Detective: From the Police Academy

Chapter 229: Borrowing Strength
"Tai Hui is your son, right? As a father, why don't you care about him?"

Bian An immediately avoided Luo Rui's gaze and lowered his head, as if unwilling to face the question.

Li Mei suddenly asked, "Officer, I remember that five years ago, the officer in charge of the investigation into Xiaohui's disappearance was Officer Li, right?"

Luo Rui looked at her: "Why? Do you want the captain of the criminal police to come?"

These words were meant to be a warning. No matter how you look at it, these two people have violated public morals and order, especially Bian An. Not only did he sleep with someone else's wife, he also occupied someone else's property. Over the years, he has not felt the slightest bit of guilt.

There is not even a photo of Tai Zhenggang in the living room, which is really disheartening.

Besides, being a criminal policeman is actually no different from a truck driver. Most of the time, they are always on the road, and it is a blessing to be able to get off work on time, not to mention being on business trips for days at a time.

For example, Qi Lei took people to Linjiang City to look for clues to the case, and it took him several days to come back. His wife was at home, and as a normal woman, she was not by her pillow when she wanted her.

Therefore, criminal police have no choice but to hand over their salary cards to make their wives feel a little more at ease.

Li Mei lowered her head immediately after being glared at. She had dealt with criminal police quite a few times, but the dark-skinned guy in front of her really put a lot of pressure on her.

Luo Rui coughed and said, "It's like this. Your husband's case has been reopened, and we will also investigate your son's kidnapping case."

Upon hearing this, Li Mei and Bian An looked at each other with deep confusion in their eyes.

Luo Rui stared at them and didn't find anything suspicious.

Soon, the two men sat on the sofa, and Luo Rui and Fang Yonghui turned on the recorder. This thing was newly equipped. The county bureau required fair law enforcement and could not be as casual as before.

This is a two-bedroom, one-living-room house, but Tai Hui's bedroom no longer exists. It is filled with miscellaneous items. There is only a yellow certificate pasted on the wall. One corner of the certificate has lost its stickiness. When the wind blows from the balcony, the curled corner makes a rustling sound, as if Tai Hui is humming.

Miao Shouqiang shook his head at Luo Rui in the living room: "Everything is gone, there is no way to investigate."

Luo Rui walked over and took a look inside, frowning. There was not even a single space to step in the small bedroom.

Originally, they planned to look for more clues to see if they could find out Tai Hui's movements before he disappeared.

But this is totally impossible. All traces have been erased, and we can only look for clues based on the file records of the time.

How to make inferences when there are very few known conditions?

Luo Rui's face darkened. Because the law enforcement recorder was on, he suppressed his anger, walked to the living room, and looked directly at the two unscrupulous parents.

"Li Mei, when the police investigated your son's kidnapping case five years ago, they should have told you that his bedroom must remain as it was until Tai Hui was found!"

Li Mei rolled her eyes and said, "I don't remember such a thing. Besides, there are only two bedrooms in this house. We can't just not let relatives stay here, right?"

Luo Rui felt a headache: "Tai Hui's bedroom is full of clutter. Is it for people to live in? Don't quibble. No one is associating with you!"

After the 521 poisoning case, because the suspects could not be found, Li Nong specially sent people to keep an eye on these two people within half a month after the case was sealed.

Although no suspicion was found against them, the two men had already lost their reputation and their relatives hardly interacted with them.

Luo Rui let out a breath and glanced at Fang Yonghui, who took out a notebook.

Luo Rui said, "Li Mei, your son disappeared after school on June 7th five years ago. You called the police the next night. I want to ask, why didn't you call the police the night before?"

Li Mei curled her lips and replied, "I have told you the police the reason before, why are you still asking?"

Luo Rui's tone left no room for doubt: "Tell me more!"

Li Mei rolled her eyes and said, "Xiaohui usually goes home at six o'clock, but a few days ago he told me that he wanted to stay overnight at a classmate's house."

"Didn't you call Tai Hui's home to ask?"

