novelraw Chapter 447 - 268: The Suspect Emerges
Chapter 447 - 268: The Suspect Emerges
Qi Liyan and her team initially thought that when they brought up the matter of sponsoring a female college student ten years ago, Grandpa Jiao would open the door. However, surprisingly, the door remained closed.
"What’s going on? Could it be that he’s forgotten about the sponsorship?"
"Not necessarily. I think his reaction to seeing us was not normal, as if deliberately avoiding something."
Qi Liyan’s intuition told her that Jiao Changrong’s reaction to seeing the police was abnormal. Previously, it could be excused as not wanting to be disturbed, but now, after they clearly mentioned the sponsorship, he still wouldn’t open the door. This explained everything.
"So you mean, Tian Lifen might have been killed by him?" Lai Jiyun exclaimed, understanding Qi Liyan’s implication.
"Let’s go back first, don’t discuss it here."
Qi Liyan, worried that eyes might be watching them from behind the door, decided to return to the bureau to discuss further.
When Li Xiang saw them return, he immediately asked, "How about it? Did you find the person?"
"We found him, but his reaction was strange. Even after we explained why we were there, he continued to avoid us. I suspect..."
Qi Liyan didn’t finish her sentence, but everyone understood her implication.
"No way, sponsoring for four years doesn’t fit that kind of person." Sun Zhidong expressed some doubt.
"You never know. I’ve seen online that some people have impure motives for providing sponsorships." Yang Ming held the opposite view, believing it was possible.
"It’s not impossible. Currently, we have no other suspects to investigate, so we might as well look into him first."
Zhou Jian agreed more with Yang Ming’s perspective. After all, they had nothing else pressing at the moment, so they might as well investigate Jiao Changrong first.
"What do you think, Captain Li?" Qi Liyan asked.
Since Li Xiang was present, they still had to respect the captain’s opinion.
"Considering what you’ve said, this Jiao Changrong does seem quite suspicious. After Tian Lifen graduated from college, she had no connections in Yuncheng, and the only link she had was this kind-hearted person who sponsored her for four years. She met her end less than a month after arriving in Yuncheng, which wouldn’t allow enough time for her to make other enemies. As the saying goes, a kindness for a peck of rice, a hatred for a bucket-full. This Jiao Changrong indeed needs thorough investigation."
Upon Li Xiang’s words, the investigation team began to take action.
But just then, his actions suddenly paused.
"What’s wrong, Captain Li?"
"Nothing, I just have a feeling that the name Jiao Changrong sounds familiar, like I’ve seen it somewhere before."
"You’ve seen it? Could it be someone with the same name?"
"Unlikely. The surname Jiao isn’t very common, and I have an impression of this name, like it’s in our case files."
After hearing Li Xiang’s words, the investigation team exchanged puzzled looks.
In the case files?
"Hmm, now that Captain Li mentions it, I have a bit of an impression too." Qi Liyan thought for a moment, then quickly turned to find the case files.
"Found it, indeed we have. Zhou Jian, check the ID to see if these two people are the same."
Qi Liyan excitedly approached with the found record.
"Let me take a look."
The record stated the ID number. A name can be shared, but there is only one ID number.
After Zhou Jian checked, he confirmed, "It’s the same person!"
"Let me see, what do you mean same person?" Sun Zhidong leaned in and took the record from Zhou Jian.
"What are you looking at, give it to the captain." Yang Ming took it from Sun Zhidong’s hand and gave it to Li Xiang.
"Witness statement."
After reading the statement, Li Xiang realized he hadn’t been mistaken. This person was the same old man who filed a report at the park years ago, and he registered his name as Jiao Changrong at that time.
However, the impression everyone had was of an elderly cleaner, which made them overlook his name. Now, with the record taken out, they could finally confirm one thing.
"This Jiao Changrong is a major suspect."
The investigation team hadn’t expected the case to take such a profound turn.
As the kind-hearted person who sponsored Tian Lifen for four years, it turned out he was the one who murdered her, dismembered her, and discarded her head in the park — and he was the one who disposed of it himself. This act clearly challenged the police greatly.
He succeeded, as no one uncovered the truth for ten years.
"No wonder the surveillance footage didn’t capture the head entering the park. It turns out the head itself was hidden in the garbage truck the cleaner took into the park."
Zhou Jian realized it too. Previously, the police couldn’t figure out how the murderer managed to get the head into the park. Even after reviewing public surveillance footage, nothing suspicious was found. Now, by connecting all the clues, they finally figured out the method used by the murderer.
"Captain Li, let’s go apprehend him. Jiao Changrong is a major suspect."
"If Jiao Changrong is a major suspect, then you alerting him earlier just tipped him off. I’ll go with you, and we’ll immediately take coercive measures against Jiao Changrong."
"Understood."
"Get someone from the locksmith company. If he still refuses to come out, we’ll unlock it."
The people from the locksmith company are registered with the police, so Li Xiang called Wang Ruigang for a number and asked someone to come over.
"Why do you need the locksmith company’s number?"
Hearing Li Xiang ask for the locksmith company’s number, he guessed that Li Xiang might have something planned.
"We’re apprehending the headless body case’s murderer."
"What, you solved the case? So quickly?"
The voice on the other end of the line, Wang Ruigang, obviously raised a notch. He hadn’t expected that after ten years, Li Xiang had silently solved the case.