Chapter 114: Hibernating in the Dim Sunlight – 8
Although the brawl had happened, Pan Yuhuan was eventually released without any further illegal activities being discovered.
Watching him leave, Jinglin couldn’t swallow her anger no matter what.
She couldn’t ask about the special task force, so she made up her mind to follow him. Maybe she would be lucky enough to find some clues.
“Senior, although I can understand your unwillingness,” Xiangrong, who was forced to act with her, couldn’t help but frown, “but is this really a good idea? It’s not like we have nothing else to do…” and Pan Yuhuan was clearly going to the hospital to visit his younger brother.
“When the precinct police reported this criminal case, they clearly mentioned that someone had been shot. Was that person found?” Jinglin’s sharp tone made Xiangrong shut up. “That person must have been dealt with quickly… do you believe it? We can’t do anything about a murderer.”
“This kind of black-on-black is common.”
“So you think it’s normal?” she threw up her hands, “I’m sorry, I can’t do it. Even if I can’t really do anything for the deceased, I really can’t turn a blind eye.”
“The real reason you’re so insistent on investigating,” he stared at Pan Yuhuan’s car and poked a hole in her blind spot, “is because of your mother, right?”
In the parking lot, the words she had said to Dingdang were still fresh in his memory.
“Ah Wei has already told me about your senior’s mother’s case.” Jinglin glanced at him. He continued, “You think that owner told the killer your mother’s address, right?”
“That’s what I think.” She pursed her lips, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shake his head slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.” Xiangrong quickly denied it. “I was just lamenting that you, senior, have to carry such a big case at such a young age…”
“Anyone would want to find out the truth in this situation, right? Not to mention I’m a detective.”
“That’s right… that’s right.”
Jinglin skillfully followed the car. “They should be going to visit the sick… I’ll go down and follow them in a bit. I’ll leave the keys with you. If there’s anything, contact me by phone.”
“Um, got it.”
**
‘He… is very serious about his work, and he doesn’t talk much. He’s very good at directing others.’
The foreign worker’s Chinese was mixed with an accent, which made it a little difficult for Yingli to understand.
“You mean he has a lot of leadership ability?”
‘Yes, yes. He’s done a lot of things, killing chickens, pigs, catching fish, and so on… there was one time I was very impressed…’ speaking of his experience, the foreign worker was talkative.
‘We worked very late, and we would get back to the dorm at eleven or twelve, and we would get up at six or six-thirty in the morning. One time, a few of us were so hungry we couldn’t sleep, and there were cats meowing outside, so someone suggested we go and pick some vegetables from the side and cook some instant noodles to eat and sleep,’ he swallowed, his voice filled with fear, ‘but Nguyen Thi Xuan suggested we add some meat.’
“What do you mean?”
‘He meant to catch a cat from outside and kill it.’
Yingli instantly shivered.
‘He came back in less than five minutes, holding a small cat. I was so shocked. It was at most three months old, right? He held it by its hind legs, and with a knife, he stabbed it in the stomach, without even blinking…’
She pursed her lips tightly and heard him continue, ‘…he took care of it in a few strokes. We were stunned, but we were too hungry, and in our hometown, some people eat cats, so we didn’t think much of it, and we were even happy to have meat for a late-night snack.’
“He… didn’t hesitate at all?”
‘No. But later, when we were chatting, he said that for a living, he would do anything. He still had a wife and children to support…’ he recounted, and finally added, ‘after knowing that, it didn’t seem so scary anymore.’
“I see… for a living, he would do anything.” Turning her pen, Yingli wrote down the key points.
At the end of the call, he mentioned another suspicious point. ‘…He suddenly said that this way, he could see his daughter.’
This way, he could… “When did he say that?”
‘The night before last. Before we went to bed, we were smoking together and he said it.’
Wasn’t that the night before the accident? “Before he said that, did he mention why?”
‘No, he just suddenly said it, so I remember it very clearly.’ At the end, he sighed with emotion, ‘all of us, who doesn’t miss their family and want to go home?’
