Chapter 94: Garbage Dump
◎One lie requires countless lies◎
June 1995, early summer.
Zhao Xiangwan, wearing his newly-appointed uniform, walked briskly into the serious crime unit office. The sword-shaped olive-green shoulder straps were very eye-catching: two horizontal bars and three beautiful four-pointed stars. He was promoted to third-level superintendent right after he joined the job.
"Wow——" Warm applause rang out.
The familiar faces and the heartfelt joy and welcome made Zhao Xiangwan feel warm in his heart.
Xu Songling smiled so hard that his eyes could hardly be seen: "Xiang Wan, you finally came to report. You don't know that every day you didn't report, I would be worried. Qin Yongbing from the Kyoto police, Lao Zhirui from the Liaoning police, and Miao Hui from our provincial department all came to snatch her away. If I wasn't so thick-skinned, I might not have won."
Zhao Xiangwan smiled: "Don't worry, Master. I'm familiar with this place, and I can get in touch with big cases first, which is more suitable for me than sitting in an office doing administration."
Zhu Feipeng has married He Mingyu and is about to become a father. His demeanor has become more mature, but he still smiles brightly: "You are right to think so! The serious crime team needs you, and you can't do without the tacit support of your brothers, right?"
He Mingyu was already pregnant, standing by with her belly bulging, smiling softly, "Xiang Wan, you've finally registered. Have you arranged your dorm and other things?"
Because of her pregnancy, He Mingyu was temporarily transferred from the Serious Case Team 1 to do some easy data sorting work in the Political Department. When she first started working in the office, He Mingyu was not used to it and ran to the Serious Case Team every few days. However, as her belly grew bigger, she had to slowly adapt. Today, in order to welcome Zhao Xiangwan, He Mingyu specially greeted the leader and came here happily.
Zhao Xiangwan walked up to He Mingyu, looked at her bulging belly, stretched out her arms, and hugged her gently. When hugging, she tried not to touch He Mingyu's belly to avoid squeezing it: "I didn't apply for a dormitory. Isn't there a new Jinyuan community opposite the Municipal Bureau? I have a house there. I live alone and it's convenient for work."
In three years, Zhao Xiangwan became a wealthy woman.
With the bonuses for participating in solving major cases, scholarships from school, thesis fees... plus the consulting fees for guiding Ji Jinmao and Mei Qingxi in the operation of their companies, Zhao Xiangwan bought a house early.
Although her boyfriend Ji Zhao is very rich, as a rural child, Zhao Xiangwan prefers the feeling of accumulating wealth bit by bit. To be honest, watching the numbers on the bankbook increase, buying a house with my own hands, and decorating it to my liking, this process is really happy.
In the 1990s, commercial housing cost 700 to 800 yuan per square meter. Zhao Xiangwan bought a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment on the third floor, and spent more than 80,000 yuan on decoration, home appliances, and furniture. The small home is very comfortable, with a bedroom, a study, and a kitchen with stoves and tableware. Finally, he has a house that belongs to him alone in this city, and Zhao Xiangwan feels like he has found a safe haven.
The community is not big, with only five buildings and three units of six-story brick-concrete houses. The green space between the floors is mainly flower beds. The camphor trees planted on the roadside have not grown tall yet, and are just rows of small saplings. Fortunately, it is close to the Municipal Bureau, making it convenient for work.
Hearing that Zhao Xiangwan already had his own house, Zhu Kang, Ai Hui, Huang Yuande and other young men who already had girlfriends and were discussing marriage were all tempted.
"Junior sister, you are so quick. You bought a house so early."
"I'm still applying for unit housing, and I don't know when I can get one."
"How about we grit our teeth and buy a house? Just follow Xiang Wan, it will be the right thing to do!"
Zhao Xiangwan smiled and said, "Buy it. Housing will only become more and more expensive in the future." He got this prediction from Zhao Chenyang, the reborn person.
As soon as this was said, everyone in the serious crime team made up their minds: "Buy it! We will buy it even if we have to borrow money."
Even Gao Guangqiang, who is about to retire, has decided to prepare a wedding house for his son in advance.
After a few words of idle chat, Zhao Xiangwan sat at his dedicated desk and sorted out the items in his drawer. He had only been here as an intern before, but now that he was officially working, he had more personal items.
