The Devil in the World (17)

Lu He walked for a while holding an umbrella. His leather shoes and trousers were all wet by the rain. He ignored it and continued walking towards the intersection. Finally, he waited for a taxi at the intersection.

He got in the car, shook the umbrella outside the door, and then closed the door, "Master, downtown, Sujiang Lighthouse."

In the center of Jinyang City, the river runs across the city, and both sides of the river are prosperous. A tall TV tower stands by the river. It stands tall, and with its overlooking posture, it has witnessed the prosperous changes in the city center and the drastic changes of this city.

The water flowing upstream is the same, but each section of the river is different. Some are prosperous, while others are deserted. Lu He certainly knows that there are cargo ships and cruise ships, laughter and singing, fish and mud at the bottom of the river, and for him, who works in criminal investigation, there are also corpses of people who have not been redressed.

The taxi soon arrived at the lighthouse, and Lu He got off. Looking from a distance, the lighthouse looked like a white chimney, but when she stood at its feet, Lu He felt its majesty.

A white light was on at the top of the lighthouse, illuminating the river bank. He raised his head and felt the warmth of the light through the rain of arrows.

Walking near the lighthouse, he looked around the lighthouse. It was not completely dark. In the rain, there were still traces of the bustling city.

Just now at home, Lu He saw a blurry white shadow from the window in the photo, like a white chimney, so he inferred that it was the Sujiang Lighthouse.

The location where the photo was taken was probably not a room on the ground, but possibly several floors up. The height and size of the white chimney, as well as the angle of light, indicate that the photo was taken on a floor on the other side of the river, and the shooting angle was upward.

He stood on the bank of the river, looking at the buildings on the other side. It was the most prosperous area in the city, with tall buildings everywhere, and one of them was the birthplace of sin.

Lu He stood in the rain and cold wind for a long time. He did not care that he was soaked. His eyes were hotter than the light from the lighthouse. They penetrated the rain and wandered over the buildings opposite.

The next morning, Lu He returned to the office and ordered loudly: "Team one, everyone, contact the City Planning Bureau immediately, get the urban construction map, and restore the buildings on the other side of the Sujiang Lighthouse. It must be one to one!"

A team of people had just arrived at the office and were still adding tea and water. After hearing Lu He's stern orders, they became nervous unconsciously because they knew that Lu He had discovered an important clue.

The one-to-one that Lu's team wanted should be a one-to-one scaling of the size ratio, which is actually what the technical department is good at, but Lu He would rather have the first team take the lead to complete it because time is tight.

Luo Xiaoguo immediately said, "Yan Chun, come with me to the Urban Planning Administration Bureau right now."

"Okay, Deputy Luo!"

Luo Xiaoguo was always the first to know what Lu He wanted. He immediately ordered, "And Shuangxi, go to the technical department and ask if they can make a building model as soon as possible."

"Okay, let's go."

*

In the office of Team 2, Meng Siqi opened his notebook as soon as he got to work in the morning, preparing to analyze Professor Lu Guangsheng's words.

After Meng Siqi returned to Jinyang City from Shanghai yesterday, she was taken directly home by their car. She found that she was extremely tired after the business trip. She originally wanted to do some analysis last night, but ended up falling asleep tiredly.

It rained heavily last night. The rustling sound of the rain was like a lullaby. Not long after she picked up the pen, she fell asleep on the table.

"I am a reporter from Jinyang City TV. Today is August 13, 2024. There is an urgent news. At 10 o'clock this morning, when the unit under the Urban Planning Administration Bureau was demolishing the residential area near the Sujiang Lighthouse, human bones were found in an oil drum filled with cement. What is the truth behind this? It is thought-provoking. We will switch the report back to the scene..."

The scene was filled with noise, clamor, and panic. "Drive the dump truck away!" "Didn't you hear me? This is a criminal scene, why are you still demolishing it?" "Protect the scene, the comrades from the Municipal Bureau are on the way now!"

"Boom! Boom!" The sound of the dump truck was loud, crushing Meng Siqi's eardrums.

She was awakened by the cold and the thunder. The wind blew against the window, pushing open the unbolted window, and a sleet of rain blew in, instantly hitting Meng Siqi's head, face, and neck.

She shivered and hurried to open the window. In the rain, she saw a light in the distance. She knew that the light was the Sujiang Lighthouse.

Before closing the window, she seemed to immerse herself in the light, the brightest light in the dark storm.

She naturally thought of Lu He and her father Meng Xinghai. In fact, they had some intersections. Meng Siqi remembered that Lu He and Meng Xinghai had some intersections.

