Chapter 56: Lure the Snake Out of Its Hole
The plan to lure the snake out of its hole had been made when Yu Hao met Liu Bing on New Year's Eve. Liu Bing's hand paused: "Lure him out? How?" "You spread the news that you know who the murderer is, and then you take advantage of a chance opportunity to hint to him, saying that you saw him smashing the wall." Yu Hao lowered his voice, observing Liu Bing's expression, "Don't be afraid, we will send people to protect you." Liu Bing frowned: "What if he is desperate..." "We have to force him to do something." Yu Hao's voice was very deep, "He thinks you know the secret and will definitely attack you. Then we will be able to catch you in the act." He patted Liu Bing's shoulder, "Don't worry, your safety is absolutely guaranteed. This is also the way to solve the case as soon as possible." Liu Bing was silent for a long time, and finally nodded heavily: "Okay! Captain Yu, if you trust me, I will go all out! But we have to make a deal, you have to guarantee my safety." "Don't worry." Yu Hao handed him a small alarm, "Put this thing in your pocket, and press it if anything happens." * The heating in the criminal police team office was turned on very high. Yu Hao was lost in thought, staring at a map of Nan'an Village. His fingertips repeatedly traced the location of rental room 202, which had been circled three times in red. "There's only a wall between Sun Yong's room 201 and Wang Shun's room 202," Yu Hao suddenly said, startling Lu Chao, who was sorting through case files nearby. Lu Chao came over: "Captain Yu, what have you thought of now?" "What if this wall is connected?" Yu Hao's eyes lit up surprisingly, "Both families have an old wardrobe, and it's located right opposite that wall. Maybe it's to block the passage on the wall." He drew a straight line on the map with a red pen, connecting 201 and 202, "In this way, Sun Yong can enter and exit 202 without anyone noticing. Wang Shun didn't struggle when he died, maybe because he saw someone coming out of the wall." Lu Chao's eyes widened, "That makes sense! Guo Zhong must have known this secret, which is why Sun Yong killed him! He kept those two old wardrobes, perhaps to cover up the hole!" "It's a pity that the original tenant can't be found." Yu Hao sighed, "The people in the technical department checked, and the original tenant of 201 seems to have gone abroad, and the tenant of 202 also lost contact with his family, as if he had disappeared." "Maybe he was also..." Lu Chao made a gesture of wiping his neck, and was glared at by Yu Hao, and quickly changed his words, "I mean, he may have moved away." At this time, Zhang Min walked in with a report, "Captain Yu, some of Guo Zhong's call records have been recovered. Three days before his death...
The plan to lure the snake out of its hole was already made when Yu Hao met Liu Bing on New Year's Eve.
Liu Bing paused. "Lure him out? How?"
"You can spread the news that you know who the murderer is, and then take advantage of a chance opportunity to point him out, saying that you saw him smashing the wall." Yu Hao lowered his voice, observing Liu Bing's expression. "Don't be afraid, we will send people to protect you."
Liu Bing frowned: "What if he gets desperate and does something desperate..."
"We're going to force him to do something." Yu Hao's voice was deep. "He'll think you know the secret, so he'll definitely attack you. Then we'll catch him in the act." He patted Liu Bing's shoulder. "Don't worry, your safety is absolutely guaranteed. This is also the way to solve the case as quickly as possible."
Liu Bing was silent for a long moment, then nodded earnestly. "Alright! Captain Yu, if you trust me, I'll risk it all! But as promised, you have to ensure my safety."
"Don't worry." Yu Hao handed him a small alarm. "Put this thing in your pocket. Press it if anything happens."
*
In the Criminal Investigation Team office, the heating was cranked high. Yu Hao was lost in thought, staring at a map of Nan'an Village. His fingertips repeatedly traced the location of the rental apartment at 202, which had been circled three times in red.
"There's just a wall between 201 of Sun Yong's house and 202 of Wang Shun's house." Yu Hao suddenly spoke, startling Lu Chao who was sorting case files nearby.
Lu Chao came over and asked, "Captain Yu, what have you come up with?"
"What if this wall is connected?" Yu Hao's eyes lit up surprisingly. "Both families have an old wardrobe facing that wall. Maybe it's to block the passage in the wall."
He used a red pen to draw a straight line on the map, connecting 201 and 202. "This way, Sun Yong could enter and exit 202 without anyone noticing. Wang Shun didn't struggle when he died, probably because he saw someone coming out of the wall."
Lu Chao's eyes widened. "That makes sense! Guo Zhong must have known this secret, which is why Sun Yong silenced him! He kept those two old wardrobes, perhaps to cover up the hole!"
