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

Chapter 514 Hanging Suicide
Last night, after interrogating Miao Zhuang, Yang Chuan arranged for someone to go to Antong to verify whether Miao Zhuang was lying, based on the warehouse address provided by Miao Zhuang.

Whether Miao Zhuang lied or not will determine whether Ma Weichang had an alibi during the time Ge Fangfang disappeared on the evening of July 22nd.

However, according to subsequent analysis, if Ge Fangfang was not dead, then there would be no need to verify Ma Weichang's so-called alibi.

Because as long as Ge Fangfang didn't die, then on July 22nd, she wasn't missing or murdered, but rather secretly handed over to Shi Jian by Miao Genhua, who then took her away and hid her.

However, the news that Xiao Hai, who was sent to Antong, brought back was that Miao Zhuang did indeed go to the warehouse alone on July 22nd.

This doesn't match Ma Weichang's own testimony.

Ma Weichang told Zhou Yi himself that he went to Antong that day, and Miao Zhuang was driving the car. Miao Zhuang was a witness.

Is there something else going on here, or is Ma Weichang lying and hiding something?
Li Linglong asked Xiao Hai to recount the details.

Xiao Hai said that he learned that An Tong's warehouse was not only a transit warehouse, but also a sorting and processing facility.

The raw materials extracted from the quarry are coarse materials. After being transported here, they will undergo some sorting and processing to remove impurities and grade the quality before being loaded onto trucks for transport.

There are only two purposes for doing this: the finer materials after sorting are more profitable than the coarser materials, and Antong has more abundant truck freight resources.

In short, Ma Weichang's quarry business has begun to develop into a certain industrial scale.

Around 10 a.m. that day, the person in charge at Antong received a call from Ma Weichang, who said he was coming over to check the accounts and asked him to prepare his things, as he estimated he would arrive around 6 p.m.

So he prepared everything and waited for the boss to arrive.

The drive from Xipinggou to Antong takes about an hour and a half.

Miao Zhuang said he set off at a little after four o'clock, so theoretically he should have arrived in Antong at around six o'clock.

But after Xiao Hai went to Antong, he woke up the old gatekeeper in the middle of the night, and then tried to find the person in charge to verify the situation.

The person in charge waited until almost 8 o'clock before the person finally arrived.

Moreover, the only person who came was Mr. Ma's driver, Miao Zhuang.

Miao Zhuang said that his brother-in-law was not feeling well, so he did not come.

The person in charge knew that this was Mr. Ma's brother-in-law, so he handed over the ledger to him, and Miao Zhuang took the ledger and left.

"Is there anything unusual?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Abnormal? I don't seem to have noticed anything unusual."

"Think again, any little bit of information will do."

Xiao Hai thought for a moment and said, "Oh, there's something I don't know if it will be of any use. While I was waiting for the person in charge to come, I chatted with the old man who guards the gate for a bit. The old man said that a car did come that night because the person in charge had instructed him in advance that the boss was coming and that he should not close the gate."

"But after the car arrived, it didn't drive in. Instead, it stopped on the other side of the road, and then Miao Zhuang got out and ran over."

"Across the street? Did he see if there were other people in the car?" Zhou Yi asked.

Xiao Hai shook his head: "I asked, and the old man said it was too dark to see clearly, but there shouldn't be anyone else, because after Miao Zhuang got out of the car, the engine was turned off, and there was no movement inside the car until he got back in and left."

“Director Li, although we’ve confirmed that Miao Zhuang was the only one who went to retrieve the ledgers, his parking behavior is still a bit strange, and the timing doesn’t match up either,” Zhou Yi said.

Li Linglong asked, "What are your thoughts? Should we bring Miao Zhuang back for further interrogation?"

“We will definitely conduct an investigation, but I suspect Miao Zhuang will lie again. For example, he might say that he got itchy hands and went to that game room for a while after leaving Xipinggou, which made him late. We can’t verify what he says.”

Miao Zhuang himself might not have the brains for it, but Miao Dongfang would teach him how to say it, and doing such a thing is indeed very much in line with Miao Zhuang's character.

But Zhou Yi doesn't believe this is true, for a simple reason.

