Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Leader Wu and her family live in Jinghai City!” Captain Wang reported to Zhao Yu and the others.
Captain Wang then said, “Leader Wu has her own house and lives alone. The police who went to her house found that her door had been pried open, and when they went inside the house, it was a total mess!”
Miao Ying quickly said to Zhao Yu, “Leader, it seems that our guess was right! Wu Fangfang must have investigated the Ziliu case before. And… She must have found something, which is why she was killed and her house was robbed!”
Ran Tao picked up his cell phone and said excitedly, “Boss, in that case, I must call Mr. Chen at once. I’ll ask him to…”
After getting Zhao Yu’s approval, Ran Tao did not hesitate and rushed to the next room to make a phone call.
“Leader Miao, don’t jump to a conclusion too early! But…” Zhao Yu shook his head and nodded repeatedly as he spoke.
It seemed like he was not sure about his thoughts at the moment. “If a robbery and a murder occurred at the same time, the suspect may have had an accomplice. I’m afraid that this case is much more complicated than it at first seemed.”
Miao Ying then said, “But, the robbery may tell us more about her death. This might have been a mistake that the murderer regretted making. After all, Wu Fangfang was a special investigation group leader, so she is very connected. This means that it won’t be a hard thing for the police to catch the thief.”
“Yes! Since the Jinghai police know it’s regarding an important person, they’re doing their best to catch the thief!” Wang Yongxia replied.
Then, doubts appeared on her face as she asked, “But… What you just said about the Ziliu case… What does that mean?”
At such a time, Zhao Yu thought that there was no need to hide it from Captain Wang. So, together with Gao Facai, he told her about the Ziliu Town Rural Cooperative Homicide Case and the wanted criminal Yang Zebiao.
Captain Wang looked panicked after Zhao Yu had finished speaking. She then rubbed her hands and feet excitedly as she asked, “Then… Shall I inform the Bureau Chief and apply for a warrant for arresting him?”
Zhao Yu quickly waved his hand, “No. That’s not necessary. It’s been a day since leader Wu was killed, so surely the killer must have left by now!”
Miao Ying agreed, “Yes. Besides, we shouldn’t let many people know about this for the time being. Otherwise, it will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble!”
Captain Wang stammered excitedly, “Then… What shall we do? He’s the most wanted criminal in the entire region! I can’t let him disappear again!”
Zhao Yu sighed, then said, “What worries me more is that this case is not just about catching the wanted criminal!”
At this time, Ran Tao had finished his call, and he quickly reported, “I told Chen Zhuo the latest update about the situation. He is going to check that for me. And… Liu Zhanbing and Xu Hai will be here soon! Both of them used to be in Wu Fangfang’s group for many years. So, they would know her situation best.”
Ran Tao then added, “Also, the 015 group will gather here soon. Now that they have lost their head leader, the Criminal Division has decided to temporarily transfer them to our group. So, they’re under your command!”
Zhao Yu nodded, turned to Captain Wang and said, “Take us to the office!
He then turned to Gao Facai and said, “Zeng Ke hasn’t arrived yet. There is no time for the autopsy report now. Let’s go together!”
Gao Facai nodded, picked up the report, and went to the temporary office with Zhao Yu and the others. When they got there, they saw that the Changming police had everything ready for Zhao Yu.
The office was a spacious case analysis room that had all of the necessary equipment within it. Because Ran Tao had told them in advance that they were usually his favored means of investigation, they had also prepared white boards for Zhao Yu’s specific use.
A special investigation group had a distinct division of labor, and presiding over the case analysis meeting was generally the deputy team leader’s responsibility. Therefore, after putting down her stuff, Miao Ying rolled a white board over to the center of the room.
She then said, “Wu Fangfang’s death is now associated with other two cases… Her house’s robbery and the Ziliu case. Based on the evidence that we currently have, the three cases appear to be very closely related to each other. For example, we think that Yang Zebiao might have killed Wu Fangfang, and he is also the major suspect in the Ziliu case.”
Miao Ying then said solemnly, “What we are trying to do now is to catch Yang Zebiao. He has been missing for 13 years, and now that he finally appears, such a big case happened. This can’t be a mere coincidence! There must be some important reasons for this!”
