Mr. Zhao didn’t dare waste words and hurriedly said:
"I figured it was an accident car, the kind that’s scrapped, but then patched up by chanics who assemble it piece by piece. Such cars generally don’t hit the road; they’re just used for chanics to practice on since not everyone can get their hands on such parts."
Seeing Zhou Ning staring at himself, without continuing, apparently hoping to hear a more detailed analysis, Mr. Zhao gritted his teeth and said:
"Alright, I’ll tell the truth, okay? Stop looking at like that. To be able to cobble together a car and find decent parts, I think it must be one of those local transport departnt-approved vehicle scrapping companies. How they operate, I don’t need to spell out, do I?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"The interrogation is over. You talk to Mrs. Fei about the situation. If the vehicle information can’t be found, indeed, this is a direction we can work from. Mr. Qu, you look into the surveillance, see if you can track it."
Mr. Qu got busy while Zhou Ning watched the next room, where a young man had already been brought in, sitting in a chair and looking extrely nervous. Without guessing, it was evident that this was Tang Jianghai.
Even seated, one could perceive Tang Jianghai’s height—he must have been at least 188 cm tall, with size 46 shoes at the very least. He wasn’t skinny, and his face was rough with pitted acne scars.
Liu Yufei had just asked a question, and Tang Jianghai was nervously twisting his fingers, continuously cracking the joints of his right hand, which stopped only when Liu Yufei looked over.
"Can’t rember, or don’t want to say?"
Tang Jianghai waved his hands and hurriedly said in a thick Xinghua accent:
"No, I’m just a bit nervous. The police station had already asked about the incident. I explained it clearly at the ti; I don’t know why I have to repeat it. I can’t rember after all this ti?"
Liu Yufei slowly raised her eyes, sweeping a glance at Tang Jianghai, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Can’t rember because it’s been so long? I just heard from your coach that you and He Jiahong co from the sa village, right?"
"Yeah, both our families are from Jinping Town Shuaijia Village, but my dad bought a house in the city, so we moved there three years ago. We only go back during the holidays to catch up. I’m currently in high school and spend the winter and sumr breaks training, so I haven’t been back either."
"You and He Jiahong knew each other since you were kids?"
Tang Jianghai nodded.
"Sort of. I started school a year earlier than her. When I went to the city for junior high, I couldn’t keep up or understand, so I repeated a year. We were classmates in junior high, she was a good student and got recruited by No.5 Middle School as a free student. My grades were terrible; I couldn’t have gotten into No.5 Middle School without paying."
Zhou Ning, with his arms crossed, sensed the emotions hidden within Tang Jianghai’s words. Tang Jianghai’s family was better off than He Jiahong’s. They were just from the sa village. During three years of junior high and high school, one was a good student with excellent grades, and the other poor at academics, relegated to the bottom of the class and required to pay his way through.
Liu Yufei nodded.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
Tang Jianghai was taken aback by the abrupt question, and with a puzzled look, he shook his head hesitantly.
"No, I used to like a senior, but she went off to university."
"How about He Jiahong? Does she have a boyfriend?"
Tang Jianghai shook his head and said, with a wry twist of his mouth:
"I’m not sure, but she got quite a few love letters. Stuff from her backpack would often fall out during our training sessions, and she’d read them out loud with us in her carefree way. Although she’s pretty, she’s tomboyish. I figure she probably doesn’t have anyone."
Liu Yufei rotated her notebook to show the image displayed on it, with a photo of Jin Si Gourt Night Snack Shop’s front, a black sedan’s spot, and Tang Jianghai’s motorcycle, all visible.
"Tell , whose car did He Jiahong get into? Why did you chase after her in such a hurry?"
Tang Jianghai beca anxious.
"How should I know whose car it was? I just saw a guy whistling, and He Jiahong went over. I called out to her, but she didn’t turn back. She had quite a few drinks that evening and was just standing there to sober up, or she’d sure get scolded when she got ho.
I was drinking at the second round with friends, and she insisted on coming along. If anything happened to her, either I’d be responsible or it would be because I was scared. That’s why, when I saw her get into that black car without looking back, I took off after it.
That night, actually, I wanted to leave my motorcycle at my friend’s and take a taxi ho, but with her causing such a fuss, it sobered up. Before I could make the turn on Jinping Avenue, I got blocked by a big vehicle and had to slow down. But then I spotted He Jiahong getting out of the car.
She didn’t go with that black car, so I quickly took her back to school. At the mont, I just acted on impulse, dragging her back to the dormitory. It only then hit that she was renting a place in the Salt Industry Residential District just across the street. I asked her if she was sober; she said she was awake and wanted to go ho to sleep."
"Seeing her talking normally, I confird once more, and then she left. I really can’t rember the exact ti," Tang Jianghai said, growing more and more agitated. "Don’t threaten about drunk driving either. I know the law; this is called a ’reasonable attempt to avoid harm’. I was afraid my classmate might be abducted and in danger, so I went to help her."
