Chapter 35 Message
Judging from Shen Hongyun's reaction, he had no idea that his daughter might have been murdered, or he might have been subconsciously resisting this possibility, so he quickly believed the police station's judgment that her daughter had "run away from home" and kept emphasizing the need to find his daughter.
Looking at Shen Hongyun's longing eyes, Xia Mufan felt sour and bitter in his heart, and he felt indescribably uncomfortable.
Because he couldn't bear it, Xia Mufan decided to start the investigation from the perspective of running away from home: "Teacher Shen, on what basis did the police station determine that Shen Yitong ran away from home?"
Shen Hongyun's shoulders collapsed to one side under the weight of the bulging shoulder bag. With trembling hands, he opened the bag, took out an aluminum lunch box and placed it on the table, then took out a bag of laundry, and finally took out a transparent plastic file bag from the bottom.
There were a lot of things in the file bag. Shen Hongyun opened it and took out a piece of copy paper to show Xia Muchan.
"This is Tongtong's resignation letter to Wang Xiumei, the head of the Propaganda Section. I heard from the police station that Tongtong secretly placed the letter on Wang's desk in a blank envelope mixed with a pile of documents. Wang didn't notice it at all. It was only after Tongtong disappeared that he noticed the envelope. After opening it, he found that it was Tongtong's resignation letter. They refused to show me the letter. It was only after I persuaded them that they made me a copy."
For Shen Hongyun, his daughter is gone, so every word she left behind is invaluable and must be cherished. What he didn't tell Xia Mufan was that he had spent a lot of effort to get the resignation letter at the police station and almost knelt down in front of the director, who then gave him a copy.
Sun Xianbing interrupted, "Teacher Shen, when you went to see the town government leaders, didn't they say that the town government had received the resignation letter, but the organization was still studying it and had not agreed to it? How come now Chief Wang said that the resignation letter was not opened until after Shen Yitong disappeared? In this case, there is no such thing as an organizational study at all."
Shen Hongyun was bent over by the suffering and sighed: "The town government leaders are shirking their responsibilities, fearing that I will hold them accountable for not discovering and handling the ideological trends of the employees in a timely manner."
Sun Xianbing said: "The more afraid they are, the more you will argue. If Shen Yitong really handed in her resignation letter, then the leader should have a talk with her in time to understand the situation. How can he just leave it on the desk and ignore it?"
There was no light in Shen Hongyun's eyes, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Forget it, as long as Tongtong can find it, none of this matters..."
Sun Xianbing wanted to say something else, but was stopped by Yu Jing and shook his head gently. The most urgent task now is to confirm Shen Yitong's safety. Let's put aside for the time being whether the town government is shirking its responsibility.
Sun Xianbing snorted softly.
After hearing this, he was really furious.
A good person disappeared after get off work, and no one in the town government knew anything about it. If I hadn’t found out that I didn’t come to work the next day, I’m afraid that the resignation letter would have been thrown into the trash can, right?
What’s even more hateful is that Shen Yitong disappeared. Faced with the grieving family, the town government leaders dared to speak in an official tone, saying that they would only give her one month, and if she didn’t come back within one month, she would be fired.
What the hell! I haven't even asked you for the person yet, but you're already acting so ruthless.
This is also because Teacher Shen is honest and cares about face. If he meets a powerful person, he will make a scene in front of the town government every day and demand people in the town government leader's office. If the leader ignores me, I will go to the city and province to make trouble. I wonder if you will be in trouble.
Xia Mufan picked up the black and white copy and looked at it carefully.
This resignation letter should have been written on the letterhead issued by the town government, with clear stripes and the words "Xinzhang Town Government" written on it. The font is beautiful, the structure is timeless, and the strokes are clear, and you can tell at a glance that it has been practiced.
"Teacher Shen, is this your daughter's handwriting? Has she practiced calligraphy before?"
Shen Hongyun nodded: "Yes, it's Tongtong's handwriting. She is very quiet and has been copying calligraphy from me since she was a child. Her calligraphy is quite accomplished. The town government assigned her to the Propaganda Department because she has a good handwriting."
After confirming that it was Shen Yitong's handwriting, Xia Mufan began to pay attention to the content of the resignation letter.
There are not many words, but they are concise and to the point, without any nonsense. The general meaning was that she felt her development in the town was limited and she wanted to resign and try her luck in a big city. Finally, she thanked the leaders for their cultivation and attention and hoped that they would agree to her resignation.
The last date written was April 12, 1996, which was a Friday.