"It's a pity that we can't find the original tenant." Yu Hao sighed. "The technical department checked, and it seems that the original tenant of 201 went abroad. The tenant of 202 also lost contact with his family. It seems that he disappeared from the face of the earth."
"Maybe..." Lu Chao wiped his neck, and Yu Hao glared at him. He quickly changed his words, "I mean, maybe he moved away."
At this time, Zhang Min walked in with a report. "Captain Yu, we've recovered some of Guo Zhong's call records. Three days before his death, he spoke to Sun Yong five times, each time for no more than a minute."
"He's definitely asking for money." Yu Hao pushed the map aside. "Sun Yong killed Wang Shun, and Guo Zhong caught him. He had no choice but to pay him to keep quiet. In the end, he couldn't stand it anymore, so he killed Guo Zhong as well." He stood up. "Let's go check on Liu Bing."
*
The chess and card room was particularly lively on the tenth day of the Lunar New Year. The smell of cigarettes and sweat mixed together and filled the warm room.
Zhang Li was adding tea to the card table. Her belly was not noticeable at this time. It was winter vacation, and she went back to her parents' home to help her father take care of the card shop. Uncle Zhang naturally didn't want his pregnant daughter to be busy, but he couldn't resist Zhang Li's insistence.
Liu Bing walked in slowly with a small stool in his pocket. With a quick glance, he saw Sun Yong sitting in the corner.
He deliberately cleared his throat, his voice as loud as a gong: "Dear fellow villagers, there is something I need to announce."
Uncle Zhang was sitting in the main seat playing cards. Upon hearing this, he looked up and cursed, "Just talk nonsense and make an announcement. What do you want to announce? Did you win the lottery?" Although his words were harsh, he glanced in Sun Yong's direction.
Yu Hao specifically looked for him. The old man was also a graduate of the police academy. He did this cooperative work better than anyone else.
Liu Bing stood up, looked around, and deliberately found a seat near Sun Yong. Before he even settled down, he spoke: "I am a humble person, but I have key clues to two recent murders in the village."
Everyone at the table stopped playing, except Sun Yong, who was still shuffling the cards with his head down, but his fingers were noticeably stiff.
"Go ahead and brag." A white-bearded old man spat his pipe on the ground. "The police haven't even investigated, so what do you know? I'm afraid you're crazy about money and want to cheat the reward money, right?"
Liu Bing was not annoyed. Instead, he moved closer to Sun Yong and lowered his voice, but just loud enough for people around him to hear: "Police officers don't often hang out in the village, but I'm different. Some time ago, I really saw some things I shouldn't have seen. Now that I think about it, it may really be the key to solving the case." He paused deliberately, and caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye that Sun Yong's hand holding the cards tightened.
Uncle Zhang threw his cards down and said, "What are you talking about! Hurry up and play cards! Liu Bing, if you really have a clue, go tell Captain Yu. What are you talking about here?"
Everyone echoed, no one taking Liu Bing's words seriously. Seeing this, Liu Bing became more excited, and his voice became even louder: "I'd be lying to you if I didn't! Wait until I present the evidence to Captain Yu and become the hero who solved the case. Don't be jealous!"
"Okay, when the time comes, I, an old man, will come to your house in person to apologize to you." The old man with a white beard picked up a "Nine Strips" and slammed it on the table without raising his head.
Liu Bing knew when to stop, chuckled twice, and walked towards the door. Before leaving, he glanced at Sun Yong deliberately.
The man was still playing cards with his head down, but the corners of his mouth were tightly drawn and his eyes were full of confusion.
Liu Bing was happy, knowing that the first seed had been planted.
In the next few days, Liu Bing became the busiest person in Nan'an Village.
At Aunt Liu's wonton shop, he slurped his wontons and deliberately said to the neighboring table, "You know what? I know who the murderer is, and I have a lot of evidence."
In Xiao Fang's barber shop, he sat shaving, mumbling with his eyes closed: "Do you know where the murderer threw the murder weapon? I found it."
These rumors spread like wildfire, spreading throughout Nan'an Village within three days. Some claimed Liu Bing saw a bloody knife, others that he filmed the murderer burying the body. The rumors grew increasingly outrageous, and even the local police station came to question him twice.
Yu Hao sat in the monitoring room, watching Liu Bing's figure on the screen. He acted so convincingly, glancing behind him every now and then as he walked, his hands constantly groping in the inner pockets of his cotton-padded jacket. His nervousness was more like he actually knew the secret.
