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

Chapter 521 The Cause of Shi Jian's Death (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Yang Chuan immediately realized that Zhou Yi was bluffing him.

Zhou Yi did indeed have this plan.

Miao Tiejun was arrested because he tried to beat up Boss Liu at the entrance of the arcade.

Prior to this, they had come to the arcade to ask for Miao Zhuang, as requested by Miao Dongfang.

So he didn't know that the real reason he was arrested was that the police suspected him of conspiring with Miao Dongfang to murder Ma Weichang.

Then during the interrogation, Zhou Yi didn't mention Ma Weichang's matter at first, but asked about the corpse that was dug out from Miao Dongfang's house.

This is because the discovery of the body is undeniable, and footprints were also extracted from the scene. The forensic team has already matched them, and although the sole patterns are different, the sizes are the same.

If you search Miao Tiejun's house, you'll definitely find matching shoes.

However, the murder of Ma Weichang is a reasonable speculation, as there is neither a formal autopsy report to support it nor clear clues or evidence.

Zhou Yi originally wanted to see if Miao Tiejun had truly repented and would act like a decent human being for the sake of his wife and children.

He did indeed reveal a lot of information, some of which they had not yet learned or understood.

However, he was also clearly downplaying the main issues.

As for Zhao Guangping's case, there is no way to verify it now that he is dead.

He only participated in burying Shi Jian's body.

When Zhou Yi asked how Ma Weichang died, his answer proved that he had no intention of explaining Ma Weichang's affairs at all.

He knew he couldn't escape Shi Jian's death, which is why he acted so regretful.

Even Zhou Yi believed it for a time.

But as he continued to explain, Zhou Yi felt more and more uneasy.

He was directing all the blame at Miao Dongfang, he didn't know why he harmed Zhao Guangping, and he had absolutely no involvement in killing Shi Jian.

If you try to absolve yourself of all responsibility, then there's a big problem.

So Zhou Yi decided to try and trick Miao Tiejun.

He didn't know that Miao Dongfang had already escaped, because by the time Zhou Yi discovered that Xiao Huangmao had tipped him off, he had already been put into a police car by Dayong and the others.

Moreover, Zhou Yi immediately mentioned the discovery of a body in Miao Dongfang's house, so any normal person would naturally assume that Miao Dongfang had already been arrested.

Therefore, by exploiting the prisoner's dilemma psychology, you can bluff your way out of trouble with a high probability.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhou Yi say, "That's not what Miao Dongfang said," Miao Tiejun's face instantly turned terrified, and he couldn't help but ask, "What...what did he say?"

"Heh, what did he say?" Zhou Yi sneered, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "Why don't you think about why we've been sitting here interrogating you for so long? You should know what he said by now."

This kind of ambiguous rhetoric is the most deadly, because the target of the interrogation has no idea what to expect.

Miao Tiejun broke out in a cold sweat immediately, and he kept wiping the sweat with the back of his hand, looking extremely embarrassed.

"How about this, we'll invite your Uncle Dong over too, and the two of you can confront each other and see who's lying, how about that?"

"It was him!" Upon hearing this, Miao Tiejun said emotionally, "Don't listen to his nonsense. This old man orchestrated everything. I... I was deceived by him, I was used by him, I... I..."

Zhou Yi turned his head and asked Yang Chuan in a pretentious manner, "Why don't you listen to how he lies?"

Miao Tiejun quickly said, "I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth."

Yang Chuan cooperated with Zhou Yi, pretending to be reluctant, and said, "They've explained things quite clearly over there, so I think we should just let it go."

Miao Tiejun shouted, "No, no! How can you just let it go? I'll confess, I'll definitely tell the truth."

“I think we should give him a chance to explain,” Zhou Yi said.

Yang Chuan nodded reluctantly: "Alright, then I'll listen to it."

Zhou Yi turned to Miao Tiejun and said, "I've already secured the opportunity for you. Whether you can seize it or not is up to you."

