Silent Testimony - Chapter 50

12:00 AM, Task Force Temporary Office.

Xiao Liao complained: “After continuous all-nighters, my dark circles can’t be hidden anymore.”

“The three female colleagues haven’t complained, so why are you making a fuss?” Old Xu, who was responsible for the Chen Han case, rushed over from the guesthouse after learning through the work group before bed that Zhang Dalu was suspected of murdering Qian Gang.

Xiao Zhou agreed with him: “Exactly.”

The moment the words left his mouth, the three female colleagues Old Xu mentioned pushed the door open. Qiu Wan looked serious and walked directly behind Xiao Zhou, asking him, “How is it going?”

“Good news. Zhang Dalu’s mother had surgery on September 26th. The hospital’s inpatient department received a total of 116,700 yuan in cash. The bank is currently checking the source of the cash based on the serial numbers.” Cash collected by the hospital’s clinic and inpatient department must be deposited into the bank on the same day. Zhang Dalu’s 50,000 yuan payment happened to be a large chunk, making the target obvious.

“We can’t be careless. We also need to contact smaller banks and find out quickly.”

Old Xu gave them a look: “Is Zhang Dalu playing dumb?”

Qiu Wan nodded: “Yes, he is keeping his mouth very tightly shut, but it should be Jiao Yong who instructed him, probably by making some kind of promise.”

Li Hewei leaned back against the office chair: “Since he’s willing to take the blame, what if we try an emotional appeal?”

“It’s useless. I tried it. I told him his brother would eventually be arrested by the police for the crime. Because it was a crime of passion, if he turned himself in, he would probably be sentenced to six or seven years. Zhang Dalu’s attempted murder of Jiao Yang would also be about six or seven years, and they could be released together then,” Old Xu gently tapped the desktop with a pen cap. “But guess what his reaction was?”

Everyone asked in unison: “What was the reaction?”

Old Xu spread his hands helplessly: “He let out two contemptuous laughs and said nothing.”

“He’s completely uncooperative.”

Li Hewei analyzed the feasibility: “Not necessarily. Zhang Dalu is currently taking the blame for Qian Gang’s murder all by himself. But if he learns that Jiao Yong cannot protect himself and the promise might not be fulfilled, will he change his statement?”

“Hard to say,” Qiu Wan bit her lip, pulled a marker pen from the pen holder, turned around to write the clues for the three cases on the whiteboard beside her, and tapped the desk to remind everyone, “Let’s review the cases.”

Everyone’s attention was focused.

“The key figures in the three cases are Zhang Dazhou, Zhang Dalu, Chen Han, Qian Gang, Jiao Yong, and Jiao Yang. In chronological order: Qian Gang contacts Chen Han—Jiao Yong (suspected) contacts Zhang Dalu—Zhang Dalu murders Qian Gang—Chen Han and Zhang Dalu attack Jiao Yang—Zhang Dazhou kills Chen Han in a crime of passion. For the Chen Han case, the suspect Zhang Dazhou is being pursued; the result is clear. For the casino case, Qian Gang was murdered, Jiao Yong was arrested, and Jiao Yang (suspected to be involved) is hospitalized. The focus is currently on her investigation. Finally, in the Qian Gang case, Zhang Dalu admitted to killing the deceased, but the motive for the murder is insufficient. And one more thing: where is the body? Why won’t he reveal where the body is?”

Li Hewei followed the logic: “Could the body be related to the mastermind who instructed the murder?”

Qiu Wan agreed with her point: “Yes, so the body must be found.”

Xiao Liao rubbed his forehead and sighed: “Boss, that’s easier said than done. Where are we supposed to look?”

Li Hewei suddenly had a realization and quickly asked, “Since we suspect Jiao Yong, what were his movements on the day the crime occurred?”

“He was drinking and having a barbecue with friends until 3 AM before leaving.”

Li Hewei frowned: “Do we have witnesses?”

