Chapter 92 Chapter 92 The truth comes from the eyes
“…That doesn’t make sense.”
Inside the Tiandu Branch's archives, Ji Yinhe snapped shut the 1980 crime statistics and said in disbelief, "How could such a man—a relatively well-known pastry shop owner, a man in his prime with a family, who normally would have a fairly stable family structure and interpersonal relationships—just disappear so suddenly and no one reported his death?"
Yu Jing, squatting on the floor sorting through file boxes, shrugged. "We were both in elementary school back then. If you ask me, I don't know!"
"..." Ji Yinhe scratched his head. "Who was in charge of the criminal investigation at the time? Can I ask?"
"Oh, Old Huang, he retired eight hundred years ago!" Yu Jing turned his head and waved his hand. "There's no point asking. Last month, the Municipal Bureau questioned Old Huang about a serial murder case from 1986, where eight people died, and he couldn't even remember the murderer's name... He definitely wouldn't remember a minor missing person case like this!"
"..." Having said that, Ji Yinhe never gave up any opportunity. He immediately found the landline number of Lao Huang's house and called him with his mobile phone.
The call was answered by Lao Huang’s family - the old comrade has been diagnosed with cerebral infarction. Let alone the case, he can’t even pronounce his own name clearly!
Captain Ji exchanged a few pleasantries and then reluctantly hung up the phone. After a moment's thought, he dialed the number of the Jiangtan Industrial and Commercial Bureau.
In 1978, Jiangdong Province began to implement the industrial and commercial registration policy, and this small shop should have been included.
If you can find the owner's name, you can find out his family situation and social relations from the household registration department's files!
"Hello, Captain Ji. According to the information you provided, there is indeed such a place in Sipailou called Yaoji Taosu." The comrade from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau was very cooperative and immediately dug up the historical records. "The registration information says that the owner, Yao Youlu, lives in Ziteng Lane, Tiandu County."
"Yes!" Ji Yinhe's eyes lit up, "That's the person!"
She quickly wrote the name "Yao Youlu" on the notebook. Yu Jing understood and grabbed the notebook, then went back to the office to call the household registration department of the police station.
The comrade from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau said on the phone, "Yao Ji Tao Su was renting a storefront in Sipailou. In September 1980, the comrades in charge of that street came for a routine inspection and discovered the building was empty... We contacted the landlord, and Yao Youlu had paid his rent until October, so the landlord didn't notice anything unusual."
"And then?"
"Afterwards... nothing much happened. The policy had just been introduced back then, so implementation was a bit chaotic." The comrade from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau gave a wry laugh. "After October, the landlord sold the storefront to someone else."
"……All right."
Although he didn't dig up much useful information, at least he knew the name of the body that had been buried for more than ten years. Ji Yinhe politely thanked the other party and hung up the phone.
When I turned around, Yu Jing was already walking over with the documents faxed from the police station.
"Yao Youlu, male, from Dengzhou, born in 1936," he reported in a serious tone. "His wife, Lin Fang, is from the same hometown, two years his junior. They have two daughters, Yao Yulan and Yao Xiulan. In the year of the incident, in 1980, they were 16 and 11 respectively."
Ji Yinhe tilted his head, "Is there any information about his wife and daughter 80 years later?"
"Yes," Yu Jing curled his lips. "During the third national census in 1982, staff members went to Ziteng Lane. The doors and windows were closed, and they couldn't contact Lin Fang and Yao Yulan and Yao Xiulan, so they were declared missing. The house was later nationalized and passed through several hands until it was purchased in 1991 by He Ling and Feng Qisheng, the couple who were the victims in the family massacre."
Ji Yinhe took a deep breath and walked towards the Criminal Investigation Brigade office while slowly sorting out the clues in his mind.
When passing by the door of the forensic room, I saw a figure swaying behind the plastic curtain.
Lu Zheng and Ge Weidong, along with several forensic doctors borrowed from other branches, conducted a careful and detailed second autopsy on the four deceased people who had traveled across time and space - Yao Youlu and Feng Qisheng's family of three.
Ji Yinhe paused for only half a second before he walked as fast as the wind and stopped in front of the desk.
As per custom, she still set up a large blackboard here.
Thanks to the efforts of the two generals Heng and Ha, the list is now densely covered with clues to this case within a case.
"...Captain Ji, look, this is what happened to the three deceased people when we arrived at the crime scene after receiving the call." Niu Dazhi pointed to a large diagram and said, "He Ling was slashed in the back and lying facedown in the first-floor kitchen... Feng Qisheng was slashed in the chest and collapsed in the second-floor hallway, while Feng Xiaojing died in her bed. Also, their kitchen knife is missing, so we suspect it was the murder weapon."
