Chapter 18: Theft

Ji Fanyang and Lu Hui returned to the hotel and slept for about four hours before returning to the Luowan County’s police station at eight. 

Lu Hui pushed open the office door, but no one was inside. The materials had been sorted into individual piles and a notebook was placed in front of the seat facing the door. He walked up and flipped through the notebook. The first portion was in Ji Fanyang’s handwriting and the latter portion was in Rao Feifei’s delicate handwriting. 

“Call Rao Feifei over.” Lu Hui said, skimming through the contents of the notebook. 

“Alright.” Ji Fanyang left the office. 

Lu Hui looked through everything swiftly. There was an assortment of information present. His whiteboard was hanging on the wall, so he grabbed a marker and added the new contents to the whiteboard. 

Under 【Li Yun】, he wrote【Father’s theft (Injustice?)】. As he stared at the words written beneath Li Yun and Li Weiguo’s names, he tapped the marker on his jaw. 

In no time, Ji Fanyang came back with Yang Jie and Rao Feifei in tow. 

Lu Hui gestured with his chin: “Sit.”

As the three of them found their seat, Lu Hui stood: “Li Weiguo and Li Yun. Which one do you prefer?”

“Li Weiguo.” Ji Fanyang said.

“Li…Yun?” Rao Feifei hesitated a little bit. 

“Li Weiguo.” Yang Jie said. 

“State your reasons.” Lu Hui said. 

Ji Fanyang went first: “Li Weiguo was gone for most of the year working, sending money home each month. He worked hard to get time off to come home, only to find his wife sleeping with someone else. It’s already amazing he did not go insane on the spot, so after what happened, a murder would not be unusual.”

“Next.” Lu Hui did not look satisfied with this answer. 

“Li Yun will turn seventeen in three months.” Rao Feifei said, “He is excellent in his studies and tested into a good university. Because his father stole publicly owned property, the fine was enormous and he was imprisoned for three years. From the records, this kid attested that he saw the deceased himself, Li Peng, steal the goods and frame him. Afterward, because Li Yun was in school then, he was unable to give an eyewitness testimony. Due to him being a minor, committing perjury would just result in a slap on the wrist.” Rao Feifei let out an unhurried breath, “So, we’ve found an antagonistic relationship between the two of them. After his father  was sentenced, his mother slept with Li Peng, and Li Peng’s wife made sure everyone in the village heard that his mother slept around. It’s within reason for Li Yun to kill Li Peng in a fit of rage.”

“The shoe size.” Yang Jie reminded, “The shoe imprint is the same size as Li Weiguo, and this morning when I went to meet with his wife, she said that Li Weiguo had thrown out a pair of shoes.”

The circumstances had suddenly become more indiscernible. Lu Hui said: “The murder weapon was a strong flashlight. Last night, Ji Fanyang and I went to the pond for an experiment. At a distance of about thirty meters from the pond, a strong flashlight is enough to make someone lose their bearings for a moment.””

Ji Fanyang shrugged: “I just about fell into the pond.”

“Are the results of the forensic analysis out?”

The three of them shook their heads. 

A Lu Hui without the forensics report was like a drug-sniffing dog without its sense of smell. He was silent for a moment, then said: “Rao Feifei, explain the theft Li Yun’s father committed.”

Rao Feifei, who had just been called to attention, gave a start and said after getting her thoughts in order: “In the case of the stolen public property two years ago, Li Yun’s father, Li Wenyuan, had been the sole suspect in many other cases of large scale theft of things such as farm tools and a water pump. After Li Yun gave false testimony regarding Li Peng, he withdrew his written statement because the timing was incorrect, and Li Wenyuan was imprisoned for three years. Ever since Li Wenyuan was sent to prison, Li Yun’s family sank into destitution. Li Yun applied for financial aid at his school and almost withdrew from school because they could not afford the tuition. Li Yun’s mother became Li Peng’s mistress for the money, and because of this, Li Yun and his mother have not been communicating for the past year.”

“Wait.” Lu Hui signaled for her to stop, “Many other cases of theft. Where did the stolen goods go?”

Rao Feifei got stuck on this question, then flipped through the notes: “There doesn’t seem to be a record of that.”

“Those wastes of space.” Lu Hui cursed in a low voice, “They investigate sloppily then just hand down sentences?!”

