Chapter 135: Chapter 134 Is This Such a Coincidence?_1
Zhou Ning hung up the phone and glanced at Mr. Zhao and the others who had also gathered around, Liu Yongxin rubbing his chin.
"It’s too unsightly, bringing young and old over with such an obvious agenda. But, why did they divorce in the first place?"
Mr. Zhao was full of curiosity.
"Before we started the autopsy, didn’t I step out for a bit? I overheard something. Two years ago, the man was tricked by his business partner and ended up in debt of over ten million. His ex-wife threatened him with suicide and divorced him the next day, then took the child and ran back to her hometown in Yan City.
Of course, she also took the couple hundred thousand cash that the man had set aside to pay his workers, money from selling his car. They say that when disaster strikes, birds of a feather will scatter. I truly saw it for myself today. The man was also too hasty, just as his business started improving, he eagerly transferred tens of thousands to his son.
Having analyzed this, the ex-wife thought he was recovering financially. But when she came back, the guy had already remarried and even found himself a second-generation demolition beneficiary. So, she played the sympathy card, saying she needed to live on Qindao to take care of the old and the young, claiming they needed treatment on Qindao. You can’t just kick them out, can you? She really didn’t clear things up at the end."
Mr. Zhao’s words were crude, but in places like theirs, they were all too familiar with the fickleness of human relationships, and Liu Yongxin waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough now, stop gawking at the drama. That young wife’s not so bad, and she’s not the type to be bullied. Besides, she hasn’t been married for even a year. If this ends up in court, the judge won’t favor the ex-husband’s kids anyway. It’s just that the autopsy is a hassle."
Mr. Zhao kept nodding.
"Exactly. The young wife agreed to the autopsy and had already signed off on it, but the ex-wife laid her son in front of the autopsy room and was dead set against it. Mr. Pang was also driven to his wits’ end.
It was the traffic police who came over and gave that ex-wife a lecture, saying if she keeps making a scene, they’d send her straight to the public security bureau for handling. Oh right, the deceased from that Jeep is called Sun Manqing. I was caught off guard when I heard it; I thought I’d gone back to the Qing Dynasty."
Liu Yongxin patted Mr. Zhao on the shoulder and gave Zhou Ning a suggestive eyebrow raise.
"Enough watching the spectacle. As long as this ’Qing Dynasty’ Jeep guy doesn’t know Zhang Guanglei and there’s no conflict of interest, let this traffic accident headache be Mr. Pang’s problem."
Zhou Ning walked back to his desk, grabbed the printed documents, and headed towards the door with Mr. Zhao hurriedly following him with quick steps.
"Shall I go with you to the detective squad?"
Zhou Ning nodded and glanced at Liu Yongxin.
"Master, I’m embarrassed to rush Mr. Xia and the others. Please keep an eye on them for me."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand and spat disdainfully.
"Got it. Go find Xu Dayuan. If you’re late, he’ll get anxious. I’ll go supervise them for you."
Zhou Ning didn’t waste words and briskly walked through the corridor with Mr. Zhao, heading to the detective squad office. As they turned into the hallway, they saw Mr. Zeng poking his head out. Recognizing Zhou Ning, he smiled and called out:
"Doctor Zhou, come quickly! Mr. Xu was just asking for you. We’re about to start a case analysis meeting."
Zhou Ning nodded. Knowing Xu Dayuan’s temperament, he followed Mr. Zeng quickly towards the meeting room. Upon entering, he saw Xu Dayuan talking, with several photographs pinned to the whiteboard behind him.
In the short span of five to six hours since the discovery of the head injury on the body, it was clear from the photos that the family of the deceased had already visited. Zhou Ning and Mr. Zhao nodded towards Xu Dayuan and then sat down.
Xu Dayuan looked around the room and began:
"Let’s not wait any longer. Mr. Liu and the others should be back soon. Let’s start with a briefing. Mr. Zeng, tell us about your visit to the deceased’s workplace first."
Mr. Zeng quickly opened his notebook, stood up, and walked to the front of the whiteboard, saying:
"The deceased was Zhang Guanglei, 35 years old. He worked at the Water Resources Bureau in the Planning and Flood Control Department dealing with the management of five water systems. He’s just an ordinary clerk, and his relationships with colleagues were all right, although he rarely joined them for meals. After all, their work is special; sometimes they don’t go to the office for many days.
Liu Wenli from the same office provided some information about Zhang Guanglei. He got married in 2007, introduced by a leader at the Water Bureau. His spouse came from a well-known demolition-rich family in Tongshan District. He became a live-in son-in-law, but the marriage broke up within half a year, and everyone pitied Zhang Guanglei.
After all, Zhang was decent and capable of living a good life. If he couldn’t bear it, it’s natural to assume that the woman was especially difficult. The ex-wife’s name is Yu Meili, quite a bit younger than Zhang. I pulled up some information on her, but I haven’t printed it out yet."
