Chapter 36 Eavesdropping
After sending Shen Hongyun to Xinzhang Town Hospital to accompany his wife who had been hospitalized due to a stroke, Xia Mufan and his team finally arrived at the Xinzhang Town Police Station before getting off work.
The police station is located in the center of the town, facing the main road.
There were two police cars and five police motorcycles parked in the yard. Seeing this, Yu Jing shook his head repeatedly: "It's much better equipped than our Anning Road Police Station. There are also police cars."
Sun Xianbing snorted: "This shows that Xinzhang Town is rich and willing to allocate money to the police station."
After parking the car in the yard, the three of them walked into a two-story building with a single-sided corridor. This was the office area of the Xinzhang Town Police Station.
In March, in order to find their mother, all members of the Serious Crime Unit 7 came to the Xinzhang Town Police Station and were considered acquaintances. When they met again, the police officers greeted each other warmly, and the case team leader Qiao Antai took them to the director's office on the west side of the second floor.
Seeing Xia Mufan and the other two, Director Xiao Zhenwei came out from behind his desk, smiled and shook hands with them: "You came just in time. If you were two minutes later, you probably wouldn't have been able to see me, haha."
Director Xiao Zhenwei is in his prime, of medium build, slightly plump, with polished leather shoes and neatly combed back hair, looking like a leader.
His fingers were burnt yellow by the smoke, and he could smell the strong smell of cigarettes as soon as he stretched out his hand. Xia Mufan frowned: "If you have anything, just call me. I'll always be able to see you."
Xiao Zhenwei felt a little embarrassed.
It's been a long time since I met a young man like Xia Mufan.
Xiao Zhenwei has been the director of the town police station for ten years. He usually deals with people in official circles who speak in a roundabout way and are very smooth. Usually when Xiao Zhenwei made such a joke, the other party would usually smile knowingly, laugh it off and say: Chief Xiao is a very busy man, and I am lucky.
But the officer Xia in front of him was young, spoke bluntly, and did not follow the beaten path, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
However, Xiao Zhenwei adjusted quickly, his smile not diminishing: "Congratulations, Officer Xia, you have done a great job this time, you were able to find a person who had been missing for 16 years, that's amazing."
Xia Mushige still had a straight face: "I was just the person who reported the case and provided evidence to the police. The people who made the contribution were the other colleagues in the serious crime team."
Xiao Zhenwei's smile froze on his face, and he felt like he couldn't continue the conversation that day.
Yu Jing smoothed things over: "We have to thank Chief Xiao for his cooperation, which helped us solve this old case."
Xiao Zhenwei smiled and waved his hands: "Okay, okay, this is what our grassroots units should do."
Xia Mufan was ready to challenge the police: "Chief Xiao, I want to ask how your police station handled the missing persons case back then? A luxury business car from Xing City hit someone, and how could such an obvious clue be ignored?"
Xiao Zhenwei saw Xia Mufan pursing her lips with a serious expression, thinking that her mother had been missing for sixteen years and must have suffered a lot after being found. Now she came to the police station with an attitude of settling scores. He couldn't help but sneer in his heart: What a young and hot-tempered person! It's been so long since this happened, and the police officers who handled the case have long since retired or left. No matter how much they settle the accounts, it will not be his turn to be held accountable.
"Please sit down, please sit down." Xiao Zhenwei asked the three to sit down while explaining: "At that time, criminal investigation methods were limited, and the criminal investigation awareness of the police station was relatively weak..."
Xia Mufan raised an eyebrow: "What about now?"
Xiao Zhenwei said: "It's much more standardized now, don't worry."
Xia Mushige continued to ask: "How standardized is it?"
Xiao Zhenwei had been an official for too long and was unfamiliar with the business, so he motioned Qiao Antai to answer the question.
Qiao Antai is the case team leader and he explained the process of handling missing persons reports one by one.
"After the case is filed, we collect information first, then the family members post a missing person notice, and we visit the place where the person disappeared and ask people around if there were any unusual circumstances on that day."
Xia Mufan waited quietly for him to finish, his eyes turned cold: "That's it?"
Qiao Antai didn't know what her intention was, and looked at her in confusion: "What else do you want?"
Xia Mufan reminded him: "Do you still need to issue a missing persons assistance notice within the public security system?"
Qiao Antai finally understood and nodded repeatedly: "Of course."
