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

Chapter 538 Trap!

This letter is a trap!

When Zhou Yi heard Ding Chunmei mention the origin of the letter, he immediately sensed something was amiss.

After hearing the rest of the letter, I felt even more suspicious.

Judging from the contents of the letter, it seems that the writer and Li Chong are like-minded people, and the two are "fighting" together for a certain cause.

But upon closer inspection, the letter is riddled with flaws.

By the time this letter appeared, Li Chong had been dead for at least two months. How could someone he trusted not know that Li Chong was dead?
Even if this person didn't know for various reasons, why would he use regular mail to communicate with Li Chong about such an important matter?

The letter clearly stated that this material was more important than their lives.

It is astonishing that such an important message was delivered via regular mail, a method fraught with such high risk.

Moreover, this letter was mixed in with a large number of readers' letters. Aren't you afraid of it getting lost or being seen by others?
What's even more outrageous is that Ding Chunmei happened to discover it.

This coincidence is simply inexplicable.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: this letter is a trap.

It was bait used to lure Ding Chunmei.

Without a doubt, the people at the newspaper are the ones who can do this.

Even if an outsider could sneak in, they wouldn't be able to do such delicate work.

After Zhou Yi explained his analysis, Ding Chunmei nodded repeatedly, her face pale.

Although the matter was over, after listening to Zhou Yi's clear and logical analysis, she still felt her heart race and her mouth go dry.

"I...I was too excited at first and didn't think about it carefully. Later...I realized something was wrong, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Ding Chunmei said that early the next morning, she went straight to the place where Li Chong had rented before his death.

She wasn't sure what the situation was with the house, so she could only try knocking on the door.

Unexpectedly, the door opened after only two knocks.

“A middle-aged man opened the door and asked me who I was looking for. I asked him if Li Chong had lived here before,” Ding Chunmei said. “I thought he was a new tenant and didn’t have much hope. I thought if it didn’t work out, I could ask him for the landlord’s contact information.”

"But to my surprise, he said he was the landlord and asked me what my relationship was to Xiao Li."

"What did you say?" Zhou Yi asked, his brows furrowed.

“I said I was his friend, and then lied that I was asked by Li Chong’s family to look for something, which I might have forgotten here. Then… the landlord warmly invited me in and told me to look for it myself.”

Zhou Yi took a deep breath and asked, "Have you looked for it?"

Ding Chunmei nodded, then shook her head: "I just looked around symbolically because the landlord was standing there watching the whole time, so I couldn't look carefully. Then I made an excuse that it might not be here and left."

"Ding Chunmei, I have a few questions for you. Think carefully and then answer me."

Seeing Zhou Yi's serious expression, Ding Chunmei immediately sat up straight and nodded, her heart pounding.

"My first question is, does that rental apartment show any signs of normal occupancy?"

Ding Chunmei thought about it carefully, and her pupils suddenly dilated. She was a smart woman and already understood what Zhou Yi meant.

She shook her head and said, "It doesn't look like it."

"My second question is, during your job search, did the landlord ask you any questions?"

"He... asked me if I was Xiao Li's girlfriend."

"How did you answer?"

“I said no, we’re just friends.” A hint of sadness flashed in Ding Chunmei’s eyes.

"My third question is about your previous comment about feeling like you're being watched. When exactly did this feeling begin?"

"When... I can't remember exactly, but it must have been at the end of last month..." Ding Chunmei said with some fear, "It was after I went to the rented room."

"One last question: Did you keep your appointment on July 30th?"

Ding Chunmei shook her head vigorously without hesitation: "No, I didn't go."

"why?"

“Actually, after leaving the rented room, I had a vague feeling that something was wrong. I struggled for several days about whether to go to the appointment, but because I felt like I was being watched and felt uncomfortable, I ended up… not going.” Ding Chunmei’s hands trembled slightly.

Clearly, she was afraid. Her keen intuition as a journalist made her realize something was wrong, and she ultimately gave up on going to the appointment.

She did fall for the letter's trap, but it's not her fault. After all, she's young, lacks social experience and mental maturity, and her concern made her confused.

How could she have imagined that the enemy was so cunning?

But at least she sensed something was wrong and pulled back from the brink; otherwise, Zhou Yi didn't know what would have happened if she had actually gone to the appointment.

“Ding Chunmei, the landlord you met may not be the real landlord.”

Ding Chunmei nodded. "I had that suspicion afterward, but... I didn't dare to go a second time."

"This is not your fault. Someone set a trap for you. From the moment you hid this letter, you fell into their trap."

This chain has three layers.

The first layer is the letter, but the letter itself contains uncertainties. As long as Ding Chunmei is careful enough, no one will find out that she has taken the letter.

So there's a second layer, the landlord of the rental property.

It's already strange that the landlord would move into the rented house himself. Since Li Chong had only recently died, the landlord, knowing he was gone, would almost certainly not choose to move in, because he would definitely feel uncomfortable.

It would be more reasonable to rent it to an unsuspecting, unlucky person.

But if she pretends to be a tenant, she will push Ding Chunmei to the side of the real landlord, which will expose her and arouse her suspicion.

Therefore, the best way is to impersonate the landlord.

Therefore, a fake landlord would not leave any traces of normal life in the house.

If Ding Chunmei had remained calm, she would have realized the problem on the spot.

The third layer is keeping the appointment.

This layer is also the most vicious.

The fact that they only went to the second floor meant that Ding Chunmei didn't have that document, which is why she had to go to the rented house to find it.

The letter arrived on July 24th, but the appointment was set for July 30th.

A whole week was all devoted to Ding Chunmei finding this material.

If Ding Chunmei goes to the appointment on July 30th, even if she doesn't find the document, she will still be considered to know Li Chong's secret.

Then the chances of him dying are slim.

It was probably from the moment she left the rented room that Ding Chunmei was exposed and started being watched.

However, it was precisely because of the surveillance that Ding Chunmei became wary and fearful, and ultimately gave up on meeting on July 30th.

Then, in the middle of the night on August 3rd, a skinned dead cat was thrown into Ding Chunmei's home while she was fast asleep.

It was a threat and intimidation against her, an attempt to create a sense of crisis in her and force her to take action.

This whole series of events can finally be put together.

"Ding Chunmei, there is one thing that is certain now."

"Officer Zhou, Wh...what's going on?" Ding Chunmei asked, still shaken, after listening to Zhou Yi's analysis again.

"Li Chong possesses a document, an extremely important document that could potentially turn the tide and restore Li Chong's innocence and justice!"

Ding Chunmei's eyes lit up instantly, a flame of hope igniting within them.

Zhou Yi added, "Moreover, this information must not have fallen into the hands of bad people, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to set up a trap to test you!"

"Did my senior brother hide this document?"

Zhou Yi nodded and said, "Yes, it's highly likely that Li Chong realized there was something wrong behind the scenes after the press release was withdrawn, so he took precautions."

Ding Chunmei asked, "So where exactly did my senior brother hide this document?"

"The newspaper office, the rented apartment, and his belongings—it's safe to say they've all been searched," Zhou Yi said, looking at Ding Chunmei. "It's precisely because they haven't found them that we're starting to suspect other people connected to him."

"You mean, they suspect that the senior student gave this document to someone else for safekeeping?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

Before Zhou Yi could ask, Ding Chunmei said, "My senior brother has never sent me any materials."

“I know he understands the danger of this material, so he definitely won’t involve you.”

Hearing this, Ding Chunmei was deeply saddened: "Then who will he give the things to?"

"Relatives, friends, classmates, or teachers? In short, one thing is certain: this person must be someone he trusts."

Li Chong would never easily entrust something more important than his life to someone else.

Ding Chunmei asked as if she had suddenly thought of something, "Officer Zhou, do you think... if my senior had handed over what they wanted back then, he wouldn't have died?"

Zhou Yi countered, "Do you think your senior brother would do that?"

Ding Chunmei was stunned and speechless.

How could a man who vowed to burn himself out rather than let the truth be shrouded in silence possibly yield just to save his own life!
Moreover, given how things have come to this point, Li Chong is far more terrifying than the evidence to the mastermind behind it all. The evidence is inanimate; once found and destroyed, the matter is closed.

