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

Chapter 345 Zhou Yi's Mistake

So they asked her again what was going on with the driver Feng Qiang, and what about the 30,000 yuan she later had her mother withdraw? They warned her to think carefully before answering, because they could find Feng Qiang soon, and she would have to bear the consequences if she lied.

Huang Yanli said: That's right, I did give Feng Qiang 30,000 yuan to make him resign and go back to his hometown, as compensation for him.

Pan Hongjie asked: Why did you ask Feng Qiang to go back to his hometown?

Huang Yanli said: "Because I don't want the Zheng family's dirty laundry to be aired in public, and I especially don't want him to call the police. I don't care whether Zheng Guangming is dead or ran off with that slut Bai Xiuxiu, the ultimate beneficiaries are me and my son. You police officers are free to suspect me; I'm willing to cooperate with your investigation, but please provide evidence!"
The interrogation lasted six hours, during which many questions were asked repeatedly, but Huang Yanli's core attitude remained the same: I do not admit it unless you provide actual evidence.

Judging from the results, Pan Hongjie's attempt to train his eagles to keep them in check failed.

However, Huang Yanli, as a wealthy woman in her late twenties, lives a life of luxury and doesn't need to work, so her physical condition is indeed strong enough to withstand the strain.

Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali put down their notes, and Pan Hongjie asked expectantly, "So, what are your thoughts?"

Zhou Yi only said two words: "Evidence."

Qiao Jiali nodded in agreement: "Indeed, the biggest problem right now is the lack of crucial evidence, which is why the suspects are so emboldened."

Pan Hongjie couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed; he knew, of course, that evidence was key.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to be somewhat dependent on this young man from Hongcheng.

Just then, someone knocked on the open door.

When everyone looked up, they saw Tang Wenli, with Xu Nian standing behind her.

"Captain Pan, Zhou Yi, let's go get some breakfast together? You've been busy all night, you need to replenish your energy, otherwise your mind will be sluggish and it will affect your case handling," Tang Wenli said with a smile.

Pan Hongjie stood up and looked at Xu Nian behind Tang Wenli, asking, "Is this the forensic doctor from Hongcheng?"

Zhou Yi immediately introduced the two parties.

To express his gratitude, Pan Hongjie solemnly shook hands with Xu Nian with both hands, which startled Xu Nian.

After these few days of contact, Zhou Yi has gained some understanding of Pan Hongjie. His abilities are probably average; he has likely worked his way up through seniority. He cares a lot about what his superiors think, but he's not a bad person. He's probably the type who wants to be a leader who prioritizes stability. That's why he values ​​Xu Nian so much, who could play a decisive role in confirming the deceased's identity.

A group of people arrived at the cafeteria, and Pan Hongjie personally went to the cafeteria chef and asked him to make some hot noodle soup with pickled mustard greens and shredded pork, so that they could warm themselves up.

In this respect, the canteens of local police stations are all pretty much the same. If there are major cases that require working around the clock, the logistical support will be adequate.

Soon, bowls of pickled mustard greens and shredded pork noodles were served, and the cafeteria staff also brought over a large plate of poached eggs.

Zhou Yi was really hungry, so he started slurping down the noodles, the soup and noodles going down hot into his stomach, and his body warmed up.

Xu Nian was still the same as before, wiping the chopsticks with a tissue again and again, and then slowly began to eat her noodles, occasionally brushing aside her bangs.

While they were eating, Tang Wenli suddenly asked, "Xu Nian, did you specialize in microscopic anatomy?"

Xu Nian nodded: "Yes, my anatomy teacher is Professor Liu Hongyi, and my graduation thesis is about microscopic anatomy."

"Really?" Tang Wenli looked at her in surprise.

Pan Hongjie, puzzled, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Professor Liu is a renowned expert in anatomy in China, and he has published many academic papers on microscopic anatomy," said Tang Wenli.

"That's great! Great teachers produce great students." Pan Hongjie didn't understand this kind of thing, but he knew that Tang Wenli was definitely praising someone impressive.

Xu Nian smiled modestly and said that she was not very skilled and had only learned a little bit of the basics.

Tang Wenli said, "Luckily, Zhou Yi said you have research on microscopic anatomy, otherwise we would have to find a department that can do DNA testing. Anyway, there isn't one in our province, so we would probably have to ask for help in a first-tier city, and we wouldn't be able to get the results in less than three months."

Tang Wenli spoke casually, while Pan Hongjie listened with relief.

Zhou Yi, however, was suddenly jolted, and the chopsticks he was using to eat noodles froze.

He was immediately horrified, because he realized he had made a huge mistake!

He was careless!

When he told Tang Wenli and Xu Nian that he could do this dermal reconstruction, he blurted it out without thinking, and even called Xu Nian directly, without realizing that something was wrong at the time.

But the problem is, where did he and Xu Nian get so much contact in this life? How could someone who has been in the Municipal Bureau for less than two months know such detailed things!
He should have taken a roundabout approach first, found a reason to call back to Hongcheng to ask, and then let Xu Nian say it herself. That would have been more natural and logical.

But he was too eager to solve the case, too eager to return to Hongcheng. He didn't take his time as usual, to think things through carefully before using the information he had learned in his previous life.

