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

Chapter 417 Where exactly is Xiao Bing?
In theory, after a suspect submits a written application, the public security authorities have 30 days to review it and make a decision.

Of course, Zhou Yi has already obtained the approval of Liang Wei and Ni Jianrong, so there is no need to spend so much time. Just keep an eye on each review stage of the process, and Lu Xiaoshuang should be able to come out the day after tomorrow.

But he hadn't really thought about how to settle Lu Xiaoshuang after she was released, since time was so tight.

Currently, those who know that Lu Xiaoshuang is still alive are members of the public security department, including members of the special task force and some people from the municipal criminal investigation branch.

Because when Lu Xiaoshuang was rescued, the case was still the 430 Dismemberment Case, not a major special case, so people like Shi Tao knew about it.

As for Lu Xiaoshuang being identified as a criminal suspect, that should only be known to members of the special task force.

Should we go back to school and continue our classes?
Definitely not. Let's not even talk about whether her body can handle the strain of recovering from a serious illness.

As Zhou Yi had already discovered, news of the massive case had spread throughout society, let alone within the school.

Although the school granted her a long leave of absence under the arrangement of the special investigation team, as the deceased's roommate, her sudden absence for so long was bound to cause a lot of rumors.

But public opinion is only one aspect.

The bigger problem is the murderer.

Although Xiao Bing is still on the run, he definitely cannot enter the already partially sealed-off Grand Palace.

But whether Xiao Bing is the murderer remains to be seen.

Or it's possible that he was the murderer, but just one member of a murder gang.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why he would trick Lu Xiaoshuang into going to his house.

It's even more inexplicable why he chose to run away immediately after Zhou Yi and Chen Yan only came to conduct a routine investigation. It was clearly a desperate attempt to escape punishment.

Therefore, besides Xiao Bing, there are other threats.

Returning to school would put Lu Xiaoshuang in danger.

Although it is possible to secretly deploy defenses around Lu Xiaoshuang, wait for the murderer to seize the opportunity to kill her, and then catch him red-handed.

However, using the victim's life to lure the perpetrator out is not in line with the standards of public security organs.

Besides, Zhou Yi wouldn't do anything to put Lu Xiaoshuang in danger again. He'd already made a mistake once, and he wouldn't repeat it.

Then we have no choice but to hide the person first.

His first thought was of his own home, but he immediately dismissed that idea.

He still had to investigate the case, and leaving Lu Xiaoshuang alone at home would be even more unsafe, especially since she was drugged after leaving his house.

The killer had clearly been following her and knew the location of her home.

My own family has been exposed, and so have my parents' family. Moreover, my parents are over fifty, and my grandfather is over seventy. If the murderer goes there, things could get even more complicated.

Going back to the Lu family's tenement courtyard is even worse.

After much thought, Zhou Yi realized that keeping Lu Xiaoshuang locked up in the Municipal Public Security Bureau seemed to be the safest option.

But it's impossible to actually do that, and the detention room is poorly equipped with windows, which puts a lot of psychological pressure on people.

Lu Xiaoshuang was already frightened; let's not let her develop any more mental health issues.

If all else fails, just put them in the guesthouse next to the municipal bureau for now; the cost can be deducted from their own salary.

Just then, Zhou Yi's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Qian Hongxing calling.

"Hey, Mr. Qian."

"Officer Zhou."

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Zhou Yi rubbed his temples, thinking to himself that he hoped nothing else would go wrong, or he would go crazy.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just wanted to ask if there's anything else I can help you with? We haven't been in touch for a long time, and I've been worried about you."

Hearing this, Zhou Yi felt a warmth in his heart; Qian Hongxing truly considered him a friend.

“I did encounter some issues before, but they've been resolved for now. Thank you for remembering me, Mr. Qian. It's nothing…” Zhou Yi suddenly realized something and quickly said, “Mr. Qian, I really do have something I need to trouble you with.”

"What's up? Just tell me!"

After hearing Zhou Yi's request, Qian Hongxing asked in surprise, "Did you find the girl?"