Very good, this is what I was waiting for.
Xia Mufan: "Then why didn't our Criminal Investigation Team see Shen Yitong's cooperation notice?"
Qiao Antai subconsciously glanced at Xiao Zhenwei.
Xia Mufan noticed that Xiao Zhenwei's expression was stiff for a moment.
However, Xiao Zhenwei's facial muscles quickly returned to normal: "Chen Yitong? Why are you all of a sudden concerned about this person? She just ran away from home, there is no need to issue a joint investigation notice."
Xia Mufan's eyes were sharp: "Running away from home, is this your conclusion?"
Why did Shen Yitong run away from home?
What great temptation could make her give up her elderly parents, easy job and stable life?
You are simply lying with your eyes open!
Xiao Zhenwei was a smart man. Seeing Xia Mufan's aggressiveness, he immediately realized the problem and said with a smile: "Officer Xia, why did you come here today? If you want to criticize our police station for not handling the case well 16 years ago, can I apologize to you on behalf of the police officers who handled the case back then? At that time, the technical level was limited, and the public security officers of the police station could not find Xu Shumei in time. So, I will treat all the police officers to dinner and drinks at the Yu Furong Hotel tonight to apologize!"
Xia Mufan sat upright on the sofa, not saying a word.
Xiao Zhenwei couldn't figure out Xia Mufan's temper, so he had to continue talking: "If you are here today for Shen Yitong's case, then I would like to ask, in what capacity are you here to inquire? After Shen Yitong disappeared, Shen Yitong's family reported the case. Our police station filed a case and carried out investigations in an orderly manner. The current conclusion is that she ran away from home. We are all adults and are responsible for our own lives. Although I can't contact her for the time being, I believe she will contact her family when she settles down. It's not a big case, so it won't alarm the serious crime squad, right?"
Xia Muchan raised his chin towards Yu Jing.
Yu Jing immediately took out the prepared case filing materials and handed them to Xiao Zhenwei: "Director Xiao, the case of Shen Yitong's disappearance has been filed as a criminal case in our Criminal Investigation Brigade. Our Serious Case Team 7 has taken over the case. Please cooperate."
Xiao Zhenwei's expression suddenly changed.
He took the materials and stared at Shen Hongyun's signature. Although he didn't say anything, Xia Mufan knew that he was very dissatisfied from his gradually heavy breathing and clenched teeth.
After a while, Xiao Zhenwei smiled bitterly and said, "It's been less than a month since Shen Yitong disappeared, and Shen Hongyun went to the Criminal Investigation Team to report the case? It seems that he doesn't trust our Xinzhang Town Police Station. However... Shen Hongyun is eager to find his daughter and exaggerates, so why did you also file a criminal case?"
Yu Jing was calm and explained honestly: "Shen Yitong has a stable mood, a stable job, a stable income, and a stable family. The possibility of disappearance and murder of this kind of four stable people is very high, so our criminal investigation team has set up a line of investigation and filed a criminal case."
Xiao Zhenwei frowned: "How could she be murdered? Shen Yitong just ran away from home."
Sun Xianbing couldn't help but yelled, "How could a perfectly healthy adult woman abandon her workplace, her organizational ties, and her elderly parents and run away from home? Why did she leave home? Is there anything unusual about her? Where might she have gone? Have you checked all of this?"
Xiao Zhenwei didn't get angry. He glanced at Sun Xianbing, then moved closer to Xia Mufan and asked in a low voice, "Officer Xia, tell me, who is Shen Yitong to you?"
This question really made Xia Mufan so angry that he almost jumped up and hit someone!
What? Xiao Zhenwei thought that she took this case because of personal relationship?
In other words, if Shen Yitong was just an ordinary person, could she be rubbed by anyone?
Xia Mufan clenched his fists and said coldly: "The people's police serve the people, not their acquaintances!"
Xiao Zhenwei seemed not to have heard her sarcasm, and laughed coldly: "Yes, yes, well said."
His eyes flickered and he was cursing in his heart. He judged others by himself and thought that Xia Mufan did not call in advance to inform her, but raided her when she was almost off work, gave up her rest time, and was unwilling to treat her to a meal. If they were not acquaintances, who would be so thoughtful?
Yu Jing had worked at the Anning Road Police Station for seven or eight years, and this was the first time he had seen such a shameless and mercenary police station chief. He could not help but secretly despise him.