Xia Mufan asked: "Teacher Shen, has your daughter told you about her intention to resign?"
Shen Hongyun shook his head blankly: "She never told us. When Tongtong graduated from college at the age of 21, I also asked for her opinion, but she couldn't bear to leave me and her mother, so she took the initiative to ask to be assigned to work in the town. Nine years have passed. Although there are few people here, it's not lively, and the economy is not developed, it is our hometown after all. Tongtong has never expressed dislike for the small town."
Shen Hongyun sighed deeply, "If Tongtong wants to leave, she told us that we would support her, but we would suggest that she not resign first, but apply for unpaid leave, so that she can go to a big city for a few years, and if she doesn't live well, she can come back. Teacher Zhou and I are retired, have pensions, and can take care of ourselves, but she... doesn't want to get married, doesn't have children, and if she resigns, what will she do when she gets old in the future?"
In the 1980s and 1990s, many people took unpaid leave from their jobs. Some of them "went into business" and made money, while others did very poorly. It is understandable that the old man hopes that his daughter will not resign rashly.
Could it be that Shen Yitong knew that this would be the result of discussing it with her parents, so she resolutely submitted her resignation letter?
Xia Mufan put the resignation letter aside and said, "I heard that your daughter left a message for you?"
Shen Hongyun took out another piece of photocopied paper from the file bag: "The original was left at the police station, this is a photocopy. The police station comrades found it when they checked Tongtong's dormitory. They said it was tucked inside a book. Tongtong must have wanted to give it to us, but I don't know why it was left in the dormitory later."
Xia Mushige asked: "Which book is it in?"
Shen Hongyun shook his head: "I don't know. The police station comrades didn't tell me. They said these are important evidence and can't be given to me."
Xia Mufan didn't say anything else and just looked down at the message.
Exactly the same font, exactly the same concise words.
"Dad, Mom, please forgive your daughter for being unfilial. The world is so big, I don't want to be bound to Xinzhang Town forever, I want to go out and take a walk and see the world."
The note was unsigned and undateable.
Shen Hongyun's eyes fell on the paper, tears flashed in his eyes, and thousands of thoughts surged in his heart. In order to see the outside world, my daughter left without saying a word. His daughter has always been well-behaved and sensible, and he has never been a selfish parent who would hinder his daughter's progress. How could she be so cruel?
Shen Hongyun's voice was filled with a hint of sadness: "It was just three lines of words, a small note. This child had something on his mind, but he never told us."
Xia Mufan asked: "What does this little note say?"
Shen Hongyun gestured with two fingers: "It's just this little bit. It should be a piece of paper cut from a notebook. This is a photocopy, so you can't tell it."
Looking at the copy in front of him, Xia Mufan seemed to be thinking about something.
Out of his detective intuition, Xia Mushige was suspicious of the resignation letter and the note.
When a public official resigns, he or she must submit a resignation letter and wait for the organization to review it. Only after the leader agrees can the relevant procedures be completed. Salary settlement, return of various benefits of the unit, including dormitories, borrowed furniture, electrical appliances, etc., and the most critical thing is the handling of archival relations.
Shen Yitong had worked in the unit for nearly nine years, so it was impossible for her not to know these requirements. She is a party member and has organizational relations to deal with. It is impossible for her to quietly submit a letter of resignation and leave without waiting for a reply from her leader.
Throughout one's life, it is impossible to easily give up various social relationships. Leave a message to your parents and then disappear? This is a trick played by children. A 30-year-old adult would not be so impulsive.
Was it Shen Yitong or someone else who quietly placed the resignation letter on the section chief's desk and wrote the message and put it in the book?
If Shen Yitong really did it, it means that she is an extremely self-centered person, full of hatred for her family and unit, and acts impulsively and recklessly. But from Shen Hongyun's description and the restaurant owner's words, Shen Yitong is not such a person.
If it is someone else, then that person has ulterior motives and deserves to be put to death!
Although it was painful, Xia Mufan had to consider the possibility that Shen Yitong was murdered.
Who is the murderer?
After taking a deep breath, Xia Mufan began to think about the direction of subsequent investigation.
If Shen Yitong was murdered, then we should start with analyzing the motive for the murder and try to find clues.
One of the motives for murder is passion killing.
Xia Mushige: "Has your daughter ever been in love?"
Shen Hongyun sighed: "No. That's why I'm worried."
Xia Mushige: "Does she have any suitors?"
