winter past

Zhao You pushed aside a few branches that blocked his view, and stepped into a piece of wet soil. His center of gravity was unstable, and he staggered forward. The mobile phone he was holding in his right hand flew out, and he almost fell down. He quickly grabbed the tree trunk next to him and stabilized his body.It was very dark around, he groped for a while to find the phone, picked it up distressedly, wiped and wiped on the legs of his trousers, held it up and looked at the sky where there was no light at all.

It was a moonless night, and growing around the mud where Zhao You was standing were either weeds or thin trees with slender branches and sparse leaves.This is a place in the forest where the trees are not dense.The thin, finger-like branches formed a jagged-edged little circle above the clearing, and that circle was lined with a thick navy blue.

After confirming that the mobile phone was still working normally, Zhao You lowered his eyes, looked at the three people standing in front of him, scratched his arms and legs and said impatiently: "There are bugs all the way, and they are gone here."

The three were Dai Rou, Suyin and Lei Wanjun. Among them, Suyin was in the most casual state, with the most relaxed expression, holding a mobile phone in her hand, sitting on a tree stump, yawning and waving Zhao You. Shining the flashlight on the small wooden house not far away, a new door was installed in that wooden house, and a large iron lock was hung on the door.A notice was faintly visible on the door.

Lei Wanjun called Zhao You over, and flirted with Suyin. Suyin hurriedly handed his mobile phone to Zhao You, and Lei Wanjun asked him: "You went into the basement of that wooden house that day and saw This is it, right?"

On Suyin's cell phone is a certain portrait of Xiao Man posted on the basement wall of Lin Midong's home.It was a profile of Xiao Man with short hair.

Zhao You quickly replied: "Yes, I saw it." He looked at Lei Wanjun, and asked sincerely, puzzled and curiously, "Who is this person? Have you found it? With the woman in the basement What's the relationship?"

Lei Wanjun frowned: "You don't know this person, have you never met this person?"

Zhao You scratched his head and scratched his head, hesitantly said: "This person... should I... recognize him?"

Dai Rou's flashlight shone on Zhao You, and her question came up: "How did you find the right place? How did you find the basement?"

She glanced at Lei Wanjun out of the corner of her eye.

Zhao You said: "It's still because of Zhang Li's case. He is the suspect in our 604 case and the deceased... I also want to ask those homeless people near the Yanzigou and Hongqi Bridge. I heard that they all lived in No. 64, Huangguozi Village. It is said that after the murder case, the original owner didn’t care about the place anymore. The homeless people got such a shelter from the wind and rain for nothing. old couples have moved.

"I came to look for those homeless people. On the way, I met villagers who said that there were wild boars in the forest. They knew that I was a policeman, so they insisted on letting me go into the mountain to have a look. I said that I am not a forest policeman. It is useless. They must let me come. I came here, they said that wild boars were around here, I came at night, and I didn’t see any wild boars. When I saw such a house, I thought there must be some homeless people living here, so I went in and walked around. Walked around..." Zhao You looked at Dai Rou, "I think this house is very hidden, you know the homeless people around here, they usually do things like stealing chickens and dogs, I wonder if they usually take the stolen Things and the like are hidden here, or traded here, so I went in to check and found the basement. As soon as I saw the dead person, alarm bells went off in my head. Isn’t this the technique of the mummy killer? I immediately contacted Dai Rou."

Dai Rou then continued: "Team Lei, the victim in the No. 64 case, Weng Qing, stole the jewelry from the factory. She may have found the stolen goods from a group of homeless people who haunted here. The hut was used as a place to trade or hide stolen goods."

Zhao You was puzzled: "I didn't see wild boars either. You said that there was indeed something like excrement in the wooden house, but it didn't smell bad. I suspect that the rumors of wild boars were spread by those homeless people. The only thing is to keep people away from this log cabin."

Suyin said: "The house is indeed filled with wild boar feces, but because of the food we eat, it doesn't stink."

Lei Wanjun asked Zhao You again: "Didn't Dean Yin's daughter discover a female corpse and a baby corpse in Aegean Sea 404 with some detective before? Have you never seen the one who was with her at that time?" Detective?"

