Detective: From the Police Academy

Chapter 231 How to Become an Adult (Case Closed)
Luo Rui and Li Nong were in the same car. Jiang Gang also went there. Qi Lei was driving.

As a prosecutor, Jiang Gang had to file a record of the case since he already knew about it. Otherwise, if his superiors got to know about it, he would definitely be in trouble.

Li Mei's mental state was very bad. Her unusual calmness made Luo Rui dare not continue the interrogation. He could only ask the police to call a psychiatrist to analyze her mental state to see whether she wanted to escape the crime by pretending to have mental problems or was really sick.

Li Nong sighed, "I never thought there would be a mother who would brutally kill her own child! I've been a police officer for so many years and I've never encountered anything like this."

Jiang Gang was no longer surprised by this, and said, "There are even more outrageous cases. My senior brother handled a case in the past. It was about a rural woman who chopped off the heads of her two children, then sewed them together with needle and thread. She carried the children in two backpacks, covered them with red cloth, and went to the town to take them to see a doctor. She said her children were sick, and when she lifted the cloth, the doctor was shocked on the spot."

Li Nong clicked his tongue twice and asked, "Isn't this case difficult to prosecute?"

"It's useless to prosecute. The person is indeed ill. In this case, a mental evaluation was conducted. After confirming that there is no problem, he was sent directly to a mental hospital."

"When Luo Rui first interrogated her, I thought Li Mei wasn't pretending. If she really had a mental problem..."

At this time, Luo Rui interrupted him and said, "She is suffering from mental illness now. Is there any connection between that and the murder of her own son five years ago?"

Jiang Gang nodded: "Yes, at least she was normal at that time, this woman is crazy!"

Li Nong sighed, "If we hadn't cleaned up our case handling methods, Li Mei would have been caught long ago."

Jiang Gang shook his head: "That's not what I meant. No one would have thought that a mother could be so cruel."

As they were talking, they arrived at Baoshan Town, a place Luo Rui had visited a month ago.

People from the local police station had been waiting for a long time. Li Nong exchanged greetings with the director, and then everyone started climbing the mountain.

The culvert that Li Mei mentioned is just halfway up the mountain. It used to be a canal dug to irrigate farmland in the town, connecting to a stream in the mountains. It has been abandoned for many years and has never been used.

Walking upstream along the canal, you will find a culvert that connects other villages. The longest one is half a kilometer long.

Most rural areas have such facilities. Especially in the summer, it is very cool to go into the culvert. Walking inside with a torch, you can see many bats living inside.

Holding flashlights, the group trudged up the mountain, one step deep and one step shallow. The wind in early autumn was not cold, but it still felt chilly in the mountains.

The canal had long been dry, and the mud and sand were piled up to half a meter deep. Going upwards, there was no land to be seen, only weeds and vegetation.

About half an hour later, a semicircular hole appeared in front of everyone, and the sound of gurgling water could be heard in their ears.

Han Jinli, a forensic doctor, also came along, but Fang Yonghui and Yang Bo helped carry the investigation box.

Miao Shouqiang had to carry the equipment by himself and complained bitterly, but no one helped him.

Qi Lei was the most active. He put on his water shoes and jumped into the canal with Lao Bao. They shone flashlights into the culvert, but did not find any bodies.

Li Nong stood by the canal and shouted, "Go inside and take a look."

"Go inside and take a look..."

He spoke in a low voice, and the sound echoed in the culvert, which made the detective, who was used to seeing corpses, feel a little uneasy.

"Okay!" Qi Lei responded, and he and Lao Bao walked to one side, then moved forward cautiously.

Soon, their figures could no longer be seen and only the faint lights could be seen.

"Squeak..."

Then a large group of bats flew out of the culvert, like a black shadow.

Everyone quickly covered their faces with their arms and waited for the bats to fly away.

Bats are nocturnal creatures, and I don't know why they stay in the cave so late at night.

