Animal Detective

Chapter 232 The Case is Closed, You're Under Arrest

In ancient times, the Ningshan area was a water town.

There are rivers and lakes.

Then, for the needs of agricultural irrigation, waterway transportation, flood discharge and drainage, a large number of ditches and waterways were dug.

Some are very shallow, about a meter deep, and also have limited width.

However, some boats navigate in deeper waters, potentially reaching depths of 3 meters or even greater.

The river in front of us, called Xuntang, is the latter.

It was one of the waterways used to transport goods from Pingzhou to Ningshan, and larger transport ships could pass through it.

The river is 53 meters wide, and the cement bridge next to it has this written on it.

The depth should be over 3 meters.

Furthermore, since it is an artificially excavated river channel, the depth at the edge and the center of the river are actually quite similar.

The Wuling Sunshine minivan is 1.8 meters tall, so it can easily sink to the bottom of the river.

Moreover, there's silt at the bottom of the river, so the car has to sink a little deeper, making the water even more suitable.

In addition, the river water was not very clear, and from above, with the water being more than a meter deep, it was impossible to see the submerged van.

Most importantly, thanks to the development of land transportation, small waterways like these have been abandoned, and boats now travel on the Grand Canal.

Normally, at most, they only pass through small boats used for waterway maintenance.

As for drying up, that's even more impossible.

At this moment, Shen Xin, Liu Jie, and others stood on the cement bridge, watching the water rescue team working in the river below.

This is the territory of Pingzhou.

So Liu Jie coordinated the rescue team that the Linshui Nanlin Branch Bureau found. Their criminal investigation team leader, Wei Wenbing, also came over.

People riding electric scooters would occasionally stop and watch curiously.

Wang Cheng leaned forward, staring intently, and said, "Chief Liu, we still haven't found it. Could it be that we guessed wrong? Now that we think about it, was it a bit hasty to just sink the car to the bottom of the river?"

"What if someone happens to be nearby and sees it, or if someone discovers it later, we can still find the person."

"Also, why did he sink the car into the river? Did he just drive straight in? Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

Shen Xin nodded thoughtfully.

Any of the scenarios Wang Cheng described could happen.

They searched for a while down below, near the cement bridge, where Zhou Hui slowed down to observe, but still hadn't found it.

Did Wang Cheng and Zhou Hui guess wrong, and choose another way to hide the van?

For example, you could rent a house, drive right into the yard, wait out the storm, and then deal with it slowly.

Or perhaps we could get a van and just drive it in to haul it away?

If you really think about it carefully, there are actually many ways to cover your tracks.

"No!"

Liu Jie waved his hand and said, "Zhou Hui's behavior is abnormal, which means there's a problem here."

"Most importantly, you can't be wise after the event and think Zhou Hui, or the suspect, is too clever."

"For most criminals, it is already quite remarkable that they have the ability to evade surveillance, scout locations in advance, and even think about disposing of vehicles by sinking them to the bottom of the river."

"Based on my personal experience."

Liu Jie looked at Shen Xin and the other young people.

Clearly, this is for a lesson.

"You can think of suspects as smart, but most of the time, they're not that smart."

"Take Zhou Hui, for example. He hit and killed a grown man on a wide-open road late at night. If you put yourself in his shoes, even if he had planned it beforehand, he would still be scared."

"As they say, plans can't keep up with changes. What if a car comes from the opposite direction and you happen to see him?"

"This uncertainty puts a lot of psychological pressure on people, and often they don't have time to make rational judgments."

"Moreover, when you are plotting to kill someone, it is difficult to consider all aspects. When you look back afterward, the method of sinking the car to the bottom of the river has many flaws and is not perfect."

"But at the time, it was probably the best solution he could think of."

"So you see, he couldn't help himself and had to come over to check on things before he felt at ease, because he also knew that the choice he made at the time might not have been perfect."

"That's why I felt the van was right here."

Shen Xin thought about it and felt that Liu Jie's words made sense.

To be honest, it was already quite clever of Zhou Hui not to stab Yang Maocai to death directly, but to choose to run him over with his car.

"Director Liu, you are so experienced, I have learned a lot."

Shen Xin immediately adopted a humble and receptive expression.

