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

Chapter 294 Nursing Home
“Detention-based pyramid schemes have several characteristics: tight organization, targeting acquaintances, fabricating get-rich-quick myths, brainwashing, and restricting personal freedom,” Zhou Yi said, counting on his fingers.

"Oh, another notable characteristic is that they usually scam people from other places because it's less likely to attract the attention of their families and get them reported to the police."

Wu Yongcheng took out a crumpled cigarette box, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

As wisps of white smoke rose, Zhou Yi thought to himself, "The incense burner from the Third Brigade is back."

"But if it's a pyramid scheme, the goal should be to swindle money, right? Then the primary target of the scam should be Li Youqiang's family. But in reality, his family has never had any contact with Li Youqiang. It shouldn't be difficult for them to call his wife's workplace, right?"

Zhou Yi said, "My suspicion is that Li Youqiang may have always been insubordinate, after all, he was fired from the agricultural machinery factory for fighting. So it's possible that after realizing he had been deceived, he wanted to leave, clashed with the people in the pyramid scheme, was detained and beaten, and was eventually accidentally killed and his body dumped. The brainwashing in pyramid schemes has a phase, and they usually prepare a set of courses for them, which also fits the time difference that he was killed more than a month after he went to Anyuan."

Zhou Yi's reasoning was not unfounded; it stemmed from a case in his previous life that involved a similar situation.

A young man in his twenties from another province suddenly received a phone call from a female classmate from junior high school, who warmly invited him to visit her city.

Just when the young man thought it was a perfect love story, he was taken to a large courtyard in a remote suburb, where his phone and ID card were confiscated. Then, several burly men jumped out and began to brainwash him, saying that some kind of "Sunshine Project" was supported by the government and that as long as he invested a certain amount of money, he would receive huge returns and reach the pinnacle of life.

The young man quickly realized he had been scammed and said he wanted to leave.

But once you're here, you can't just leave, so a group of people took turns brainwashing him.

Finally, the young man gave in and said he would call his family to ask for money. The pyramid scheme organization agreed and made the call on speakerphone.

As soon as the call connected, the young man shouted that he should tell his family to call the police, saying that he had been scammed.

He only managed to say half a sentence before the call was cut off.

What followed was a brutal beating; someone kicked him in the lower back.

That evening, the young man died on the cold floor. The autopsy results showed that the cause of death was kidney damage caused by external force, which led to acute kidney failure.

When they discovered the body, the group panicked and quickly disposed of it.

But the body was discovered by scavengers the next day, who then called the police.

Zhou Yi felt that Li Youqiang's case was quite similar to that other case, and it might be a direction for the current investigation.

Just as Chen Yan finished sending the fax, Jiang Biao and Qiao Jiali returned.

They brought a very crucial piece of information: Fu Daqing had appeared about a week ago.

Jiang Biao said they went to three places in total: Fu Daqing's house, his ex-wife's house, and the nursing home where Fu Daqing's father lived.

Since Fu Daqing and his ex-wife had no children, they had completely cut off all contact after their divorce.

However, before the Chinese New Year this year, at the end of the previous year, Fu Daqing contacted her once, seemingly implying that he wanted to reconcile with her and that he would soon be able to turn things around.

His ex-wife's exact words to Jiang Biao and his family were: "He's mentally ill. I remarried a long time ago, had a child, and if he's got a brain problem, why would I go back to him?"

Qiao Jiali asked her if Fu Daqing had ever been to Anyuan before.

His ex-wife answered that she did, saying she used to go there often when she was in the fruit business, because Anyuan was famous for its large and sweet watermelons.

Fu Daqing earned the nickname "Watermelon Brother" because he sold watermelons. She said that back then, Fu Daqing was a pretty hardworking person. Although Anyuan City was far away, the watermelons were indeed much tastier than the local ones, and he didn't sell them for much. Considering the transportation costs, the profit was actually limited, and watermelons were a seasonal fruit.

But at least back then, the couple could live a stable life.

His ex-wife said that Fu Daqing was not a bad person, but he was too stubborn and obstinate, and he would not listen to other people's advice. In the end, his business failed and he was burdened with debt.

The divorce was also because the two had no children, and they argued so fiercely that their relationship broke down.

Fu Daqing's ex-wife also provided information that the reason the two had not had children for so many years was because Fu Daqing had asthenospermia.

The two then went to the nursing home. Chen Yan had actually inquired with the nursing home earlier and received feedback that Fu Daqing's last visit to his father was during the Chinese New Year. He hadn't come back since, and the nursing home was in arrears.

Fu Daqing originally had an older brother, but he passed away from heart disease more than ten years ago, so his father has been living with him ever since.

Later, due to business failure and divorce, the old man suffered a stroke. After the divorce, Fu Daqing became depressed and eventually sent the old man to a nursing home.

When Chen Yan called the nursing home to inquire about the situation, the nursing home hoped that the police could help find the old man's relatives to resolve the outstanding payment issue, since they couldn't just kick the old man out.

