Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

"As for suspicious persons and cars," Qin Xuejun continued, "Recently, I haven't seen any suspicious persons entering our Qinjiagou. Our Qinjiagou is located in a remote area, and there are very few outsiders coming and going. On weekdays, only some grain collectors and vendors selling daily necessities occasionally come to the village, all driving farm tricycles. I haven't seen anyone driving a car into the village, let alone any car heading towards the farmland and barren slopes at the east end of the village. Because the east end of the village is very remote, very few people go there. Apart from my uncle, almost no one goes there to farm on weekdays."

“I haven’t heard any unusual sounds recently,” Qin Xuejun added. “Our village is usually very quiet. The villagers go to bed early at night. Every night, I sit in the yard for a while and haven’t heard any unusual sounds, such as arguments, screams, or car noises. I haven’t also found any suspicious traces. However, I did hear that about three or four days ago, there was a car noise on the barren slope at the east end of the village. At the time, I thought it was a grain peddler who had taken the wrong road and didn’t think much of it. Now, thinking back, I wonder if it was the murderer driving a car to the barren slope and leaving the sound.”

"Oh? Three or four days ago, there was a car engine roaring on the barren slope at the east end of the village?" Wang Shuai's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Brother Qin, please try to recall carefully. What time exactly was it three or four days ago? Was it during the day or at night? How long did the car engine roaring last? Did you see what the car looked like? What color and model was it? Did you see how many people were in the car?"

Qin Xuejun recalled carefully for a moment and slowly said, "It was about three or four nights ago, around eight or nine o'clock. It was already dark when I was in the yard tidying up my farm tools. Suddenly, I heard the roar of a car coming from the direction of the barren slope at the east end of the village. The roar wasn't very loud and lasted for about ten minutes before it disappeared. Because it was too far away, I didn't see it, nor did I see what kind of car it was. I didn't know how many people were in it, what color it was, or what model it was. All I knew was that it was the roar of a car, not the sound of a farm tricycle or an electric vehicle."

“Okay, Brother Qin, thank you very much. The information you provided is very important to us,” Wang Shuai said quickly, while instructing the investigation team members beside him to take detailed notes. “Please think back carefully and see if there are any other suspicious details. Tell us anything, no matter how small. Don’t hide anything. Also, please keep this confidential and don’t tell anyone about our investigation to avoid causing panic among the villagers and affecting our work.”

“Okay, Officer Wang, I will definitely cooperate with your work,” Qin Xuejun nodded and said, “I will think about it carefully again. If I think of any suspicious details, I will contact you immediately. I will also be careful to keep it confidential and will not tell anyone else.”

After saying goodbye to Qin Xuejun, Wang Shuai and the investigation team continued their door-to-door visits to the villagers of Qinjiagou. Over the next few hours, they visited more than twenty households in Qinjiagou, carefully questioning and patiently guiding each villager to gather relevant clues. However, most villagers stated that there had been no missing persons, no suspicious individuals or cars seen in Qinjiagou recently, and no unusual noises heard. Only a few villagers reported hearing a faint car engine noise coming from the direction of the barren slope at the east end of the village about three or four days ago. The noise lasted for more than ten minutes before disappearing. Because of the distance, they couldn't see the car or the people inside. At the time, they assumed it was a grain peddler who had taken the wrong road, or villagers from another village passing by, and didn't think much of it.

Among them was a villager named Qin Guilan, 58 years old, an elderly woman who lived at the east end of the village, very close to the farmland where the crime scene was located. She rarely went out and went to bed very early every night. She reported that about four nights ago, she was sleeping at home when she suddenly heard a faint argument outside her window. The argument was very low and indistinct, and she couldn't make out the specific content or whether it was a man's or a woman's voice. It lasted for about five or six minutes before disappearing. Then, she heard a faint car engine noise, which lasted for more than ten minutes before also disappearing.

“Officer Wang, I was sound asleep when I was woken up by the sound of arguing,” Qin Guilan said gently. “The arguing was very low and indistinct; I couldn’t hear clearly what they were arguing about. I didn’t know that several people were arguing, but I know that the sound came from the farmland or barren slope at the east end of the village, because my house is at the east end of the village, very close to the farmland and barren slope. After the arguing stopped, I heard the roar of a car engine. The roar wasn’t very loud and lasted for more than ten minutes before it disappeared. I was very scared at the time and didn’t dare to get up or go to look. I didn’t know what was going on. The next morning, I didn’t dare to go out to check either. It wasn’t until today, when I heard that a body was dug up from the farmland, that I realized that the arguing and the car engine noise that night might be related to this body.”

“Aunt Qin, thank you so much. The information you provided is very important to us,” Wang Shuai said gently. “Please try to recall carefully what time it was that night’s argument? Was the tone of the argument intense or calm? Did you hear any special words or sounds? From which direction did the car engine sound come and disappear?”

Qin Guilan recalled carefully for a moment, then slowly said, "That night, it was around eight o'clock. I went to bed early, and when I was woken up by the arguing, it was already completely dark. I don't remember the exact time. The arguing was very intense; it sounded like a fight, and there were even some pushing and shoving sounds, but because the sounds were too low and indistinct, I couldn't make out what they were arguing about, or if there were any special words. The car engine noise came from the direction of the barren slope, and then disappeared towards the outside of the village. I don't remember exactly which direction it was because I didn't dare get up or look." (End of Chapter)