Chapter 243: Finding Jiang Ming (Third Update)

Lin Dongxue returned to Peng Siyue’s car, looking very dejected. Peng Siyue glanced at her but didn’t say anything comforting.

Lin Dongxue asked, “Have you ever had this experience?”

“……”

“You’re eating a delicious piece of cake, and suddenly there’s a cockroach in the middle. Isn’t that disgusting?”

“I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Why do men go to those places?”

“What places?”

“Prostitutes!”

“Desire is a fundamental part of human nature. It’s not about whether people have desires, but rather how they choose to satisfy them. Some do it in ways that are illegal.”

“If your good friend went to such a place, what would you think?”

“I wouldn’t think much of it. It’s their personal freedom, and I’m not in the business of cracking down on prostitution. It has nothing to do with me.”

Lin Dongxue said, “Captain Peng, you sure are broad-minded!” She glanced at the navigation system and said, “I want to go to Huaguang Community.”

“Chen Shi’s place?”

“Uh, forget it, forget it. Let’s just go home.” Lin Dongxue waved her hand dismissively.

Peng Siyue gave her another glance but didn’t ask further.

The case of the missing Jiang Hui and Jiang Ming had been classified as a criminal case and was officially handed over to the Public Security Bureau the next day. Lin Qiupu assigned some personnel to Lin Dongxue.

The matter of the ID card was quickly clarified. The sex worker had bought Jiang Hui’s ID card from a black market vendor, who claimed to have found it in a trash can.

The place where the ID card was found was very close to the mall the two children had visited.

Lin Dongxue immediately thought of the cleaner and went to find her again. When asked if she had picked up an ID card, the cleaner became very flustered but still denied it.

Lin Dongxue said, “If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll have to take you to the station for further investigation!”

“No, no, no! I don’t want a record that might prevent me from finding a job in the future.”

“Tell the truth!”

“Officer, picking up something isn’t a crime, right?”

“Obtaining significant benefits unlawfully is still illegal…” Lin Dongxue first tried to scare her, and after the cleaner panicked, she added, “Whether we press charges depends on your attitude.”

This tactic, learned from her colleagues, proved effective. The cleaner stammered, “I did find a wallet that day. There wasn’t much money in it, just about a hundred yuan, and I took it.”

“Where’s the wallet?”

“I threw it in the trash can on my way home from work.”

“What else was in the wallet?”

“An ID card, a bank card. It belonged to a woman.”

Lin Dongxue showed her a photo of Jiang Hui on her phone and asked, “Is this her?”

“Yes! Officer, you won’t press charges, right?”

“Anything else to add?”

“Uh… I think I heard someone shouting in the emergency exit that day, but I didn’t pay attention and didn’t go check.”

“What time?”

“Around six o’clock.”

Lin Dongxue thought that Jiang Hui might have been in trouble. Then who was the person caught on the surveillance footage?

Jiang Hui had short hair, and so did Jiang Ming. The siblings were of similar height. Could they have swapped clothes?

If Jiang Hui had been killed, where was the body?

To find out the truth, she searched the emergency exit thoroughly and found a trash chute. She pushed the door open, used her phone to illuminate the space, and saw dried bloodstains on the inner wall of the chute.

She immediately called the task force to search the area and contacted the waste management company, who claimed they hadn’t seen any bodies that day.

The police found a few inconspicuous bloodstains in an alley, indicating that the body had been moved to the roadside. Nearby traffic surveillance captured a man wearing a baseball cap dumping something wrapped in a black plastic bag into a car parked by the roadside.

It took almost a day to uncover these clues, and the identity of the car’s owner was still under investigation.

That evening, the police called and said, “Officer Lin, the little boy has returned home!”

“When?”

“Just now. He seems to be in shock and hasn’t said a word.”

Lin Dongxue rushed to the Jiang family home, which was bustling. The parents and grandparents were all fussing over Jiang Ming. At the door, she saw Jiang Hui’s homeroom teacher talking to the police. When the teacher saw Lin Dongxue, she nodded in greeting and said, “The school is concerned about this situation and sent me to check on things. Has Jiang Hui been found?”

“Jiang Hui might not be coming back.” Lin Dongxue felt a heavy heart as she said this, while the family inside was filled with joy.

“What? Jiang Hui, she…”

“I’ll explain later.”

Lin Dongxue entered the house. The stepmother smiled and said, “Officer Lin has put a lot of effort into finding you all. Thank her.”

Jiang Ming hugged his shoulders and remained silent.

Jiang Ming had already taken off his jacket, and Lin Dongxue noticed a girl’s school uniform on a chair nearby.

The stepmother stroked his head affectionately and said, “This child doesn’t say a word.”

“Jiang Ming, where is your sister?” Lin Dongxue asked.

Jiang Ming remained silent, and the stepmother tried to smooth things over, “The child has been outside for two days. He must be in shock. Let’s let him rest today. Maybe we can go to the police station tomorrow?”

The father scolded, “What are you talking about! Isn’t Xiaohui our child too? All you care about is Mingming!”

“What’s wrong with caring about Mingming? I carried him for ten months!”

“Xiaohui is my daughter!”

“She’s your daughter, but I didn’t see you care much about her. Who was the one who always hit and scolded her since she was little?”

“What did you say! Say that again!” the father roared.

“Enough!” Jiang Ming shouted, “Sister died because of me!”

The room fell silent. The homeroom teacher rushed in upon hearing this and asked inappropriately, “What did you say? Jiang Hui is dead? How did she die?”

Tears welled up in Jiang Ming’s eyes, and his lips trembled as he said, “That day, after school, we went to the mall. There was a sick kitten there, very pitiful. Sister said she wanted to put it to sleep and gave it an injection. We were going to leave it on the rooftop, but the door wouldn’t open, so we left it on the stairs. As we were going down, a man blocked us. He looked at me and laughed, asking all sorts of questions and even touched me. I thought he was a pervert. Sister pushed him away, and he suddenly pulled out a knife. We ran downstairs, but the fourth-floor door was locked. It was noisy outside, and no one heard us knocking. The pervert caught up. I was terrified. Sister told me to swap jackets with her. She said she would distract the pervert while I went down to call the police. But… but… I heard my sister scream as I was running down. The pervert killed her!”

By this point, Jiang Ming was sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone in the room was shocked. Lin Dongxue asked, “Why didn’t you call the police afterward?”

“My phone died. When I got to a nearby police station, I was scared when I saw the police.”

“Why?”

“Because the pervert was a police officer!”