"Hey, Old Joe, what's going on in there?"

Li Nong was a little anxious. If he couldn't find the body, he couldn't convict the criminal. Besides, no one could tell whether this crazy woman Li Mei would lie.

Soon, the halo of a flashlight kept shaking, and then there was the sound of footsteps and flowing water.

Lao Bao's voice came from the culvert: "Found it, there's a body!"

The sound travels far away and can be heard very clearly.

Li Nong let out a long sigh, and Luo Rui's expression also relaxed a little.

But Lao Bao's next words pierced their mentality.

"Li Da, Luo Da, there is more than one body! There are three bodies in there!"

Li Nong almost fainted. How come there were three bodies?
Luo Rui was also startled. The two of them didn't care whether they were wearing water shoes or not. They jumped into the canal together and waded inside.

After all, Jiang Gang was not directly at the scene. Although he had seen corpses before, he had never seen the scene where corpses were dumped. He hesitated for a moment and jumped into the ditch.

Han Jinli wanted to stop it, but it was too late. Although the scene where the body was dumped was not the crime scene, the evidence left was very scarce, making it even more difficult to retrieve.

Miao Shouqiang also frowned and scolded several colleagues who wanted to jump into the canal: "Don't let anyone else in. If you destroy the physical evidence, you will have to bear the consequences!"

Afterwards, Han Jinli and Miao Shouqiang put on their equipment, each carrying a simple survey box, and walked into the culvert.

After walking for about two minutes, I saw a group of people gathered in front.

Han Jinli looked up and felt a chill down her spine.

Some small bats were hanging upside down on the cliff. These little creatures couldn't fly away. They were so densely packed that it was really scary.

It was not until she saw the two corpses lying in the puddle in front of her that she finally understood why these bats did not go out to find food at night.

The two bodies were highly decomposed, with signs of gnawing all over their bodies, especially their exposed faces, which were bloody and looked truly creepy.

The time of death of the two people has not yet been determined, but the temperature in this culvert is extremely low, so the degree of decomposition of the bodies will be slower.

This scene was something Han Jinli had never encountered since she started working as a forensic scientist.

She hadn't looked closely at the species of these bats just now. All she knew was that some bats did not suck blood, but only fed insects and small animals. There were very few species of vampire bats in the country, but this was possible.

Bats must be caught, and insect eggs on the corpses must also be caught. There are many things that need to be inspected.

A signal for help immediately arose in Han Jinli's mind, as she could not handle the situation on her own.

Not only her, Miao Shouqiang was also under great pressure. There was water flowing in the culvert, and the footprints might be destroyed. But if the water flowed slowly, the murderer's footprints might still remain in the mud. But if they were not complete footprints, he couldn't figure it out. He immediately thought of Director Zhao Ming who had come to the county bureau for support some time ago.

Li Nong squatted in front of the two corpses, looking worried.

He covered his nose with his hand and consoled himself: "There are many missing persons in Shahe County. It is not surprising to find two bodies here. There is nothing to be surprised about."

Jiang Gang felt a chill in his heart. He glanced at the corpse and then turned his attention to Li Nong: "You should think about it. If Director Lu knew about this, he might not be able to sleep well at night."

Li Nong rolled his eyes at him and said, "What can we do? We can't just pretend nothing happened here, right?"

Jiang Gang replied: "Anyway, you guys can handle this matter as you wish. I will keep it on file and wait for you to submit it for trial."

Li Nong stood up angrily. This is why criminal police don't want to deal with prosecutors. Some cases require you to constantly provide additional evidence, and for some new homicide cases, when prosecutors catch someone, they have to follow up from time to time to prevent you from making some false physical evidence and affecting the court trial.

Leaving the two rotten corpses behind, Li Nong and Jiang Gang carefully moved forward, trying to stay close to the wall of the cave.

They saw Luo Rui squatting ten meters ahead.