Since studying at the People's Public Security University, Zhao Xiangwan has hardly bought any clothes. Uniforms are either issued by the university or the unit, and daily casual clothes are all arranged by Ji Zhao. Occasionally, his aunt or cousin will give him some. Clothes and shoes are all kept in his own little nest.
Most of the items on the desk were related to paperwork and filing, including notebooks, pens, study documents, etc. After reporting in this time, Zhao Xiangwan also received a small, black pager with Chinese messages, which was the highest-level communication tool at the time.
Zhao Xiangwan glanced at the pager, then took out a palm-sized phone book and wrote down the pager numbers of his colleagues before putting the two things in his pocket. If he had to go out on a mission, he could use this to contact each other without any distance restrictions, which was great.
The phone rang and Gao Guangqiang picked it up.
When he put down the phone, his expression became very serious: "I have a mission."
Zhao Xiangwan immediately stood up and got to work.
This time, unlike the internship, Zhao Xiangwan will participate in the entire case process from beginning to end.
Sitting in the police car, Gao Guangqiang briefly explained the case.
Wangyang District, located in the northwest of Xing City, belongs to the suburban area. There is a large area of farmland and vegetable fields. There are farmer settlements that grow crops and vegetables, including six urban villages such as Xiangyang Village and Shannan Village, as well as many small factories such as canning factories and motor factories. There is also a large waste dump built ten years ago.
The construction of a large garbage dump has made the once clean and clear air here suddenly become polluted. Compared with the urban area, this place is far behind in terms of transportation, supporting facilities, education and liveliness.
At seven in the morning, three second-grade primary school students from Xiangyang Village went to school with their schoolbags on their backs. Instead of taking the main road, they walked and played along the ridges of the fields. The three children were only seven or eight years old, and they were at the age of playing. Each of them broke off a bamboo stick and waved it as a sword, pretending to be a knight-errant, making "clang clang" sounds from their mouths, and they were having a lot of fun.
The three children completely forgot that they had to go to school. They ran further and further away. Suddenly, they found a well in front of them. They were immediately curious, picked up a stone, aimed at the well from a distance and threw it into the well.
I thought I would hear the sound of a stone falling into the water, but after I threw the stone in, no sound came out. I threw a few more stones in, but still no sound. The three children ran to the well curiously and looked inside.
It's no big deal to take a look at it, because I suddenly found a foot.
"Ah! Mom, Mom--" The children were terrified. They screamed and ran home crying, shouting as they ran: "There's someone, there's a dead person!"
The children rushed home to tell their parents, who then called the police.
After hearing this, several members of the serious crime squad in the car began to ask each other questions and sort out the details to be investigated.
"The body was dumped into the well. The first crime scene should be nearby."
"Yes, I wonder if we can find any traces near the well. I'm afraid the local villagers will come and trample on it, destroying the environment on site."
"Is the deceased a man or a woman? What is the condition of the body?"
"The local police station has intervened. The man is naked, about 30 years old, and his face is severely damaged. He cannot be identified."
"Is that so? Then it must be a local who committed the crime."
"Yes, the deceased should be a local. The murderer was afraid that he would be recognized, so he made up his face and stripped his clothes."
"This way, the scope of investigation will be much smaller, which is a good thing."
Zhao Xiangwan sat aside and listened attentively to the conversation between several experienced criminal police officers. In the past, most of the cases she had been involved in had already found the suspect and entered the interrogation stage. Now, starting from the discovery of the body and entering the first scene, even the identity of the deceased was unknown, let alone the suspect. This was a challenge for her.
Facts have proved that the concerns of the serious crime squad are justified.
A large group of villagers gathered at the scene. The footprints around were in disarray and all traces had been almost completely destroyed.
Zhao Xiangwan walked to the well and found that the bottom of the well was filled with sand. Residents at the scene told her that when they arrived at the scene, they found that the sand had buried the body deeply. It may be because it rained two days ago that the soil sank, and half of the foot was exposed and discovered by curious children.
Zhu Feipeng took photos of the scene and asked, "Is there no cover on the wellhead?"
The police officer at the scene shook his head and said, "No, the locals said that the well had been abandoned for many years. This place is remote and the garbage dump next to it is dirty and smelly. Normally, no one comes here. If the three children had not gone off the main road, they would not have found the abandoned well for a while. The head of the corpse was buried under a pile of mud and sand. It took a lot of effort to get it out."