Ji Yinhe said "hmm" thoughtfully.
Niu Dazhi continued, "Our preliminary assessment is that the murderer entered through the first floor door, first killed He Ling, who was busy in the kitchen, then went to the second floor, killed Feng Qisheng and Feng Xiaojing, and after erasing all traces, left through the first floor door."
"Has the door been pried open?"
"We found no signs of forced entry," Sang Xiangyang replied, shaking his head. "The murderer could be an acquaintance, or a stranger trying to rob someone... Captain Yu said that this is a county town, and locals like to keep their doors open. It provides good ventilation and shows that there's nothing shameful about their homes."
Yu Jing raised his chin proudly, feeling proud of his meticulous observation, when he saw Ji Yinhe slightly shaking his head.
"I'm still leaning towards the idea that the murderer is someone he knows." Captain Ji stroked his chin in thought. "What you're describing is true, but firstly, He Ling is a city girl with a high regard for privacy. Secondly, it's winter, and the weather is extremely cold. Every household has coal stoves. He needs to heat his house, and they have an exhaust duct, so there's absolutely no need to open the door."
“…”
The two generals Heng and Ha didn't dare to breathe, and the corners of Yu Jing's lips that were raised fell down in an instant.
But after thinking about it carefully, he really couldn't find any point in Ji Yinhe's statement to refute.
He was a man who attached great importance to the truth and his duties as a criminal policeman. Even though he felt embarrassed, he was becoming more and more convinced of the girl's ability to solve cases.
After two seconds of awkwardness, Deputy Captain Yu raised his hand and handed over a stack of transcripts.
"...Here, this is what we've been looking into over the past few days," he said, pursing his lips. "Old Sang Daniu and I have inquired with He Lingfeng Qisheng's colleagues, relatives, and friends, but none of us have any clues... Perhaps your discerning eye can spot something unusual that's worth digging deeper into."
Ji Yinhe lowered his eyes and quickly scanned the words on the paper——
He Ling is 28 years old and is a Chinese teacher at Tiandu County Chengguan Middle School.
The numerous bottles, jars, and various clothing items in the house suggested she was a beautiful young woman who loved to dress up. To rule out a murder of passion or sexual attraction, Yu Jing, along with his two generals, visited Chengguan Middle School the day after the incident.
Unfortunately, it was winter vacation, and all the teachers were away from work. Yu Jing got a phone book from the person on duty at the Academic Affairs Office and called each of He Ling's colleagues.
Unexpectedly, the result gave him a headache.
"Teacher He... We haven't met much, but she's quite pretty."
"She went on maternity leave to have a baby during the first semester with Teacher Xiao He. I'm not sure about the details."
"Ask He Ling. Yes, we are in the same office, but she rarely talks to us. After class, she goes out shopping... I heard her family has some connections?"
"Little He is okay. He has been working in our school for almost seven years and has never had any arguments with anyone."
Yu Jing scratched his forehead and could only turn his gaze to the 29-year-old Feng Qisheng.
As He Ling's husband, this man came from a much more humble background.
Feng Qisheng spent the first decade of his life struggling in the countryside, but luckily, with good grades, he was admitted to Jiangtan Normal University, where he became a classmate of He Ling. They married immediately after graduation in 1991 and moved into a two-story house on Ziteng Lane.
Captain Xiao Ji looked at the couple's wedding date and compared it with Feng Xiaojing's date of birth.
——Only five months away.
She raised her eyebrows, said nothing more, and continued reading Feng Qisheng's work experience.
He Ling's father was once the chairman of the Jiangtan Taiwanese Business Association. It was a leisurely job, but in recent years, with the increasing number of Taiwanese and Hong Kong businesspeople doing business in Jiangtan, the association has grown, and the chores have become numerous. Three years after his daughter and son-in-law's marriage, He's father died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage, and He's mother followed three months later.
Fortunately, Feng Qisheng was transferred to the association by his father-in-law half a year ago to serve as an office secretary.
He's father was one of the founders of the association. Although he is gone, his status in the industry will not disappear immediately.
Out of consideration for this big boss, even if everyone did not approve of Feng Qisheng's background and abilities, they still treated him with some respect.
Therefore, Yu Jing visited a lot of people but still couldn't find out the reason.
All I got were comments like, "Xiaofeng is a very honest guy," "Feng Qisheng is an okay person, good looking, and he doesn't mess around outside," "If there's a shortcoming, it's that he's not ambitious enough at work and comes home late every day," "He only has one daughter, and she'll be married off to someone else in the future, so he'll have to rely on himself for retirement," and so on...
