Chapter 37 Chapter 37 A call from the District Public Security Bureau...
There were very few cars at that time. In some counties, there were only three or five of them, and they were the office cars of senior leaders. Ordinary cadres usually rode bicycles to and from work. Therefore, when the military vehicle drove in, it was lunchtime. Those who had worked in the fields had returned to the canteen, and there were many people in the commune, so a large group of people surrounded it, but they just wanted to watch the fun and did not dare to touch the vehicle.
The commune secretary, who had been accompanying Director Lin in a speech, saw the military vehicle approach and stepped forward to shake its hand: "Welcome, PLA comrades!"
The commune cafeteria served cornmeal porridge and pickles for breakfast, which Su Yan was not used to. She felt nauseous and only drank a few sips of water.
Director Lin said, "It seems that Deputy Captain Qin and his team have finished their work. We have to go back."
Su Yan nodded. Seeing Director Lin coming forward to greet her, she couldn't help but feel lucky that someone from the machinery factory was here, otherwise she would have to be polite on the surface when talking to Qin Zhanwu. The thought of it gave her goosebumps.
Su Yan was just daydreaming when she saw Director Lin waving at her: "Yingzi, get in the car. We're going back to the factory."
Su Yan agreed and got into the car. Only then did she realize that Director Lin was sitting in the passenger seat and Qin Zhanwu was sitting in the back seat. She curled her lips, not knowing what to say, and closed the car door.
Su Yan looked out the car window, then turned back after a moment to see Qin Zhanwu's left hand wrapped in a handkerchief, soaked in blood. Even the car seat was stained with blood. Su Yan looked horrified and silently handed him her handkerchief without saying a word.
Director Lin felt that the atmosphere was weird, and he felt more and more that Yingzi and Deputy Head Qin must be acquaintances. Not only that, they must have a complicated relationship.
Qin Zhanwu took it, replaced the bloody piece, and didn't say anything else.
Director Lin said a few words at first, but then slowly shut up, and there was an eerie silence along the way.
When they arrived at the factory, Director Lin was about to call Su Yan over to ask about it when the phone rang: "It's Jiangzhou Machinery Factory. OK, got it."
He put down the phone and said, "Yingzi, it's the district police station calling. They said your lost item has been found and they want you to pick it up today."
Su Yan became alert after hearing this. Did she lose something? When she first arrived in a small county called Qingyuan, she did report the loss to the police, but that was a lie she made up to get a letter of introduction to buy a train ticket. It was absolutely impossible for her to find the thing now.
Su Yan returned to her office. Ming Fan had gone home early because of something. She closed the door and thought quietly. It couldn't possibly be Qing Yuan's fault, so could it be the car?
She immediately shook her head. Su Yan had already searched the car thoroughly, throwing everything, useful and useless, into the space. There was absolutely nothing that could reveal her identity. Even if she investigated the car, there was no reason for her to be suspected. She had stayed at the home of the eldest sister in Qingyuan for one night, but that sister bought food on the black market. With the situation so tense now, she said it was unlikely that she would go out and ask for trouble.
After coming here for only one day, he came up with the idea of impersonating Lu Yingzi and coming to Jiangzhou. Could there be any flaws in such a short time?
Su Yan was just thinking when the phone rang. It was Director Lin: "Yingzi, the Public Security Bureau called again and asked us to bring our household registration booklet and, ideally, our high school diploma."
Su Yan put down the phone and felt a little relieved. If her identity was really suspected, the Public Security Bureau would not just call her, but would bring people to her door directly.
Su Yan locked the office door, said something to Director Lin, and went home to get her household registration and high school diploma. She arrived at the district police station, explained the situation to the guard, and was told to wait on the second floor.
There was only one female police officer in charge of household registration inside. She was copying documents and asked Su Yan when she saw her, "What's going on?"
Su Yan said, "Lu Yingzi from Jiangzhou Machinery Factory, the Public Security Bureau just called and said that my stolen items have been found, and asked me to bring my household registration book to pick them up."
The female police officer paused, put down her pen, stood up, poured Su Yan a cup of tea, and smiled: "You sit down first, I'll go find Captain Chen."
Her attitude made Su Yan feel more at ease. If her impersonation of Lu Yingzi was exposed, the police here would not be so polite.
After waiting for a while, a plainclothes policeman came in. He had a square face and thick eyebrows, holding a photo in his hand. "Comrade Lu Yingzi, we have a vicious murder case that requires your assistance."
Then he handed over the photo and asked: "Do you know this person?"
Su Yan took it and found it was a four-inch black and white photo. The photo showed a man in his thirties, with a thin build and shaved hair. His forehead was very large, taking up almost one-third of his face, and his ears were pointed, making him look very deformed.
Su Yan had been here since the 1960s, and she hadn't met many people, but she had never seen anyone with such a strange face. She shook her head: "I don't know him!"
