Looking at the angry eyes of the villagers around me, my heart was in my throat, and I was really worried for Officer Yang! Officer Yang looked indifferent, took out his mobile phone, walked out of the crowd, and answered the call.
The villagers around no longer had angry expressions on their faces. Wherever Officer Yang passed by, everyone would make way for him, as if there was something dirty on him and they were afraid of coming into contact with him.
At first I was wondering why the villagers' attitude suddenly changed 180 degrees. But when I walked to Officer Yang, I couldn't help laughing. Although Officer Yang was holding a phone in one hand, he was waving a pistol in the other hand. After all, the deterrent power of this thing was definitely greater than that of a zombie. So no one dared to show any disrespect to Officer Yang anymore.
We successfully passed through the crowd and arrived outside the village committee. I immediately felt extremely comfortable all over. It would have been strange if I didn't feel uncomfortable being squeezed among so many people.
Although I didn't know who called Officer Yang, I knew from his serious expression that the call must be very important, so I didn't disturb him and just smoked quietly on the side.
After a while, Officer Yang came up to me with the phone and handed it to me. I was still wondering when I heard Bai Qi's familiar voice coming from the phone.
"Ji Wen, how have you been these days?"
When I heard Bai Qi's voice, I felt like I had found a savior, and I immediately said, "Uncle Bai, we are trapped here, and the villagers here are more dangerous than the others."
"I know. Lao Yang has just told me what happened. You just have to bear with it for a while. After all, the road is under repair and we can't go over to support you." Bai Qi interrupted me before I could finish.
Although I already knew this would be the result, I still felt a little disappointed. I continued to ask, "Uncle Bai, don't you have any means of transportation like a helicopter? You could take us away first."
Bai Qi said helplessly: "We can't apply for this easily. Even if we apply for it, you will probably be back by the time the helicopter comes, so just bear with it."
Bai Qi paused for a moment and continued, "I called you this time mainly because of the photos of the corpse Xiao Lin sent me earlier. I have already asked the forensic doctor to examine them. I also want to discuss this case with you."
"The identification results are out? Uncle Bai, please tell us quickly!" I didn't expect Bai Qi to be so efficient. It only took more than an hour and the forensic identification results were obtained so quickly.
Bai Qi on the other end of the phone seemed to be flipping through some documents, and said, "It's hard to infer the true situation of the deceased from the photos, but what is certain is that the cause of death was indeed suffocation. As for whether it was done by the body of Zhao Tiezhu's father, it is impossible to judge. Moreover, the mark on the neck of the deceased that looks like a burn is also impossible to verify. Can you take some clearer photos now so that the forensic doctor can do further identification."
I said helplessly: "It's too late. A lot of things happened here. Anyway, the body of the deceased has been thoroughly cleaned now, and many clues are gone."
"Is that so?" It was obvious that Bai Qi was very disappointed after hearing this.
"But don't worry, Uncle Bai. I will do my best to investigate this. I don't believe there is really such a thing as someone pretending to be dead and killing people!" As I said this, I briefly shared my findings and experiences during this period with Bai Qi on the phone.
After listening to my analysis, Bai Qi also agreed and said, "Yes, the doubts you have analyzed are very important. We must solve them within the next few days. In addition, you should pay attention to the village chief."
"Why?" Because the phone receiver was very loud, Officer Yang and I could both hear Bai Qi's voice and asked at the same time.
"While the forensic doctor was examining the photos, I also looked through the files of Heishan Village and found a passage about the village chief that puzzled me. It was the record of Zhao Tiezhu's mother committing suicide."
I have always felt that Zhao Tiezhu's mother's suicide must be closely related to the current case. Now, after hearing Bai Qi's words, I immediately feel refreshed, and it seems that the truth has slowly surfaced.
"According to records, this incident didn't seem to be taken seriously by Black Mountain Village at the time. It was just treated as an ordinary suicide. Even the forensic doctor didn't carefully examine the body and just brushed the matter off. I don't know what the people who managed Black Mountain Village back then ate. Such an important matter was only mentioned briefly. I think there must be something hidden in it, and the village chief must be an insider."
A long time ago, I suspected that the village chief was vague when he told me what happened back then. Now, after hearing what Bai Qi said, I feel that there must be something fishy going on. If the village chief, who has always pretended to be a weakling, is really the murderer of this murder, then the suicide of Zhao Tiezhu's mother back then must have been his motive!
"Uncle Bai, I understand. Next, I will do my best to investigate what happened back then. This must be a key breakthrough in this case!"
