Animal Detective

Chapter 231 Guilty Conscience
inside the car.

Shen Xin stopped Lai Yong, who was about to leave, and explained Yang Maocai's situation.

Then he said, "Although I didn't ask the middle-aged woman specifically when Yang Maocai made his fortune, her exact words were those two years."

"So I think it should be the two years after the incident."

"Two years later, in 14, Yang Maocai was hit and killed by a car, and the driver has not been found to this day. In addition, Zhou Hui suddenly went to Yang Maocai's house. If we put these pieces of information together, can we deduce some connection?"

Shen Xin didn't explain what the connection was, but the three people in front of him were all seasoned veterans and understood almost instantly.

Ding Junbao gasped: "You mean Yang Maocai witnessed the crime and then blackmailed Zhou Hui, so he had money to build a house, get married, and suddenly became rich?"

"Zhou Hui, unable to withstand the extortion, simply chose to run over Yang Maocai to death, thus ending the matter once and for all."

It's not like buying a lottery ticket; no one can suddenly become rich overnight. There must be some unexpected windfall.

Lai Yong also said, "In about 12 years, building a two-story house like this would cost at least 200,000 yuan. Add to that the cost of getting married, which would probably cost another 100,000 yuan. So, in total, Yang Maocai extorted more than 300,000 yuan from Zhou Hui."

“Extortion brings in money too quickly, and there is only one time, never a last time. Therefore, Zhou Hui may indeed choose to murder Yang Maocai to completely eliminate this hidden danger.”

"Furthermore, Yang Maocai's home is located northeast of the site where the body was dumped, so it is entirely possible that he witnessed the crime."

At this point, Lai Yong immediately said to Liu Jie, "Liu Zhi, I think we need to search Yang Maocai's house immediately. Zhou Hui going to Yang Maocai's house at this time may be looking for evidence left by Yang Maocai."

Without evidence, how can you blackmail Zhou Hui?

Lai Yong believes that Yang Maocai may have filmed the incident with his mobile phone.

He perked up.

Just when we were worried about not having enough evidence to lock down Zhou Hui, the evidence has now arrived.

"No!"

Liu Jie shook his head.

He crossed his arms, his eyebrows furrowed, and after thinking intently for a long time, he finally spoke: "First of all, it is reasonable for Xiao Shen to have this speculation. It is possible that Yang Maocai witnessed the crime and then chose to blackmail him."

"However, we cannot act rashly. I think there is something wrong with Zhou Hui suddenly going to Yang Maocai's house at this time."

“Think about it, if four years ago he really couldn’t resist the blackmail and chose to murder Yang Maocai. If, as Lai Yong said, Yang Maocai had some evidence, such as taking pictures with his mobile phone.”

"If I were Zhou Hui, I would definitely plan ahead before taking action, making sure that the evidence wouldn't leak out or that there's a way to find it. Otherwise, I wouldn't act rashly."

"Since they've taken action, it can only mean that Zhou Hui has a way to obtain this evidence, or that this evidence simply doesn't exist. Zhou Hui spent two years constantly testing and probing to confirm that there is no evidence."

"Moreover, after Yang Maocai died, he had a full four years to search for evidence. Why didn't he look for it four years ago, but suddenly he comes to look for it now? Isn't that a bit abnormal?"

After his analysis, the people present all frowned.

Shen Xin nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed, judging from Zhou Hui's actions just now, it seems that this evidence is hidden in Yang Maocai's house.

So he brought gifts to their home, ostensibly to visit the elderly couple, and then secretly sought out evidence.

But if he can find it that way, he has plenty of time in the next four years.

They could even sneak in when no one was home. Four years is enough time to find such an opportunity.

But it's a bit unreasonable to suddenly start looking for them now, instead of looking four years ago.

Seeing that everyone understood, Liu Jie continued, "So, in my opinion, Zhou Hui's behavior is like a fish in the water constantly testing the bait, trying to see if there's a hook hidden behind it."

"Think about it, Mao Yanru said he was a murderer in front of so many people, and Lao Jiao even asked him about it. How could he not panic at that moment?"

