Early the next morning, Uncle Jiange called me and said that there was an urgent task for me to complete with him. Before I could eat breakfast, he pulled me into the car and drove towards Hangzhou. We were accompanied by several police cars, Captain Hou and his colleagues.
"Uncle Jiange, where are we going?" I asked, "You don't tell me either." "
"Don't worry, you'll know when you get to the place." Uncle Jiange said mysteriously, "This time we are going to Hangzhou to meet someone." "
"Who do you see?" Does it matter? I asked curiously.
"Do you remember Meng Pengcheng, He Xiaoya's ex-boyfriend who we met in Shanghai the other day?" Uncle Jiange suddenly changed the subject.
"Of course I remember. That young man with gray hair who looked a little old, at first I was thinking about how He Xiaoya found such an old boyfriend. Of course, it is actually quite common for young girls to find an old boyfriend. "I recalled that meeting," but unfortunately he said that he had not been to Yongjia recently and did not provide any useful information. "
"Yes, yes, yes. That very old looking young man. Uncle Jiange repeated my words, "Of course, you know, we got the wrong person. "
"Yes, we found the wrong person, this is the old man identified." I asked in surprise, "Could it be that the old man misremembered the characteristics?" "
"The old man did not misremember the characteristics." Uncle Jiange shook his head, "But we have mistaken characteristics and people. "
"What's going on?" I am very puzzled.
"You really don't have any ability to associate." Uncle Jiange deliberately provoked me, "Think about it, if the characteristics described by the old man are correct, why has the Meng Pengcheng we found never been to Yongjia recently?" "
"Either the boss has a bad memory and gets the time wrong; Either Meng Pengcheng has a relative or friend who looks exactly like him. I guessed.
"Actually, you're a lot smarter." Uncle Jiange praised, "So in order to find out the truth, I launched an investigation around Meng Pengcheng. It turned out that he didn't have any relatives or friends who looked like him. But there is one person..."
"Who?" I can't wait to ask.
"You'll see him later." Uncle Jiange replied.
I see. No wonder Uncle Jiange dodged my question. It turned out that the person we were going to meet in Hangzhou this time was Meng Pengcheng's father, Meng Jinhong. He is the managing director of a large construction company and travels a lot. According to information found by Uncle Jiange, he has been visiting Zhejiang a lot in recent times, and the police found that he had been to Wenzhou several times and was staying in a hotel not far from Yongjia.
"Do you say he will be the man that the boss saw?" I asked.
"It's possible." Uncle Jiange replied, "So we're going to see him and ask him if he had any contact with He Xiaoya at that time." "
"But why did he come into contact with He Xiaoya? Is there any relationship between them? "
"That's what we're going to explore." Uncle Jiange replied, "Maybe they just met by chance, maybe they have some kind of secret connection." In any case, we have to figure it out. "
"And what if he won't say it?"
"Then you'll have to find a way to get him to say." Uncle Jiange returned with a hint of cunning in his eyes.
I felt a pang of nervousness. I know that Uncle Jiange's methods are very clever, but they are also dangerous. I don't know if we can successfully complete this investigation this time, and I don't know what kind of truth is hidden behind Li Shilan's murder.
Our group quickly arrived in beautiful Hangzhou and drove directly to the hotel where Meng Jinhong was staying without stopping. It is a five-star luxury hotel in a downtown area. Captain Hou took out his police ID and gun license, showed it to the hotel security and front desk staff, and easily led us into the hotel building. I followed Uncle Jiange, nervously bowing my head and trying not to attract too much attention.
We took the elevator to the door of Meng Jinhong's hotel suite and knocked on the door.
A voice came from inside: "Who?" Is there something going on? "
The door opened a crack, revealing half the head of a man wearing glasses. He looked alert, constantly looking left and right.
"We are police officers and want to know a little about you." Uncle Jiange said, handing him his police card.
The people in the room hesitated and untied the anti-leech behind the door.
We pushed open the door and walked inside. At a glance, I saw Meng Jinhong sitting behind his desk. He really looked like Meng Pengcheng, only older, his hair was a little gray, and the corners of his eyes were a little wrinkled.
"Hello, I'm Liu Jiange." Uncle Jiange turned around and pointed to Captain Hou and the others who followed us, "This is my colleague."
"Hello." Meng Jinhong responded politely, but there was some uneasiness in his eyes, "May I ask if you are looking for me for something?"
"We are from Wenzhou Yongjia." Uncle Jiange replied, "We came to you for a case. "
"Case?" Meng Jinhong was stunned, and the panic in his eyes flashed, but he immediately returned to normal, "What case?"
"Do you know He Xiaoya?" Uncle Jiange asked directly.
"He Xiaoya? Who is it? Meng Jinhong asked in surprise.
"She is your son's ex-girlfriend, and according to what we have, you have met her before."
"So what?" He looked at Captain Hou who followed us.