He walked forward, took the case filing materials back from Xiao Zhenwei, and handed a letter of assistance with the big red official seal of the Public Security Bureau to Xiao Zhenwei: "Director Xiao, please transfer all the information and evidence of Shen Yitong's case to us, and please assist us in investigating this case."
Xiao Zhenwei took the letter of cooperation, his eyes moved slightly, and he turned to Qiao Antai and said, “Old Qiao, go and sort out Shen Yitong’s information and bring it over.”
Sort out, sort out. These four words are deliberately emphasized.
Xia Mushige stood up and said, "Time is tight, let's go with Officer Qiao."
Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing hugged Qiao Antai on the left and right. Xia Mufan walked at the end and glanced at Xiao Zhenwei: "Director Xiao should be very familiar with the cause and effect of this case. Let's introduce it while we walk."
Xiao Zhenwei had no choice but to walk faster to catch up with Xia Mufan's pace, talking about this and that as he walked.
Xia Mufan responded intermittently, but his eyes were always observing Xiao Zhenwei's actions.
Before coming to the police station, Xia Mufan was just dissatisfied with Xiao Zhenwei's attitude and ability.
However, Xia Mufan now suspects that Shen Yitong’s disappearance is related to Xiao Zhenwei.
The Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Public Security Bureau is responsible for all criminal cases in Hui City. No matter whether the case is reported by the police station on its own initiative or the serious crime squad comes to the police station to request assistance, the police station, as a grassroots unit, generally obeys the order with pleasure and hands over all evidence and information without saying a word.
To be honest, isn't it a relief that someone else has taken over the cases that the police station couldn't handle?
However, the attitude of Chief Xiao of Xinzhang Town Police Station was very strange.
At first, he was reluctant and said in a sarcastic tone that Shen Yitong ran away from home without the help of the serious crime team.
After finding out that the case had been taken over by the serious crime team, he tried to get close to them and insisted on sorting out the materials before handing them over...
Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.
It seems that Shen Yitong’s disappearance case is not ordinary.
Xia Mufan and his group of five walked out of the director's office, crossed a corridor, entered the case team office, and successfully obtained all the materials on Shen Yitong's disappearance case.
Xiao Zhenwei said: "Officer Xia, you have worked hard. Let's go. I will treat you to a good meal tonight..."
Before he could finish, Xia Mufan waved his hand and said, "I'll borrow your office. We'll sort out all the materials and evidence on site and complete the handover procedures. Please wait a moment. I'll always ask you questions if you have any."
There was a beeping sound coming from Xiao Zhenwei's waist.
He lowered his head to glance at the pager hanging on his waist, his eyelids twitching slightly, and when he raised his head, his expression was just right: "Sorry, I'll go return the call, let Old Joe take charge here."
After saying that, Xiao Zhenwei left in a hurry.
Looking at Xiao Zhenwei's back, Xia Mufan asked casually, "Old Qiao, what's the pager number of your Director Xiao?"
Qiao Antai gave out a number without hesitation.
Xia Mufan wrote it down in a notebook.
Next, Xia Mufan, Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing began to organize the information.
First, there are written materials, including police records, interrogation records, call records...
Yu Jing was in charge of the call records and asked, "Is there anything unusual in the call records?"
Qiao Antai said: "Chen Yitong doesn't have many friends, and her pager rarely rings a few times a day, so there's nothing unusual."
Yu Jing asked again: "Where's the office phone number?"
Qiao Antai answered fluently: "It's all work."
Sun Xianbing checked the police station's notes from the investigation and asked, "Did Shen Yitong get off work on time on Friday?"
Qiao Antai was indeed familiar with the situation: “Yes.”
Sun Xianbing asked again: "Neither of the two colleagues in the same office talked to her?"
Qiao Antai: "Shen Yitong doesn't like to talk. As soon as the bell rang, she got up, packed up and left."
Sun Xianbing asked: "Did the security guard see which direction she left?"
Qiao Antai: "There were a lot of people leaving get off work, I didn't notice it."
Xia Mushige put on gloves and began to check the evidence.
After finally seeing the original resignation letter and message, Xia Mufan felt even more strange.
The resignation letter was written on the town government's special letterhead, with a red title and red horizontal lines, looking very neat. Every stroke of the handwriting was written in black ink and it was very beautiful, you could tell at a glance that the handwriting had been practiced.
