Chapter 4 The Informant 1

  The latest free chapter of this book, please visit.???? Wang Yanan suddenly woke up and came to the scene of several cases. The first to report the case were all middle-aged men…… If it weren't for the suspicious situation mentioned by the person who reported the case, in fact, it wouldn't be so easy to find the victim's body.

  "What about the second victim? Why did you kill her? She had nothing to do with your car accident."

  "It should be fine. The pixel of that surveillance device is the highest I've ever seen. I'll notify the audio-visual team to send it over immediately."

  Less than five minutes after Wang Ya Nan made the call, a technician hastily delivered the special photo shoot that Zhang Tong wanted.

  Although the light was not very good, the enlarged close-up of the hand in the photo had already given Zhang Tong the result she wanted.

  "If I hadn't misjudged, this woman should be a surgeon." She said, standing up and taking the photo to the whiteboard, sticking it on and pointing at the right index finger lying flat on the steering wheel. "Everyone look, this index finger has some lumps and protrusions, and there's also a very special indentation on the tiger's mouth side. These marks are all left by long-term use of surgical forceps and scalpels. Look at my right hand, the marks are roughly the same." Zhang Tong raised his own right hand, and indeed, compared to each other, there wasn't much difference. "So, this woman is either a surgeon who often performs operations, or she's like me, a forensic doctor."

  After listening to Zhang Tong's opinion, Wang Ya Nan nodded and turned her head to look at Zhao Yun beside her: "Tell me what you know about Wang Yajing."

  "King Ya-jing's father, Wang Jun-sheng, was a long-distance transport driver five years ago. Due to an accident, one person died and another was injured. The investigation result showed that the vehicle's braking system had quality issues, which led to the accident. It had nothing to do with Wang Jun-sheng's driving process. However, Wang Jun-sheng was also responsible for the accident because he drove through a residential area without permission. The court ruled that he should pay 500,000 yuan in compensation." Zhao Yun sighed and continued, "Wang Jun-sheng's family couldn't afford to pay this amount, so the compensation remained unsettled. Later, the deceased's family member was unable to accept that no one took responsibility for his wife's death and made an extreme decision to commit suicide."

  "We visited the First Hospital where the deceased Hou Junyan used to work and found out that he had no relatives, but he had three apprentices with whom he had a very deep emotional bond. One of them is still working as the director of a department in our hospital's surgery department." Wang Yanan took out a photo. "Her name is Ding Rong, an outstanding surgeon."

  Zhang Tong wouldn't normally look at photos of the dead, but there was something about the woman in this picture that gave her a chill. The sharp-angled face was filled with an unyielding determination and firmness that ordinary people couldn't imagine. The slightly upturned corners of her mouth, thin lips, and tightly furrowed eyebrows didn't show any signs of feminine gentleness at all. Zhang Tong believed that even when facing death, this woman wouldn't have blinked an eye.

  "After our thorough understanding, Ding Rong's personality is introverted, and she does things decisively without being swayed by human emotions. Her skills are top-notch, which is why the First Hospital naturally chose her as Hou Junyan's successor. However, according to her colleagues' feedback, Director Ding has no sympathy at all. When performing surgery, she only pursues perfection without considering the patient's feelings. She even has many quirks. Once, a female patient was sent to the hospital after being beaten by someone because she was a 'third party'. After examination, it was found that her leg was severely fractured and three ribs were broken, with a risk of life at any time. However, when Director Ding learned about the real reason why the patient was beaten, she turned around and left, refusing to perform surgery on the patient."

  Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Li slightly furrowed his brow: "This Ding Rong is indeed suspicious. Then, are there any other clues that can be linked to her?"

  "Hou Junyan had a Santana 2000 sedan registered under his name. After he died, because no one took over, it was left in the parking lot of the First Hospital, and the old gatekeeper was responsible for taking care of it. I checked the vehicle management department's annual inspection records, and this car has never participated in an annual inspection. My colleagues are currently applying to investigate this car." Wang Yanan closed her notebook. "If a clue connecting the two previous murder cases can be found in this car, then the killer can be confirmed. Because at present, we still don't have direct evidence pointing to Ding Rong as the murderer."

