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

Chapter 264 Old Master, Making a Merit

Over the phone, Shi Tao told Zhou Yi that they had gone door-to-door asking about Tang Xue's photo.

An old lady said that around dusk on March 1st, she saw a girl in a school uniform walk out of Building 12. Her posture was a bit strange, and she kept clutching her stomach.

But the old lady said she didn't see the face, wasn't sure if it was the girl in the photo, and didn't know where the girl was going.

But she was certain it was March 1st, because her three children would send rice over on the first of every month.

Following this lead, they conducted a large-scale search outside the residential area, trying to find out where Tang Xue had gone.

But nothing was found.

Just as Shi Tao and his second team were standing dejectedly at the entrance of Donghai Community, the sound of the gatekeeper singing opera came from the door.

Shi Tao remembered Zhou Yi mentioning this old man, saying he was the mascot of the community, only slightly better than a stone lion.

With the thought of trying anything as a last resort, Shi Tao went up to the gatekeeper and asked him.

To everyone's surprise, the old man looked at Tang Xue's photo for a full three minutes, and just as Shi Tao was about to leave, he suddenly said, "This young lady came to borrow the phone."

Shi Tao thought he had misheard and turned around to ask, "What did you just say, sir?"

"Yes, that's her. She has a mole on her nose. I remember her."

Shi Tao quickly pressed, "Sir, on what day did she borrow the phone? What time? Who did she call?"

The old man frowned, trying his best to remember, but after a long pause, he said, "Which day... I don't remember..."

"I've forgotten what time it was..."

"I didn't notice who I called..."

Shi Tao was almost driven to his death by the old man's "deadly triple trap".

They were already overjoyed, since the fact that a phone call had been made was more useful evidence than mere witness testimony.

The old man actually pulled this stunt.

But the old man's words in the next second brought a sudden and unexpected turn of events to Shi Tao's mood.

"But I remember that at the time, the radio was playing Ma Lianliang's Ganlu Temple, and it just so happened that Wu Guotai scolded Sun Quan."

"Are you sure?" Shi Tao didn't understand Peking Opera, but he did know Sun Quan.

When the gatekeeper talked about opera, he was full of energy and said with absolute certainty that it was absolutely correct!
Shi Tao asked him which radio station broadcast it, and the gatekeeper picked up the radio and pointed it out to him.

"I called that radio station and asked them to check the program schedule to see which day and what time they aired Ma Lianliang's Ganlu Temple," Shi Tao said on the phone. "Zhou Yi, guess what happened?"

"The evening of March 1st?" Zhou Yi asked.

“That’s right! It was on March 1st, a Friday. The radio station had a program called ‘A Gathering of Pear Gardens’ that broadcast this play! And in the past two months, it’s only been broadcast on this one day!” Shi Tao said excitedly.

Zhou Yi hurriedly said, "Team Leader Shi, go to the telecommunications bureau and check the numbers that were dialed during that time period!"

"Old Gu and I will be at the district telecommunications bureau soon, you guys hurry over."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali immediately got into the car and headed to the district telecommunications bureau.

This was truly beyond Zhou Yi's expectations, especially since he hadn't anticipated that the most unreliable gatekeeper would provide such a crucial clue.

When Shi Tao spoke, Zhou Yi was still a little doubtful, but when he said that the old man clearly and accurately remembered which play was being shown, Zhou Yi knew that he was sure of success!
This is definitely within the gatekeeper's area of ​​expertise.

When the two arrived at the Municipal Telecommunications Bureau, it was almost closing time. Shi Tao and Gu Changhai came out of the bureau holding a piece of paper.

"Team Leader Shi!" Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali went to greet him.

“You’re here, and we just got it too. Just to be on the safe side, I had the telecommunications company print out all the call records for the phone in the guard room of Donghai Community on March 1st. Among them, there were three calls in the time slots that matched the TV program schedules, two of which were incoming calls.” Shi Tao pointed to a number that was underlined on the paper and said, “Only this one was an outgoing call.”

Zhou Yi leaned closer to take a look and realized it wasn't a landline number, but a mobile phone number.

“This number… it looks kind of familiar…” Zhou Yi murmured.

Shi Tao looked at him incredulously: "Really? Zhou Yi, you're kidding me."

After Zhou Yi finished speaking, he took out his mobile phone and flipped through it.

Suddenly, his expression changed.

Qiao Jiali said, "This is not..."

……

As dusk settled, in the interrogation room of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, sitting opposite Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali was not Yao Fenfang, but Tang Xue!

Tang Xue, handcuffed to the cold detention chair, had her eyes, hidden behind her bangs, filled with terror as she tried to struggle, but to no avail.

"Tang Xue, we are now beginning your interrogation. I need to tell you first that everything you say from now on will be recorded and used as evidence in this case. So please answer my questions truthfully."

Qiao Jiali said sternly, "Furthermore, I must remind you that this is an interrogation room, a place for interrogating criminal suspects. Don't think that you can get away with it by not talking. Any behavior that you do that is uncooperative with the interrogation will ultimately have consequences for you. Do you understand?"