After the news of the bones was broadcast on TV, Meng Xinghai simply said, "As a policeman, who dares to say there will be no sacrifice?" She didn't know that Meng Xinghai's words were actually filled with sadness.

Later, when Meng Xinghai was seriously ill, Meng Siqi accidentally discovered that Lu He died thirty years ago, and Meng Xinghai had been a police officer for more than thirty years. They were both in the Jinyang City Public Security Bureau. Maybe they knew each other?

That time she sat in front of Meng Xinghai's bed and asked him, "Meng, do you know Lu He?"

"Lu He? I know him." Meng Xinghai said lightly, leaning his head against the elevated pillow.

"Do you really know him? What kind of person is he?"

"...On the day I went to report to the Municipal Bureau, I met Lu He, the captain of the Criminal Police Team 1. He is a very remarkable person, and I am honored to be his subordinate..."

Meng Xinghai paused, his cloudy eyes gradually moistened, "That day, I also met your Aunt Meng."

"Aunt Meng?"

Meng Xinghai said "hmm" softly: "Qiqi, Daddy has never wanted you to know about the police station, because Daddy has seen too many sacrifices, joys and sorrows. I hope you will live a simple and happy life..."

Meng Siqi didn't ask any more questions that time, because she found that her father was not in good spirits. She took away one of his raised pillows and said, "Dad, you should rest for a while."

A heavy rain suddenly hit Meng Siqi, and her thoughts were completely interrupted. She immediately closed the window, and the faint light of the Sujiang Lighthouse was blocked out of the window.

She used the towel to wipe her hair, cheeks and collarbone to dry off the cold rain. She suddenly remembered that Lu He did the same thing that day, using a towel to wipe off the wetness on her body.

Meng Siqi didn't sleep well last night. Meng Xinghai's last words kept echoing in her ears. He talked about several unsolved cases, and his last words were, "Captain Lu, what a pity!"

It's a pity that Lu He died at a young age. It's a pity that he didn't have the energy to continue following Lu He's footsteps. It's a pity that he is already very old and is about to reach the end of his life. He has no strength to find the truth about Lu He's death!

"Siqi, what are you thinking about?" Zhao Leiting's voice rang in her ears, pulling her out of her endless thoughts. He placed a tape on her desk.

"Tape?" Meng Siqi looked at him.

"Yes, you probably didn't remember much of what Professor Lu said when we went to Shanghai. I had a tape recorder in my bag, so I secretly recorded it."

"That's great, Zhao Leiting," Meng Siqi couldn't help but smile and praised him, "I have to say you are a lucky star!"

In fact, Professor Lu said a lot of things, including that story and many professional terms. Meng Siqi was only focused on listening to the story at the time and did not understand those professional terms, so he basically did not remember anything. But it is easier now that there is a recording.

Zhao Lei Ting smiled widely, and returned to his seat to pick up a tape recorder. This tape recorder was large and heavy, and it should be equipped with two or three AA dry batteries, but it could also be plugged in.

"No, you carried a big bag with this in it when you went to Shanghai." Meng Siqi was a little unbelievable.

"Yes, I brought a tape recorder and a camera, but I can only save on clothes."

"So, you didn't change your clothes when you stayed in the hotel." Meng Siqi smiled with pretended disgust.

"Yeah, what can we do about it? Time is so tight. Maybe Lu He hasn't changed yet. Does this count as slandering his image?"

Meng Siqi pretended to be angry: "Slander, Zhao Leiting, you are so mean."

"Look at you. You've changed since you went to Shanghai with Lu He."

"Hmm?" Meng Siqi was slightly stunned. Has she changed? How has she changed? She hasn't changed.

Still thinking about the "change", Zhao Leiting made a face and walked away. Meng Siqi didn't think about it anymore, put the tape into the recorder, pressed the power button, turned down the volume, and tried to listen with her ears close to the tape every time it played, mainly because she didn't want to make noise in the office. She listened to Professor Lu's words twice again.

Yesterday, I described Yao Renjun's symptoms to Lu Guangsheng, and Lu Guangsheng's first words were, "Based on your description, the patient is definitely suffering from Alzheimer's disease."

When Lu Guangsheng said this, it seemed to establish the fact that Yao Renjun had Alzheimer's disease, so Meng Siqi was always immersed in an atmosphere of loss.

But obviously, the tone of Lu Guangsheng's words is not very certain. He is using an uncertain tone to describe a certain fact.