Miao Tiejun thanked him repeatedly. Interestingly, he looked exactly like Miao Zhuang had before, with his neck hunched over.

This is a fairly typical form of body language. When people are afraid, they tend to curl up into a ball to seek a sense of security.

"How many lies have you told about Zhao Guangping?"

“I swear to God, I really don’t know why Miao Dongfang wanted to kill Zhao Guangping. I did intend to kill him, but I didn’t expect him to be so lucky and survive the fall.”

"Does Zhao Guangping's suicide have anything to do with you?"

"No, I really don't know. I have no idea why he would suddenly decide to hang himself."

Yang Chuan flew into a rage upon hearing this: "What? What happened? You caused someone to lose both legs, and you still have the nerve to say that!"

"I...that's not what I meant. I really don't know why Zhao Guangping committed suicide. You can ask Miao Dongfang; maybe he knows."

Zhou Yi didn't want to dwell on this issue. How much truth there was in Miao Tiejun's words would depend on how Miao Dongfang explained himself after his arrest.

He asked Miao Tiejun to explain Shi Jian and Ma Weichang's affairs; that was the key point.

Because he thought Miao Dongfang had been arrested, and Zhou Yi's words just now gave him the illusion that Miao Dongfang was shifting the blame onto him, he confessed very readily, fearing that he would become the scapegoat.

Based on his confession, combined with previous investigations and findings, it is now entirely possible to confirm the criminal acts of Miao Dongfang and Miao Genhua.

Although there was some missing information that he genuinely didn't know.

Next, as long as Miao Genhua is interrogated again and Miao Dongfang is arrested and brought to justice, the case in Xipinggou can be successfully concluded.

……

Zhou Yi and Yang Chuan walked out of the interrogation room.

What Yang Chuan was holding was the written record signed by Miao Tiejun.

Zhou Yi was holding two plastic bags, which contained several white foam lunch boxes.

"Hey, it seems like we're just one step away from closing the case," Yang Chuan joked, stretching his body.

Zhou Yi laughed and said, "What we're lacking in this case isn't the east wind, but the east wind."

"That's right, we're missing Miao Dongfang. So, should we press on and interrogate Miao Genhua next?"

"Alright, let's go all out. I just wonder how the search is going with Director Li."

Just as Zhou Yi finished speaking, Li Linglong walked in from outside in a hurry.

The two of them hurriedly greeted him.

"Director Li, there's been a major breakthrough! Miao Tiejun has confessed everything..." Yang Chuan excitedly ran over, only to find that Li Linglong's expression was very serious.

Zhou Yi hurriedly asked, "Director Li, has something happened?"

More than three hours have passed since it was confirmed that Miao Dongfang had fled.

Logically speaking, Yuanbei County is not a large county. The county bureau was mobilized, the local police stations in various townships were mobilized, and nearby districts and counties also provided support from the outside.

There were at least two or three hundred people searching for Miao Dongfang.

Although there are many small roads in the suburbs, there are far fewer main roads than in the city. Moreover, apart from the towns and county seat, the building density in other parts of the county is low and the buildings are scattered. Theoretically, this person should not be difficult to find.

Furthermore, no matter how cunning Miao Dongfang is, he is ultimately not as experienced and ruthless as Long Zhiqiang.

As Li Linglong walked upstairs, he said, "Let's go upstairs first and then we'll talk."

Back in the director's office, Li Linglong first charged his phone, then asked them to sit for a while while he called the city bureau leaders to report on his work.

From his phone call, Zhou Yi and Yang Chuan learned what had happened.

The perimeter fence was indeed set up immediately, and there were three layers in total.

The first layer, centered on Shacao Town, is used for a comprehensive search.

The second layer is centered on the county, where the main roads are blocked off and passing vehicles and pedestrians are strictly inspected.

The third layer includes the main roads of the surrounding districts and counties, especially the roads leading out of the city, to prevent criminal suspects from escaping to other places.

The search was not without its discoveries. In a field in the neighboring Huangniu Town, they found an abandoned motorcycle. After comparing the models, it was basically confirmed that it belonged to Miao Dongfang.

In other words, this old man was cunning; he didn't keep driving the motorcycle the whole way to escape, but abandoned it halfway and switched to other means of transportation.

Most likely, they went to take a bus or hired a private car to distract the police.

So Li Linglong immediately assigned people to investigate bus routes and private cars that ran freight and picked up passengers, but strangely, they found nothing.

This old guy seems to have vanished into thin air; nobody has ever seen him.

Therefore, Li Linglong changed his thinking and believed that Miao Dongfang might not have fled, but was instead hiding.

Because the original Beixian County was sparsely populated, with complex terrain in many places, and many abandoned cave dwellings left over from the early years.

The old man is probably hiding somewhere, waiting for the crackdown to subside before trying to escape.

Li Linglong returned to report to his superiors and then asked for help, because there were far too few people to conduct a thorough search of the county.

Miao Dongfang also carries a hunting rifle, making him highly dangerous.

After hanging up the phone, Li Linglong said to the two of them, "Did you hear the situation?"

The two nodded immediately.

Li Linglong asked in bewilderment, "This Miao Dongfang, he's just a village chief, does he really have such strong counter-surveillance capabilities?"

Zhou Yi also found it strange after hearing this. If it were about abandoning the motorcycle and switching to other means of transportation, that would be understandable.

In this situation, instead of running away, they hide and wait for an opportunity to strike.

He was also puzzled: how could Miao Dongfang possess such strong mental fortitude?
You know, when an ordinary person commits murder and is discovered, they flee like a stray dog, wishing they had two more legs to run a thousand miles in a day. "Could it be that he has accomplices?" Yang Chuan asked.

Zhou Yi shook his head: "From what we can see now, Miao Dongfang is the mastermind, and his main accomplices are Miao Tiejun and Miao Genhua. It's unlikely that there's an accomplice capable of helping him escape. I'm wondering if this Miao Dongfang has some special background?"

Miao Dongfang's home has no television or radio, indicating that he has no direct access to external information.

The village committee office does have many newspapers, but they are all uniformly subscribed publications with perfectly correct content.

"Special experience?" Yang Chuan muttered. "According to the household registration information, Miao Dongfang has never served in the military."

Li Linglong waved his hand and said, "Forget it, anyway, the city bureau leaders have agreed to send reinforcements. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground in our former Beixian County, we'll dig him out."

"You just said that there was a major breakthrough in the interrogation of Miao Tiejun?"

Yang Chuan immediately handed over the interrogation transcript.

As Li Linglong flipped through page after page of the transcript, he said, "Please extract the key points for me."

"Zhou Yi, why don't you... say it? You're clearer-headed than I am," Yang Chuan said with a smile.

Zhou Yi nodded: "Director Li, Miao Tiejun gave three key points."

"First, Miao Dongfang's plan to kill Ma Weichang began a month ago."

"So long?" Li Linglong was shocked.

“Yes, in mid-June, Miao Dongfang found Miao Tiejun and told him something. This was also Miao Dongfang’s motive for committing the crime.”

According to Miao Tiejun's confession, Miao Dongfang heard news in April or May of this year that the city had planned a highway that would pass through the vicinity of Xipinggou.

Miao Dongfang didn't pay much attention at the time, because the new highway was about a kilometer away from Xipinggou as the crow flies, and it didn't concern them much.

But in early June, when he went to a meeting in town, a town leader mentioned to him that their quarry planned to expand its scale.

He was surprised because he didn't know that such a thing existed.

What surprised him even more was that the reason for expanding production was that Ma Weichang had applied to the town government, saying that he wanted to pay for the construction of a road that would lead directly from the quarry to this new highway.

In this way, he can also move Antong's transit warehouse here, forming a complete quarrying industry chain.

