Chapter 62 What kind of relationship between the two would make her willing to kill...
After finishing the video with Lu Tingfeng, Ji An looked down at the sketch again and fell into deep thought.
Guan Xia and Pang Le exchanged glances, both having a bunch of questions to ask, but in the end, no one spoke. They put their heads together and began to study the case.
This case is somewhat similar to the previous murder of a family of four. Both died late at night and were stabbed to death by a sharp object in the heart. The difference is that they were not killed with one blow. The murderer was obviously a novice. The first blow was blocked by the ribs, and the second blow successfully passed through the gap between the ribs. There was no obvious sign of struggle on the part of the deceased, and it was suspected that he had been given sleeping pills.
Of course, this was just Guan Xia's guess. After all, the information they had did not include a detailed autopsy report, nor any information on the relevant physical evidence collected after the on-site search.
Pang Le also keenly grasped this point and said hesitantly, "The deceased is not old, probably in his forties or less than fifty. Even if he was drunk, it is impossible for him not to struggle. Was he drugged or given sleeping pills? Or maybe it was a murder involving two people."
Pang Le flipped through a page of information, looked at the deceased's family, then back at the deceased. He exclaimed in amazement, "Are these two really father and son? They don't look alike at all. The son has double eyelids, while the father has single eyelids. And the bridge of their noses is so different. Either they're not biological children, or the mother is exceptionally pretty. But if the mother is exceptionally pretty, how could this man be so worthy of such a job?"
Pang Le, a face-chaser, was distracted while discussing the case and started to complain incessantly.
Guan Xia ignored it and began to carefully look into the identity and background of the deceased.
The deceased was named Sha Guoliang, a 48-year-old male who ran a small supermarket. He was not rich, but he had a house and a car. However, what was surprising was that this person had a criminal record, and it was a rape case. He was imprisoned in 2001 and served 6 years. He was released from prison in 2007. Not long after his release, he took over the family's small supermarket and got married in 2009.
"Who would be willing to marry such a person?" Guan Xia said in disbelief, and continued to read, and then saw the marital status of the deceased. He was still married when he died. His wife was named Cen Cuiman, born in 1978, and now 46 years old. Although she is not very old, she does not look like someone born in 1978 from the photo. Her skin is sallow, and her scalp is one-third white. The wrinkles on her face are very obvious. Even in just a photo, you can see the sadness between her brows, and her eyes are very numb.
"Is this his wife?" Pang Le complained a few times but no one paid any attention to him, so he leaned over to watch and asked with some doubt.
Guan Xia looked at the photo of the deceased's wife again and said, "If you look at her bones alone, without considering her appearance, you can tell she must have been very beautiful when she was young. Look at the shape of her head – it's very full, her eyes are big, and her nose isn't flat."
Pang Le only took two glances and said with certainty: "She must have been a beauty when she was young. I just can't understand why such a beautiful flower would be stuck in cow dung. This deceased person can't even be said to have an ordinary appearance, she is completely ugly, not to mention that she doesn't seem to have much money."
"More than that," Guan Xia flipped back two pages and pointed at a line of words in the criminal record. "Look here. He was also imprisoned for rape. Do you think there's a possibility that this woman was the victim of rape?"
Pang Le was startled, not caring whether he was interrupting her or not. He looked up at Ji An and asked hurriedly, "Sister Ji, the deceased in this case had a rape record. Was the rape victim his wife?"
Ji An was brought back to his senses by Pang Le's words. He leaned forward to take a look and said, "If it's not in the file, then I don't know. The information in these files is very superficial. The details are in the case files of the responsible police force. But I can check it out. Give me a few days and I can find out."
Guan Xia certainly believed in Ji An's ability, but she looked at the location where the case occurred, which was in Pingjiang District. Then she could ask Xu Nian directly. It was a case in 22 years, and she remembered that Xu Nian should have been in the Second Squadron.
Thinking of this, Guan Xia called Xu Nian.
As soon as the call was connected, Guan Xia asked directly, "Xu Nian, do you remember the case of a man named Sha Guoliang who died in 2022? He was stabbed to death by a sharp object in the heart and had a history of rape."
Xu Nian's reaction was extremely quick. After only a few seconds of recollection, he said, "I remember the June 11th Incident in 2022. What happened? Did you remember any details about the case?"
"Yes," Guan Xia said, "I think of a suspicious person who might be related to this case. I want to know if the victim of Sha Guoliang's rape was his wife, Cen Cuiman."
