The End of the Night (4)

Going up the river, the sun is scorching, the river breeze is howling, and on a construction site that is being demolished, nearly half of the low houses that are out of tune with the architectural style of the city center have been pushed down. The excavators and forklifts have stopped working, and all you can see are ruins. Under the shade of the surrounding high-rise buildings, this place is like an orphan that has been abandoned.

But today, it is very lively here. The crowded central area is filled with people, including not only workers wearing safety helmets, but also swarms of media reporters.

The person in charge of the demolition was not present today, and there were only two team leaders temporarily protecting the scene. However, the scene was full of curiosity, and workers and media reporters surrounded the scene.

The team leader could only shout slogans: "The police are coming, you must not destroy the evidence!"

In the noisy scene, Lao Qiu squeezed into the crowd.

Lao Qiu is a media reporter. He is over 50 years old and has been engaged in journalism. From newspapers in his youth to self-media today, he can almost be said to have witnessed the development and changes of Jinyang City.

He was walking in the city today when he suddenly received an emergency order from the company. He rushed to the scene with his colleague Xiao Zhang. In the crowd, he was shocked when he first saw the human skeleton wrapped in cement. Xiao Zhang also opened his mouth and the hand holding the camera stopped in mid-air without moving.

After trying to calm down, he ordered, "Xiao Zhang, take a photo!"

Like him, other reporters also stared in shock for a long time before pressing the shutter.

"Is this a police title?" someone shouted.

Old Qiu swallowed hard, mustered up the courage to take a closer look, and it was indeed the shoulder straps of a police title, embedded in the cement block. However, it had already rotted away, and the star emblem was so rusted that only the outline could be made out. But judging from the shape of the star emblem, it looked very much like a police title from the early 1990s.

Lao Qiu has some knowledge of police titles. The star badge of the 92-style police title is relatively small, and it was later reformed in 1995. From the size of the star badge on this police title, it can be inferred that he was a public security police officer who died between 1992 and 1995.

Old Qiu knew all the big and small news about Jinyang City in the past few decades. When he saw this picture, he was searching for historical events. Several public security police officers had indeed died in Jinyang City in the past few decades, and in the Sujiang Lighthouse explosion case that happened thirty years ago in 1994, a criminal police captain happened to be missing.

His name was Lu He. Lao Qiu remembered that name particularly well because he had written a report about him in those days, and the name was Lu He.

That case attracted a lot of attention. Later, the Sujiang Lighthouse was rebuilt and restored to its former glory, but there has been no trace of Lu He over the years. From what we can see now, this police title must belong to Lu He.

His cell phone suddenly rang, and he picked it up. It was his manager calling: "Mr. Qiu, what's going on? Send the photos back as soon as possible and get them out as soon as possible."

Old Qiu deliberately stepped back from the crowd and reminded them, "I don't recommend publishing this article. He might be the police officer Lu He who went missing thirty years ago."

The person on the other side paused for a few seconds, but the voice got louder: "Such big news, what is the road?"

"The road of the highway, the crane of the white crane."

The other party urged: "Okay, send the photos back quickly."

Old Qiu responded with professional conscience: "Old Wu, we should be cautious about this matter and not set the pace."

"Who the hell is following your lead, Old Qiu, why are you so stubborn? If you don't publish this news, someone else will. This is the national headline..."

"But……"

"But what? Send the photos right away, or you can stop doing it."

"I'm not sure if he is Lu He..."

The other side said: "We in the news industry need society to take responsibility, and we must know the limits. This kind of news must promote positive energy."

Lao Qiu finally compromised and asked Xiao Zhang to send the photo back. Before hanging up the phone, he heard the manager shouting to his colleagues: "Look up Lu He's information immediately, find out his heroic deeds, the road of the highway, the crane of the white crane, and write a press release in ten minutes..."

In less than ten minutes, seven or eight police cars rushed in, instantly shining a bright light on this desolate and broken place. Old Qiu immediately patted Xiao Zhang on the shoulder and said, "Call it a day, call it a day!"

