ALL NOVEL Chapter 94
Arc 5 – Deadly Thief
Chapter 94
At Changhong community, outside Zhang Wei’s house.
Yao Min smiled and asked, “Auntie, is Zhang Wei home?”
The old woman shook his head and said, “Ah-Wei is away on a business trip. He is not at home right now. You can come back in a couple of days.”
Yao Min glanced at Jiang Chengyan and said, “Auntie, Zhang Wei is related to a case we are investigating now. We want to know more about him. Let’s talk inside, okay?”
The old woman resisted, hesitated for a long time, and said, “Then come in.”
She opened the door, and the two walked in one after another. Jiang Chengyan carefully looked at the layout of the room. The house was simple, spacious, and bright, without too much decoration. The furniture is wood-colored, including the sofa in the living room, a combination of cotton.
The old woman pointed to the sofa and said politely, “You guys sit down, I’ll get you a drink.”
Yao Min hurriedly said, “Auntie, it’s okay. We are not thirsty.”
“It’s okay, you guys sit down.”
Jiang Chengyan walked to the wall and looked at the photo hanging on it. It was a family portrait, one of which was Zhang Wei, whom he had seen outside the morgue that day.
The old woman came out with a tea tray, poured it into the two cups, and said, “Comrade police, Ah-Wei is a good child in our family. He will never do anything against the law. Are you mistaken?”
Jiang Chengyan asked instead of answering, “Auntie, who are you to Zhang Wei?”
“I’m his mom, his dad left early, and it’s always been the two of us depending on each other.”
“Who is the man in this photo?”
“That’s his uncle and the girl next to him is his daughter, my niece.”
Jiang Chengyan asked naturally, “How is aunt’s health?”
Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com
“I’m in good health, but I have some old problems in my early work. When it’s cloudy and rainy, my legs and feet hurt.”
Jiang Chengyan nodded thoughtfully and said, “Looking at the photos, the relationship between the two families should be very close, right?”
Jiang Chengyan’s tone was natural, like how he usually chats with people. The old woman gradually relaxed and answered, “from my family, it’s only me and my brother. Since childhood, we have had a good relationship. My husband died early, and my brother helped me raise Ah-Wei. It was not easy for Ah-Wei to grow up and find a good job, and Xiaomei, my niece, was sick. Over the years, she was treated and hospitalized; it all depended on Ah-wei, and then the relationship between the two families got closer.
Jiang Chengyan’s eyes lit up and asked calmly, “What kind of disease? Is it serious?”
The old woman sighed and said, “Uremia. And it’s at an advanced stage now. Only a kidney transplant is necessary to cure it. But it’s been more than a year since we looked for a matched organ, but we couldn’t find any suitable one. And now, it can’t be cured even with money.”
“Which hospital did she get her treatment? Have you ever gone to some hospitals to find a kidney match?”
“The municipal hospital where Ah-Wei works. My brother and I are too old, and our health is not very good. We can’t stay in the hospital daily to take care of her. We can only rely on Ah-Wei.”
“When did Ah-Wei go on a business trip, and who took care of Xiaomei?”
“Ah-Wei was on a business trip yesterday, and my brother is taking care of Xiaomei.”
“Auntie, did Zhang Wei say where he was going on a business trip? When will he be back, and how to contact him?”
“This… he didn’t say.” The old woman saw Jiang Chengyan kept asking about Zhang Wei, more or less defensively, and asked, “Comrade police, our Ah-Wei is obedient and filial and has never done anything bad. What’s wrong with him? Can you tell me?”
Jiang Chengyan pondered for a while and said, “Auntie, I see you are also reasonable, so I’ll tell you the truth. Zhang Wei is now involved in a murder case. According to the clues we have, we suspect that Zhang Wei is absconding from the crime.”
“Murder case? Impossible, absolutely impossible! Ah-Wei would never do such a thing. You must be mistaken!”
Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com
“Auntie, you should take it easy for now. We just returned from the hospital where Zhang Wei works. The hospital didn’t arrange for him to go on a business trip, and his cell phone is still turned off. We can’t contact him at all. What he did would only make us suspect he absconded for fear of crime. So Auntie, if you know where he is or have any other contact information for him, be sure to come back and clarify.”
The old woman stared blankly at Jiang Chengyan, his expression a little dazed, but she quickly reacted, grabbed Jiang Chengyan’s hand tightly, and said, “Comrade police, our Ah-Wei is defamed. He could not have harmed anyone. Our two families are counting on him; how can I live if something happens to him?”
“Auntie, calm down, don’t get panicked. It’s best to contact him now. If he doesn’t commit a crime, we will never arrest him. If he does commit a crime, he can get a lighter sentence after turning himself in. I believe you will understand these things.”
The old woman panicked, looked at Jiang Chengyan with red eyes, and said, “I really don’t know where he went. I usually call him on his cell phone when I look for him. There is no other way to contact him.”
“Then, does he have a girlfriend or a close friend?”
“In the past few years, when Xiaomei was sick, we have only revolved around her. Ah- Wei is either going to work or taking care of Xiaomei, so there is no time to talk about his girlfriend. About friends… I don’t know. I haven’t seen Ah-Wei bring anyone home.” Her tone was somewhat resentful.
“What is Xiao Mei’s full name? Which ward is she in?”
“What will you do to Xiaomei? She is a patient lying in bed all day and can’t do anything.” Although the old woman had some resentment toward Xiaomei, she was still very defensive of her.