"How many times have you been to Yongjia in the past six months? When exactly did you go? Why go to Yongjia? "
"I've been there a few times. Is there anything wrong with this? "
"There are no questions, please answer truthfully. Have you been to Yongjia in the last two weeks? "
"I was to Yongjia for the last time almost a month ago, and I've been there a few times before that. I have been staying at my company and home in Shenzhen for the past month, and I only came to Hangzhou for a business trip yesterday. "
"Can you provide proof? Such as air tickets, train tickets, accommodation invoices, and so on. "
"Yes, what proof would you like to see?" You can check my call logs, bank statements, company cameras, and my colleagues, and you can prove that I've been staying in Shenzhen lately. But why should I give you this information? "
"We are investigating a recent case that may be related to you, please cooperate." "
"This can't be! I haven't been to Yongjia for a month. His face began to turn a little pale.
"Don't be afraid, we just want to get some information from you and hope you can cooperate." "
"Looking at your posture, I can't say it, right? "
"You're not wrong to say that."
"Then you ask. "
"What have you been doing to Yongjia several times in the past six months? "
"I went to find my son. "
"Looking for your son?"
"Yes. He Xiaoya, that slut, didn't know what ecstasy was poured into my son, and after breaking up with my son, my son was ghostly, and he didn't say goodbye after the New Year, and he didn't know where to go. "
"So you came to your son?"
"Yes, I found He Xiaoya's home, so I came to her and asked her if she knew where my son was. "
"Then did He Xiaoya tell you? "
"No, she said my son came to see her twice, but she didn't know where he went. "
"In that case, why have you been to Yongjia so many times, and often wandered around the park on the hillside near their home? "
"It's my business, it's none of your business. "
"I hope you can answer honestly. Captain Hou spoke, "Our police came to you because they have already investigated and have solid evidence." "
"... ... Meng Jinhong was silent for a while, and finally spoke, "When I went to Yongjia to find He Xiaoya, I accidentally met an old man. "
"Be more specific. "
"When I was doing business in Yiwu 2 5 years ago, I borrowed a sum of money to a small couple, but they paid the bills and put on a good show of golden cicadas shedding their shells. They actually dared to fool me! Meng Jinhong gritted his teeth and said.
"We have already found this, although the woman changed her name and left Yiwu, she is He Lihui, He Xiaoya's mother, and you are the creditor back then." "
"Yes. I went to Yongjia to find He Xiaoya, only to find out about this, I didn't expect that after twenty-five years, we actually met again in such a way, which is really ironic! "
"Did you recognize it in the first place?"
"No, at first I just felt familiar, so I went to Yongjia a few more times to confirm it from all aspects, and I also managed to investigate He Lihui's past information. "
"In the end, you confirmed that it was her."
"Yes, that's her, that slut!"
"You just said that you also put on a good show of the golden cicada shelling, which just confirms my little idea in recent days. If I'm not mistaken, you met more than one 'deceased' in Yongjia, right? "
"You, you, how do you... Know? Listening to Uncle Jiange's words, Meng Jinhong seemed to see something terrible, and his eyes widened in horror.
As soon as we returned from Hangzhou, we received another message from the police, who had found an unexpected clue in the process of tracking down the whereabouts of Li Mingming and He Xiaoya on the day of the accident. It turned out that a shop owner who opened a business confided to the police that he had witnessed the two people walking together around noon that day, next to a small alley not far from the Yongjia long-distance bus station. According to his description, the two looked rushed and seemed to be dodging something.
According to the clues he provided, the police retrieved the surveillance video of several cameras near the alley that day, carefully checked the whereabouts of the two that day, and saw if they could find something.
This alley is exceptionally quiet during the day, as if isolated from the world. The alley is lined with a few small shops selling all kinds of things, but business is not prosperous. Only one or two small bars exude a lively atmosphere, they welcome countless fun-seeking guests in the evening, and the food stalls in front of the bar are filled with food and beer, making the evening noisy and convivious. But during the day, there is only lazy sunshine and breeze, and a few unwilling cicadas and bird calls. The bar is empty, except for a few tables and chairs scattered outside the door by the large tree with colorful umbrellas, providing a place for passers-by to rest and making the alley a little more laid-back and cozy.
The police immediately investigated surveillance video from several shops and bars in the alley, and sent a number of plainclothes police officers to various locations to check it. We watched the surveillance video in the middle of the night with the police arranged by Captain Hou, and after careful comparison, they found Li Mingming and He Xiaoya in four cameras, two of which were small shop cameras, one was a bar camera, and the other was a camera at the entrance of the alley. According to the time and angle captured by these cameras, we can clearly restore the trajectory of Li Mingming and He Xiaoya's activities in the alley at noon that day.
Li Mingming arrived at the Yongjia long-distance bus station at 12 noon on time and walked out of the platform, where he and He Xiaoya hugged.
They looked at each other and smiled, and together they walked to the alley that was nearby.