"Yes," Xu Nian said with certainty, "When we investigated this case, we checked with Cen Cuiman and the deceased's son, Sha Junhao. Both of them had motives for the rape, but both had alibis at the time of the crime."
"It's very likely a collaboration," Guan Xia said. "I recall seeing the deceased's son a few days before the incident. He was also accompanied by another young woman, and her behavior was very suspicious."
Guan Xia recounted the suspicious details she had found in the video. Xu Nian thought for a few seconds and said, "Wait a minute. I'll go apply for the file now and contact you later."
After hanging up the phone, before Guan Xia could even speak, Pang Le couldn't wait to ask, "How is it? What did Xu Nian say?"
Ji An also stared at Guan Xia and waited for the answer, his eyes sparkling.
Guan Xia nodded and said, "Our guess is correct. Xu Nian answered with certainty that the victim of the rape committed by Sha Guoliang was indeed his wife, Cen Cuiman."
Although he was mentally prepared, Pang Le still couldn't help but curse, "Fuck, what kind of trash is this? Killing him is just like enforcing justice. So, his son had a very good motive to kill him. I wouldn't be surprised if his wife Cen Cuiman was involved."
"But I find one thing very strange," Guan Xia frowned and said, "His son killed him, most likely to avenge his mother, but what was the young woman's motive? What kind of relationship between them would make her willing to kill."
Speaking of the young woman, Guan Xia and Pang Le both remembered the previous conversation between Ji An and Lu Tingfeng, and couldn't help but look over with curiosity.
Ji An, still holding the sketch in his hand, glanced at the two of them before placing it in the middle of the table. He spoke, "Her name is Yuan Yue. Two years ago, on the night of September 12, 1932, her friend, our friend's daughter, was found dead in a park just a few hundred meters from her home. The cause of death was a sharp object stabbed into the heart from behind. The case has never been solved, and we haven't even found a suspect with a motive."
Was he also killed by a sharp weapon piercing his heart? Guan Xia and Pang Le looked at each other in bewilderment, then looked at the sketch before them and the photo of the deceased's son, Sha Junhao, in the file. They said almost in unison, "Exchange killing."
Ji An nodded and said, "That's what I speculated, but there's a problem. Yuan Yue is from Fu'an City, Guanglin Province, and has lived there for many years. I can't figure out how these two people know each other."
From Guanglin Province? Guan Xia and Pang Le were both a little surprised. Guanglin Province wasn't close to Dingyuan Province, even further away than Ningyun Province. It took three or four hours to fly there. Furthermore, Sha Junhao was several years younger than Yuan Yue. They couldn't possibly be classmates. Could they be online friends?
This guess was denied just after it appeared in Guan Xia's mind. There was no direction for investigation in the case. The criminal police team responsible for solving the case would definitely conduct a large number of visits and investigations. As a very good friend of the deceased, they must have been investigated as well. If there really was an internet user whose chat content was sensitive and involved intentional injury or murder, they would not let him go.
Guan Xia was thinking hard when Pang Le suddenly asked, "Oh, Sister Ji, I just heard you and Lu Tingfeng say that Yuan Yue has been taking care of your friend since his death. It sounds like the two of them had a good relationship. Why would they want to kill someone?"
Ji An thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Actually, I'm not too sure. I've only met that friend a few times, and Lu Tingfeng was the one who kept in touch most of the time. I remember him because on two occasions, Yuan Yue drove over to pick us up and greeted everyone enthusiastically. She even prepared fruit and snacks for us on subsequent occasions. Even if she were his own daughter, she wouldn't have been so kind."
It sounds like there is really no motive for murder.
Pang Le asked again, "Did your friend ever talk about his daughter and Yuan Yue? Did they ever have any arguments, or what's the status of their relationship?"
Guan Xia immediately understood what Pang Le meant. She was wondering if it was possible that the two of them fell in love with the same person at the same time, or if it was not because of a third person, but simply out of love and hate?
Guan Xia thought hard, and Ji An pondered for a moment before saying, "I don't know much about Yuan Yue, but I do know something about my friend's daughter. She's been lively and cheerful since she was a child, with many friends and excellent grades. After graduation, she successfully passed the civil service exam and joined her alma mater as a physics teacher in junior high school. She's been on several blind dates, but none of them worked out. Apart from a puppy love affair in high school, she had a boyfriend, but she's been single ever since they broke up. As for Yuan Yue, I only know that my friend's daughter met her after she became a teacher. She works as a store manager at a brand name store and has a decent income. I haven't heard of any disputes between the two, otherwise my friend would have already investigated her as a suspect."