Dozens of reporters also stopped taking pictures and stepped back, but some were still rushing to take photos.

The police car stopped and Liang Yunfeng was the first to run out of the car. He shouted angrily: "Who let the reporter in! Seal off the scene immediately, seal off the scene!"

Zhao Leiting also frowned deeply. Needless to say, in half an hour, there would be overwhelming news.

Dozens of criminal police quickly surrounded the area and set up a cordon.

After looking at the skeleton, Zhao Leiting retreated sadly. He walked a few steps silently, looking towards the river, his eyes gradually moistened, and Lu He's face appeared in front of him again.

He didn't understand why he wasn't found after so many searches. How did he hide in an oil drum and even have it filled with cement?

The river wind was blowing dust into the air, blowing Zhao Leiting's police uniform and Liang Yunfeng's police uniform. Facing his former captain and mentor, Liang Yunfeng stood in front of the bones, unable to calm down for a long time. Sand blew into his eyes, he closed his eyes, shed tears, and waved his hand, saying, "Take it back quickly!"

Half a day later, the cement drums were moved back to the city bureau's forensic room. After an afternoon of hard work, several technical personnel finally cleaned up some of the cement.

Zhao Leiting and Liang Yunfeng stood at the entrance of the forensic room. They were silent and kept watching the cleaning work at the scene. The technician reported: "Director Zhao, it seems that this is the only way to clean up at present. The cement is too strong. Otherwise, the bones will be damaged."

Looking at the faintly visible image of bones and cement blending together, Zhao Leiting nodded. He ordered: "Do a good job of DNA testing. We must know the identity of the deceased today?"

"Okay, Director Zhao."

Zhao Lei Ting must know whether this is Lu He.

At this time, someone came in and reported: "Director Liang, Director Zhao, we have carefully investigated. Last year, the urban construction department cleaned up the riverside for development. A lot of debris was picked up at that time, including an oil drum. The oil drum had been sinking to the bottom of the shallow river and no one found it. After it was picked up, some iron products were stolen by nearby residents overnight, but when they returned, they found that the oil drum was filled with cement, so it had been left outside without being dealt with."

"In the second half of this year, the city construction department was demolishing this riverside residential area. Today, the excavator smashed the oil drum, and unexpectedly a piece of human hand bone was exposed, so I called the police."

"We initially inferred that the murderer must have hidden the people in oil drums near the residential area and then filled them with cement to cover them. Because the residential area is next to the river, the murderer rolled the oil drums into the river."

Liang Yunfeng and Zhao Leiting both nodded. Zhao Leiting remembered that Lu He's police car was parked nearby. It rained heavily that night, which may have destroyed a lot of information, but the police conducted a carpet search of the area and even went down to the river to search for the murderer. However, who would have thought that the murderer hid the murderer in an oil drum, wrapped it in cement, and sank it to the bottom of the river.

That place was not a residential area at the time, but should have been a construction site. It was not surprising to see empty oil drums and cement. However, due to continuous rain, the construction site was suspended for several days. Unexpectedly, the murderer committed the crime there.

"Director Zhao, there seems to be a pistol." The technician shouted while pointing at the cement.

Zhao Leiting quickly stepped forward to confirm that there was indeed a pistol wrapped in the cement. "Quick, can you dig it a little deeper?"

"Okay." The technician took the knife and carefully removed the cement.

After a while, a section of the gun was exposed, Liang Yunfeng squatted down to examine it carefully. Zhao Leiting also squatted down. He was not mistaken. This was a Type 54 pistol, which was the model of pistol issued by the Municipal Bureau in the early 1990s.

The two men squatted there for a long time without moving or speaking.

After a while, Liang Yunfeng asked: "Can the cause of death be determined?"

The forensic doctor standing next to him replied, "Mr. Liang, it may be difficult at the moment. Unless all the bones are cleaned out for further analysis."

Liang Yunfeng did not reply. Zhao Leiting saw that he looked depressed, and immediately said, "Liang, don't worry. In order not to damage the bones, I will ask everyone to handle the follow-up as carefully as possible and find the cause of death as soon as possible."

