Chapter 75 Chapter 75 The First Drawing
Pei Qing waited for Cheng Bailan to come home, and stopped her before she even entered the house.
She said to Cheng Bailan in a very soft voice: "The child has been found, in Changnan."
Cheng Bailan's face turned as pale as paper. She turned her head away woodenly and stared at Pei Qing's face for a few seconds before she reacted.
"turn up--"
Pei Qing held her down: "Keep your voice down."
She glanced at the entrance door of Cheng Bailan's house vigilantly. Cheng Bailan realized it later and was dragged down the stairs by Pei Qing.
Since it involved handling the case across provinces, Xu An first submitted a report to the Bureau of Investigation.
Director Shen's approval came quickly, and half an hour later, Pei Qing accompanied Cheng Bailan on the plane back to Changnan, with Xu An following behind.
Local police in Changnan intercepted Chen Minhui on the provincial road, and the police temporarily detained Chen Minhui in the detention center on charges of kidnapping and trafficking of children.
Chen Minhui refused to accept it, but when they intercepted Chen Minhui, they found bruises on Zhao Cen'an's arms, as if he had been twisted, and something was stuffed in his mouth. The police determined that this was kidnapping. Who would send a child home and make the child like this?
When Pei Qing brought Cheng Bailan to the Changnan Public Security Bureau, Zhao Cen'an had just fallen asleep. A female police officer in her forties or fifties was holding the child in her arms, patting the child's back from time to time to calm the child's frightened body.
Cheng Bailan rushed over, and when she saw her daughter, tears started to flow again.
The policewoman glanced at her and saw that Cheng Bailan looked haggard and her whole body was swollen. She didn't say much, but carefully placed the child in Cheng Bailan's arms.
The policewoman said, "The child is very frightened and has just fallen asleep. Don't wake her up."
Cheng Bailan kept nodding. She held the child in her arms and put her face against the child's. She felt the warm breath on the child's face and her heart ached.
Pei Qing stood at the door and sighed when he saw Cheng Bailan holding the child tightly.
She said to Xu An, "She lives her life like a frightened bird."
Xu An: "If we don't divorce when we go back, hard times are still ahead."
He handled many cases and met many different kinds of people. Some people believed that a couple is connected by bones and would never divorce no matter how much they quarrel.
Some people have strong personalities and will get out of their current predicament as soon as they are a little dissatisfied.
The latter are often the minority.
Cheng Bailan had experienced her mother-in-law's preference for boys over girls, and after another miscarriage, she continued to live with her mother-in-law. Xu An believed that she was not a decisive person and that the divorce would definitely be a drag.
Pei Qing disagreed: "Can you have a little confidence in your mother? If you don't leave this time, you will die. Cheng Bailan endured it before, can she endure it this time?"
Xu An did not argue with her, but only said: "It's a good thing for the children if she gets divorced."
He dropped the subject.
Xu An had discovered long ago that Pei Qing was a complete idealist who believed that truth, goodness and beauty really existed in the world and had expectations for human nature.
But if she wasn't idealistic, she wouldn't be able to persist in doing this job with such enthusiasm.
The two did not visit Cheng Bailan again, but went to the detention center to interrogate Chen Minhui.
In the detention center, before Chen Minhui was called over, the police showed Pei Qing and Xu An the video recorded on the law enforcement recorder.
"As soon as I opened the door, the child shrank into the corner. It was really pitiful to see."
Pei Qing watched Zhao Cen'an's body twitching in the video and angrily asked, "Did Chen Minhui hit her?"
This man is such a rubbish, he actually hits a child!
The police officer said: "Chen Minhui said the child bit him, so he hit her."
He shook his head, obviously looking down on Chen Minhui.
When Chen Minhui was brought in for interrogation, he pulled a chair and sat aside.
Pei Qing and Xu An began to interrogate Chen Minhui.
"Why kidnap Zhao Cen'an?"
Chen Minhui had been in the detention center for several hours. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked listless, but when he heard the word "kidnapping", he raised his head reflexively.
"I told you before, it's not kidnapping, it's the child's father and grandmother who asked me to send the child back to their hometown. Damn it, I meant well, but ended up getting into trouble."
There was no trace of guilt on his face. Pei Qing looked at him again and again, and immediately scolded: "I have never seen anyone send someone home and gag a child!"
