Chapter 1321: I Only Want You (19)
An Xiaoning asked, “Have you nabbed him yet?”
“Of course. I sent my men to keep close tabs on him ever since you told me to keep him under surveillance. We managed to arrest him effortlessly and are now handing him over to the police overseas. He’s committed far more serious crimes than Wang Jinsheng did.”
“How long of a jail term do you think he’d be sentenced to?”
“More than ten years, I reckon. He’s in for a tough time.”
An Xiaoning remained silent. After all, one had to be responsible for their own actions.
“Let’s talk about the case.”
“Alright.” Pan Zhenghui handed her a few case files and said, “There are two famous unresolved cases here. Take a look and see which one you’d like to handle first. They’ve been left unresolved for years. However, there’s one that’s tough to handle even though we have sufficient evidence. You may take both files with you and discuss them with the members of your team.”
An Xiaoning took it from him and said, “Okay, I know what to do.”
When she exited the office, she opened the files and began perusing the content.
The pieces of paper had already turned yellow, and she could tell that the case dated back to a long time ago.
An Xiaoning pushed the door open and entered the Special Investigation Unit office. Her team members immediately turned to look at her. Rubbing his hands together, Ma Jianguo chuckled and said, “Xiaoning, you’re finally here. We were waiting for you. We’ve just finished solving the case that we had been working on. Bureau Chief told us to start working on the new case with you.”
An Xiaoning sat down and said solemnly, “I’ve just received the case files for the two unresolved cases. I skimmed through the details and found that one is a case that took place 22 years ago while the other one took place 14 years ago. They’re famous cases. The culprits don’t necessarily have to be smart or highly intelligent. The reason they could get away is probably because there were no surveillance cameras or fingerprint-collecting systems back then. It’s indeed difficult to solve cases in the past. You guys look through these cases first. I’ll read them again later.”
She handed them the documents in her hand and allowed them to look through the content. Ten minutes later, they handed the file back to her.
“We’re done reading them. Which one would you like to work on first?”
Ma Jianguo suggested, “I think we should start working on the case about the widow’s village. This is the older one of the two cases. Although there are discussions about it online, it’s much tougher to crack this compared to the other one. At the very least, though, there is sufficient evidence for the other case. I think we should begin with the hardest one first.”
“I agree with Old Ma. Team Leader, I’ve actually already read through the discussions of the case online. However, I have a feeling that the culprit of that case is still living well today. This is also why the victim has died an unavenged death. I think it’d be very difficult to get to the bottom of this case, so I do agree that we should work on this first,” Gong Le chimed in.
An Xiaoning nodded and said, “Let’s start with this one, then. However, do you guys really think that the other case is easy to solve? If that were the case, why do you think it’s still unresolved even though there is sufficient evidence?”
Ma Jianguo said softly, “It’s all because of the culprit’s powerful family who has his back. But of course, his status pales in comparison with yours, Xiaoning. It’s true that in the wider world, there’ll always be someone better. I bet that that culprit doesn’t know that you’re going to handle this case yourself. He’d definitely be terrified if he were to find out.”
“You guys better keep your lips sealed. We haven’t begun working on the second case yet. You’d better not spout any nonsense.Otherwise, you are to bear the consequences yourself.”
“Ah, Xiaoning, rest assured, we’re policemen. You must have faith in your subordinates. Alright?”
An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, “I’ll take the second case file with me first. We’ll discuss it again at a later time. For now, let’s focus all our attention on the first case. I’d like to take a different approach this time. We’ll start investigating slowly. I reckon this matter has become taboo within the village. Besides, I also want to know if the ratio of males to females was normal in the village prior to the case. Was it?”
Ma Jianguo explained, “Yes. After this case took place, the men in the village began dying one after another. Most of the men then began cooping themselves up at home. There were quite a few who moved away too. The ones remaining in the village now are all financially unstable. At first, everyone thought that it was a problem with the water supply. However, they found out later that that wasn’t the case because the female villagers have drunk the water too. Not long after, the village was renamed as the Widows’ Village. Two decades ago, everyone began spreading a rumor about there being a sinister presence in the village and an evil spirit exacting its revenge on the villagers.”
“Seems like I must go there myself if I want to find out about the Widows’ Village. I was planning to do so anyway.”
Zu Dong asked, “Team Leader, do we go with you or do you have other plans?”
“We’ll definitely arouse suspicion if so many of us go together. I’ll assign tasks to you guys. Zu Dong shall go with me while Gong Le and Ding Liang shall reconnoiter the Widows’ Village. Ma Jianguo, you’re the oldest so you shall stay in the police station to wait for further orders.”
“Xiaoning, you’re discriminating against me because of my age. I want to follow the two of them. I’m an experienced police officer. I definitely know more than they do,” Ma Jianguo protested.
“Alright, we shall do just that, then. I’ll take a look at the case in detail. The three of you, go and reconnoiter. Zu Dong shall follow me back to Wei Ni Estate.”
“Okay.”
An Xiaoning drove back to Wei Ni Estate with Zu Dong and discovered that Jin Qingyan was still home.
“Why didn’t you go to the office?”
“I’ll go later. Did you really take on the case?” Jin Qingyan asked upon the sight of Zu Dong.
“Yes, I did. Zu Dong and I will be heading to the Widows’ Village this afternoon. I won’t be coming back for a while.”
Jin Qingyan hated hearing about such plans. The fact that she was staying out meant that he would have to sleep alone at night and that he wouldn’t be able to see her for a period of time.
“Are you planning to stay there, then?”
“Yes, of course.” After some thought, An Xiaoning added, “Zu Dong and I will be pretending to be a couple and rent a house there.”
She decided to let him know in advance, lest he gets jealous for no reason.
“…”
Jin Qingyan objected, “Let Shixin go with you.”