At three in the afternoon, three police cars slowly arrived at the Jiangfeng Village section of the Yangtze North Branch Dam.
A suspect in his thirties, wearing handcuffs and shackles, with the handcuffs and shackles linked by an iron chain, was escorted off the police car by three criminal police officers.
Han Yu and Xiao Yu saw the suspect for the first ti today, though they had heard about him more than once.
This guy being brought over to identify the site where he discarded the murder weapon is surnad Chen, nad Chen Xiaodong, and lives in Group 6 of Jiangfeng Village below the river embanknt.
He was a frequent visitor to the Four Factory Police Station, having been sent to a labor camp for two years for theft as early as his junior high school days.
After returning from labor camp, he was idle and began stealing again. He hadn’t been ho for three months before he was sentenced to three years for suspected theft.
A few days after getting out of prison, he shockingly raped a ntally challenged woman from his village, got reported by her husband, and was sentenced again for several years.
A month and a half ago, he set his eyes on an old man watching over a blocking net nearby.
In the dead of night, he snuck into a shack on the inner side of a hydrological gate to commit theft, only for the woken old man to discover him, turning theft into robbery and murder!
After the case happened, the criminal police squad and the Four Factory Police Station first thought of him. It’s said he confessed to the cri without reservation, except the key evidence of the murder weapon was missing.
Han Yu looked curiously at the suspect, signaling Wang Yan, who personally led the team bringing the suspect in, to quickly have the suspect identify where he discarded the murder weapon.
Xiao Yu went over quietly to observe, wanting to check for any injuries on the suspect to determine if Wang Yan and the other criminal police had used torture for confession and if the suspect was forced to confess.
Wang Yan didn’t know what Xiao Yu was looking for and straightforwardly assud Xiao Yu wanted a closer look at what a murderer looked like, as murderers were rare in Linghai.
"Stop dawdling, think carefully, where did you throw the dagger?" Wang Yan tightly gripped the suspect’s arm, pulling him forward.
"Seems to be over there."
"Where?"
"Over there, where there’s a plastic bag."
Fang Zhiqiang followed behind, listening clearly, instinctively glancing at Han Yu.
After pondering for a mont, Han Yu asked, "What ti at night did you throw the dagger?"
Fang Zhiqiang had studied the files repeatedly and said without hesitation, "He confessed it was around three in the morning."
"Around three in the morning..." Han Yu thought for a mont and asked again, "He stabbed soone to death with the dagger, didn’t he get blood on himself?"
"No." Fang Zhiqiang stopped in his tracks, looking at the suspect in front and said, "The cri happened right during the New Year, it was still very cold, and everyone was dressed quite thickly."
Xiao Yu ran back, puzzled, and asked, "Then how did you determine he was the murderer?"
"He confessed himself, and on the night of the incident, he indeed ca to the riverside. Forensic police extracted his footprints near the cri scene, and the shoe prints matched his shoes." Fang Zhiqiang paused and added, "Besides, we haven’t definitively determined he is the murderer; otherwise, we wouldn’t bring him to identify the scene or ask for your help."
"He confessed?"
"His attitude was very cooperative."
Just as they were speaking, Wang Yan also jogged back, taking out a cigarette and saying, "Salted Fish, he said he threw it here, and also said he heard the sound of the dagger hitting the water when he threw it down."
Before Han Yu could speak, Xiao Yu looked at the location the suspect identified and said, "Impossible."
"Impossible?"
"About a month and a half ago, around three in the morning, the tide hadn’t risen in this area, the spot he just identified wasn’t even underwater, how could he hear the sound of the dagger hitting the water!"
Seeing Fang Zhiqiang and Wang Yan both looking at him, Han Yu confird, "Discarding a weapon isn’t like throwing a grenade. Even if it was throwing a grenade, with the tidal level at that ti, this whole area was an exposed sandbar. He couldn’t possibly have thrown it that far, let alone heard the sound of the dagger hitting the water."
"Did you hear that, how could you not believe !" mumbled Xiao Yu.
"It’s not that we don’t believe you, it’s just... this situation is critically important."
"Shall we dredge?"
"You wait here, I’ll go ask him again."
"Hurry up."
Xiao Yu was still thinking about playing gas, feeling a bit impatient.
Han Yu, however, changed into rain boots and carefully trod down the gentle slope of the river embanknt to the muddy riverbank, startling a few little crabs away.
Xiao Yu hesitated for a mont, then went back to the car to slowly put on the "water clothes" Old Qian hadn’t worn in years, and followed Han Yu down the slope onto the riverbank.
"Xiao Yu, low tide doesn’t an there’s no water on the sandbar, part the reeds and see if there’s any pond or puddle."
"Got it."
A criminal police officer standing on the shore couldn’t help but shout, "President, we’ve searched this area, didn’t find anything."
"Got it, we’ll take another look." Han Yu internally disliked the title "President," but as old friends called him that, he just accepted it.
Xiao Yu stifled a laugh, parting the reeds to search carefully, and curiously asked, "Salted Fish Dry, Political Commissioner Jiang said you’re being transferred back to our division, is it true?"
"There’s not even a hint of it."
"How co not even a hint?"
"Director Zeng, Ma Guan, and Political Commissioner Zhou said people move up, and water flows down. Transferring back is possible, but only if the Changhang Police Bureau becos an administrative unit."