Chen Minhui: "What can I do? She's always making noises, and it's giving me a headache!"
Xu An: "You said it wasn't kidnapping, what's the child's name?"
Chen Minhui answered quickly: "Zhao Cen'an, she is six years old this year, born on August 2, 2009. Her father is Zhao Dong, her mother is Cheng Bailan, and her grandmother is Ping Jinfeng! That's right! Let me go as soon as possible! I have told you so many times, who has the time to kidnap a child!"
What he said was all right, which was even more outrageous. Did Zhao Dong really have his daughter taken back to his hometown in order to have a son?
But after taking the child back home, how will he eat, live and go to school? Or should he be given up for adoption?
Questions like these swirled in Pei Qing's mind, and she asked them.
"You said it was Zhao Dong who asked you to take the child back to your hometown. How did you get in touch?"
There have been no phone calls or VX chat records between Chen Minhui and Zhao Dong, at least in the recent period.
Chen Minhui: “That’s what his mother said.”
The chair was too hard, so he moved his butt and continued, "Zhao Dong's mother is crazy about having a grandson. She talks to people in the village every day about how to make her daughter-in-law give birth to a grandson. Everyone in the village knows about it. Some time ago, Zhao Dong and his mother went back to their hometown, and they agreed at that time that I should find a chance to send the child back to my hometown."
At this point, Chen Minhui felt that he had suffered a huge loss.
"Fuck it, he only gave me a thousand dollars, and I spent a day in the detention center. I have to ask him for more money when I go back!"
Xu An asked him, "Who are you going to give the child to after you send her back?"
"Dou Yinhua."
Chen Minhui asked Xu An and Pei Qing to find Dou Yinhua.
"Dou Yinhua seems to be a distant cousin of Zhao Dong's mother. Who knows what they talked about? I just gave the child to Dou Yinhua. Why are you looking at me? No matter what, I am not kidnapping!"
Pei Qing said "Oh" in surprise and asked Chen Minhui: "You said it was Zhao Dong who asked you to take the child back to his hometown. Where is the evidence? There are no phone records or chat records. Zhao Dong has a wife! If he doesn't admit it, his wife will sue you!"
Chen Minhui was shocked and confused. He sat up instantly and after a few seconds, he angrily cursed Zhao Dong for being a good-for-nothing.
"Fuck it!"
He cursed and faced the unfriendly looks of several policemen, as if he just realized at this moment that he had been tricked by Zhao Dong.
Chen Minhui grabbed his hair. His hair was greasy and tangled as he hadn’t washed it for several days!
Pei Qing felt that it polluted his eyes, so he lowered his head after just one glance.
Chen Minhui thought of Dou Yinhua and decisively sold her out.
"You go find Dou Yinhua. She doesn't live in the village. She lives in the town, Changping Town. She opened a supermarket in Changping Town. Zhao Dong's mother must have found Dou Yinhua! They must have discussed how to raise the child. Fuck, it's none of my business. I should have stopped doing this earlier!"
Pei Qing asked again: "Where did you agree to meet? What time?"
Chen Minhui: "It was at her supermarket. I was supposed to be there this afternoon. She was waiting for me at the supermarket."
*
After leaving the detention center, Xu An and Pei Qing got into the local police’s car.
The policeman's name is Liu Cong. He was arranged by the Changnan Municipal Public Security Bureau to accompany the case.
Liu Cong: "Changping Town is about 60 to 70 kilometers away from the city. It takes an hour to drive there. You can take a rest first. We will leave soon."
Xu An exchanged a few polite words with him: "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Liu Cong didn't take it seriously: "We are handling the case in a different place. I will cooperate with you and you will cooperate with me. It will be convenient for everyone. Let's finish it as soon as possible and go home as soon as possible!"
He was a carefree and easy-going person, and not stubborn, so Xu An didn't bother to be polite to him anymore.
While driving, Liu Cong talked about Changping Town.
"This town is quite remote. The elderly in our village can't speak Mandarin. If you don't understand something, just ask me. I can understand the general idea."
Pei Qing: "Brother Liu is a local?"
Liu Cong: "Yes, you can't hear the accent, right? When I was admitted to the police academy, I spoke with an accent every day, and later I finally corrected it."
While chatting with him, Pei Qing sent a message to Yang Xingping who stayed behind.