Rao Feifei didn’t dare to say anything, and Yang Jie and Ji Fanyang didn’t know what to say, either. 

“How were they sure that it was Li Yun’s father who committed the theft?” Lu Hui asked. 

“Many villagers testified that they had frequently seen Li Wenyuan by the water pump, and when Li Yun went out for work, he would bring home more money than the others. Li Yun would often wear new clothes.” Ji Fanyang continued where Rao Feifei left off, “Furthermore, the Li Family Village’s water pump was often lost. In the last half a year, they’ve requested funds for four replacements.”

“Write down which villagers testified, as well as their relationship with Li Peng and Li Ying. Also, go investigate where the stolen pump went.” Lu Hui delegated the tasks, “Yang Jie and Rao Feifei, go to the village to ask around, then go to the prison to ask Li Wenyuan. Ji Fanyang and I will go find where the stolen goods were sold.” He returned his gaze to the whiteboard, “Give Zhuang Ze a call. I want to see that forensics report today!”

“Alright, alright.” Ji Fanyang repeated. 

Rao Feifei tilted her head and asked: “Chief Lu, do you think Li Peng committed the theft?”

“Think of what Ji Fanyang said before.” Lu Hui shot a look at the young woman. 

Ji Fanyang reminded her kindly: “Li Peng offended a lot of people. This simple case of his slipping and falling was enough to conceal each of his crimes, but Li Ying insisted on investigating the case. If he did not despise his younger brother, then Li Ying had every reason to believe that an enemy in the village had acted on their hatred of Li Peng.”

“This enemy also has a handle on the village chief’s family, and they pulled out all of Li Peng’s dirty laundry to get rid of him.” Rao Feifei continued, nodding in sudden understanding, “In the Li Family Village, the only one who firmly believes in Li Peng’s crime of theft is Li Yun.”

Lu Hui did not give any thought to contributing to the conversation between the squadmates. He said impatiently: “Stop dawdling and get to work.”

Rao Feifei and Yang Jie left. Ji Fanyang simply picked up the notebook, lifting his head to ask: “Do we need to bring your whiteboard?”

“I’ll mention it if I need to use it.” Lu Hui said, sitting on the desk, “We need to find a hardware store. Call Li Jun over. No one is more familiar with the surroundings here than the local police.”

Ji Fanyang went out and brought back Li Jun. Supervisor Li asked: “Chief Lu, what are you looking for?”

“A hardware store that buys second-hand. How many do you know of?” Lu Hui asked. 

Supervisor Li thought it over for a second, then said: “Luowan is altogether not a large place. How about I call in some policemen to go ask around?”

“How long?” Lu Hui questioned. 

“During the lunch break, we’ll have a ten-minute meeting in the cafeteria.” Li Jun replied. 

Lu Hui nodded: “Fine.”

“Then I’ll be going. See you at noon.” Li Jun nodded to Lu Hui then left. 

Lu Hui lowered his head and entered Shen Pei’s number: “Hello?”

“What do you want?” Shen Pei’s disgruntled voice came through the speaker. 

“I’m looking for Zhuang Ze.” Lu Hui said. 

“If you’re looking for Zhuang Ze, why’re you calling me?!” Shen Pei thought that Lu Hui’s neuroticism was getting even worse. 

“The only forensics technician’s number I have is yours.” Lu Hui said innocently. 

Shen Pei rubbed his temples for a moment to stop himself from exploding: “Wait a second, Zhuang Ze’s right here.” He passed the phone over to Zhuang Ze. 

“Ch-Chief Lu?” Zhuang Ze said. 

“Over a day later, Zhuang Ze. Where’s my forensics report?” Lu Hui’s voice was even and disturbingly sincere. 

Zhuang Ze gulped: “I-I’ll fax it over immediately.”

“Don’t. First tell me the results of the footprint analysis.” Lu Hui said. 

“A size forty-four shoe, likely around one meter seventy-nine in height and sixty-seven kilograms in weight. The impression of the left foot was deeper than the right’s, so their center of gravity was shifted to the left.” Zhuang Ze said simply. 

“Got it. Send over the report.” Lu Hui hung up and turned to face Ji Fanyang, “It’s not Li Weiguo.”