If Ma Weichang really didn't go to Antong that day, even if he had the guts to lie to the police so brazenly, he wouldn't be so stupid as not to bribe Miao Zhuang to "give false testimony" for him.

How could he not know who Miao Zhuang was?
In the eyes of businessmen, problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all.

For gamblers and drug addicts, money is everything.

"It would be best to conduct interviews and investigations along the route to Antong to see if there are any witnesses, such as at highway toll stations, rest areas, or if there have been any traffic accidents that caused congestion during this period," Zhou Yi said. "It's impossible for a two-hour time difference to occur without a reason. In criminal cases, anything that seems unreasonable, no matter how small, has a cause."

"Xiao Hai, do as Zhou Yi says. Thank you for your hard work," Li Linglong said.

After Xiao Hai left, Zhou Yi asked Yang Chuan, "Brother Chuan, how's Miao Zhuang doing? Has he gone back to Xipinggou?"

"Nope."

"What? It's already dawn, and he still hasn't gone back?" Zhou Yi was taken aback.

"Around 4 o'clock, the brother in charge of tracking him called and said that after Miao Zhuang left our place last night, he went to a nearby arcade. He followed him in and saw Miao Zhuang playing slot machines. He had been watching him for a while and found that the guy didn't seem to be leaving. He didn't dare to keep too close a watch for fear of being discovered, so he just kept an eye on him from outside the arcade. Anyway, Miao Zhuang still hadn't come out by the time the call came."

"There's no back door in the arcade, is there?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Don't worry, he checked, there's no back door. I guess it was too late last night, so Miao Zhuang couldn't go home and ended up spending the night at the arcade."

Did he make any phone calls?

"It's uncertain. There are definitely no public phones outside, but we can't be sure if he borrowed a phone from the arcade owner. The arcade is empty late at night, so we can't keep a close eye on him."

Zhou Yi nodded in understanding.

Yang Chuan added, "Oh, but when the case was with Chief Chen, they verified that only the village committee office in Xipinggou Village has a phone. When the police station contacted Miao Dongfang before, they called the village committee's phone. Miao Dongfang probably doesn't have a phone or mobile phone, since those things are really expensive. So I guess even if Miao Zhuang wanted to contact him in the middle of the night, he probably wouldn't be able to."

This analysis makes a lot of sense. After all, it was a small county town in Northwest China in 1997. Telephones were a rarity, and ordinary people couldn't afford or use cell phones. Those who could take out cell phones were either leaders or bosses.

However, Miao Zhuang's actions made Zhou Yi even more certain that he probably knew very little about the whole matter.

Otherwise, if he were one of the participants in the murder case, he would have rushed back to Xipinggou overnight to inform the police after learning that his sister had been arrested.

Not having a car is no big deal; we have to walk back, after all, this is a matter of life and death.

He could still leisurely go to the arcade to play gambling machines. Of course, one reason was that he was a cold-hearted person by nature. He was only anxious for a moment about Miao Genhua being arrested, and then he went off to enjoy himself.

On the other hand, it also shows that he did not think that Miao Genhua's arrest would implicate him.

Since the guillotine won't fall on my head, of course I'm not in a hurry.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi said, "Okay, it's dawn now, he should be heading back by now."

"Should we follow them into the village?" Yang Chuan asked.

"No need, just make sure he's back in the village. A stranger entering the village can easily arouse suspicion."

At this moment, Li Linglong asked, "Zhou Yi, what do you think Miao Dongfang's reaction will be after he finds out that Miao Genhua has been arrested?"

"Director Li, I think there are only two points. First, try to get rid of Shi Jian as soon as possible, pin all the blame on him, and try to get away with it."

"Second, run away directly."

"But I prefer the first option, because running away directly would not only be an admission of guilt, but also mean that all previous efforts would have been in vain. He can't accept such an outcome, after all, people die for money."

Li Linglong agreed, saying, "That makes sense, but we can't ignore the possibility of him escaping. I'll go to the county government and report the case to the county leaders to seek some help, so that we can be prepared in case Miao Dongfang really does flee to avoid punishment."