Gao Guangqiang put on gloves and a mask and approached the body covered with white cloth.
Zhao Xiangwan followed suit and followed closely.
After removing the white cloth, the body was completely stripped, and the face was bruised by something, so one could only vaguely make out the eyes, nose, and mouth. The body was already rotting, emitting a stench that made one's scalp numb.
Zhao Xiangwan held his breath and didn't move closer.
Gao Guangqiang took a look at the body and motioned for the medical examiner to come forward. He then stood up and walked to Zhao Xiangwan's side, taking her a little further away. He lowered his voice and said, "You just started working and you are not used to it yet. Don't get too close, or you will get the body stench and you won't be able to wash it off. Just let the medical examiner examine the body. I estimate that he has been dead for four or five days. We will wait for the autopsy report for the specific characteristics."
【Xiang Wan is good at interrogation and has a good grasp of the criminal's psychology, but after all, she just started working, so she still needs to be protected and not be frightened by the miserable state of the corpse. Thinking back to the first time I saw a corpse and smelled the stench of a corpse at work, I almost vomited my bile.】
Zhao Xiangwan was deeply moved by the love and care from her predecessors.
The people in the serious crime squad deal with homicides all day long, and viewing corpses has become a daily routine. Which one of them didn't start out as a rookie who vomited after seeing a corpse?
On his first day at work, he arrived at the first scene and saw corpses that had been dead for four or five days. Zhao Xiangwan finally realized that the stench of corpses is the most horrible smell in the world. Once it gets on your body, your nose will always seem to be lingering with an indescribable, nauseating odor that will not go away for a long time.
Zhao Xiangwan did not try to be brave. He walked around the body and checked the surrounding terrain.
An abandoned old well is located in a wilderness. It is said that this place was once a gathering place for the Wu family. The family members asked someone to dig a well for irrigation. Later, as the city expanded, the Wu family members gradually moved out and the well was abandoned. The bluestone slabs that were laid next to the well are still there, and you can still vaguely see the stone carvings on the well fence.
The old houses nearby have been demolished, leaving only some remnants of rammed earth foundations.
There is a waste dump about 100 meters southwest of the old well. Local police said that when the waste dump was built, it encountered collective resistance from residents, but they had no choice but to accept it because the government had already chosen the site.
After it was built, the garbage piled up more and more, and if there was a southwest wind, the whole area would be filled with a foul smell. Although the government has now built many landfills and this garbage dump has basically been abandoned, the smell that has accumulated over the years is still unpleasant.
It is because of the existence of this landfill that people with the surname Wu have been moving away one after another, until all of them have left, leaving only an old well, silently telling of the popularity and bustle of the past.
Zhu Feipeng was used to seeing corpses. He was squatting next to the forensic doctor, examining him and talking in a low voice.
"The face was destroyed, but the fingers were intact and fingerprints could be extracted."
"He died about four or five days ago. The fatal injury was probably from a heavy blow to the back of the head."
"There were abrasions on the heels and elbows, and scrapes all over the body. It must have been dragged for some distance."
After hearing the last sentence, Zhu Feipeng stood up and looked around like Zhao Xiangwan. After checking, his eyes dimmed and he walked quickly to Gao Guangqiang: "Old Gao, the body has dragging injuries. This is not the first crime scene."
Gao Guangqiang nodded and called Zhao Xiangwan and Ai Hui: "Follow Zhu Feipeng and check the garbage dump. Remember to wear masks."
Although you can't smell the stench of corpses more than a hundred meters away, the stench from the large amounts of domestic garbage piled together is still strong enough to be suffocating.
Zhao Xiangwan put on a mask and walked towards the garbage dump with Zhu Feipeng and Zhu Kang.
It is said that due to constant visits and boycotts by local residents, the government has closed the garbage dump this year. Some sand, soil and bricks prepared for building walls are piled on the roadside.
The closer we got, the stronger the smell became, making us sick.
Walking along a cement road, I saw a rusty iron gate. There was a chain hanging on the iron gate, and there was no sound from inside.
Zhu Feipeng walked closer and pulled the iron chain while wearing gloves.
"Squeak...bang...snap!" The iron chain slipped from the buckle and fell to the ground with a loud noise.