"Why should I ask? Besides, my family's landline is in arrears, where can I ask?"

Luo Rui really wanted to turn off the law enforcement recorder, but he held back.

"The next morning, the school found that Tai Hui did not come to class, so they notified you! But why didn't you go to the local police station to report the case?"

Hearing this, Li Mei glanced at Bian An.

Bian An coughed and said, "We thought we had to wait 24 hours before we could report the case."

Luo Rui shook his head helplessly and looked down at the notes Li Nong handed him.

Detectives who investigate homicides usually have their own notebooks. They write one for each homicide case, and the notebooks are filled with details.

Li Mei called the police at 10 o'clock in the evening on the 8th. The reason why she chose this time was that two hours ago, at 8 o'clock, someone slipped a note demanding a ransom into Li Mei's home through the crack of the door.

At that time, the immediate family members of Li Mei, Tai Zhenggang, and Bian An were all asked by the police to write down this sentence: [Your son is in my hands. Prepare 50,000 yuan in cash.]

However, according to handwriting identification, no suspect was found.
Therefore, Li Nong also specifically looked for police officers responsible for combating human trafficking. There are indeed many children missing in Shahe County every year, but in the end there was no result.

Since the case could not be solved, Tai Hui was put on the list of missing children. We hope that one day we can find him.

Luo Rui glanced at Bian An and asked, "Does Tai Hui know that you are his biological father?"

"Ah, this..."

Li Mei took over the conversation: "Officer, does this have anything to do with the case?"

This woman is used to being strong in life. Li Nong's notes record that it was not Bian An who seduced Li Mei, but Li Mei who found the other person. In other words, this woman was unwilling to be lonely first.

It's really sad that Tai Zhenggang has such a wife and Tai Hui has such a mother.

Luo Rui stared at her: "Answer truthfully, don't ask why!"

Li Mei dodged a glance and said, "Well... Xiaohui probably doesn't know."

"What about your ex-husband Tai Zhenggang?"

"No, officer, why do you keep on asking this question? I've said everything I need to say before! Do you have to expose my scars?"

"Answer the questions truthfully!"

Li Mei snorted coldly and turned her head away. "He doesn't know either."

Luo Rui asked a few more questions, but to no avail.

Fang Yonghui took notes, asked the two to read them carefully, and then asked them to sign, saying that the above was true and that they were willing to bear the legal consequences if they had lied.

After going downstairs, Fang Yonghui said, "Captain Luo, I always feel that these two people are not simple. They are indifferent to their own son. They don't seem like normal parents. I even doubt whether Tai Hui is their biological son."

Miao Shouqiang said: "Five years ago, a DNA test was done and Tai Hui is indeed their child. There is no doubt about it."

Yang Bo blinked and said, "Is it possible that Tai Hui ran away from home on his own?"

Luo Rui also had this question, and a question mark was also put after Tai Hui's name in Li Nong's notebook.

Fang Yonghui shook his head: "An eight-year-old child ran away from home? He has no social experience and no money. How far can he go?"

Luo Rui frowned and asked, "What if someone helps him?"

Fang Yonghui agreed: "Then this possibility is great."

Therefore, Luo Rui instructed Fang Yonghui to find a few people to sort out Tai Zhenggang's close relatives again, even if they were distant relatives, they should be checked.

Yang Bo and several others were assigned to keep an eye on Li Mei and Bian An, watching them 24 hours a day to see if they had any unusual behavior.

After all, if the police reopen the case and feel guilty, they may take some action.

Two days later, Qi Lei's investigation in Linjiang City was completed. They found the driver and porter that Tai Zhenggang knew at the time. These people said that there was nothing unusual about Tai Zhenggang before the car accident. The people who had contact with him were still these people, and they were still doing their original jobs over the years.

If anyone is suspicious, he will not stay where he is and will definitely find an excuse to stay away.

The Shahe County Bureau attaches great importance to the special task force for backlog cases.

Not only Li Nong, but also Lu Kangming asked this question every day to see if there was any hope of solving the case.