  After the meeting, Zhang Tong walked out of the conference room alone. He hadn't taken a few steps when he heard Liu Chunxiao's voice behind him: "Xiao Tong, wait for me."

  Zhang Tong subconsciously stopped in his tracks. He turned around: "You didn't express any opinions at the meeting today, where's your little tail?"

  "Zhao Junjie, I don't know where he went. He probably went to smoke in secret. Besides, I'm just an onlooker anyway. I don't have any opinions to express." Liu Chunxiao smiled slightly and then immediately became serious. "How's your mother doing? Is she better?"

  "It's okay. Sometimes clear-headed. Sometimes muddled. Generally speaking, still more time being clear-headed."

  "It's really hard for you. If you need help, I have a friend..."

  Zhang Tong shook his head, interrupting Liu Chunxiao's words: "Thank you for your kindness. I don't want to send my mother to a mental hospital. She's already so old and can't take the turmoil. Besides, this is also my own business and shouldn't trouble others."

  Just then, Wang Yan rushed over in a hurry. Pretending to be angry, she looked at Zhang Tong and Liu Chunxiao: "Why are you walking so fast? Don't even wait for me."

  She looked at the two of them thoughtfully, then smiled slightly: "How about this? You guys go ahead and leave. I have something to take care of in the office. No need to wait for me." With that, she walked straight towards the stairwell not far away, never looking back again.

  Liu Chunxiao awkwardly furrowed his brow.

  Zhang Tong didn't not want to accept Liu Chunxiao's kindness towards her. From start to finish, she knew that Liu Chunxiao was a good person, at least someone trustworthy. However, Zhang Tong felt an inexplicable fear, especially when Liu Chunxiao gazed at her with those eyes, as if they could see right through her heart. Zhang Tong felt like she couldn't breathe. She didn't dare, at least not now.

  As she walked into the office, her phone rang. Zhang Tong looked down and saw that it was Wang Ya Nan calling. She was slightly surprised: "Ya Nan, what's up?"

  "Xiao Tong, you just left in such a hurry. I didn't even have time to tell you. I've found the person you asked me to investigate last time. The information has been sent to your work email. Take a look. Wang Ya Nan paused for a moment and said softly, "Xiao Tong, if you need anything else, just give me a call."

  "Thank you."

  "Why be so polite with each other? You should also go home and rest early, don't overwork yourself." Wang Ya Nan's gentle side as a woman only seemed to truly emerge at this moment.

  After hanging up the phone, Zhang Tong immediately opened her computer on her office desk and logged into her email account. As expected, an internal email appeared in front of her. To be honest, Zhang Tong was grateful to have Wang Ya Nan as a true friend who would help her when she needed it. What's more important is that Wang Ya Nan trusted her and never asked "why". In fact, Zhang Tong had always been conflicted. She yearned to know the truth about her sister's disappearance, but at the same time, she was afraid of knowing the truth. Deep down in her heart, there was a voice constantly warning her that her sister's disappearance was closely related to herself. Zhang Tong was afraid, just like every time she was afraid of the ghostly figure breathing beside her ear in her dreams. Day after day, she became more and more convinced that she didn't have the courage to face it head-on.

  After opening the email, there was a 25k attachment. Opening the attachment revealed on the screen a file of a renowned neurosurgery expert. The achievements were impressive and the titles numerous. Many texts that seemed like heavenly scripts made Zhang Tong's eyes dizzy. It wasn't until he finally fixed his gaze on a not-so-large personal photo that Zhang Tong barely found some distant memories in the person's eyebrows. Although it was already a head full of white hair, those deep eyes and angular facial features were all unchanged by time. After staring for a long time, Zhang Tong lightly spat out three words: "Chen Bo Bo."

