Free Web NovelChapter 266: Chapter 263: The First Love Brother Appears_1
14:30
The group arrived at the Rudong Municipal Public Security Bureau conference room and took their seats respectively.
At that moment, it was noticed that Tao Zhenshan had hurried back from outside. It was likely that the special case meeting was waiting for him; otherwise, with Xu Dayuan’s impatience, the meeting would have started right after lunch.
Xu Dayuan didn’t stand on ceremony, letting Zhou Ning start by sharing the findings of the autopsy. Zhou Ning was succinct, presenting the bruises on the victim’s back, the fractured first rib as revealed by the spiral X-ray tomography, their suspicions, as well as the final discoveries at the scene. Of course, the remaining questions would have to wait for the final examination results.
"Based on the foregoing, I believe that the victim was pushed into the water from the bridge over Yue Lake, completely unguarded, and the perpetrator fell into the water at the same time, grabbing the victim’s hair and holding her head under water, causing the victim to drown and lose consciousness. The perpetrator was very familiar with the victim, so she was not on her guard.
After the victim showed no response, the perpetrator climbed ashore. However, not sure whether Xia Lirmin was dead, he smashed the electric bike from the bridge onto the victim’s head and neck. The weight pressed the victim into the water, drowning her. The next day, someone fishing hooked the victim under her arm, which brought her to the surface."
Xu Dayuan kept nodding, he had complete confidence in Zhou Ning’s abilities.
"Very good, the second autopsy and the inspection of the scene have given us more basis. Zhang Da, now you describe the victim’s social relationships," said Xu Dayuan.
Zhang Sannian unfolded his notebook and explained in detail:
"The victim, Xia Lirmin, was 23 years old at the time of her death. She had an elder sister. Their father passed away when she was eighteen, and their mother remarried. Her sister was very good to her. Xia Lirmin had a modest education, just finishing high school. She worked in a supermarket originally but stopped working after marrying Zhang Wei.
According to her elder sister, Xia Lihua, Xia Lirmin was not an easy person to deal with, always causing trouble since she was young and, after graduating from high school, worked in bars and clubs for a long time, knowing quite a few unsavory characters. Her elder sister used to worry a lot and spend much money on her. At first, their mother tried to manage her, but eventually, she grew tired of doing so.
However, at the beginning of 2010, she seemed to change and took a job at the supermarket, cutting ties with her former troublesome friends. By the end of 2010, around late November, Xia Lirmin met Zhang Wei. They got to know each other for just over ten days before directly getting a marriage certificate.
What surprised Xia Lihua was that Xia Lirmin also quit her job at the supermarket. But after observing for a few months, Lihua found that Zhang Wei treated Xia Lirmin very well, never restricting her spending and often preparing gifts and surprises for her, meeting any of her requests.
Thus, Xia Lihua also accepted this brother-in-law. However, she had not expected that, half a year later, Xia Lirmin suddenly drowned, and it happened at the Yue Lake construction site. After multiple interactions with us, Xia Lihua revealed her reason for opposing their marriage back then.
Because Xia Lirmin had a boyfriend in high school, with whom she had an on-and-off relationship for many years. Xia Lihua was afraid that her sister was being impulsive, as marriage is not a trifling matter. However, what concerned Xia Lihua was after the Spring Festival, she unexpectedly saw Xia Lirmin meeting with that first love.
At that time, Xia Lihua scolded her sister and gave her a lecture. Her sister’s death was sudden, and fearing that Zhang Wei might not be able to cope, she did not tell the police about this first love.
This morning, Director Xu led us to conduct separate investigations. According to Xia Lirmin’s friends, she had indeed been in contact with her first love all along. This person’s name is Chang Yuzhang, one year older than Xia Lirmin, 25 years old this year, working at an insurance company, and had kept an improper relationship with Xia Lirmin."
Zhou Ning raised an eyebrow. Rudong Municipal Public Security Bureau had investigated for so long without any findings in this area. What had Xu Dayuan and his team done to make Xia Lirmin’s sister and friends speak up?
Seeing Zhou Ning raising an eyebrow with interest, Xu Dayuan’s lips twitched, and he glanced at Liu Yufei. Zhou Ning instantly understood.
It seemed that Mrs. Liu had made her move. Indeed, a woman understands another woman better.
Xu Dayuan pointed to Tao Zhenshan.
"Zhenshan, tell us about Chang Yuzhang’s situation. What have you found out?" he said.
Tao Zhenshan cleared his throat and spoke directly without looking at his notebook:
"During Rudong Municipal Public Security Bureau’s previous investigation, Chang Yuzhang was questioned. On the evening of May 11, 2011, he went home directly after having dinner with a client and didn’t go out again. An old lady living on the ground floor of his building testified for him."
Xu Dayuan raised his eyes, looking at Tao Zhenshan. He wasn’t interested in what Rudong Municipal Public Security Bureau had done but rather the results of their own investigation, as Tao Zhenshan and his team had arrived earlier and should have already made contact.
"What time did he go back?"
Tao Zhenshan knew his boss was dissatisfied and quickly said with a smile:
"The old lady didn’t look at the time but said she saw him when she was returning from her walk, which is usually after the news broadcast and lasts for an hour, so she would return around eight. However, the old lady mentioned something new, saying that Chang Yuzhang looked like he was caught in the rain, with his hair all wet."
Zhang Sannian startled. They focused on Zhang Wei at the time and indeed didn’t pay much attention to Xia Lirmin’s friends. Anyone with an alibi had not been further investigated.