Pei Qing: [Chen Minhui did not admit to kidnapping. He said that Zhao Dong and his mother wanted to send their granddaughter back to her hometown to be raised by relatives there. Check if there is a person named Dou Yinhua in Zhao Dong's mother's contacts. They are cousins.]
After waiting for a few minutes, Yang Xingping sent a message: [There is no such person as Dou Yinhua. ]
Yang Xingping turned on his computer and parked his car downstairs of Cheng Bailan's house, watching Zhao Dong carry the computer bag upstairs.
He had just got off work and hadn't noticed that Cheng Bailan was not at home.
Yang Xingping stared at it for a moment and continued to check the call records on his computer.
Zhao Dong's mother's name is Ping Jinfeng. She has always used an old-fashioned mobile phone, so the call records are very easy to check.
Yang Xingping did not find Dou Yinhua in her call records.
Yang Xingping located the IP address in Changnan and began to check the calls made in Changnan.
From the phone calls made locally in Changnan, it was found that Ping Jinfeng often contacted a total of five people, three men in their sixties and two women.
Yang Xingping first eliminated those with the surname Zhao and Ping, leaving only one.
Miao Lihua, female, 52 years old.
He sent this person's cell phone number to Pei Qing.
[I couldn't find any call records of Dou Yinhua. Look at this phone number. Check it when you find Dou Yinhua. It is very likely that Dou Yinhua did not use the phone card under her ID card to avoid trouble.]
Pei Qing: [Then she is very suspicious, which means she has done this more than once! ]
Pei Qing's suspicion of Dou Yinhua increased sharply.
Fortunately, although Dou Yinhua did not use her ID card to apply for a mobile phone card, the property under her name is real.
Chen Minhui was right, Dou Yinhua did own a supermarket.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Liu Cong drove to Changping Town and navigated to the entrance of the supermarket opened by Dou Yinhua.
Dou Yinhua's supermarket was not closed yet. After Pei Qing got off the car, he walked directly into the supermarket.
The gauze curtain at the entrance of the supermarket shook.
"Welcome!"
A clear electronic sound rang out.
Xu An and Liu Cong followed him into the supermarket.
At the checkout counter of the supermarket, a young woman sat on a chair without raising her head. She was playing with her mobile phone, so engrossed that she didn't notice someone coming in.
Pei Qing didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Where is your supermarket owner?"
The young woman looked up at Pei Qing.
Pei Qing then realized that calling her a woman was not quite appropriate. The person at the cashier counter had a young face, except for dark circles under her eyes. Pei Qing estimated that she was only about seventeen or eighteen years old.
The girl said, "The boss is out buying goods, he's not home."
Pei Qing: "Not at home? Are you her daughter?"
She didn't say she wasn't in the supermarket, but she wasn't at home.
Dou Mingyue glanced at Pei Qing again and nodded casually. She glanced at the digital clock and found that it was already past eight o'clock.
It’s time to go home!
She started to chase people away: "It's already eight o'clock, I'm closing the shop! If you don't want to buy anything, hurry up and leave! If you have something to ask, come to my mom, not me!"
Liu Cong said: "Which supermarket closes at 8 o'clock?"
Dou Mingyue glared at him: "My mom said so! She told me to go home at 8:30! Who are you to control everything and even tell me what time I close the shop?"
Pei Qing: "What's your mother's cell phone number?"
Dou Mingyue reported a mobile phone number, which coincidentally matched the mobile phone number of Miao Lihua that Yang Xingping had found.
Sure enough, Dou Yinhua did not use her own mobile phone number.
But she is not at home now, where can she go?
She and Chen Minhui agreed to pick up Zhao Cen'an this afternoon, but the child hasn't arrived yet. Where is she?
Pei Qing continued to ask Dou Mingyue: "I have something urgent to ask her. We originally agreed to meet in the afternoon. Didn't your mother tell you what to do if someone comes in the afternoon?"
Dou Mingyue glanced at Pei Qing and asked suspiciously, "My mother was not in the supermarket this afternoon. Did you really make an appointment with my mother?"
Pei Qing nodded affirmatively.
Dou Mingyue called Dou Yinhua, but the call didn't go through.
Dou Mingyue said angrily: "You didn't answer the phone again!"
She called several more times, but no one answered.
From the beeping sound of the phone, several policemen sensed something unusual.
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