Chapter 111: Chapter 51: Investigating the Case (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Votes)
"Wait a moment." Luo Fei suddenly spoke up, stopping Zhao Wanqing and his wife who were about to leave.
Zhao Wanqing and his wife looked at Luo Fei in confusion, as did Zhao Donglai and Yang Su.
Luo Fei asked, "Let me ask, did you two hear the sound of a motorcycle last night?"
"No, we didn’t hear anything." Zhao Wanqing and his wife quickly shook their heads.
"Alright, that’s all." Luo Fei indicated that the two could leave.
"By the way, Zhao Wanqing’s house is right next to the road. If the killer came by bike, they would definitely pass by Zhao Wanqing’s door. This is all dirt roads and uphill, so the sound of the motorcycle would be loud. Zhao Wanqing and his wife have no reason not to hear it, so the only explanation is that the killer did not ride a motorcycle." Yang Su nodded and said.
"Not necessarily. It’s obvious that the second group’s road section is more challenging to ride on. What if the killer felt the road ahead was difficult to ride on and parked the bike at the first group, then walked up?" Zhang Fan skeptically said.
"That’s simple, just ask the villagers over by the first group later to see if they heard the sound of a motorcycle last night, and we’ll know."
The technical team quickly completed the crime scene investigation and autopsy.
The entire family of Jin Dayuan was beaten to death with a weapon similar to a hammer. The time of death was 2 a.m. The killer’s methods were brutal and vicious, and no traces were left at the scene.
"The killer entered Jin Dayuan’s house at 2 a.m. Moreover, Jin Dayuan met the killer in the living room, so it’s very clear that the killer and the deceased should be familiar with each other." Zhao Donglai said.
"Chief Su said Jin Dayuan owed Shi Tai a lot of money from gambling, and Shi Tai has a prior record. Could it really be him?" Yang Su followed up.
Zhao Donglai shook his head, "If the killer was really a loan shark, he wouldn’t gain anything by killing Jin Dayuan, and he’d have a murder on his hands. While loan sharks are usually ruthless, they typically don’t get involved in murder. Furthermore, we saw that although Jin Dayuan’s family was killed, nothing was stolen, so the killer wasn’t after money. Therefore, it probably wasn’t done by a loan shark."
Then Zhao Donglai turned to Luo Fei for his opinion, "What do you think, Luo Fei?"
"I share the same thought as Captain Zhao, the killer likely wasn’t a loan shark. Their target is money, and they wouldn’t engage in such a losing deal. Besides, from the scene of the crime, the killer seems to have acted alone. If it were a loan shark, it wouldn’t be just one person collecting a debt."
"The killer’s target was clear from the start; they were after someone. It’s certain that the killer, in the dead of night, could find Jin Dayuan’s house, clearly indicating they were an acquaintance of the deceased and quite familiar with Peach Blossom Village. Thus, I suspect the killer is someone from Peach Blossom Village or its vicinity, with significant grievances against the deceased." Luo Fei thought aloud, analyzing.
"Exactly, in the dead of night the killer managed to accurately locate Jin Dayuan’s house, indicating some familiarity with Peach Blossom Village." Zhao Donglai also nodded in agreement.
Then Zhao Donglai began to assign tasks.
Zhao Donglai instructed the criminal police team and the local police station to immediately conduct inquiries in every household in Peach Blossom Village.
On one hand, given the killer’s familiarity with Peach Blossom Village, there’s serious suspicion they are local. On the other hand, they were to ask villagers if they heard any noise last night. They also needed to investigate the social relations of Jin Dayuan’s family, checking for grievances or close relationships with anyone. All these needed thorough investigation.
At around daybreak at 7 a.m., the criminal police team and the police station had completed the inquiry work in groups one, two, and three of Peach Blossom Village.
No suspects were found in Peach Blossom Village. However, according to several villagers from the first group, they did hear the sound of a motorcycle around 1 to 2 a.m. last night.
This was an extremely important clue. The criminal police team promptly brought several motorcycles for the villagers to identify by sound, ultimately determining that the suspect’s motorcycle was likely a Five Sheep motorcycle, the most common type in Ningjiang.
The criminal police team and the police station then split into three groups to conduct visits and searches in nearby Shi Family Village, Mahe Village, and Futian Town.
Luo Fei’s group was responsible for Shi Family Village.
After finishing up at Peach Blossom Village, Luo Fei led his team swiftly to Shi Family Village.
It was 8 a.m. when they arrived at Shi Family Village. After working hard all night and not having much to eat in the morning, Luo Fei was still doing fine due to his fitness, but his team members looked visibly tired.
Fortunately, there was someone selling buns and eggs at the entrance of Shi Family Village. Luo Fei paid out of his own pocket to buy breakfast for Sun Jun and the others.
"By the way, do many people in Shi Family Village ride Five Sheep motorcycles?" Luo Fei asked the vendor casually while biting into a bun.
The boss smiled and said, "Many, how not many, the Wuyang motorcycles are very popular in our village. Most people in the village ride Wuyang motorcycles. By the way, what are you here for?" The boss then looked at Luo Fei and his group with suspicion.