“Yes.” Qiu Wan wrote the names of the three witnesses on the left side of Jiao Yong’s name. “They have all been interviewed and probably didn’t lie.”

Everyone present was exasperated, but Qiu Wan stabilized the morale: “At least we are very likely to find the source of the cash in Zhang Dalu’s possession. As for the body, we will search slowly.” She accurately tossed the marker into the pen holder, fatigue evident in her eyes. “Go back and rest. We will bring Zhang Dalu in for questioning tomorrow morning and try the emotional appeal again.”

Xiao Liao asked her: “Boss, what about Zhang Dalu?”

“Find trustworthy colleagues to keep an eye on him. No one is allowed to approach.”

“Understood!”

Li Hewei returned to her room, took off her outer clothes, changed into her pajamas, and finished washing up. It was nearly 1:30 AM when she lay down on the single bed. She set her alarm, and just as she was about to turn off the light and sleep, a WeChat notification showed an unread message from Tao Ling.

A private message late at night was not her style. Was she running a fever and going to the hospital? Li Hewei urgently tapped into the conversation box, and her tightly furrowed brow instantly smoothed out: [Sister Wei, I have a strong impression of Peng Liang.] Five minutes earlier, Tao Ling had gotten up to drink water and habitually browsed the group chat, where she happened to see the clue analysis diagram Qiu Wan posted in the task force group.

[Peng Liang?]

[He’s the friend who provided the alibi for Jiao Yong. He works at the funeral home.] Tao Ling was responsible for Chen Han’s autopsy and saw Peng Liang’s work badge when she passed by the funeral home office the day before yesterday. [It’s a coincidence, but Peng Liang was late, and Sister Xiaoting was grumbling, blaming him for being derelict in his duties.]

[Funeral home?]

[Yes, if you can’t find the body, could it be…]

[Cremated?] Li Hewei vaguely remembered a vicious murder case in the real world in Shandong, where the murderer was familiar with the funeral industry and had the deceased cremated. The police took two years to bring him to justice.

[I’m just guessing.]

[A reasonable guess.] Li Hewei threw off the quilt, shuffled into her slippers, and walked to the next room to knock on the door.

[You hurry up and rest. I will go find Sister Qiu.]

[What was your temperature before bed?]

Li Hewei watched the “typing” bubble with a few characters in it and couldn’t help but inwardly criticize: She speaks eloquently when discussing work, but reverts to a shy quail when it comes to personal matters—timid and retreating.

[Good night.] She ended the topic, letting the still-sick Tao Ling off the hook, and considered how to find an opportunity to change the current situation.

[Good night.]

That reply of ‘Good night’ was quite fast, though.

“Hewei?” Qiu Wan opened the door and headed toward the bathroom.

Li Hewei saw her tying up her long hair, with a hair band pressing back her bangs, clearly intending to wash her face, and quickly stopped her: “Don’t wash up yet. Come with me to the duty room.”

“What is it?”

“We could confirm it tomorrow, but I worry about delays breeding trouble overnight.” Li Hewei placed her phone in front of Qiu Wan. “Tao Ling said that Peng Liang works at the funeral home.”

“Funeral home?” Qiu Wan raised her hand, deftly removed the hair tie, and quickly tied her long hair into a ponytail. “Go back to your room and change your clothes.”

“Okay.”

It was nearly 2 AM. The two women hurried through the night with flashlights. Because the price was reasonable, they were still staying in the guesthouse opposite the funeral home. Qiu Wan comforted her: “Fortunately, we are close. It will take at most 10 minutes round trip.”

“I checked, and tonight is not Peng Liang’s shift.”

“I hope this is resolved soon,” Qiu Wan stretched languidly. “I haven’t had enough sleep and am mentally strained. I was driving distractedly tonight.”

Li Hewei looked worried: “Why did the car opposite suddenly overtake? Could someone be plotting something?”

“Jiao Yang probably wouldn’t do that. As for people from the police station, you never know,” Qiu Wan lowered her voice. “Director Liu will dispatch the task force to investigate, and they are already watching Xiao Zhang.”