“He was definitely afraid of reopening the case, but he was also probably still hoping that we might have given up since the case had been going on for six years.”

"So he might be trying to test us. If we search Yang Maocai's house right now, we'll find out what's going on in the countryside. It's impossible to hide anything. He'll know we've been watching him all along."

"Therefore, we must not act rashly at this time."

"Right, that is it."

Liu Jie seemed to have sorted out his thoughts. He muttered to himself and then said, "If there really is such evidence in Yang Maocai's house, then we can look for it anytime."

"The fish is testing the waters; it's afraid, but it can't resist the temptation. Sooner or later, it will take the bait."

"In times like these, we need to be more patient than the murderer."

"Moreover, the more he does, the more clues he reveals, and the greater our chances of winning this contest."

After saying that, he immediately asked Ding Junbao to go to Linshui and contact the local police to thoroughly investigate the traffic accident.

"Especially cars."

When a car hits and kills someone, a fundamental question must be addressed: how did the car get there, and how should it be disposed of?

“Lai Yong, go and investigate Zhou Hui’s financial situation in the two years after the incident. I suspect it was cash transactions, but cash doesn’t just appear out of thin air. Investigate it thoroughly.”

The two left.

Liu Jie was in high spirits and kept thinking about various possibilities.

Shen Xin couldn't help but say, "Liu Zhi, do you really like fishing? You must be a fishing expert."

He previously mentioned baiting the area, but now he's using fishing as a metaphor, clearly indicating he's a fishing enthusiast.

"Don't."

Liu Jie waved his hand: "I wouldn't call myself an expert. Anyway, when I go fishing, I come back empty-handed eight out of ten times."

"But I like to figure out and study fishing methods, and the more I study them, the less I catch. But this time, I hope I can catch a fish."

After saying that, he hesitated for a moment and then discussed with Shen Xin whether they could stay a few more days.

He felt that with Shen Xin present, the case was handled exceptionally smoothly.

Just when I was worried about having no clues, they immediately popped up.

Shen Xin nodded in agreement.

There shouldn't be any problems at the bureau.

The key point is that Shen Xin also wants to see things through to the end.

According to the surveillance footage, after leaving Yang Maocai's house, Zhou Hui stayed at his own house for a while before driving away.

They continued to monitor and track them.

He went straight back to his home in town.

That evening, Ding Junbao had already obtained the forensic report on Yang Maocai's traffic accident.

The incident occurred on the Zhangqing Highway, which runs from Zhangwang Town in Linshui County to Qingyuan County, in the Shedou Village section. The time of the report was 11:42 PM.

The most convenient route from Linshui to Songling is Provincial Highway 119.

However, the shortest route from Qingyuan Town to Linshui is via Zhangqing Highway.

“Liu Zhi, back in 14, there were only streetlights near the villages on this section of the road. Between these two villages, there were no streetlights.”

Inside the car, Ding Junbao pointed to the streetlights on both sides.

We received the accident report yesterday, and this morning, the group revisited the scene.

Shen Xin followed Liu Jie and peered out to check the surrounding area.

This section is between two villages. Although the road has been renovated and widened, the streetlights are still sparsely installed.

Back then, surveillance was naturally very limited.

Ding Junbao continued to read the accident report: "At 11:42, a passing truck driver found Yang Maocai lying on the ground and chose to call the police."

"Twenty minutes later, the traffic police and ambulance arrived at the scene one after another, but Yang Maocai was already dead. In other words, the driver found him when he was already dead."

"The traffic police investigated the accident scene and found no obvious skid marks on the ground. Yang Maocai and his vehicle were thrown more than ten meters, suffering multiple fractures and dying on the spot."

"It was detected that Yang Maocai had been drinking, but the point of impact was on the roadside, which means that although Yang Maocai had been drinking, he was walking on the roadside."

"Then the vehicle that caused the accident drove close to the side of the road without avoiding it, and hit Yang Maocai from behind, sending him flying."

If someone knew there was something wrong with this kind of behavior, they would definitely suspect it was premeditated, a deliberate act of hitting and killing someone.

But the traffic police were obviously unaware of this situation at the time.