Unexpectedly, Ran Tao brought two people in from outside.”Come on! This way…”
Zhao Yu looked up and realized that he knew the two people! And… He not only knew them, but he had also had a fight with them! They were the liaison officers, Liu Zhanbing and Xu Hai!
When he was investigating the Gem Theft Case in Jinping, Zhao Yu’s and Leader Wu’s groups had a big argument. At that time, Liu Zhanbing, who was a big and tall man, was beaten black and blue in the face by Zhao Yu.
However, the two liaison officers didn’t take the past feud personally, and now that they had become a part of Zhao Yu’s group, Liu Zhanbing and Xu Hai dared not bring up the past argument. After entering the door, they simply greeted Zhao Yu and Miao Ying respectfully.
Ran Tao then said, “Boss, this case is really weird! I just asked them about it, and they said that the 015 group had never participated in the investigation of the Ziliu case or any cases related to it!”
Liu Zhanbing then said with a solemn expression, “Yes! Xu Hai and I have been with Leader Wu for six years, ever since the day we entered the group! Hence, we are very sure that our group has never investigated the Ziliu case!”
Xu Hai nodded. “Yes! Our group has never touched a pending case. Moreover, we never even heard our leader mention the Ziliu case!”
Then, Liu Zhanbing asked earnestly, “But… I wonder if Leader Zhao knows about this?”
Zhao Yu quickly asked, “What?”
Liu Zhanbing replied, “Leader Wu was born in Gaolanqi in the Mengxiang Province, and the Ziliu Town Rural Cooperative Homicide Case was also in Gaolanqi.”
This new information shocked Zhao Yu and his team members.
Ran Tao pondered this for a moment, then asked, “Would it be possible that before Wu Fangfang became the special investigation group leader, she was a criminal police officer in Gaolanqi, which would explain how she might have worked on the Ziliu case?”
Xu Hai thought for a moment, then said, “That’s impossible. Gaolanqi is her hometown! After she became a police officer, her family moved to Jinghai. So, she had been working in Jinghai before she joined the special investigation group!”
What the two liaison officers had just said only increased Zhao Yu’s confusion. However, just when Xu Hai finished speaking, Miao Ying suddenly thought of something and murmured, “Why haven’t I ever thought about this?”
“Um… What’s on your mind?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Well… Just think about it… If Yang Zebiao killed Wu Fangfang because of the evidence that she had, then wouldn’t murdering the head of the special investigation group from the Central Criminal Division invite more suspicion for the killer? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
What Miao Ying said stunned Zhao Yu for a moment, as that was the exact same important thing that he had thought about just now! But, he didn’t see it as clearly as Miao Ying had.
Ran Tao then asked, “Oh… So… That is to say, Wu Fangfang didn’t have evidence about him? But… Then why did Yang Zebiao take such a big risk?”
“My God…” Captain Wang had never worked on such a complicated case before, and he was suddenly too confused to speak.
Wu Fangfang… Yang Zebiao… The residue under Wu Fangfang’s nails… The house robbery… The Ziliu case from thirteen years ago… And Gaolanqi. What is the secret behind all of these things? What’s the secret behind the Ziliu case? Does the case have anything to do with Wu Fangfang? As Zhao Yu thought hard, a question occurred to him…
He found that there was another important element missing from the case. However, he couldn’t figure out what exactly it was.
At this time, seeing Zhao Yu’s serious look, no one dared to speak. After all, Zhao Yu was famous now, and everyone knew that he was a super detective. So, whenever the detective was thinking deeply about something, no one dared to disturb him!
Amid the silence, Zhao Yu concentrated on thinking about the missing element. What confused him the most was wondering why, at this critical point, they had gotten a clue about the Ziliu case? He couldn’t find any other reason than mere coincidence to explain this.
Suddenly, Zhao Yu opened his mouth wide in surprise and his body quaked with terror. He then took out his phone and called Division Chief Jiao.
“Division Chief Jiao!” As soon as the call went through, Zhao Yu started speaking excitedly and loudly, “Listen to me! I need a professional security team from the Criminal Division to protect my family in my hometown! You must promise me that you will make this happen!”
