Family murder mystery (10)

Ten minutes later, in the reception room on the first floor of the newspaper office, Han Changlin closed the door, sat down and asked, "Reporter Wen, do you want to explain the situation of the newspaper? When did the murderer contact you?"

"I..." Wen Huizhi sat on the chair, her eyelids half-closed, her hands clasped together. Meng Siqi found that this time, Wen Huizhi was less conceited than last time, but her eyes still hid a bit of unyielding. She said stubbornly, "I have nothing to say..."

Meng Siqi put the newspaper he bought on the road on the table, and the side with Zhu Xinting's photo was displayed in front of everyone.

"What is there to say?" Han Changlin knocked on the table with his knuckles, and the table made a crisp dull sound. "Look at the photos..." "These are all taken by me last time..." Wen Huizhi said cunningly.

"Wen Huizhi! You are still lying!" Han Changlin was furious. He picked up the newspaper and threw it in front of Wen Huizhi. A gust of wind blew up a corner of Wen Huizhi's long hair. He shouted, "Do you know how many years of imprisonment you will receive for being an accomplice to a murder?"

This sudden anger made Wen Huizhi tremble all over. After suffering from the psychological guilt of last night, her psychological defenses collapsed immediately. She burst into tears, "I dare not call the police? I dare not..."

Unexpectedly, he made the interrogator cry. Han Changlin licked his lip, probably thinking that he was a little angry. The case was too difficult to solve recently, and Wen Huizhi violated his bottom line again and again. He had been a little angry for a long time, but he didn't know where to vent. He glanced at Feng Shaomin.

Feng Shaomin understood and spoke more slowly: "Reporter Wen, we are the people's police and can definitely help you. Can you please tell us about the difficulties you are facing? Please calm down and think about it carefully."

Although she was not at the police station, Meng Siqi always carried the notebook with her. She quickly opened the notebook and waited for Wen Huizhi's narration.

Wen Huizhi sobbed a few times and sighed: "Last night, I received a letter in the mailbox downstairs..."

Wen Huizhi described what happened last night and choked up at the end, saying, "I didn't dare to call the police because I was worried that the murderer would take revenge on my family... I'm sorry, I was also scared..."

Han Changlin calmed down a lot and asked her, "Where are the photos and emails?"

"I carry it with me and dare not lose it for a moment." Wen Huizhi's hands were shaking when she took the envelope out of her bag.

Han Changlin took the envelope and saw the words she described on the back of the torn envelope. He handed the envelope to Feng Shaomin and said, "Old Feng, do you think this handwriting can help us find the murderer?"

"It seems to have been deliberately processed... I'm afraid it's a bit difficult!" Feng Shaomin observed carefully for a while and came to this conclusion.

After asking Wen Huizhi some more questions, Han Changlin tapped the table gently and said, "Reporter Wen, thank you for your cooperation. I hope you will pass on any information you have to the police immediately."

"But if the murderer..."

"We will ensure your safety."

"Thank you, thank you."

After seeing Wen Huizhi off, Han Changlin said to Feng Shaomin in the darkness at the door of the newspaper office, "We must set up surveillance around Wen Huizhi's home. The suspect may show up again tonight."

"Captain Han, I'll find a few people to take turns to take over the shift tonight."

"We should still check around her house tomorrow to see if there are any suspicious people around." Han Changlin said, then looked at his watch and asked, "Xiao Meng, what day is it today?"

"Thursday."

Han Changlin took a breath and looked at the busy neon lights.

There were only five days left to solve the case. Meng Siqi could sense the pressure from Han Changlin, so she hurriedly said, "Captain Han, Master, please let me guard tonight."

Feng Shaomin frowned: "You are a girl, go home now!"

No, Meng Siqi really wanted to say, what's wrong with her being a girl.

Han Changlin smiled faintly: "Listen to your master."

"The Korean team..." Meng Siqi still wanted to fight for it.

"This is an order." Han Changlin's expression became a little serious.

Meng Siqi did not dare to disobey and nodded. Just then a taxi came by and they said goodbye to each other.

Han Changlin and Feng Shaomin stood in the night for a while. He took out a cigarette and handed it to Feng Shaomin. Feng Shaomin did not take it. Han Changlin lit the cigarette and said, "You have good habits. You can quit smoking and drinking."

The flickering of the cigarette butt cast a faint red light on Han Changlin's face.

Feng Shaomin smiled calmly: "My health has not been very good in recent years."

Han Changlin blew out a puff of smoke and said, "When you are upset, you tend to think too much. Lao Feng, are you still thinking about that thing..."

Feng Shaomin did not respond, his eyes looked into the distance, that was the direction where Meng Siqi was going home. His eyes gradually became slightly moist.

Han Changlin took a deep puff of his cigarette, threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and stomped it out, "It really delays things. I'll quit smoking now."

