Free Web NovelChapter 422: Chapter 399 Chain Car Accident_1
Zhou Ning thought for a moment. All this seemed too melodramatic: a class reunion where one sees classmates they haven’t seen in over a decade, then one of them suddenly dies in a car accident, and someone is even willing to take care of his pregnant widow.
After glancing at the photo of Fu Chunyu, Zhou Ning finally lifted his head.
"Elementary school classmates? The children from your Dayao City’s villages, they all go to school nearby, right? Which elementary school were they from? That way, doesn’t it mean that Zhang Hongwei’s childhood home, or rather where he lived as a child, must have been quite close to Yang Guochang’s?"
This question stumped Huang Youdao. He paused, took the case file bag in his hands, searched through it for the statement, found a sentence, and pointed it out to Zhou Ning.
"Found it, it’s Guanzhuang Elementary School. Zhang Hongwei’s family was originally from Longwang Guanzhuang Village, but they moved to the city when he reached middle school. His father was one of the earliest contract workers, so their family was relatively well-off. Zhang Hongwei had a few relationships, but he never married due to various issues. The main reason being that he was short. Among their classmates, he was the only one who had never married."
Mr. Zhao came over and, seeing that Zhou Ning was lost in thought and not speaking, he seemed to understand Zhou Ning’s meaning. However, he stuck to the same line: this place was Dayao City, not Qindao. Huang Youdao wasn’t Xu Dayuan. Too formal suggestions, if repeated too often, might not be welcomed by the other party.
Mr. Zhao glanced over and said with a chuckle:
"What a coincidence, huh? Just renewed old ties over the New Year, and by April, he died in a car accident. Then someone voluntarily stepped in as the fall guy. This compensation issue for Yang Guochang, it wasn’t also negotiated by him, was it?
I remember the villagers’ committee saying that Yang Guochang’s death only resulted in a compensation of twenty thousand yuan. Yang Liang, though, didn’t want the money and gave it all to Fu Chunyu. The traffic police would have a record of this, right?
Moreover, they only checked flights and trains. This investigation isn’t reliable. He had a car, so it’s not impossible that he drove back and forth. A one-way trip from Dayao City to Shen City takes only about 24 hours, right?"
With that said, Huang Youdao also fell silent and thought for a moment before nodding at Mr. Zhao.
"You’re right, all this is indeed too coincidental. Even TV dramas don’t dare to script things like this. I’ll get the traffic police to check their records now. It’s too late right now, you guys go rest. I’ll have someone follow Zhang Hongwei.
Dayao City is only so big, with not that many people. Very often, when you make contact, you’ll find that people are either distant relatives or acquaintances. They were all classmates and never left Dayao City, so how is it possible they haven’t seen each other for over a decade? Suddenly they meet and there’s no effect on their feelings, and he takes such good care of a classmate’s widow. It seems I’ve thought too simply of this."
Huang Youdao was still very cooperative. After a few days of interaction, he could feel the sincerity of Zhou Ning and his group.
Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Huang Youdao.
"We can’t help with the interrogation, but first thing tomorrow morning, we’ll continue to inspect the deep parts of the cellar. As for the other body, I’ll conduct an autopsy. The more we discover, the more it will aid in sorting out the case.
No matter what, the body found later and the skeleton discovered in the septic tank are at least related to Yang Liang. Everything will become clear once tomorrow’s autopsy report comes out, and we’ll know the identity of the deceased. The rest is just a matter of time."
Huang Youdao nodded. This statement was practically a reassurance for him.
"Okay, we’ll pull back too. Wu Chunming is grilling Yang Liang with a barrage of questions. We don’t expect results right away, but at least it will make him uncomfortable. Once you finish the autopsy and put the report in front of him tomorrow, there will be nothing left to hide."
After saying that, he did not linger in courtesy as Huang Youdao took Wu Chunming and left.
Mr. Zhao stretched languidly, supporting his waist and neck and groaning endlessly.
"Ouch, my back and neck just can’t take it anymore. We left before seven in the morning, and now it’s already past nine. We’ve been busy for more than ten hours, missed lunch, and whether it’s sifting the septic tank or shoveling sand, it’s been a tiring day. Uncle Liu, let’s hurry back to the hotel and rest."
Liu Yongxin nodded and tugged at Zhou Ning’s sleeve, his eyes sweeping over everyone present.
"Everyone’s exhausted. We can’t keep going like this. We got back late last night and then went for barbecue. Everyone is lacking sleep."
Zhou Ning naturally had no objection; he wasn’t made of iron. He was tired, and more importantly, he was worried about Liu Yongxin’s health. The old man had squatted in the greenhouse all afternoon, and with his blood pressure, Zhou Ning was truly afraid something might happen to him.
"Let’s go, Master. Let’s rest. Tomorrow, I’ll have Mr. Zhao take Mr. Hen, Mr. Zou, and Mr. Pang to continue clearing the bottom of the cellar while you and I conduct the autopsy together." free𝑤ebnovel.com
Liu Yongxin nodded.
"No problem, shall I call Mr. Cao to join us?"
At that, Zhou Ning suddenly remembered. That’s right, where was Doctor Cao? He hadn’t seen him all day. Could it be that there was another case?
Liu Yongxin sighed.
"Don’t get me started. A series of car accidents, seven dead and thirteen injured, happened right at the highway exit of Dayao City. They had no choice but to deal with it locally, and he’s still busy in the autopsy room."
Zhou Ning blinked. To perform seven autopsies in one day, even if they were traffic accidents, would probably take close to twenty hours. Work in a grassroots forensic office was truly not meant for humans. With such high intensity, if an assistant got too tired, they might leave directly, and then no one would be there to do the work. They had to cajole and endure tempers. Just the thought was exhausting.
