Free Web NovelChapter 502: Chapter 473 Two or Three Good Friends_1
Mr. Zhao’s words left Liu Yufei directionless.
Actually, what we know now is that among the leaders of Xinghua City, there must be a connection to the murderer, but it’s not like we can conduct DNA screening on this entire family and then gradually analyze each person. The workload would be too immense; it’s not feasible to do so.
Fang Mu thought for a moment and then said,
"Liu Da, here’s what I’m thinking: first, according to what Tang Jianghai said, Chief Zheng is just a pawn, he not only covered up the process of reporting the crime, but also contacted the forensic doctor for the autopsy and even detained He Hongjian when he went to argue at the school. It might make sense to start the investigation with him.
The second method is more laborious: thoroughly investigate He Jiahong’s social relations, from her school classmates to the members of the track team, and even the villagers or anyone who knew He Jiahong—review them all. Of course, this will be very time-consuming and require a significant manpower investment."
Zhou Ning glanced at Fang Mu, not to mention that this last suggestion coincided with Zhou Ning’s own plans; he indeed intended to visit the victim’s village.
Liu Yufei nodded her head.
"Last night we gathered quite a few officers. I’ll assign them in a moment. Right now, we don’t have any evidence that Zheng Tianlong is a participant or derelict in his duty. The only thing we can prove is that Zhang Qiang, the forensic doctor, concealed something in the autopsy report. We’ll start with him; as for Zheng Tianlong and the subordinates of Mr. Zhong, we will keep an eye on them.
Fang Mu, you’ll take Director Zhou later to the victim’s hometown for a visit. Director Zhou mentioned wanting to go yesterday, and it just so happens that He Hongjian’s wife, Zhang Qiuju, has also been sent back to her hometown. I think it’s less stressful for her if we take her statement there. I’ll handle the investigation at the school."
Fang Mu nodded his head. Despite being a beautiful woman, Liu Yufei’s presence and her icy gaze were enough to deter most from looking at her squarely. She was the most suitable to negotiate with the school.
"Alright, let’s set out now, but what about the investigation into the black sedan? Are we stopping that?"
Liu Yufei waved her hand and pointed at Mr. Qu, saying,
"Mr. Qu will stay behind. I’ve found a few technical experts to assist him as he meticulously searches for the direction the black sedan disappeared in. We’ll conduct a dragnet search once we have a definite target."
Zhou Ning made an OK gesture, called out to the people other than Mr. Qu, and quickly left the restaurant.
...
Half an hour later.
Zhou Ning and his team arrived at the He family’s old house. Fang Mu had gone to knock on the door, and after waiting for a long while, sounds finally could be heard from the yard. He Hongjian hurried out, dressing as he ran, a look of surprise on his face when he saw Zhou Ning and the others. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Comrade officers, what brings you here?"
Mr. Zhao stepped forward, his smile closing the distance.
"How’s your wife? The leadership is very concerned about her condition and sent us to check on her. After all, we’re visiting the village today. If she’s stable, we’ll ask her a few questions, otherwise we’ll drop the matter and can even contact Doctor Zhang for a further examination."
He Hongjian’s face showed deep gratitude as he opened the door, making way at the entrance, and slipped on his coat.
"After taking the medicine, she slept well initially, but awoke in the latter part of the night and became restless, wanting to find our Da Man’er. I walked with her around the yard for over an hour and she gradually became more clear-headed. After crying for a while with me, she fell asleep again at the break of dawn, so I didn’t get up too early this morning. Please, don’t stand outside; come in and have a seat inside."
Before entering the house, Zhou Ning stopped Mr. Yang and the others, signaling them to wait outside, and only Mr. Zhao and Fang Mu followed Zhou Ning in.
Upon entering the main room, they were greeted with the smell of a burnt pot. Mr. Zhao quickly searched and then swiftly pointed towards the kitchen, shouting,
"Master He, is there a fire burning on your stove? There’s a smell like something’s burned dry."
He Hongjian slapped his forehead and rushed to the kitchen. Following some fumbling and a hiss, it seemed he had added water to the dry pot. He then hurried back, wiping his hands and smiling sheepishly.
"I was preoccupied; please, take a seat. The house isn’t very clean."
He started to tidy up, but Zhou Ning stopped him. They had chosen to enter without uniforms, considering the agitation that struck Zhang Qiuju yesterday was triggered by staring at Liu Yufei’s uniform.
"No need to fuss. Is Zhang Qiuju still asleep?"
"No, she woke up and just took her medicine. I’ll go call her."
With those words, he turned and headed to the inner room. Zhou Ning swept a glance over the room—a traditional Ludong Region-style dwelling. This place could be considered as a living room, furnished with a circle of old-style wooden sofas; the surfaces where people often sat glistened with polish, while the edges accumulated thick layers of dust.
A bulky old TV, definitely an antique, under the glass coffee table various medications were strewn about, with sedatives being the most numerous. The room was a mess and dirty, to the right of the entrance there were all sorts of tools practically spread out on the floor.
Perhaps for convenience, there was an angle grinder, laser measure, trowel, and also a metal sign, sectioned and tied together with wire, listing wall-smashing, plastering, ceramic tile laying, and plumbing renovation—it was clear to Zhou Ning what sort of work He Hongjian did.