The main reason why sorting, processing, and transshipment were previously located in Antong was due to transportation issues.

The quarry is located on the back mountain of Xipinggou, so you have to go through the village to get in and out of the quarry.

The village roads were initially dirt roads, and although Ma Weichang paid for paving them with gravel, it didn't make much difference.

The road's load-bearing capacity and width make it impossible for large trucks to enter, so only small trucks can be used to transport goods to Antong for sorting and loading.

This has increased costs significantly.

Ma Weichang did consider building roads.

However, if we want to bypass the village and build a road directly from the quarry to the main road, it would be at least three or four kilometers long, which would be extremely costly.

Repairing the village roads requires demolishing many houses along both sides of the road.

Ma Weichang discussed it with Miao Dongfang, who thought it was a good thing, so he took Ma Weichang to convene a village meeting.

I was thinking of doing good things for the village and bringing benefits to the community.

But as a result, when the villagers of Xipinggou heard that there was such a good thing, they immediately started asking for exorbitant prices.

Some people ask for a price, but others are old-fashioned and simply refuse to have their houses demolished, threatening that no amount of money will change their minds unless their entire family is killed.

Ultimately, the greedy and the stubborn ones angered Ma Weichang so much that he left in a huff and never mentioned the matter again.

So when the town leaders mentioned this to him, they were very happy. The reason was simple: the expansion of the quarry would not only bring tax revenue to the town, but also create more jobs.

It was also said that the town held a meeting and decided that, in order to support the quarry, the town would allocate funds to help Ma Weichang cover half of the road repair costs.

The town leaders were delighted, but Miao Dongfang was completely dumbfounded.

Because once this road is built, it means that the quarry and Xipinggou will be completely separated.

Miao Dongfang told Miao Tiejun that once the road was repaired, Xipinggou would be completely abandoned by Ma Weichang, because he could easily find cheaper workers from outside, since the wages he had secured for them were not low.

So we need to find a way to stop this.

Zhou Yi felt that this matter was probably true, but Miao Dongfang's motives might be another matter.

Even if Miao Dongfang is extremely selfless, he cannot be so selfless as to kill someone for the sake of the villagers' livelihood.

Anyone who would do something like this must be doing something that involves their own interests.

It is very likely that he used the villagers as an excuse to continuously obtain benefits from Ma Weichang. Once the quarry and Xipinggou are separated, he will no longer have the power to control Ma Weichang.

However, the true motive for the crime will only be revealed after Miao Dongfang is apprehended and speaks out on his own.

As for Miao Tiejun, the reason he agreed, besides "repaying" Miao Dongfang, was that Miao Dongfang had promised him a large sum of money.

Miao Dongfang first gave him three thousand yuan, saying that after Miao Genhua inherited Ma Weichang's estate, he would give him another seven thousand yuan, totaling ten thousand yuan.

This is undoubtedly an astronomical figure for him.

Often, money is the root cause of evil thoughts in people's hearts.

What gratitude, what consideration for the village—those are just self-deceiving fig leaves.

So the second point is the process of the crime.

On the evening of July 27th, Miao Dongfang called Ma Weichang and tricked him into going to the quarry.

As for the excuse Miao Dongfang used, he didn't know.

He didn't even know the reason for Ge Fangfang's previous disappearance; he only knew it was part of Uncle Dong's plan.

He asked Uncle Dong if something had really happened to the child, since he himself had two children.

He could kill an adult like Ma Weichang, but he couldn't bring himself to harm a child.

Miao Dongfang reassured him that he would never harm the child, especially since the child was from the village.

But Miao Dongfang also told him not to ask too many questions and to know as little as possible, as this was to protect him.

On the evening of July 27, after Ma Weichang drove to the quarry, Miao Dongfang attracted his attention, while Miao Tiejun, who was hiding in the shadows, rushed over and covered Ma Weichang's mouth and nose with a towel.

Because Ma Weichang struggled so fiercely, he could only turn over and sit on him, pinning Ma Weichang to the ground.