Zhu Kang squatted down and checked the iron lock: "Was it opened by someone?"
Apparently so.
Zhu Kang put the iron lock into the evidence bag and said, "Let's see if we can get fingerprints from it."
The three of them endured the stench and continued forward.
If this abandoned garbage dump was opened by someone, it is very likely that the first crime scene was here.
Upon entering the management room of the garbage dump, the sharp-eyed Zhu Feipeng immediately discovered traces of a fight and bloodstains.
Click, click, click…
Zhu Feipeng and Zhu Kang cooperated with each other, one made the marking and the other took the photo. Zhao Xiangwan watched from the side and observed the surroundings.
There were several garbage carts in the corner, looking very dirty, so dirty that you couldn't even see their original color. Zhao Xiangwan walked closer and found that one of the carts had some traces of being wiped on the side, and there was a light blue strip of cloth on the corner, which looked like fibers from torn cloth.
Zhao Xiangwan turned around and shouted, "Brother, there's something here."
Zhu Feipeng and Zhu Kang came over and repeated the same actions, carefully removing the cloth strip and putting it into the evidence bag.
After extracting the bloodstains, the three people checked the scene again and found an old brick stained with blood. They extracted two sets of footprints, one set of footprints was from leather shoes, size 40, and the other set of footprints was from sports shoes, also size 40.
Two hours have passed since we carefully completed the investigation of the first crime scene.
Zhao Xiangwan and others joined the main force and notified the local police to seal off the abandoned garbage dump.
After setting out early in the morning, it was already past one in the afternoon when Zhao Xiangwan returned to the serious crime team office. He took some time to go home, take a shower, and change into clean clothes, but he still smelled.
After smelling the stench of corpses and staying in the garbage dump for two hours, his nostrils were filled with all kinds of unpleasant odors. Zhao Xiangwan couldn't eat lunch at all.
As a graduate of the People's Public Security University and having participated in many case investigations, Zhao Xiangwan knows that being a criminal policeman is not easy.
Today is her first day on the job, and the test came so quickly that she was a little caught off guard.
The picture was bloody, but she was not afraid;
The case was bizarre, but she was not afraid;
She is not afraid even though the murderer is cruel and cunning.
But... the corpses that had been dead for 4-5 days piled up in the garbage dump were really a torture for Zhao Xiangwan, who had a good sense of smell.
Zhao Xiangwan took out a bottle of peppermint oil and applied a layer on the philtrum of his nose. The cool scent finally made him feel refreshed, and he returned to the office in high spirits.
As soon as I entered the office, Gao Guangqiang handed me a bottle of Fengyoujing: "Use this to rub your hands. If you feel there is a smell, rub it there."
Zhu Feipeng stuffed a lemon into her hand and said, "Here, put this in the drawer, cut it open, squeeze out the juice and apply it on your hands. It will refresh your mind and remove the odor."
Zhu Kang pointed at the two small bottles of medical alcohol spray on her desk and said, "I'll take them for you. They're also useful for removing odors."
Zhao Xiangwan took the Fengyoujing in his left hand and the lemon in his right hand, looking at the medical alcohol, with a slight smile on his face. When I was in school, I heard my classmates discuss that the stench of a corpse is the most disgusting smell in the world, and Fengyoujing, lemon juice, and alcohol have a certain effect in removing odors. I didn't expect that today my colleagues in the serious crime team would bring all their bones to me.
After sitting down, everyone began to discuss the case.
The photos had not yet been developed, so Zhu Feipeng dragged out a small blackboard, drew a simple topographic map, and recounted the case, gesturing as he spoke.
"From the footprints at the first crime scene, it seems that two people entered the garbage dump management office together. After a fight, one of them was hit by a brick and fell to the ground and died. The other continued to pick up the brick and smashed his face. He then took the garbage cart and pushed it to the abandoned well. He stripped his clothes and threw the body into the well. Then he took sand from the roadside and poured it on the body until the body could no longer be seen. Then he returned the cart to its original place and took the clothes away. When leaving the garbage dump, he did not forget to close the iron gate and hang the iron chain back to its original place."
Zhu Kangti asked: "Can we infer the height and weight of two people from their footprints?"
