Owner of the Self-Built Villa
The police registration form for the scene listed two names.
Gu Zhiye wanted to meet them but learned that one had resigned and the other had died in a car accident.
Back in 2004, there weren’t so many auxiliary police; these two were both formally appointed officers, and by now they should have long been promoted.
It was strange that one resigned, and the other quit just three months after the incident.
Gu Zhiye found this suspicious and couldn’t help but ask, “Director Zhu, did the car accident happen in Yun’er? Has the culprit been found? Was there anything unusual about it?”
Director Zhu didn’t know what they were investigating.
He awkwardly said, “Sorry, Officer Gu, I hadn’t transferred here at the time. Let me try to find someone who knew these two. You can ask them.”
The director found a captain surnamed Gao to come over.
“These two entered the police station together and sometimes worked shifts as partners. He probably knows the situation better.”
Captain Gao was not very tall and spoke in a very high-pitched voice, but his voice was loud and commanding: “It was just a normal car accident on the highway. Xiao Li borrowed a friend’s car to go back home to visit family and then had the accident. The driver responsible kept helping with the investigation and even got the family’s forgiveness.”
Gu Zhiye asked again, “What about ‘吊B’ Zhou Hao? Why did he resign?”
“He said the salary was too low. His parents funded him to start a business. That’s his story, but some say he actually won a lottery jackpot, and the store’s startup capital was the prize money. Who knows? Anyway, once he resigned, all contact was cut off. Later when I tried to drink with him, he refused. Not just me, even those in the station who had good relations with him couldn’t reach him. We thought he was afraid we’d visit his shop and freeload, so naturally, he wouldn’t entertain us.”
“What kind of shop does he run? Where is it?”
Captain Gao shook his head helplessly, “I don’t know. Didn’t I say? He cut off contact with us long ago.”
Gu Zhiye thanked him and, with Director Zhu’s help, pulled Zhou Hao’s files from the squad.
It turned out Zhou Hao had also died.
His time of death was at the end of 2015!
Gu Zhiye had already suspected something was wrong, but now that both responding officers were dead, he was even more convinced of his suspicions.
Ji Jiang frowned deeply. “No way, two more homicides? This is getting more complicated. Officer Gu, I think we should bring Yu Song’s parents in for questioning first, to figure out what really happened back then.”
Song Wenya and Yu Daqiang were dumbfounded when taken to the Criminal Investigation Unit.
Yu Daqiang had a slightly better psychological constitution than Song Wenya and could remain calm, but careful observation revealed his hands were trembling slightly.
Although he had been arrested a few times before for drunken brawling, possession of contraband, and fighting, he had never been brought to the Criminal Investigation Unit.
He thought the homicide case he was carrying was discovered by the police but didn’t dare to ask.
He kept silent.
Song Wenya, who always acted tough outside and claimed to know both the underworld and the legitimate world, immediately broke down upon entering the Criminal Investigation Unit.
“Comrades, why are you arresting me? I haven’t broken any laws! Did my daughter say something to you? She’s just rebellious and came home late. She always wants to oppose me and her father. Everything she says is made up. I’m a completely law-abiding citizen.”
While Gu Zhiye was having someone keep an eye on Yu Song, he naturally also investigated her parents and found quite a few problems, though some didn’t require intervention yet.
Now that they were all here, Gu Zhiye straightforwardly laid out what they had uncovered.
“Song Wenya, what business did your son Lei Eight-Brother’s Lei Xinfa research?”
Song Wenya was terrified the moment he mentioned Lei Eight-Brother. “You already know everything?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Don’t you think we’d arrest you if we didn’t?” Gu Zhiye pointed at the large characters on the wall, “Confess and get leniency; resist and face severity. Song Wenya, you might as well admit it yourself.”
Song Wenya started crying, “I didn’t do much, just helped him a little—used my father’s medical insurance card to buy prescription drugs for him. It seems he hadn’t started yet, so this counts as attempted crime and shouldn’t mean jail time, right?”
“This little matter is none of my business. How much medicine can you buy with your father’s medical insurance card? You reported your father repeatedly just to cover for yourself. You claim to be Community Key Surveillance Personnel but still mingled with someone like Lei Eight-Brother and even began helping him operate. You actually have the nerve to say it’s only attempted crime?”
“I didn’t help him. I just met him a few times. Really, officer, you must believe me—I did have bad intentions, but I didn’t get to do anything yet.”
“Now, tell us about your husband’s incident during Christmas 2004—The Immortal Jump.”
Song Wenya turned pale.
She realized the police came for that case.
It seemed her daughter hadn’t been lying; that event did leave a deep shadow.
“At the time, it was Yu Daqiang—my husband—who forced me. We had no money left and were too lazy to work, so he came up with that idea. But he was late. I… I was violated…”
She spoke with great difficulty, clearly deeply traumatized and wanting to forget.