Wang Cheng, who was more shy, could only nod thoughtfully.

At this point, the staff below waved their hands, saying that no such discovery had been made in this section of the river.

Liu Jie picked up the walkie-talkie and pointed north.

The cement bridge runs east-west, while the river channel runs roughly north-south.

About two hundred meters to the north, it merges with two other waterways.

Liu Jie pointed north and said, "Go north, do you see that power tower? There's a small road over there, probably used for tower maintenance. If the suspect is driving, he might go that way."

There is indeed a power tower in the distance, right at the mouth of the waterway.

He pointed in the direction they came from and explained to everyone, "Look, if you drive from that direction, the only way to drive into the river is through the farmland."

“The accident happened at the end of August. Double-cropping rice is grown here. At the end of August, the rice should have just started tillering, and there is still a water layer in the field. The ridges are also too narrow. I figured it would be quite difficult for him to force the car through.”

"Only the path across the street should be just right."

Shen Xin saw that it was true and immediately said that Liu Jie was observant and thoughtful.

The people below began to move towards the inlet.

They brought small sonar, which made scanning the area quite convenient.

A few minutes later, after scanning the area, I saw someone waving in the distance, and I could also hear voices coming from the walkie-talkie.

There's something underwater, it's probably a car!

Liu Jie excitedly patted the cement bridge railing, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

"Captain Wei, arrange a crane to salvage the car as soon as possible, do an accident investigation, and get the vehicle identification number. We must find out the origin of this car as quickly as possible," Liu Jie said immediately.

Even if this car is submerged in water, the vehicle identification number (VIN) still won't disappear.

Knowing the vehicle identification number (VIN), one can trace the car's owner and seller, and if it was Zhou Hui who bought it, he won't be able to escape.

By sinking the car to the bottom of the river, the traces left from the collision were actually preserved intact, which helped in the accident investigation.

Therefore, looking back on this period of investigation, Shen Xin felt that Liu Jie was really amazing.

They had discovered clues, but remained inactive.

Despite the pressure, they never relaxed their surveillance of Zhou Hui.

His prediction of Zhou Hui's psychology was completely correct. To put it bluntly, many of the clues were actually Zhou Hui himself who revealed his true colors and led everyone to them.

When he came to Pingyu, Lü Youwei told himself to observe and learn more, and he really did learn something this time.

That evening.

With the help of a crane and a water rescue team, the van, which had been submerged at the bottom of the river for four years, was finally brought to the surface.

The sky was filled with the glow of sunset as usual.

In the glow of the sunset, the van remained in good condition, just like some deeply buried secrets that, no matter how well hidden, will eventually see the light of day.

……

2 month 28 number.

The last day of February.

On the 24th, Zhou Hui went for a stroll around the cement bridge.

The van was salvaged the next day.

Three days have passed since today.

In the office, Shen Xin twirled a marker, while Wang Cheng, Lai Yong, and the others stared blankly into space.

Just then, Liu Jie pushed the door open and entered.

Lai Yong jumped to his feet and asked anxiously how it went.

"What do you think?" Liu Jie's face showed a relieved smile, and he said firmly, "Let's go, take the men."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they swarmed out.

Century Mansion.

Today is Thursday. After the nanny dropped the children off at school, Li Jing got up very late.

She goes to the beauty salon to manage the accounts; the daily operations are handled by the store manager.

It was almost 10 a.m., and Zhou Hui was still in bed looking at his phone.

After finishing her makeup at the dressing table, Li Jing saw her husband lying dead in the mirror and was immediately displeased. She complained, "Zhou Hui, did something happen at the factory?"

Zhou Hui, without even looking up from the bed, asked what he meant.

"What do you mean? I've noticed you haven't been going to the factory much these past few days, you've been staying home all the time, what are you trying to do?" Li Jing questioned loudly.

Zhou Hui said impatiently, "There's nothing wrong at the factory, don't ask."

This only fueled Li Jing's enthusiasm. She got up, went to the bedside, and snatched the phone away: "After Mao Yanru made a scene last time, I felt like you were out of your mind. Have you hooked up with her again?"

Are you out of your mind?!

Zhou Hui hurriedly got up and grabbed the phone.

