My Life with Narration-Chapter 367 - 364: Confirming the Whereabouts

The phone was turned off for over twelve hours, and he suddenly resigned from his job. In the past, no one would have paid attention to these things. After all, initially, all eyes were not on Zhang Heng.

But now it’s different. Attention has shifted to him, and with some suspicious clues already discovered, such dramatic actions at this point can almost be seen as a confession without being confronted.

In addition, the sudden disappearance of the suspect made the entire criminal investigation department and the staff handling this case nervous.

A meeting was urgently organized to discuss the situation. During the meeting, several core members expressed their ideas; some aggressively suggested capturing the person or at least bringing him in for questioning, while others were more reserved. After all, there was no evidence to prove that Zheng Heng was the murderer.

Besides, he’s just a construction worker. Isn’t resigning quite normal? The phone’s only been off for twelve hours. What if it’s broken and not repaired yet?

These are all speculations, but there is a consensus that they should find the person first, at least make contact with Zhang Heng and not let him remain missing.

After nearly two hours of discussion, a basic plan to cope with the emergency was finally drafted.

One group continues to visit and investigate the murder scene nearby, hoping to find crucial evidence like the murder weapon. These tasks can’t be stopped because their current assumptions might be wrong, and they can’t focus all their energy in one direction.

The rest were divided into two groups: one to monitor Zhang Heng’s father, Zhang Guoxin, both near his home and through his communication devices.

After such a long investigation, they weren’t amateurs anymore, and they had a good grasp of Zhang Heng’s interpersonal relationships.

He only had two immediate family members: his son, though they had some suspicions about him, he was not proven guilty and could only be treated as a relative. But his son being with the deceased, Liu Dashan’s couple, made the probability not high.

And the other one was his father, who remained in the hometown, Zhang Guoxin.

A man in his thirties working away, facing such a thing, few could resist going home.

The next afternoon, Su Qing was discussing video creation with Zhu Lili, on how to better incorporate law education into their videos. He was abruptly taken away by Qiangzi without even being given a chance to explain.

With a surprised look, he was stuffed into the back seat of a police car.

"Oh dear, at least tell me what’s going on. You guys scared me to death. I thought our police station was being attacked by bandits and we were being kidnapped!" His mind was at ease upon seeing Lin Chengcai and Li Zijun sitting in the front.

In the meantime, Du Qiang squeezed in.

"Of course, we’re taking you along to widen your horizons. We’re going to visit Zhang Guoxin’s home again."

"Oh gosh, you could have said it was a visit. Why did you choke me by the neck?"

"I was just afraid you wouldn’t come and didn’t want to waste words!" Du Qiang said with a sheepish grin, scratching his head somewhat foolishly.

"Don’t you use your brain at all? Alright, you sure are something, Captain Lin, how did the criminal investigation department recruit people like this? Have you ever thought about returning the goods?"

Upon hearing this, old Lin at the driver’s seat chuckled and started the car, replying, "Anyway, I’m not in charge. But back when Xiao Qiang just arrived, Old Zhao kept complaining about returning the goods, maybe after two years, he got used to it!"

"Yeah, I can testify to that. Captain Zhao wanted to strangle him back then!" Li Zijun added, twisting the knife.

Du Qiang came here even later than Li Zijun, and they were crystal clear about his black marks. Any newcomer in any industry would make countless jokes, and the police were no exception.

On hearing this, Du Qiang showed a gloomy expression: "Come on, officer, we’re working together here, give me some face."

His plea for mercy was ignored, with Lin Chengcai steadily driving, laughing and saying, "Don’t be so serious, look at the weather today, it’s rare and nice, not hot at all, the best for going out.

Yesterday, our tech staff found that Zhao Guoxin received a strange call yesterday from Dingyang City, lasting 4 minutes and 16 seconds. And a day before Zhang Heng lost contact, he called home again."

Hearing this, Su Qing’s eyes widened: "You guys can even uncover this, amazing~~"

"This is nothing, just basic skills, don’t overpraise," Du Qiang said proudly.

Li Zijun gave him a stern look, thinking, "Can you shut up while the mentor is speaking? How disrupting can you be?"