Ding Junbao said, "The traffic police believe that the driver may have been driving while fatigued or under the influence of alcohol, and that he may have deviated from the normal lane and fled the scene after hitting the pedestrian."

"There was a speed limit camera about 600 meters ahead. The traffic police checked the surveillance footage and found that a total of 8 vehicles had passed by in the half hour before the alarm was triggered."

"But none of the cars had any signs of impact on the front."

“Four hundred meters back, near Shedou Village, there is another speed camera that captured Yang Maocai riding an electric scooter at 11:31.”

"Then we compared the vehicles entering and exiting between the two cameras and found a van that only went in and never came out."

"At 11:32, the rear camera captured the car, which means that the accident happened a few minutes later, and the car may have fled the scene from this location."

Ding Junbao pointed to a fork in the road opposite.

It connects to Zhangqing Highway and leads to Guangfu Village, which is northeast of Shedou Village.

"Therefore, the traffic police also determined that the van was the vehicle involved in the accident because they found the same gray bumper fragments among the debris at the scene, which matched the color of the van."

"It was a Wuling minivan, and the license plate was obscured by dirt. Moreover, due to the lack of surveillance footage, the traffic police were ultimately unable to locate the vehicle after the hit-and-run."

The car was parked on the side of the road.

Liu Jie looked down the road the van had taken to escape.

What used to be a cement road in the countryside has now been turned into an asphalt road.

He gestured to drive in.

The roads inside are interconnected, linking several nearby villages, with farmland in between.

In places like this, especially late at night, there's a lack of surveillance.

Even if there is surveillance, the footage is not clear enough.

But it's not easy for a car to completely disappear.

Liu Jie pressed further, "Didn't they check the repair shops and scrapped vehicles?"

"checked."

This is different because someone died. Ding Junbao said, "The Nanlin Traffic Police Brigade visited repair shops and car scrapping points, and even issued a report for assistance, but they still haven't found the car."

Liu Jie thought for a moment and asked, "Has it been sent to us?"

This is the border between two provinces; you can cross the border in no time.

Sometimes, the lack of information sharing between the two provinces creates loopholes that suspects can exploit.

Ding Junbao said, "It was sent out, and then they investigated for more than a month without any results, so they put it on hold."

Liu Jie nodded.

The resources and intensity of an investigation led by the traffic police brigade are different from those used by the criminal investigation team.

The key point is that there was no suspicion at the time that it was premeditated murder.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Jie said, "The key is still the car. Don't we have photos of the van? Let's investigate this car, focusing on Zhou Hui."

"By the end of 13, thanks to his father-in-law, Zhou Hui's factory had already been started."

"Then in 14, he opened a flagship store in Linshui. Shouldn't he use a van to transport and ship goods? Let's check. Maybe he used his own van."

"Of course, it's also possible that they were bought with money. Anyway, we'll try our best to investigate. I think this is an important breakthrough."

"If no evidence can be found in the Han Xiaolong case, then perhaps Zhou Hui can be convicted through Yang Maocai."

If a person causes a fatal accident and then flees the scene, it is considered a traffic accident and carries a sentence of seven years or more.

However, if it is premeditated to run someone over, the situation is completely different; it is intentional homicide and is punishable by death.

Therefore, Liu Jie's idea was that if no evidence could be found in Han Xiaolong's case to convict Zhou Hui, then Yang Maocai could be relied upon to convict him.

As long as it's the death penalty, the outcome is essentially the same.

The investigation continues.

Just as Liu Jie said, the more Zhou Hui made, the more clues he would expose, and the more places there would be to investigate. And there was another discovery that day.

That's surveillance.

Village surveillance footage shows that after Zhou Hui went to Yang Maocai's house yesterday, Huang Qingmei appeared near Yang Maocai's house this afternoon.

She didn't go directly to Yang Maocai's house, but lingered near his house for a while and chatted with the neighbors.

It gave the impression that they were inquiring about Yang Maocai's family situation.

Immediately after checking the call records, Huang Qingmei called Zhou Hui after returning home.

This action clearly confirmed Liu Jie's speculation that Zhou Hui was testing him.