Zhu Feipeng said: "Based on the shoe size, stride length and other data, we can roughly infer that the one wearing leather shoes is 165-175cm tall, weighs 65-75kg, and is fat, which is consistent with the characteristics of the deceased; the one wearing sneakers is 165-175cm tall, weighs 50-65kg, and is thin."
Ai Hui asked, "So thin? If she weighs only 50 kilograms, is it possible that the one wearing sneakers is a woman?"
Zhu Feipeng shook his head: "I don't rule out this possibility, but few women wear size 40 shoes, and it is difficult to kill a man who is heavier than you in a fight."
Huang Yuande said: "Two men fighting, it could be revenge, economic disputes, or murder of passion. If two men walked into a garbage dump together, they were probably acquaintances, and very close and trusted people. Otherwise, who would be willing to enter such a stinking, broken place?"
After hearing this, the focus of solving the case became one point: Who was the deceased?
Gao Guangqiang concluded: "From the previous analysis, we can roughly infer the following points."
“First, the existence of the abandoned old well and the garbage dump was known only to local people, which means the murderer was a permanent resident of Wangyang District, or someone who had lived nearby for a long time and later moved away;
Second, the deceased was stripped of all his clothes, not even his underwear, which shows that the murderer was very afraid that the identity of the deceased would be discovered. This only makes it more obvious, indicating that the deceased had a close relationship with the murderer, and that the deceased was a local and could be easily identified by his clothes;
Third, the time of death was 4-5 days, and the local police station reported that there was no missing person report that matched the conditions. "
At this point, Gao Guangqiang tapped on the blackboard and said, "The most urgent task is to find out the identity of the deceased."
Zhu Feipeng added: "For cases like this, as long as we find out the identity of the deceased, the investigation progress is almost 80% complete."
Over the next three days, a dragnet investigation was launched, and all members of the serious crime team participated in the nearby visits.
Wangyang District is vast and sparsely populated. Because of the odor emitted from the garbage dump all year round, only the motor factory, machine repair factory, and scrap yard are still in operation. The rest, such as many small factories that mainly process food, such as canning factories, pickled cabbage factories, and soy sauce factories, have closed down. With the closure of these old factories from the 1960s and 1970s, some dilapidated residential buildings were left behind. The residents here are all the old, weak, sick and disabled. The young people with some connections have left Wangyang District, where the air quality is extremely poor and the stench is heard every day when you open the doors and windows.
On the morning of the third day, Zhao Xiangwan, Zhu Feipeng and Gao Guangqiang arrived at the soy sauce factory.
The shabby gate, the dilapidated factory building, the broken big soy sauce jar, and the overgrown weeds exuded a desolate atmosphere everywhere.
Gao Guangqiang sighed: "Alas! This place is abandoned, what a pity."
Zhu Feipeng also looked at it with sadness: "Who would want to stay in this damn place? If there was no other choice, I guess they would have moved out long ago, right?"
Although Zhao Xiangwan grew up in the countryside, the scenery there is beautiful and the mountains and rivers are green, which is much better than this so-called city far away from the central urban area.
There are three old dormitory buildings in the soy sauce factory, all of which are only four stories high, with brick and wood structures, sloping roofs, and weathered brick walls. The corridors are filled with coal briquettes, firewood, old shoes and other miscellaneous items.
I knocked on the doors of every house, and most of the people who answered were elderly people with haggard faces. When I asked them if any residents had gone missing recently, they all shook their heads and said no. Their children had long since left the original place due to studying, working, or transfers. I occasionally contacted them, but they were unwilling to come back. If it weren't for being old and having no money, who would be willing to live in this desolate, smelly place?
When the photo of the corpse was shown to them, the elderly people were so frightened that they kept chanting Amitabha and did not dare to look at it any longer. They all said they did not recognize it.
I knocked on the second floor of the east unit of the last building. The person who opened the door was a woman in her thirties or forties, tall and thin. She had protruding eyes, a large neck, a flushed face, and looked to be in poor health.
Her voice was slightly sharp: "What is it?"
Zhao Xiangwan showed his police officer ID, briefly explained his purpose, and asked if anyone knew if anyone had not returned home for nearly a week or was missing.
The woman replied unhappily, "No."
A little girl about five or six years old ran out of the room. She was also very thin, but had bright eyes. She was wearing a beautiful floral dress and had her hair braided in two small braids with bows at the ends. It was obvious that she was very well taken care of by her mother.
