Chapter 147: Chapter 71: Expand the Scope of Investigation (Requesting Subscriptions, Favorites, and Monthly Tickets)_2
"Let’s go inside quickly; the meal is just ready. We can eat and chat at the same time. By the way, where are the rest of the officers? Let them join us for a bite too..."
"No need to trouble yourself. I just have a few simple questions, and I’ll head back to the county to eat later."
"It’s no trouble at all. You all are working for the people; we can’t let you work on an empty stomach."
As Yang Tianfu spoke, he tried to forcibly drag Luo Fei towards the dining table. Luo Fei exerted a lot of effort to dissuade him from the idea.
Then the two of them sat down by the table next to the tea table.
"Village Chief Yang, may I ask when Yang Dawei’s wife went missing?" Luo Fei asked directly, without beating around the bush.
"It’s been about four or five years now. Comrade, why are you asking this?"
"Oh, I just went to see Yang Dawei today to understand the situation, and he asked me to help find his wife. So I wanted to know more, in case I can help."
Luo Fei answered flawlessly, successfully leading Yang Tianfu to believe him.
Yang Tianfu’s old face immediately showed a disapproving expression, "Comrade, I know you mean well, but I advise you not to help him. His wife fleeing was actually lucky for her. If you bring her back, you’d just be harming her."
"Why do you say that?"
"You don’t know this, but Yang Dawei has been lazy and fond of gambling since he was young, driving his parents to their graves. Later, he finally found a virtuous wife, but he wasn’t satisfied, constantly beating her almost to death. For seven or eight years of marriage, her body was almost always covered in bruises, without a single day of peace."
"Is it that serious? Didn’t her family intervene?" Luo Fei was a bit shocked.
"If she had family support, she wouldn’t have married someone like Yang Dawei."
"And what about the villagers? Did they just watch her get beaten? And didn’t she report it to the police?"
"When Yang Dawei went crazy, he threatened to kill everyone. How could she have the courage to report it? Some villagers couldn’t stand it and reported to the police secretly. I, along with the local police station, mediated a few times, but Yang Dawei was a rascal. He promised well in front of us, but as soon as we left, he beat her even more fiercely and also vandalized the houses of neighbors who reported him. After a few incidents like that, nobody dared to intervene in their family affairs."
"So that’s how it is."
"Later, maybe due to the severe beatings, his wife secretly ran away in the middle of the night about five years ago. It wasn’t until noon the next day that Yang Dawei realized she was gone. He ran around the village, asking if anyone had seen his wife, and went to the police station to make a scene, demanding they arrest her. The police scolded him, and he stopped causing trouble."
"Did he ever try looking for his wife again?"
"Of course, he did. For a while, he made a din in the village every day, saying that if he found out who had taken his wife away, he would chop them up. But as time passed, he stopped making a fuss and forbade anyone from mentioning the matter. If someone brought it up, he would lose his temper."
"Okay, I understand."
Luo Fei quickly jotted down the information provided by Yang Tianfu in his notebook before standing up, "Thank you, Village Chief Yang. I won’t disturb you for your meal any further. I’ll be leaving now."
"Comrade, are you sure you don’t want to eat something?"
"Really, there’s no need."
After another round of pulling and tugging, Luo Fei finally managed to leave his house.
When he got back to the police car, Sun Jun and the others had also returned.
As soon as he got in, Sun Jun excitedly asked, "Leader, did you find anything new when you went to see the village chief?"
"No, I just asked some other questions. How about your side?"
"We didn’t find anything either."
"Alright, let’s head back and report the situation here to Captain Zhao."
"Okay."
At 7:45, they finally parked the car in the open area next to the police station building.
Teams One and Two had just returned as well, so Zhao Donglai called everyone to the criminal police team’s meeting room to hear their reports.
After a knock at the door, Luo Fei and the others went inside.
Inside the meeting room, Zhao Donglai, who had been frowning, immediately looked hopeful upon seeing him. "Luo Fei, you’re back. How did it go? Have you discovered anything?"