A skinny skeleton was leaning against the wall of the cave, a pair of empty eye sockets staring at the detectives who had arrived five years late.

His school uniform had been torn to pieces. It was exactly the same clothes Tai Hui wore when he was alive. He also had a schoolbag on his back, the lower half of which was touching the water.

Li Nong asked, "Is this Tai Hui?"

Luo Rui nodded: "The hyoid bone is fractured, it should be him."

No one dares to make a conclusion now, everything depends on DNA testing.

Jiang Gang covered his mouth and nose, and said in a muffled voice: "Damn it, it's too cruel, how could he do that to a child of such age!"

Li Nong sighed. Although he had seen many tragedies in the world, the victim this time was about the same age as his son, and his heart was touched.

"Yes, it's absolutely unscrupulous!"

Jiang Gang said, "Then the case has been solved, right? You have secured the evidence. When you send it for inspection, it would be best to find out more about how Li Mei committed the crime, especially the motive for the murder. In a case like this, if you are not careful, you will not be able to get the death penalty."

Luo Rui stood up and said, "It's still too early. We haven't figured out who poisoned Tai Zhenggang yet. These two cases are linked together, so they will have to be sent for inspection together."

Li Nong analyzed: "It is not difficult to guess the motive for the murder. Tai Zhenggang must have been poisoned by Li Mei. We just don't know when and how she poisoned him. Li Mei has mental problems now. We will continue the trial after the judicial appraisal."

At this time, Han Jinli came over and asked, "Li Da, which body should I examine first?"

Luo Rui took over the conversation: "Let's examine Tai Hui's body first. The sooner we can do the DNA test, the sooner we can get the results. As for the two bodies in front, they are too complicated. We have to ask for help."

Hearing this, Han Jinli looked at Luo Rui with gratitude.

Because his words echoed loudly, Miao Shouqiang also heard it and said hurriedly: "Luo Da, um, I'm here..."

Luo Rui nodded: "I'll find Director Zhao!"

Li Nong's restless heart also calmed down a little.

Shahe County is a poor county with no resources, otherwise it would not have let the new forensic doctors and trace investigators take on such an important task.

Now one case has not been concluded yet and another case has occurred. Without the support of technical experts, it is indeed difficult to solve the case in a short time.

This is not to say that Han Jinli and Miao Shouqiang are incompetent. After all, they are young and technically immature, but they are good at writing reports.

All the new police officers this year are experts at writing reports, except Luo Rui of course.

The scene was handed over to Han Jinli and Miao Shouqiang. Everyone else withdrew, leaving only a few assistants and miscellaneous people.

As soon as Luo Rui got ashore, he took out his cell phone and called Wei Qunshan.

Wei Qunshan, this old fox, treated him as a dagger in the first place. Luo Rui thought that no matter what, he had to make him bleed now.

As soon as he finished the call, Fang Yonghui hurried out of the culvert. He was wearing latex gloves and holding a transparent bag in his hand.

"Li Da, Luo Da, and Forensic Doctor Han found it in Tai Hui's schoolbag!"

Luo Rui's pupils shrank as he saw what looked like a book in the bag. Fang Yonghui stood in the canal and explained, "It looks like Tai Hui's diary."

Luo Rui quickly put on latex gloves and took the evidence bag.

The diary is not very thick, with a brown leather cover. Due to the humid environment over the past five years, the paper has become damp and sticky, but fortunately it has not rotted.

Luo Rui opened the evidence bag, Li Nong turned on the flashlight, the two of them squatted on the ground, and Jiang Gang stood behind them.

After Luo Rui opened the title page, he began to read it carefully.

Li Nong urged: "Don't read the previous part first, just read the diary after May 5st. Tai Zhenggang was killed on that day."

Luo Rui turned the paper over, but because the papers were stuck together, the words were smudged by water and could not be seen clearly.

May 5st was blank, and so were the days that followed.

But the last two pages of the diary were filled with notes, and there was no date written on them.

The flashlight shone on the paper, and the first sentence was: I killed my father...

I killed my dad!
The night before, before I went to bed, my father told me that he had to go on a trip and would not be back for a few days.

I thought that he would leave when he got up in the morning, but that morning he was still at home.

Dad and Mom had a big fight because Mom asked Dad for money, and Dad gave it to her, but Mom said it was not enough.

My father sat in the dining room angrily. Because I had to go to school in the morning, my father made breakfast for me.

It was a hot day and my dad said he would buy me a new schoolbag when he came back. I was very happy.

I want to tell my dad that my mom brought men home. I saw it, more than once.

That man would wait for me to get out of school and then leave our house. I saw him in the corridor many times.

Moreover, there were used condoms in the trash can in my mother's bedroom. I didn't know what this was, so I wrapped it in toilet paper and took it to the teacher at school, who scolded me.

The older kids all made fun of me, saying that this was what my parents used when they did that thing, and that all men have this thing in their bodies, and that if they didn't use it, they would be able to have children.

But it wasn't my dad who did that with my mom.

I ran to my mother and asked her who the man was. I threatened to tell my father, and my mother got mad and beat me up.

She said she would kill me if I told Dad about this.

I always felt that my mother was not joking, so I was scared and kept this secret in my heart.

That morning, my father was sweating because he was making breakfast for me. When he was about to go out, I remembered the Coke that I had put in the water and kept cold overnight. I ran to the kitchen, and when I was about to get the Coke, my mother already had it in her hand.

She asked me what I was doing, and I said I wanted to give the Coke to my dad.

My mother told me to go out and she would give me the Coke later.

When Dad got in the car, I took the Coke from Mom and gave it to Dad, but there was only half a bottle of Coke left.

I thought it was my mother who drank it, so I didn’t think much about it.

Dad touched my head and said, wait for him to come back and go fishing together on the weekend.

After Dad left, Mom was still watching on the balcony.

I also looked at the street where the taxi disappeared for a long time.

Later, my father died in a car accident.

I cried bitterly. My grandparents came from the countryside, and our family came to the funeral home, ready to take my father away. But a doctor said that my father's death was very strange and needed to be examined. But my mother forcibly took my father's body away.

I heard the doctor call someone and say that Dad might have been poisoned.

I was terrified and I remembered that bottle of Coke. I thought my father’s death must be related to that bottle of Coke.

But I didn't dare tell anyone. Half a month later, I finally mustered up the courage to question my mother.

I need to know clearly how my father died...

If she was the one who poisoned me, I will tell the police! I must tell the police!

It would be great if I could become an adult. Then I would know how to deal with this matter.

Mom has killed Dad, will she kill me?
If I die, I wonder if I will ever see my father again...

Dad, I miss you...】

The diary only went up to this point. Because the paper was damp, Luo Rui saw several circular watermarks. He wondered if they were Tai Hui's tears.

Li Nong, who was holding a flashlight, choked up, turned his head, wiped his tears, and cursed: "Silly child, why don't you run!"

Jiang Gang sighed deeply, "He must have run away, and then was caught by his cruel mother, who strangled him to death. She killed the child and then dumped him here. For five years, five whole years, the child stayed in this culvert."

The veins on Luo Rui's arms bulged. He slowly stood up, feeling a sense of distress in his heart.

It is now roughly clear how Tai Zhenggang died.

In all likelihood, Li Mei put rat poison into a Coke bottle and asked Tai Hui to give it to Tai Zhenggang.

Li Mei won't find this thing in a short time, she should have prepared it long ago.

If the bottle of rat poison could be found, then Li Mei's intention and plan to kill would be confirmed, but the hope of finding it is slim.

The Coke bottle that Tai Zheng had just received did not arouse his suspicion. He thought his son drank half of it and then gave it to him.

