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

Chapter 464 Empty Number
Zhou Yi knew that the surname Li was extremely common.

However, Wu Guang, a newspaper reporter surnamed Li, taught them how to call the police when they were desperate, so that the county bureau could arrest Wu Yuemei.

This inevitably reminded Zhou Yi of one person: Ding Chunmei's senior, Li Chong.

That journalist who wrote "Using the pen as a torch, and the heart as witness."

To confirm whether it was really him, Zhou Yi asked Aunt Ding if the reporter had left them any contact information.

Aunt Ding quickly replied that she had some at home.

Zhou Yi told her grandparents and Lu Xiaoshuang to rest first, while she and Lü Tiezhu went to Aunt Ding's house to check on things.

Grandpa gave Zhou Yi a flashlight and told him to remember the way back and not to take the wrong path.

It was just past eight o'clock, and the countryside was already pitch black.

Only a faint light shone from the windows of each household.

Zhou Yi handed the flashlight to Lü Tiezhu, who then led the way.

Zhou Yi walked at the back, watching Ding Lanying, who was short and hunched over, stagger unsteadily, afraid that she might suddenly fall.

This was Zhou Yi's first time walking down the village road at night. His grandparents would never let him go out at night before, because in their eyes, Zhou Yi would always be a child.

"Watch out." Zhou Yi noticed that Aunt Ding's foot slipped and she almost fell, so he grabbed her arm to support her.

This action startled Zhou Yi. He knew the old lady was very thin, but because she was wearing coarse cloth long sleeves, he couldn't tell how thin she was.

Because the old lady's arm was almost skin and bones, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it looked like someone had been sucking the marrow from her bones.

When we arrived at the old lady's house, it was two low, single-story houses, and it was pitch black inside with no lights on.

Aunt Ding pushed the door open, and the hinges creaked.

After the lights came on, Zhou Yi was finally able to see what the room looked like.

It was a very ordinary rural house, not as poor as Zhou Yi had imagined. The walls were plastered with lime, but the beams inside showed that the house was quite old.

The outer room contained a stove, tables, chairs, benches, and various other odds and ends, along with some cheap children's toys placed in a corner.

"You...you sit down for a moment, I'll go look for it," Aunt Ding said, and went into the inner room.

After the light in the inner room came on, Zhou Yi was finally able to see clearly.

A bed, a large wardrobe, and a TV cabinet with a black and white television set on it—the only appliance in the house.

On the window of the inner room, there was still a torn-off baby calendar pasted on it.

I didn't see Aunt Ding's son, nor did I see her husband.

Zhou Yi and Lü Tiezhu did not sit down, but stood at the door. Aunt Ding in the inner room was rummaging through drawers and cabinets, and it was clear that the item would not be found immediately.

Zhou Yi asked in a low voice, "Brother Tiezhu, why haven't I seen her son Yao Xi?"

Lu Tiezhu replied, "Xizi works in town. Since the child was lost, he hasn't come back much. It's just the two of them living together."

"Depend on each other for survival? What about Uncle Yao? There's no one else in this house."

Lu Tiezhu stretched his hand towards the door and said, "After Xizi got married, Aunt Ding and Uncle Yao moved out."

"Outside?" Zhou Yi walked out, puzzled. He hadn't seen any other houses there.

"There." Lü Tiezhu pointed into the darkness on the right.

Zhou Yi took the flashlight from his hand and shone it in that direction.

When the faint beam of the flashlight illuminated that direction, he was completely stunned.

It turned out that next to the two brick and tile bungalows, there was indeed another one, which was built with old wooden planks and wood, covered with straw. It was short and small, only slightly better than a doghouse.

In rural areas, these houses are basically used to store firewood and miscellaneous items; I've never seen anyone living in them.

Zhou Yi couldn't imagine how the elderly couple managed to survive living in such conditions every day.

Their only hope is probably their grandson, like a lonely lamp in the long night.

In the end, the light went out.

The only thing that kept them going was probably the hope that Wu Yuemei would be executed.

