You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 206 The Witness!
February 3rd, the fifth day of the first lunar month.

Early in the morning, as soon as the people of Anan City went out, they saw that the streets were full of police officers on patrol and security guards wearing armbands.

The atmosphere was most intense among the residents, especially on the streets of the northern part of the city.

Police officers on patrol, armed with rakes and hoes, searched for something in the stinking ditches along the streets, the ditches in the Yanzi River, and the manholes on every street.

The street security team was also knocking on doors to ask if anyone was not home yesterday, or if anyone had been missing.

Residents living next to the teachers' college immediately recalled what the police had been searching in the sports park yesterday afternoon.

Without a doubt, someone is dead.

Finally, the police would earnestly advise: "Be careful when you go out these next few days. Don't go out alone after dark."

At eight o'clock in the morning, Yang Jinwen stood with the cat at the southeast entrance of the sports park.

He Jinbo took Cai Ting to the suburban prison early in the morning to check on recently released ex-convicts.

Yao Weihua and Qi Bin went to find some underworld figures to investigate the situation and see if they could find any suspicious people.

The weather was still very cold, but it hadn't snowed, and the ground was covered with dirty snow.

Yang Jinwen looked around the park and remained silent.

Maozi asked, "Captain Yang, is it really as serious as you say? Are these thugs still killing people randomly?"

Cat couldn't sleep well all night. She thought about calling her sister, but then she remembered that her sister was still in their rural hometown, which was at least safer than the city.

Yang Jinwen said, "There are at least three murderers."

"How did you get it?"

"The more people there are, the bolder they become, and they may have even been drinking."

"why?"

Have you ever seen a case of rape committed in the dead of winter?

"That's true. People get bolder after drinking, and their bodies get hot, which makes them more capable of doing things like that."

Yang Jinwen pointed to the bench next to the first crime scene and said, "The two victims were probably sitting on the bench when they were seen by the murderers who were passing by."

A struggle ensued, during which the assailant harassed the female victim. Then, the male victim was stabbed twice and collapsed in the bushes.

Immediately afterwards, the female victim was dragged into the public restroom. The perpetrator pried open the door of the women's restroom, dragged her inside, and assaulted her.

Afterwards, the murderer cruelly chopped off her head and mutilated the female victim's body, removing her clothes and taking them away.

Immediately afterwards, several assailants came out and decapitated the male victim as well.

Cat took a breath. He'd been a police officer for almost a year, and his mind was keeping up.

"If that's the case, how do you explain the fact that the murderer carried the murder weapon with him?"

Yang Jinwen nodded: "This is what Lao Yao was talking about, why he committed the crime with a prior criminal record."

Ordinary people generally don't carry these things with them, unless they're involved in organized crime or have a criminal record.

Cat's mind raced back to the crime scene, and he couldn't help but shudder.

"These guys are fucking animals."

Yang Jinwen said, "Let's go, let's go take a look at the faculty and staff dormitory next door."

The teachers' college has a large campus and is an undergraduate institution in An'nan City.

At this time, the school is on winter break, and only a few faculty and staff members are on campus.

Before Yang Jinwen and his group arrived, they had already informed the school.

The head of the security department led a group of people to greet them; the other person shared the same surname as Yang Jinwen.

"Captain Yang, because it's during the holiday, there are about ten people staying in the dormitory. They are all faculty and staff members whose hometowns are in other places."

"Take us there."

"Okay, please follow me."

Behind the dormitory building is a mountain. Go up the stairs on the left to the second floor, and you can see the badminton courts in the sports park.

Once you reach the third floor, you can see the entire sports park.

"How many people live on the third to fifth floors?"

"Six, four men and two women."

"Call them all here."

"Okay." Section Chief Yang led his men to knock on the door.

Yang Jinwen and Maozi stood on the circular balcony, overlooking the sports park.

Whether it's the southeast entrance of the park, the location where the male victim was murdered, or the entrance to the public restroom, everything is clearly visible.

If someone had just glanced out from their balcony between 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM the day before yesterday, they would have been able to see what was happening below.

Before long, the person was brought over.

All six of them are teachers, and they are all very young.

The older people all have families and households, so it's unlikely they'd be staying in the dormitory for the Lunar New Year.

Yesterday, hundreds of police officers were searching the sports park all day, shoveling snow and emptying latrines. They all knew what had happened.

"The day before yesterday afternoon, between 4:30 and 6:30, were any of you in my position looking down?"

Section Chief Yang added, "Everyone knows what happened in the park, so don't have any doubts, just say what you think."

One of the male teachers, who was wearing glasses, spoke up: "I saw it."

Yang Jinwen asked, "Which floor do you live on?"

"Fourth floor."

"What did you see?"