Moreover, he did not drink the bottle of Coke immediately. It was not until several days later, when he was returning, perhaps because he had run out of water, that he drank the bottle of Coke containing rat poison.

As a result, the police misjudged the time of the poisoning, and the truck overturned and caught fire, burning the physical evidence, so it was difficult for Li Nong to investigate five years ago.

Luo Rui also used unusual investigative methods to pry open Li Mei's mouth and find Tai Hui's body. Fortunately, with this diary, the truth about Tai Zhenggang's death was finally revealed.

However, all this still depends on Li Mei's confession. In the absence of complete physical evidence, her confession is particularly important.

The next afternoon, Li Mei underwent a psychiatric evaluation and the doctor concluded that she did not have any mental illness, but was just suffering from fatigue due to excessive mental stress.

Li Mei was brought to trial again.

She sat in the interrogation chair with a calm expression. If one did not know the inside story, one would not be able to tell that this woman had cruelly killed her husband and biological son.

But from her eyes and eyebrows, you can tell that she is a ruthless person.

Luo Rui stared at her and found that there was no trace of guilt on her face.

Li Mei has compromised and admitted to all the crimes of killing Tai Zhenggang and Tai Hui.

This surprised Luo Rui, who thought she would struggle.

"When did you kill Tai Hui?"

"I don't remember. It seemed to be the day after he disappeared."

Li Mei answered nonchalantly, her eyes fixed on her fingers.

Luo Rui looked at the notes and said, "Let me remind you that Tai Hui disappeared on June 6th. Do you mean that he was killed on June 7th?"

"probably."

"What time exactly?"

"About three or four in the afternoon, when the sun is about to set." Li Mei raised her eyes and said, "Every time the child ran away from home, he would walk along the railway tracks and hide near the Baoshan Tunnel. I could always find him."

Tai Hui's body has turned to bones, so it is difficult to determine the time of death, and Li Mei's testimony is very important.

"This child threatened me, saying he would tell the police that I killed his father. If I didn't kill him, I wouldn't be able to survive, right? To be honest, when I was pregnant with him, I thought about having an abortion. After all, this child is not Tai Zhenggang's, and it would be a troublesome thing if I gave birth to him. If I had aborted him at that time, would it not be against the law?"

Luo Rui gritted his teeth and endured the discomfort in his heart for such a bottom-line-challenging and inhumane question, and continued to ask: "After you strangled him to death, you threw the body into the culvert. Was there anything unusual in the culvert at that time?"

Li Mei shook her head: "I don't know what you want to ask."

"Later, the note for the kidnapping and ransom demand was directed and acted by you?"

Li Mei nodded: "Yes, I found someone at the train station to write this sentence for me, and I gave her two hundred yuan."

"What's that person's name? What does he look like? Is there any contact information?"

"How could that be? That person didn't even ask me what I do. Anyway, I can get paid. Besides, it's none of her business. Besides, she just stopped in Shahe County for one day."

"Where did you buy the rat poison that killed Tai Zhenggang?"

"Baoshan Town, my hometown."

"Do you still have the bottle?"

"I threw it away a long time ago, otherwise you would have caught me five years ago."

"Does Bian An know what you did?"

"He is a fool. He is good at nothing except living a good life. He doesn't know anything." Li Mei answered smoothly without any resistance.

Jiang Gang, who had been silent the whole time, felt that something was amiss, so he immediately whispered in Luo Rui's ear, "In addition to the mental evaluation, have you checked anything else?"

Luo Rui blinked and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Pregnant!"

The two words Jiang Gang said startled Luo Rui!
If Li Mei was pregnant, she would be able to escape the death penalty. Even if she had a miscarriage while in custody, she would not be sentenced to death.

Luo Rui suppressed the surprise on his face and looked through the mental evaluation of Li Mei in his hand, but there was no report concluding that she was pregnant.

At this time, Li Mei looked up at Luo Rui with a smile on her face...

(End of this chapter)