But Li Chong is a living, breathing person, so whether he hands over the goods or not, the result is the same.

Zhou Yi believed that Li Chong also understood this principle, which was why he would rather die than comply.

Once the items are handed over, everything is over, and even he will only die in vain.

If you don't pay, there's still hope!

Ding Chunmei said excitedly, "So, does finding this information mean the truth will come out and justice will be served for my senior brother?"

Zhou Yi nodded, but how could he possibly find this material?

Moreover, the most pressing issue right now is not this, but what to do about Ding Chunmei.

She was exposed, or rather, she was destined to be exposed from the moment she appeared in Wu Guang's presence.

Because there was a mole within the newspaper, the mere coincidence that the two graduated from the same university was enough to arouse suspicion.

As it turned out, Ding Chunmei did indeed fall for the scam.

Zhou Yi analyzed that Ding Chunmei has not been harmed yet, but has only been intimidated and followed, for two reasons.

First, the mastermind behind the scenes certainly cannot determine how much Ding Chunmei actually knows, or rather, the information Ding Chunmei has shown so far is not enough for the mastermind to think that it is necessary to kill her to silence her.

After all, murder is no small matter; it involves extremely high risks, and it's impossible to kill someone simply because you suspect them.

Ding Chunmei appeared suddenly, and her personal situation and social connections are probably still unclear, so no one dares to act rashly.

Secondly, there's that document.

As long as the mastermind doesn't find that material, this time bomb could explode at any moment, keeping them up at night.

They obviously couldn't find the material, which is why they set a trap for Ding Chunmei.

They wanted to use Ding Chunmei to find the materials.

So this matter became a choice between two options.

If Ding Chunmei can't find the materials, or simply gives up, then she's safe.

But once the materials are found, she will surely die!

The murderer will definitely kill to cover it up!
But Ding Chunmei will definitely not give up, and Zhou Yi will not bow down to evil.

We need to find a way to get Ding Chunmei insurance within a reasonable range.

However, Zhou Yi couldn't think of any good solutions for the time being.

"Ding Chunmei, have you already cancelled your lease on the place you were living in?"

"Not yet. After I called you yesterday, I quickly packed my important belongings and went to stay at the White Swan Hotel. I was thinking... I'll see what to do when you arrive."

Zhou Yi stood up and said, "Alright then, I'll go back with you to pack your things first."

Ding Chunmei asked somewhat timidly, "Officer Zhou, have I delayed your work?"

"No, I already had something else to ask you. Let's talk on the way."

The two left the dormitory, waited by the roadside for a while, and then hailed a taxi.

Zhou Yi was somewhat surprised to find that it was easier to hail a taxi in Wuguang city center than in Hongcheng.

In Hongcheng, there seemed to be fewer taxis on the road than in Wuguang.

Zhou Yi casually remarked, and the taxi driver chimed in, "There weren't many cars a couple of years ago; it's only in the last two years that there have been more."

Zhou Yi asked curiously why.

The driver smiled and said, "Because more and more people are coming here to do business, and the business owners are all rich and willing to take taxis. Some people see that our taxi business is good, so they also come to do it."

“Is that so?” Zhou Yi’s impression of Wu Guang in his previous life was not very deep. Even when he came to Wu Guang, it was to visit his maternal grandmother’s house and wander around Yunshan County. He was more familiar with the Yunxia Mountain Scenic Area, but he didn’t know much about the situation in the city.

However, in terms of geographical location and economic relationship, Wuguang is located by the sea and has stronger transportation and trade capabilities, so its development prospects are indeed better than those of Hongcheng.

Previously, it was not as good as Hongcheng because it lacked pillar industries like steel mills, and the market economy trend had a limited impact on second- and third-tier cities in the north.

Sure enough, Ding Chunmei interjected, "Wuguang has several ports with relatively large throughput. I heard that they have all completed restructuring and reorganization in recent years, so the local government has begun to focus on developing port transportation and import and export trade. This has brought some new economic growth points to Wuguang, and naturally, there are more business opportunities for the people. Although it cannot be said to have an immediate effect, it should have a significant impact in a few years."

The driver said smugly, "That's right, young lady, you've got a good point. Wu Guang will definitely get better and better, but there will also be more and more people trying to steal his business."