Everyone hopes that Luo Rui can have a good start as the deputy captain of the criminal police brigade.

In the captain's office, after listening to Luo Rui's investigation results over the past few days, Li Nong frowned and asked, "Do you still think that Li Mei and the other two are suspicious?"

"That's right! I don't know if Tai Zhenggang's death has anything to do with them, but whether Tai Hui was kidnapped or missing, I think they definitely know."

Li Nong pondered, "I suspected them before, but I never found any evidence! In addition, we were in the process of rectifying our work style at that time, so I couldn't resist the pressure and didn't dare to continue the trial. At that time, we advocated the principle of presumption of innocence, and the higher-ups asked us to pay attention to the interrogation methods. Because of this, almost all of our people were falsely accused by the suspects, and I was no exception.

I remember going to court and suing the thief who accused me, saying that I broke his thumb. Damn it, he broke it himself with handcuffs, and he had to frame me.

Luo Rui narrowed his eyes: "Did they really frame you?"

Li Nong coughed twice and patted his chest righteously: "Of course, otherwise I would have been stripped of my uniform by the higher-ups, and I wouldn't be here today. Let's get down to business. What are you going to do about this case now?"

"Since we can't do anything to them due to discipline, there are people who can control these two people! I want to lure the snake out of its hole! If you want to hit a venomous snake, you have to hit it at its weakest part!"

Li Nong didn't understand, so Luo Rui whispered in his ear for a while.

After listening to it, Li Nong exclaimed: "You really are Luo Yanwang!"

……

Li Mei's residential complex has two entrances and exits, a front door and a back door.

Fang Yonghui and Yang Bo were guarding the front door. They stayed in the car for two days and one night, eating, drinking and sleeping in the car.

The back door was under the charge of Lao Bao and Xiao Wu. After Qi Lei came back, he also joined in and made him the person in charge to command the team. Fang Yonghui took a sip of mineral water and didn't dare to drink more, so as not to have to go to the toilet later.

Yang Bo opened the window and lit a cigarette: "What do you think, if our Captain Luo gets promoted, will Lao Qi become the squadron leader?"

Fang Yonghui screwed the cap on the bottle and said, "That should be it. Haven't you seen how active Lao Qi has been these past few days? He just came back from a business trip and without a moment's rest, he immediately followed us back to stake out."

"Tsk tsk, when Lao Qi worked under He Bing, he was just a slacker. He was not willing to come to our Seventh Squadron. Look, he has been with our Captain Luo for only a few days, and his chance has come."

"That's true. Why, are you jealous?"

Yang Bo rolled his eyes. "Why am I so jealous? I was still a local police officer more than a month ago. If it weren't for Captain Luo, how would I have had the chance to become a criminal police officer? But you and Captain Luo graduated from the same police academy. Why is there such a big gap?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Yonghui became anxious: "Are you looking for death? I tell you, I have no chance to perform! Yang Bo, just wait, there will be a day when I will make you look at me with new eyes!"

"What the hell am I waiting for? I've already seen your abilities!"

Fang Yonghui glared at Yang Bo fiercely, snatched the cigarette butt from his mouth and threw it out of the car window.

"Smoke, smoke! The whole car smells like cigarettes. It's either cigarettes or your feet!"

Yang Bo retorted: "What? When I was watching you last night, you farted in your sleep, and I held it in!"

Fang Yonghui sighed and said, "Forget it, I won't bother with you! Lao Yang, which squadron do you think Lao Qi will be transferred to as the squadron leader?"

Yang Bo took out two pieces of chewing gum, handed one to Fang Yonghui, and said, "How would I know? Anyway, I only recognize Captain Luo. No, it's Luo Da now!"

……

Lao Bao spat out the chewing gum and said, "Lao Qi, you work too hard. You came back from your business trip and immediately followed us to stake out. I have never seen you work so hard in the First Squadron."

Xiao Wu, who was sitting in the passenger seat, nodded quickly: "Yes, Brother Lei, you have been too obvious recently, making everyone think you are remarried."