"We’re from the Wuyang Motorcycle Company and want to conduct a post-sale usage survey among customers who bought our motorcycles," Luo Fei replied casually, not directly stating his police identity.
In some villages, people are all related to each other, which often makes them united and more exclusionary. If Luo Fei directly revealed his police identity, he was concerned they might cover for each other and conceal things.
"Oh, I see!" the boss nodded upon hearing this.
Luo Fei then asked the boss about villagers who owned Wuyang motorcycles in detail. The boss, being in business, had a phenomenal memory and listed all the villagers who rode Wuyang motorcycles. In total, there were thirty-one villagers who rode Wuyang motorcycles, among them three women.
Having gathered information about the villagers who owned Wuyang motorcycles, Luo Fei started leading his team in checking them one by one.
They didn’t separate for investigation, not because Luo Fei feared Sun Jun and his group might be suddenly attacked by the murderer. Luo Fei wasn’t concerned about that; as a criminal detective, dealing with ordinary people—even armed ones—shouldn’t pose too big a problem. Luo Fei was more worried Sun Jun and his group might let the murderer slip through since they didn’t have the Eye of Sin. Luo Fei could identify the murderer at a glance, but it would be trickier for Sun Jun’s group, especially if faced with a cunning murderer—they might easily be deceived.
Therefore, Luo Fei preferred to take it slower, personally verifying every Wuyang motorcycle owner to ensure the murderer wasn’t missed.
Thanks to the existence of the Eye of Sin, Luo Fei’s checking speed was rather fast. Despite having over thirty people to check, by noon, Luo Fei had already checked eighteen.
Fearing that the bun shop owner might have missed some villagers who owned Wuyang motorcycles, Luo Fei sought confirmation from other villagers. It was indeed the case that there were only thirty-one villagers who rode Wuyang motorcycles.
By three in the afternoon, Luo Fei’s group had questioned twenty-one villagers.
"The next villager is Liu Wei, the group leader," Sun Jun reminded Luo Fei.
Luo Fei nodded, and then said, "Ask the villagers where Liu Wei’s house is?"
Seeing a middle-aged woman with a basket coming their way, Luo Fei approached her to inquire, "Ma’am, could you tell me where Liu Wei’s house is?"
The middle-aged woman looked at the unfamiliar group with suspicion, and Luo Fei repeated his previous explanation.
The middle-aged woman didn’t have any doubts and replied, "Liu Wei is not at home; his wife is pregnant and in the county hospital, and Liu Wei is accompanying her there. You certainly won’t find Liu Wei here; he won’t be back until after his wife has given birth."
After answering, the woman was ready to leave, but Luo Fei thought for a moment and asked, "Ma’am, can I ask if you know Jin Dayuan from the neighboring Peach blossom Village?"
"Jin Dayuan? I know him; Liu Wei’s wife is his biological sister, so he often comes to our Shi Family Village. Generally, when he comes here, it’s for no good reason—mostly to borrow money. Moreover, he often doesn’t repay, so he doesn’t have a good reputation in our Shi Family Village," the middle-aged woman said.
"By what you said, ma’am, Jin Dayuan must have had quite a few conflicts with people in Shi Family Village," Luo Fei casually asked. The middle-aged woman, not suspecting anything, said, "Yes, before, Ma Laosan’s eldest son Ma Dong had a big confrontation with Jin Dayuan at a casino. They said Jin Sanyuan lost money and refused to pay, leading to a fight between the two. Alright, I have to go collect pigweed now!" Having said so, the middle-aged woman hurriedly left.
"Ma Dong, Liu Wei," Luo Fei whispered these names, then frowned and asked Sun Jun, "I remember there isn’t a Ma Dong among the thirty-one villagers who ride Wuyang motorcycles, right?"
Sun Jun took out the previous list, looked at it for a while, and responded, "No, there isn’t."
"Group leader, do you suspect the two of them are connected to Jin Dayuan’s death?" Sun Jun asked.
Luo Fei shook his head, "I don’t know, but their relationship with Jin Dayuan isn’t normal, which gives them a larger chance of committing a crime than ordinary people."
"Let’s ignore Liu Wei for now and go find Ma Dong first, then verify the remaining villagers with Wuyang motorcycles."
Soon, Luo Fei and his group found Ma Dong, a young man in his twenties, but unfortunately, there was no black aura on him, showing he wasn’t the murderer they were looking for.
Next, Luo Fei and his team continued to personally verify the remaining villagers with Wuyang motorcycles, but all efforts yielded nothing.
At six in the evening, Luo Fei and his group returned to the county town from Shi Family Village.
Having just returned to the criminal police unit, without even having time for dinner, Zhao Donglai summoned everyone to the meeting room for a meeting.
Zhao Donglai’s face looked very grim. The massacre in Ningjiang County was a blow to the public security management. If their criminal police team couldn’t solve the case quickly, it would definitely have a significant impact on Ningjiang County.