Captain Chen nodded and took the photo, then pulled a notebook from a drawer. "This man's name is Wang Tieshu, also from Jiangzhou. This is his graduation certificate, which we found in his bag. We've sent a letter to investigate, and it's your diploma from Shanghai Normal University. He raped and murdered a woman and a child in Bazi Village and was apprehended by local villagers."
There were indeed some black bloodstains on the graduation certificate, and Su Yan immediately understood that this Wang Tieshu was the man who raped and murdered the original Lu Yingzi. Su Yan had only heard about this incident from her teacher, and had never seen a photo of this person, nor did she recognize him.
Captain Chen, noticing Su Yan's composure, said, "According to Wang Tieshu's confession, he raped and murdered a girl in June of this year and dumped her body in the river. He said he looked through the girl's suitcase and discovered she was a university student, so he kept your diploma as a souvenir."
Su Yan fell silent. Su Yan herself didn't care. This incident didn't happen to her, and even if it happened to her, she wouldn't think it was shameful. Lu Yingzi was the victim, but what she had to consider was how to continue living with the identity of Lu Yingzi.
In the 1960s, a 20-year-old girl was accused of being raped. Even for Su Yan, who came from the 21st century, it was hard to say that she could not care about other people's strange looks.
This Wang Tieshu raped and killed another woman and child in Bazi Village. According to the prevailing trend of severe crackdowns at the time, this person would definitely be executed immediately. Whether he admitted it or not would not have much impact on the outcome.
Su Yan shook her head and denied it: "I haven't seen him. My things were indeed stolen on the train. I also reported the case to the police station in Qingyuan County. You can go and verify it."
Captain Chen glanced at the policewoman and left. The policewoman closed the door and took out a pen and paper to write down her thoughts. "We understand what you're saying. Wang Tieshu is definitely going to be sentenced to death. However, the procedures still need to be followed. We still need to be clear about the necessary questions and details. I hope you understand."
The female police officer asked, "We called your school and learned that you left in early June. Your unit said you returned to Jiangzhou in mid-June. Where were you during that time?"
Where was she during this time? During this time, Su Yan stayed at the primary school where she was teaching, browsing Douban to catch up on new dramas. Su Yan asked calmly, "Does this have anything to do with this case? I said I don't know this Wang Tieshu. Can I go home now?"
The female police officer did not interrupt the conversation. Instead, she sternly warned Su Yan, "Comrade Lu Yingzi, cooperating with the public security authorities in their investigation is the duty of every citizen. Do not passively resist."
Su Yan had no choice but to lie. At this time, she was not afraid of others seeing through such a lie: "I went from Shanghai to Qingyuan, and on the way home I walked and played, which wasted time." They were just afraid that they would think that Su Yan did not want to admit that she was violated, so she lied.
The policewoman asked again, "You received a telegram saying your father had an accident, and you still had the mind to play?"
Su Yan went to the telegraph office to check the telegram's record. It didn't say her father was dead, but only told Lu Yingzi to return home quickly. Su Yan replied, "My mother's telegram didn't say that clearly. I didn't know my father had an accident. I just thought it was graduation and my mother was urging me to come home."
…………
After a round of questioning, Su Yan basically brushed off all the answers. The female police officer's expression was very serious. This so-called routine interrogation lasted for a full four hours. The questions were asked to Su Yan over and over again in a random order.
Su Yan thought carefully before answering each question to avoid any flaws.
After the questioning, when Su Yan came out, it was already dark outside, with only a few street lights in the yard of the Public Security Bureau.
Just as she was about to say goodbye and go home, she saw Qin Zhanwu coming down from the second floor of the office building. Captain Chen was with him, talking and laughing, and they looked very familiar with each other.
Captain Chen saw that he had finished questioning, so he asked the female police officer, "Have you identified the criminal?"
The female police officer shook her head: "Comrade Lu insists that she has never met Wang Tieshu."
Captain Chen said to Su Yan, "I think Comrade Lu should go and meet him, so that the photo won't be unclear. This is also to cooperate with our work."
Su Yan took a deep breath and nodded: "Okay!"
The female police officer took Su Yan to the building behind: "This way!"
Captain Chen glanced at Qin Zhanwu and saw that his eyes followed Su Yan far away until he could no longer see her around the corner of the corridor. He then retracted his gaze and asked in a nonchalant tone, "What case are you investigating here? That girl's things were stolen? It's so late, and you called her over for questioning and identification?"
Captain Chen lit a cigarette and shook his head. "Last month, we apprehended a man who had committed murder. Inside his bag, we found this woman's university diploma. The inmate claimed he molested her. Today, we called her in for a routine questioning, but she's refusing to admit it. That's understandable; no woman would want to admit to such a thing, especially one with a good education and a good job."
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