The next day, Meng Siqi, Feng Shaomin and Zhao Leiting visited the residents around Wen Huizhi. According to their feedback, they did not see any suspicious people, so Meng Siqi speculated that the murderer must have delivered the letter to Wen Huizhi's downstairs at night when no one was around.

Because of one of the photos, Tang Xiaochuan also went to visit Wen Huizhi's parents who lived in another city, but still found no information about the suspect.

Despite extensive investigations and strict surveillance, no suspects were seen around Wen Huizhi's home.

Once again, the suspect seemed to have disappeared.

Three more days passed, and the ten-day deadline for solving the case was approaching. After Meng Siqi returned to the police station, he clearly felt that the whole atmosphere was a bit depressing.

On the densely marked crime board, she saw three incompatible words. They must have been written by Han Changlin with chalk: "Darkness under the Lamp".

The current situation is indeed as Han Changlin said. The suspect is hiding deep in the dark, but occasionally he pops into the police's field of vision. This is a typical case of darkness under the lamp.

However, it also shows how unwilling Han Changlin was at that moment.

Do we have to wait until the suspect commits his third tragedy before we can find clues about him?

Meng Siqi recalled that in the original world, due to technological factors, many old cases did become unsolved cases in the 1990s. However, after a few decades, due to the updates and generations of DNA technology and the continuous improvement of the DNA database, the murderer will no longer be able to hide and will surface.

At this moment, there is no DNA technology to help, and there are no cameras everywhere, so if the murderer has an IQ higher than that of ordinary people, the case will become confusing and difficult to detect.

When she was searching in the archives, she saw the words "unsolved" marked on many file bags. It was heartbreaking. The two words "unsolved" alone represented the tragedy that many families had suffered, and also represented that many families had never waited for the murderer to be brought to justice.

At nine o'clock in the evening, there was still a dim light in the office. Han Changlin was sitting in a chair, staring at the crime board. Tang Xiaochuan was sitting next to him, with his chin resting on his elbow, looking at the crime board and Team Han with tired eyes.

The two did not communicate at all and the air was very quiet.

Han Changlin carefully observed the description on the crime board. His thoughts were a little confused, mainly because the murderer's method of committing the crime was very strange.

Worker Zhu had an iron nail driven into his head after his death.

You Meihua, had her tongue cut out after her death.

Zhu Xinting, after death, some of her fat tissue was thrown into a pot and fried.

Qi Xiaowei died with two daggers stabbed into his face.

Ning Xiangjuan suffered no other injuries after her death.

Why did the murderer do this? This is the mystery that Han Changlin has never been able to solve. If the murderer really hated the victim so much, he could have chosen a more cruel method, such as cutting the victim into pieces.

"What day is today?" After thinking for a while, Han Changlin finally asked.

Tang Xiaochuan answered from the side: "The Korean team, Monday."

Tomorrow is the last day to solve the case. At this moment, Han Changlin felt inexplicably rebellious and felt relieved. Damn it, he cursed himself in his heart.

*

After a day of visiting and investigating, Meng Siqi fell asleep on the bus and almost passed the platform. Fortunately, he was awakened by the shaking of the carriage.

She got out of the car with a tired look on her face and walked towards her yard. After knocking on the door, Aunt Chang opened it. Aunt Chang no longer asked her politely why she came home late. Recently, Meng Siqi almost always came back after eight o'clock in the evening.

Meng Siqi looked at the clock on the wall. It was half past eight. Ye Xiuhui was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She glanced at her and pretended not to see her.

Aunt Chang was peeling fruit just now. After opening the door, she started working again. She handed a peeled pear to Meng Siqi, "Take a bite."

Having barely had any water for the entire day, Meng Siqi took the pear and said thank you.

Just after taking two bites, the phone rang. Aunt Chang went to answer it and when she looked up she said, "Siqi, it's your call."

It must be someone from the bureau. Meng Siqi hurried to answer the phone without even swallowing the pear in his mouth, "Hello!"

Her voice was gentle, and soon a faint male laugh came from the other side: "Siqi, we're home."

The voice was obviously Jiang Sheng's. Meng Siqi really wanted to hang up the phone. However, at this moment, Ye Xiuhui seemed to have received news from Aunt Chang. She shifted her gaze from the TV screen to her, and her expression of indifference turned into a smile.

Worried that Ye Xiuhui would be nagging again, Meng Siqi pretended to be fine and chatted with Jiang Sheng for a while: "Yes, I just came back."

Jiang Sheng said, "What kind of person is your Lu He? Why do I feel so eccentric? You said that our Longcheng Enterprise is innocent, but he still wanted to investigate. As you can see, he found nothing. I, Jiang Sheng, have always been honest, but how could a small policeman like him slander us?"