“Wu Yuemei has also been arrested, why doesn’t she go back to live in the house? This house is drafty and leaky, the conditions are so harsh,” Zhou Yi said.

"Uncle Yao refused. He wouldn't even drink a sip of water inside the house. He was incredibly stubborn."

"Found it...found it." That's when Aunt Ding's voice came from inside the house.

The two turned back, and Aunt Ding handed a business card to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi took it and his eyes lit up.

as predicted!

The business card reads: "Wuguang Metropolitan Daily, Reporter, Li Chong."

Zhou Yi truly hadn't expected that their paths would cross in this way.

How did this reporter find you?

“I don’t know either. He said he heard it from someone else.”

When was the last time you contacted him?

Aunt Ding shook her head and said, "No... I don't remember. He originally said he would definitely help us, but then Xizi called him one time and then couldn't get through. Xizi said the number was not in service."

Zhou Yi looked at the business card in his hand. There was no mobile phone number, only the newspaper's landline extension number.

If it can be printed on a business card, it can't be a non-existent number.

Therefore, Yao Xi must have contacted Li Chong after Li Chong had already run into trouble.

However, given the nature of this incident, Zhou Yi felt it had nothing to do with Li Chong's suicide.

"Aunt Ding, may I take this business card?"

Ding Lanying nodded.

After offering a few more words of comfort, Zhou Yi left Aunt Ding's house with Lü Tiezhu.

Standing at the intersection, Zhou Yi looked back and saw Aunt Ding close the door, and then her thin figure slowly walked towards the shed next to her.

The two stopped at a fork in the road.

Lu Tiezhu asked with some concern, "Zhou Yi, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

"Brother Tiezhu, you speak."

"Although you're in the city's criminal investigation division, this isn't Hongcheng, so it might be difficult for you to handle this matter."

Lu Tiezhu's words make sense. Just like when Zhou Yi went to Anyuan, there is an application process required for handling cases in other places.

"Yes, I know, but Brother Tiezhu, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'll go to town tomorrow to find Yao Xi and find out what's going on." Zhou Yi had just asked Yao Xi what he was doing in town and where he lived, just for this purpose.

He had some important questions to ask the other party.

Are you planning to go to the county?

"See?" Zhou Yi replied ambiguously. "Brother Tiezhu, it's okay. You just do your thing and don't worry about me."

Zhou Yi knew that the other party was worried that he would drag him to the county bureau to find someone, so he immediately changed his tune.

He didn't want to make things difficult for Lü Tiezhu, lest it cause him trouble.

Zhou Yi knew he had to go to the Yunshan County Public Security Bureau, but he had already figured out what to do after he got there.

Sometimes you can't be too rigid; you have to take some shortcuts.

I now know quite a few leaders in provincial departments, so I need to make good use of these resources.

In addition, I'm being transferred to the Wuguang Municipal Bureau next month, so getting a head start a month or two shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Of course, this matter couldn't be told to Lü Tiezhu. The villagers didn't know what a provincial leader was, but he did. Who knew what kind of rumors would spread?

Just look at Aunt Ding; the cause and effect comes from her own gossipy mother.

After saying goodbye to Lü Tiezhu, Zhou Yi took his flashlight and walked back.

In the rural area at the foot of Yunxia Mountain, the air is slightly cool at night.

Zhou Yi swung his flashlight as he walked along the narrow path.

For some reason, he has never been afraid of the dark or ghosts since he was a child.

At an age when other children were afraid of the dark and even more afraid of ghosts, Zhou Yi was fearless. While other children looked terrified at the clumsy ghost stories that were popular when he was a child, Zhou Yi would scoff and start finding fault.

This may be related to the stories his grandfather told him about war when he was a child.

If an executioner is not afraid of ghosts, he is full of malevolence.

Those veterans who went to the battlefield to defend their country and kill the Japanese invaders were so fearsome that even ghosts would flee in terror at their sight.

I wasn't afraid when I was little, and I became even less afraid later on.

It wasn't just because he became a policeman, but because he knew that people were far more terrifying than ghosts.

He had never seen a ghost harm people, but he had seen people harm people in various ways.