"Captain Yu, there's movement over at Sun Yong's end." Lu Chao pointed to another screen. In the picture, Sun Yong was packing up his stall. The food truck that usually sells until late at night closed up shop before 10 o'clock today. He even went around to the door of Liu Bing's grocery store to take a look.
"Add more fuel to the fire." Yu Hao picked up the intercom, "Say that Liu Bing has the evidence and will hand it over to the police after the Lantern Festival."
As the Lantern Festival approached, the chess and card room became even more lively. Sun Yong was there, an untouched cup of tea in front of him, his attention absently focused on playing cards.
Uncle Zhang seized the opportunity and pulled Liu Bing, who had just walked in, and said, "Old Liu, do you really know who killed Guo Zhong? Don't hide it. Tell Captain Yu right away. I heard there's a reward for solving the case."
Liu Bing pretended to be embarrassed, rubbing his hands and saying, "I only saw a shadow, I dare not say anything... What if I'm wrong, wouldn't it hurt people?"
"Why wouldn't you dare!" Uncle Zhang raised his voice, and everyone at the card table stopped to listen. "Captain Yu, are you still going to wrongly accuse a good person? I heard you even found evidence."
"Haha," Liu Bing laughed dryly, his eyes drifting towards Sun Yong, "I wonder if I found the right one."
"No matter if it's right or not, just report it first!" Uncle Zhang slammed the table. "I heard there's a big reward for providing any useful clues!"
"Then I'll give it a try and report to Captain Yu after the Lantern Festival." Liu Bing nodded, as if he had made up his mind.
Sun Yong remained silent throughout the entire conversation, but two cards fell from his hand. He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Liu Bing like a searchlight, a smile on his lips, but his eyes were as cold as ice. Liu Bing shuddered, and his hand, holding the teacup, was shaking.
But the show had to go on. Liu Bing walked up to Sun Yong and forced a smile: "Old Sun, isn't it great to move into a new house? You didn't even invite us old folks to warm the pot."
Sun Yong immediately put on a smile, but it was frozen on his face, as if it was painted on. "Hey, it's just moving, it's not a big deal, I won't bother you guys."
Liu Bing's eyelids fluttered, and he suddenly changed the subject, lowering his voice to a whisper: "That house was once the scene of an accident. Isn't it creepy to live in it?"
"It will be fine after some renovation."
Liu Bing took another step closer. "I happened to pass by when you were renovating, and I noticed you were quite diligent. You ignored the renovation workers and even went out to smash the walls yourself. What's wrong? Do you have energy but nowhere to use it?"
Sun Yong's smile froze instantly. His fingers clenched the teacup tightly, his knuckles turning white. "I just don't want those people to destroy the wall."
"Oh? Really? Haha." Liu Bing smiled.
Sun Yong lowered his voice. "I heard you know something? If you have any difficulties, feel free to tell me. Maybe I can help."
"Nothing, nothing." Liu Bing waved his hands quickly and took two steps back. "My eyes are blurry and I can't see anything clearly."
Sun Yong didn't say anything else, just stood up and left. His cotton shoes made a heavy sound when he stepped on the ground, as if he was venting something.
Liu Bing looked at his back and let out a long sigh. The back of his cotton jacket was soaked.
Uncle Zhang came over and lowered his voice: "He's taken the bait."
Liu Bing nodded and felt more at ease.
Over the next few days, Sun Yong stopped setting up shop and stayed at home all day. Surveillance footage showed him constantly lingering by the window, his eyes fixed on Liu Bing's grocery store.
Yu Hao watched Sun Yong's increasingly gloomy face on the surveillance video and knew the time to close the net was approaching. He called Lu Chao and said, "Let everyone know. Full surveillance will begin on the 14th day of the first lunar month. Sun Yong will most likely take action on the Lantern Festival."
"Captain Yu, do you need to bring a gun?" the person on the other end of the phone asked.
Yu Hao thought for a moment and replied, "Yes. If Sun Yong really wanted to murder Liu Bing, there's no reason not to bring a gun when facing a serial killer."
"If it's an emergency, can you shoot?"
"It depends on the situation. If it's an emergency, we must protect the safety of the people first, but don't kill them, just stop them."
"I see."
After hanging up the phone, Yu Hao looked out the window. The snow had stopped, and the sunlight shone on the icicles on the eaves, reflecting a dazzling light.
He seemed to be able to see the secrets that Sun Yong hid in the wall, and saw the concealed truths gradually emerging from the ground with the footsteps of spring.
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