With his personality, once he makes a decision, he can't wait even a minute; he immediately rushes out of the county bureau.

……

In the office of the county criminal investigation team, Zhou Yi was reviewing case files, starting from the records of the Shacao Town Police Station at the very beginning of the case.

Yang Chuan asked him a question: "Why don't we summon Miao Dongfang first? If it were Captain Zhou's usual practice, Miao Dongfang should be sitting in the interrogation room by now."

Zhou Yi only replied with two words: "Accomplice."

"Accomplice? What do you mean?"

Zhou Yi asked, "Brother Chuan, how old is Miao Dongfang this year?" "Over fifty."

"Have you met Miao Dongfang in person?"

"I've seen it before."

What kind of feeling does he give you?

Yang Chuan thought for a moment and replied, "He just looks like a grassroots rural cadre. He's about 1.7 meters tall, neither fat nor thin, wearing a hat, a bit dark-skinned, and walks with his hands behind his back like a little old man."

"So, do you think Miao Dongfang, who is in his fifties, can control Ma Weichang, who is in his thirties?"

"That definitely won't work. If those two really start fighting, I reckon Miao Dongfang will be in big trouble."

Zhou Yi snapped his fingers and said, "That's right. Miao Dongfang was no match for Ma Weichang, so the person who mainly suppressed Ma Weichang and then hung him up was someone else. Miao Dongfang was the commander and planner, but his physical abilities meant that he could only play a supporting role in the process of killing Ma Weichang."

“Whether it’s Miao Genhua or Miao Zhuang, they are directly related to Ma Weichang. It’s only right for the police to look for them, and no one will find it strange. But if Miao Dongfang is summoned and detained, his accomplices will definitely run away.”

“We can keep an eye on Miao Dongfang, but we can’t keep an eye on everyone in Xipinggou. After all, we don’t know who he is. If he runs away, we’ll be in a passive position and it will become a burden on society. If this runaway person causes new casualties, it will have an impact on our Yuanbei County Bureau, especially on Director Li.”

“Unless Miao Dongfang is summoned, he will confess quickly. Then, before the accomplice can react, we will immediately arrest him and wipe them all out.”

"But it is obvious that Miao Dongfang is very unlikely to confess under interrogation. That's why we need to find Ge Fangfang. Once we find Ge Fangfang, the truth will come out. Faced with irrefutable evidence, neither Miao Dongfang nor Miao Genhua will be able to deny anything."

Zhou Yi's words startled Yang Chuan. Other logical issues were fine, though; he had gotten used to it after getting to know Zhou Yi, who was a smart person.

But what he didn't expect was that Zhou Yi had also considered that if this accomplice escaped and caused new casualties in society, it would be detrimental to Director Li.

This was something he hadn't expected at all, because Zhou Xiangdong was like a general; his position was earned through hard work and battle.

Zhou Xiangdong despised the so-called intricacies of the system, and suffered a lot because of it. Otherwise, with his age and seniority, he would have been a deputy director by now.

Yang Chuan was surprised that this young man in his twenties was so thoughtful.

Indeed, if the person ran away, Li Linglong, as the top leader, would bear responsibility.

"Zhou Yi, no wonder our Director Li likes you so much, you're amazing." Yang Chuan said, giving Zhou Yi a thumbs up.

Zhou Yi smiled. Firstly, he had suffered from being too straightforward in his previous life, so he had learned his lesson.

Secondly, and more importantly, he knew that Li Linglong was a good policeman and a good official.

For the people of a region, it is a blessing for such people to go further and achieve greater success.

If Li Linglong were a sycophant who played politics in officialdom, he certainly wouldn't do anything for such a person.

"Brother Chuan, do you have the household registration information for Miao Dongfang's wife and daughter?" Zhou Yi asked.

The reason Zhou Yi and Yang Chuan were in the office was because many related investigations had already been arranged, the net had been cast, and they needed to wait for the information gathered before making further arrangements.

Zhou Yi was unfamiliar with the local situation and could not understand the local dialect, so he was naturally not asked to conduct the field investigations.

Besides, Director Li is now using Zhou Yi as the central brain of his brain, so of course he's reluctant to let him go out and do hard or tiring work.