"Well, okay. The place where the case happened this time is quite remote. You are outnumbered and must be careful. Don't let anything go wrong while investigating the case. I can't take the blame for that."
After hanging up the phone with Bai Qi, Officer Yang asked me, "What should we do now?"
You know, Officer Yang is the director of a police station. He actually asked me what to do at this time. I felt extremely happy in my heart. I tried not to laugh and said, "I think we can take action tonight. Now we just need to wait. First, we need to wait to see if Lin Yingxue can find out what happened in Li Jianmin's home last night. Second, we need to wait to see how that liar Liu deals with the two bodies. When both sides have results, we will discuss the next step. In short, we must find out something tonight!"
Just like that, Officer Yang and I parted ways on the spot. He went to inquire about the villagers about what happened to Zhao Tiezhu's mother, while I returned to Li Jianmin's home to see if his wife had woken up, because I really wanted to know what Li Jianmin's wife knew.
When I arrived at Li Jianmin's house, I saw Lin Yingxue coming out of the bedroom. When she saw me come in, she immediately asked about the situation over there. After I briefly explained, I asked, "Is she awake?"
Lin Yingxue nodded and said, "She woke up a long time ago, but her mental state is not very good. I haven't asked her about what happened last night. She should have recovered enough now. Let's go in and ask her."
Lin Yingxue's tone when she spoke to me was no longer as cold as before. It was like a conversation between colleagues, which made me feel very comfortable. I nodded and followed her into the bedroom.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw the middle-aged woman sitting on the kang, covered with a quilt, staring at the ceiling in a daze. I thought she had gone crazy and was about to go forward to take a closer look, but I found that the middle-aged woman had already shifted her gaze to me.
"How did Jianmin deal with it?"
This was the first thing the middle-aged woman said. Although I was surprised by her reaction, I still said calmly, "I'm in the village committee right now, being tormented by Master Liu."
But who would have thought that after hearing this, the middle-aged woman immediately gnashed her teeth and said, "This Liu Datou! He has been lying all his life, and now he even deceives his own brother!"
This sentence contained too much information for me, and I became alert instantly. It was obvious that Master Liu and the deceased Li Jianmin had a very special relationship! Of course, judging from the attitude of the middle-aged woman, she did not believe in the murder by pretending to be dead. In other words, she must have known something last night that was enough to overturn the murder by pretending to be dead!
Lin Yingxue also understood the importance of this sentence, and pretended to be confused: "Sister, but when we came here this morning, we clearly saw Zhao Tiezhu's father strangling your husband's body, so how could Master Liu lie?"
The middle-aged woman snorted coldly and said, "You just came to Heishan Village and don't understand. This Liu Datou has known my Jianmin since he was a child. We can be considered friends since childhood, and our two families often visit each other. Although I don't like this person, Jianmin takes into account our friendship and often invites him to dinner at home. This person is a complete liar. He has been defrauding money everywhere in several nearby villages under the banner of exorcising demons and monsters. He has been beaten for this. Do you think I will believe his lies?"
Before Lin Yingxue could continue speaking, I spoke first: "I'm afraid this is not the reason why you don't trust him. Am I right?"
The middle-aged woman turned to look at me, her eyes were surprisingly calm, not like someone who had just lost her husband, and asked, "What do you want to say?"
"I don't want to say anything, I just want to know what happened last night. Judging from your reaction, you must have seen or heard something. I wonder if you can tell us the clues you know, and we will definitely give your husband justice!"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the middle-aged woman looked at him coldly and said, "Why should I trust a young man like you? Go call Officer Yang. It's no use telling you this."
Being looked down upon like this, I was immediately furious. Just as I was about to argue with her, I heard Lin Yingxue, who had been silent, say, "Sister, don't underestimate him. He is the person hired by our special case team to investigate this case. He is also very smart. He was the one who solved the heart-digger case in the city last month."
I never expected that Lin Yingxue would stand up and speak for me at this critical moment. When I turned to look at Lin Yingxue, she had already shifted her gaze elsewhere, and her face became as cold as before, but this time, I could feel a hint of warmth.
The middle-aged woman seemed to believe Lin Yingxue very much. After listening to what Lin Yingxue said, she finally believed me completely. She sighed, her eyes turned red again, and said, "Actually, I don't know what happened last night, but I had a strange dream last night. When I woke up this morning and saw Jianmin's body, I realized that the dream was probably not just a dream!"