"Director Qi and Political Commissioner Jiang said that the Ministry of Transport Police has sent a report to the superior. Once it’s approved, we’ll all beco civil servants and, like the Local Police, we’ll be administrative police!"
"I hope so too, but whether the superior will approve it or not is still uncertain."
...
The two chatted as they walked, searching the muddy riverbank full of reeds for over an hour. Aside from collecting a pile of white trash, a few traps, and Xiao Yu catching two small crabs, they found nothing.
Back on the shore, Han Yu changed his shoes and said with certainty, "If the suspect didn’t rember incorrectly, the weapon was thrown here, then it definitely hasn’t been carried away by the river water."
"Could it be blocked by the reeds?" Fang Zhiqiang asked in a low voice.
"Yes, the reeds below are denser than they appear from above. We can’t even take proper steps down there."
Han Yu glanced back at the riverbank and added after thinking, "Also, a wave of silt cos in during high tide and goes out during low tide, twice a day, repeatedly. So it’s flatter below than we imagined. At least, Xiao Yu and I didn’t find any puddles or ponds in the area we just walked."
Afraid that the second senior brother wouldn’t understand, Xiao Yu emphasized, "If the suspect really threw the knife around three in the morning, they definitely wouldn’t hear it hitting the water."
"Understood, let’s go back and re-investigate."
Fang Zhiqiang went aside to call the bureau leaders to report.
Wang Yan watched Han Yu and Xiao Yu, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Han Yu could understand his feelings at this mont; a case that seed conclusively solved suddenly revealed doubts, which implied the previous investigation wasn’t thorough enough and perhaps all previous efforts were in vain for the investigating officers.
But it’s a murder case; the evidence must be conclusive.
Unable to help, Han Yu shoved his muddy rain boots into a woven bag intended for "water clothes," opened the trunk of the Changhang Bureau police car, and put the bag inside, then left with Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu glanced at the rearview mirror, holding the steering wheel, asked, "Salted Fish, if we can’t find the knife, will Wang Yan have to release that bastard?"
"That bastard has confessed, so releasing him is probably impossible."
"Can’t release him, can’t prosecute, just keep him detained like this?"
"There are many detained beyond the legal limit; so say the longest detention can last two to three years."
"That’s not what the training said, and it’s not what the criminal procedure law states either!"
"Presumption of innocence is easier said than done."
Han Yu looked back at the Linghai Police Bureau car that just caught up, and reluctantly said, "Chen Xiaodong has a notorious reputation and a rap sheet. No one knows better than you how people reacted when the case happened. Old Wang and the second senior brother are under great pressure, and Director Zhang and Old Shi are under even greater pressure."
The elderly guard at the dam was murdered, and when the nearby community heard it was Chen Xiaodong, they criticized the law enforcent and judicial departnts, questioning why such a nace was released from prison.
Xiao Yu, usually staying at Bailong Port and knowing more than Han Yu, couldn’t help but nod in agreent, "He can’t be released; if that bastard is let go, who knows what nas the police bureau will be called by the public? The victim’s family might even petition against the police bureau."
"Luckily, it’s not up to us, or our days wouldn’t be any easier."
Xiao Yu agreed so much and simply changed the subject, "Salted Fish, did the second senior brother say Niu Bin left at noon on the phone?"
"Yeah, went back to Shenzhen with his wife and kids."
"Good riddance, every ti I see him, I get annoyed!"
"Why are you annoyed?"
"Acts like a nouveau riche, sending gifts everywhere as soon as he returns, hosting als all the ti. Clearly a deserter, yet behaves like he’s glorified!"
Rembering what the master had said to Salted Fish, Xiao Yu confidently said, "He went to the sa technical secondary school as you, a police technical school. He was trained by the state, even got money for school, and then left after working for two years. Who does that?"
"He can’t run; the senior brother is in Shenzhen, where can he run to?"
"Are you saying the senior brother will figure out a way for him to put on the police uniform again?"
What kind of logic is this...
Niu Bin resigned back then, not suspended his pay or position.
Even if he had been on suspension, the superior wouldn’t have kept his position for so many years.
Han Yu didn’t want to explain, so he simply dismissed it, "The senior brother didn’t know he was in Shenzhen before, but now that he knows, he’ll surely watch out for him."
"What’s there to watch out for? He’s better off now than the senior brother, he’s the Boss, might as well be him watching out for the senior brother."
"The senior brother isn’t short on money, but still, when countryn et, there’s mutual care for each other."
As they spoke, the phone rang.
There were no landlines nearby, so Han Yu glanced at the caller display and had to answer with his cell phone.
"Director Shi, it’s Han Yu. What are the instructions?"
"You’re the President now, I wouldn’t dare instruct you." Shi Shengyong took a deep breath, then urgently asked, "Salted Fish, are you sure Chen Xiaodong threw the knife without hearing the splash?"
"I’m sure." Han Yu realized Wang Yan and Fang Zhiqiang had called to report to him and emphasized, "If you don’t believe it, I can ask the Yangtze River Commission Water Bureau to provide you with hydrological data from that ti."
"No need for such trouble, I’m just confirming." The case was half-baked, Shi Shengyong’s scalp tingling, tightly gripping the phone and asked again, "Are you sure the knife won’t be carried away by the river if thrown at the spot Chen Xiaodong pointed out?"
"I’m sure."
"I really don’t know what Wang Yan is thinking all day, failing to grasp such crucial information. Thank you for your hard work with Xiao Yu. I need to figure out what’s going on with this case, and I’ll invite you for a al later."
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