Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 253 A Sense of Discomfort (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Yao Fenfang said that she killed the child.

These words sent a chill down the spines of Zhou Yi and Shi Tao.

Shi Tao hurriedly asked, "When did you kill that child?"

"It was the night Xiaoxue gave birth. After giving birth, Xiaoxue fell into a deep sleep. I held the baby, and all I could think was, this baby can't stay, this baby can't stay."

"So I...I strangled him to death." Yao Fenfang said, tears streaming down her face.

"The body..." Zhou Yi felt his throat go dry. "How did you dispose of the child's body?"

Yao Fenfang closed her eyes and said painfully, "I... used a knife to cut the child into pieces and flushed him down the toilet in my house."

Zhou Yi sighed softly, then took out handcuffs and said, "Yao Fenfang, we are now formally arresting you on charges of intentional homicide."

After Zhou Yi handcuffed her, he said, "Let's move to another place. We need to begin the formal interrogation of you."

Throughout the entire process of being escorted to the interrogation room, Yao Fenfang was like a walking corpse.

Zhou Yi did not rush to interrogate Yao Fenfang immediately. Although the newborn's body could no longer be found, Yao Fenfang had confessed to killing the child, so it was necessary to conduct a crime scene investigation at Yao Fenfang's home immediately.

At the same time, Tang Xue's body will be examined, and DNA samples will be taken and sent to the provincial capital to further confirm her kinship with the deceased.

In addition, it is necessary to get information from Qiao Jiali, who is in charge of questioning Tang Xue, and keep them informed.

As for Yao Fenfang and Tang Xue's social relationships, it's already dark, so we'll have to investigate that tomorrow.

After notifying the technical department and the forensic doctor, Zhou Yi also asked Shi Tao to call back the brothers from the second team who were out running around looking for relocated residents, in order to reduce the consumption of police resources. He added that they would have to come back tomorrow to conduct a door-to-door investigation into the social relationships of the mother and daughter.

"Team Leader Shi, you've really worked hard these past two days. Why don't you go back and rest early today? We'll need your help tomorrow to investigate Yao Fenfang and Tang Xue's social connections," Zhou Yi said to Shi Tao.

He didn't mean to betray his mentor, but rather he felt a little embarrassed to have Shi Tao act as his assistant during the subsequent interrogation.

After all, he is the proper captain of the second team, and this case is not his responsibility; he is just here to help.

But Shi Tao didn't think so. He believed that since the case was now being investigated jointly by the second and third teams, it was only right that he should take the lead.

Besides, Wu Yongcheng wasn't there, so I was the one in charge of the case in terms of position.

Rest? There's no time to lie down now!

"Tsk tsk, Zhou Yi, that's a bit too formal of you. How could we go back to rest and leave the hard and tiring work to you? If Old Wu found out, he'd grab me by the collar and yell at me again. Don't you know your Captain Wu's temper? He'll definitely accuse me of backing down at the last minute," Shi Tao said with a chuckle.

Zhou Yi suddenly realized what Shi Tao was thinking.

He immediately changed his tune, saying, "Captain Shi is right, I need to reflect on my actions. How about this, you arrange for someone quick to assist me in interrogating Yao Fenfang, and you can first investigate the social relationships of this mother and daughter."

Being quick means being efficient at taking statements.

Assisting me means that I am in charge of the interrogation.

Shi Tao didn't seem to care about that, nodding and saying it was no problem. Then he pointed to the interrogation room and said, "Aren't you going to interrogate her first? She just confessed to the murder. Shouldn't we strike while the iron is hot?"

Zhou Yi shook his head slightly and said, "No rush, let it cool down first. I feel like something's not quite right."

"Alright, let's go eat first, I'm starving."

"Team Leader Shi, you go first. I'll go check on Tang Xue's condition."

As soon as Zhou Yi finished speaking, Qiao Jiali walked over.

"Zhou Yi, Captain Shi, are you done asking questions?" Qiao Jiali asked in surprise.

"Yao Fenfang has confessed that she killed the child Tang Xue gave birth to. We have now formally arrested her and are preparing to interrogate her later," Zhou Yi said.

"Was it Yao Fenfang who killed him?"

Seeing Qiao Jiali's surprised expression, Zhou Yi quickly asked, "Sister Qiao, what's the situation from your side?"

"Is such that……"

Just as Qiao Jiali was about to speak, Shi Tao pulled the two of them forward, muttering, "The atmosphere in your Third Brigade is not good. People need to eat, so you have to eat on time. It would be much better to talk while eating. You have to stand and talk. It's all because of Old Wu, that workaholic, who taught you bad habits. Don't ruin your health later."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but chuckle; Captain Shi was indeed a very honest person.

Zhou Yi felt that her luck had improved a little, perhaps because it was her birthday.

When they went to get food, the cafeteria lady gave Zhou Yi a lot of food, even the largest duck leg.

The three sat down. Shi Tao looked at the food on Zhou Yi's plate, then at the skinny duck leg on his own plate, and couldn't help but say, "This cafeteria is really corrupt these days. I bet this duck isn't even an adult yet."

"Team Leader Shi, how about I switch with you? I haven't even touched my chopsticks yet."