Shen Hongyun thought for a moment and said, "When she was in college, a classmate liked her very much and even came to the town, but after graduation, he returned to his hometown and the two of them never contacted each other again."
Xia Mushige: "Does she have a crush on someone?"
Shen Hongyun shook his head: "Tongtong's requirements for a lover are a bit idealistic. Our town is too small, and most of the outstanding men go to big cities to develop. I have never heard her say that she has a favorite person."
Shen Hongyun and his lover Zhou Luanfeng had their daughter Tongtong after they were over 30, and they had high hopes for her since she was young. Both of them are teachers and attach great importance to education, one in charge of Chinese and the other in charge of mathematics. Shen Yitong did not disappoint her parents. She was well-behaved and obedient, and her studies went smoothly.
Shen Yitong, who was strictly brought up in an intellectual family, has a noble, sensitive personality and a strong self-esteem. She keeps everything to herself and usually handles conflicts calmly. She rarely argues with her parents, friends or colleagues.
Shen Hongyun thought of the quarrel between his daughter and him before she disappeared, and regretted it so much that his eyes were red. "Blame me, blame me! If she doesn't want to talk, then don't talk. If she doesn't want to get married, then don't get married. Why did I force her? If something happens to her, how are I and her mother going to live? Tongtong has always been a good child. She rarely gets angry with us. This time we pushed her too hard. We shouldn't have done that!"
Xia Mushige continued to ask calmly, "Is it possible that your daughter is secretly dating someone and just hasn't told you?"
Shen Hongyun shook his head repeatedly: "Impossible, impossible, falling in love is a good thing, Tongtong doesn't have to hide it from us."
Xia Mushige said: "Maybe she thinks you will object to this partner?"
Shen Hongyun obviously hadn't thought about this question: "We have never objected to Tongtong dating. She is already a 30-year-old girl. We respect her choice."
Seeing that he still didn't understand what he meant, Xia Mufan had to ask directly: "What if the other party has a family?"
If this is the case, then Shen Yitong may have been murdered or she may have eloped.
——The other party did not want his extramarital affair to be exposed, and had an argument with Shen Yitong, who was pursuing him for marriage, and accidentally beat her to death. Or the other party’s wife finds out that her husband is cheating and kills both of them.
——Faced with a love affair that was unacceptable to the world, the two agreed to elope, quietly leaving Xinzhang Town and starting a new life.
Shen Hongyun reacted strongly to Xia Mufan's hypothesis.
His face changed, he stood up suddenly, and shouted, "Impossible! I raised Tongtong by myself, and she would never do anything against ethics and morality. I have always been democratic, I have no objection to her finding any kind of man, even if the other party has a low education, a poor family, is ugly, divorced, a widower with children... I have no objection to these, but this one is absolutely not allowed! How can a person with courtesy, righteousness, and integrity do such a thing!"
Xu Shumei hurriedly stood up and comforted Teacher Shen: "Teacher, don't worry. I know that the children you educate will never do such a thing. Mu Fan and the others are just trying to solve the case, so they want to put forward all the possibilities."
Shen Hongyun's emotions gradually stabilized. He sat down dejectedly and waved his hand: "Don't talk about this anymore. It's absolutely impossible. Tongtong is a good child. It's impossible for her to do something to destroy other people's families."
Okay, let’s put aside the theme of love murder for now.
The second possibility is that friends have conflicts due to financial or emotional disputes.
Xia Mushige changed his angle and continued to ask: "Does your daughter have any particularly good friends?"
Shen Hongyun said, "Yes. She has a junior high school classmate named Fang Yuanyuan. After graduating from the medical school, she was assigned to the town hospital as a nurse. The two have been dating since junior high school and have a good relationship. This time, Teacher Zhou fell ill, thanks to Fang Yuanyuan's care."
Xia Mushige: "Have they ever quarreled?"
Shen Hongyun: “No.”
Xia Mufan asked again: "Has your daughter ever lent money to Fang Yuanyuan?"
Shen Hongyun glanced at Xia Mufan and said, "Fang Yuanyuan's family conditions are a little poor, but she is very independent and she always pays back the money she borrows in a timely manner."
Xia Mufan asked: "Does Fang Yuanyuan know where Shen Yitong went?"
Shen Hongyun shook his head: "She doesn't know."
Xia Mufan: "Did she find anything unusual before Shen Yitong disappeared?"
Shen Hongyun: "The police and I both asked Fang Yuanyuan, and she said that her son was so busy with a cold during that time that she had no time to talk to Tongtong, and she didn't notice anything unusual."