In the Ludong Region, there were many such people. They usually contracted their land out to larger households and did odd jobs elsewhere, adding an extra source of income. The sign listed a variety of skills, and by looking at the tools it was evident that He Hongjian had been at this work for more than just a day or two.
However, in the countryside, families with only one daughter who they brought up with such care weren’t that common. It might have been just as He Hongjian said; his wife had suffered from a bout of mental illness early on and so they hadn’t had more children.
With a condition like Zhang Qiuju’s, it was easier to attract stares and gossip. Her effort to overcome the difficulties, to accompany her child to and from school in town, to prepare three meals a day, indeed showed she was doing her best. Especially given the variety of medications she had taken, if she took them at night, not to mention waking to noises, she probably wouldn’t even realize if she were carried out of the house.
Thinking this, Zhou Ning felt somewhat ashamed. When he first heard Mr. Zhao describe this case, his initial thought was that the parents really had no sense of responsibility—not knowing to go out and look for their child when she didn’t come home at night, a girl facing the night alone at eleven, having thrown the keys between two doors, must have been coerced at the time.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath, suspecting that many people shared his initial view. Without understanding the facts, just knowing part of the truth, it was easy to take a moral high ground and accuse others. It seemed he had been too quick to judge.
At this moment, He Hongjian helped Zhang Qiuju out. She appeared much more listless than yesterday. Zhou Ning knew that most of it was probably due to the medication. Not to mention anything else, but the drugs used to treat mental illness, even if taken by a normal person for some time, would cause a listless spirit akin to that of a patient.
As Zhang Qiuju sat down, He Hongjian said to her,
"This is a forensic doctor from Qindao, here to seek justice for our Da Man’er. He has a few questions for you. Whatever you know or recall, just speak your mind, don’t be afraid, after all, this is our home."
Zhou Ning nodded in affirmation of He Hongjian’s words. Zhang Qiuju seemed to be comforted as well, looking Zhou Ning up and down and then casting a glance at Fang Mu and Mr. Zhao sitting beside him. Mr. Zhao, with his playful grin, wasn’t the least bit intimidating, while Fang Mu might well make one feel they needed to stand up straight and answer sharply just with a glance.
Zhang Qiuju, maybe because she didn’t see a police uniform, was not overly agitated this time. She nodded, mirroring Zhou Ning, and even said to He Hongjian,
"These two young men are quite handsome."
He Hongjian was taken aback, then Mr. Zhao was the first to follow up with a laugh along with He Hongjian, giving Zhang Qiuju a thumbs-up.
"Auntie, you’ve got taste. These two are the handsomest young men in our Qindao City Bureau."
Zhang Qiuju smiled. Zhou Ning took a good look at her. The smile added color to her appearance. Despite the messy hair with some whites in it, Zhang Qiuju was quite fair, with distinctive features. She would not have looked bad in her youth, given that He Jiahong was quite attractive, inheriting all her good traits.
"Big sister, my name is Zhou Ning. Could you tell me, did your daughter He Jiahong have any close friends? Whether they’re from the village, school, or neighborhood, think carefully, anyone she went to school with or played with during the holidays, boys or girls, you can tell."
Zhou Ning didn’t start by asking what happened on March 28. One reason was that doing so might make Zhang Qiuju, who just relaxed, tense up again and more likely to disturb her. It was better to proceed step by step.
Another reason was to move from simple to complex, which would help close the gap and more easily gain Zhang Qiuju’s trust.
As expected, Zhang Qiuju showed no particular resistance, pondered for a moment, and began counting on her fingers.
"Da Man’er didn’t have many friends in the village because of my condition. Many kids teased her, calling her ’little fool’ or ’psycho.’ She got on relatively well with Tang Jianghai from the Tang family, at least he didn’t bully Da Man’er.
In junior high, Da Man’er did well and got into Jinping Town Middle School. From then on, she lived at the school. The teachers took care of her. Without my burden, there was no one from the village at that school, and those three years were the happiest for Da Man’er. Every time she came back, I could see her smiling.
She had quite a few friends in junior high: Zhang Chunhua, Zhu Xiaoxia, Cui Liyan, Mao Chunjuan—these four were her closest friends, all girls. They never came over to our place, but during summer and winter vacations, Da Man’er stayed at their homes. Her grades were good, and their parents liked her too.
Ever since she started high school at Number Five Middle School, I don’t know if it was the study load or she was unhappy, but Da Man’er didn’t have many friends anymore, only keeping in touch with Zhu Xiaoxia and Zhang Chunhua who also made it into the same school. They were art students learning painting. As for boys, there were a few she knew from the track team, but I never heard Da Man’er call them friends."
She spoke at length, slowly, but Zhang Qiuju’s narration was very clear.
"Do you know which village Zhang Chunhua and Zhu Xiaoxia are from?"
Before Zhang Qiuju could speak up, He Hongjian continued,
"I know that. I’ve picked up Da Man’er before. Both of their families live in Jinping Town, one runs an auto repair shop, the other a supermarket. Both are in good financial standing."
Zhou Ning glanced sideways at Mr. Zhao. They had worked together for the longest time and with that look, Mr. Zhao understood what was meant, quickly taking out his police PDA to conduct a search, as Zhou Ning strived to keep his expression neutral.
"They all live in town, huh? How many children do they have, one or two? The one with the auto repair shop, what kind of vehicles do they service? Is it a large repair workshop with a parking lot, or a small-time garage with just one or two mechanics?"