As I walked back to my grandmother's house, I could see from afar that the door was half-open, with warm yellow light shining through the crack.

A head popped out from inside the door and called out, "Xiao Yi?"

"Grandpa?" Upon hearing the voice, Zhou Yi quickly ran over. "Grandpa, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Zhou Yi's maternal grandfather opened the door and let him in, saying, "How could your maternal grandmother and I sleep if you didn't come back? Xiao Shuang isn't asleep either."

Zhou Yi looked to the left, then to the right.

On one side was his maternal grandmother, and on the other side was Lu Xiaoshuang; the two women, one old and one young, were looking at him expectantly.

"I'm fine now, you guys should get some rest."

Grandma said, "Let me get you some water to wash your face and feet first."

"It's okay, Grandma, I can do it myself."

"When you were little, your grandma always made these things for you," the grandma said with a smile as she went to fetch water for her grandson.

Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang exchanged a smile.

After everything was tidied up, I went back to my room to rest.

When Zhou Yi entered the room, he was involuntarily stunned. The bed that he had prepared earlier now had a mosquito net, a mat, a pillow, and a blanket.

Lu Xiaoshuang said, "After I told Grandma, Grandpa installed it." "Then you can sleep on the inner bed, and I'll sleep on the outer one. It'll be safer that way," Zhou Yi said.

Lu Xiaoshuang smiled: "With you here, isn't this the safest place in the world?"

At night, the two lay on their respective beds, with mosquito coils burning in the corner of the wall, wafting a faint fragrance.

There was a rhythmic croaking of frogs outside.

It feels like summer.

"Xiaoshuang, are you asleep?"

"Nope."

"I have to go to town first tomorrow, and then to the county, so climbing the mountain to watch the sunrise is probably not an option..."

Before Zhou Yi could finish speaking, Lu Xiaoshuang said, "It's okay, you go ahead with your work. I'll spend more time with Grandma and Grandpa. This is the first time I've ever called them Grandma and Grandpa."

“You…” Zhou Yi wanted to ask if she had never met her maternal grandparents, but then he thought about it. Lu Xiaoshuang’s mother was from the South. She had lived with her parents in the Northwest until she was thirteen. After she turned thirteen, she came to Hongcheng. She had never been to any other places.

“My mom said that in the South, they don’t call them maternal grandparents, they call them maternal grandparents. My mom said that my maternal grandfather passed away when she was twelve years old, and my maternal grandmother raised them all by herself. I’m thinking that I’ll have the chance to visit my maternal grandmother in my mom’s hometown someday.”

Zhou Yi immediately said, "I'll go with you next time."

Lu Xiaoshuang didn't say anything, and the room instantly fell silent.

Zhou Yi guessed what had happened. "Your grandmother..."

“Yes, when my mother wrote to me last year, she said in the letter that my grandmother had passed away.” Lu Xiaoshuang’s voice was a little choked up.

Even her maternal grandmother, whom she had never met, was very important to her.

Zhou Yi didn't know how to comfort her, so he simply remained silent, because he knew that the best remedy for healing the pain of separation and death was time.

The next day, when Zhou Yi woke up, Lu Xiaoshuang was already up and helping to feed the chickens.

Big Yellow kept circling around her feet.

After breakfast, Grandpa went to find some people in the village, and then Zhou Yi took a ride with a villager in a three-wheeled vehicle to the town.

Since Yunxia Mountain was developed into a scenic area, the number of people in Yunlai Town has increased significantly, especially during the summer vacation, when it is cool in the mountains.

However, the entrance to the Yunxia Mountain scenic area is not in Xiaguang Village, but about two kilometers away from Xiaguang Village, because the terrain there is relatively flat and the developed mountain road is more tourist-friendly.

Yunxia Mountain is very large, much larger than the barren mountain at the border of Hongcheng and Taicheng. Therefore, many places are undeveloped, and some places are very steep. My grandfather said that only those who specialize in collecting medicinal herbs have the ability to enter the mountain.

Upon arriving in town, Zhou Yi couldn't help but think of that group of college students.

