Chapter 49 Chapter 49 I believe in Comrade Xiao Ji!
At the same time, at the Municipal Bureau, a team was focusing on tracking down Song Alei and the white Alto.
But Cheng Mo, who had just returned from the traffic police brigade, brought bad news -
Three days ago, a white Alto was suddenly parked in front of a scrapyard on the outskirts of the city. Even the factory workers didn't know who the owner of the car was, so they had to crush it as if it were scrap that had been delivered to their door!
Cheng Mo immediately contacted Director Fu from the Mechanical and Electrical Company and asked him to claim it in person - and sure enough, this flattened piece of scrap metal was his car!
This criminal was always one step ahead of them, and the case was once again at a stalemate, which caused the morale of the entire task force to drop significantly.
Even Tang Ci, who was trying to control himself from losing his temper, couldn't help but punch the wall in anger, and was pulled out by Director Rao, who was still calm, to smoke a cigarette to relieve his boredom.
In the office, Ji Yinhe stood in front of the blackboard, cleared his mind of complicated thoughts, and compared the previous profile with the clues that the task force had found during this period.
Captain Shi Yun and the Cultural Relics Bureau did not find any transaction clues in the antique market.
This made her feel more and more that the other party came for the cultural relics themselves, and perhaps had a special attachment to this culture.
It was snowing heavily outside again. Comrade Xiao Ji was wondering whether he should communicate with the local history association in Jiangtan when Comrade Xiao Wu rushed in breathlessly.
"I'm freezing and exhausted!" He picked up a crumpled piece of pink toilet paper and blew his nose loudly. "I ran back all this time!"
Having been teammates for so long, Ji Yinhe could tell at a glance what this fool had discovered.
"Any clues?"
"I'm not entirely sure, maybe..." Xiao Wu squatted by the coal stove to warm his hands. "Li Tunan wasn't in a good mood today. She looked like she was crying. She left in a hurry before she'd sold all the sweet potatoes. Is she still feeling unwell?"
Ji Yinhe frowned, "Did she meet anyone today?"
"Nothing like a portrait... " Xiao Wu seemed to be lost in thought. "But when I first brought people there, she talked to a man with a beard and sunglasses for a long time, and it seemed like they had a little argument... But Li Tunan said that man wanted to eat for free..."
"Long beard and sunglasses!" Ji Yinhe opened his eyes wide and turned around suddenly from in front of the blackboard. "How much time has passed?"
"Four, four or five hours, what's wrong? This person doesn't look like the portrait at all, and he's not carrying a Handong University bag!"
"Who would wear sunglasses when the weather is so gloomy?" Ji Yinhe stretched out his long legs and ran towards Director Rao's office. "This must be the suspect's disguise!"
"Ah——" Xiao Wu, who realized it belatedly, slapped his forehead.
Rao Zhenghao and Tang Ci just happened to walk down from the rooftop at this moment.
After Ji Yinhe finished explaining the situation, the director and the captain immediately came up with a tacit decision -
Immediately cooperate with the traffic police and conduct a search in the surrounding area based on the city center where Li Tunan set up his stall!
It’s a pity that four or five hours have passed. If Song A Lei had escaped quickly, he might have left Jiangtan!
"Director Rao, I'm going to find Li Tunan." Ji Yinhe stood in a band of light, looking at the two leaders with their heads raised. "Ye Qing and I are going to Shuangdun Town to find Li Tunan. I have a feeling she's wavering now. I'm sure I can persuade her to reveal more evidence!"
“But we are short of manpower now…”
"Can Li Tunan speak?"
Just as Rao Zhenghao and Tang Ci were still hesitant, a decisive female voice sounded from behind.
"——I believe in Comrade Xiao Ji!"
Shi Jun, wearing a dashing uniform, looked at Ji Yinhe with a smile and said, "The roads are slippery in the snow. I'll take you and Xiaoye there!"
*
Shuangdun Town.
The snow had been falling heavily all day and finally stopped. The broken brick house had been leaking since last night. Li Tunan huddled on the only kang in the house, bending over to reach the bucket on the ground to bring it closer to the leaking roof.
The eldest sister came in with a bundle of straw and said angrily, "Why did you come back so early today? You just lay down on the bed and didn't help at all!"
"Sister." Li Tunan sniffed, "My stomach hurts."
"Are you having your period? There's half a tank of hot water on the kitchen stove. Go drink it, and then come out and look at your little sister!"
Li Tunan lowered his head and said, "I understand."
She got down from the kang, curled up and drank some water, then picked up her shoeless sister and held her frostbitten little feet in her arms with heartache.
"Third sister, don't cry." The younger sister whispered, "New Year's Eve is coming soon, and Mom and Dad will be back soon."
...Yes, they will be back for the New Year. Li Tunan lowered her eyes guiltily. She didn't know if her relationship with Arege could last until the end of the year.
The eldest sister came in carrying a basin and picked up the cotton jacket that had fallen on the ground.