Strangely, the distance between the characters and the horizontal lines varies, the inclination is inconsistent, and there is a lack of a sense of integrity.
The letter paper from the town government was very thin. Xia Mufan held it against the light and could clearly see that the paper was translucent.
Is there a possibility that someone got the handwritten materials of Shen Yitong, and then laid a translucent letter on the materials and traced it word by word, thus forging this resignation letter?
Let’s look at the message again.
The message note was only three centimeters wide, the distance between the words and the edge of the note was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and the edges were cut with a knife, so the edges were neat.
The words are written on the black horizontal line.
The font remains the same, but comparing the two materials, each character is of uniform size, and the spacing and inclination of the horizontal lines are very coordinated, so it does not look forged.
——It is possible that it was cut out from a notebook.
Xia Mufan asked Qiao Antai: "Where did you find the note?"
Qiao Antai said: "We found it in a book on the desk when we checked Shen Yitong's dormitory."
Xia Mushige asked: "What book?"
Qiao Antai: "A collection of poems called What Bird?"
Sun Xianbing listened from the side and rolled his eyes: "Fei Niao Ji, right?"
Qiao Antai nodded repeatedly: "Ah, yes, yes, that's it."
Xia Mushige found the photos of the dormitory search and placed them on the table one by one.
The elegant and fresh layout and the clean and neat arrangement show that Shen Yitong is a quiet and tidy person.
The desk was against the wall, with a dozen books placed on it with bookends.
A copy of Stray Birds was placed on the table, with the note sandwiched between the books.
Xia Mushige asked: "Was Asuka no Sakura placed on the table from the beginning?"
Qiao Antai thought for a moment and said, "No, it was Xiao who pulled out the books one by one and checked them, and then found them."
"Director Xiao participated in the search?"
"Yes, our town has always had good public security. This is the first time a person has gone missing. Director Xiao has attached great importance to this and has been directing the investigation throughout the process."
Xia Mufan's eyes darkened. It was obvious that Xiao Zhenwei was an old fox in the officialdom. He had poor professional skills, but he was at the forefront when encountering a missing case. There was definitely something wrong with him.
Xia Mufan put the resignation letter and the note back into the evidence bag and asked Qiao Antai, "Have you checked for fingerprints?"
Qiao Antai was stunned for a moment: "Fingerprint?"
Xia Mushige: "Yes, fingerprints. Whose fingerprints are on the envelope, the resignation letter, and the note?"
Qiao Antai obviously didn't expect this: "I don't know. When we got the resignation letter and the note, we didn't wear gloves or check for fingerprints."
"You guys!" Sun Xianbing, who was sorting out documents on the side, couldn't help but grit his teeth when he heard this. Ugh! Xinzhang Town Police Station has a really strong investigative awareness.
Xia Mufan asked: "Can you recall who has touched these evidences?"
Qiao Antai scratched his head. "That's a lot. Me, our director, several colleagues from the case team, Xiao You who was copying the materials, the town government leaders, Shen Hongyun..."
Xia Mufan raised his hand to stop him from continuing: "Are you sure that it was just contact and no one deliberately destroyed the fingerprints?"
Qiao Antai nodded repeatedly: "Of course! Who would destroy fingerprints for no reason?"
After reading all the materials, Xia Mufan asked Qiao Antai: "According to your investigation, what is the reason why Shen Yitong left home?"
It was getting late, and Qiao Antai's stomach was growling with hunger. However, the three detectives from the serious crime squad seemed to be tireless and hungry. They sat in a pile of materials, looking through them, focusing on the key points, and asking questions. Qiao Antai couldn't help but feel angry, and his words were a little aggressive.
"What else could it be? She's an old girl, and seeing that she can't find a good partner in town, she gets anxious when her family urges her to get married. I think women should get married and have children early, otherwise they will have mental problems sooner or later. Shen Yitong, don't look at her as an old employee of the town government. She looks like she doesn't fight with the world. In fact, she is very noble. Colleagues say that she doesn't think highly of others and doesn't have a good relationship with anyone. She was ostracized at work and forced to get married at home. After thinking about it, she resigned in excitement."
An old maid who can't get married, has mental problems, and looks down on others.
——These three labels firmly pinned Shen Yitong on the path of running away from home.
Xia Mufan took two deep breaths and suppressed the emotions surging in his heart.