Zhou Yi almost forgot that on the night the body parts were discovered, while he was still on the train, he asked Qian Hongxing to help him go to the Lu family to look for the person.

"Yes, we found it. Mr. Qian, this matter must be kept absolutely confidential. Don't tell anyone, especially not Lu Xiaoshuang's name," Zhou Yi instructed.

On the other end of the phone, Qian Hongxing, sitting in his spacious office, said, "Officer Zhou, once you hand her over to me, you can rest assured. As long as this girl doesn't leave my villa area, no one can touch her."

Zhou Yi was quite relieved about this. Hongcheng Baodi was a wealthy villa area, and even Long Zhiqiang's gang couldn't get in when they tried to kidnap someone, let alone others.

Zhou Yi thanked Qian Hongxing and told him that it would probably be around tomorrow or the day after. He would let him know in advance and then personally deliver the person over.

Settling Lu Xiaoshuang in Qian Hongxing's house is the best option, especially since the conditions there are so good and it will be beneficial for her to recuperate.

With no worries about the future, Zhou Yi can now focus more on solving major cases.

Although there are many directions to investigate the case, the most urgent task at present is to find Xiao Bing.

Due to Xiao Bing's sudden escape, coupled with Lu Xiaoshuang's confession, the task force now believes that Xiao Bing is a prime suspect in the crime.

Furthermore, based on the search of Xiao Bing's home, the investigation into his personal circumstances, and the interviews with his social relationships.

The task force reasonably suspects that Xiao Bing may have conspired with others to murder and dismember Xu Liu's body, and then framed Lu Xiaoshuang for the crime.

After all, Xiao Bing's home was not the primary crime scene, and he did not own any other properties or shops.

While it cannot be ruled out that he may have rented the house in advance for the purpose of committing the crime, Lu Xiaoshuang's confession clearly mentioned that she was blindfolded, gagged, and locked in the trunk of a car.

After checking with the traffic police, it was confirmed that Xiao Bing did not own any motor vehicles and had no record of having taken a driver's license test.

This indicates that he did not have the necessary means to commit the crime, such as driving.

That means there is a possibility of accomplices.

The vehicle and the crime scene were both provided by this accomplice.

What Zhou Yi found strange was that Xiao Bing hadn't been caught all day.

I've checked all the nearby bus routes, but there's no one who matches Xiao Bing.

As an ordinary person with no car, no criminal record, and no complicated social connections, it is theoretically impossible for him to have escaped for so long.

Unless, like Long Zhiqiang back then, someone is protecting and harboring him.

Therefore, the first thing the task force thought of was Xiao Bing's relatives, since there was no one left on Xiao Bing's father's side.

However, the whole process was not very smooth, because the management and preservation of many archives from the early years were problematic, after all, Xiao Bing's parents had been dead for twenty-one years.

Moreover, Xiao Bing's mother's name is also very common, and there are many people with the same name.

Finally, in the afternoon, they managed to find a clue about Xiao Bing's mother's relatives by following the clues.

To the surprise of the task force, Xiao Bing's mother had quite a few relatives. In addition to her deceased maternal grandparents, Xiao Bing also had two aunts and four uncles.

The task force immediately launched an investigation into these relatives, and the results were surprisingly consistent.

All the relatives said they hadn't seen Xiao Bing, their nephew, for several years, let alone kept in touch with him.

When Xiao Youfu and his wife had their accident, the funeral arrangements were mainly handled by the wife's family, since the Xiao family consisted of both the elderly and the young.

After that, his aunts and uncles took good care of Xiao Bing, visiting him every few days. They took turns bringing their nephew to stay at their homes during winter and summer vacations, and even brought them to their maternal grandparents' house during the Spring Festival to keep them company.

Later, Xiao Fugui also died, leaving only Xiao Bing, who had just turned sixteen.

The siblings gathered together and discussed it. They felt they couldn't just leave the child unattended, so they decided that six families would jointly raise Xiao Bing, with each family staying for two months, and one round would last exactly one year.

Furthermore, everyone decided to support Xiao Bing's education until he graduates from university, with the expenses split equally among the six families. After all, this child is a good student and will definitely have a bright future.