Yingli specifically asked him when he would be repatriated, and he said “the day after tomorrow,” and finally, he couldn’t help but choke back a sob. “Congratulations on finally being able to go home. Go and see your wife and children.”
He seemed to have had an emotional breakdown, and the call ended with a lot of crying.
“It’s over?” Fang Zijun raised an eyebrow. “That was a long talk.”
“Yes, he reminded me that in this land, there are still so many people who are struggling to make a living…” taking a deep breath and composing herself, she looked at her notes and said, “although he said he didn’t have much contact, from the content, I don’t think Nguyen Thi Xuan has any obvious mental illness… he shows dependence and care for his family, which is a universal value. He’s usually not very talkative, has leadership ability, but is calm in his actions, and will do anything for a living… especially the part about killing the cat, it made me very uncomfortable.”
“It’s very common for some foreign workers to eat dogs and cats.”
“If he can do anything, how far can he go for the family he values?” Yingli stared at the last paragraph and circled it. “The night before the incident, he said, ‘This way, I can see my daughter.’” Leaning back in her chair, she rested her chin on her hand in thought. “This way, I can…”
Could it be that he was going back to his country after he had finished his work? But they had been here for at least two years, and if they performed well and were willing to sign for another year, they could stay in Taiwan for up to three years.
But they had only been here for a few months.
Or was it repatriation due to the accident? And repatriation meant that the large brokerage fee would be wasted. No one would be willing to go back early before they had earned enough money.
But Nguyen Thi Xuan was definitely not just talking. For a person who rarely showed his emotions to say something like that, there must have been a basis for it.
What was his expression when he had said that?
Seeing that Yingli was deep in thought, Fang Zijun did not dare to disturb her. But Cai Yuwei suddenly ran over and shouted, “Teacher, Teacher, I found it…”
“Ah Wei, you… didn’t you see the teacher is thinking?”
“It’s fine.” Yingli stood up gracefully. “What did you find?”
“The six foreign workers were picked up by a Volkswagen van shortly after they left the construction site.” He handed her the printed photos. “I’ve checked the license plate. The owner is a woman in her eighties. I don’t think she’s involved.”
Yingli stared at the several screenshots, and through the hairstyle, she quickly found what looked like Nguyen Thi Xuan’s figure. “Let me see this video.”
Through the intersection surveillance camera, she clearly confirmed that Nguyen Thi Xuan was the last to get in the car and was looking around for any pursuers, which was consistent with his leadership position. The van carried everyone and quickly disappeared.
“Will the person who picked them up be Wu Jianxiong’s man?” Fang Zijun asked, also staring at the screen.
Her black-painted nails lightly tapped the desk. “I think it should be. Escaping after the accident… the timing of this pickup, and what he said the day before the accident… I’m more and more convinced that this was planned.”
“So it wasn’t an accident?”
“Yes, Wu Jianxiong deliberately planted his own people to cause this incident. Of course, the construction site’s safety may have had its own loopholes. I’ve seen the broken steel cable of the crane, and it’s unlikely they caused it.”
“Since Wu Jianxiong sent someone to pick them up…” Fang Zijun frowned, “then there will definitely be a follow-up action.”
“Yes… Chief Fang, do you remember the Chomsky incident, when Mountain Wind went to such lengths to get his brain scan data of criminals?”
“Of course I remember.”
“What they’re looking for must be people like Nguyen Thi Xuan.” Yingli enlarged Nguyen Thi Xuan’s face. “He has a certain leadership ability, is calm and not very talkative, and is decisive in his actions.”
“I see… he’s the best pawn for a crime.”
“But the data was deleted in the end, so they turned to the director for a list… a group of people with special backgrounds, which directly saved them the trouble of screening.” In this way, Mountain Wind’s actions had a perfect explanation.
“It seems they’re getting anxious. They want to increase their manpower as soon as possible.” And this also coincided with Li Yuejiao’s serious illness and her impending death.
“That makes sense.” Fang Zijun’s eyes lit up. “So that means she knew a long time ago that the director had a background in national security… they knew each other a long time ago.”
“No, not just knew each other,” she pushed up her glasses, “they may have had a close relationship.”