He later used a story and many professional terms to explain to Meng Siqi the uniqueness and despair of Alzheimer's disease. He actually wanted to tell her that he had no way of telling whether Yao Renjun was pretending or not. As a doctor, he could only judge whether it was this disease based on the patient's symptoms.

In fact, Meng Siqi knew that consulting any expert might not yield a true answer unless coercive measures were taken, such as giving Yao Renjun a sudden threat to make him quickly react by revealing his disguise.

However, as police officers, such actions pose some moral disputes, and the police station and the Korean team would not agree to do so.

Just as she was thinking about how to break through Yao Renjun's disguise, Feng Shaomin's voice came from the door: "Xiao Meng, Xiao Zhao, you are all here, the bureau just received a call..."

Meng Siqi stood up and listened.

As Feng Shaomin walked towards her, he said, "Yao Renjun's son, Yao Kunming, has just contacted the police station and wants us to test his father for Alzheimer's disease."

Meng Siqi was stunned for a moment. Wasn't Yao Kunming very opposed to examining Yao Renjun? Why did he suddenly take the initiative to do so?

Feng Shaomin saw her confusion, and there was confusion in his eyes as well.

Zhao Leiting quickly stood up from his seat and said happily, "Did Yao Kunming get convinced by Siqi? After Siqi's words that day, his attitude obviously changed. He must know that there will be a price to pay for keeping it a secret."

"No," Meng Siqi shook his head, "That's not right."

Her words that day did make Yao Kunming feel uncomfortable, but it was far from enough to make him change his mind, because it not only concerned his father, but also himself. He would not "dig his own grave" unless there was something hidden.

Feng Shaomin analyzed: "I was just wondering why Yao Kunming did this. Combined with your previous inference, I feel that Yao Renjun may have encountered danger or been threatened."

Zhao Lei Ting walked up to the two of them with a puzzled look on his face. He didn't say anything but listened attentively.

Meng Siqi immediately understood what Feng Shaomin meant. Theoretically, there was no need for Yao Renjun to cooperate with the police in the testing. As long as his family continued to refuse, it would be difficult for the police to enforce it.

Unless Yao Renjun has recently suffered some kind of threat, and the source of the threat is also doubting whether he really has Alzheimer's disease, because Yao Renjun must know some important secrets, then only real Alzheimer's disease or death can make Yao Renjun shut up and let the threater feel at ease.

Therefore, Yao Renjun must cooperate with the police. Even if there is a risk of being found to be a fake, it will be beneficial for him to get support from the police to a certain extent, or even let the official prove that he really has Alzheimer's disease.

"Master," Meng Siqi said anxiously, "I suspect Yao Kunming must have been to the nursing home in the past two days and met with Yao Renjun alone to get checked. This might be Yao Renjun's own idea."

"Okay, I'll call the nursing home right away to confirm."

Meng Siqi rushed to the phone.

Zhao Lei Ting scratched his short hair and said, "No, you guys should give me some time to react. Are you so anxious?"

Meng Siqi had already dialed the nursing home's landline. The person who answered the phone was the front desk of the nursing home. Meng Siqi stated his identity and asked, "Is Ms. He Ling here? Please ask her to answer the phone."

After a while, He Ling answered the phone, and Meng Siqi asked, "Ms. He, from the day before yesterday to now, has Yao Kunming been to the nursing home and seen his father? Please tell me the truth."

When asking this question, Meng Siqi was a little nervous. She thought that if Yao Kunming had never met Yao Renjun, it might not mean that there was anything wrong with Yao Renjun. Perhaps this proactive request for an examination was a way for Yao Kunming to open up and cooperate proactively.

Logically, these two days were not Yao Kunming's usual weekend visiting time, but if he had been to the nursing home and met Yao Renjun, then there was a high possibility that Yao Renjun had a problem.

He Ling's answer came from the other end of the phone: "Officer Meng, Mr. Yao did come to the nursing home yesterday afternoon, and they met in the room."

Meng Siqi was a little excited for a moment, but her face remained stable, and she asked calmly: "Were you there at the time?"

"Mr. Yao said that his son had something in his heart that he wanted to tell his father, so I naturally avoided the question."

"Thank you, Ms. He. I will contact you if I need anything."

"Okay, Officer Meng."

Meng Siqi put down the phone, looked up at Feng Shaomin who was standing not far away and waiting quietly, and said excitedly: "Master, not only did they meet yesterday, but they were also alone together. I suspect that all this is a trick of Yao Renjun."

Feng Shaomin's voice was loud and clear: "Zhao Leiting, you must contact the mental hospital testing center immediately and conduct a comprehensive examination on Yao Renjun to expose his tricks!"