Li Jing also hid, then hurriedly looked at the contents of her phone. After only a few glances, her expression changed drastically.

He slammed his phone down and yelled, "Zhou Hui, what the hell do you think you're doing!"

On his phone, Zhou Hui did not contact Mao Yanru. Instead, he opened his browser and searched for "how to kill an old man without breaking the law".

"Fuck your mother, Zhou Hui! If it weren't for my dad, who knows where you'd be now? You even want to kill my dad? I'll fucking fight you to the death!" Li Jing screamed as she lunged at him.

Zhou Hui impatiently pushed her away.

"Are you crazy? I was just searching randomly. Who said they wanted to kill your dad?"

As he spoke, he hurriedly got out of bed and ran away.

Li Jing's makeup was ruined again. She screamed, "So who do you want to kill? Kill me! Kill me, and then live happily ever after with your little vixen, right? Zhou Hui, I'll fight you to the death!"

She grabbed the pillow and threw it.

Zhou Hui fought and retreated, unwilling to get entangled with Li Jing.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Who!"

Zhou Hui impatiently opened the door, then froze abruptly.

Outside the door, a large group of people stood.

The one leading the group was Liu Jie.

"It's...it's you!" In an instant, Zhou Hui's eyes widened, and his voice trembled.

He remembered Liu Jie's face.

Liu Jie looked at Zhou Hui quietly, his feelings indescribable.

There is the joy of victory.

After all, it was a marathon that lasted for six years.

But mostly I felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing feelings, reflection, and a sense of wonder).

As for what he was feeling, Liu Jie couldn't quite put his finger on it; his feelings were just very complicated.

So Liu Jie didn't think twice and took out the arrest warrant from his bag, showing it to Zhou Hui.

"Zhou Hui, you're under arrest!"

It's not a summons, it's an arrest warrant. Once this warrant is issued, you're basically on your way to prison.

Zhou Hui's body began to tremble uncontrollably. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he looked at his name on the arrest warrant and the conspicuous red stamp, his tongue and throat felt numb, and he couldn't utter a sound.

The arrogance and haughtiness that had once filled the police station when he boasted that I was righteous and fearless wherever I went were gone from his face.

All that remained was endless fear.

He knew perfectly well what he had done and what his fate would be.

No one can be unafraid of the impending punishment.

Li Jing also heard the noise and went out to check.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking blank.

Her question startled Zhou Hui from his daze. He suddenly turned and ran away as if he had risen from the dead.

Just like a living being instinctively wants to run away when faced with danger.

But after taking just one step, he collapsed to the ground.

His legs were so weak he couldn't muster any strength.

Liu Jie darted forward and instantly pressed Zhou Hui's back down with his knee.

Grabbing his arm and locking it behind his back, Zhou Hui immediately let out a pig-like scream.

He wanted to surrender peacefully, but Liu Jie was too embarrassed to make a move.

Now, this has given Liu Jie an opportunity.

Li Jing screamed in fright, "What are you doing? Why are you arresting my husband!"

Ding Yuwei quickly stepped forward and stopped Li Jing from rushing over.

Lai Yong stepped forward and handcuffed Zhou Hui tightly.

"take away!"

Liu Jie coldly shouted.

Shen Xin followed behind, watching Lai Yong and another colleague support Zhou Hui as he walked. Zhou Hui's legs were as weak as noodles, and he could only be dragged along.

This time, instead of going back to Qingyuan Town Police Station, I went directly to Songling Branch Bureau.

Seeing this, Zhou Hui in the car turned pale with panic and trembled, saying that he hadn't killed anyone.

No one ignored him.

Upon arriving at the Songling branch, after completing the formalities, they were taken directly to the interrogation room.

Because the case involved Linshui, Wei Wenbing was also present.

Liu Jie prepared to interrogate the suspect himself.

He led the investigation back then, and it became an unsolved case. Now it should end with him and come to a close.

Wei Wenbing is younger, not yet forty years old.

He didn't have the rough look that you'd expect from a seasoned criminal investigator; his skin wasn't dark, it was clean, and he even had a touch of refined elegance.

In the observation room, he also took the initiative to chat with Shen Xin for a few minutes.

I've heard of Shen Xin's name.