Fang Zijun remembered Zhou Zengxiang’s order to pick up Li Yuejiao when she was discharged from the hospital. Recalling his brief contact with Li Yuejiao before, he couldn’t help but feel complicated.
If Zhou Zengxiang were not here, and he had heard Tang Yingli say that, he really didn’t know what he would have thought.
“Wu Jianxiong will definitely not just use them once… Nguyen Thi Xuan will probably have to wait a little longer to see his daughter,” Yingli muttered to herself, and looked up to the other side, “Officer Jian, have you found out the person in charge of the construction site and the construction company?” As long as we can find the real person in charge, I believe we can further clarify Wu Jianxiong’s motive.
“I found a document. It has the names of the company’s many joint venture shareholders and the person in charge.” Jian Minggui continued to search without looking up. “But there are more than fifty shareholders, so it will take some time to screen them.”
“Please continue to search, and try not to miss any of them. If you find anyone with any political background, let me know at any time.”
“I understand.”
Walking to the whiteboard, Yingli quickly added the key points she had just gotten, and drew a red line under Nguyen Thi Xuan’s involvement. After she was done, she reviewed the case from the beginning.
“By the way, why haven’t I seen Officer Lu and Dr. Tao?” After a whole afternoon of being busy, it seemed the other two had not appeared.
“Oh, I had Big Head go back to the office to take charge. He and Ah Mu will take turns later. The entire investigation team can’t be without a leader.”
“That’s right.” Her index finger on her glasses, “Then what about Dr. Tao?”
“He took the afternoon off.”
“Did something happen at home again…”
Cai Yuwei interjected, “I don’t think so. He said at lunch that he had an appointment. He said it was very important… he had to go.”
“An appointment.” She raised an eyebrow playfully. “A man or a woman?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask, Teacher?”
“Ah, no reason. I was just thinking of caring about his love life. After all, he said our division is like a family.”
Cai Yuwei laughed. “You’re so deliberate.”
“Ha, just kidding. Is that so… a very important appointment?” she rested her chin on her hand, and out of the corner of her eye, she happened to see the still-suspicious case of the freelance journalist’s mysterious death.
These past few days, she had been completely focused on investigating the cooperation between the Mountain Wind organization and Wu Jianxiong and their motive, and she had somewhat neglected this case.
Her nails tapped on the famous composer Lin Pinyi had interviewed before his death. Yingli squinted, lost in thought.
**
Leaving the coffee shop, Tao Qianya thanked the old man, and at the same time, a young woman was by his side.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes…”
They walked to the station together, and on the way, the woman was almost silent. “Do you want something to eat?”
Huang Yunjia—Lin Pinyi’s girlfriend—shook her head, her face weary. “I just want to go home now…”
“It’s a rare occasion that you took leave, and he was kind enough to agree to let us interview him, but I never thought…” it would be for nothing.
“I still can’t figure it out.” Her voice was agitated. “Whether it was a suicide or a homicide as the police deduced… I can’t find a reason. Why?”
Huang Yunjia was thirty-three this year and had been dating Lin Pinyi for about a year. Although the woman’s parents had objected to the age gap, the two of them had continued to see each other without hesitation. Although the autopsy had confirmed that he had a drug habit, she, as his girlfriend, had been completely unaware, and had repeatedly stated that Lin Pinyi’s work and life were very normal, and that he was very good to her.
“It’s probably because of his special background. Someone was after him.”
“Do the police really take this case seriously? Why is only Dr. Tao investigating it?” she asked, grabbing Tao Qianya, trembling, “whether it was a grudge or a suicide, I don’t believe it. How did Pinyi die?”
“Miss Huang, please calm down.” Tao Qianya’s eyes suddenly widened—because Huang Yunjia was hugging him tightly. “Miss Huang?”
“He was very distant from his family. It was always our hope to start a family… please, you have to find out the cause of his death… please…” she was sobbing.
Looking at Huang Yunjia, who was trembling in his arms, at this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to push her away.
“I can understand this feeling, Miss Huang… don’t worry.” Taking a deep breath, he gently hugged her and said, “We will definitely get to the bottom of this.”