Qi Lei was lying on the back seat, smiling, and said, "Go, stop talking nonsense! Why does your mouth stink so bad? You didn't even brush your teeth so early in the morning. Chew your gum!"

"Hey, the appointment hasn't even come down yet, and you're already showing off, Old Qi?"

Lao Bao is only slightly younger than Qi Lei, and they can be considered old comrades-in-arms who joined the police force at the same time. He speaks without any reservations.

Qi Lei curled his lips: "It's not certain yet, don't spread it."

"Do I need to spread the news? Your expression is the best publicity. Just tell me, did Luo Da promise you this?"

"Can Luo Da decide this? Even Li Da can't make the decision. It has to be handled by Director Lu and Political Commissar Yang. But Luo Da recommended me. Now it depends on what the higher-ups think."

"That's it! It's a done deal. Luo Da is still young, so he will definitely build his own team. The backlog team is just a prototype. As long as the case clearance rate increases by the end of the year, Luo Da will definitely let go."

Qi Lei immediately sat up straight, took out a box of Liquan, and gave one to each of the two brothers in the front row.

After Lao Bao took it, he said, "Wow, this cigarette is not cheap!"

"It's nothing, nothing, it's not as good as Luo Da's China."

Qi Lei laughed awkwardly. Ever since Luo Rui told him about the recommendation, the old guy immediately called home and told his wife. The tigress was very happy for several days and specially approved 500 yuan pocket money for him.

Qi Lei bought a few cartons of good cigarettes without hesitation. He couldn't afford Zhonghua, but Liqun was of good quality as well. After all, criminal policemen were heavy smokers, and their pocket money was limited, so they couldn't afford good cigarettes.

These days, he sends gifts to everyone he meets, trying to change his previous image of a veteran.

Qi Lei asked: "Old Bao, where did you hear about this?"

"Are you asking Luo Da about wanting to build his own team?"

"That's right." Qi Lei took out a lighter, leaned forward, and diligently lit it for the other party.

Xiao Wu also held a cigarette in his mouth and moved closer to the flame. Qi Lei let go of the lighter and slapped him lightly: "What are you thinking about? Your hands are disabled, can't you light it yourself?"

Xiao Wu said aggrievedly: "Brother Lei, I'm easy to bully, right?"

"Who told you to be young?"

"Then why don't you bully Luo Da? I'm two years older than him!"

"Uh... don't interrupt, Lao Bao, just continue."

Lao Bao took a puff of his cigarette and said, "I heard it from the bun shop."

Qi Lei blinked: "Lao Cui? Did he listen to what Li Da said?"

"It should be. Luo Da told Director Lu and Political Commissar Yang that he wanted to form his own team, bringing together professionals such as trace investigators and forensic doctors to create a criminal team that specializes in solving homicide cases. In other words, it's a special case, and the scope of solving cases is not limited to our Shahe County."

Qi Lei asked doubtfully, "Will it work? How much will it cost to do this? Besides, helping other counties solve murders is not cost-effective no matter how you think about it, and others may not agree."

"That's not something we have to worry about. Anyway, if it can be done, with Luo Da's thinking ability and ability to solve cases, I think this criminal team will definitely shine! Do you know the technician Zhao who came last time? I heard that Luo Da wanted to trick him into coming to our county."

"According to what you said, I don't deserve to be the squadron leader anymore!"

"What's wrong? You want to join the criminal team? What if you are appointed as the captain of the first squadron? That would be equally exciting. Think about those old hands. They will be so angry if they have to work with a veteran like you."

Qi Lei nodded quickly: "This is also very tempting. I just want to see them being unhappy with me but not daring to say anything. However, everyone can see that Luo Da will definitely take off in the future. If we can follow him, we will have too many opportunities. We may even be able to get a job as a captain in the future."

"Oh, I didn't expect that an old bird like you would want to soar to the sky. It's too early to think about this now. We have only a rough idea now, and we don't know what will happen in the future. Just do the current things well. If you have the ability, you can do anything. If you don't have the ability, you can only eat dust."