"Third brother, why are there still medicines in your pocket? ... Are you still seeing that old man?"
"He, he's not an old man!" Li Tunan was anxious. He endured the pain in his stomach and rushed forward to snatch the clothes off. "Why are you rummaging through my things?"
"Why can't I watch it? Before my parents left, they repeatedly told me to take good care of you... You're only sixteen years old this year, you know what's important and what's bad!"
"Brother Are is not a bad guy!"
"..." The eldest sister asked her solemnly, "Have you forgotten what your second sister and I told you before? ...Are you guys asleep?"
If the elder sister had asked this question before, Li Tunan would have said with confidence that he did not slept with Song A Lei.
But ever since that day in the hospital, when Officer Xiao Ji and Forensic Doctor Xiao Ye explained to her the meaning behind "sleeping", Li Tunan didn't dare to answer.
She lowered her head guiltily and rubbed her sister's feet. "I haven't forgotten what you said..."
"Then what's wrong with you? Why are you still going to the hospital to see a gynecologist?" the eldest sister said angrily, "Third sister, if you get pregnant at such a young age, you won't even be able to find a husband in the future!"
Li Tunan was frightened by his sister's roar and burst into tears. "Then it's all your fault for not explaining everything clearly. I didn't mean it, and Brother Alei is very sincere to me!"
"..." The eldest sister's anger rose up, and she picked up the broom by the window and hit Li Tunan on the back.
"Big sister, third sister, please stop fighting!" The younger sister sat on the ground and cried loudly.
“Bang!”
The half-open door was suddenly pushed open, and a cold wind mixed with snow blew in.
Li Tunan and his older sister and younger sister all looked outside and saw the tall figures of three policewomen in police uniforms at the door.
"Criminal Investigation Team 4 of the Municipal Bureau, Shi Yun." Team Leader Shi produced his ID. "These two are my colleagues, Ji Yinhe and Ye Qing."
The eldest sister put down her broom hesitantly and said, "Officer, what are you doing here... Did our third child get into trouble outside?"
Shi Jun just smiled and said, "We just came to ask some questions. It's snowing outside now, so let's go out and talk for a while."
The eldest sister looked at Li Tunan with half belief and half doubt, then followed Shi Jun out the door.
Ji Yinhe and Ye Qing quickly picked up the little sister of the Li family, and the other helped Li Tunan back to the kang.
"How have you been these past two days?" Ji Yinhe asked, "Did you take your medicine on time?"
"I ate it." Li Tunan pouted aggrievedly, "Officer Ji, thank you for lending me the money. I will find a way to pay you back as soon as possible."
"We'll talk about this later." Ji Yinhe asked calmly, "You saw him when you were setting up your stall today, right?"
“…” The girl lowered her head, not daring to speak.
"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me. We've already sent people to hunt him down," Ji Yinhe said. "I'm just curious. If he really loves you so much, and he came to see you before leaving Jiangtan, why didn't he take you with him?"
"He has his own reasons, he--!" Li Tunan realized that he had said something he shouldn't have said and covered his mouth in panic.
Ji Yinhe didn't press the point any further, but said softly: "Have you told him about your physical condition? The baby in your belly will be obvious in a few months. You have to make a decision whether to keep it or not."
Li Tunan's face turned pale. Fortunately, Ye Qing covered her younger sister's ears in time, so she didn't hear anything.
"Tu Nan, let me break it down for you. If he still has a conscience and comes back to find you, you'll have to take the child and flee to the ends of the earth. Once caught, the child will be completely left without a parent." Ji Yinhe tried to soften her tone, fearing to scare her. "If he doesn't even have a conscience, you'll have no choice but to persevere, be kicked out by your family, and raise the child alone... Have you ever considered this?"
"...Both situations are bad, what can I do?"
"have."
Ji Yinhe held her hand tightly. "We've already found out—on the night the museum's national treasure was stolen, you didn't enter the exhibition hall. Instead, you were out on guard. Furthermore, you're not even eighteen years old yet, and you're pregnant. The procuratorate will be lenient with your sentence... As long as you want, you still have the opportunity to study and live a respectable life after you're released."
Li Tunan stared at her blankly.
Every moment she spent with Song A'lei flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern.
Ji Yinhe didn't say anything either. She knew that Li Tunan was both physically and mentally stimulated at this time. If she forced her to make a decision in a hurry, it might have the opposite effect.
The broken brick house was quiet for a moment, until Li Xiaomei burst into tears, waking Li Tunan from his daze.
"...Officer Xiao Ji, Medical Examiner Xiao Ye." She spoke slowly, "Are you telling the truth? If I...if I tell the truth, can my child and I still live a good life?"
"Yes." Ji Yinhe pressed his warm palm against her fingertips, "And now that you've said it, you're a police witness. The judge will take this into consideration."
"...Okay!" She said with trembling shoulders, "I believe you, I say!"
*
Municipal Bureau interrogation room.