I don't know if they listened to my advice.

There are always some young people who are too arrogant to know their place and do stupid things, especially when a group of such idiots get together, the chances of them doing stupid things are even greater.

It's not a pity if you bring disaster upon yourself, but it's terrible if you drag innocent people down with you.

Based on the address Aunt Ding gave him last night, Zhou Yi found Yao Xi in a small workshop.

Yao Xi is less than 1.6 meters tall, thin and small. Although she is said to be in her early thirties, she looks more like she is in her forties. She is a young version of Aunt Ding.

He was covered in dust and dirt, and his clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in a long time; they were filthy.

He looked up at Zhou Yi warily and asked, "What...do you do?"

"Oh, my name is Zhou Yi."

Before he could finish introducing himself, the other person shook his head: "No... I don't know you."

"Do you know Zhang Zhixiang? I am Zhang Zhixiang's grandson. My mother's name is Zhang Qiuxia. We are from the same village as you."

Yao Xi thought for a moment, then nodded. "I...I know him."

Zhou Yi then noticed that Yao Xi had a slight stutter.

“I’m here to see you because your mother, Ding Lanying, came to see me yesterday,” Zhou Yi said, pulling out his badge. “I’m a police officer.”

Upon hearing the word "police," Yao Xi was clearly taken aback and looked at Zhou Yi with some fear.

"But don't be nervous. I'm not here as a police officer. I'm here as a neighbor to ask you about something."

As soon as Zhou Yi finished speaking, Yao Xi lowered her head and turned to leave.

Because of the significant height difference, and because he was looking down, Zhou Yi couldn't see his expression at all.

He quickly chased after him.

"Don't be afraid, I'll just ask a few questions and then I'll leave."

But Yao Xi just mumbled, "I...I have to work...I also...I need to earn money to...to pay for my dad's medical treatment, so don't...don't come looking for me."

His unusual reaction left Zhou Yi somewhat unsure of the situation, unsure whether he was deliberately avoiding the issue or simply being dull-witted.

At this moment, a middle-aged man pointed at Zhou Yi and asked, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Knowing he had no other choice, Zhou Yi could only pull out his ID and say, "Police."

But he did not say that he was on official business.

The middle-aged man, presumably the owner of the small workshop, was clearly aware of Yao Xi's situation and stopped speaking.

But Yao Xi kept avoiding Zhou Yi, refusing to answer any of his questions.

Zhou Yi finally understood why Wu Yuemei could act so arrogantly in the Yao family. With Yao Xi's cowardly personality, he might not even dare to get angry if someone were to ride roughshod over him.

But the question still needs to be asked.

"Yao Xi, autopsies are not what you think they are; they are scientific methods."

"You are the child's father, so in principle, your agreement is sufficient. You don't need to worry about your parents' opinions. Older people are sometimes not open-minded enough."

After hearing what Lü Tiezhu said last night, Zhou Yi already had a plan. It was useless to persuade Aunt Ding; the only one he could persuade was Yao Xi.

But Yao Xi remained unmoved, as if she hadn't heard Zhou Yi speak at all.

Zhou Yi was angered by his unyielding attitude and said loudly, "Yao Xi, the child died under mysterious circumstances and is still lying in the morgue's freezer in the county. Are you, as the father, so cold-blooded? Don't you want to seek justice for your child?"

These words finally elicited a response from Yao Xi.

He stopped what he was doing, turned his face, and glared at Zhou Yi.

The thin man said coldly, "That bastard is not my son!"

Zhou Yi was stunned. This look and this tone of voice, how could they have come from a man like Yao Xi?
Did he already know that Yao Huanhuan wasn't his biological son?

So the cause of the child's death is completely irrelevant?

That's not right. If they had known from the beginning, even the most spineless man wouldn't have let his parents suffer so much for someone else's child.

"Yao Xi, did you visit Wu Yuemei in the detention center recently?"

Last night, Zhou Yi lay in bed thinking about how Wu Yuemei was released and then arrested again, and the key to this was Li Chong's intervention.