"That's true!" Qi Lei agreed.

At this moment, he glanced out the window.

A white-haired old man walked past the car, followed by two middle-aged men.

The three men rolled up their sleeves and walked into the community aggressively.

Xiao Wu also saw him and said hurriedly, "It's Bian Xiong."

Qi Lei took out his phone, flipped through the photos and said, "It's true!"

He quickly turned on the intercom and informed Fang Yonghui and Yang Bo at the front door.

Then, Qi Lei and Xiao Wu opened the car door and ran into the community.

……

Li Mei stayed at home these two days and didn't go anywhere.

She naturally knew that the criminal police was waiting downstairs. She had experienced this before five years ago.

Bian An's hardware store hired two workers, so there was no need for him to oversee it personally.

Bian An opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of beer, pried open the bottle cap, took a sip, then sat on the sofa and said, "Tell me, who killed Tai Zhenggang five years ago?"

Li Mei rolled her eyes at him and said as she picked up the TV remote control, "How should I know?"

Bian An sighed: "If only we could catch this murderer, we wouldn't have to be harassed by these police officers now."

A trace of panic flashed across Li Mei's eyes, and then she turned on the TV irritably.

"You have a good heart. Who was it that threatened to kill Tai Zhenggang and asked me to marry him?"

Bian An's face froze, and he said, "I was just talking drunk. Besides, Tai Zhenggang is actually a nice guy. Isn't the house we live in now the one he bought for you?"

"You also know that this house is mine. How many years have I let you live in it? Have you paid me? I tell you, it would be best if Tai Zhenggang died. At least he made both of us happy."

Bian An took a sip of beer and said, "Don't say such harsh words. You are in charge of all my money, so I didn't take advantage of you. Besides, Xiaohui is my son, and you never told me. If the police hadn't done a DNA test, I would have been kept in the dark by you."

Li Mei turned up the volume of the TV and said, "Yes, he is your son and also my son."

Bian An sighed and said, "Over the years, I don't know what happened to him. Is he dead or alive? When the kidnappers asked for money, I prepared the money, but there was no follow-up!
Hey, my brothers all have daughters. The eldest has two daughters, the second has three daughters, and I also have a daughter. My father is looking forward to having a boy to continue the family line. If Xiaohui was with me, the old man would be so happy.

You said you couldn't have any more children. If I didn't have feelings for you, I would have found another woman so that the old man could have a grandson in his later years."

Hearing this, Li Mei cursed: "You wish! If you dare to go out and find a woman, I will die in front of you! The fact that your Bian family can't give birth to a son is because your ancestors' graves are silent. Who can you blame?"

"Blame me, blame me!" Bian An surrendered, stood up and drank all the beer.

Li Mei still didn't let him go, and she also stood up and shouted, "Bian An, I'm telling you, don't mention Xiaohui in front of me anymore! You mention him every other day, do you know how upset I am as a mother?"

Hearing this, Bian An gave her a strange look and said, "Uncomfortable? I didn't see that. I wanted to go to another province to look for my child, but you didn't agree. I don't know what you were thinking."

"Didn't I tell you this? How many times do you want me to tell you that I'm afraid of the dark! I'm afraid of living alone in this house! I always dream about Tai Zhenggang and dream about him coming to see me!"

"Why are you feeling so guilty? Did you kill Tai Zhenggang?" Bian An drank some wine and became a little bolder. He said what he usually didn't dare to say: "If the police hadn't investigated you and knew you were innocent, I would have really thought that you poisoned Tai Zhenggang."

"You bastard!" Li Mei rushed forward and tried to tear it apart.

But at this moment, the door of the entrance hall was suddenly kicked open by someone. The two were startled and were stunned when they saw the person coming.

Bian An's father rushed into the room with a livid face, grabbed his little son, and slapped him in the face!

"You bastard! I'm going to beat you to death!"

I haven’t been feeling well these past few days…

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(End of this chapter)