"It sounds like there's really nothing suspicious," Pang Le touched his chin, glanced at Guan Xia and said, "But Guan Xia has never missed a suspicious person. Just because we haven't found a motive for murder doesn't mean there isn't one. It just means it's hidden deep down. It seems we have to dig deeper."
Guan Xia nodded in agreement. Indeed, the system could not be wrong. This Yuan Yue was definitely not as simple as he appeared.
Ji An tapped his finger on the conference table, thought for a moment, and then said, "Although I'm not familiar with Fu'an City, Guanglin Province, I have dealt with the local police before, so I can go and investigate."
"We'll go after the case is reopened," Pang Le said. "The police are investigating right now, so let's go to Guanglin Province first. Once the case there is reopened, the Yongquan City police will probably come to arrest people. We can take a look at the scene. I've never seen the police arrest anyone before."
Not only Guan Xia, Ji An also felt a bit awkward and said, "You arranged it very well."
Pang Le chuckled.
After briefly understanding Yuan Yue's situation, the three people's attention returned to the case in Pingjiang District.
"Actually, there's something I've been wanting to say for a while now," Pang Le suddenly said. "Since Sha Guoliang is a rapist and Cen Cuiman is the victim, why was Cen Cuiman willing to marry him after Sha Guoliang was released from prison? Was she being harassed or threatened?"
Pang Le racked his brains, and Guan Xia added, "There's another point. Sha Junhao was born in 2002, and the rape occurred in 2001. Judging from his age, Sha Junhao is very likely Sha Guoliang's biological son. Why would a rape victim not abort the child after discovering she was pregnant, but give birth to it? I don't believe Cen Cuiman would think the child is innocent. I think there must be something hidden."
Pang Le's attention was instantly drawn away, and he said, "I think so too. Look at how haggard and old Cen Cuiman looked when Sha Guoliang died. This shows that she definitely had no feelings for Sha Guoliang. And the fact that Sha Junhao hated Sha Guoliang so much also represents Cen Cuiman's attitude."
As the two were discussing, Guan Xia suddenly thought of something and raised her head abruptly. "Wait a minute, there's another question. If Sha Junhao killed out of hatred, then what about Yuan Yue? What was her motivation? And how did she convince Sha Junhao to agree to the exchange? After all, Sha Junhao isn't a professional killer, and the other victim was a young woman. I don't think he would agree to travel thousands of miles to kill someone without asking any questions."
The three of them fell silent. After a moment, Pang Le said, "You're right. This case may seem simple, but it has many mysteries. Yuan Yue's motive for murder alone is quite curious. She and the deceased were friends, good friends who had met their parents. I really can't imagine why she would kill a good friend."
Pang Le looked at Guan Xia and shook his head, saying, "I can't think of it anyway. Is it because of feelings? If it were me, there are only a few men in the world, so I can just change one. Is it because of money? Doesn't Yuan Yue have a good income? It's even more impossible because of hatred. How can we be friends if we have hatred? Unless you are born an Oscar winner."
Pang Le paused here and hissed, "If that's true, then Guan Yue is truly terrifying. And she's being so kind to the deceased's parents now. Doesn't that mean she has ulterior motives?"
Guan Xia listened and subconsciously looked at Pang Le. They both shuddered, and then looked at Ji An at the same time.
Ji An's face has not looked good since he got the sketch. He has been frowning solemnly. He picked up his phone and put it down several times. It is obvious that he wanted to send a message to someone but gave up in the end.
Guan Xia could guess without Ji An saying anything. He must have felt that Guan Yue was dangerous, but he was afraid that if he rashly mentioned it to his friends, it would alert the enemy, so in the end he could only keep silent.
Guan Xia hesitated for a moment, but still did not say anything to comfort her. Ji An was not an indecisive and sentimental person. She had experienced much more difficult situations than Guan Xia. She was just temporarily confused by the situation.
Sure enough, not long after the discussion stopped, Ji An regained her composure. She walked to the whiteboard and began to list some details they currently knew about the 611 case in 2022. She sorted out the relationships between the people involved in the case in a more intuitive way, and also specially marked the areas where they were confused about the case. They just had to wait for Xu Nian's call, and perhaps they would get the answers.
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