Yang Guanghao: "You haven't experienced this, so you speak so easily. However, your daughter is now in their hands. I only hope you don't end up like me. Good luck."
"Don't worry, I won't do anything that violates police ethics, let alone break the law like you."
As I walked out of the interrogation room, I was thinking that the perpetrator must have exploited Yang Guanghao's concern for his son. I had investigated their situation. Ever since his wife disappeared, their relationship had deteriorated. Yang Guanghao's son had always blamed his father for not being able to find his mother, despite being a police officer.
But for years, Yang Guanghao had not retorted. He had been silently searching for his wife, hoping to give his son an explanation one day. Now, this task had fallen to us.
Before being taken away, Yang Guanghao told me, "If you have any news about Ah Hong and Ah Tian, tell me immediately, Director He!"
"Don't worry, you've sacrificed too much for them. Although you did wrong, these are things you should know. However, the final outcome may not be what you wish for."
"Whether alive or dead, it's an outcome. I can accept it. It's been so many years, and my son has grown up so much. This time, I even dragged him..."
Yang Guanghao sighed as he was led away. Internally, I was also quite conflicted, truly worried that other police officers who had been victims back then would also end up like him. No, I had to contact Officer Li immediately. He was no longer in Guangming City. After the case 12 years ago, he had gone to Zhenshui City, a city adjacent to Gaogang City.
Actually, Liu Yuning had already contacted him. He knew that the case from 12 years ago was being reopened, so he directly requested a transfer and came to Guangming City. This time, he intended to work with us to break the case.
Li Rufu had just arrived at the provincial department, and several of us greeted him. His wife had also disappeared 12 years ago. He had no children. Seeing the police officers who handled the case back then again, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Upon learning that I was He Jianquan's son, Li Rufu said, "I've heard from your grandfather before that you have a talent in this area. I didn't expect you to become a director so quickly over the years."
"It's alright. Officer Li, what are your thoughts on the case from 12 years ago? When your wife disappeared, was the situation the same as with the other officers?"
"Yes, it was the same. Suspected farewell letters, blooming six-petaled chrysanthemums, and bloodstains. Additionally, before they disappeared, their behavior was somewhat abnormal, but we were too busy to pay attention."
"Were the handwriting analyses done back then? Were they written by themselves?"
"Dao Zhiyong's grandfather was also here at the time. He suggested that they were forced to write them, because the strokes were much more hurried than their usual writing. This aligns with Dao Zhiyong's current view, which is why we believe the perpetrator is back. It was Cao Xiangchen, the person we arrested then. He managed to escape at the time. We had been investigating the events of that year and finally discovered that he had an accident while being transported in a prison van. He killed several bailiffs, used their keys to open his handcuffs, and then escaped. There were no surveillance cameras on that stretch of road, and Cao Xiangchen was extremely cunning, wearing a black cloth bag over his face the entire time, making it impossible for even surveillance to determine his movements. He just disappeared like that. It's been almost ten years. Twelve years ago, he was brought to justice, but he never told us what happened to our wives."
So that was it. Officer Li and the others had always believed that the current events were also orchestrated by Cao Xiangchen, because the methods were too similar. If it were me, I would have thought the same. Now, as we investigated, there was no trace of Cao Xiangchen. However, with Officer Li by our side, at least we could act together, and he wouldn't be in danger.
Upon hearing of Officer Guo's death, Li Rufu was extremely saddened, but he was puzzled. "Before, they just took people away, but this time they even forced Officer Yang to kill. Cao Xiangchen, if I catch you, I'll definitely teach you a lesson!"
"Officer Li, don't be impulsive. The law must punish him!"
"Don't worry, I won't be like Yang Zi. Officer Yang, why was he so impulsive!"
From Officer Li, I learned even more about the situation 12 years ago. We combined the information about the missing persons, and with Officer Li's help, we re-examined it. The result revealed that they had all been to the same place before their disappearances.
Yuan Hezhi, who provided technical support, was responsible for helping us investigate. In a corner, he pointed out an issue: "Officer Yang, Officer Guo, and Officer Li's wife had all appeared on this beach more than three times. That's definitely not a coincidence. I think you should investigate here!"
"No wonder I saw my wife returning with mud all over her clothes back then. It was the beach. Let's go, we must find a clue!"
The surveillance technology 12 years ago was definitely not as powerful as it is now. Moreover, Yuan Hezhi should have learned well from He Xin. Through his efforts, we finally pinpointed a location. Interestingly, at that time, we saw Officer Yang, He Xin, and my grandfather all appearing in this vicinity. This couldn't help but make us suspicious of this place.
Bringing a considerable number of men, we arrived around this place called Lakeside Beach and began a thorough search. The beach staff, seeing so many police officers suddenly surrounding the area, were at a loss. Our men controlled the staff. These people were likely involved, but under our interrogation, they couldn't provide any coherent answers, claiming they knew nothing about the disappearances.
However, when the wives of those police officers were mentioned, I clearly noticed that their expressions changed. Good heavens, these people are all problematic!
I didn't have time to take them back for interrogation, so I subdued one. Officer Li was also extremely angry at that moment. He grabbed one person by the head and pushed him into the mud and sand. I then tied up some people and repeatedly rubbed my sharp dissection knife against them. Finally, a skinny man couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Don't do this, please. We don't want to either. It's a young man who forced us!"
"A young man? Who? With so many of you, you couldn't deal with one young man?" I questioned.