Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

Sun Zhengyang's lips curled up slightly, revealing a perfectly timed smile tinged with self-deprecation:

"Director Jiang, I know what you suspect. I admit that it was inappropriate for me to be there today. I was just here for a walk when I saw the police tape over there, and my professional instincts kicked in, so I went over to take a look."

The inspectors have already spoken with me, and I will tell them everything I need to say. Regarding Fang Zhiqing's case, I am willing to accept another investigation, and I will accept whatever punishment the organization gives me.

"The matter of Fang Zhiqing's case has already been investigated and clarified after the Su Nian case was solved last year. Your handling of the case was not thorough, you simplified the interview process, and you turned a blind eye to key physical evidence, so you were given a demerit."

Jiang Ruolan's tone remained calm. "I'm not here today for Fang Zhiqing, but for your father. Sun Baotian, former director of the Xinzhou Municipal Construction Committee, retired in 2014 and passed away two years ago from pancreatic cancer."

The biggest project your father oversaw in his last year before retirement was the bidding for the Ngee Ann New Town administrative center. In that bidding, Fengmao Group won the contract at a price 30% lower than the market price.

Your father added a "local companies preferred" clause to the tender documents, and it was this clause that squeezed out the competitor from the provincial capital.

The muscle at the corner of Sun Zhengyang's eye twitched even faster.

His hands remained motionless on the table, but Jiang Ruolan noticed that his right index finger began to tap the table unconsciously—very lightly and quickly, like some kind of involuntary physiological reaction.

He remained silent for seven or eight seconds, then spoke, his voice still steady:

"Director Jiang, I am not familiar with my father's work during his tenure, nor have I ever participated in it."

The disciplinary committee had already investigated him the year he retired, and concluded that no violations of discipline or law were found.

If you have any new leads, you can report them to the discipline inspection and supervision department. I will personally cooperate fully.

"The reason why the Discipline Inspection Commission didn't find any problems back then is because the real problem didn't lie with your father."

Jiang Ruolan took a USB drive out of her pocket and placed it on the table. "This is an encrypted file that the provincial technical department recovered from Zhou Wenxuan's hard drive. The file is an Excel spreadsheet that records detailed accounts of bribes given by Fengmao Group to officials at various levels between 2009 and 2014."

Your father's alias is "Engineer Sun". In the sixth row of the table, the amount of bribes he received was 3.2 million yuan, paid in five installments from March 2013 to September 2014.

The payment method is cash, and the delivery location is the garage of your father's old house in the New Jersey riverside area. The person responsible for delivering the money is Zhou Wenxuan, the assistant general manager of Fengmao Group.

Sun Zhengyang's eye twitched even more violently.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Jiang Ruolan did not give him a chance to speak.

She stood up, placed her hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and looked down at the man who had worked as a criminal investigator for twenty-four years.

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be nailed into the air of the interrogation room.

"You think I came to see you today because of your father's bribery? No."

"Your father is dead, and Shen Wangshan, who bribed you, is also dead. The organization will naturally find a way to recover the 3.2 million yuan if they want to; there's no need for me to interrogate you. I've come to you today to ask you something else."

She pulled a second item from her pocket—a transparent evidence bag containing a yellowed, laminated work ID card, its writing blurred by the dampness of the ground.

The three characters "Lin Xiaomei" on her work ID were still faintly discernible under the white light of the interrogation room.

She placed the evidence bag next to the USB drive, then sat down again and said in a calmer, lower voice than before:

"This work permit was dug out this afternoon from under the foundation of a demolition site in the east of the city."

It was placed in the shroud of a woman's remains. The remains were found to have been dead between three and five years prior; the deceased was a woman who died from multiple blunt force trauma to the back of her skull.

The manner of her death was exactly the same as Lin Xiaomei's, who died twelve years ago in the back mountain of Qingshipu. However, Lin Xiaomei's remains have already been identified in the back mountain of Qingshipu, and DNA testing confirms that they are hers.

This work ID was her last possession, yet it ended up with another woman. Do you know what that means?

Sun Zhengyang stopped tapping.

He stared intently at the work ID on the table, and for the first time, a crack appeared in his expression—not fear, not panic, but something extremely complex and indescribable.

It was as if he were looking at something he knew would happen, but had been praying it wouldn't.

"This means that the person who killed Lin Xiaomei back then is still alive."

Jiang Ruolan gave him the answer: "He took Lin Xiaomei's work ID and kept it for several years. Then, five years ago, he killed another woman and put the work ID in the shroud as some kind of mark."

You've been a detective for twenty-four years, so you understand the psychological characteristics of this behavior better than I do—the killer is leaving his signature.

He wasn't afraid people wouldn't know he did it; he was afraid people wouldn't know there was a connection between these murders. He was showing off.

Sun Zhengyang didn't speak, but his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Jiang Ruolan didn't urge him. Instead, she stood up from her chair, walked to a corner of the interrogation room, leaned against the wall, crossed her arms, and continued speaking in an almost conversational tone:

"You are from New South Wales. Your father, Sun Baotian, is the director of the New South Wales Building Committee. The first cross-city project that Fengmao Group obtained was approved by your father."

When you were eighteen, you worked odd jobs at a construction site of the New South Wales Construction Commission during the summer vacation. The construction company at that site was the predecessor of Fengmao Group—at that time it was called Fengmao Construction Team.

You knew Shen Wangshan before anyone else. You later became a policeman, joined the criminal investigation department, and rose to the position of deputy head of the Xinzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau. After Shen Wangshan gained power in Yi'an, did you ever do anything for him?

Sun Zhengyang finally spoke.

His voice was a little hoarse, but his tone still maintained a professionally trained restraint:

"Director Jiang, I have no personal relationship with Shen Wangshan. My father may have had professional dealings with him, but that's my father's business. In my 24 years as a police officer, I have never—"

"Never neglected your duties?"

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