“They like to create accidents. You also need to be careful.”

“Mhm.”

The two turned into the side entrance of the funeral home and walked up the stairs to the duty room on the second floor. Qiu Wan raised her hand and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Police.”

“Wait a moment.” The duty officer put on a jacket, came over to open the door, and looked confused: “What is this about?”

Qiu Wan explained their purpose.

“The register is in the office. Wait for me to get the key.”

Qiu Wan nodded: “Alright, thank you.”

Five minutes later, they were sitting at a desk, carefully examining the cremation register.

Li Hewei asked the staff member: “Was Peng Liang on duty on the 23rd?”

“Yes, Old Peng was on duty.”

“Two people were cremated. Were they scheduled in advance?” Li Hewei tilted her head. “Are there any other documents?”

“Usually, appointments are made in advance. Let me check.” The staff member pulled out a nearby drawer, took out a folder, and looked through the dates.

Qiu Wan, using her authority to look up the basic information of the deceased, was puzzled: “The old man in the afternoon is fine—he died on the afternoon of September 19th and was cremated after three days in the mortuary. But why was Wen Gui, who was cremated in the morning, listed with a time of death of September 15th?”

The staff member: “Maybe they checked the almanac?”

Li Hewei was alert: “What about the surveillance video?”

“There is only one, installed at the registration desk.”

“Please pull up the recording. We need it.”

“Okay.” The staff member logged into the computer and searched for the video. “Huh, that’s strange. There are no recordings for the 23rd, 24th, or 25th.”

Qiu Wan stared at the screen: “It was deleted. I will ask my colleagues to come and restore it tomorrow.”

Li Hewei pulled out her phone: “Sir, we need Peng Liang’s contact information.”

“137xxxxxxxx”

The two bid farewell. Li Hewei walked out the side entrance and dialed Peng Liang’s number.

“Hello, who is this?”

“Are you Peng Liang? I am a police officer from the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Puchen Public Security Bureau.”

“Ah, yes. Didn’t I already give a statement?”

“You had a meal and drinks with Jiao Yong on September 22nd. Were you late for your shift on the 23rd?”

“Oh, well, no one was scheduled for cremation in the morning, so being two minutes late is no big deal.”

Li Hewei grew suspicious: “No appointment? Was Wen Gui brought in unexpectedly?”

“Yes. He was a young man who had no mother to care for him since he was a child, and his old man also passed away. It was quite pitiful.”

“Did you see Wen Gui?”

Peng Liang stammered visibly: “Of… of course I did. We must verify the identity for cremation. His death certificate and household registration booklet copy were all there.”

“Just copies? Where are the originals?”

“The young man was taciturn at the time, and I just went for the convenience.”

Li Hewei sternly admonished him: “Went for convenience? You didn’t verify Wen Gui’s identity at all.”

“You… you can’t talk nonsense.”

“Nonsense? Due to your negligence, the murderer took the opportunity to cremate the body.”

Peng Liang was completely bewildered: “What? What murderer?”

“The funeral home surveillance footage for the 23rd and 24th has been deleted. If it wasn’t to destroy evidence, who would deliberately do that?”

“How would I know the surveillance was deleted?”

Li Hewei took a deep breath and slowed her pace: “Qian Gang from Wanyang Town, you know him, right?”

“Old Qian? I know him. What about him?”

Li Hewei spoke clearly, biting on every word: “The body that was pushed into the furnace at 9:15 AM on September 23rd could be Qian Gang.”

Peng Gang was instantly horrified, his voice starting to tremble: “No, it can’t be. You have no evidence…”

Li Hewei analyzed his tone, guessing that Peng Liang was likely unaware of the crime. She asked in a deep voice: “Did anything else unusual happen that day?”

“What unusual circumstances? Even if I’m usually careless, I always check the deceased’s identity carefully. But Brother Yong said the young man ran courier services, that he knew him, and wanted to cremate him quickly to help with the funeral arrangements.”