Meng Siqi was very disgusted by what she heard. What is slander? It was a normal investigation. She did not refute it to avoid making things unpleasant. She said immediately: "It's fine as long as Mr. Jiang can cooperate with the investigation. If there is nothing else, I have to go and be busy for a while."

"Oh, Siqi, don't hang up so hastily. I have printed out all the information you requested last time. You can come and get it when you are free."

Meng Siqi remembered that it was a copy of the demolition compensation contract signed by You Meihua and You Shenghua at Longcheng Enterprise. However, the investigation was not focused on You Shenghua at all, so she didn't need it. Of course, if she needed it later, she would ask her colleagues to get it. She immediately said, "The bureau hasn't notified us yet. Mr. Jiang, please keep it for now."

"Okay, I'll put them all here. By the way, Siqi, I'm a little free tomorrow. I've booked a table at the French Capital. I'll pick you up for dinner."

Meng Siqi pursed her lips and said with a smile: "Tomorrow there will be a lot of tasks, President Jiang, please don't worry about it, and I don't have any other plans at the moment."

"Oh, I understand your work. Let's find another time..."

"Mr. Jiang, if you have nothing else to say, hang up."

After Meng Siqi hung up the phone, he noticed Ye Xiuhui stretched her head to listen. Ye Xiuhui raised her lips and said, "What's up? When can we have dinner together?"

Meng Siqi picked up the pear that he had taken two bites of and started to eat it. He smiled and said, "I said, you care so much about my marriage."

"Who cares if I don't?"

"Is Meng Tingzhe more concerned than you?"

Ye Xiuhui's smile faded a little: "Isn't it normal for mom and brother to care about your life?"

It is indeed normal. If Meng Siqi didn't understand, she would have to thank them profusely. If she didn't know that Meng Tingzhe's shopping mall was in trouble and wanted to use her as a bargaining chip to obtain investment, she would definitely be grateful.

She took a big bite of the pear and said disdainfully, "Thank you for your concern. I don't like people like Jiang Sheng. I also ask you not to push my marriage in the future."

"Hey, what's wrong with you!" Ye Xiuhui's face sank. "What did I do to you? How did I let you down? Where did your rules go? Did no one teach you that? You took my kindness for granted!"

"You are good to me? Don't you know what's going on? Who grew up alone in the countryside for so many years? She had no good clothes to wear and no money to go to school. A kind-hearted farmer couple supported her studies by selling tea and eggs. You despise me for having no taste, being a bumpkin, and having no rules. Yes, I can't even afford an eraser or a pencil, but I relied on extreme conditions and worked hard to get into the police academy. I became a glorious policeman. Until now, you still think I am good for nothing. You think I am not worthy of the Meng family, but you can't reflect on yourself. Who is responsible for all this? It's you! It was you who lost me, but you have no regrets..."

Meng Siqi spoke loudly. She understood the original owner's past. It was an unfortunate childhood, but also a happy childhood. She didn't blame anyone, but she also didn't allow anyone to comment on her.

In essence, she didn't want to completely break up with this family, so she just stopped talking and didn't say anything so harsh. She finished speaking, walked to the door, felt the cool breeze, and continued to eat the pear.

Aunt Chang wiped away her tears. She was just a nanny in this family and she had no right to comment on anyone's faults. She was treating Meng Siqi well based on her conscience.

Ye Xiuhui didn't react at all. She just stared at Meng Siqi blankly the whole time. After listening to everything she said, it was not until Meng Siqi walked out the door and his back appeared in the night that she seemed to wake up from a dream.

She suddenly felt that Meng Siqi had changed. She was not like this when she first returned to the Meng family. At that time, she was very well-behaved and even blushed when she spoke. But now she was scolding her loudly in front of her.

"After all, she was raised by someone else... She doesn't care about others at all... She doesn't have any rules at all..." Ye Xiuhui's eyes turned red and she covered her chest, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She gritted her teeth and muttered, then picked up the phone again.

Soon, Ye Xiuhui's complaints on the phone could be heard from the living room: "What did I do to her? I was nice to her and worried about finding her a boyfriend, but she became even more aggressive and talked back to me... She's not like a daughter at all... Yes, what's wrong with me..."

She deliberately spoke loudly, fearing that Meng Siqi, who was standing outside the door, might not hear her.

"What have I done wrong... I am becoming more and more unruly... It's as if I have to cut off my flesh for her to eat before she will be grateful... You can imagine, she wants to send me to the eighteenth level of hell and let me suffer to death, only then will she be happy..."

Meng Siqi was eating a pear cleanly when she heard Ye Xiuhui's complaints. She thought silently and suddenly stopped eating the pear.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong, so she immediately rushed into the night.

Aunt Chang called out at the door: "Siqi, where are you going? Siqi..." She turned to look at Ye Xiuhui, a little worried, "Sister, Siqi ran away..."

"Let her run...she can still fly!"