If Yang Maocai's house had been searched yesterday, then we would have truly fallen into Zhou Hui's trap.

"This guy panicked."

This is Liu Jie's judgment.

He rubbed his face and continued, "This is a murder case. He killed someone, but the police have been unable to find out. Right now, he must be worried that we will reopen the investigation."

"I bet he's thinking right now about where he went wrong, worried about leaving evidence, and he'll try to find a way to make amends."

"What is this like?"

Liu Jie thought for a moment and gave an analogy: "It's like you accidentally found a large sum of money. You feel guilty, afraid that the owner will come looking for you, and also afraid that you didn't hide it well enough."

"You would go to the scene where the bag was found to see if the owner is there and if the police are looking for it."

"Even though you've hidden the bag very well, if you hear rumors that someone is looking for it, you still can't help but go to check where you hid it, and you might even dig it out and hide it in a place you think is safer."

“He simply can’t control this kind of mentality, so I think that as long as we keep a close eye on this guy, he will lead us to find out all the evidence he’s covered up.”

Shen Xin nodded repeatedly, then gave Liu Jie a thumbs up.

"Director Liu, it has to be you, your wisdom is truly remarkable."

That unwavering composure is definitely the mark of a seasoned angler.

Although Liu Jie knew that Shen Xin was deliberately flattering him, he couldn't help but smile.

"Shen Xin, to be honest, if you're willing to come to Pingyu, I'll go to any lengths to get you transferred there. You'll come with me, starting in the Criminal Investigation Division, and I'll make sure you get a head start."

Liu Jie extended another invitation.

They were not only attracted by Shen Xin's druid-like talent, but also by his keen intuition in the case investigation process.

He genuinely believed that Shen Xin was a promising candidate for criminal investigation.

Ding Yuwei, who was standing next to her, immediately became nervous.

Having known Shen Xin for so long, she knows that he is very ambitious.

But she also knows that different platforms lead to different development paths.

Even if Shen Xin continues to make meritorious contributions in the branch office, he still has to slowly build up his seniority.

Even if you're just accumulating seniority, the outcome will be completely different if you try to gain it on a different platform.

Shen Xin immediately said, "Director Liu, you think too highly of me. I'm just a little clever. If I go to Pingyu and don't achieve anything, wouldn't that be embarrassing for you?"

"However, if you really think this kid is good and has helped me, and you want to thank me, then you can call our leader and give him a little push."

Liu Jie was both amused and exasperated, then nodded and said okay.

The investigation is ongoing.

The investigation still focuses primarily on external factors.

The results kept coming back.

First, the van was not found near Zhou Hui.

So this car must have been purchased by Zhou Hui.

This beat-up van, which has probably been through countless hands, could easily have been bought by a roadside repair shop.

To find out, a large number of police officers would have to be mobilized and a wide-ranging investigation would be necessary.

Moreover, four years have passed, making it even harder to investigate.

However, some clues were found in the financial records.

The case occurred in July, and in early September, Zhou Hui's father-in-law withdrew money to help him pay off his gambling debts.

Until the end of the year, Zhou Hui remained well-behaved, focusing on running his water heater shop in town.

The shop owners next to his in town confirmed this, saying that Zhou Hui opened his shop on time every day during that period.

Then autumn and winter came, which was the peak season for his water heater business.

That cold winter, his neighbor said that he was contacted almost every day to install a water heater.

His shop must be doing well.

But after the New Year, around May of 2013, he closed the shop.

The official explanation was that they didn't make any money; in fact, they lost money.

That's quite rare.

Then, checking the bank records revealed that during this period, starting in October, he would withdraw money from the bank intermittently.

Up until the following year, nearly 100,000 yuan was withdrawn in large sums.

In other words, he probably withdrew all the money he earned during the peak season for water heaters.

Where it was used is unknown, cannot be found, and cannot be found.

However, it is reasonable to speculate that it was given to Yang Maocai.

After visiting some of Yang Maocai's friends, it was learned that around the end of 12 to 13, Yang Maocai became financially well-off.

But this guy is also uneducated and incompetent, doing odd jobs and living off his parents.

In June 2013, Yang Maocai married his wife through an introduction.