The little girl held her mother's hand, squinting her big eyes, looking at Zhao Xiangwan in uniform, her eyes full of admiration: "Police sister, you look so good in the police uniform."
Zhao Xiangwan smiled and said nothing.
The little girl continued, "Officer, can you let my dad go home? He hasn't been home for a long time."
When the little girl said this, Zhao Xiangwan became a little alert: "How long has your father been away from home?"
The little girl counted on her fingers for a long time, tilted her head and said innocently: "It's been a week."
Gao Guangqiang looked at the tall and thin woman and smiled gently: "Your husband has been away from home for a week? Where has he gone?"
The woman lowered her head and reached out her hand to gently stroke her daughter's head: "My husband went out to do business. It's not easy for him either, he has to make money."
[So quickly... discovered? ]
The intermittent voices of his heart reached Zhao Xiangwan's ears, causing him to raise his eyes and carefully look at the woman in front of him.
Found so quickly? What was found? A body?
Zhao Xiangwan narrowed her eyes slightly: "What kind of business does your husband do? Where is he on business trip?"
The woman didn't dare to meet Zhao Xiangwan's eyes. She pushed her daughter's shoulders and went into the house, saying perfunctorily, "I do some building materials business and I'm out all year round. The soy sauce factory closed down, and no one can survive. We can only use our own skills to survive."
After hearing this, Zhu Feipeng felt even more sympathetic.
The soy sauce factory at the garbage dump has been closed for seven or eight years, but the couple is still living here, which shows that their lives are really hard.
It's normal for a man to be away from home when he's out doing business. Thinking of this, Zhu Feipeng wanted to turn around and leave, but Zhao Xiangwan didn't move.
Zhao Xiangwan asked, "What is your husband's name? Do you have a photo? We found a body. Here are the photos. I would like you to identify it."
The woman didn't want to pay any attention to her and hurried into the room: "No, no, my husband is alive and well, don't curse him!" After saying that, she closed the door.
With a "bang", the wooden door closed in front of Zhao Xiangwan.
Zhu Feipeng smiled: "Look at you, how could you ask that? You must have made her angry, right?"
The police must also follow procedures when handling cases and must not arbitrarily disturb the public. If the other party resists, they certainly cannot break into the house.
Facing the closed door, Zhao Xiangwan pursed his lips and said, "Lao Gao, think of a solution."
Gao Guangqiang asked: "What can we do?"
Zhao Xiangwan said: "This woman is lying."
Lie?
After finally getting a clue, Gao Guangqiang and Zhu Feipeng immediately asked, "Where did you lie?"
Zhao Xiangwan said: "Her eyes wandered and she didn't dare to look me in the eye. When she mentioned her husband, her pupils shrank, which clearly showed disgust rather than joy. I suspected that the deceased was her husband."
Gao Guangqiang asked again: "Are you sure?"
Zhao Xiangwan nodded: "Yes."
After thinking for a while, Zhao Xiangwan showed his small notebook and said, "We have investigated 86 households in the past three days, and generally no one has been missing for a long time. But the mother and daughter at the soy sauce factory, the daughter said that her father has not been home for a week, which matches the time of disappearance. The mother said that he went out to do business, which is obviously a lie. I heard that the police found the body, but they didn't ask any questions, and they obviously didn't care. In short... I am highly suspicious."
Gao Guangqiang thought what she said made sense and nodded: "Let's go! Let's go back first and let the police station come and talk to her."
The police officers at the police station were familiar with the local situation. After checking the household registration information, they learned that the tall and thin woman who opened the door was named Gui Youlian. Her husband Liao Chaoyong was said to have made some money from his business in recent years, but he did not bring much money back.
Liao Chaoyong and Gui Youlian are both locals, but both of their parents have passed away, and their brothers and sisters have left the area one after another, and they have been unable to contact them.
The police took the photo of the deceased and interviewed the former employees of the soy sauce factory. To be honest, it is really difficult to recognize a body with a completely destroyed face unless it is a close relative or someone who is particularly familiar with it.
Gui Youlian refused to look at the photos and kept emphasizing: "My husband is doing business outside. We are in contact. He is fine. Don't talk nonsense."
Considering the seriousness of the case, the serious crime team completed the formalities the next day and went to the house to collect fingerprints.