A single glance, and Du Qiang cowed down, shrinking his neck and no longer daring to speak. Lin Chengcai continued driving and said:

"Today’s only goal is to get some clues from Zhang Guoxin."

"Captain Lin, that... sounds a bit difficult, right? After all, they are father and son, flesh and blood. Even if there’s any adverse news, he might hide it. Do you think he’ll tell us?" Su Qing questioned.

As the saying goes, even a cruel tiger doesn’t eat its cubs. Families may let their child turn themselves in for leniency in a minor case, but in a case where the conviction might lead to a death penalty, he imagined if it happened to him the first thought would be how to make his child run.

"Do your best. I’ll ask the questions, you stay by to assist and afterward, we’ll check the details together to see if he lied, if there was anything unusual about his tone or expression, while Xiao Li, just keep an eye on the surroundings."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing nodded. If it was only about checking if Zhang Guoxin lied, that wasn’t hard for him. If Zhang Heng really said anything to old Zhang, just through the background he might even know in advance.

"Alright, since there’s nothing else to do."

With the car slowly driving beyond the suburbs, it was over an hour before they reached Ning County, finally winding their way to Nankou Village.

Zhang Heng’s old home was an old black-tiled house, seemingly has been standing for several years. The exterior showed cracks, and in the courtyard, a man in his sixties with a slightly hunched back was sweeping, wearing slippers, and his t-shirt had some factory’s advertisement printed on it, appearing very plain. He was Zheng Heng’s father.

The old man looked honest and sincere, his hands had calluses, especially on the tiger’s mouth, clearly showing he often held something.

"Uncle Zhang, we’re here again," from outside the low courtyard wall, Lin Chengcai waved and greeted.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoxin inside was stunned, looking up at the police in uniform with a flash of bewilderment across his face, immediately breaking into a welcoming smile.

"Captain Lin, you’re here. Come in, come in!" The old man’s voice was somewhat deep as he spoke.

[The frequent visits made this kind-hearted elderly father start to become even more worried]

Hearing the narration in his mind, Su Qing remained unmoved, and at the old man’s invitation, the group entered the courtyard.

The small yard was not large but clean and tidy. There were two patches of self-made vegetable gardens, growing things like cabbage and onions.

"Sorry to bother you again."

"No bother, no bother. Come inside and have some water!" Zhang Guoxin put down the broom and welcomed them into the house.

"Captain Lin, is there any news about my grandson this time?" Zhang Guoxin asked.

Since Liu Xiaojuan’s death, as Zhang Heng hadn’t shown up as the first guardian, he was supposed to have taken the child back, even Liu Dashan and his wife held that idea.

"Uncle Zhang, there are some formalities, mainly because your son can’t return. We wanted to have him back to sign, but couldn’t reach him. Do you know what’s going on? That’s why we came over to see," Lin Chengcai said with a smile, his tone relaxed, without the feel of coaxing for information, even had a reason for their visit ready.

"That rascal! I’ve already told him over the phone to come back, but he won’t, what job makes him so busy." Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoxin complained about his son.

Back when they divorced, they wanted the child, but Liu Xiaojuan refused. Now there was finally a chance, and his son wasn’t attentive.

"Haha, Uncle Zhang, because we couldn’t contact Zhang Heng, we wanted to ask if he’s contacted you recently?" Lin Chengcai asked.

In response, Zhang Guoxin thought for a moment, his eyes slightly unnatural before speaking, "A few days ago, he did call me, said he sent me money and told me to keep it, and also suggested buying some livestock, but nothing else."

As he said this, he paused and then nervously inquired, "Captain Lin, did something happen to my son?"

[The honest and kind father told a small lie because last night he received a call from his son. Though his son tried to act normal on the phone, his tone was different from usual, and as father and son chatted about mundane things, his son’s unusual concern made the honest father even more uneasy]

"No, it’s just we couldn’t reach him, so we’re hoping you could," Lin Chengcai smiled and replied.

Immediately, Zhang Guoxin dialed his son’s number in front of everyone, and it still showed as turned off.

"Huh? Why is it turned off? He couldn’t be in trouble, right?"

"Don’t worry, if he contacts you, just let us know."

[Zhang Heng will return to Jiang City in three days] 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

...