We visited Li Xiude's house again, this time with Xiao Yuande.
When she saw us again, Li Xiude's wife looked even more displeased.
Li Xiude pretended to be calm and led us in, saying, "Officers, what brings you here again?"
"We've investigated the details of the case and have made a new discovery—about the hair..." I deliberately dragged out the words, watching Li Xiude's expression. Sure enough, he swallowed nervously.
"That hair isn't Zhang Jiye's!" I said, purposefully.
"Huh? Then whose could it be?" Li Xiude asked.
"It's yours!" I raised my voice and scolded him.
"Haha, Officer He, don't joke. If that were true, wouldn't you have already taken me in for interrogation? Why would you still come here to question me leisurely?"
Li Xiude really had a strong psychological resilience. He quickly saw through my probing.
"Let's put that aside for now. What about the basement in your house?"
"What basement? What are you talking about, Officer He?"
"The basement under your warehouse!" I emphasized.
"You mean that tunnel? Oh, that was dug by our ancestors as an air-raid shelter!"
An air-raid shelter!
No matter what, I asked Li Xiude to lead us there, and he was not afraid at all. He directly opened the floor of the warehouse for us to descend, without bringing anyone else with us.
Once we were in the tunnel below, I, like last time, used my phone to investigate while Li Xiude followed us closely.
When I saw that eerie painting, I deliberately asked him, "Can you tell me who made this painting?"
"Haha, do you really need to ask? It's obviously a child's work. It looks like one of the kids from this family used this place as their secret base and left behind this abstract painting."
This time, the little girl did not appear, and the wolfdog was nowhere to be seen. Both Xiao Yuande and I could sense the chilling atmosphere on each other's faces. The child couldn't be allowed to come to harm!
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a moment, and although the place had been processed, I still detected a faint scent.
When I found the little girl sleeping in one of the hidden rooms, I saw the despair in Li Xiude's eyes.
"I… I confess!" Li Xiude finally spoke, as his wife and daughter cried in agony.
Based on Li Xiude's confession, we found a used shovel in the warehouse of the mansion and discovered Zhang Jiye's body in a tomb at the back of the cemetery.
Yu Xuetao, holding her daughter Li Xiang, gritted her teeth and stared at Zhang Jiye's body in the coffin. Her daughter had been bullied by a rich second-generation at a party. If I were her mother, I would likely do the same.
What I didn't expect was that when the little girl saw that scene, Zhang Jiye was actually not dead, but only unconscious. When the couple heard their daughter scream and rushed over, Zhang Jiye woke up. Enraged, he grabbed a shovel and was about to attack, but was stopped by the frenzied Li Xiude, who then chased him. That's why he called the police from the phone booth before he died.
That's when I received his call before he went missing.
Now, everything connected.
The one who actually killed Zhang Jiye should have been Li Xiude. He was the one who used a weapon to strike down the revived Zhang Jiye, not the bullied Li Xiang or her mother, Yu Xuetao.
Li Xiude was calm and rational, but also crazy. Yet, in the end, he still had a conscience because he spared the little girl in the basement.
The next day, Li Xiude was arrested for premeditated murder, and Li Xiang received a lighter sentence as Zhang Huilong's family dropped the charges against her.
I sent the little girl to an orphanage, and that's when I learned her name was Zhang Chunxia.
The orphanage, named Kangcheng, was located at No. 1, De Yu Street in Gaogang City. I didn't know how many innocent and unfortunate children it had taken in. After I brought Zhang Chunxia here, I found Sister Guo, the director, and said, "Please take good care of Zhang Chunxia from now on."
"I will, she's such a lovely little girl."
"Hmm, treat her like your own daughter!" I reminded her.
Sister Guo then took Zhang Chunxia and introduced her to the other children in the orphanage, showing her around and assigning her a dorm room. She also arranged for many of the children to keep her company.
I had considered finding her relatives to care for her, but after having technician Xie De Guang investigate, it turned out she had no other relatives, so I sent her to the orphanage.
That evening, the police held a celebration banquet.
Xiao Yuande, Zhao Simeng, and I all went in the same car. Xiao Yuande was driving. It was said that he could drive not only trucks but also helicopters. I didn't really believe it. Why would a criminal police officer need to learn so many vehicles instead of focusing on solving cases?
But that was his hobby, so I kept my thoughts to myself. After all, if we worked at the same police station, everyone had to have their own special skill, or else it would be hard to stay in this line of work.
When we arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel, Xiao Yuande stepped out of the car and exclaimed, "This is impressive!"
Zhao Simeng and I laughed at him, calling him a country bumpkin, as if he had never seen the world. Soon, we entered the private room of the hotel. Tonight, Director Liu said he wanted to reward the main contributor to the case.
"Everyone, let's welcome the hero of this case, our new officer, He Sheng!"
Director Liu announced, and everyone burst into warm applause, praising Officer He and saying things like, "With him in Fuming City, good things are bound to happen!"
I kept a low profile, just smiling and enjoying the meal and drinks without touching the alcohol. Halfway through the meal, I noticed that Zhao Simeng had left her seat. I thought she had gone to the restroom and didn't pay much attention.
However, after a while, she still hadn't returned. Xiao Yuande, sitting next to me, asked, "Where's Zhao Simeng?"