Seeing Shen Xin's puzzled expression, he smiled and said, "Didn't you come to Linshui to investigate a case last year? Old Liu from the Kangshan branch told us about that case. To be honest, it's really amazing that they were able to solve that case."

This likely refers to the Liu Laibin case, where Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei investigated Sun Min, the cleaning lady at the Linshui investigation company.

“I heard it from Director Liu this time too. As soon as you got involved in the case, you identified the suspect through the victim’s dog. That’s really impressive.”

Wei Wenbing smiled and gave Shen Xin a thumbs up.

In front of his superiors, Shen Xin always adhered to the principle of humility, repeatedly saying that it was an accident.

At this point, the interrogation inside began.

Zhou Hui still harbored a glimmer of hope, and immediately screamed that he was innocent and had not killed Han Xiaolong.

"Whether you killed Han Xiaolong or not is another matter. I'm asking you, what is your relationship with Yang Maocai?"

Liu Jie watched Zhou Hui's performance quietly, but his words were like sharp blades, making Zhou Hui tremble with fear.

He stammered as he spoke: "What... Yang Maocai, I... don't know him."

Liu Jie turned the computer screen towards Zhou Hui and played the surveillance video.

"On the 19th, take these things to Yang Maocai's house. Don't tell me this isn't you."

Zhou Hui's eyes widened.

He knew there was something wrong with the sudden installation of surveillance cameras in the village, and now it's confirmed that the police ordered their installation.

His eyes darted around frantically, then he said, "You mean him? He's from our village. I'll go see his parents, is that alright?"

This must have been the explanation he had prepared long ago.

Liu Jie shook his head and said, "Of course, no problem, but I'm curious, where were you on the night of August 26th, 2014?"

"It's been too long, you can't remember, right? That's okay, I'll give you time to think about it slowly."

The arrest warrant is stamped by the prosecutor's office, so once the arrest is approved, the chain of evidence is already complete.

Therefore, at this point, it would be meaningless for Zhou Hui to deny it.

In an instant, cold sweat broke out on Zhou Hui's forehead again, and he stammered, unable to speak coherently.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Liu Jie said, "How about I help you remember?"

"On August 11, 14, you paid the owner, Zhang Ping, a referral fee of 8 yuan at Nanlin Ruijie Auto Repair Shop, the repair shop where you regularly maintain your car at your company's flagship store."

"Using the excuse that he was afraid of being checked by the traffic police while hauling goods, he used his connections to find an intermediary and transferred a Wuling Sunshine minivan registered under Zhang Ping's name to Yan Pengfei's name."

"You paid the intermediary a kickback of three thousand yuan."

"Yan Pengfei died in March 2014, and his ID card was not cancelled. To meet the needs of some clients who only wanted to buy cars but not transfer ownership, the intermediaries repeatedly stole Yan Pengfei's identity information to conduct used car transactions."

Even now, this van has not been scrapped or deregistered and is still registered under the name of the elderly man who passed away four years ago.

"Most importantly, we found the car."

Liu Jie posted a photo of the van that had been salvaged.

Upon seeing the photo, Zhou Hui's face turned ashen.

Liu Jie continued, "On the 16th, the van was transferred to your name. Zhang Ping contacted you and asked you to drive the van away, but you didn't. You said you would leave it at the shop and come back to drive it when you needed it."

"On the 23rd, you withdrew 20,000 yuan in cash from the bank."

"On the afternoon of the 24th, you called Zhang Ping and said you would come over to drive the car that evening. He washed the car and left it at the shop."

“Around 8 p.m., you drove your Lexus to the store, left the car there, and drove off in your van under the pretext of maintenance.”

"Then tell me, why did this van appear on Zhangqing Highway three hours later and kill Yang Maocai?"

Fragments of the bumper were found at the accident scene, and after comparison, it was confirmed that they belonged to this van.

"Don't tell me this driver is someone else."

Liu Jie played the surveillance footage that had been saved from that time.

The surveillance cameras in Shedou Village captured the van.

The driver in the van was wearing a mask and a baseball cap, which were barely visible, and was wearing a blue and white striped polo shirt.