Zhao You said: "I met him once. He went to the hospital to visit Xiao Yin. What's wrong with him?" Zhao You was shocked, "Is he related to the mummy killer? He can't be an accomplice, right? How can this person know that it is room 404 of the Aegean Sea after watching the video, it is strange!"

Lei Wanjun motioned to Zhao You: "Look at that person carefully."

Suyin held up her mobile phone again, and what caught Zhao You's eyes was the portrait of Xiaoman's side face.Lin Mindong's paintings of Xiao Man are exquisite and lifelike.

Zhao You slapped his forehead: "Oh, that's the detective! I saw him, he has long hair, this one has short hair, and this one is more energetic." He grabbed Suyin's cell phone and looked at it carefully, "Yes, yes, that's him!"

Zhao You suddenly remembered something, and said to Lei Wanjun, "What's his name? I heard from Xiao Yin that he used to be from the Municipal Bureau. Dai Rou, Team Lei, do you recognize him?"

Suyin lowered her hand and yawned again.Lei Wanjun and Dai Rou didn't speak, Zhao You rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit lost: "I thought Team Lei came to me to discuss the merger..." He looked at Lei Wanjun, " The leaders of the province still disagree?" He said, "Captain Lei, there are no outsiders here, and Dai Rou is here too. I know that I came here to avoid the leaders of the province, so I will ask you directly. Dai and I Rou can share information in private, can we unify in private?"

"Then it's over if you say no in the bureau! It took so much effort to come here." Lei Wanjun looked at his watch, his brows were still furrowed, he called Zhao You over, and said: "Xiao Zhao, Xiao Yin recently met There are too many things, you are also a person who stepped into the political department with half a foot, so don't worry too much about the case, the case in this wooden house has already been closed, and we just found a new one that is more powerful, Ah, the evidence that can prove the murderer committed the crime, anyway, you don’t care about it, just spend more time with Xiao Yin these few days, and you also take good care of your wounds. Come down, you must have a share of the credit, not less than the credit for breaking the Qingshui Garden 604 case." Lei Wanjun squeezed Zhao You's shoulder, "Don't talk about our meeting here, how much? The case from years ago is over, Chen Zhima is rotten, there is nothing to talk about."

Zhao You nodded, "When I came out, I told Xiao Yan in the same dormitory that I was worried and came to accompany Xiao Yin."

Lei Wanjun patted Zhao You on the shoulder and gestured: "Okay, then I'll go first." He told Suyin and Dai Rou: "You guys should leave after a while, and be careful not to disturb the people who are staying in the village. Those reporters." He got into the bushes, causing a rustling movement.After a while, the forest became quiet again, only when the owl made a cooing sound, Suyin looked Zhao You up and down: "Where are you hurt?"

Zhao You stretched out his hands, and there were still some bruises on his wrists.Suyin patted his wrist and said, "Oh, that means you need to take a good vacation to recuperate."

Zhao You took a breath, withdrew his hand, and said, "It's mainly because I feel sad. I don't want to implicate my family because of my work."

Suyin looked at him with her face up, unmoved, even a little contemptuous and disapproving in her eyes.She asked Zhao You: "Do you still want the dummy you saved with me?"

Zhao You said: "No, I'm sorry to trouble you."

Suyin got up, turned her head and patted the dust on the back of her trousers, and asked Zhao You, "Are you really going to Laobie's place?"

"Old turtle?"

Suyin looked up at him, squinted her eyes, put her hands behind her back, slightly retracted her neck, and looked thoughtfully.She is imitating Bian Yang.Zhao You and Dai Rou both laughed.Suyin hissed at them twice, waved her hand, and walked into the woods. She took out her mobile phone and muttered: "Don't get lost, I'm just blind..." She drove away the mosquitoes: "There are a lot of bugs."

Dai Rou said, "I'll see you off."

Zhao You hurriedly followed: "Wait, I don't even know the way!"

The three of them walked through the woods together with flashlights.After a while, Suyin said again: "Then there will be no pork in the future."