“Auntie, don’t worry, we just want to talk to Xiao Mei’s father; we won’t disturb the patient.”
The old woman hesitated and said, “Xiaomei’s full name is Liu Meijuan, and she lives in room no. 103 on the 5th floor.”
Jiang Chengyan stood up and asked, “Auntie, can I go to Zhang Wei’s room to take a look?”
The old woman didn’t stop him. He pointed to the bedroom next to the bathroom and said, “That’s Ah-Wei’s room. If you want to see it, go in and see.”
Jiang Chengyan was a little surprised that she agreed so quickly. He nodded, looked at Yao Min, and turned to Zhang Wei’s room.
When opening the door, everything in the room came into view. The room was not big, about 7 or 8 square meters. There was a bed against the wall, a table next to the bed, and a wardrobe next to the table. The room was spotless; the quilt was neatly folded and placed at the end of the bed, and a few books were on the table.
Jiang Chengyan looked through them, and most of them were medical books. The clothes are neatly hung in the wardrobe. Almost all of them are white shirts with black pants. Looking at the distance between each hanger in the wardrobe and the placement of each book on the table, Jiang Chengyan could judge that Zhang Wei had severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Jiang Chengyan came out of Zhang Wei’s room and said, “Auntie, if Zhang Wei contacts you, you must persuade him to turn himself in or notify us to avoid making another mistake. It will be too late to regret if it comes to an irreversible situation.”
The old woman nodded and said, “Comrade police, I will definitely cooperate with your work, and please investigate properly and make sure you don’t wrongly accuse Ah-Wei.”
“Don’t worry; we will never arrest the good people; also, let go of the bad people. So, Zhang Wei’s surrender is the best choice.”
Jiang Chengyan stayed no longer and returned to the hospital with Yao Min. After retrieving Liu Meijuan’s case data, they found her attending doctor.
Jiang Chengyan asked bluntly, “Doctor Yao, how is Liu Meijuan’s condition?”
This morning, we just performed a kidney transplant on her, and we are observing the rejection reaction. If there is no reaction, her condition will gradually improve.”
“Where did the kidneys come from?”
It’s from the Red Cross Association. Here is the kidney donation certificate issued by them.” Yao Gang took a document from the drawer and handed it to Jiang Chengyan.
“Who gave you this information?”
“It’s Dr. Zhang from Cardiac Surgery. He is Liu Meijuan’s cousin. He has been running around looking for the source of kidney for her. After more than a year, he finally found it. It really pays off!”
“Is the refrigerated box that held the kidney still there?”
“Yes, I gave it to the nurse. She should have taken it to be cleaned.”
“Dr. Yao, please help us find the nurse. That refrigerated box is very important to us.”
“Okay, I’ll take you guys to her.”
Led by Yao Gang, the three went to the nurse’s station to find the nurse.
Yao Gang asked bluntly, “Xiao Zhang, where is the refrigerated box that holds the kidneys?”
The nurse hastily explained, “Dr. Yao, I’m sorry, I was busy and forgot about it. I’ll take it to clean it.”
Yao Gang waved and said, “No, you bring it over to the police officer.”
The nurse looked at the two Jiang Chengyan and said, “Okay, I’ll get it right now.”
The nurse turned around and entered the room inside, came out with a refrigerated box, handed it to Jiang Chengyan, and said, “Comrade police, this is the refrigerated box that holds the kidneys.”
Jiang Chengyan took it, handed it to Yao Min, and said, “Thank you. Dr. Yao, I will take this cooler for evidence, and it will not be returned quickly. If you need proof, I can write it to you now.”
“Then I will trouble Captain Jiang. After all, this is not something from our hospital. If the people from the Red Cross come to ask for it, I can have some explanation.”
Jiang Chengyan gave Yao Gang a note and took Yao Min straight to the ward. Just outside the door of Liu Meijuan’s ward, he happened to meet Liu Meijuan’s father, who was going out. When Jiang Chengyan saw him in the photo, he recognized him immediately.
Jiang Chengyan said bluntly, “You are Liu Meijuan’s father, right?”
“Yes, you are the police, right?” Liu Tianjun didn’t seem surprised and said with a light expression, “You guys wait, I’m going to get some water. I’ll be right back.”
Jiang Chengyan nodded his head and said, “okay.”
Looking at Liu Tianjun’s back, Yao Min said with a slight frown, “Captain, you’re just going to let him go?”
Jiang Chengyan glanced at the ward and said, “Why not? His daughter is lying there. Where do you think he can go?”
“That’s right.” Yao Min touched her nose embarrassingly and said, “Captain, the facts are clear now. It must be Zhang Wei secretly looking for a donor for Liu Meijuan, and he found that Ma Xiaohan was matched, and then he was motivated to kill. After Ma Xiaohan died, his kidney was removed and donated to Liu Meijuan in the name of the Red Cross.”
Jiang Chengyan sighed in a complicated mood and said, “Although this is the most reasonable inference based on the current clues, we still have to continue to investigate and find solid evidence.”
“If Ma Donghai had not insisted that Ma Xiaohan’s death was doubtful and applied for forensic intervention, I’m afraid no one would have known the truth. Then Zhang Wei not only saved Liu Meijuan but also managed to get away with it, simply killing two birds with one stone!”
“This is like ‘the net of justice is wide open, but no one escapes’.”
The figure of Ling Hua’an came to Jiang Chengyan’s mind, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted.