Silent Testimony - Chapter 52

The interrogation was over, and it was already twilight by the time the detention procedures were completed. The lights in the temporary task force office were ablaze. Xiao Liao held his face in his hands and sighed: “It turns out Jiao Yang was Zhang Dalong’s junior high math teacher and once contributed 2,000 yuan to help the Zhang family through a tough time. No wonder Zhang Dalong took all the blame alone.”

Nine years ago, Jiao Yang taught at Wanyang Middle School, and Zhang Dazhou was her student. One day, on her way home from work, she ran into Zhang Dazhou, who was lost and confused on the sports field. She patiently inquired and found out his older brother had his leg broken by someone and urgently needed 3,000 yuan for surgery. Their mother had scraped together 1,000, leaving a deficit of 2,000.

Jiao Yang immediately lent her salary to Zhang Dazhou, alleviating the Zhang family’s urgent crisis.

“Although gratitude played a part, Jiao Yong’s promise was the main reason he remained silent,” Li Hewei typed on the keyboard without lifting her head. “100,000 yuan in cash, plus he promised his younger brother a job at Jiao Yang’s company with a base salary of 5,000 yuan, plus commission based on sales.”

Qiu Wan clarified the timeline: “Yes, Zhang Dalong told Jiao Yong about Qian Gang’s intention to murder Jiao Yang. Jiao Yong then leveraged that to make him kill Qian Gang instead.”

Xiao Liao clicked his tongue: “I’d say his brother, Zhang Dazhou, is the innocent one. A brilliant student with a promising future, he accidentally killed Chen Han for 50,000 yuan.”

Li Hewei neither agreed nor disagreed, asking Qiu Wan with a faint smile: “If the shepherd hadn’t discovered Chen Han’s body, revealing the other two cases, the two Zhang brothers would have gone on—one working at the casino, the other in e-commerce—right?”

“Yes, it all comes down to money. Who kills without a reason?” The moment Qiu Wan finished speaking, the phone on her left vibrated. She looked down, saw an unfamiliar number displayed on the screen, and answered. Jiao Yang’s muffled voice came through the receiver: “Old classmate, I surrender.”

“You?” Qiu Wan’s delicate eyebrows furrowed instantly.

“If I told you opening the casino was just to retaliate against Jiao Yong, would you believe me?”

“Retaliation?”

Jiao Yang slowly recounted the cause and the planning process.

Her mother was the eldest, followed by a younger sister. Her maternal grandparents continued trying for a son, which was Jiao Yong. Jiao Yong monopolized all the family’s resources from childhood, not only draining their parents but also exploiting his two older sisters in adulthood. Jiao Yang returned to her hometown to teach after graduation but was often psychologically oppressed by Jiao Yong.

“He’s the relative I mentioned to you at the hospital.”

Qiu Wan let out a long sigh.

Jiao Yang continued speaking: “During the period when he contracted the coal mine, I completely understood Jiao Yong’s nature. As long as he could make money, he wouldn’t hesitate to cross the legal line. So, in 2014, I used the connections I had accumulated to open a casino and invited him to assist. Qian Gang took a 30% cut, I took 30%, and he took 10%. The rest was used for payoffs and expenses.”

“In February this year, I started contacting other relatives and friends about e-commerce, slowly shifting my focus. He took over the casino operations, and his cut changed from the original 10% to 20%.”

“You did that deliberately?”

Jiao Yang forced a smile: “Yes, I planned to completely divest and then report him anonymously. Who knew you would suddenly get involved?”

“Actually, I’ve already informed the Qian family about Jiao Yong’s murder of Qian Gang. They should retaliate as well. You won’t escape legal punishment.”

“I understand. Letting Jiao Yong push all the blame onto Qian Gang was also a deliberate move—a dead end I walked down, especially since Qian Gang’s cousin knows about our partnership.”

Qiu Wan’s throat felt dry, and her breathing became heavy: “Jiao Yang, why? Why sacrifice yourself just to take revenge on him?”

“If I hadn’t run into you, I could have walked away unscathed.” Jiao Yang suddenly laughed aloud. “Greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Both he and Qian Gang wanted to monopolize the gambling profits. I only wanted him locked up for a few years, but now it will be at least life imprisonment?”

“Most likely the death penalty. The crime process was extremely heinous, and the body has been cremated into ashes.” Qiu Wan leaned by the window, gazing at the scattered shops in the distance. Her eyes showed obvious regret as she recalled Jiao Yang’s youthful vigour. “What will you do after you get out?”

“I’ll work in e-commerce. The company is being managed by my third aunt-in-law. Although she divorced Jiao Yong, she has always worked for me and is trustworthy.” Jiao Yang sounded relieved. “Also, you need to learn to be flexible sometimes. The car accident last night was not an accident.”

The demon fueled by money extended its hand to a colleague with whom he had weathered tough times. The deputy director of the Wanyang Town Police Station. Qiu Wan had worked with him during her internship, solving two major cases together.

“Mhm. The municipal bureau will investigate. Thanks.” Qiu Wan hung up the phone, stared at the faint streetlight downstairs, and forced a helpless smile. She turned to instruct Wang Cen: “Sister Wang, send someone to the hospital to guard Jiao Yang. Arrest her after she is discharged.”

“Okay.”

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. Get some rest early tonight. We’ll hand over the case tomorrow.”

Xiao Liao chuckled: “Boss, where is the shift schedule?”

Qiu Wan gave him a look: “I’ll post it in the group later.” She sat down and forwarded the tables she received this morning. “Everyone take a look and note the times.”

Xiao Liao sighed: “I’m on the 4th! How am I supposed to plan my time off?”

Xiao Zhou: “I’m also on the 4th.”