After a whole day, there was not a single suspicious candidate. Yu Jing could only raise his Seagull camera in frustration, take a picture of Feng Qisheng's desk, and then go home.
At this moment, Ji Yinhe raised his head and stared at the photo posted on the upper right corner of the blackboard, his eyes fixed.
Feng Qisheng's desk is not big, and is piled with some messy documents. In the middle, there is a piece of glass on a green mat, with a few photos pressed in between - several family photos, and a photo of his daughter Feng Xiaojing's fifth birthday. It really fits his character of caring for his family and loving his wife and daughter.
Apart from that, there are no clues.
Yu Jing stood by with his arms folded, an expression that said, "Let me see what you can do."
Ji Yinhe retracted his gaze and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Lu and I will go talk to them again."
Yu Jing raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm hiding some clues from you? Or do you think I haven't visited enough places, so you need to go there yourself?"
"No, it's just that some truths cannot be expressed in words." Ji Yinhe said calmly, "You have to look into their eyes."
"..." Yu Jing exhaled from his nose, "Okay, the legs are on your body anyway."
He shook his head and took the two generals Heng and Ha and walked out to smoke. The door closed and opened again, and Lu Zheng walked in with the second autopsy report.
"Old Ge's technical skills are flawless, no worse than Director Lu and the others." He compared the two autopsy reports. "This time, I found almost no extra clues. The cause of death of He Ling's family of three was hacked to death. The murder weapon, a kitchen knife, was found in a back alley not far away. The murderer was very vigilant, so no fingerprints were found."
"Hmm." Ji Yinhe nodded, took the document and read it carefully.
But Lu Zheng's eyes stayed on the photo of the scene of the murder.
It was a close-up of Feng Qisheng lying on the ground. The man's chest was covered in blood and flesh, and there was a large pool of solidified dark brown scattered under his body. There were also splashes of red on the snow-white wall next to him.
Lu Zheng used his finger to imitate the direction of the blood spray and frowned slightly.
"What's wrong?" Ji Yinhe asked with some awareness.
"Something's wrong, but I can't really put my finger on it." Lu Zheng tilted his head and said, "If Feng Qisheng had discovered the murderer had entered his home, he would have immediately gone upstairs to protect Feng Xiaojing. He should have had his back to the corridor... but judging by his posture and the bloodstains, he was facing the murderer, as if he had just emerged from the room..."
"Perhaps he was already in his daughter's bedroom?" Ji Yinhe speculated slowly, "Or perhaps he wanted to rush over and close the door in an attempt to stop the murderer?"
"It's hard to say. If only I could have observed the scene immediately, but unfortunately it has already been cleared. Apart from the photos, we have no basis for judgment."
"It's a good thing to have doubts." Ji Yinhe thought for a few seconds, "Tomorrow, let's go talk to the deceased's colleagues with a question."
Lu Zheng's expression was gentle, "Okay."
*
At the same time.
Night falls outside the window of Meiqingyuan.
Lian Qiao and Ji Jianguo sat on the sofa, looking at each other, the atmosphere was solemn.
"Are you sure... this is the case?"
"I'm sure." Lian Qiao took a deep breath. "The Tiandu District family murder case involves an incident from over a decade ago... Tang Ci was leading a raid to capture the suspect when they were led into a chemical plant... I remember it was a massive explosion. Half of the Tiandu District was filled with thick smoke. Tang Ci tragically died, and Tan Yaxin became a widow at a young age! And Su Yue, out of their long-standing friendship, later helped her find a handsome young boyfriend..."
"And a young handsome boyfriend." Ji Jianguo clicked his tongue. "I say your Green River novels are quite melodramatic... But wait! My novel at a certain point didn't mention this explosion..."
Lian Qiao sighed, "Now that the two worlds have merged, many things have changed. For example, this case originally had nothing to do with Yinhe, but now she has suddenly become the main investigator!... So, you say, the person who was finally led into the chemical plant, wouldn't it be—"
"Pfft!" Ji Jianguo covered his wife's mouth and picked up the mobile phone at hand. "I'll call Yinhe and ask her to come back sometime!"
"..." Lian Qiao looked worried, "Then I'm afraid all our secrets will have to be exposed."
"Given our daughter's intelligence, she's probably long suspected there's something fishy about us. It's just that out of affection and trust, she's never asked." Ji Jianguo rubbed his temples and said, "Anyway, let's tell her about this case first. As for the rest of the truth, we'll take it one step at a time!"
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