"That’s really unfortunate. All these problems hitting at once."
Mr. Zhao came over, patting his own belly.
"You guys walk slowly, I’ll go ahead and take them to buy some fruit, milk, bread, and stuff like that."
At this sentence, Zhou Ning was at first stunned, and then he laughed as he realized what Mr. Zhao meant.
"There’s no need to prepare food, today’s situation is special, the smell from the septic tank cleaning is so strong. Even if we stop to eat, do you think you can work properly after getting back?"
Mr. Zhao pouted, a look of dissatisfaction on his face. For a fatty, hunger was the most unbearable of all sensations.
"That’s you who can’t eat, I can. Worst comes to worst, I eat then puke, puke then eat again. I don’t care, I’m going to buy something to eat and drink and put it in the car—having food at home makes you fearless."
Zhou Ning shook his head as Mr. Zhao was already calling those few and walking away. Watching their cheerful demeanor, Liu Yongxin smiled as he caught up with Zhou Ning’s pace, and the two slowly walked outside.
"You young man, why do you act like an old cadre? You’ve got none of Mr. Zhao and their youthful energy. Don’t be so gloomy all the time. Stop fixating on your parents’ issues. You’re about to be married. Focus more on Xia Momo. After all, it was Mr. Xia who gave you an ultimatum to settle your relationship. You know you need to give her a sense of security, right?"
Zhou Ning laughed awkwardly, as if since the age of ten, he had never indulged his natural tendencies like other children, causing trouble or making a fuss. He had always been the role model for Zhou Xiaoyu and the others. In truth, he too wished he could let loose, but there was always a tight string in his heart.
"I got it, Master. Although I’ve never been in love before, we’re working hard together. As for my parents’ issue, I’ve talked it over with Xia Momo. I’ve been busy recently, but I’ll visit Doctor Shi when I get back to continue with the adjustments. Don’t worry about me."
Liu Yongxin patted Zhou Ning on the back, many words swallowed back down. This topic was something they couldn’t discuss—as each time brought pain to Zhou Ning, and they couldn’t offer help.
At this time, the two had already strolled out of the police bureau. Glancing at the bureau’s building behind them, Liu Yongxin turned to Zhou Ning.
"So, tell me, you seem to have some thoughts about Zhang Hongwei?"
Zhou Ning didn’t dodge the question—after all, it was just the two of them, and a casual chat to analyze the situation wasn’t too much.
"I just think that the timing of Zhang Hongwei’s appearance is too coincidental, and what’s key is that he confessed on his own initiative. I’ve looked at the map; Longwang Guanzhuang Village is not far from Qitai Village One, and right in the middle is Guanzhuang Elementary School.
In other words, Zhang Hongwei should be very familiar with the area around Qitai Village One. There isn’t much surveillance around there, and Yang Liang’s home being at the eastern edge of the village makes it a blind spot. If someone killed a person and then dumped the evidence in the septic tank at Yang Liang’s house, it’s not impossible."
Zhou Ning’s words left Liu Yongxin deep in thought, and he couldn’t help but slow down his pace.
"That makes sense. It looks like the investigation into Zhang Hongwei wasn’t thorough enough. We don’t know how much was compensated when Yang Guochang died, who hit him—nothing at all. Let’s simply have Mr. Qu search for surveillance footage tonight. We were previously too focused on finding Fu Chunyu’s whereabouts. This time, let’s use the new feature of our software to look for Zhang Hongwei.
As for the nature of the conflict between him and Fu Chunyu, I think only he knows. If he says he killed someone, dismembered the body, dumped some pieces in the moat, and the rest at Yang Liang’s place, this isn’t an ordinary mind at work.
If nobody discovered it, he could rest easy. If someone did, he could pin it on Yang Liang, especially since they fought so badly everyone in the village knew. As for the real estate information, I don’t quite understand. I don’t know what’s going on with that. Let’s not think about it now. We’ll talk about everything tomorrow."
...
November 8, 2012
Early in the morning, Mr. Zhao and the team, including Mr. Hen, set off.
The cellar at Yang Liang’s house still needed further cleaning. Of course, before they left, they loaded the car with several boxes of food. Zhou Ning watched, his eyelids twitching—this guy really was terrified of hunger the day before.
After sending them off, Zhou Ning and Liu Yongxin went to the autopsy room together. Doctor Cao was already preparing inside. When he saw them, he turned around with an apologetic look on his face.
"This mess, who knew that I would have a backlog yesterday. The autopsies for the day were as much as half a year’s workload. All these incidents had to coincide. I heard from Mr. Huang that you guys didn’t get to eat lunch, I’m really sorry. Here I am having rested for just a few hours, and you’re already coming over."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand.
"We’re not experts from the province, so put away those empty courtesy phrases. Everyone’s here to work; isn’t it better to be straightforward? We’re here to help you work. Instead of talking, let’s get started on the autopsy. We’re still waiting for the report!"
"I’ve already notified them, the body is almost here."
"That’s more like it. Open the ventilation system, chill it a bit, the smell will be slightly less intense. Did you thaw it in advance?"
Cao Pingzhang was a bit embarrassed and hurriedly nodded. As they were talking, Zhou Ning’s phone rang.
He pulled it out and saw that he had received numerous emails. Zhou Ning quickly looked toward Mr. Qu, who had come with them today. Several laptops were lined up, and he wore a gas mask squatting behind them, looking as different from his prior untransformed form as the Monkey King.
"Mr. Qu, print out the report."