Unexpectedly, when Jiang Biao and his group went to the nursing home to inquire about the situation, they learned that the outstanding payment issue had already been resolved.

Not only was the problem solved, but they also paid a year's worth of fees directly.

The person who paid the money was none other than Fu Daqing. The nursing home's payment receipts show that Fu Daqing paid on April 13th. The caregiver said he stayed for a little over an hour and then left, never to return.

When he came, he bought a lot of fruit and snacks, as well as some daily necessities.

As for what was said to the old man, the caregiver had no idea.

Jiang Biao said he wanted to ask the old man some questions, but the caregiver said he couldn't, because the old man's mouth and eyes were crooked after his stroke and he couldn't speak.

Jiang Biao insisted on taking a look, and sure enough, the old man could only make incoherent sounds from his throat.

The conditions at this nursing home are average. Four elderly people share a room, and as soon as you enter, you can smell a strong odor of old people mixed with the smell of urine.

Qiao Jiali discovered that there were many packs of diapers stuffed under Fu Daqing's father's bed.

Although it is normal for elderly people who cannot take care of themselves to use diapers, there are far more diapers under this bed than under other people's beds.

Only after asking the caregiver did I learn that they had all been bought when Fu Daqing came that day.

Upon hearing Qiao Jiali's words, Wu Yongcheng immediately said, "Buying so many diapers and paying for a year's worth of them, Fu Daqing is a prime suspect."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Yes, this is clearly a sign that they won't be coming back for a long time. They're probably going to run away. No, they've probably already run away."

Jiang Biao said, "We went to Fu Daqing's house, but no one was home. Captain Wu, should we just apply for a search warrant and search Fu Daqing's house? This guy is definitely up to something."

"Let's wait for An Yuan's confirmation first. Once it's confirmed that the deceased is Li Youqiang, we'll launch a full investigation and manhunt in Daqing."

Chen Yan said, "We also need to notify the family. By the way, in this situation, is it necessary for Li Youqiang's mother, wife, and children to identify the body?"

He had naturally studied the relevant legal provisions, but he had never encountered such a situation in practice.

Wu Yongcheng said, "The law itself does not force family members to identify the body, but the decision to do so rests with the family. We have no right to interfere; we should just inform them and respect their decision. However, based on the information provided by Anyuan City, the body is highly decomposed and the face has been deliberately mutilated. Even if the family goes there, they probably won't be able to recognize it, which will only increase their psychological burden. So when you notify the family after confirming the identity, please give them a gentle reminder."

Just as he finished speaking, the phone rang. Wu Yongcheng reached out and pressed the speakerphone button: "Hello, this is Wu Yongcheng."

“Deputy Captain Wu, this is Pan Hongjie. Our forensic team has compared the images, and the location of the steel nail in the deceased’s left leg bone is exactly the same as the location of the steel nail in the X-ray you sent! The deceased is Li Youqiang, the missing person from Hongcheng.”

Sure enough! In fact, before this phone call, the members of the Third Brigade had basically concluded that the deceased was Li Youqiang, but they were just waiting for this final confirmation.

Wu Yongcheng told Pan Hongjie about the investigation into Li Youqiang and Fu Daqing, as well as the direction of their reasoning.

Pan Hongjie was very surprised: "You guys are moving way too fast. The clues you provided are very important. We will immediately start investigating who Li Youqiang and Fu Daqing have been in contact with in Anyuan. We will proceed simultaneously on both sides and keep in touch at all times."

“Okay, now that the deceased has been identified as Li Youqiang, we will conduct further investigations into the deceased and Fu Daqing,” Wu Yongcheng said.

"Thank you, Deputy Chief Wu. I will report this matter to the bureau leaders immediately. We will also investigate the pyramid scheme leads you mentioned earlier."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yongcheng said to the three men, "Although this case involves both Hongcheng and Anyuan, Li Youqiang's body was found in Anyuan. Therefore, according to regulations, Anyuan is the lead investigator in this case, and we are the co-investigators."

Everyone nodded in understanding. The co-organizer's intention was simply to investigate the two leads involving Li Youqiang and Fu Daqing and provide the clues to An Yuan. The responsibility for finding the real culprit lay with An Yuan.

"Xiao Qiao, apply for a search warrant for Fu Daqing's house, then the two of you come with me to Fu Daqing's house."

"clear."

"Zhou Yi, Chen Yan, you two should go and notify the family members. Remember what I said earlier."

"clear."

“Li Youqiang wasn’t someone who went to work in another city normally. His death must be directly related to why he went to Anyuan. You should investigate his social connections again, see how he met Fu Daqing, and whether they had any mutual friends.”

"Okay Master."

When Zhou Yi and Chen Yan walked into the old street where Li Youqiang lived again, it was getting dark, and the already poorly lit old street became even darker.

Standing at the door of Li Youqiang's house, Zhou Yi knocked on the wooden door.

With a creak, the door opened.

But the person who opened the door was not Niu Fengxian.

(End of this chapter)