"A man and a woman were watching the snow in the park."

What time is it?

"Around four o'clock, I went downstairs to the library and happened to see these two people."

Yang Jinwen took out his notebook and pointed to the park below: "Where was it located back then?"

The other person pointed downwards: "To the side of the basketball court."

What were they doing at the time?

"Let's chat as we walk."

"Can you estimate their height?"

The other person shook their head: "I only glanced at it, I can't guess."

What clothes were they wearing?

"The man was wearing a black overcoat, and the woman was wearing a red overcoat that went past her knees." "Which direction were they walking in?"

"Towards the badminton court."

"Besides them, who else did you see?"

"And there were a few kids playing in the snow on the basketball court."

"What about the ping-pong tables and badminton courts? Is anyone there?"

"no one."

"These two people are wearing black overcoats and red knee-length coats. What other distinguishing features do they have?"

"I can't remember, I just glanced at it."

How much taller are men than women?

How should I put it?

Yang Jinwen thought for a moment and said, "Look, there are more than a dozen of us here. Which two people best fit the height difference between the men and women?"

The other person pointed to a female teacher: "Teacher Wang and this comrade are about the same height as that man and woman."

The cat pointed to itself, and the other person nodded.

Then, the cat walked up to the female teacher, and the top of the female teacher's head was right next to the cat's ear.

Yang Jinwen nodded: "Okay, I understand."

Then he asked, "What about the others? Did they see what happened in the park the day before yesterday afternoon?"

The female teacher pursed her lips, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Yang Jinwen looked at her: "Teacher Wang, did you see something?"

The female teacher nodded: "I also saw the children playing in the snow on the basketball court."

"What time did you see it?"

"Just past six o'clock."

This immediately reduced the time by half an hour.

How many children?

"Four children."

At this point, the others started discussing it.

Someone said, "Whenever it snows, those kids go to the basketball court to play in the snow. I saw them there on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year."

Yang Jinwen asked, "How old is the child?"

"Around ten years old, probably around the age of starting elementary school."

"Do you live around here?"

"A child this young shouldn't run too far."

Yang Jinwen looked at the female teacher: "Teacher Wang, at six o'clock the day before yesterday, besides those four children, did you see anyone else?"

The other person shook their head: "No."

Yang Jinwen recalled that none of the children showed up all day yesterday.

This morning, he and Maozi went to the park, but they didn't see any children.

There's no doubt these kids saw something!

Yang Jinwen put away his notebook and thanked the head of security and the teachers.

He and Maozi called Zheng Kang as they went downstairs.

Right now, only Zheng Kang has the manpower available.

Upon receiving the call and learning about the clues Yang Jinwen had uncovered, Zheng Kang immediately dispatched Xu Guoliang to find the public toilet attendant.

There are two people who collect fees at the public toilet. They took turns on duty during the Spring Festival, so they must have seen these children.

After asking around, Xu Guoliang and his team finally found a child's place to stay at 2 p.m.

The child's name is Zhang Xiaodong, and he lives in the alley opposite the sports park.

When Yang Jinwen and Maozi arrived, Xu Guoliang immediately came out of the alley to greet them.

"Jinwen".

"Uncle Xu, how is the situation?"

Xu Guoliang nodded: "This child is eleven years old. He must have witnessed the murder scene. He has a high fever and is resting in bed."

I asked a few questions, and the child just said, "Murder, murder," and didn't say anything else.

Yang Jinwen nodded and followed Xu Guoliang deeper into the alley.

There were about ten people gathered in front of Zhang Xiaodong's house, most of them relatives.

Xu Guoliang explained, "This is Captain Yang from our municipal bureau. He's here to inquire about the situation."

The child's father said, "Xiao Dong has a high fever right now, can we wait until he's better before asking?"

Yang Jinwen asked, "When did he develop a high fever?"

"I came back the night before last, didn't eat dinner, and just crawled into bed, my whole body was trembling."

"Has he said anything to his family?"

"Just say it was murder."

Why didn't you call the police?

"I thought he was talking nonsense."

"Where are people?"

"The child is still sick, could you please..."

Xu Guoliang interrupted him: "No, you should know what happened in the park across the street."

The child's father sighed, "Fine."

Yang Jinwen followed him into the bedroom.

A light bulb hangs from the ceiling, and a wooden bed sits against the wall.

Zhang Xiaodong, wrapped in a blanket, lay shivering in bed.

Yang Jinwen walked to the bedside and saw that only his eyes were visible; his face was pale and weak.

Yang Jinwen said softly, "Xiao Dong, don't be afraid. I'm from the Public Security Bureau. I'm here to arrest bad guys. Tell me, what did you see in the park the day before yesterday afternoon?"

(End of this chapter)