Chapter 158 Accident (Seeking Subscriptions!)

"We checked Li Tao's communication records, and the two of you have spoken on the phone, more than once," Li Hui said.

"Ha-ha, I run a small grocery store, so it was probably just a customer," Zhang Haiyan said, keeping her back to her husband while blinking and making faces at Han Bin and Li Hui.

"Would it be convenient to talk alone?" Han Bin asked.

"Old Cao, go inside and cook dinner. I'll watch the front shop and chat with these police officers for a bit," Zhang Haiyan arranged.

"Mm." The middle-aged man looked at his wife, then glanced at Han Bin and the other officer. Feeling somewhat uneasy, he nevertheless returned inside the house.

Zhang Haiyan let out a sigh of relief, waved her hand, and said, "Two comrades, let's go to the front and talk."

The three returned to the counter, and Zhang Haiyan took two packs of cigarettes from beneath it, handing them to Han Bin and Li Hui.

"Comrades, there's nothing much to entertain you with, please have a smoke."

"We appreciate the thought, but we don't smoke while on official duty," Han Bin declined politely.

Zhang Haiyan took the cigarettes back and said, "Officer, ask whatever you need to."

"Do you know Li Tao?" Han Bin asked again.

Zhang Haiyan nodded. "I know him."

"Why did you lie just now?" Li Hui scoffed.

Zhang Haiyan hesitated for a moment before saying, "I wouldn't call it lying. I usually call him Brother Tao, and when you used his name, I didn't react right away."

"What is your relationship with him?"

"We're friends."

"What kind of friends?"

"Just acquaintances, I suppose. He occasionally helped me haul some cargo, and that's how we met."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Han Bin asked.

"I don't remember clearly."

"Think carefully."

"Officer, I run a grocery store and see hundreds of people a day. How could I remember every single one?" Zhang Haiyan sighed.

"On August 30th, he called you. What did you talk about?"

"He asked me if I needed help hauling cargo, and I said no," Zhang Haiyan shrugged.

"Did you two meet on August 30th?"

"No."

"Does your family own a car?"

"We have a van."

"Do you know Sun Shaoqiang?" Han Bin pressed further.

"Never heard of him," Zhang Haiyan shook her head, then countered, "Officer, what is this all about anyway?"

"Li Tao is missing."

"Really or fake?" Zhang Haiyan asked.

"Why aren't you surprised at all?" Han Bin retorted.

"He hasn't shown up for so long, so I figured something might have happened," Zhang Haiyan sighed.

"What is your relationship with him, really?" Li Hui frowned.

"Just friends," Zhang Haiyan said.

"What is your husband's full name?"

"Cao Yang, why?"

"Call Cao Yang out. We'd like to ask him about a few things." Li Hui felt this woman's words were unreliable.

"Officer, you asked and I answered. Now you want my husband too? What are you getting at?" Zhang Haiyan's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Cooperating with public security investigations is an obligation every citizen acquainted with a case must fulfill," Li Hui said.

"My husband doesn't know Li Tao, and he knows even less about him," Zhang Haiyan said.

"You aren't him; you can't answer on his behalf," Li Hui said.

"You're right, I can't answer for him. I can control myself, though. Once you call my husband over, I won't say another word," Zhang Haiyan said coldly.

"You..." Li Hui was somewhat irritated.

Han Bin reached out and patted Li Hui on the shoulder, saying, "Zhang Haiyan, does your family have a vehicle?"

"Yes, a van."

"Thank you for your cooperation." With that, Han Bin led Li Hui away.

As soon as they stepped out of the grocery store, Li Hui couldn't help saying, "Binzi, the relationship between this woman and Li Tao is definitely not simple."

"Even if their relationship isn't simple, do you think she'd admit to it right in front of her husband?" Han Bin countered.

"If they really have that kind of relationship, Li Tao's death must be related to her," Li Hui asserted with certainty.

"Let's report the situation to Captain Zheng first," Han Bin suggested.

Han Bin and Li Hui walked over to the police car, rendezvoused with Zheng Kaixuan and the others, and recounted the situation.

After listening, Wei Zimoh couldn't help saying, "Zhang Haiyan is very likely Li Tao's mistress."

"Doesn't that mean Cao Yang is wearing a green hat?" Sun Xing laughed.

"In that case, Cao Yang has a motive to kill Li Tao," Li Hui guessed.

Having listened to everyone's discussion, Zheng Kaixuan instructed, "Wei Zimoh and Sun Xing, go make the rounds in the village and see if you can dig up any clues. Han Bin and Li Hui, you two head to the telecommunications company and check the communication records of Zhang Haiyan and Cao Yang."

"Understood."

...

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Everyone finished their investigations and returned to the Yuhua Sub-bureau one after another.

Zheng Kaixuan called everyone together to summarize the case.

"Let's hear it. How did the investigation go?" Zheng Kaixuan casually flipped open his notebook.

Wei Zimoh spoke up, "Sun Xing and I visited Beizhai Village and learned that Li Tao used to frequent the grocery store and had an unusual relationship with Zhang Haiyan."

"Does Cao Yang know?" Li Hui asked.

"Cao Yang often goes out of town for work. It's unlikely he knows," Sun Xing spread his hands.

"Are there any anomalies in the communication records between Cao Yang and Zhang Haiyan?" Zheng Kaixuan asked.

Li Hui shook his head. "The call logs have been printed out, but no special contacts have been found yet. We're still screening them."

"Bang, bang, bang..." At that moment, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

"Creeak..."

With a soft sound, Lu Wen pushed the door open and walked in, saying, "Captain Zheng, the DNA comparison results for the deceased and Li Tao's mother are out."

"Is it Li Tao?"

"The comparison results prove the two are not mother and son," Lu Wen shrugged.

"What!" Sun Xing showed a look of surprise and cried out, "Not mother and son? Could the test have been done wrong?"

"The possibility of a machine error is very small and almost negligible," Lu Wen pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"We investigated for so long, we couldn't have found the wrong person, could we?" Li Hui said.

"If Li Tao isn't the deceased, then the suspicions against Zhang Haiyan and Cao Yang can be ruled out as well," Wei Zimoh noted.

"The inspection report is on the desk. If you have any questions, you can come find me later." With that, Lu Wen greeted Zheng Kaixuan and left the office.

After a moment of silence among the group, Zheng Kaixuan clapped his hands. "Snap out of it, everyone. Don't look so lifeless. Even if this lead is broken, we can investigate other directions."

Han Bin pondered for a moment before speaking, "Captain Zheng, I don't think this lead is necessarily broken."

"How so?"

"The suspect dumped the body on August 30th, and the victim may have been killed that day as well. And Li Tao happened to lose contact on August 30th too—isn't that too much of a coincidence?" Han Bin twirled his pen out of habit.

"But the DNA comparison results are out; Li Tao is not the deceased," Wei Zimoh pointed out.

"The person who lost contact isn't necessarily the victim; they could also be the killer," Han Bin speculated.

"Damn, are you saying Li Tao is the killer in the corpse-dumping case and went on the run after committing the crime?" Li Hui looked startled.

"This is just my guess," Han Bin said calmly.