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

Chapter 536 There's a ghost in the newspaper office!
Yun Yao said that Zhong Qian's case occurred in 1990.

At the time, one suspect, Zhang Yong, was arrested, but another suspect, Wang Qiang, escaped and has not been caught to this day.

This became a major concern for Captain Zhong.

Because of the torture and forced confession that resulted in someone losing an eye, Zhong Ming was dismissed from his post.

After being dismissed from his post, he began to stalk Wang Qiang's family for a long time, spending entire nights staking out near Wang Qiang's home.

The purpose, without a doubt, is to arrest Wang Qiang and bring him to justice.

But Zhou Yi could tell from his behavior that he was clearly obsessed.

Moreover, Zhou Yi knew the outcome, so he knew that everything he had done was in vain.

Wang Qiang probably didn't go home for ten years, and if his mother hadn't been critically ill, he probably wouldn't have returned until his death.

Yun Yao said that the leaders in the bureau had advised him and done ideological work with him, and also asked him to consider the bureau's perspective and the image of Wu Guang as a police officer.

Zhong Mingcai agreed to stop stalking Wang Qiang's family, but he also made his stance clear: he had to investigate the case and arrest Wang Qiang, or he would die with regrets.

The three special teams that were later established to investigate old and unsolved cases were, just as Zhou Yi had predicted, set up specifically for him.

Yun Yao didn't explain the reasons behind establishing the three major teams, but Zhou Yi already understood.

This gives Zhong Ming a legitimate reason to investigate the rape and murder case, but at the same time, it also puts constraints on him.

This may not be solely because Zhong Ming risked his life for the bureau back then, hence the preferential treatment.

They were even more afraid that he had become possessed and would completely lose control.

If the living judge who can strike fear into the hearts of criminals were to be completely unrestrained and only focused on revenge, he would probably really become the judge Zhong Kui.

If a bloodbath were to erupt and people discovered that it was a veteran criminal investigator and a second-class hero seeking revenge for his tragically murdered daughter, then the leaders of the public security department would be in big trouble.

Therefore, Zhong Ming could neither fire him nor suppress him and throw him into a corner to sit on the sidelines like Zhou Yi in the previous life.

Then we can only put a fence around it and keep it there.

They'll either keep him around until Wang Qiang is caught.

Either support them until Zhong Ming retires.

The other person in the three squads is most likely responsible for keeping an eye on Zhong Ming.

How can one not feel sorry and lament this?

But the tragedy goes far beyond that.

Zhong Qian's murder not only hurts her father, Zhong Ming.

Also, there was her mother, Liu Xue'e, and her younger sister, Zhong Ying.

Because Zhong Ming was focused solely on capturing Wang Qiang, he stayed out all night for a long time, causing him to neglect the other two women who needed him most at that time: his wife and his youngest daughter.

Two years later, Zhong Ming's wife, Liu Xue'e, committed suicide by cutting her wrists due to severe depression.

This was nothing short of a catastrophe for the family.

Yun Yao had heard that after his wife committed suicide, Captain Zhong gradually became mentally unstable, and he became increasingly slovenly and unkempt.

The bureau leaders seem to have discussed this matter as well, and they all feel that he should retire early and go home to enjoy his retirement.

But Zhong Ming naturally refused, and everyone understood why.

Moreover, his mental state was not truly abnormal; he was merely somewhat neurotic, and his superiors dared not use his mental condition as a reason to pressure him.

So they could only remain in this stalemate. Anyway, he would always have someone else with him when he went out, as long as nothing went wrong.

"What about his youngest daughter, Zhong Ying? She must be getting on in years, right? How is she?" Zhou Yi asked.

"My youngest daughter is probably eighteen or nineteen years old this year. I don't know the specifics, but I heard that she dropped out of school early and has been associating with some shady people in society. She also has a bad relationship with Captain Zhong. Last year, I ran into Captain Zhong arguing with a girl with dyed red hair. She might be his daughter."

These words made Zhou Yi feel even worse; what kind of hellish script was this?

The eldest daughter was raped and murdered, the wife committed suicide due to depression, and the youngest daughter became a delinquent and gave up on herself.

The root of it all was that the criminal wanted revenge on him.

The dead suffer, but the living suffer even more.

Because to live is to endure the condemnation and torment of conscience.

Having gone through all of this, Zhong Ming hasn't gone crazy. It's probably because his obsession with capturing Wang Qiang and his rationality as a police officer are supporting him.

Yun Yao sighed softly, "I hope Captain Zhong can realize his wish soon."

Zhou Yi wanted to speak, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and he couldn't say anything.

After saying goodbye to Yun Yao, Zhou Yi walked towards the dormitory behind the Municipal Bureau.

As soon as he opened the door and entered the house, the phone he had been holding suddenly rang, startling him.

When I picked it up, it was an unfamiliar number, but the area code was Wu Guang's.

He answered immediately: "Hello, who is this?"

"Officer Zhou, this is Ding Chunmei. I'm sorry, I just saw your pager."

The voice on the other end of the phone finally put Zhou Yi at ease.

"Where are you now?" Zhou Yi asked hurriedly.

"I was at the newspaper office, I just left, so..."

"Can you come out now? We'd better meet."

"Sure, sure, where shall we meet?"

"Where do you live now?" Zhou Yi asked.

"I'll listen to you, I already checked into the hotel yesterday."

Is the hotel you're staying at safe?

Ding Chunmei said somewhat uncertainly, "It should be... safe, right? It's called the White Swan Hotel. I heard it used to be used by government agencies to entertain foreign guests, but it was only a few years ago that it was restructured into a company and opened to the public. You can't enter without a room card, and there are people at the elevator entrance who are responsible for registration."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Okay, let's meet at your place."

"Okay, I'll wait for you in the hotel lobby in half an hour."

"Ding Chunmei".

"What's wrong, Officer Zhou?"

"Remember to be careful," Zhou Yi reminded him.

"Ok."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi went out.

He asked the guard at the gatehouse for the exact location of the White Swan Hotel and learned that it was less than three kilometers away. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

This way, he could arrive first and then hide in the shadows to observe whether anyone was following Ding Chunmei.

Ding Chunmei must have attracted someone's attention, otherwise they wouldn't have thrown a dead cat at her in the middle of the night to scare her.

But since she was new here and hadn't been exposed yet, she needed to at least find out if anyone was following Ding Chunmei.

Zhou Yi walked out of the gate of Wuguang City Bureau under the scorching sun.

Behind a window upstairs, a pair of eyes were watching him.

……

Under the shade of a tree opposite the White Swan Hotel, Zhou Yi kept an eye on the situation at the entrance.

Judging from its exterior, the White Swan Hotel is indeed a well-established luxury hotel, with uniformed doormen at the entrance and numerous vehicles coming and going.

Ding Chunmei listened to advice and chose this place to live, which was indeed quite safe.

However, it's definitely not cheap here.

After waiting for a while, Zhou Yi saw a taxi drive into the open space outside the hotel lobby.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the doorman opened the car door for him.

Then Ding Chunmei, with her neat short hair, got out of the back seat of the taxi.

She didn't go straight into the hotel, but stood there for a moment and looked around before going in.

She clearly heeded Zhou Yi's advice to be careful.

But being too young and without professional training, she failed to notice Zhou Yi across the street.

They didn't even notice that there was another car behind her. Just after the taxi appeared, a black car followed closely behind.

However, the unlicensed car did not drive to the hotel entrance, but instead parked on the roadside outside the hotel, maintaining a certain distance from the hotel entrance, yet still allowing for observation.

Moreover, the people in the car clearly had experience in stalking, because they didn't rush to get out of the car after it stopped.

Zhou Yi knew that the people in the car were observing the situation.

He immediately hid behind a tree, concealing himself, and secretly observed.

Two minutes later, the driver's side door opened, and a man wearing sunglasses, about 1.7 meters tall, and a black stand-up collar short-sleeved shirt got out of the car.

After getting out of the car, the man looked around before walking toward the hotel entrance.

Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat.

He wasn't surprised that someone was following Ding Chunmei; otherwise, he wouldn't have been hiding on the other side to observe.

But Ding Chunmei already checked into the White Swan Hotel yesterday. Even if you were following her, there was no need to be so cautious.

"Something's not right! Did the person stalking me know that Ding Chunmei was going to meet me?!"

Zhou Yi suddenly remembered that when Ding Chunmei called him earlier, she said she was at the newspaper office and was using the newspaper's landline.

Walls have ears!
It seems there's something fishy going on at the newspaper!
From this perspective, there might really be some unspeakable secret behind Li Chong's death!

Zhou Yi immediately took out his phone and sent a message to Ding Chunmei's pager, telling her not to wait for him in the lobby, but to call him from the hotel landline upstairs.

After leaving his message, Zhou Yi walked back. There was a small path ahead, and he had seen a small shop there when he came. He needed to buy something.

Zhou Yi's phone rang immediately after he paid.

When I answered the phone, it was Ding Chunmei.

"Officer Zhou, what happened?"

Zhou Yi walked back towards the black car parked by the roadside.

He had just observed that the only person in the car was the driver wearing sunglasses.

"Ding Chunmei, you're being followed," Zhou Yi said in a deep voice.

"Ah!" Ding Chunmei exclaimed in surprise, "I clearly observed it..."

"And our meeting should have been exposed as well."

Ding Chunmei was dumbfounded: "How could this be... I didn't tell anyone. I told the newspaper I was out covering the news. Could my phone have been tapped?"

