Chapter 399 Old Hunter
"Ask me? What question?" Xie Guoqiang was a little surprised and looked at the young man in front of him with some curiosity.
He actually didn't have much contact with Zhou Yi, basically all of it was in meetings, except for after the food street incident when he went to the hospital to express his condolences.
But it was just a quick meeting.
To learn more about Zhou Yi, one either heard it from Wu Yongcheng or read it in the case closing report.
He only knew that this was a young man with great talent for criminal investigation. Since Wu Yongcheng was willing to train him, he would naturally give the green light for team building and talent reserve.
He trusted not Zhou Yi, but Wu Yongcheng.
So he was indeed a little surprised that Zhou Yi dared to ask him questions. How come this guy is as fierce as Wu Yongcheng?
Zhou Yi asked seriously, "Director Xie, I'd like to ask, if we still can't find the murderer, will we eventually take Lu Xiaoshuang as our scapegoat? Even if the chain of evidence isn't complete."
As soon as this question was asked, the atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.
Zhou Yi actually knew that he shouldn't ask this question because it was too sensitive. It was tantamount to asking the chief whether the police were willing to disregard human lives in order to close the case.
This was a very, very risky behavior, and he shouldn't have asked even if he was worried about Lu Xiaoshuang's safety.
Instead of asking, it’s better to track down the real culprit.
But he still asked, because his real purpose in asking this question was not to drink, he just wanted to take the opportunity to test Xie Guoqiang's attitude.
He asked about the July 27 case and for Du Qingming.
Because the current situation is too similar to the July 27 case, Du Qingming suddenly pleaded guilty without forming a complete chain of evidence.
The only difference is that the grand case also involves the education system, and it has attracted more social attention.
Zhou Yi wanted to observe Xie Guoqiang's reaction through this question, because such an opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with Xie Guoqiang was rare for him.
If there is something wrong with Xie Guoqiang's answer, then he would have to make early plans for the current grand case and the Du Qingming case that will be overturned one day.
Zhou Yi's eyes were sharp as a torch, and he accepted Xie Guoqiang's scrutiny without fear.
Xie Guoqiang looked at him with deep eyes and expressionless face.
In fact, the whole process only lasted two seconds, but because the atmosphere was too depressing, Zhou Yi had the illusion that it took a very long time.
Xie Guoqiang said, "Zhou Yi, what do you think the duties of a criminal police officer are?"
Zhou Yi was not surprised that Xie Guoqiang did not answer but instead threw the question back.
If Wu Yongcheng is an old fox, then Xie Guoqiang is at the level of an old hunter.
Moreover, there is a huge gap in their status. Xie Guoqiang can choose not to answer his questions, but he must answer Xie Guoqiang's questions.
"Report to Director Xie, I believe that the duty of us criminal police is to solve cases, crack down on crime, and protect the property and lives of the people." Zhou Yi answered loudly.
"So do you think the suspects are from the masses?"
"The law stipulates that criminal suspects still enjoy basic citizen rights before being sentenced by the court, so I believe that suspects are also part of the people."
Xie Guoqiang nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Have you seen the slogan on the wall outside the interrogation room in the corridor on the second floor, between the third and fourth windows from the left?"
This question was completely different from the previous one, and it left Zhou Yi stunned. But after a quick thought, he replied, "If I remember correctly, the sign over there said 'Don't let a bad guy go, don't wrongly accuse a good person.'"
Xie Guoqiang nodded: "Okay, you have answered all the questions for me, so I can save some effort."
At this point, Zhou Yi actually already knew the result.
Xie Guoqiang didn't answer a single word, but brought the rhythm back to normal with three rhetorical questions.
The key point is that none of these high-sounding words were spoken by Xie Guoqiang himself. He seemed to have expressed his position, but in fact he said nothing.
"The work has been arranged at the meeting just now. Since you have previously raised your suspicions about Xiao Bing, it is up to you to investigate this line. Go ahead."
Zhou Yi said yes, got up and left.
This time, he felt like he had lost both the wife and the army.
He is indeed an old hunter.
When Zhou Yi left, Xie Guoqiang didn't even look at him, but just stared at the pen in his hand.
Immediately, a barely perceptible smile crossed the corners of his mouth.
…
This task force's case analysis meeting covered a vast amount of information.
There are both targeted special investigations and large-scale visits and surveys.
At least these actions confirmed what Wu Yongcheng had said before, that the task force had locked in Lu Xiaoshuang as the suspect, but they had not completely confirmed it.
Because everyone in this room is a professional criminal investigator, everyone can see the suspicious points inside.
Zhou Yi listened, took notes and summarized.
Although Director Xie had assigned the Xiao Bing line he had proposed earlier to himself and Chen Yan, this was a task deployed from a leadership perspective. He needed to understand all the information before he could think about how to find the murderer's flaws.