As for the little money left by Xiao Bing's grandfather and parents, save it for him to use when he gets married in the future.

This could have been a good thing; a sixteen-year-old child becoming an orphan, and relatives not giving up on him and being willing to take care of him, was a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

But Xiao Bing resolutely disagreed. No matter how the elders tried to persuade him, he refused to leave. Finally, when they were pushed to the limit, he shouted at them: "I will never leave this house, no matter what. If you want me to stay here, you can only do so if I die and they carry me out."

The worst thing is to be met with indifference after offering your warm welcome. Xiao Bing's strong reaction disappointed these relatives, so they had no choice but to let it go.

Moreover, this kind of thing requires all the brothers and sisters to be of one mind; if anyone is unwilling, it will be difficult for the others to get things done.

So the matter ultimately ended without resolution due to Xiao Bing's immaturity.

But actually, from Xiao Bing's perspective at the time, who was only sixteen years old, it's understandable.

Encountering such a huge change, let alone a teenager, many adults would suffer a mental breakdown.

Since then, Xiao Bing has started to rely on herself. Kind-hearted relatives help her out occasionally, while some who felt that Xiao Bing was "ungrateful" have stopped contacting her.

Fortunately, Xiao Bing was a good student. He saved money from his grandparents and parents, lived frugally, and not only grew up but also got into a prestigious university. Relatives said that when Xiao Bing's maternal grandparents were still alive, they could still see him during holidays.

However, after the two elderly people passed away one after another, Xiao Bing almost lost contact with them. He might not see them for two or three years at a time, and all he knew was that they stayed at the school as teachers.

The last time they saw Xiao Bing was three years ago at his cousin's wedding.

But everyone's relationship had become very distant. After the newlyweds finished toasting, they didn't even know when Xiao Bing left.

Therefore, there was no possibility that Xiao Bing would come looking for them. Some relatives even thought that with his reclusive personality, being over thirty and not getting married or dating, he would eventually turn to crime.

During these investigations, Xiao Bing's second aunt provided a very valuable piece of information.

Xiao Bing's second aunt said that Xiao Bing had promised his grandmother that he would bring his girlfriend home to visit her.

This matter was mentioned by Xiao Bing's maternal grandmother to her second daughter inadvertently some time before she passed away.

At the time, she didn't pay much attention, thinking that Xiao Bing was just saying it casually to make his grandmother happy, because Xiao Bing never brought any girlfriends back until the old woman passed away.

It wasn't until the following year, on the anniversary of the old lady's death, that my second aunt casually mentioned that my grandmother was still saying before she died that she hadn't seen me bring my girlfriend home.

As a result, Xiao Bing reacted extremely strongly, immediately flew into a rage, and slammed the door as she left.

This completely baffled all the relatives in the room, who couldn't understand why he was so angry.

My second aunt, in particular, still feels wronged and keeps wiping away tears even now that the police have come to investigate.

However, this information alerted the task force to something unusual.

Xiao Bing's overreaction was most likely a result of touching on painful memories or becoming enraged.

This means that what he said to his grandmother back then wasn't necessarily just to please her, but that he genuinely intended to bring his girlfriend home.

But not only did nothing after that, he became emotional when people mentioned the matter, and it was suspected that he might have been heartbroken or abandoned.

Moreover, Xiao Bing's relatives all said that they had never heard of Xiao Bing suffering any injuries when she was a child, let alone any injury to her reproductive organs, since such things cannot be hidden from relatives.

This further proves that Xiao Bing did lie to Zhou Yi about prescribing the medicine.

Then there's a different possibility regarding Xiao Bing's unmarried status at thirty-two.

Relatives also said that at first, they would arrange blind dates for Xiao Bing, after all, this nephew was a university teacher, had a respectable job, and was good-looking. The only downsides were his short stature and poor family background.

But every time people asked Xiao Bing to introduce them to someone, he would always politely decline, and eventually, they stopped bringing it up.

This was also confirmed by Xiao Bing's colleagues, who described her as introverted, quiet, and not very socially adept, but undeniably professional.

Someone tried to introduce him to a potential partner, who was even a relative of his, and they seemed quite suitable in every way.

After repeatedly declining, Xiao Bing had no choice but to agree to the blind date, and they had a good chat that day.

After the girl went home, she told her family that she thought Teacher Xiao was a very nice person, knowledgeable, and upright, and that she could continue to learn more about him.

The next day, her colleague came to the school and excitedly asked Xiao Bing how she felt yesterday. Xiao Bing smiled, shook her head, and didn't say anything.

This left his colleague caught in the middle, in a difficult position. From then on, no one thought of introducing him to anyone. Several years passed in the blink of an eye, and Professor Xiao became the department's long-time bachelor.

Thirty-two years old might not seem like much in twenty years, but in the 1990s, it certainly meant being an old bachelor.

It's inevitable that some people will speculate, wondering if Teacher Xiao has suffered heartbreak in the past.

Some even went so far as to think that Teacher Xiao might not like women and prefer men.

However, when the police asked if there was any situation or evidence to prove it, they all shook their heads, because no one had seen Teacher Xiao have a girlfriend or get close to any woman.

However, I learned another piece of information from my colleagues: Xiao Bing usually likes to take walks around the school. As long as he doesn't have classes, he basically won't stay in the office. His colleagues have all run into him on campus.

This information gave the police officers in charge of the investigation the wrong impression that Xiao Bing was secretly following Lu Xiaoshuang.

However, the answers from her colleagues surprised the task force, because Xiao Bing not only appeared near the girls' dormitory and teaching buildings, but also in various corners of the school.

Moreover, this habit didn't just start in the past year; it's been going on for many years.

This caused Xiao Bing's eccentricity to continue to escalate.

Another clue also puzzled the task force.

Xiao Bing's direct supervisor, the head of the French department, said that Xiao Bing had shown great professional talent since he entered university, and that he himself was Xiao Bing's teacher at the time.

The department head also pushed for Xiao Bing to stay at the university as a teaching assistant, because he knew about Xiao Bing's family situation and felt that the relatively pure environment of the university was more suitable for the development of his personality.

He said that Xiao Bing's professional ability was not a problem, and that with his level of expertise, he had a good chance of being promoted to associate professor at the age of thirty-two.

However, becoming an associate professor requires more than just professional skills; there are also some hard requirements, one of which is academic qualifications.

The upper limit for a bachelor's degree is basically lecturer, while associate professors need at least a master's degree, and preferably a doctorate.

He said that after Xiao Bing stayed on at the university, she had a clear career plan. After adapting to the role of a university teacher, she began to prepare for the entrance exam for the university's part-time postgraduate program.

If he successfully completes his postgraduate studies and obtains his degree, his future prospects are very good. After all, with the development of the market economy and international trade, the French major has been continuously expanding its enrollment in recent years, and the college needs such talents.

Unfortunately, for some reason, Xiao Bing suddenly gave up on taking the postgraduate entrance exam, and seemed to have lost much of her drive for career development.

The department head reprimanded him several times, but it had no effect, so he stopped mentioning it afterward.

At a small-scale case meeting, after hearing this information, Zhou Yi hurriedly asked about the timeframe for these matters.

Xiao Bing stayed on at the university after graduating in 1987.

The department head wasn't sure exactly when Xiao Bing started preparing for the exam, but the postgraduate entrance exam is usually held in December. Xiao Bing probably started making formal plans after working for a year or two, maybe in 1988 or 1989.

Xiao Bing's maternal grandmother passed away in early 1990.

In other words, something might have happened during this period.

The investigation into Xiao Bing was conducted at a small meeting of frontline investigators from the special task force.

There were no leaders present, nor were there any technicians, forensic experts, or office staff; it was just the colleagues responsible for frontline investigations communicating information together.

After all, what we've discovered so far are just clues, or even just pieces of information.

Besides the members of the Third Brigade, there were also key members from the First Brigade of the Municipal Bureau, as well as people from the Provincial Department's Major Crimes Division brought by Liang Wei. Among them, the most senior should be Xiang Jie, who is also the person in charge of daily operations.