It doesn't matter where Li Chong learned about this; reporters are naturally perceptive and have access to a wide range of information.

He was thinking about how Li Chong had gotten the Yao family to report the case to the county police station.

After thinking it over, there's only one possibility: to report it as abuse.

In 97, the crime of abuse was a crime that could only be prosecuted upon complaint. Therefore, reporting the case under this pretext and reporting it to the police station before were actually two separate cases.

Whether there is a direct or indirect connection between Yao Huanhuan's death and Wu Yuemei's actions cannot be confirmed before an autopsy is performed.

However, the bruises on the child's body were visible to the naked eye. Coupled with the testimony of the Yao family and the previous police report, the possibility of Wu Yuemei being arrested again on suspicion of abuse is the greatest.

However, the efficiency of the Yunshan County Public Security Bureau is really too low. More than two months have passed since the child's accident, and the case is still not closed?
Furthermore, if Yao Xi could visit Wu Yuemei in the detention center, it would mean that Wu Yuemei was under administrative detention, because criminal detention does not allow family members to visit directly; they must do so through a lawyer.

Zhou Yi felt that the county bureau here didn't seem to be doing things in a very standardized way.

After saying that, Yao Xi fell silent again.

Zhou Yi knew he wouldn't get anything out of this person. This kind of person was stubborn and eccentric, and sometimes even more difficult to deal with than some criminal suspects.

It seems the only option is to go to the county to inquire about the situation.

Zhou Yi took the same bus route as yesterday to the county, because it was the only route from the town to the county, and it took a long time.

While waiting for the bus, Zhou Yi made a phone call to Wu Yongcheng.

"Team Leader Wu, it's me."

"I know it's you. Didn't you go hiking?" Wu Yongcheng, sitting in the branch captain's office, answered the phone, feeling a little apprehensive.

Why call yourself during a perfectly good vacation?

"Captain Wu, I'm being transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Wuguang City Public Security Bureau next month, right?"

"Yeah, you've already received the notification. It's four months until the end of the year. You and Chen Yan just finished training in the province a couple of days ago. Why are you asking me?"

Are you familiar with the leaders of the Criminal Investigation Detachment in Wu Guang?

"It's alright. Didn't they come to help when we arrested Long Zhiqiang last time?" Wu Yongcheng asked in a deep voice. "Don't tell me something happened to you again?"

Zhou Yi gave a slightly embarrassed chuckle.

Wu Yongcheng was startled by the laughter.

"What case? Is it serious?"

Zhou Yi quickly explained, "It's a small case, a small case." Then he briefly explained the situation.

After listening, Wu Yongcheng asked, "So you think that Wu Yuemei had the intention to deliberately kill her own son?"

"I can't be sure about that, but her abuse of Yao Huanhuan is indeed illogical. In addition, considering what Yao Xi just said, if Wu Yuemei knew from the beginning that Yao Huanhuan was not Yao Xi's child, and that her hatred towards the child stemmed from that, then the possibility of it being intentional is very high."

Wu Yongcheng nodded. He understood what was going on. The case wasn't actually complicated; it was just that the investigating authorities were somewhat negligent, and the people involved were probably uncooperative, which caused it to drag on for so long. "But you should know that it's very difficult to get the death penalty in this kind of case."

Zhou Yi nodded: "I know, but it's better than being sentenced to two or three years in a muddle. Two or three years is nothing; with some reductions in sentence, they'll be out quickly. It won't hurt this kind of evil person at all."

Knowing his personality, Wu Yongcheng didn't advise him to mind his own business. Instead, he asked him if the case was now under the jurisdiction of the Wuguang City Bureau.

"No, it didn't go to the municipal bureau; it's the local county bureau that's in charge."

“County Bureau? Which county?” Wu Yongcheng asked.

“Yunshan County, my maternal grandmother’s home is in this county.”

"Yunshan County Public Security Bureau..."

Zhou Yi sensed something was off about the tone on the other end and quickly asked, "Captain Wu, do you know anyone here?"

"Hmm," Wu Yongcheng said helplessly, "You know this person too."

(End of this chapter)