At 12:20, they found a western restaurant at the mouth of the alley and went in. The owner of this Western restaurant was the same person who provided us with information, a witness to Li Mingming and He Xiaoya's whereabouts that day, and he told us what they had eaten. They didn't order anything special, just a casual char siu beef double donburi, a light chicken meal, a fruit salad, and two drinks.
At about 1 p.m., they left the western restaurant after settling the bill and continued walking deep into the alley.
They came to a bar, but it wasn't open yet, so the door was locked. So the two sat down at the table and chairs under the umbrella at the door and chatted. The process was recorded by cameras installed outside the bar. Unfortunately, the camera can only capture the picture, not the sound.
So we can only tell from the picture what they said. We saw them hugging each other tightly, and He Xiaoya leaned on Li Mingming's chest and listened to him. From time to time, Li Mingming lowered his head and said something in her ear.
He Xiaoya shook her head and said something after listening to it, and then Li Mingming suddenly became very excited. Li Mingming held He Xiaoya's shoulder hard and said something, while He Xiaoya began to cry.
After a while, Li Mingming took He Xiaoya into his arms to comfort her and kiss her. The two hugged each other like this and did not move.
At about two o'clock, He Xiaoya pushed Li Mingming away and said something, and then the two stood up and walked out of the alley Around 2:10, they left the alley.
And that's the end of the surveillance in the alley.
"What are they talking about?" I asked curiously.
"I can't see it." Uncle Jiange analyzed, "Judging from their body movements, it seems that Li Mingming proposed some plan, but it was rejected. Li Mingming was angry, but after a period of inner struggle, he still gave up persecuting He Xiaoya. "
"Can't those awesome forensic experts read lip service?" I asked.
"People who can read lips do exist, but they are rare." Uncle Jiange said, "And if you look at the clarity and angle of these surveillance videos, you can't see the movement of their lips at all." This is not possible. "
"Oh, yes. I was a little disappointed. "
"You may be blinded by crime movies in TV series, thinking that blurry video will restore clarity with some processing. But in reality, once the information is lost, it cannot be retrieved. No technology can do this. "
I thought about what I had learned from working in the IT industry for many years, and felt that Uncle Jiange was right: "In fact, the so-called image processing technology is just speculation based on common sense and then copying the details of other similar things." "
"Yes, yes, you're right." Uncle Jiange added, "This kind of simple speculation is most taboo in criminal investigations. Because the image information may contain details specific to the case, such as tiny blood stains or misplaced items, etc., in this case, image processing cannot be carried out arbitrarily. That would mislead the case-handling staff. "
"So it's better to leave it vague? Can't just sharpen or fix it? "
"That's right." Uncle Jiange was very satisfied with my ability to understand, "In recent years, science and technology have developed rapidly, science and technology are changing with each passing day, and the criminal investigation industry is facing many new challenges. Therefore, we need to constantly learn new knowledge and technologies in various fields. Some of these can facilitate the development of criminal investigations, such as DNA identification technology; Some, although advanced, cannot be used ... "
"Let's say image sharpening and restoration techniques." I added.
"Right. Others have caused great difficulties in the investigation of the case..."
"That's certainly a lot."
"That's right. For example, mobile phone card duplication technology, which allows a person to make calls on multiple mobile phones at the same time, but only with one number. "
"Then again, from the situation you just analyzed," my train of thought returned to the case, "if Li Shilan was really killed by one of them, then the murderer is likely to be Li Mingming and not He Xiaoya. "
"Why? How do you come to this conclusion? "
"If we believe that surveillance footage recorded what happened when they plotted to murder people: Li Mingming came up with the idea of getting rid of Li Shilan; He Xiaoya objected; She thought the idea was crazy; She refused to participate; Li Mingming was angry; He felt that his idea would be good for both of them; He was frustrated that He Xiaoya was unwilling to act with him; But in the end he calmed down. "
"So the question is, what did he do after he calmed down?"
"Gave up the idea of forcing He Xiaoya to act with him, or he decided to carry out this killing plan himself."
"What you just reasoned about is logically reasonable, and there is enough time to carry out this murder." But all of this is based on the premise that what they are discussing here is the murder plan against Li Shilan. Uncle Jiange paused, "However, we can't be sure if this premise is true. In fact, there are many other possibilities. "
"If they're not plotting this, then why is it so mysterious? At first, he didn't admit that Li Mingming had ever returned to Yongjia? The two still say contradictory and inconsistent words? There must be something you want to hide. Is it another possibility: Li Mingming persuaded He Xiaoya not to kill his father, but He Xiaoya refused, Li Mingming was angry and sad, but finally compromised? "
"This possibility cannot be said to be completely non-existent. In short, they must have something they want to hide. Uncle Jiange smiled and said, "I think I've figured out what's going on." I can explain all the doubts in the whole case. All the details can be connected in series. "
"Huh? Uncle Jiange, you have already cracked the case? "
"Yes, I think we can get everyone together and get the truth out. Uncle Jiange announced cheerfully.