When Zhou Yi asked for a specific time, Xiang Jie asked, "Zhou Yi, what's wrong? Do you have any ideas?"

Everyone looked at Zhou Yi, wanting to hear his insights. After all, he had performed brilliantly at the case analysis meeting in the early morning, and Liang Wei was very satisfied with him.

"I was thinking, could the earlier mention that Xiao Bing might have been hurt in a relationship have occurred around the time when their department head said Xiao Bing suddenly gave up on the postgraduate entrance exam? That is, from 1988 to 1989."

"Xiao Bing became a complete orphan at the age of sixteen and showed strong resistance to the relatives' offer to take her in. Sixteen is the age of adolescence, and encountering such a major life change will definitely have a huge impact on a person's psychology."

"If Xiao Bing gets a girlfriend later, he will definitely cherish her very much because she is his entire emotional support. But as everyone knows, it is also necessary to maintain a certain distance in a relationship and give the other person some self and space. Otherwise, it is easy to make people feel oppressed and suffocated, which is what is called heavy love."

Upon hearing this, most people nodded, indicating that they had prior experience with this.

Only Chen Yan looked puzzled, clearly lacking experience in this area.

"Judging from what Xiao Bing's second aunt said and the information provided by the department head, Xiao Bing most likely suffered an emotional setback, which led him to lose hope in his career and give up his plans to pursue postgraduate studies. This is why he became angry and embarrassed when his second aunt mentioned it. These are his direct psychological reactions."

"I think we should focus our investigation next on whether Xiao Bing had any romantic relationships before 1988, extending back to his university years, or even high school. Finding his girlfriend from back then might help us figure out why Xiao Bing has become the way he is now."

Chen Yan asked worriedly, "Won't it be just like Xu Liu, where it will be very difficult to find out?"

Zhou Yi shook his head: "I think it's unlikely. Xu Liu's boyfriend is hard to find out because they are probably having an immoral relationship, and both of them are deliberately hiding it. But Xiao Bing's situation is probably a normal relationship with a woman his age, and there will definitely be some clues left behind, such as Xiao Bing's roommates in college."

Xiang Jie nodded. He had also thought of the direction Zhou Yi mentioned, and it was the next step to investigate.

However, Zhou Yi didn't offer any particularly surprising opinions, which left him slightly disappointed. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking that for a young man like him, having such observational and analytical skills was already quite impressive.

Chen Yan then asked, "Zhou Yi, do you think it's possible that Xiao Bing's split personality isn't actually Lu Xiaoshuang, but rather the girlfriend who dumped him back then?"

Zhou Yi frowned and didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Xiang Jie and asked, "Officer Xiang, is there any progress in the investigation at the Third Municipal Hospital?"

Xiang Jie replied, "The drugs found in Xiao Bing's basement can only be modified by psychiatrists in theory, but after searching through records all day, I still couldn't find the name Xiao Bing."

"We heard from the hospital administration that some doctors went to the provincial capital for training. Have you asked about it?"

Xiang Jie nodded: "We asked around, and there's only one psychiatrist studying in the provincial capital. We faxed a photo over, and after they identified it, they said they had no recollection of Xiao Bing or his name."

Hey, that's strange. If someone has been taking medication for a long time, the doctor should have some recollection of what they're getting. And judging from Xiao Bing's condition, he's probably had a mental illness for years. How come we can't find any clues?
At this moment, Qiao Jiali asked, "Officer Xiang, have you asked Director Sun of the Psychiatry Department at the Third Municipal Hospital?"

This Director Sun knows Qiao Jiali because he helped her with the Sanpo Village matter and with the preliminary mental evaluation of Nana in the Long Zhiqiang case.

Xiang Jie turned to look at his colleague, who immediately pulled out a notebook and said, "We've heard that Director Sun Hao went to another province to attend a closed-door academic seminar involving foreign participants. We're still trying to contact him."

Zhou Yi nodded, which meant that the information still needed to be investigated and no conclusion could be drawn.

“Actually… I have another idea,” Zhou Yi suddenly said.

(End of this chapter)