Li Hewei tapped open the chat box and sent a private message to Qiu Wan: [I have the 1st and 2nd with you, but Tao Ling has a cold, and Yingqiu injured her ankle, so I probably can’t go out.]

[Next time then.]

[Depending on Yingqiu’s recovery, we could take a short trip on the last two days.]

[No rush. Wait until she’s fully recovered. There will be other opportunities.] Followed by another message: [Or, how about we make good on the dinner invitation from two months ago? Cheng’an Hotpot?]

[Deal.]

The next day, after the handover, Wang Cen and Old Xu stayed behind to handle the follow-up matters, and Qiu Wan led the team back to Puchen. It was the first day of the National Day holiday, and Li Hewei was off, but she was busy until 6 p.m. before pushing open her front door.

“Sis! I missed you so much.” Cheng Yingqiu, sitting on the sofa eating takeout, opened her arms, her excitement palpable.

Li Hewei shuffled closer in her slippers, looking around. The fatigue in her eyes was obvious. Not seeing Tao Ling, her heart dropped: “Where is she?”

“I think she went back to Wangyan. I heard her book a ride around 2 p.m.”

Wangyan…

Li Hewei frantically pulled out her phone and scrolled through her chat history with Liu Yun.

September 29th: [Luhai wants Xiao Ling to come home for a blind date during the National Day holiday. I haven’t told her yet.]

A blind date? Why did she agree to a blind date? Li Hewei clenched her right hand into a fist, aghast, consumed by disappointment and self-reproach. Two months ago, she said she didn’t want to go, yet now she easily agreed. Is it because she realized she likes me? Is she trying to suppress her feelings this way? Boring, childish.

Her thoughts were tumultuous, Li Hewei’s chest heaved violently, her eyes fixed on Tao Ling’s number.

Cheng Yingqiu saw her abnormal state and, unsure of the reason, tentatively asked: “Sis, are you worried about Sister Tao Ling’s health?”

Li Hewei snapped out of anger: “Worried? Why would I worry about her?”

“Aiya, she didn’t have a fever yesterday, just a slight cough.” Cheng Yingqiu blinked. “If you want to call her, just call her. It’s rare to see an older woman pursue someone so directly.”

“I won’t call.” Li Hewei gritted her back teeth. “She made her bed; I have no standing to counsel her.”

Lanhe Road, Wangyan Town. Inside a regular Chinese restaurant, four people were seated around a table by the window. The elderly woman, surnamed Miao, was the primary school Chinese teacher for the other three.

She put on a stern face, feigning a scold: “Ai, a phone call would have been enough. You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of coming back.”

“It’s your 40th birthday, that makes it special.” The girl with the ponytail smiled sweetly, giving the other two a knowing look. “Tell me, isn’t that right?”

Tao Ling picked up her teacup, revealing a light smile: “Yes, Happy Birthday, Teacher Miao.”

The class monitor held her cup with both hands: “Haha, since the study representative has started, let’s wish Teacher Miao a long, happy life and many more birthdays to come.”

The three girls said in unison: “Happy Birthday, Teacher Miao!”

Teacher Miao couldn’t hide her joy: “Happiness, happiness. I’ll be happy if all of you leave the countryside and go to university.”

Eighteen years ago, Miao Lan returned to her hometown to teach after graduating from vocational college. Having experienced higher education, she deeply understood that only by encouraging girls to study more could the deeply ingrained preference for sons be subtly changed. Therefore, from the time her students reached the sensible age of third grade, she tirelessly instilled the idea of “daughters must rely on themselves.”

The echo of her education was deafening.

Out of the first class she taught, eight were girls, and five of them were admitted to university.

“Teacher Miao, Chun Mei is working overtime and couldn’t make it. She asked me to give you this red envelope.”

Tao Ling scrolled through her WeChat interface, her eyes crinkling in a smile: “And there’s Chen Yan. She said to beg for forgiveness now and apologize properly during the Spring Festival.”

Teacher Miao poked her rice bowl: “What are you talking about? Apologize properly?”

“She’s joking.” The class monitor chewed on beef, patting Tao Ling’s shoulder: “Old Tao, you look gentle and speak softly, yet you do the toughest job—a forensic pathologist! Most people can’t handle it.”

Tao Ling said without thinking: “Maybe it’s the habit of butchering fish?”

Another girl chimed in: “I heard forensic work is dirty, tiring, and very tough.”

The class monitor said boldly: “What does Old Tao have to fear? Tongping Village is six li (approx. 3 km) from the town. When she was in school, she often walked to school with her backpack before dawn.”

Teacher Miao sighed: “Yes, Tao Ling and Chen Yan live in Tongping. It really wasn’t easy.”

“Teacher Miao, it’s your birthday today. Should we stop bringing up the past?” Tao Ling’s eyes were filled with a smile, as if the past hardships were nothing but fleeting clouds. “Besides, who says forensic work is dirty and tiring? Our benefits are better than people imagine, and the work itself is not as dangerous as that of frontline criminal police officers.”

Teacher Miao gave her a thumbs-up, feeling gratified: “I knew you could do it.”

The class monitor laughed in agreement: “Of course. She’s the lone seedling of our class.”

Tao Ling was momentarily stunned: “Lone seedling?”

“The one who got into a key undergraduate program.”

“Class monitor, you’re teasing me again.” Tao Ling opened the contract dialog box on her QQ, pushing her phone toward Teacher Miao. “I signed the contract online at 5 p.m. this afternoon. This is the first book I’ve sold.”

“What book?”

“A big-heroine suspense novel. I started writing it during my internship and finished it in April this year.”

“Old Tao, you’re amazing.” The class monitor was curious, “Can we read it online?”

“No, I contacted the publisher directly and signed a physical book deal.” Tao Ling’s eyes softened. “After multiple rejections over the past six months, I finally gained the appreciation of Nanyuan.”