"It's not that high-tech," Zhou Yi said. "It's more likely that there's something fishy going on around you, something fishy going on at the newspaper!"

In the 1990s, wiretapping was almost impossible in ordinary cases because civilians did not have such high-tech equipment.

"Officer Zhou, what should we do? Will I... get you into trouble?"

"Don't be nervous. Change your clothes in ten minutes, then go downstairs. After you leave the hotel lobby, don't take a taxi outside. Just walk south. Turn right at the first intersection ahead. I'll be waiting for you there."

"The person who was following us..."

"Just do as I say, and don't worry about anything else."

"Okay okay."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi was already close to the black car, but he did not slow down, continuing to walk at a normal pace.

There was indeed no one else in the car, which meant that only one person was following Ding Chunmei.

Zhou Yi secretly memorized the license plate number.

Then, as he passed by the car, he had a sharp knife in his hand.

It's one of those metal folding knives that kids use to sharpen pencils; I just bought it at the corner store.

Ten minutes later, Ding Chunmei, who had changed her clothes, rushed out of the elevator.

Zhou Yi didn't tell her what the stalker looked like, so she didn't dare to look around, afraid of attracting attention.

In a corner of the hotel lobby, a man wearing sunglasses was reading a newspaper. The sunglasses effectively concealed his vision, making it unclear whether he was reading a newspaper or something else.

When he saw Ding Chunmei, who had changed her clothes and was hurrying out, he was stunned for a moment.

Then he rolled up the newspaper and followed them out.

Instead of waiting for a car at the entrance, Ding Chunmei walked directly south after leaving the hotel.

The man in sunglasses glanced at the car parked on the north side, hesitated for a moment, and then chose to return to his own car.

But as soon as he got in the car, he noticed something was wrong; the car was noticeably tilting to the left.

When I got off the bus, I was dumbfounded.

Both front and rear tires on the left side of the car were flat, and two long cut marks were clearly visible on the wheels!

The man in sunglasses was startled, realizing something, and quickly looked up to look for Ding Chunmei.

But there was no trace of him left in sight.

He angrily kicked the flat tire and cursed, "Damn, it runs really fast!"

Yes, Ding Chunmei is fast, Zhou Yi knows that very well.

So in the blink of an eye, Ding Chunmei had already run to the intersection ahead and turned right, just as Zhou Yi had instructed.

There was a taxi parked there.

As soon as Ding Chunmei appeared at the intersection, Zhou Yi leaned out of the back seat of the taxi and shouted, "Here!"

As soon as Ding Chunmei got into the car, Zhou Yi told the driver to start the car.

Just as Ding Chunmei, still shaken, was about to speak, Zhou Yi gave her a wink, and she immediately fell silent.

The driver glanced curiously at the two strange people through the rearview mirror and gave a slight, disdainful smile.

He thought to himself: The two of them are acting so furtively, they must be a pair of adulterous lovers.

"Boss, where are we going?"

Zhou Yi replied, "Municipal Public Security Bureau."

"Huh?" The driver was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

She asked timidly, "Are you... are you going to turn yourselves in?"

Zhou Yi was both amused and exasperated, and then showed his identification.

Upon seeing the police badge, the driver's eyes instantly cleared.

The taxi did not stop at the main gate of the Municipal Bureau, but instead stopped at the entrance of the staff dormitory behind the Municipal Bureau.

The dormitory had a security guard, who looked like a retired person who had been rehired. The energetic old man stopped Zhou Yi as he was walking in and asked him what he was doing there.

While showing his credentials, Zhou Yi explained that he had just been transferred here today.

After checking the documents, the old man let us through, but kindly reminded us, "Family members are not allowed to stay overnight here; there are regulations."

Zhou Yi thanked her readily, while Ding Chunmei seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"Come in, this is the safest place," Zhou Yi said.

Ding Chunmei looked around the room and asked, "Officer Zhou, why didn't you let me come here to meet you from the beginning?"

Zhou Yi replied, "If you had come to the police station from the beginning, how could I have been sure someone was following you?"

It didn't matter where they met; Zhou Yi's main purpose was to confirm whether Ding Chunmei was in danger through this meeting.

If we bring her directly to the police station, the people following her will definitely be wary and choose to give up temporarily.

That means we'll still be in a situation where the enemy is in the open and we are in the dark.

As he predicted, she was being monitored inside the newspaper office and followed outside.

It seems the mess surrounding Li Chong's death is quite deep.

Upon hearing the word "follow," Ding Chunmei tensed up again and asked, "Officer Zhou, do you know who's following me?"

Zhou Yi wanted to pour her a glass of water, but found that the thermos was new and hadn't been used yet, so he had to give up.

"That's a question for you," Zhou Yi said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "Ding Chunmei, during your time in Wuguang, did you find out anything?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Chunmei nervously swallowed and said, "I...I'm not quite sure either..."

(End of this chapter)