  It was already late at night, and it was difficult to hail a taxi on the street. So, no matter how Wang Yanou tried to decline, citing that she was a police officer and could not be harmed, Liu Chunxiao still decided to drive her home personally, circling around half of the Tianchang city district. In the end, Wang Yanou couldn't refuse anymore and nodded in agreement.

  Due to Zhao Junjie's kind reminder earlier, Liu Chunxiao always felt a little uneasy in his heart. All the way driving, he tried his best to keep his hands on the steering wheel and not look around. If answering questions, he also did his best to use fewer words. He didn't want to bring unnecessary trouble to himself.

  Look at Liu Chunxiao's serious face. Wang Yanan couldn't help but laugh and joked: "Prosecutor Liu, what's wrong with you today? You're completely different from the way you were at that meeting the other day. I almost didn't recognize you. Where did your eloquent demeanor go?"

  Liu Chunxiao awkwardly smiled and said: "I was originally a person who is not good with words."

  "By the way, how long have you known Xiao Tong?" Liu Chunxiao deliberately shifted the topic away from herself.

  "I met her as soon as I arrived at the Tianchang Public Security Bureau. She was here a year earlier than me, so to speak. In terms of seniority, I should be calling her 'Shijie' (older sister)."

  "What was she like back then?" Liu Chunxiao carefully chose her words.

  "What do you mean." Wang Yan did not understand the specific meaning of Liu Chunxiao's words for a moment.

  "Oh. I was asking about how Xiao Tong's work is going."

  "That goes without saying. She's appeared at the scene multiple times, and even male colleagues have shown some hesitation in certain situations. But she doesn't even bat an eyelid. To be honest, we're all human beings as detectives, born and raised by our parents. When we see the corpses at the scene, we all go through a psychological adaptation process to some extent. But it seems like Xiao Tong was born to be a forensic doctor. I've never seen her frown even once. Her mental quality is exceptional. We're all very impressed with her."

  Talking about his good friend, Wang Yan's face unconsciously revealed a proud smile. "You know, in our entire province, she's the only female forensic doctor. Your high school classmate has really made our Tianchang Public Security Bureau proud."

  After hearing this, Liu Chunxiao's mood was very heavy. Because he knew Zhang Tong too well. He deeply understood that Zhang Tong had her own reasons for doing so. She was escaping. Escaping the shadows deep in her heart. Like an ostrich being driven to desperation, with no way out. The last resort was to bury her head in endless work.

  Is it really possible that working hard can make people numb? Liu Chunxiao believes that not only herself, but definitely many others cannot accurately answer this question. Because this question itself has no answer.

  "Sister, I'm here. Come find me quickly."

  Zhang Tong quickly turned around. But in front of her was only a vast expanse of misty forest. Except for the tall trees, she couldn't see anything else.

  "Sister, I'm here. I'm right next to you. Haha..." The mischievous little girl's voice. In an instant, she was behind her. Zhang Tong followed the sound and ran over. Still nothing. As if the sound came from the invisible air around her. The laughter gradually faded away. The crying grew louder. It was a mournful, sorrowful cry. Mixed with a few threads of fear.

  "No... no... no!" Zhang Tong hurriedly shouted, "Qiu Qiu, where are you? Don't hide from me anymore! Good little sister, sister is begging you, please come out quickly..."

  The sobbing continued intermittently, drifting everywhere in the airtight forest. Suddenly, the sky turned pitch black. Just now, through the swaying tree shadows, you could still see a few strands of sunlight. In an instant, it was as if you couldn't see your fingers even when stretching out your hand. The little girl cried more and more sorrowfully. Zhang Tong tried her best to open her eyes wide, her hands futilely searching in mid-air, her mouth constantly calling out her sister's name. The fear in her heart grew stronger and stronger. The air had solidified to the point where it was hard to breathe. Zhang Tong's voice grew weaker and weaker, until later, even when she opened her mouth wide, she couldn't make a single sound.