Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 56 The Ungrateful Wolf 13
It's a truly chilling psychological analysis.

Thinking about it this way, half the people in Jiuqu Village are potential serial killers.

Officer An had never considered this case from this perspective in over a decade, and was momentarily stunned for several seconds.

The first round of questioning yielded no results.

The interrogators were outside discussing their strategy, planning to interrogate the other suspects first.

"Hopefully, the people conducting the village-wide search can find something that can directly lead to a conviction in time, otherwise we'll be relying on words for the next 24 hours." Zheng Yan wanted to smoke again, but when he saw Tan Jia carrying a dough figurine and strolling towards the entrance of the forensic laboratory, he immediately pulled her over.

"If you're free, go search the village."

This case was unusual. With the victim's family keeping watch and those in the village who resisted the search being punished, the large-scale search proceeded very smoothly. Such seamless unity between the police and the people, without any obstacles, is rare and deserves to be documented.

Tan Jia refused: "My talent doesn't lie here. You might as well let Lin Zhiyue go; his eyes are like cameras."

Zheng Yan's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again: "If he falls ill and collapses at the village entrance, I should retire and go fishing. Otherwise, you can go with your brother to take statements from those kids. Your appearance will definitely intimidate them."

Anyway, I can't just sit idle.

Tan Jia: "...Oh my god."

That's truly the most terrifying job in the world.

Tan Ming was fairly receptive to this job because Tan Xuehui did this kind of work. He had watched his mother gently guiding her children since he was a child, so some of the skills came naturally to him.

For example, regarding Fan Licheng's children.

This child is an introverted type, a rare sight in Jiuqu Village. He was born to parents but not cared for by them, and occasionally he would be beaten by his father when he was drunk.

Fortunately, the neighbor grandma helped tidy up my clothes, pants, and hair, so I didn't look too sloppy.

Tan Ming squatted down and gently patted his head, asking him, "Xiaojun, think back again, what time did you go to sleep the night before last? Did you watch any cartoons? Were any lights on in the houses nearby in the village? Did you see your father at home before you went to sleep?"

Fan Xiaojun lowered her head, biting her lip nervously, and whispered, "He often comes back after dark. I have to finish my homework before dark and then go to Grandma Qi's house, otherwise he'll scold me and even hit me... I watch TV before I go to bed..."

He talked for a long time without getting to the point, but Tan Ming listened very attentively, stroking his head with his hand the whole time.

"It's okay, take your time to think and speak slowly."

"Am I...am I going to die?"

"That depends on what he did. So when you went to the neighbor's house, Dad wasn't home yet, right?"

"Yes, because, because many people need to spray pesticides on the bayberry trees... Many people haven't come back, Grandma Qi, Aunt Huang and the others haven't come back."

Tan Ming then asked, "Did you see your father before you went to bed? Did you bring him food?"

“…Yes, there is.” Fan Xiaojun lowered his head even further.

What kind of food was delivered?

"It's just rice and stir-fried pork with chili peppers."

The fact that he recited the menu without hesitation suggests he did eat stir-fried pork with chili peppers. However, it's not certain whether he delivered food to Fan Licheng. If he didn't, where did the rice grains on the murderer come from?

Tan Jia looked at the child, who was so thin he was practically skin and bones. Compared to the other chubby kids, it was obvious that he was having a hard time.

But he was still willing to cover up for his father who had treated him badly, and didn't want his father to go to jail.

Among Yu Dong, Zhu Muyang, and a group of children glaring and shoving each other, he was a rare filial child.

Is it innate? Or is it due to the good upbringing by the neighbor's grandmother? Or is it that a child without affection is forced to be so filial and obedient?
Confused, Tan Jia followed Tan Ming and delivered the freshly written transcript to Zheng Yan.

The interrogation had only progressed to the fourth person, but Officer An's focus remained on Fan Licheng. Upon seeing Fan Licheng's son's statement, he immediately switched the interrogation subject and decided to question the neighbor, Grandma Qi, first.

"We must find out what Fan Licheng did that night. He has a very good mental fortitude, and even if we keep at it, he might not confess honestly."

Grandma Qi was a gentle-looking old woman with gray hair and deep wrinkles, but her clothes were neat and tidy, just like Fan Xiaojun's first impression of being clean and tidy.

When asked about what happened at Fan Licheng's house next door the night before last, she struggled to recall and only remembered a little bit.

“I remember he went to pick bayberry trees on the hillside. Xiaojun was afraid of him. He would often rush to finish his homework and come to my place. I would cook for him, and after eating, he didn’t want to go back, so he would sleep at my house.”

“Xiaojun is a very filial child. He has been obedient since he was a child. When he saw me struggling to push the stroller, he would come and help me. But good people don't get good rewards. Fan Licheng is an irresponsible coward. He thinks that his wife's first child wasn't his, and his youngest son might not be either. He hates him so much. He leaves early and comes back late every day and I don't know where he is. He doesn't care about the children at all. Back then, it was so dangerous, but he didn't care.”

"The night before last, the kids were asleep at my house, and I didn't see the lights on next door. Xiaojun got up to go to school, and I didn't see his door open either."

After rambling on for a while, the timeline has been explained.

This differs from what Fan Xiaojun said.

Officer An asked, "Has Fan Xiaojun left your house since he came here?"

"No, children are heavy sleepers and often sleep through the night. I also don't let him drink too much water at night, so he won't fall down when he wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet."

"So what did you have for dinner that night?"

Grandma Qi didn't understand why the question had suddenly jumped to dinner. She hesitated and said, "Let me think, how about stir-fried pork with chili peppers? We all love this home-style dish here, especially Xiaojun. He's not afraid of spicy food at all."

That makes sense. Officer An took out Fan Xiaojun's statement and said, "But Fan Xiaojun said he saw his father that night and even brought Fan Licheng a bowl of rice. Could it be that you didn't notice he went out?"

"What?" Grandma Qi paused abruptly, looking puzzled.

"You mean, Xiaojun said he brought his father dinner that night? That's impossible. Did Fan Licheng threaten the child? That guy is a ruthless scoundrel who beats and scolds children all the time. Sometimes when he's drunk, I don't dare let the child get close to him, for fear that he'll lose control and beat the child to death."

Officer An shook his head: "No, after we arrived in Jiuqu Village, we assigned people to guard these households. Fan Licheng didn't have time to collude with the child. But we did suspect that Fan Licheng's story about delivering food was false, but we didn't expect Fan Xiaojun to admit it. The child probably didn't want to see his father go to jail, so he lied. That's why we wanted to ask you to verify if it's true."

Grandma Qi didn't answer. Her expression suddenly became distorted, and the deep lines on her face were squeezed together, like dark blue worms crawling on her face.

It happened in an instant, but Officer An saw it clearly. After a moment of stunned silence, a chill ran through him.

He left the interrogation room and called Zheng Yan, who was interrogating others, out. His hands, covered in cold sweat, gripped Zheng Yan tightly.

"It wasn't Fan Licheng, it was his neighbor, Qi Sufeng! She's the one with the problem!"

(End of this chapter)