She bit her teeth and said, “The man wore a mask, but since he was so close, I could see his eyes clearly. How to describe it? Like a wild beast hunting prey. I felt he wanted to kill me. I cried out of fear. He strangled me with my coat sleeve, tightening slowly. I struggled wildly but couldn’t escape. Just when I was about to lose consciousness, Yu Daqiang arrived and scared him away. The man tried to run, but Yu Daqiang pulled off his coat. Still, he got away.”
Song Wenya sobbed as she spoke, then recounted how Yu Daqiang reported it to the police and how she learned the perpetrator was sentenced.
After finishing, she looked at Gu Zhiye doubtfully. “He wasn’t sentenced, was he? I felt back then that the man was brushing us off—no, he was trying to scare us so we wouldn’t bring it up again.”
Gu Zhiye said, “This case is still under investigation. Mrs. Song, please tell us about your encounter with the two.”
Song Wenya blushed, “It was just a messy party at a huge Self-Built Villa. The villa owner organized it. I was dancing, and he kept staring at me. I took the initiative to pull him. He didn’t resist, so I took him upstairs… no need to go into more details…”
Gu Zhiye was a seasoned interrogator, but having Yu Song’s mother before him, whom he considered a friend’s mother, hearing such things was still uncomfortable.
“What I want are the other details, like where exactly he was standing watching you, whether his body language was like a host or a guest. Did you notice him before? Did he come alone or with company? Did he speak to you or was he silent the entire time?”
“He didn’t say anything, and I couldn’t tell if he was a host or a guest. Officer, I really don’t remember many details. I’m not lying. You don’t know—my dad remarried my stepmother when I was little. Everyone else praises her, but only I know how she really treated me. I’ve learned to forget unhappy things since I was young. If you hadn’t brought this up, I would have long forgotten everything and wouldn’t remember any details.”
Gu Zhiye could tell Song Wenya’s words were half-truths, but she probably wasn’t lying about this.
Next door, Yu Daqiang endured two rounds of questioning before realizing they were asking about something from twenty years ago.
He relaxed and told the story in full detail, consistent with Song Wenya’s account.
Gu Zhiye left the interrogation room and saw Yu Song had come.
“How did you get in here?”
“Officer Huo brought me in. Didn’t you say before you wanted me involved in the whole investigation? Now you’ve arrested my parents, and the leads came from me, so of course I’m coming.”
Gu Zhiye helplessly said, “You know your parents are under investigation, yet you still want to be involved?”
“Exactly because they are my parents, and they play dumb in front of me, I brought them here to be questioned. Have you found anything?”
Ji Jiang pushed the door open, overhearing Yu Song’s words. He laughed heartily, “Little Yu, what do you mean ‘brought them here to be questioned’? What do you take this place for?”
Yu Song glared at him and replied firmly, “A place for seeking truth and upholding justice, isn’t it?”
Ji Jiang couldn’t argue with that and quickly hid his smile. “Of course it is. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this. You should go back now so your parents don’t feel awkward seeing you here.”
Yu Song didn’t think it was awkward at all. It was just right to let Yu Daqiang and Song Wenya see how she put justice above family ties, so they wouldn’t cause her trouble again.
“I’m not awkward. If anyone’s awkward, it’s you guys. Officer Gu, come on, what did you find out? Where was the party held back then?”
Gu Zhiye really did get the address. “I’ve already called to confirm. The place has been demolished. The homeowner was Ma Minghao, who works at the City Construction Bureau. I’m planning to go ask him.”
Yu Song immediately stood up. “I’m coming too!”
Ji Jiang was about to stop her, but Gu Zhiye said, “Let her go. I promised her before, when we were trying to save Xia Yuxin.”
He then turned to Yu Song solemnly, “But this is the last time.”
Yu Song shrugged indifferently. “Fine! Then let’s go.”
Now the wild cat’s tail was fully exposed. Even if the police weren’t watching, she could investigate herself.
Ma Minghao was deputy director of the Urban Construction Section at the City Construction Bureau, mainly responsible for landscaping and greenery.
Today was Wednesday. He was in his office in the morning. Gu Zhiye wasn’t sure how much this case related to him or whether he organized that party.
So it was inappropriate to go to his unit directly. Being a mid-level leader, getting a police visit would definitely cause trouble.
Gu Zhiye and Liu Jingjia waited with Yu Song at the gate of Ma Minghao’s residential community. When they saw his car, they immediately honked and rolled down the window to show their badges.
Yu Song noticed Ma Minghao was quite considerate, choosing a very tricky angle to reveal his badge. Aside from the people in the car, neither the gate security nor the pedestrians on the street could see it.
Ma Minghao stopped immediately and looked over. Gu Zhiye dialed the phone with one hand and gestured for him to answer with the other.
“Director Ma, we need to talk at your home. Please tell the gate security to let us in.”
Ma Minghao’s expression was very unpleasant.
Nobody would be happy being stopped by police at their own gate and then followed home.
But he cooperated fully and led the three inside.
Yu Song was very impressed with Gu Zhiye.
He could have called ahead or simply asked Ma Minghao to come to the Criminal Investigation Unit for questioning, but instead, he chose the most annoying way possible, giving Ma Minghao no chance to prepare.