Knocking on the door again, Gui Youlian's expression became even more resistant: "What on earth do you want to do? I told you, my husband is alive and well, he just went out for business, what on earth do you want to do by doing this again and again!"
The little girl's nickname was Zhuzhu. This time she was not as friendly as last time. She hid behind her mother and secretly looked at Zhao Xiangwan with a nervous and scared expression.
[What are the police going to do? Is something wrong with Dad? Mom has been crying in the house these days, I'm so scared! Mom is in poor health, there is no money at home, and Mom doesn't even have money to buy medicine. If Dad doesn't come back, will Mom die? I'm so scared! ]
The little girl's inner thoughts, those two sentences "I'm so scared" made Zhao Xiangwan feel a little sad.
But what can I do if I feel sad?
What Zhao Xiangwan wants to pursue is the truth of the case.
Gao Guangqiang comforted Gui Youlian: "Don't worry, we are just collecting fingerprints. In addition, we also need a blood sample from your daughter."
Gui Youlian nervously protected her daughter, holding Zhuzhu tightly in her arms, her nostrils slightly flared, and she was in an extremely excited state: "No, no, you are not allowed to draw blood from Zhuzhu."
Gao Guangqiang's attitude was always gentle: "Okay, then instead of taking blood samples, it would be ok to take a few strands of hair, right?"
Gui Youlian's eyes were red. She panted and shouted, "What are you going to do? What on earth are you going to do?"
She suddenly realized something: "I told you, my husband is still alive! He called me yesterday."
Zhao Xiangwan asked: "How did you call?"
Gui Youlian said: "It was a phone call."
Zhao Xiangwan asked, "Did he call?"
Gui Youlian nodded desperately: "Yes, he called me."
Zhao Xiangwan: "You don't have a telephone at home. Where did you answer the call?"
Gui Youlian was speechless: "Small, small store." There was only one small store nearby with a telephone. If she wanted to answer the phone, she could only go there.
But if she answered like that, would the police still ask when she called? Then, they could ask her boss and check the phone records, and then the lie would be quickly exposed.
Gui Youlian then realized that one lie required countless lies to cover it up. Her eyes rolled around and she hugged her daughter tightly.
Because of the great force, Zhuzhu couldn't breathe and began to cry: "Mom, it hurts."
Gui Youlian hurriedly let go of her hand, patted her daughter on the back, and comforted her clumsily: "I'm sorry, Mommy was a little too strong, Zhuzhu, don't cry."
Zhao Xiangwan waited patiently by the side.
When Zhuzhu stopped crying, Zhao Xiangwan continued to ask, "Liao Chaoyong hasn't been home for a week, right? As far as I know, you haven't been out this week, and your child hasn't been to kindergarten."
Gui Youlian could no longer deceive herself and began to cry loudly: "He doesn't want me anymore, he has a strange woman outside, he doesn't want me and the child anymore..."
Her crying was so piercing that the police officers present felt a little dizzy.
Zhao Xiangwan bent down and said softly, "Don't be afraid, Zhuzhu is still here. As long as you and the child are here, this family will not break up."
Zhao Xiangwan's words carried an inexplicable sense of power, which gradually stopped Gui Youlian from crying. She raised her head and looked at Zhao Xiangwan, her eyes blurred with tears, and asked, "Is he dead?"
Zhao Xiangwan said: "It is not confirmed at the moment, but I hope you can cooperate with our investigation."
After venting her emotions, Gui Youlian calmed down a lot. She watched the police collecting fingerprints in the house and taking a few strands of Zhuzhu's hair. She sat stiffly on the shabby sofa in the living room, staring blankly at the gray sky outside the window.
【This life is like this.】
【The garbage dump is built here, and everything is over. 】
【Why can't I leave here forever? 】
When Zhao Xiangwan heard these words, he felt heavy-hearted as he thought about the construction of this garbage dump ten years ago, which polluted the surrounding environment, caused the closure of many factories, and made life difficult for residents.
Local vegetable farmers said that the vegetables they grew in recent years all tasted bitter and could not be sold. Zhao Xiangwan speculated that the garbage and dirt from the landfill may have seeped into the ground after the rain and gradually spread, causing the soil in the entire area to be polluted.