Xia Mufan asked: "When you saw Fang Yuanyuan, how did she react when she found out her friend was missing?"
Shen Hongyun thought back carefully: "It was quite unexpected. I started crying while talking and felt very guilty."
Xia Mufan signaled Sun Xianbing, who was taking notes, to make a mark here.
Even if Fang Yuanyuan can be ruled out as the culprit, this person must be investigated in depth.
There are some things that women are reluctant to tell their parents, but they may confide in their best friends. Maybe we can get some important clues from Fang Yuanyuan.
Sun Xianbing did as he was told and drew a wavy line under Fang Yuanyuan's name. This is an important witness and we will need to follow up further.
The third possibility is that conflicts of interest arise between colleagues.
Xia Mufan asked: "How is Shen Yitong's relationship with her colleagues?"
Shen Hongyun said, "It's just so-so. Tongtong doesn't like to fight for power and gain, and her friendship with her office colleagues is as simple as water. I haven't heard that she is closer to anyone."
Shen Yitong is still just an ordinary clerk at the age of 30. Obviously, she has never thought about making further progress in her career, so there is naturally no conflict of interest between her and her colleagues.
All that's left is robbery or murder in passion.
That also requires a place for implementation and incentives.
Does Shen Yitong usually have consumption habits, living habits, interests and hobbies? Where does she usually go after get off work and who does she meet with? What kind of leisure activities does she choose on weekends? Does she like watching movies? Does she like being unique? These became the focus of the investigation.
Xia Mushige asked: "Does your daughter have the habit of writing a diary?"
Shen Hongyun frowned, "In order to train her writing skills, I asked her to write a diary every day. But because her mother and I have experienced the movement for ten years, we know that the mouth can cause trouble, so we repeatedly warned her not to write about private things, and not to easily write comments on something. So Tongtong's diary is basically just writing practice, and she doesn't write about her worries."
Xia Mushige asked: "Then she should have written a diary, right?"
Shen Hongyun nodded this time: "Yes, she has developed a good habit. I kept her diary from school, and I asked her to stop writing after she started working, so that her colleagues wouldn't find out and find fault with her, which would affect her future development."
Xia Mushige asked: "Just now you said that no diary was found in her dormitory, right?"
Shen Hongyun's eyes turned red: "Yes, this child is really obedient. She didn't write when I asked her not to."
This time, without waiting for Xia Mufan's signal, Sun Xianbing had already drawn a double horizontal line under these three words in the diary. This is important physical evidence and needs to be further investigated.
After asking some other questions, Xia Mufan stood up and said, "Teacher Shen, please go to the city with us."
Shen Hongyun looked at her in confusion: "What are you going to do in the city?"
Xia Mufan said: "Report it to the police."
If an adult goes missing, you should generally report to the local police station three days later. If there is no news for a month, you can report to the local Criminal Investigation Brigade.
Although Shen Yitong has been missing for less than a month, she is a "four-stable" person. Even if the Xinzhang Town Police Station has concluded that she ran away from home, the possibility that she was murdered is still very high.
As long as the family members report the case, a case can be filed immediately and the investigation can be started.
As long as a case is filed in the Criminal Investigation Brigade, Xia Mufan will obtain the right of investigation and the investigation will be legitimate, which will be much more convenient.
Yu Jing patiently explained the process to Shen Hongyun, saying, "After you report the case, our Criminal Investigation Brigade may file a criminal case. But don't worry, this is just a normal process."
Even though Yu Jing said so, the words "criminal case" still made Shen Hongyun nervous. His heart was pounding and he stood up tremblingly: "Okay, I'll go with you."
Boss Hu is a warm-hearted person. He studied in the junior high school in the town and respects good teachers like Mr. Shen who are dedicated to teaching and educating.
Seeing that Xia Mufan and the others were willing to help find someone, and asked Shen Hongyun to skip the Xinzhang Town Police Station and go directly to the Huishi Public Security Bureau to report the crime, Boss Hu rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Teacher Shen, just go ahead. I'll bring pork rib soup to Teacher Zhou tonight, don't worry. If you don't come back today, call me and I'll ask my wife to take care of Teacher Zhou."
Shen Hongyun didn't know how to refuse for a moment, so he could only thank him repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you, thank you for your trouble."
--
It was around three in the afternoon when Xia Mufan returned to the Criminal Investigation Brigade to report.