Tao Zhenshan continued:
"After hearing the old lady’s testimonial, we went to the insurance company where Chang Yuzhang works and checked their timekeeping records. Chang Yuzhang clocked out at 19:34 on the evening of May 11, 2011."
This time period, according to what he had said in his previous statement about going to treat someone to a meal and returning home after eight o’clock, seemed impossible to accomplish — after all, treating someone to a meal could not finish in less than an hour.
Upon discovering this, we checked all the hotels in Rudong City and found numerous check-in records of Chang Yuzhang and Xia Lirmin, including fifty-two times at the Jiahe Express Hotel located by Yue Lake within the recorded three years.
Between December 2010 and May 2011, after Xia Lirmin married Zhang Wei, they checked in thirty-four times, meeting almost once a week. Moreover, the front desk was very familiar with them. Presenting their photos, the staff immediately recognized them and could accurately say their names."
Everyone present was somewhat excited; this suddenly appeared ’first love brother’ had brought such a big surprise.
Mr. Qu was very attentive and projected a map onto the big screen, which marked Yue Lake’s Lake Heart Bridge, Chang Yuzhang’s office, Chang Yuzhang’s home, Jiahe Express Hotel, and the distances from the victim’s and Zhang Wei’s homes.
By comparison, it was very clear that Chang Yuzhang’s office was seven or eight kilometers away from Yue Lake, while his home was located on the north side of Yue Lake, not even a kilometer away in a straight line. The hotel was just outside his residential complex. In contrast, the victim’s home was sixteen kilometers away from Yue Lake.
However, to Xu Dayuan’s surprise, the two chose not to meet at Chang Yuzhang’s home.
After all, it was just at the entrance to the residential area; weren’t they afraid of being seen?
"Bring Chang Yuzhang in for questioning. According to Zhou Ning’s findings, Xia Lirmin was pushed into the water by an acquaintance. And since Chang Yuzhang has been maintaining an improper relationship with the victim all along, he’s a major suspect."
Tao Zhenshan stood up and left with several local detectives. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Xu Dayuan looked towards Mr. Qu.
"Mr. Qu, please talk about what was discovered in the surveillance footage from the four intersections around Yue Lake and the area near Zhang Wei’s home."
Mr. Qu stood up, bowed his back, and typed furiously on the keyboard. Then, using the remote control, he scrolled through the videos on the big screen, enlarging a frame from the northern side of Yue Lake.
"Just now, when you mentioned Chang Yuzhang, I searched for this person’s information. He owns an orange 2010 MG 6. On May 11, 2011, at 19:50, the car was parked on the north side of this intersection. I checked the map, and this location is a free parking lot diagonally across from Chang Yuzhang’s house.
Looking at this frame, after the software’s analysis, this man in the dark gray suit is Chang Yuzhang. At 19:52, he walked over from the opposite intersection, heading towards the north gate of Yue Lake Park, and then disappeared from the surveillance."
At this point, Mr. Qu used the software to zoom in on the still frame from the surveillance, then a green light scanned the man’s face in the frame and compared it with Chang Yuzhang’s residential registration photo. The comparison box flashed, and a 100% match appeared below.
Clearly, this person was Chang Yuzhang. The screen switched to another surveillance frame from the residential complex, then played in full screen as he continued.
"At 20:22, half an hour after Chang Yuzhang left, he came out from the north side of the park. However, looking at this position, the spots he stepped on left shadowy traces. I think these are water stains.
Look here, he skirted a large circle along the edge of the surveillance range and then returned to the parking lot. He stayed in the car for five minutes; upon getting out, he had changed his suit and trousers. Look at this frame."
As Mr. Qu showed the screenshot, everyone noticed that Chang Yuzhang hadn’t driven away. Carrying a bag, he wrapped himself up tightly and quickly walked towards the north, occasionally looking back. Mr. Qu immediately took a screenshot and performed the comparison again.
As expected, the screenshot of Chang Yuzhang still showed a 100% match.
Zhang Sannian took a cold breath and whispered to the person next to him.
"When the tech department sent people to learn the software, we should have enrolled more, and we must learn it well. Whatever the cost, put in a request, and I’ll ask the leadership for funds."
Zhang Sannian’s voice wasn’t low, and Xu Dayuan raised an eyebrow, pretending not to hear. However, buying the software was good news, although the intention was for the city bureau to provide the software to each branch and county-level public security bureau. The thing was, it still required compatible equipment and a significant investment. If they’re willing to spend the money and actively ask for installation, that saved the city bureau some funds.
"It’s good you preserved the surveillance records, or else it wouldn’t have been easy to make the comparison."
Zhang Sannian smiled sheepishly, seeming to think of something and continued:
"The case has been unsolved for a while. The victim’s husband, Zhang Wei, came several times asking for a death certificate and urging the progress of the case’s investigation. Yet, he hasn’t come by recently."
Xu Dayuan wasn’t surprised by this reaction. Zhang Sannian continued speaking.
"Their marriage lasted only over half a year, and it was a whirlwind romance. This reaction is somewhat normal. I know a friend whose wife, a teacher from the tax bureau, passed away from breast cancer. He was inconsolable at the funeral and would have become a widower if not for his child. However, eight months later, he remarried and even had his daughter play the bridesmaid at the wedding, proclaiming he found his true love."
Zhou Ning was taken aback and couldn’t help but retort — Brother, what heartbreak have you suffered? You’re going off-topic here.