"Today, we visited all eligible households in Yang Family Village, but we didn’t find anything."
Luo Fei said, then looked at Yang Su and Zhang Fan, "Team Leader, Team Leader Zhang, how about you guys?"
Yang Su smiled wryly, "Don’t ask, it’s the same as you guys."
Zhang Fan didn’t say anything, just looked pale as he helplessly spread his hands.
"Well, it seems like tomorrow we’ll just continue to expand our search range and visit the villages around Wenshui Town." Luo Fei said, then remembered something and turned to Yang Mei, "By the way, have we confirmed the identity of the deceased?"
"It has been found. The deceased is Xu Mingqing, male, eighteen years old, from Xu Family Town in Wenshui Town, Ningjiang County. He dropped out of junior high school and has been staying at home since."
This was probably the only good news so far. Everyone felt a bit rejuvenated upon hearing it.
Zhang Fan even said, "Team Leader Yang, why didn’t you say such big news earlier?"
Even if it’s just confirming the deceased’s identity, at least they now have a direction for the investigation and no longer need to search aimlessly.
Yang Mei explained, "We just found out. We aren’t completely sure yet, but Xu Mingqing’s family has been notified to come for identification, and they should arrive within half an hour at the latest."
"That’s good. Once we confirm the deceased’s identity, we won’t be like headless chickens anymore."
"Good, then let’s assume the deceased is Xu Mingqing and continue discussing the next steps." Zhao Donglai said.
"Captain Zhao, if we’re sure of the deceased’s identity, we should start by reviewing the people he interacted with before his death and retrieve his call and chat records to determine if a familiar person committed the crime."
Yang Su was the first to speak.
Zhao Donglai nodded repeatedly, "And what else?"
"Additionally, we should also investigate and visit the places the deceased frequented to prevent the situation where he didn’t know the perpetrator, but the crime was premeditated." Zhang Fan followed up.
"Hmm, you’ve considered it quite thoroughly." Zhao Donglai agreed with his suggestion and then looked at Luo Fei, signaling him to share his thoughts.
"Captain Zhao, my thoughts align closely with the team leaders; beginning with the deceased indeed helps avoid many detours. However, to be thorough, I think we should continue visiting Wenshui Town."
"Alright, then do as you said. Yang Su, your team will focus on sorting out the deceased’s previous interpersonal relationships. Zhang Fan’s team will focus on tracing the deceased’s activities, and Luo Fei, you will continue to cover Wenshui Town."
"Understood, Captain Zhao."
After the three agreed, Zhao Donglai said, "Alright, then everyone is dismissed. You’ve all had a long day, so go home and rest up for tomorrow morning!"
"Understood, Captain Zhao!"
Upon hearing they could leave, everyone became energized, quickly packing up and heading out.
Luo Fei took a step forward to stop Zhao Donglai, "Captain Zhao, I have something else I’d like to report."
"Let’s go to my office to discuss."
Zhao Donglai led Luo Fei back to his office, "Luo Fei, what do you have to say?"
"Captain Zhao, it’s like this. Today I found a somewhat suspicious villager during my visits."
At this, Zhao Donglai instinctively thought Luo Fei had found something but didn’t want to share the credit with Teams One and Two, so he was reporting to him alone. But upon further reflection, he knew Luo Fei wasn’t that kind of person.
Thus, Luo Fei must have a compelling reason for doing this.
Zhao Donglai’s expression gradually grew serious, "What do you mean? Which villager is suspicious?"
"Captain Zhao, today in Yang Family Village, I ran into a villager whose wife had run away, Yang Dawei. When I was questioning him, although he maintained composure the entire time, he became briefly tense and uneasy when I asked about his wife. I also spoke with the village chief about him; every time he beat his wife, it was almost to death."
"My instincts strongly suggest that Yang Dawei might have killed in a crime of passion and then hidden the body, creating the illusion of his wife running away to evade responsibility."