Tang Xue was so frightened that she burst into tears and trembled with fear.

This is also why Zhou Yi suggested that Qiao Jiali preside over Tang Xue's interrogation. It's not because she's a policewoman, but because she had been quite gentle with Tang Xue during the previous interrogations.

During the formal interrogation, Qiao Jiali's harsh attitude created a strong psychological gap for Tang Xue, making it easier to quickly apply psychological pressure to her. Sure enough, after only two warnings, Tang Xue was so frightened that she burst into tears.

Qiao Jiali slammed her hand on the table without hesitation and scolded, "Stop crying! You're seventeen, not seven. You have to bear the consequences of your actions!"

Tang Xue trembled with fright, but managed to suppress her sobs.

"Name!" Qiao Jiali asked loudly.

Zhou Yi, holding a pen, glanced at Tang Xue. Usually, there is a key point in the interrogation of a suspect: when the suspect speaks up and directly answers the questions asked during the interrogation.

This indicates the suspect's psychological state and whether they still harbor strong resistance.

Therefore, sometimes when a suspect asks for a glass of water or a cigarette, it indicates that their resistance is waning.

Similarly, the initial series of basic questions asked during an interrogation, in addition to ensuring the legality and accuracy of the confession, also serve to weaken the suspect's resistance by using routine questions in the criminal psychology.

"Tang...Tang Xue".

Tang Xue's opening remarks signaled a breakthrough in the interrogation.

After asking for basic information, Qiao Jiali cut straight to the point.

"Tang Xue, where were you on March 1st?"

"At home..." Tang Xue's voice was faint, but it could be heard clearly in the undisturbed interrogation room.

Who else was with you that day?

Tang Xue fell silent.

Qiao Jiali tapped the table with her knuckles as a reminder, but didn't say anything.

"With my mom..."

Qiao Jiali took out the two attendance sheets and said, "We have confirmed that on the morning of March 1st, your mother, Yao Fenfang, arrived at the plastics factory at 7:56 a.m. to cover for her colleague, Jiang Guihua, and did not clock out until after 8 a.m. the next morning. This is Jiang Guihua's attendance sheet, and this is Yao Fenfang's attendance sheet. Jiang Guihua and other plastics factory workers confirmed that Yao Fenfang covered for them."

"So tell me, how were you at home with your mother, Yao Fenfang, on March 1st?"

Tang Xue's breathing quickened instantly, her face flushed red, and her fingernails dug helplessly at the smooth metal plate of the detention chair.

"I... don't remember."

"Then let me ask you again, on what date were you born?"

"Number 2...28..."

It seems they are still putting up a stubborn resistance.

"Then why did you go to the guardhouse of your community and borrow the phone at 5:42 pm on March 1st?"

As soon as Qiao Jiali finished speaking, Tang Xue looked up at the two of them in horror. Her eyes held a terror she had never seen since she was brought to the Municipal Bureau.

Because his biggest secret was discovered.

"Who did you call?"

Before the interrogation began, Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali discussed the direction of the interrogation. Zhou Yi's opinion was not to let Tang Xue linearly recount the entire incident, because Yao Fenfang must have made Tang Xue memorize the prepared statements countless times.

Remaining silent is the worst strategy; lying is the best strategy.

So let's skip what Yao Fenfang has already said and use facts to catch her off guard.

After all, she's just a young girl; she wouldn't have much mental fortitude.

"Don't ask me anymore, sob sob sob, I don't know, he clearly told me everything was fine, I don't know why it turned out like this, sob sob sob." Tang Xue's mental defenses completely collapsed, and she cried her heart out.

This time, Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali didn't urge her. Instead, they waited until she finished crying before Qiao Jiali said earnestly, "Tang Xue, tell us everything you know. Do you really want to make the same mistake again and send your mother to jail?"

In the interrogation room, Tang Xue began to recount everything she had experienced.

……

Early the next morning, a silver-gray car stopped on the side of the road outside the Municipal Bureau, and a man and a woman got out of the driver's and passenger's seats.

The man was wearing a woolen overcoat, with a tall and straight posture, and striking eyebrows and bright eyes; the woman was wearing a beige trench coat, dignified and gentle, with her hair styled in a high bun, and she had a very elegant demeanor.

They clearly came from a well-off family, a stark contrast to the disheveled Yao Fenfang, who seemed to belong to a completely different world.

After getting out of the car, the man frowned, slammed the door shut, and then yelled at the back seat, "Get out!"

The back door opened, and Huang Chen got out of the car cautiously.

"Hurry up, stop dawdling, you can't do anything right!" the man scolded, and Huang Chen lowered his head and didn't dare to utter a sound.

"Why are you cursing him? Isn't he your son? He looks just like you!" the woman scolded unhappily.

"What do you mean 'like me'? It's all because you spoiled me, giving me whatever I wanted and pampering me like this!"

The two men, cursing and swearing, entered the city bureau gate with grim faces, while Zhou Yi stood at the window upstairs, watching the three men.

　Chapter 2 is blocked, please wait a bit.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)