The members of Captain Guo's team were already seated upon our arrival, as if they had been waiting for the Criminal Punishment Team. Once settled, Captain Guo introduced us to his team: "These are the renowned members of the Criminal Punishment Team, led by Detective He. Each of them is an elite officer we must all learn from. Please give them a warm round of applause!"
Clap, clap, clap...
Led by Captain Guo, everyone erupted into enthusiastic applause, making us feel a bit awkward. I waved my hand, "Alright, let's get straight to the point!"
Captain Guo smiled and had a technician turn on the projector. Photos of the crime scene of the deceased Fan Jianyi were displayed. Fortunately, we managed to suppress our nausea; otherwise, the meal we had earlier would truly have been wasted.
Captain Guo used a laser pointer to briefly describe the body, then shifted to the Song poetry found at the scene. At this point, He Xin raised her hand and said, "Captain Guo, the officer staking out the pier has sent word. They found footprints similar to those at the tea garden here. I tracked suspicious individuals leaving the pier and found two dock workers, one stout and one slender. They are both staff members at the pier!"
"Oh? That was quick. Have they been found?"
"Don't you see Xiao Yuande isn't here? He's taken some people out!"
"Understood. Then there's no point in continuing this meeting. Everyone, help with the capture!"
As Captain Guo spoke, his men departed. We, however, secretly rejoiced, knowing that Xiao Yuande's involvement would leave no room for error.
We just needed to wait here for his good news.
As expected, about two minutes later, Xiao Yuande brought the suspects back. Captain Guo was just about to go out himself, but seeing Xiao Yuande return, he suddenly felt immensely awkward.
The two dock workers were named Cheng Liangce, the stout one, and Di Leyin, the slender one. We didn't know why they committed the crime, but we would likely have to ask them directly.
However, we hadn't personally witnessed him abducting Fan Jianyi on the surveillance footage. First, it was pitch black at the time, making it impossible to see anything clearly. When the next day dawned, Fan Jianyi was discovered missing. The killer must have taken him during the night.
He Xin had used a time-difference analysis to pinpoint these two individuals.
These two were clever, choosing to act in secluded areas or in complete darkness, thus perfectly evading surveillance.
Upon arriving at the interrogation room, Captain Guo and I began questioning Cheng Liangce.
Cheng Liangce sat on the interrogation chair with a naive look, a silly grin on his lips. His demeanor didn't seem feigned; the guy genuinely seemed to have a mental issue.
Captain Guo immediately grew impatient. "Cheng Liangce, be serious! Do you think this is a play? If you keep smiling like that, I'll sew your mouth shut!"
I pulled Captain Guo's arm. "Don't rush, he might be naturally like this." I handed Captain Guo a hospital diagnostic report. After a glance, he said, "Mild intellectual disability?"
"Yes. People like him are easily manipulated. However, the slender one appears normal. Cheng Liangce was probably controlled by him."
"Then should we even bother asking? Can this person provide normal answers?"
"Let's try!"
I stared at Cheng Liangce and politely asked, "Mr. Cheng, can you tell us why you were at Fuhai Pier after 10 PM on the 20th?"
Cheng Liangce shook his head, maintaining his foolish smile. "Old Yin asked me to play. He wanted help moving someone for a game of hide-and-seek. I thought it was fun, so I followed!"
"Old Yin" must have referred to the slender man. From Cheng Liangce's voice, he sounded like a child of about ten years old.
No wonder the diagnostic report stated his IQ was only ten. Cheng Liangce was likely deceived by the slender man, which is why he went to the pier.
"When you touched that person, were they still alive?" Captain Guo continued to ask.
"Alive, alive! He was still talking then. I thought he and Old Yin were good friends."
"Good friends?" I said, puzzled.
"Yes! They seemed to know each other better than I knew him. *Wuwu*, my Old Yin brother, why didn't you tell me you made new friends!"
Despite the slight awkwardness of Cheng Liangce's simplemindedness, I believed he had witnessed the entire scene. "What did you do afterward?"
"We didn't do much. Later, that person fell asleep. Old Yin asked me to pick him up and told me he was taking him somewhere. I thought it was fun with all the darkness around. We walked past a forest at the pier and ended up at a place that looked like ancient ruins."
"Are you sure they were ancient ruins? Where were they approximately located?"
"I don't know. We walked for a long time. We must have been far from the pier. *Wuwu*, it was so fun! I almost got lost, luckily Old Yin was right in front of me."
I asked, "Are you good friends with him?"
Cheng Liangce nodded vigorously. "Of course, we're from the same village. When I was a child, I hit my head and almost died. He took me to the hospital. My parents are long gone."
I checked the file and found that Cheng Liangce's statement was true. I then looked at Captain Guo, who continued to ask, "Did you see Old Yin kill anyone?"
"Kill? No, Old Yin said the man was unwell, which is why he fainted. Later, he said there was nothing for me here and told me to go back and rest, so I left. I don't know what happened afterward! Police brothers."
Captain Guo and I exchanged glances, understanding the situation.
It was likely that Old Yin had used Cheng Liangce and then dismissed him before attacking the victim. He probably didn't want Cheng Liangce to witness the bloody scene, and previously, he lacked the strength to move the victim alone.
The focus now shifted to Di Leyin. We stood up to leave, but Cheng Liangce seemed worried. "Don't keep me locked up! I don't like it here, I want to go out and play!"
"Don't worry, we'll release you soon, after Di Leyin's interrogation."
"Oh, hurry, police brothers."
Looking at a stout man around forty years old calling us brothers, we both felt the urge to find a hole to crawl into.
Outside, Captain Guo finally let out a sigh of relief. "Being in there for too long almost drove me crazy."
"Let's go interrogate Di Leyin!" I didn't respond, my attention focused on the work.
"This time, let you and Captain Liu handle the interrogation. I'll watch from outside."
I agreed and called Liu Yuning. We then entered Di Leyin's interrogation room together.
The slender man looked at us blankly. Compared to Cheng Liangce, he appeared much more astute. Just by his sharp eyes, I knew this guy was cunning deep down.
"Di Leyin, you should know why we're here. Where were you after 10 PM on the 20th? Tell us everything!" I almost shouted as soon as I sat down.