In early 14, Yang Maocai began building a house.

During this period, Yang Maocai did not have much income.

When his friend asked him where he got the money, Yang Maocai said it came from stock trading.

His friend asked him to mentor him, but Yang Maocai refused, saying it depended on luck.

In short, during this period, Yang Maocai got married and built a new house.

As for Zhou Hui, after closing the store, he opened a factory at the end of 13. It is unclear where he got the money to give to Yang Maocai.

If it cannot be found, or rather, to find out the truth, it must be done publicly and on a large scale.

However, based on these fragmented pieces of information, Yang Maocai is suspected of extorting Zhou Hui.

Overwhelmed by the burden, Zhou Hui conceived the idea of ​​murdering Yang Maocai.

this day.

It was the fifth day since Zhou Hui went to Yang Maocai's house.

Shen Xin and Wang Cheng were in the same car, waiting at Century Mansion.

The investigation entered a stalemate. Liu Jie arranged for some people from the Songling branch to return, and transferred a group of people from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment to help.

So the royal city came.

Shen Xin and his companion did not leave; they also helped with the tracking and peripheral investigation.

The two were chatting when someone from the neighborhood informed them that Zhou Hui had gone out.

Soon, Zhou Hui's S-Class appeared at the parking lot entrance.

Wang Cheng immediately started the car and followed.

Two cars, taking turns tracking.

There's also road surveillance support to ensure we don't lose track of them.

Shen Xin asked, "Did you go to Linshui?"

After leaving home, Zhou Hui drove west, crossed the provincial border, and took the Zhangqing Highway, seemingly heading to Linshui.

However, when he was almost at Shedou Village, he turned off the highway.

Then Shen Xin's car took over.

There weren't many cars on the rural roads, so Wang Cheng didn't follow too closely.

The countryside here is crisscrossed by waterways, and villages are scattered like stars, creating a complex road network.

Zhou Hui drove in a series of twists and turns before finally turning onto the main road leading to Nanlin District.

However, instead of heading to Nanlin, he turned back, made a U-turn, and eventually drove onto Zhangqing Highway again.

Wang Cheng asked curiously, "What's he doing? He just wandered around like that?"

After getting onto the Zhangqing Highway, Zhou Hui slowly drove back to Qingyuan Town.

According to another group of colleagues, he has returned to the factory.

The whole process felt somewhat inexplicable.

"wrong."

Shen Xin signaled Wang Cheng to turn around, and they drove back to Zhangqing Highway. Then they turned off at the intersection near Shedou Village and took the same route that Zhou Hui had taken before.

Shen Xin tried hard to recall the journey he had just taken.

"stop!"

Shen Xin suddenly shouted to stop.

Wang Cheng slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

Shen Xin looked around.

Between Shedou Village and Guangfu Village, there is a cement bridge in front, and farmland on both sides.

There's nothing special about it.

"Wang Cheng, do you remember? Zhou Hui seemed to slow down the car here," Shen Xin asked.

Wang Cheng looked around, thought for a moment, and nodded; he remembered it.

A thought struck him, and he quickly said, "Shen Xin, do you mean, just like Liu Zhi said, that he slowed down here to observe where the bag was hidden?"

He was aware of Liu Jie's statement.

Shen Xin nodded, that's exactly what he meant.

Shen Xin pointed to the river in front of him.

Wang Cheng gasped, surprised. "He didn't sink the van to the bottom of the river, did he? And then couldn't resist running over to see if we were searching the riverbed?"

Shen Xin nodded; this possibility was very high.

The traffic police couldn't find the van involved in the incident using the surrounding surveillance cameras, so the van had to be hidden.

Burning it, billowing thick smoke, was too conspicuous.

Sinking to the bottom of the river is a good option.

Anyway, there are many waterways around here, so if you drive your car into the river late at night, who would know?

Even if he were to be discovered by accident later, it wouldn't be possible to link it to him.

Thinking of this, Shen Xin's spirits lifted.

If that's the case, then Liu Jie's seemingly effortless maneuver has actually managed to catch Zhou Hui, this big fish.

(End of this chapter)