Zhou Yi smiled. Those people who drove taxis in the 1990s actually made quite a bit of money.

After all, in an era where everyone takes the bus or rides a bicycle, taking a taxi is a luxury.

Under normal circumstances, Zhou Yi is reluctant to take a taxi.

Therefore, with more business people in Wuguang, there are naturally more taxis.

On the one hand, new drivers want to make money, and on the other hand, taxi companies also want to earn more rental fees.

In the car, Zhou Yi then asked Ding Chunmei a question.

The question is whether she has had any contact with a woman around 22 years old with a good figure recently, especially from the time she discovered that letter until yesterday.

Although in this life, Yun Yao has not yet completed the formal autopsy.

But Zhou Yi remembered the autopsy report from his previous life.

Because the body was headless, forensic experts were unable to determine the age of the headless female corpse based on facial features and teeth.

The only way to confirm the deceased's age is through analysis of the skeletal structure; it is estimated that the deceased was between twenty-one and twenty-three years old.

Because the body itself was well preserved, the deceased's height could be determined to be between 1.6 and 1.65 meters.

Moreover, the headless female corpse had a very good figure, which was even a key aspect of the investigation.

Because there is a type of person who fits the characteristics of someone who has been missing for a long time without anyone noticing: prostitutes.

Initially, the police did not focus on this group because the headless female corpse did not have any traditional features such as tattoos.

Furthermore, Yun Yao's autopsy report mentioned that the deceased had fair skin and underdeveloped muscles in her hands and legs, indicating that she did not engage in physical labor.

This also led to the initial focus of the investigation on wealthy women from well-off families.

After a long period of fruitless screening, the police finally remembered the sex workers and began their investigation.

They investigated hair salons, nightclubs, and even streetwalkers throughout the city, spending a lot of effort and uncovering a lot of messy things, but they just couldn't pinpoint a single person who matched the headless female corpse.

After listening to Zhou Yi's description, Ding Chunmei shook her head repeatedly, confirming that she had never met a woman who met the criteria.

This puzzled Zhou Yi. If Ding Chunmei had not come into contact with the headless female corpse, how could the deceased have been murdered beforehand?

Could it really be that Ding Chunmei has nothing to do with it?
Zhou Yi's heart pounded. If it had nothing to do with Ding Chunmei, then it could only be related to Ni Jianrong.

Suddenly, his expression changed slightly.

Seeing this, Ding Chunmei asked anxiously, "Wh...what's wrong?"

Zhou Yi waved his hand and said, "It's nothing."

He remembered another thing he had overlooked before: the skeleton on Yunxia Mountain!
Could the premature death of the headless female corpse be related to this incident?
It seems I'll need to find out how this case is progressing after I officially start work tomorrow.

Moreover, he would have to call Ni Jianrong later; besides the headless female corpse, he had other matters to discuss with Director Ni.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of an old residential area.

There is no iron gate at the entrance of the community. Although there is a guardhouse, the dust on the window glass shows that the community does not even have its own security force.

It is evident that Ding Chunmei's financial situation was not good either.

She smiled shyly, then quickly walked forward to lead the way for Zhou Yi.

"This is it, the second floor." Ding Chunmei pointed to the second floor as they arrived downstairs.

Zhou Yi looked up and saw that one of the windows on the balcony was broken, and there were some broken pieces of glass scattered on the ground nearby.

"Give me the key, and you follow me."

"Okay." Ding Chunmei quickly took out the keys from her bag and handed them to Zhou Yi.

Then, following behind Zhou Yi, they cautiously entered the dark building entrance.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, the hallway remained dimly lit.

However, Zhou Yi had already identified the location, and pointed to the door on the left, asking in a low voice, "Is this the place?"

"Ah."

Zhou Yi approached, but did not immediately take out the key to open the door.

Instead, he reached out and gently pushed the door open.

As he expected, the door slowly opened with a strange creaking sound from the hinges.

Ding Chunmei's heart jumped into her throat.

She then realized that Zhou Yi must have considered this possibility before he came.

The door opened with a strange shriek, and suddenly, a dark shadow darted out.

(End of this chapter)