Chapter 25 I Just Received News That Liang Xinhua Is Missing…

Chapter 25 I just received word that Liang Xinhua is missing...

Guan Xia ultimately didn't wait for the elevator maintenance to finish before heading home.

Although she had only run two laps, the sudden physical exertion left her hungry after just sitting for a while. Fortunately, she had brought her phone. She quickly found an eatery near the entrance of the residential complex to have breakfast, then took a short stroll around the area. Seeing people gradually heading back into the buildings, she guessed the maintenance was over and decided to return home.

But as soon as she entered the hallway, she was stunned. Two uniformed workers were busy, and a middle-aged woman who appeared to be from the property management stood nearby, looking at her phone while occasionally glancing at the workers.

Hearing footsteps, the woman looked up and casually said, "The elevator's broken, still under repair. It can't be used right now."

Guan Xia thought about climbing to the 9th floor but couldn't help asking, "How long until it's fixed?"

The woman didn't answer, but one of the busy repairmen spoke up, "It'll be this afternoon. The elevator door in your unit was kicked and deformed by some asshole, and the display screens on the second, third, and fourth floors were smashed. It might not even be fixed by this afternoon."

Hearing it would take that long, Guan Xia resigned herself to climbing the stairs, feeling a bit unlucky that her first day of determination had started so poorly. Was she just that unfortunate?

Breathing heavily, she made it to the fourth floor in one go. As she turned a corner, she saw an elderly aunt leaning against the handrail to rest, a large bag of vegetables left on the stairs.

Hearing footsteps, the aunt bent down to pick up the bag and moved over, turning to Guan Xia with a smile. "You go ahead. I need to rest a bit before continuing. Today really isn't my day. I rarely come to make my son some dumplings, and I run into elevator maintenance. I should've come yesterday."

Guan Xia didn't want to get involved, but seeing the elderly woman with graying hair, she thought for a moment and offered, "Which floor do you live on? Would you like me to help you carry it?"

The aunt wasn't surprised but declined with a smile. "No need. I'm not that old. I can manage the 9th floor. It's just that I participated in a square dancing competition a couple of days ago and overdid it a bit. My blood pressure's a little high, so I'm taking it slow. You really don't have to worry about me, young lady. Go on ahead. I'll be fine."

If she hadn't heard "9th floor," Guan Xia would have continued on her way. But realizing they were neighbors, she pressed her lips together and said, "What a coincidence, I live on the 9th floor too. Let me help you."

As Guan Xia reached for the bag, the aunt exclaimed with delight, "So you're the one living across from us! That's quite a coincidence! I heard the unit across sold last year, but I never saw anyone. I was just telling my son the other day, wondering what the new neighbor would be like. I didn't expect such a young girl."

Guan Xia still wasn't used to such enthusiasm and wasn't comfortable with small talk, so she just smiled awkwardly.

The aunt didn't refuse Guan Xia's help this time but lifted the other side of the bag. "Let's carry it together. It'll be easier on our hands. By the way, young lady, my son is a police officer, a detective. He's so busy he often doesn't come home until midnight. If he makes noise at night, please understand. I'll remind him to keep it down."

"A detective?" Guan Xia was a bit surprised but nodded understandingly. "Police officers are indeed busy, especially detectives. It's fine, ma'am. The walls in this residential complex are pretty thick, and I go to bed early. It won't bother me."

"Going to bed early is good," the aunt said, seeming to find Guan Xia easy to talk to, her attitude growing even friendlier. "Early to bed and early to rise is better than eating all the good food in the world."

Chatting as they climbed, they soon reached the 9th floor. Guan Xia politely said goodbye and quickly entered her apartment.

After changing into comfortable loungewear, Guan Xia headed straight to her study to begin her day of learning.

...

Compared to the heavy atmosphere of the past few days, the mood in the Second Squad's office was more cheerful today, filled with the joy of finally getting close to a suspect.

A group of people sat around the conference table as Jiang Yingyao quickly put up several photos onto the whiteboard.

"The identities of the victims in the 1129 and 725 cases have been confirmed," Jiang Yingyao pointed to two photos with a laser pointer. "The victim in the 1129 case is named Tian Shaohui, male, 42 years old. He went missing on the evening of November 27, 2017. He had a history of long-term domestic violence against his wife, but there are no police reports or hospital records. The victim in the 725 case is Tan Yongfu, male, 37 years old. He went missing in the early hours of July 21, 2020. He also had a history of long-term domestic violence against his wife, with no police reports or hospital records."

