no trace.
Seeing that he was silent, Han Ming patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go see Captain Qiao this weekend."
Han Ming brushed past and left, while Chen An clenched the plastic bottle tightly.
For five years, this incident was like a fishbone, stuck in his throat forever, causing him pain every time he mentioned it.
He was a recent graduate, twenty-three years old. He had excelled in school and participated in numerous reconnaissance operations early on. After graduation, he was recruited by the provincial police department and worked there for a while. Chen An had no family. During Qiao Qingfeng's three years at the police academy, he had eaten New Year's Eve dinner at Qiao Qingfeng's home. His wife was a skilled cook, and they treated him like their own son.
In his senior year, Qiao Qingfeng returned to his post, saying that he was going to carry out a mission. He worked in the provincial department for a year, and as the year was coming to an end, he still showed no signs of returning. He comforted his teacher's wife and said that he would come back after he finished his busy work. However, in the early spring of the following year, he only received the news of his death in the line of duty.
Afterward, Chen An fell into depression for a while. His captain, sensing something was amiss, demoted him to the Municipal Bureau, hoping to allow him to adjust on his own, as his superiors valued him highly. Shortly after his master's funeral, his master's wife fell ill and became depressed. He found time to visit her in the hospital, but unfortunately, she died before the Lunar New Year. After that, he rapidly improved, solving many difficult and miscellaneous cases. He refused transfers from his superiors, remaining captain of the Serious Crime Squad.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