Not only Liang Yunfeng, but Zhao Leiting also wanted to know the cause of death, because the cause of death was also evidence for finding the truth. Of course, he understood that what Liang Yunfeng wanted to know more was whether Lu He was wrapped alive in cement and died?

When having dinner in the cafeteria that night, Zhao Leiting specially asked someone to bring a meal to Meng Siqi, and asked Liang Yunfeng: "Mr. Liang, do you want to go see Siqi?"

Liang Yunfeng paused and sighed, "I won't go today. I'm worried that she will think too much. Besides, she probably knows something about what happened today. If she asks me if it was Team Lu..."

Zhao Lei Ting took two bites of rice, which tasted like wax. "Director Liang, I will stimulate the DNA as soon as possible. After dinner, I will send you back to the hotel to rest. It is important for you to stay healthy."

"Old Zhao, let's not say such things anymore. Thirty years ago, I was a member of the Municipal Bureau. I still remember that after Team Lu disappeared, I stayed for a year just to find out the truth about Team Lu. I stayed in the Municipal Bureau for two years. Like you, I was looking forward to the news of Team Lu. Do you know that the old members of the team have all retired, but when they occasionally call me, they always mention Team Lu to me. In fact, everyone has regrets in their hearts. As a provincial department cadre, I will feel guilty if I don't give everyone an explanation in my lifetime!"

Zhao Lei Ting slowly put down his chopsticks. How could he not feel guilty? He said in a deep voice, "Mr. Liang, you are right."

After the two finished their meal, they rushed back to the forensic room again. The entire city bureau was brightly lit tonight, and almost half of the people were busy with everything related to the bones.

Around eight o'clock, the test report was finally delivered to the two of them, and Liang Yunfeng and Zhao Leiting opened the report together.

The tester reported: "Director Liang, Director Zhao, Lu He has no parents, no children, no brothers or sisters. He has no direct relatives. We can only find a genetic match in his family. By comparing the DNA samples extracted from the deceased's bones, it can be basically confirmed that the deceased's genes come from the genetic map of this family."

Liang Yunfeng and Zhao Leiting sighed at the same time. Even though they knew in advance that he was Lu He, they still couldn't accept the news when it was confirmed. Even though the genetic test was not completely accurate, the combination of the pistol, the police badge, and the remaining police uniform fragments restored some details of the year, and there was no doubt that the deceased in front of them was Lu He.

The two were silent for a long time, their eyes gradually becoming red. Suddenly, a person appeared behind them. They both looked back at the same time. It was none other than Meng Siqi.

Meng Siqi had heard the news a long time ago, even earlier than them, but she still wanted to come and see it with her own eyes, to see Lu He with her own eyes.

When she approached the forensic room, she was stunned. It was not human bones, but a human skeleton wrapped in cement.

The cement should have been pumped out of the oil barrel. The technicians used tools to cut off the cement on the outside, and then used a knife to remove the cement from the outside to the inside. The cement had already dried and solidified, but now it looked like a bumpy surface, with a human chest skeleton exposed. The ribs of the chest were fixed one by one with cement and had not fallen apart.

He was in a squatting position, which was very uncomfortable. The oil drum was not big, but it was larger than ordinary oil drums. It required some skills to put a person of Lu He's size in it easily. However, he was still melted into the cement, and the bones of his arched thigh were even clearly visible.

Only a portion of his skull was exposed, and it seemed to be drooping. Perhaps the technicians did not remove the cement deeply enough, so the skull and cement were wrapped together. His eye sockets were full of black cement, and he looked like he was staring into a black abyss.

This was all Meng Siqi saw. In fact, she thought she would be very uncomfortable, but when she saw this scene, she smiled easily. After thirty years, they finally met, Lu He!

No matter what way, she missed him so much!

However, Zhao Leiting and Liang Yunfeng burst into tears instantly. They naturally knew what Meng Siqi's smile meant. After waiting for thirty years, this was a kind of relief after despair, and also a relief for themselves. It was as if you were hanging in the air forever, never landing. That kind of loneliness and despair was suffocating. One day, no matter whether there were thorns or sharp knives under her feet, she would step on them with a smile!