As for what happened after that, I wouldn’t know, I just rember I wanted to call Mr. Wang to tell him we all got back safely, and that he shouldn’t worry, then I went back to sleep.
Who knew that when I woke up early in the morning and went to the classroom, I didn’t see He Jiahong, and after class at around nine, the teacher ca in flustered and called for , saying that He Jiahong had died, and her father had reported it to the police, but after the investigation, the police said it was suicide and they questioned about it."
Fang Mu leaned in and asked:
"Who interrogated you?"
Tang Jianghai shook his head and pointed at Liu Yufei.
"How would I know who that police officer was? He was dressed sowhat like you guys, just with fewer bars and stars on the shoulder, looked like an old man, older than my dad."
As he finished this sentence, Fang Mu’s laptop next to him received several photos, each with a na underneath, clearly showing Director Zheng from Zhuquan Police Station and two other officers from the station.
Fang Mu glanced at Liu Yufei and turned the laptop around to show Tang Jianghai.
"Take a look, is the person who interrogated you that day among them?"
Tang Jianghai only glanced at it before pointing at the photo of Director Zheng, saying:
"It was him, he interrogated . But they didn’t ask in as much detail, just whether I saw anyone else with He Jiahong that day. I said I didn’t see clearly, and he hit with his elbows.
He told to shut up and not talk nonsense, I didn’t understand what he ant, I guessed they probably didn’t want to say I saw sothing, but I really didn’t see anything. Anyway, after hitting , they let go. I also saw this Director when He Hongjian, Jiahong’s father, ca to the school that day."
Liu Yufei cocked her chin.
"Give the details, who reported the cri? After the police arrived, did they take He Hongjian away directly, or did they ask so questions first?"
Tang Jianghai glanced subconsciously towards the door, obviously worried. Fang Mu leaned in a bit closer, patting Tang Jianghai’s arm.
"Relax, just tell the truth. Like I said earlier, you might not have heard clearly, we are from the Qindao City Criminal Police Brigade, all mbers of a special case team. We are here to uncover the truth. If anyone threatens you or seeks revenge, one phone call and we’ll be over, we can also help you transfer schools or negotiate with the school authorities."
Tang Jianghai seed to make up his mind, purse his lips and finally said:
"They were in class, many people didn’t see, but I was at the gatehouse and saw everything clearly. He Hongjian wanted to talk to the school leadership, but the gatehouse staff pushed him away, and He Hongjian fell to the ground unprepared.
He got up angry and shouted a few tis; I understood the gist of it, he was asking the security guard why they didn’t treat people properly, was it because the school leadership decreed not to deal with this matter, did the school also not want to take responsibility?
The gatehouse staff ignored He Hongjian and just called the police. In less than two minutes, the police car arrived. You know, our school is five or six miles away from Zhuquan Police Station, which by car takes at least eight or nine minutes, and then..."
At this point, Tang Jianghai suddenly shut his mouth, seemingly realizing belatedly that he shouldn’t be talking about these things, Liu Yufei gestured dismissively.
"Just tell how it really was, I want to hear the truth, that’s my only request. We didn’t co all the way from Qindao to hear you tell stories. Do you understand what I an?"
Tang Jianghai nodded, took a deep breath, and continued slowly.
"I was hiding in the bushes behind the gatehouse, I saw that policeman chase the gatehouse uncle out, there were lots of people standing at the door blocking the glass window, then he picked up the phone book from the table, hurled it at He Hongjian’s chest, and then kicked the phone book, causing He Hongjian to fall over, creating a loud commotion.
There were quite a few people passing by the gatehouse at that ti since classes had just ended, and the uncle at the door and several policen were shouting loudly, telling everyone not to co close that the police were investigating the case.
I was scared stiff at the ti, I couldn’t see what was happening inside the gatehouse, but I could always hear the sound of He Hongjian crying out in pain and the sound of fists hitting the book. When the bell for class rang, the gatehouse’s glass door opened and He Hongjian was dragged out by several policen."
"It was two people holding his arms, half dragging him out and tossing him into the police car. As for where they took him, I don’t know, I really didn’t lie, even though I’m not good at academics and not outstanding in sports, I wouldn’t conceal anything because of this."
Liu Yufei showed no extra expression but lowered her gaze slightly.
"The few people who put He Jiahong in the car, did you see their faces?"
Tang Jianghai shook his head.
"The black car had no license plate; I only saw a hand, probably bigger than mine, sitting in the driver’s seat reaching back to wave, and able to lift the forearm out the window. I guess he must be tall."
At this statent, Zhou Ning quickly turned around.
"Get soone to do a test, what height soone would have to be to sit in the driver’s seat, lean over and extend their right hand out the car door to wave, with the whole forearm visible."
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