deep white secret

Chapter 25
The reception room of the police station is next to the doorman on the first floor. It is a spacious room with two large sofas and a large table. On the wall are introductions to each department and many banners.

Ning Xia followed Xu Jie and walked in. The two people in the room quickly stood up.

The man was in his 60s, with gray hair and hunched shoulders. He glanced at Xu Jie and Ning Xia and quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at each other.

The woman looked older than the man, her hands were tightly grasping the skirt of her clothes, and her short hair was unkempt, hanging messily on top of her head.

"Sit down, my condolences. I am Xu Jie from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. This is Ningxia. You have already been to the forensic department, so we have a few questions to ask."

Xu Jie's voice was low, and he felt a little sad when facing the victim's family.

Zhang's father nodded, and after Xu Jie and Ning Xia sat down, he pulled Zhang's mother to sit on the sofa, but both of them clung to the sofa nervously.

"Don't be too nervous. Zhang Qiang died of murder. Although the forensic doctor has not yet issued a final report, the on-site investigation already knows this is the result."

Mother Zhang's eyes were red, and Ningxia quickly handed over a box of tissues.

"Has Zhang Qiang been in constant contact with you since he came out? Do you know who he has close relationships with?"

Zhang's mother lowered her head, and Zhang's father replied:

"Actually, we lost contact as early as ten years ago. Since this beast committed a crime...we kicked him out of the house. We have never been in contact these years."

Xu Jie and Ning Xia were stunned.

Father Zhang turned his head stubbornly:

"This beast has done something outrageous. Because of that incident, our family's life plummeted."

Father Zhang had no tears. He paused for a moment and his voice trembled:
"The marriage of his sister who was about to get married has also failed. He hasn't found her in these years. Who would want to marry a woman with a brother like this?"

This was something neither Xu Jie nor Ning Xia expected.

"Now that we have left Lin County and live as a family of three, he...is already dead in our hearts."

"Is that why you didn't answer the phone last night?"

Ningxia thought to herself, not only did she not answer the phone, but now Zhang's father refused to even say Zhang Qiang's name.

Xu Jie thought of the contact number that had never been dialed.

Father Zhang said slowly:
"After he goes in, he must have the contact information of his family members. It's a number we never look at. It's been ten years. It only rang in the first year or two, and it was still called by the prison guards."

The four people were silent, and a sad atmosphere flowed in the room.

"That is to say, Zhang Qiang didn't contact you after he came out. Do you know that he came out?"

Father Zhang shook his head:
"I don't know. It was the community police who informed us yesterday that we found out... It's okay this way, it's settled once and for all."

After speaking, the old man covered his eyes with his hands, leaving only his shoulders shaking.

"Zhang Qiang performed very well in it and learned skills. He came out five years early. He is much better than you think."

Xu Jie saw the behavior of Zhang Qiang's parents and couldn't help but said:
"He wanted to live a good life."

Father Zhang shook his head:

"It's already a mistake. Because of him, our family owes a lot of foreign debt. It has not been paid off yet. Her mother has been crying all day long. Forget it, police officer, that's it."

Father Zhang sighed, said these words hopelessly, and then said:
"We left our hometown and never went back to Lin County for ten years. Now that he's like this... let's just get over it and let's not talk about it anymore."

"Zhang Qiang was murdered, don't you want to find the murderer?"

Father Zhang didn't speak at first, glanced at Mother Zhang, and finally shook his head:

"I thought this person was gone a long time ago, so he is gone this time. He is really gone."

Father Zhang's voice was hoarse and he tried to sound indifferent, but Ning Xia knew that despite the cruel words on his lips, the old couple was as sad as a storm in their hearts.

Xu Jie did not expect this result, so he stood up and said:
"Even so, our police will work hard to solve the case. One day when the case is solved, I will call yesterday's phone number. If no one answers, I will send you a message."

Zhang Qiang's parents didn't speak, they supported each other, nodded to Xu Jie and Ning Xia, and left the police room.

Xu Jie and Ning Xia stood at the window and saw two old men staggering out of the police station.

When they arrived at the gate, Zhang's mother could no longer control herself and fell to the side of the road. Zhang's father also squatted down and covered his face with his hands.

Ning Xia couldn't tell whether Zhang's father was crying or not, but he was not as ruthless as he said just now. He still loved Zhang Qiang, but his love was in pieces.

Xu Jie looked at Ningxia with a faint look:

"Let's go back and find clues ourselves."

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the forensic department sent the autopsy and on-site investigation report. Ma Mingjie projected the report on the screen in the conference room, and the four people discussed the case for the first time.

"Head, the deceased died of suffocation, but there were benzodiazepines in his blood, about 10 mg. However, the peak value has dropped, so it is not the cause of death."

Ningxia looked at Xu Jie doubtfully, what are the ingredients in benzodiazepines?

So the deceased also took sleeping pills?
Xu Jie frowned when he received this information.

"The deceased had abrasions on his wrists and ankles, which were caused by the deceased trying to break free from the restraints. Apart from this, there were no other external injuries to his body."

"According to the analysis of the contents of the deceased's stomach, he ate shrimp and leek dumplings at night, and the time of death was between [-]:[-] and [-]:[-]."

Ma Mingjie turned the report to the second page:
"Four clear fingerprints and two footprints were extracted at the scene, but after investigation, they were left by the landlord and the master who came to repair the sewer. The two fingerprints were on the door and the footprints stayed on the entry mat."

When Shi Yihang heard this, he looked at Xu Jie:

"Captain Xu, so the murderer came prepared and wore gloves throughout the crime."

Ningxia nodded in agreement. She and Xu Jie had analyzed this point yesterday when they returned from the scene. This time, Ningxia was even more convinced that the murderer had premeditated the murder of Zhang Qiang.

"It seems I have to go to the forensic department. There are no fingerprints left by the murderer on the curtains and windows?"

Ma Mingjie looked at the report and shook his head:

"No."

"I still don't understand why the murderer pulled back the curtains and opened the window."

The four of them fell into silence, and Ma Mingjie asked:
"Captain Xu, what did Zhang Qiang's parents say just now?"

"They stopped talking to each other ten years ago."

Obviously Ma Mingjie and Shi Yihang did not expect this result.

Xu Jie pondered for a while and said:

"Now that the autopsy report is out, our investigation has a direction. Shi Yihang, you are responsible for obtaining Zhang Qiang's electronic information, consumption records, call records, social software and other relevant information."

Shi Yihang agreed, and Xu Jie asked again:
"In particular, Zhang Qiang's call records and consumption records before he was killed, where he had the dumplings for dinner, and the pharmacy. The most commonly used benzodiazepine drug is estazolam tablets, but you can only buy them with a doctor's order."

Shi Yihang nodded.

"Ningxia, go check the rope that binds Zhang Qiang and see if you can find any clues here."

"Ma Mingjie, please go to Xishan Prison to check Zhang Qiang's situation in prison. He was released from prison early because he performed well. Focus on checking on his fellow inmates to see if there are any disputes."

"I'm going to ask Bureau Song for instructions, and pull up the file of Zhang Qiang's intentional wounding case back then, to find out why Zhang Qiang's parents abandoned him."

The four people took action immediately.

(End of this chapter)