A crystal teardrop appeared at the corner of Meng Siqi's eye, but she shed tears with a faint smile.

She didn't feel sad at all.

Zhao Leiting drove her and Liang Yunfeng back, and Liang Yunfeng asked him to send Meng Siqi first. On the way, Liang Yunfeng, who was sitting in the back seat, said to her: "Siqi, go back and have a good rest, don't think too much, don't worry, Lao Zhao and I will do this for the rest of our lives, and I will not stop until we find the murderer who killed Lu Dui."

"Thank you, Mr. Liang." Meng Siqi said sincerely.

"Don't be so reserved," Liang Yunfeng said. "If you need anything in life, feel free to tell me and Lao Zhao."

"Okay. I want to take a few days off." Meng Siqi said slowly.

Zhao Lei Ting replied: "I will inform you about the vacation, you should have a good rest."

Meng Siqi returned to her residence. For some reason, she particularly wanted to look at the photos in her notebook. However, when Lu He's appearance came into her eyes again, she finally couldn't control herself anymore and burst into tears, with tears rolling down her face.

"Lu He, do you know how lonely I am? Do you know? Why do you let me face such an ending again and again?"

Four times. These four journeys spanning thirty years must have been so painful for her each time, and so lonely each time. She endured four times, but in the end the ending was still the same.

Meng Siqi cried heart-wrenchingly and lay on the ground wailing.

"Aunt Meng, Aunt Meng." The girl outside the door called.

Meng Siqi finally came to her senses. She slowly got up, wiped away her tears, opened the door, and looked at her with heartache, "Aunt Meng, are you sad again?"

Meng Siqi forced out a pale smile: "It's okay, Qiqi."

"I want to sit with you for a while."

"good."

Meng Siqi remembered that this scene was in her memory. That year, she heard Aunt Meng crying and walked into her bedroom. Later, she asked Aunt Meng "Who is Lu He?"

She didn't know if it would be the same today.

After sitting down in the room, Qiqi comforted her for a long time and told her many childhood stories. She said how bad her father was to her in the past. Once, in order to make her father worry, she deliberately ran on a rainy day at school to catch a cold. Unexpectedly, she broke her leg that time, and her father came to the school in person.

Qiqi seemed to be recounting her memories, and Meng Siqi gradually calmed down. Qiqi suddenly asked, "Aunt Meng, I saw the news today saying that the bones by the river were Lu He. Who was Lu He?"

She wanted to laugh, but also wanted to cry. She took Qiqi's hand and said, "Actually, I don't know either."

After Qi Qi went back, she suddenly felt very sad. She regretted asking Meng Xinghai to name her daughter Meng Siqi. If it weren’t for this name, perhaps they would not have "met" today?

She seemed to be able to see Qiqi's fate. Just like her back then, Qiqi might soon enter the thirty-year cycle from which she could never escape. She might be embarking on her fifth thirty-year journey.

Meng Siqi will jump into the river from the Sujiang lighthouse and end her life. Afterwards, Qiqi will hear the bad news about her, just like when she heard the bad news that Aunt Meng committed suicide by jumping into the river.

Before she knew it, Meng Siqi fell asleep on the table, but she kept waking up and falling asleep again. Her head felt particularly heavy. When it was dawn, she woke up completely. That night she dreamed of many things and many people. They were all familiar young faces.

She changed into a blue police uniform, combed her hair which was mixed with white, walked to the window, stared at the bright golden sun for a while, and suddenly, the sound of a crane came from the distant sky.

Meng Siqi leaned forward and lay on the windowsill in order to hear more clearly.

"Meng Siqi!"

"I hope you will continue to make just choices and let the flowers of justice bloom freely!"

"The truth is endless, and our job as criminal police is to explore the truest truth buried deep in the abyss."

"No matter how far the night is, we will definitely witness the dawn!"

Meng Siqi's old hands gripped the windowsill so tightly that the rotten window frame creaked.

No matter how far the night is, let her break through the darkness and witness the dawn!