The second time he sat in this room, Li Tunan didn’t feel as scared, perhaps because Officer Ji was sitting opposite him.
She held the hot water that Ye Qing had prepared for her, drank it in small sips, and gently recounted how she and Song Alei met.
Two years ago, she was studying in town and was always bullied by the boys in her class because of her name "Tu Nan".
It was also a snowy winter night. Song A Lei rode a motorcycle and stopped by the roadside like a hero in a Hong Kong movie, driving away all the boys who bullied her.
Under his protection, she was able to study peacefully and complete the high school entrance examination.
Li Tunan held her transcript and diploma in her hands. She thought she could go to a county high school, but she didn't expect her parents to make the decision for her.
"Third child, we have five daughters at home, and we can't support them all. There are so many factories in Huacheng now, so your mother and I plan to go south to work. As for you, just like your two sisters, you should stop studying and find a job in the city... After all, we've spent money to support your education, but you'll still end up marrying into another family!"
In this way, fifteen-year-old Li Tunan got up early and went to bed late, selling sweet potatoes in winter and popsicles in summer.
During this dark period, Song Alei's appearance was like a candle from hell, illuminating her little world.
——Until she discovered that he was hanging around Shuangdun Town all day long in order to steal cultural relics from the ancient Qing Dynasty tombs on the other side of the river.
"Brother Alei, you said you stole this inkstone from that tomb?"
"Yeah." Song A Lei said indifferently, "But I want to correct you on one word. This is not stealing. These things originally belonged to my family!"
…
"——What do you mean it was originally his?"
Tang Ci slammed the table, "That's a national cultural relic!"
Li Tunan said aggrievedly, "Brother Alei is also very pitiful. He said that his ancestors were wealthy merchants in Jiangtan during the Ming Dynasty, but later fell into poverty and the family's belongings were lost... He just took back what belonged to his family..."
"..." Tang Ci was so angry that he laughed out loud.
Ji Yinhe next to him took over the conversation at the right time: "How did you help him?"
Li Tunan wiped the tears from his chin. "I'm not ignorant of the law. I know this will get me shot... So the last few times, I stood not far away to keep watch. Brother A Lei is very generous and will give me a sum of money after the task is completed. But last time, stealing the Buddha head was a bit troublesome. Huo Zongping's yard was difficult to enter, so he asked me to accompany him. Plus, we were already... I already considered him the man of my life, so I went with him to dig the Buddha head."
"So why did you show up at the Huo family's vegetable garden later?"
"He gave me a pink hairpin with a strawberry pattern on it." Li Tunan sighed softly. "After I came back that day, I realized that the hairpin had fallen off. I was afraid that I had left it at the scene and that the mean-mouthed old man would find it, so I wanted to find it... but he caught me anyway."
Ji Yinhe: “…”
The case of the Buddha head theft was finally solved. "Then why did you come up with the idea of stealing from the museum?"
"There are several exhibits in the Ming and Qing Dynasty life exhibition that are A Lei Ge's ancestral treasures." Li Tunan lowered his head. "A Lei Ge said that if I bring them back, he will take me away from Jiangtan."
“…” Comrade Xiao Ji sighed for Li Tunan’s love-sick brain.
"Let's talk about the night the museum incident happened." Tang Ci pinched his brows. "You guys scouted the place three times before, right?"
Li Tunan nodded. "The last time was the day before we started. I saw Officer Ji and Medical Examiner Xiao Ye and was so scared I ran away... But that night, Brother Alei drove up to me and asked for my help. I figured it wouldn't be my first time stealing cultural relics with him, so I agreed... However, museums are very serious places to me, so I didn't go in. I helped him cover the alarm and then I just stayed outside to keep watch."
This matched the physical evidence found by the task force. Ji Yinhe breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is he now? And where are the things he stole?"
"...I don't know where he went. Now that I think about it, he didn't tell me the truth most of the time." Li Tunan sobbed, "Officer Ji, I told him everything I know. I think he might have abandoned me and fled the city—"
*
The phone in the director's office kept ringing.
When Ji Yinhe walked in, he saw Rao Zhengzheng speaking seriously into the microphone: "Contact the brother units in Jingzhou and Dengzhou! Even if he can escape from Jiangtan, he can't escape from Handong!"
He hung up the phone with a bang, his brow furrowed as if a storm was coming.
Ji Yinhe asked cautiously, "Director, is there any news from the traffic police?"
"Well, there are too many ways out of the city now, and the criminal has disguised himself. I'm afraid we won't be able to catch him in the short term."
Ji Yinhe's eyes fell on the melting snow outside, and he said calmly:
"Director Rao, I have an idea..."
"Tell me, as long as we can bring the person back, I can get all the members of the task force to cooperate with you."
"I'm afraid it's not enough." The sun peeked out from deep in the clouds, casting a little golden light in Ji Yinhe's eyes. "I still need to ask the Archaeological Institute, Huo Zongping and my mother for help."
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