The targeted investigation mainly revolves around two people, the deceased Xu Liu and the suspect Lu Xiaoshuang.
In the on-campus investigation, the two people basically overlapped.
Regarding the investigation into Lu Xiaoshuang, Zhou Yi knew more about the situation than anyone else in the task force, except for the period from when Lu Xiaoshuang disappeared at noon on the 29th to when she was found in the mine in Xinbei Town on the evening of May 1st.
As for Xu Liu's information, he really didn't know. After all, in the previous life, seven alumni including Xu Liu had alibis during the period when Lu Xiaoshuang disappeared, and thus were ruled out as suspects.
There are a total of 57 students majoring in Financial Management at Hongda University Class of 1996. The eight people in Lu Xiaoshuang's dormitory are all students of this major, of which 43 are girls, accounting for over 70%, and there are only 14 boys.
The first thing the task force investigated was Xu Liu's movements.
According to the information provided by their counselor Wu Na and the leave application note filled out by Xu Liu and handed over to the task force, it was confirmed that Xu Liu had taken two days off to go home on the grounds that his family member was sick and hospitalized.
Since there was no home contact number in Xu Liu's information, and the teachers at the key university had confidence in the students' quality, Wu Na approved her leave application without verifying the situation.
I also told her not to worry. If she couldn't get back on Labor Day, she could just call her in advance and make up for it later.
So Xu Liu left the dormitory at about 4:20 pm on the afternoon of April 28th after finishing the afternoon class.
This information is true because the other six people in the dormitory confirmed it.
When she left, she was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and light yellow plaid trousers, and carrying a Nike backpack. Some roommates saw that she put some small amounts of clothes and daily necessities in the bag, but it was not clear what exactly was in it.
It seems to fit the description of going home.
However, Chen Yao checked the surveillance footage at the school's main gate from four in the afternoon until midnight, staring at every girl who left the school gate, but he didn't find anyone with matching clothing.
It only means that she did not go through the main door on the south side, but may have left through the side door on the east side or the back door on the north side.
The task force deployed a large number of police forces to check all buses with long routes and stops, as well as taxis and illegal motorcycle taxis that often pick up passengers at the school gate.
But no one had any impression of Xu Liu, and many people shook their heads when looking at Xu Liu's photos.
The task force also went to the train station and long-distance bus station and questioned the staff on that day, but received uncertain answers.
This kind of survey was extremely inefficient in an era without surveillance and real-name registration.
Because they are all passers-by in a hurry, only when the person's clothing, appearance or accent has obvious characteristics can he form a memory point and be remembered by others; or he can be remembered by others because he has caused something.
Otherwise, it's normal that no one remembers it.
But what needs to be checked still needs to be checked, which is why the investigation work is time-consuming and laborious.
At the same time, the task force contacted Xu Liu's parents through the local police in Huaixing, both to understand the situation and to notify the family to identify the body.
What Xu Liu's parents said confirmed that Xu Liu was completely lying about asking for leave.
Because she had never gone home and no one in her family was sick or hospitalized.
Xu Liu's family lives in Liming Town, Shuguang County, Huaixing City, a neighboring province. To return to Xu Liu's home from Hongcheng, one has to take a train and change buses several times. The whole process takes more than ten hours. If it is a long-distance bus, it will take even longer.
So Xu Liu usually doesn't go back except during winter and summer vacations.
It has been ten months since I started college, and I only came back during the winter break and Chinese New Year during the first semester.
So her parents thought it was impossible for her to go home, and she never told her family why she had to go home.
The task force asked the local police to arrange for Xu Liu's parents to come to Hongcheng as soon as possible to identify the body. Her parents arrived in Hongcheng on the evening of May 3rd. Qiao Jiali went to pick them up and went directly to the city bureau's forensic room to identify the body.
In order to take care of the family's situation and to learn more about Xu Liu's family situation and personality traits in the future, the task force arranged a guesthouse that night. The next day, after the deceased's parents were emotionally stable, they were questioned at the Municipal Bureau.
According to the information, Xu Liu's father Xu Daming is a bricklayer, and her mother Feng Ailian is unemployed and usually does odd jobs for others. Xu Liu is the eldest daughter in the family and has two younger brothers, one in the first year of high school and the other in the second year of junior high school.
No matter how you look at it, it seems to be a relatively ordinary family, which has nothing to do with the arrogance and so-called wealth that Xu Liu showed in school.
Gao Xiaofang, who was also from Huaixing and had been consulted before, had a correct intuition. Xu Liu's parents also admitted that although they lived in the town, the entire county was relatively poor, they could not earn much money, and lived a tight life.
Qiao Jiali also confirmed that Xu Liu's parents looked like ordinary, honest people. Faced with what happened, they were at a loss and could only cry non-stop.
However, as the content of the interrogation was explored on the second day, the task force began to make some more in-depth discoveries.
This seemingly ordinary and honest family actually hides very serious problems.
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