After briefly introducing the victims' identities, Jiang Yingyao put down the laser pointer and continued, "After confirming the victims' identities, we conducted visits and investigations into their interpersonal relationships, residential complexes, and workplaces. We learned that Tian Shaohui was a hazardous materials transport driver. Besides his long-term domestic violence, he also had a history of visiting prostitutes. Our investigation revealed that he went missing after leaving a hotel around 11 p.m. on November 27, 2017, after visiting a prostitute. Surveillance footage shows he left the hotel and got into a silver-gray car with license plate QH993 at the hotel entrance. The car passed through Wanshou Street, Qingnian Road, Xinfeng Road, and Huancheng Road before finally turning onto Xinmin Avenue. There's footage of it entering Xinmin Avenue but none of it exiting."

"Xinmin Avenue?" Qi Bai glanced at Xu Nian. "That name sounds familiar. Isn't that the road near Captain Xu's complex? It's newly built and very wide. I went there twice with two auxiliary police officers as Brother Jiang suggested. No matter which of the four villages you start from, you can reach that small commercial area within an hour and a half. So, Tian Shaohui's disappearance and murder likely happened nearby?"

Everyone else looked at Xu Nian.

Xu Nian looked at Jiang Yingyao and asked, "A silver-gray car, another prostitute? Did the surveillance capture the driver's face?"

Jiang Yingyao shook his head. "No. The driver wore a hat and mask the entire time. But based on their build and hairstyle, it appears to be a woman."

"A woman?" Qi Bai was surprised. "Well, I'll be damned. This is a team effort then."

Wang Yu had a different opinion. "It might not be a woman. The silver-gray car is likely the same one we found earlier. The forensics team only found a small amount of synthetic fibers, likely from a wig, in the driver's seat. No fingerprints were found, meaning the driver must have been wearing gloves that night. It's difficult for a woman to pass for a man, but a man passing for a woman in the dark is easily mistaken. Of course, it's still possible it was a woman."

Everyone looked at the surveillance photo facing the driver's seat. Sitting down, it was impossible to determine height, but the driver appeared overweight. The outline of their chest was visible due to the seatbelt, and long hair hung over their shoulders, making them look like a woman. However, remembering the synthetic wig fibers the forensics team found after thoroughly searching the car, they weren't so sure.

"Continue," Xu Nian interrupted everyone's thoughts.

Jiang Yingyao went on, "The victim in the 725 case, Tan Yongfu, was unemployed. He used to be self-employed, running a small restaurant with his wife. But later, under the influence of his fellow villager Tan Jianhong, he developed a gambling addiction and lost all his savings, including the small restaurant. He went missing after leaving an underground gambling operation in the early hours of the day with Tan Jianhong. The gambling den is located in Fengshou Village, about four kilometers from Xinmin Avenue."

"Wow, Xinmin Avenue again," Qi Bai said with certainty. "It seems the suspect is hiding in one of the four villages near Xinmin Avenue. Can we set up a stakeout today?"

Qi Bai looked expectantly at Xu Nian.

Xu Nian didn't speak but pondered for a few seconds before reaching out to Wang Yu. "Give me the map."

Wang Yu quickly handed over the map tucked in her notebook.

Xu Nian spread it out, talking to himself as he circled areas with a red pen. "Tian Shaohui, Yushui Bay residential complex. Tan Yongfu, Lijing Complex. Pang Zhiye, Pang Wenze, Fangcao Garden Complex."

Staring at the three closely clustered red circles, Xu Nian asked, "Have we obtained the detailed resident lists for the four villages?"

Wang Yu replied, "Yes." She flipped through a thick stack of forms, occasionally pulling out a few and setting them aside.

Qi Bai grew impatient and quickly snatched half the stack, also flipping through it. Soon, they had compiled the personnel details of those who worked in the small commercial area where the four victims lived or had fixed cooperative relationships with supermarkets and markets there for vegetable transport.

"Also, also," Wang Yu handed over a few more forms. "These are also included. There are also details of those with fixed stalls in nearby markets or who sell at their own stalls."