Yang Chuan flipped through the documents and said, "Yes, they've all been transferred."

He then pulled out two documents and handed them to Zhou Yi.

The ceiling fan above my head hummed as it spun, and the cicadas outside the window had already started chirping; after all, it was only the end of July, the hottest time of the year.

Zhou Yi raised his hand to wipe his sweat and took the documents.

The one above belongs to Miao Dongfang's daughter, Miao Xiaoli, who is already married with children.

Zhou Yi pointed to her current address and asked Yang Chuan how far this place was from here.

Yang Chuan looked at it and said, "Oh, that's quite far, several hundred kilometers away. It would take four or five hours by long-distance bus."

"Marrying so far away?" Zhou Yi muttered.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just that, generally speaking, fewer only children from single-parent families choose to marry far away."

After all, the migrant worker boom hadn't started yet, and people in rural areas generally don't marry too far away. Even marrying someone like my mother, who married into a neighboring city, is considered marrying far away.

"Hey, it's hard to say, maybe it was a love match."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Brother Chuan, are there many only children here?"

Yang Chuan shook his head and said, "It's quite rare. Usually, it's at least two or three. In the countryside, you have to have at least one son. In my mother-in-law's village, there was a family that had nine daughters in a row just to have a son."

“Miao Dongfang only has one daughter, Miao Xiaoli, which is quite rare for someone his age.”

“His wife died, didn’t she?” Yang Chuan said. “He didn’t remarry, so who would he have children with?”

“I remember his wife died twenty years ago, right? Miao Xiaoli was about ten years old then. It’s strange that she didn’t have any children for ten years.” Zhou Yi said, flipping through Miao Xiaoli’s household registration file. The one below was Miao Dongfang’s wife’s.

“Jin Cuiping…” Zhou Yi looked at the household registration information, suddenly paused, and immediately leaned closer to take a closer look.

Yang Chuan noticed a hint of surprise in Zhou Yi's voice and immediately leaned closer to ask, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Yi pointed to the household registration information of Miao Dongfang's wife, Jin Cuiping, and said, "Look at this place of household registration."

"Oh, this isn't in our province, and it's quite far from here."

"Brother Chuan, in the late 1960s, there probably weren't many outsiders around here."

Without thinking, Yang Chuan casually replied, "Of course there are, they're educated youth."

Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat. Oh right, there were educated youth sent to the countryside back then.

Could Miao Dongfang's wife, Jin Cuiping, be a sent-down youth who settled in Xipinggou?
Zhou Yi immediately turned to the last page of the household registration information, which was a death certificate issued by the county hospital. The cause of death was clearly stated as: death by strangulation.

“It matches up!” Zhou Yi murmured.

"What?" Yang Chuan asked.

"As I mentioned during the preliminary autopsy, the murderer may have some understanding of hanging suicide, which is why he chose to knock the person unconscious before hanging them, to prevent us from distinguishing between a hanged corpse and a suicide committed before death."

Yang Chuan nodded. He remembered that it seemed to be something about whether the instep was straight or not.

“Theoretically, ordinary people wouldn’t have the opportunity to know about this unless they have some hospital connections,” Zhou Yi said, tapping the documents in his hand. “But Miao Dongfang’s wife committed suicide by hanging!”

A death certificate issued by a medical institution indicates that it was a suicide.

If it was homicide, then the judicial authorities will issue a death certificate report.

Yang Chuan immediately understood, "There's no doubt about it, it was definitely this old guy who did it!"

“No, I have to call the Shacao Town Police Station.” Yang Chuan said, picking up the phone on the table. “Let them send someone to guard the road leading out of Xipinggou, so that the old guy doesn’t run away because he smells something amiss.”

Zhou Yi thought this was acceptable. After all, even a rabbit will bite when cornered, and if the murderer was really pushed to the limit, who knows what kind of illogical things he might do.

He had barely finished speaking and was about to pick up the receiver when the phone rang.

Yang Chuan answered almost instantly.

"Hey, it's me."

The next second, Yang Chuan jumped to his feet: "What the hell? They're fighting?"

(End of this chapter)