"No need, you're young, you should eat more." Although Shi Tao said this, he picked at his own food and felt a little aggrieved.

Zhou Yi quickly asked Qiao Jiali about the situation.

Qiao Jiali said that she first calmed Tang Xue down, and then waited until Tang Xue's condition was more stable before she started asking her questions.

However, Tang Xue's personality clearly has major problems. She basically doesn't respond to Qiao Jiali's questions, doesn't speak, and just lowers her head and shrinks away like a hedgehog.

After several attempts, Qiao Jiali quickly discovered that Tang Xue would only react by nodding or shaking her head when she asked true or false questions.

So Qiao Jiali changed her questioning strategy and eventually learned some information.

Qiao Jiali's first question was: "Tang Xue, were you pregnant before?"

Tang Xue remained frozen for a long time before finally nodding.

"Whose child is this?"

Tang Xue did not respond.

Qiao Jiali then changed the subject, asking, "Was someone forced to have sex with you?"

Tang Xue's reaction to this question was somewhat strange. She first nodded, but then shook her head.

"Do you know that doing this can lead to pregnancy?"

Tang Xue shook her head.

Does your mother know you're pregnant?

Tang Xue shook her head again.

Does anyone else know you're pregnant?

She still shook her head, which truly surprised Qiao Jiali. How aloof and unremarkable must this girl be for no one to have discovered her pregnancy for so long?

"So do you have a boyfriend?"

This is a question of right and wrong, but this time, Tang Xue did not respond.

Seeing that she didn't respond for a long time, Qiao Jiali could only ask another question: "Is the child you gave birth to still alive?"

What she actually wanted to ask was, "Where is the child now?"

But considering that Tang Xue might not respond, he changed the way he asked the question.

Unexpectedly, Tang Xue actually nodded.

This surprised Zhou Yi and Shi Tao greatly. Yao Fenfang had already admitted that she strangled the newborn and disposed of the body by dismembering it, so why did Tang Xue say that the child was still alive?

"Could it be... that Yao Fenfang deliberately lied to Tang Xue, saying the child was still alive but had been given away?" Zhou Yi wondered.

Shi Tao said, "Hmm, I think that's possible! Think about it, this girl is only eighteen years old, and she's already experienced something like this. If she knew that her mother killed the child she gave birth to and flushed it down the drain, she would go crazy."

Based on her sudden comment at home, "The baby is crying again," it's likely a sign that she's already experiencing some mental health issues.

"We'll have Yao Fenfang explain the answer to this question later. Sister Qiao, did you get any other information from the questions?"

"I didn't get any other information out of her. After all, the girl didn't speak up, making communication too difficult. However, during my questioning, I noticed that her right hand kept touching the bracelet on her left wrist."

"Bracelet?"

"Well, it looks pretty ordinary. It's silver, evenly thick, and has a small star-shaped pendant in the middle, just like the ones sold in jewelry stores. When I noticed it, I was hoping to use it to get closer to her, so I complimented her on how pretty the bracelet was. But unexpectedly, she suddenly became very nervous and pulled down her sleeve."

"The bracelet, I understand. I'll ask about it when I interrogate Yao Fenfang later." Zhou Yi finished the duck leg and said, "Sister Qiao, take Tang Xue to the infirmary for a check-up, including a blood test for DNA testing. I ran into Xu Nian earlier and already told her."

Qiao Jiali nodded.

"Team Leader Shi, there's some information that I'd like you to investigate first." With that, Zhou Yi told Shi Tao about the idea that had just come to him.

Shi Tao readily agreed, saying he would personally go and make the trip later.

Zhou Yi picked up his nearly empty plate, as if remembering something, and asked, "By the way, Sister Qiao, where's Old Qin? I haven't seen him since I got back."

"Old Qin has passed away."

Zhou Yi was startled: "They're gone? When did they leave?"

"He left after the official autopsy report came out. Oh, Old Qin also left you a phone number, asking you to call him after you solved the case. I've put the number on your desk."

"Old Qin is too quick and efficient. I haven't even had a chance to thank him properly yet. Without him, we would never have been able to find Yao Fenfang and Tang Xue, this mother and daughter."

During the actual investigation, Yao Fenfang and her daughter had already conducted their investigation and found no suspicious points.

If Qin Beihai hadn't discovered and confirmed from the autopsy that it was a newborn baby, they probably wouldn't have found out even if they had gone through all the residents of Donghai Community twice more.

Their conventional approach is to search for missing persons. After all, people tend to think that it is impossible for an unidentified dead person to appear out of thin air; someone must have gone missing and their whereabouts unknown in order to become a dead person.

But who could have imagined that the real victim in this case would actually appear out of thin air?

Zhou Yi pushed open the door to the interrogation room and went inside.

Yao Fenfang looked up from inside the room and met his gaze.

In just a moment, Yao Fenfang quickly lowered her head.

But Zhou Yi sensed something strange again. Yao Fenfang's eyes for a moment were not right!
　Today (in the story) is Zhou Yi's birthday. Please, everyone, give Zhou Yi, who's still working hard on cases on his birthday, a monthly vote! Thank you! hhh
　　
　
(End of this chapter)