He just said it outright!
Moreover, he hadn't realized it until Tang Wenli casually mentioned it, at which point he suddenly came to his senses.

"Zhou Yi, why aren't you eating?" Qiao Jiali, who was standing nearby, noticed that Zhou Yi's hand was holding his chopsticks in mid-air, with noodles still hanging on them, and asked in confusion. As soon as she said that, the others all turned to look at him.

Zhou Yi looked up at Xu Nian with a guilty conscience, but she didn't seem to have any unusual reaction.

Zhou Yi recalled that Xu Nian hadn't shown any unusual reaction since they met at the train station.

Didn't she realize this?
Zhou Yi composed himself and said, "I was thinking about the case and my mind wandered."

Then he asked Pan Hongjie, "Captain Pan, the key to getting Huang Yanli to talk now is evidence. What are your plans?"

He wanted to hide his guilty conscience, so he changed the subject.

Pan Hongjie said, "This is what I'm thinking right now. As for witnesses, we can probably only wait until Fu Daqing wakes up and see if Deputy Captain Wu can get any clues. As for the other witnesses, there don't seem to be any clear leads yet, so we can only send people to conduct routine investigations, focusing on people who are closely related to the Zheng family, such as Huang Yanli's parents, Zheng Tianlan's wife, and people in the company who usually have a lot of contact with Zheng Guangming."

"Oh, and that driver Feng Qiang, Xia, go to their company and check his information, then contact them in their hometown to see if they have any information about him."

"Okay, Captain Pan, I'll be right there." Xia Yu said, and was about to stand up.

At this moment, Zhou Yi said, "Captain Pan, how about Officer Xia and I go investigate Zheng Guangming's company?"

Pan Hongjie nodded without hesitation: "Okay, you handle it."

Zhou Yi had another purpose in taking the initiative to go to Zheng Guangming's company to investigate: he wanted to take the opportunity to find out information about Yang Jian, the father of the little girl Lele.

We need to find this person.

Pan Hongjie continued, "As for physical evidence, Director Guo and I have already made arrangements. We will issue search warrants today, mainly for three locations: Zheng's villa, Huang Yanli's parents' house, and Bai Xiuxiu's residence, to see if we can find any useful physical evidence. In addition, Lao Chen will go to the bank to conduct a detailed investigation to see if we can confirm the information from the banknote serial numbers."

Zhou Yi nodded. Pan Hongjie was quite experienced in the overall investigative approach, considering everything comprehensively and arranging everything in an orderly manner.

Xia Yu asked, "Captain Pan, should we continue the interrogation of Huang Yanli?"

Pan Hongjie held up his chopsticks, frowning, somewhat hesitant.

The investigation is likely to remain stagnant, with little progress.

I'm not willing to let her off the hook, especially since she's been up all night. It would be too easy for her to just go and rest.

At this moment, Qiao Jiali said, "Captain Pan, how about I talk to this suspect?"

Pan Hongjie was taken aback, assuming Qiao Jiali wanted to interrogate him. He thought it wasn't entirely wrong; they were already there, and he couldn't just leave them hanging, even for Zhou Yi's sake.

Unexpectedly, Qiao Jiali said again, "I won't interrogate her, I'll just chat with her and do some ideological work. Please arrange someone to come with me, I guarantee that we won't violate any principles. Our Captain Wu usually pays the most attention to discipline."

Zhou Yi immediately understood that Qiao Jiali meant that if the hard approach didn't work, then they should try the soft approach.

This is not a bad idea, and Qiao Jiali is a female criminal police officer. Being a woman herself makes it easier to get closer to her and lower her guard.

Pan Hongjie nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Seeing that they had almost finished eating, everyone stood up and headed out of the cafeteria.

When Zhou Yi turned his head, he found Xu Nian standing next to him. Feeling a little guilty, he quickened his pace and walked forward, making an excuse to talk to Xia Yu who was walking ahead.

Xu Nian, watching his retreating figure, seemed lost in thought.

……

According to their division of labor, Zhou Yi and Xia Yu were responsible for investigating Zheng Guangming's company.

Although it's Saturday, people in small towns don't really have the concept of weekends; they still have to go to work as usual.

However, due to Zheng Guangming's disappearance and Zheng Tianlan's public arrest, the entire company was in a state of panic. Everyone was unable to concentrate on their work and didn't know what to do.

I confirmed two things with the company's HR: after Bai Xiuxiu was fired by the boss's wife, Zheng Guangming did not find a new secretary for the time being; and Feng Qiang's household registration information was in a small town in another city in the same province.

Since no contact number was registered, Xia Yu contacted the local police station through the city bureau's command center and asked them to go to Feng Qiang's house to find out what was going on.

While Xia Yu was on the phone, Zhou Yi went to the restroom.

When I came out after washing my hands, I heard two people chatting outside the door, saying that they couldn't contact the boss's wife either, and whether the company was going to go out of business.

Just as Zhou Yi was about to listen to the wall to see if he could find any clues, he heard someone shout from the other end of the corridor: "Old Li, remember to take those dead chickens from chicken farm number three to burn them today."

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(End of this chapter)