Yu Jing led Shen Hongyun to report the case. When the Criminal Investigation Team heard the words "missing women", they immediately became nervous. Xia Mufan's mother has been missing for sixteen years. Wasn't she just abducted and taken to a poor mountain valley? Now there is another missing case in Xinzhang Town, and the person involved is a “four stable” person. We must take it seriously!
The Criminal Investigation Brigade filed a case, Xia Mufan volunteered, and the Serious Crime Unit 7 successfully took over the case.
The team members briefly met and Xia Mufan, Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing went to Xinzhang Town to investigate. Gong Weiguo was responsible for going to the city's telecommunications department to investigate the communication records of Shen Yitong's pager and office phone. As for Feng Xiaoyu, in addition to assisting Gong Weiguo, she also had to undertake an important task - to accompany Xu Shumei.
Xu Shumei had just recovered her memory and was very unfamiliar with the Huishi Public Security Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Brigade. Xia Mufan was going on a business trip and was worried about his mother being alone, so he called Feng Xiaoyu and told her carefully: "Take my mother to the dormitory and take her to the cafeteria for dinner in the evening. Please accompany my mother to familiarize herself with the environment before I come back."
As soon as Feng Xiaoyu came back, Yue Yuan asked her to write a report. She was so dizzy while writing that she was feeling dizzy. When she heard the task assigned by Xia Mufan, she readily obeyed: "Don't worry, I promise to take good care of Auntie."
Hui City Public Security Bureau has staff dormitories with good housing conditions. The single dormitory was built in the 1980s. Each dormitory has an independent bathroom. You can cook by setting up a stove in the corridor, which is quite convenient.
After Xia Mufan reported to the serious crime squad, he was assigned to a dormitory near the stairwell. After finding her mother, she lived with her mother so that she could be taken care of more easily.
Xu Shumei’s brain wasn’t working very well before, and she couldn’t leave Xia Muchan. The two of them lived in the same room and slept in the same bed. Now Xu Shumei has recovered. Seeing that her daughter is so worried about her, she looked at Feng Xiaoyu a little embarrassedly: "Xiaoyu, thank you for your help."
Feng Xiaoyu said with a smile: "Auntie, please don't be so formal. Xia Xia and I are in the same group and we have a very good relationship."
After seeing off Xia Mufan, Teacher Shen and the others, Feng Xiaoyu intimately held Xu Shumei's hand and took her to the dormitory to rest. As they walked, she introduced the building layout of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, the functions of the Public Security Bureau next door, how many buildings there were in the staff dormitory area, where the sports and leisure area was, when the canteen opened for meals, and how many times a week the bathhouse opened...
With Feng Xiaoyu's gentle words, Xu Shumei's sense of strangeness gradually dissipated, and she slowly became familiar with this world sixteen years later.
The world is developing so fast.
There are telephones in the office, and everyone has a pager on their waist so they can be contacted at any time. The streets in the city are very wide, there are many cars, and high-rise buildings are rising from the ground. I heard that land can be bought and sold now. Some bosses in the city have built buildings and are selling them. You can buy a house for tens of thousands of dollars.
Thinking of the 20,000 yuan compensation she had just received, Xu Shumei was a little tempted.
She is from the countryside. Once rural people have money, they build houses. Once they have land, they think about growing crops and vegetables. It is something engraved in their bones and cannot be shaken off.
Xia Mufan now lives in a dormitory assigned by her unit. It is not a long-term solution for her and her daughter to live together. She still needs to have her own house.
Thinking of this, Xu Shumei said to Feng Xiaoyu: "Xiaoyu, why don't you take Auntie to see where there are houses for sale?"
Feng Xiaoyu responded happily: "You want to buy a house? That's perfect. My parents bought a wedding house for my brother during the Chinese New Year and looked at several new communities in the city. I'll take you to have a look."
Xu Shumei started looking for houses accompanied by Feng Xiaoyu.
Real estate development in the city has just started and most of the projects are small-scale. There are seven or eight six-story brick-concrete houses in a community. The rooms are a bit close to each other, the roads are all concrete, and the greenery is average. This makes Xu Shumei, who has lived in the countryside for half her life, a little uncomfortable.
Finally, I reluctantly found a community where the smallest apartment was 90 square meters, with two bedrooms and two living rooms. The unit price was 500 yuan, so the total price was about 40,000 to 50,000 yuan. Xu Shumei thought that she only had 20,000 yuan, so she had to suppress the idea of buying a house.
While Xu Shumei was looking at the house, Xia Mufan, Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing rushed all the way and finally arrived at the Xinzhang Town Police Station at around 5:30.
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