Zhao You touched the bridge of his nose and said with a smile, "It's all about serving the people."

Suyin looked forward, shook her hands and said, "I saw my car." Then she strode out of the woods.Dai Rou and Zhao You also came out of the woods and walked unhurriedly along the dirt road in the village. Zhao You asked, "Where did you park your car?"

"Under the exit of the mountain road."

"That's a long way to go."

"I'm from the special case team. It's natural to walk around here. Where's your car?"

"The gas station is right there at Three Trees."

"Isn't that farther?"

"The TV station, the evening paper and the daily newspaper all know me. I am not involved in your case. I came here in the middle of the night, so I have to avoid suspicion." Zhao You said.

Dai Rou said: "You think you know them well, maybe they don't remember you at all." She said, "The same thing happened with Xiao Man and Lin Midong, do you understand?"

Zhao You nodded.Dai Rou said: "We understand that the higher-ups have accepted it, and the provincial team has come. Now the focus is on Cao Lv's case."

"What's the matter with his split personality?"

"It was said that it was often disconnected, and a mobile phone was found in a car that belonged to their cleaning company that he often drove. We suspected that the car was the car where the corpse was hidden in the dream. The mobile phone was full of abuse that had been posted on the Internet. Animals, or video of the crime scene, the circumstantial evidence can be said to be very strong."

"What did he say? Why did he surrender himself?"

"Because of the frequent interruptions, and our colleagues who arrested him before, we became more and more suspicious of whether we did it ourselves. They said that we found a backpack at home before, which was full of glass jars, and it smelled very bad. The acid liquid, shoe covers, gloves, hammers and other things, he was very scared when he saw it, and threw the backpack away, who knew that the backpack would return to his room the next day." Dai Rou looked at Zhao You: "Listen to you, don't you think he's mentally abnormal? His split personality was diagnosed in January this year."

Zhao You said: "I just haven't met a prisoner with a split personality."

"Don't ask about the motive?"

"If he has a split personality, maybe he doesn't know what the motive is, and maybe he wants the police to help him figure it out."

The two walked out of Huangguozi Village and approached three yellow bark trees that grew close together. Dai Rou's car was parked under the three trees, and not far away was a fork in the national road.

"I'm here." Dai Rou walked to her car, lit a cigarette, and looked at Zhao You: "How do you know what he's thinking?"

Zhao You touched his face: "I'm dumb." He asked, "Did he really say that?"

Dai Rou let out a sneer, raised the corner of her eyes, got into the car, and drove away.Zhao You continued to walk forward, arrived at a gas station, and got into a Volkswagen parked in the parking space.Zhan Xuanang poked his head out from the back row, and asked, "Is the Lei team asking you to tell you about the private investigation?"

Zhao You shook his head and started the car.Zhan Xuanang said: "It's really difficult. Zhang Li's case really has nothing in common with other cases." He took a picture of Zhao You: "Just you and Team Lei?"

"correct."

"Why did you choose such a place where the birds don't shit?"

"Probably because of that place... the birds don't shit?" Zhao You said.

Zhan Xuanang asked again: "Did Wang Shifang look for you?"

"Ask me how my body is doing on WeChat."

"You just exchange pleasantries, he invites you, don't see you." Zhan Xuanang leaned back and sighed, "He has no bad intentions, but his son has no hope, he just wants to climb higher by himself, go There will be less worries at home in the future.”

Zhao You looked at him from the rearview mirror: "Captain Zhan, I think Xiao Man is definitely not Lin Midong's accomplice."

"Who says they are accomplices?" Zhan Xuanang pursed his lips.

"Ah? You want me to check him, isn't it just to check if he is an accomplice?"

"Then don't investigate him, what else is there to investigate the case ten years ago?!" Zhan Xuanang suddenly became ruthless, and Zhao You shut his mouth tightly.After a while, Zhan Xuanang waved his hands and said nonchalantly: "You have never encountered such a case, you are lucky! Anyway, you will not be a criminal police officer anymore! You will not encounter any murder cases in the future , What is the case of disappearance!"