Miao Dongfang then held down Ma Weichang's kicking legs from behind.

Finally, Ma Weichang fainted. He immediately picked Ma Weichang up and, as planned, carried him to the small wooden hut in the quarry where tools were stored. The two of them worked together to put Ma Weichang's neck into a rope that had been prepared in advance on the roof beam.

Then they set up the scene, brushed all the dirt off his clothes and pants, and finally faked it as if Ma Weichang had hanged himself.

Miao Dongfang told him to use a broom to clean up the scene where he had just subdued Ma Weichang, because there were many marks left on the ground during the struggle. He then ran to a nearby office and disappeared to do something unknown.

While cleaning up the scene, Miao Tiejun discovered something.

It was Ma Weichang's dropped phone, something the police had been unable to find, whether on the body or in the car.

Knowing that the thing was valuable, he removed the battery and secretly hid it, planning to sell it in the county town later.

He confessed that the phone was now hidden in his rain boots behind his door, wrapped in the towel he used to smother Ma Weichang.

After cleaning up the scene, Miao Dongfang told him to go home quickly and if his wife asked, he should say that he had come to see him.

He then drove Ma Weichang's car away, but Miao Tiejun had no idea where he was going to take it.

He strongly suspected that Miao Dongfang had hidden the car, intending to sell it for a good price later.

After all, a car is worth much more than a cell phone.

After hearing this, Li Linglong told Yang Chuan to go to Miao Tiejun's house immediately and retrieve the cell phone and the towel, as they were important pieces of evidence.

Furthermore, the phone contains a lot of information that can be further analyzed.

After Yang Chuan left, Li Linglong asked Zhou Yi, "You said there were three points. What's the third point? The corpse that was dug up from Miao Dongfang's house?"

Zhou Yi nodded and said, "That's right. That corpse is Shi Jian."

"According to Miao Tiejun's confession, Shi Jian suddenly went to see Miao Dongfang on the evening of July 26th."

"Suddenly? Has Shi Jian and Miao Dongfang had any contact?" Li Linglong asked.

"Probably not, because Shi Jian went to Miao Dongfang to extort money."

"blackmail?"

Zhou Yi nodded: "Yes, Shi Jian knew about their plan to use the illusion that Ma Weichang raped and murdered Ge Fangfang and then committed suicide out of fear of punishment to seize Ma Weichang's property. Therefore, he extorted 100,000 yuan from Miao Dongfang, otherwise he would report them to Ma Weichang and the police."

"Miao Dongfang pretended to agree, tricking Shi Jian into believing that the 50,000 yuan was too much and that he needed to go to the bank to withdraw it the next day. When Shi Jian was about to open the door to leave, he took advantage of Shi Jian's unpreparedness and smashed him on the back of the head with an iron hammer, killing him."

"In order to dispose of the body, Miao Dongfang went to Miao Tiejun, and the two of them worked together to bury the body under the bed in the inner room of Miao Dongfang's house."

According to Miao Tiejun's confession, this incident was completely outside their plan. Therefore, the murder was committed by Miao Dongfang alone, and he only participated in burying the body. Since Miao Tiejun was not aware of Miao Dongfang's overall plan beforehand, he did not know Shi Jian, nor did he know why Shi Jian had gotten involved.

"He suspected that the deceased had a personal grudge against Miao Dongfang, so he asked for more money to bury the body. Miao Dongfang was very angry and revealed his plan to use Ge Fangfang to fake Ma Weichang's suicide."

Li Linglong frowned deeply: "Then how did Shi Jian know about their plan?"

Zhou Yi replied, "Miao Genhua called Shi Jian to the hospital that evening, which clearly means her previous statement was false. When she met with Shi Jian, she must have intentionally or unintentionally revealed their plan to him."

Zhou Yi paused slightly, then continued, "As a result, Shi Jian became greedy and tried to blackmail Miao Dongfang. In the end, he lost his life."

(End of this chapter)