If her judgment is accurate, Shen Yitong might have been killed or imprisoned. In order to cover up the truth, the other party forged a resignation letter and a note, deliberately making Shen Yitong's disappearance look like running away from home.
Xiao Zhenwei is definitely an insider.
If we keep a close eye on him, we should be able to find a breakthrough.
Xia Mufan stretched and looked out the window.
There is a small hill to the north of Xinzhang Town Police Station.
The hill is covered with various trees, the most common of which are holly, alum, mulberry and chinaberry.
Sparrows and magpies were squatting on the branches, chirping.
Xia Mufan listened attentively.
[Why hasn’t that smoker gone to have the big meal yet? 】
【cut! He hid in the house and made a phone call. 】
[Smoking all day long is so annoying. The walls and windows are all yellowed by the smoke. It stinks! 】
Xia Mufan understood as soon as he heard it. The birds were talking about Xiao Zhenwei.
She said to Qiao Antai, "Could you please pour us a cup of hot tea?"
Qiao Antai hurriedly got up to pour tea for them, but found that there was no tea in the office, so he had to leave temporarily.
Xia Mufan opened the window and whistled outside.
A few little sparrows heard the whistle, flapped their wings and flew over, squatting not far away and looking at Xia Muchan. The little sparrows are very lively and not afraid of strangers. Their little green eyes are wide open.
[Are you calling me?] 】
What's the matter? 】
[Is there anything delicious?] 】
Hearing what the birds said, Xia Mufan took out a bag of instant noodles from his pocket, crushed the noodles through the bag, tore it open and sprinkled it out of the window.
The aroma of the instant noodles filled the air, and the birds were so surprised that they all flew over to peck at the food.
Suddenly, the open space to the north of the police station office building became extremely lively.
Xia Mufan leaned her head out of the window and stretched out her right hand. A sparrow curiously landed on her palm.
Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing are filing all the materials according to time, putting them into file bags one by one, and filling out the transfer documents. Seeing Xia Mufan feeding the birds with instant noodles and interacting well with them, I couldn't help but look at each other and smile.
"Xiao Xia is still so popular with animals."
"Yes, I remember when she was at the Anning Road Police Station, she had a very good relationship with the nest of gray magpies in the yard."
"Solar Ash listens to her too. Oh, we should have brought Solar Ash here this time. We can let Solar Ash scratch anyone we don't like."
Xia Mufan didn't pay attention to Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing chatting. He stretched out his left hand and tapped the little head of the sparrow in his hand: "Do you hate heavy smokers?"
The little sparrow understood what she said and its eyes widened.
[Ah, I understand what you are saying! 】
【yes. 】
[Smokers stink.] 】
Xia Mufan of course knew what sparrows liked to eat, so he fed it some instant noodles and said, "Go and listen to what he said."
The little sparrow was very smart. It pecked at the instant noodles in Xia Mufan's hand, chirping.
[I like to eat delicious food.] 】
【It's so kind of you. 】
[Okay, you wait.] 】
The little sparrow flapped its wings and flew to the second floor, squatting on the windowsill to listen to the conversation inside. While listening, it shook its head and imitated Xiao Zhenwei's speech, reporting in real time.
[There's nothing I can do. The guys in the serious crime squad are keeping a close eye on us. 】
[Don't worry, I have taken care of it. They will definitely not find out. 】
[Let’s not meet for the time being. Let’s deal with these guys first. As for Fang Yuanyuan, please ask President Cai to put some pressure on her and stop her from talking nonsense. 】
Hearing what the little sparrow said, Xia Mufan's heart sank to the bottom.
——Xiao Zhenwei is indeed related to the missing case.
——The word "deal with" is too heavy, Shen Yitong is in great danger.
——The person on the other end of the phone is the real murderer!
More birds flew to the window sill of the director's office on the second floor, and the chirping sounds made Xiao Zhenwei irritated. He hung up the phone, opened the window and waved to drive them away: "Go! Go! Go! It's too noisy."
The little sparrows scattered and all flew to Xia Mufan to complain.
[A disgusting smoker.] 】
[Very fierce.] 】
[The bad guys always throw stones at us and sometimes even shoot us with air guns. 】
Xia Mufan continued to feed the sparrows until the instant noodles were all eaten, and then they flew back to the tree.
By the time Qiao Antai came back with the tea, everything had returned to normal.
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