Xu Nian quickly looked through them. Although the scope had been significantly narrowed, there were still dozens of people roughly counted.

But narrowed down to this extent, a stakeout could be set up.

Xu Nian's face, tense for several days, finally showed a hint of a smile. "The perpetrator has the ability to dismember bodies, so they must be relatively young, physically capable, no disabilities, and certainly have a separate, reasonably large residence. Given that we only found limbs, some internal organs, and pelvic bones, the residence is likely not only away from densely populated areas but also has a place to bury the remains, perhaps a yard or nearby wasteland or woods."

Wang Yu suddenly asked, "Is it possible the perpetrator buried the remaining body parts directly in a greenhouse?"

Before Xu Nian could answer, Jiang Yingyao explained, "Typically, those who plant in greenhouses build a small shed nearby for guarding, to prevent damage to the greenhouse film or poisoning. Those sheds are very small and completely unsuitable for dismemberment. If the dismemberment happened at their own residence, and they had the ability to dispose of the bodies, they wouldn't risk moving the remaining parts to bury them in a greenhouse hundreds of meters or even kilometers away."

Wang Yu thoughtfully said, "Oh, so it's the so-called 'dump far away, bury close by.'"

Seeing Jiang Yingyao had finished explaining, Xu Nian continued, "The perpetrator found such suitable opportunities to successfully abduct the four victims, likely after observing them for a long time. The victims didn't raise suspicion during this prolonged observation, meaning the perpetrator must have had a plausible reason to be around them. Merely cooperating with supermarkets and markets for vegetable transport probably wasn't enough time. That leaves only those with fixed stalls or who sell at their own stalls."

Xu Nian paused, then added another point, "The perpetrator probably doesn't live alone. They might not have children, but they are certainly married."

Qi Bai asked full of doubt, "Why, Captain Xu? Wouldn't living alone make dismemberment easier? Why must the perpetrator be married?"

This time, Jiang Yingyao patiently explained without Xu Nian needing to speak, "Because in rural areas, single people attract more attention from villagers compared to those who are married. The perpetrator managed to kill four people without being discovered. Just being in a relationship wouldn't be enough; they must be married."

Qi Bai and Wang Yu both nodded with sudden understanding.

Xu Nian put down the few forms in his hand. "Now that the conditions for a stakeout are clear, let's get moving."

As soon as Xu Nian finished speaking, Jiang Yingyao suddenly said, "Wait, Captain Xu. I have one more important detail to report."

With the dawn of catching the suspect so close, Xu Nian was in a good mood. He sat back down and looked at Jiang Yingyao. "Go ahead, Brother Jiang."

Jiang Yingyao tapped his finger on Tian Shaohui's photo. "While investigating his interpersonal relationships, we discovered a special circumstance. Tian Shaohui's wife, Ye Lan, got remarried in February 2023. Her second husband is named Liang Xinhua, 53 years old. He divorced his first wife in 2022 due to relationship breakdown. But I looked into it. Although Liang Xinhua has no history of domestic violence, he did have a physical altercation with his ex-wife, resulting in her broken bones and him getting cut and hospitalized."

Xu Nian understood Jiang Yingyao's implication. "You suspect that although Liang Xinhua has no domestic violence history, he has a potential for violence and could likely become the perpetrator's next target?"

Jiang Yingyao hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Although there have been no domestic violence reports since Liang Xinhua remarried Ye Lan, I had someone check with the community director of their residential area. Last year was relatively calm, but since the beginning of this year, Liang Xinhua and Ye Lan have had several arguments, and it even gotten physical. So far, it has been limited to slapping, but if the killer's really been scoping out the area for a long time, targeting potential victims, someone in Liang's position—remarried to a previous victim's family member—could easily become a target."

Xu Nian frowned. "That is indeed a strong possibility. Did you put someone on him?"

Jiang Yingyao nodded. "Given the limited manpower, I only assigned two people—one regular police officer and one auxiliary officer."

Just as Xu Nian was about to speak, Jiang Yingyao's phone suddenly rang. After answering, his expression changed drastically after hearing just one sentence.

Xu Nian’s heart sank instantly. Sure enough, after hanging up, Jiang Yingyao said with a grave expression, "I just received word—Liang Xinhua has gone missing."