With that, Mr. Zeng raised his police PDA, which displayed someone’s details, showing it directly to everyone. Zhou Ning squinted his eyes slightly.
Yu Meili, female, 27 years old, married, unemployed, contact number 130...residence address...
"Remarried?"
Mr. Zeng nodded, looking toward Xu Dayuan who had posed the question.
"I called, but the contact number listed here is that of Yu Meili’s mother. It’s been said that she remarried a year ago and is very happy with her new husband, whom she dated herself. As for matters concerning Zhang Guanglei, she does not wish to be disturbed."
Xu Dayuan raised an eyebrow. This was actually not a problem, after all, an ex-wife who fades into obscurity and doesn’t make a scene is the best kind of ex.
"What’s the name of the new husband?"
Mr. Zeng flipped through his notebook. Seeing this action, it was clear he had already asked. After a moment, he looked up and said:
"The current husband is named Sun Manqing."
"Sun Manqing?"
Zhou Ning and Mr. Zhao exclaimed in unison, looking at each other in surprise. This name had just been mocked by Mr. Zhao; it was impossible to forget. Seeing the reaction of the two, Xu Dayuan understood without a doubt that they both knew him. He was clueless, however, and looked anxious, tapping on the table.
"Don’t be shocked. Hurry up and say it. Do you know this Sun Manqing?"
"At the scene of the car accident, the owner of the Jeep behind Zhang Guanglei’s car also died in the accident. His name was Sun Manqing. Just now, Sun Manqing’s family members were quarreling downstairs at the technical department. We didn’t know their names, but one party was Sun Manqing’s current wife, and the other party was his ex-wife, former father-in-law, and son."
Xu Dayuan was taken aback, also a bit confused by this outcome.
"Such a coincidence?"
Mr. Zhao nodded.
"It’s so unbelievable it wouldn’t be trusted if told, but it seems Sun Manqing’s car accident also needs to be reinvestigated."
Xu Dayuan quickly arranged for someone to go to the courtyard of the technical department. Yu Meili and the ex-wife of Sun Manqing would naturally have to come over to give their statements, including verifying all timelines.
Xu Dayuan looked at Zhou Ning, gesturing to him.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, share your findings."
Zhou Ning opened the report in his hands while Mr. Zhao helped distribute a stack of photos.
"These are photos from the crime scene investigation and before the vehicle was dismantled. The deceased had a blunt force injury on the left temporal bone behind his ear and several other injuries caused by impacts. However, his face suffered extensive comminuted fractures due to multiple hits from a streetlight pole, requiring an animated reconstruction from the lab.
Additionally, there were varying degrees of mucosal damage, skinning, bleeding, and mucosal injury within the deceased’s esophagus, stomach, and intestines, resembling gastrointestinal system cancer, yet no actual lesions were found.
This was unexpected, so samples from the stomach contents and organs were taken for analysis to determine if there was poisoning or some other factor at play. Once the tests come back, we’ll be able to judge.
Our assessment is that the deceased suffered injuries inflicted by another person, who then deliberately staged his state to resemble suicide. The person who disguised the car accident was very familiar with the sea fog and knew the road conditions in Jingkou District very well. They knew that construction was taking place around Lijiang West Road and Jiangshan South Road without any shops around. Also, there would be no traffic congestion here before 8:30 a.m., allowing the perpetrator to use the dense fog as cover to leave the scene quickly. However..."
"However, what?"
Zhou Ning shook his head; he had thought about it a lot on the way back, but still couldn’t figure it out.
"It’s just that I don’t understand how they managed to keep Zhang Guanglei unconscious while the car continued to speed and precisely crashed into a light pole, causing catastrophic damage and death. Of course, if the vehicle behind was deliberately pushing the front car into the light pole, then that’s a different situation."
Mr. Zeng, on the side, was nodding vigorously, closing his notebook and saying earnestly:
"The round of interviews at the Water Resources Bureau, they all said they weren’t very close to Zhang Guanglei. He seldom participated in any colleagues’ gatherings. Still, their assessment of him was quite good, and according to what they said, he and Yu Meili broke up amicably.
Both felt they couldn’t go on together and decided to get divorced after discussing it. Yu Meili wanted to give him the house, but he didn’t take it; instead, he immediately moved into the dormitory with his suitcase. As for his current house, it’s a welfare house specially allocated to him by his company, which although cost him some money, was much cheaper than the market price."
Mr. Zeng’s explanation was a bit scattered, but it was clear that the people at the Water Resources Bureau had a good opinion of Zhang Guanglei. As for their initial responses to Mr. Zeng, they probably didn’t want to get dragged into the case.
Xu Dayuan looked up at the increasingly fast-talking Mr. Zeng, obviously the young man was getting emotional.
"Oh, divorced since ’07 and still single to date, no girlfriend?"