"According to Zhang Ping's statement, when you arrived at the repair shop that night, you were wearing a striped polo shirt and a baseball cap."

"You should at least change your clothes. Do you really think you can get away with not being traced just because you covered up your license plate?"

Zhou Hui shuddered violently and completely broke down.

"I..." He stammered for a long time, then wailed, "I didn't want to either, but he was asking for too much. He just kept asking me for money. What could I do but kill him?"

These words brought a sense of relief to everyone in the observation room, including Liu Jie himself.

The investigation has reached this point, and the truth is now out in the open.

Zhou Hui doesn't even need to admit to murdering Han Xiaolong; the mere fact that he premeditatedly ran over Yang Maocai is enough to sentence him to death.

Everyone in the observation room hugged and celebrated.

After Ding Junbao and Lai Yong high-fived, they came to Shen Xin.

"Xiao Shen, thank you!"

He immediately hugged Shen Xin.

Shen Xin deserves immense credit for solving the case by identifying Zhou Hui within a single day.

Moreover, this case is a thorn in Liu Jie's side.

What about him?
He was also involved in the investigation back then, so he was a thorn in his side.

Now that thorn has finally been removed.

Inside the interrogation room, Zhou Hui calmed down and began to slowly recount what had happened.

Because the two cases are related, he couldn't avoid mentioning Han Xiaolong, so he started by talking about the Han Xiaolong case.

Shen Xin listened silently.

The truth had already been deduced by everyone.

It was during that time that Zhou Hui and Mao Yanru got together.

Then Han Xiaolong felt protective of Mao Yanru and thought that these people had ill intentions.

That evening, Zhou Hui returned from dinner at his father-in-law's house and was cornered by Han Xiaolong at the scene of the crime.

The two got into an argument.

Zhou Hui didn't want to argue with a fool like Han Xiaolong, but Han Xiaolong wouldn't let it go and even threw stones at Zhou Hui.

At the same time, he kept saying he wanted the whole village to know about the relationship between Zhou Hui and Mao Yanru.

Zhou Hui panicked.

At that time, he was in debt from gambling and was being chased by creditors.

He knew in his heart that only Li Jing could help him pay off his debts.

So he picked up the stone that Han Xiaolong had thrown at him and hit Han Xiaolong on the head.

He said he was angry at the time and wanted to teach him a lesson, but he didn't expect that when he hit him, Han Xiaolong fell to the ground and didn't move.

And that dog, it even rushed over and tried to bite him, but he chased it away with a stone.

Only then did he panic and check Han Xiaolong's breath, only to find that he was not breathing.

In the end, they chose to dispose of the body.

Afterwards, Yang Maocai found him and said he saw him kill Han Xiaolong and even filmed it with his phone.

From that point on, they kept extorting him.

In total, Zhou Hui gave Yang Maocai 34 yuan.

He also searched Yang Maocai's house when Yang was not home, but he never found it.

He tested Yang Maocai many times, and even got him drunk on several occasions, searching through his phone in an attempt to find out where the videos were, but Yang Maocai always gave vague answers.

By 14, seeing that Yang Maocai was asking for more and more, he decided to take a drastic step and pretend that Yang Maocai did not have the video footage. That's when he planned to run Yang Maocai over and kill him.

The stone that was used as the murder weapon was thrown into the village's septic tank.

Upon hearing this, Ding Junbao and the others in the observation room immediately became uneasy.

Regardless of whether there are any traces of blood or anything else left on the stone, since it is the murder weapon and there is a possibility of finding it, we must find a way to do so.

So, going forward, we'll inevitably have to deal with cesspools.

Shen Xin looked at Wang Cheng with sympathy; he probably couldn't escape this situation.

The interrogation lasted for more than two hours.

As Zhou Hui signed and fingerprinted the document, Liu Jie, carrying the written record, walked out of the interrogation room, suppressing his inner excitement.

He has been a criminal investigator for so many years and has handled far too many cases.

But this case had been on his mind for six years, like a heavy stone weighing on his heart.

The moment he stepped out of the interrogation room, he felt a great sense of relief.

He felt he finally had the confidence to go to Luo Limei and tell her in person that whether she was a fool or not, she was the same to him—just an innocent life that had been killed.

(End of this chapter)