Zhao You was speechless.After a long time, the car drove into the urban area. Zhan Xuanang said in a calm and dry voice: "Some things just end without a problem. Really, there is no result. This is what happens in this life. You just have to learn to accept things that don't come to fruition." , is to learn to know that hard work does not necessarily pay off, and when it is time to let go, you have to let go."

How could Zhao You not understand this truth?It's not just about the cases—are there still few unsolved cases in the archives?The same is true when getting along with people, he and Xiaoman may not have any knots, Xiaoman may just have been drifting in the sea of ​​buried secrets for too long, and when he meets someone who breaks the secret, he will briefly let go of this secret. A person is regarded as a companion, and he needs this person to be his companion for a short time, to accompany him to leave the sea, even if he cannot do without, it is good to have a companion.

In Xiaoman's eyes, he may be just a traveling companion, or just a bundle of life-saving straw, a piece of life-saving driftwood, which can help him get a moment of respite.When he floats to the shore, when he lands, he will find that the world is so big, there are many woods in this world, and there are many good and high-quality woods in the woods... There are many people in this world who can accompany him people.He wouldn't need a log that had soaked badly in the sea.

Neither Zhan Xuanang nor Zhao You spoke again.Zhao You sent Zhan Xuanang home, and Zhan Xuanang asked him, "Are you going back to the dormitory?"

Zhao You said, "I'm going to guard Xiao Yin. It's dangerous for her to be alone after such a big incident."

"Yes, yes, it is necessary to accompany her well, then you go."

Zhao You drove to the Green Chain Hotel on Wuyuan Road. Earlier, Yin Miaozai sent him a WeChat message saying that she had opened a room here, 1623.Zhao You went upstairs, knocked on the door, and it was Xiaoman who opened the door.

It was already late, but Xiaoman was very energetic, with a rare look in his eyes, and he looked at him as if he was very happy.

If, maybe, maybe... Xiaoman, who got ashore, wants to take the piece of driftwood that saved him, and keep it with him as a souvenir...

Is there such a possibility?

Zhao You hurried into the room. He really wanted to ask Xiaoman if he was happy to see him. As soon as he entered, he heard Xiaojing ask him: "Have you ever made friends with a professor of language during investigations?" , are you engaged in the study of dialects and colloquialisms?"

"Where's Xiao Yin?" Zhao You didn't see Yin Miaozai in the room, only Xiao Man, Xiao Jing and Xing Tianxiang were in the room.

Xiao Jing said, "I don't know. He was still there just now. Did he go to the bathroom? I'm asking you something, so don't interrupt."

At this time, Yin Miaozai came out of the bathroom holding an apple.She leaned against the wall, folded her arms, and ate the apple.Zhao You was puzzled and said, "She is a teacher at Qingda University...you don't know that she is an associate professor of Chinese Language and Philology, and her major is sociolinguistics and dialects..."

Xiao Jing swallowed his saliva, and Xing Tianxiang grabbed his phone and laughed out loud, revealing a little pain at the end of the laugh.He sat on a sofa, rubbed his knees and said, "We, who knows who?"

There is a knock on the door.Zhao You turned around and looked into the cat's eyes. It was Boss Wang of the grocery store. He opened the door. Boss Wang came in with a choking smell of cigarettes. Yin Miaozai coughed after smelling it, bit an apple, and grabbed a backpack , grabbed a laptop, opened the door, walked to the corridor, and said, "I opened a room on the side, and I'll go to sleep there, and those of you who only like to talk, and don't like to let others talk, just sleep together Bar."

Xiaojing yelled: "Teacher Yin! Don't be angry!" got up and chased him out.

Boss Wang looked at them, then at Zhao You, nodded with him, walked to a single bed and sat down, without speaking, just sat with his waist bent and his head down.

Xiaoman asked him: "Boss Wang, do you have anything left by Cao Lv in your house?"

Boss Wang was depressed and shook his head: "No, why keep his things? No."

Xing Tianxiang looked at them and said, "It's not too early, otherwise everyone should rest today."

Xiao Man said, "I'll go downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes."

Zhao You said, "I'll go downstairs to buy something to eat."

The two made 1623 together.