During interviews with local hospitals, doctors and nurses reported that there has been an increase in skin diseases, respiratory diseases, and endocrine diseases in this area.
The early death of Gui Youlian and Liao Chaoyong's parents may also be related to environmental pollution.
Zhao Xiangwan observed Gui Youlian's abnormally excited state, thin body, bulging eyes, and thick neck. Even though she was not a medical student, she could tell that Gui Youlian was in poor health and most likely had hyperthyroidism.
Hyperthyroidism, commonly known as big neck disease, is scientifically called hyperthyroidism. It has immune, genetic and environmental factors. Could excessive heavy metals released from garbage and sewage also cause her symptoms?
Zhu Feipeng approached the balcony, and Gui Youlian suddenly became uneasy, her neck began to sway, her breathing became heavy, and her heartbeat quickened. Zhao Xiangwan stood very close to her, and seeing her blue lips, he was a little worried that she couldn't bear it.
[Balcony, what is he doing on the balcony? ]
[We can't let them find out…]
[I washed the clothes. I washed them. I'm not afraid.]
Clothes, do you mean the clothes Liao Chaoyong was wearing when he was killed? I washed the clothes, which means Gui Youlian tried to clean the stains on the clothes. Did she kill Liao Chaoyong?
Logically, Zhao Xiangwan should have gone to the balcony immediately to look for evidence.
However, Zhao Xiangwan did not move and listened patiently.
[You can't blame me. You really can't blame me.]
[If you didn't want to kill me, I wouldn't resist! ]
[If the police arrest me, what will Zhuzhu do? ]
——There is another hidden story behind this murder case.
After figuring out the key to the matter, Zhao Xiangwan glanced at Gui Youlian and slowly walked towards the balcony. Her movements were slow, but they put great pressure on Gui Youlian.
Gui Youlian followed Zhao Xiangwan's movements closely, and she was so panicked that she almost screamed.
【Don't go, don't go! 】
[Balcony closet...don't open it.]
[Left drawer, ah! ]
Under Gui Youlian's guidance, Zhao Xiangwan accurately found a blue shirt with patches on the cuffs, a pair of black trousers, and a pair of black leather shoes on the ground in the closet in the northwest corner of the balcony.
There were traces of mending on the cuffs of the shirt, and dark stains on the shoulders and chest, which were obviously blood stains.
Zhao Xiangwan turned her head and looked at Gui Youlian, her voice carrying a hint of sadness: "Gui Youlian, this is your husband's clothes, right? You brought it back? The blood stains are hard to wash, right?"
Gui Youlian's hands were shaking, her lips were black, and she was in extreme fear. She stood up from the sofa suddenly, pointed at the shirt in Zhao Xiangwan's hand with one hand, her eyes were dull and red. She was already a little out of shape, and now she was shaking like a ghost in a movie, which was scary.
"It's hard to wash. It's really hard to wash. I soaked it in hot water and used half a bag of detergent. I rubbed it hard, but it just wouldn't get clean. I washed it three times, dried it in the sun, and then washed it again. I also soaked it in salt water, but no matter how hard I tried, the shirt just wouldn't get clean."
"There's no way. There's too much blood. I can't wash it all off."
"I don't want to either. I really don't want to. I just don't want to die. I still want to raise Zhuzhu, let her get out of this shabby place and live a good life..."
After hearing her incoherent words and seeing the blue shirt in Zhao Xiangwan's hand, everyone in the serious crime team understood what was going on.
Zhu Kang put on gloves, picked up a pair of washed-out sneakers from the shoe rack at the door, and asked Gui Youlian, "Are these your shoes? What size are they?"
The little girl Zhuzhu answered on behalf of her mother: "These are Daddy's shoes. Mommy's shoes are broken, so I can only wear Daddy's."
No wonder the other set of footprints collected at the scene had a shoe size of 40, but the stride was smaller, deep in the middle and shallow on both sides. Zhu Kang nodded and silently put the sports shoes into the evidence bag.
Zhu Feipeng walked up to Gui Youlian and asked, "A week ago, did you go to that abandoned garbage dump?"
Gui Youlian shook her head desperately and didn't say a word.
Zhu Feipeng asked again: "Does your husband have any contact information? Does he have a pager? How do you usually contact each other?"
Tears rolled down Gui Youlian's cheeks, her eyes filled with misery.
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