This seemed to be a first for Zhang Jian. He was stunned for several seconds before he could react.
"Uncle Wu, we're police officers. A case has come up that involves your tenant, which is why we're here to investigate. If you know anything about him, please tell us. You'd be supporting our work," Zhang Jian said, trying to reason with him.
"Cut the crap!"
Wu Zhicun scoffed. "I'll make this simple. Find my grandson's murderer, and I'll tell you who he is."
Zhang Jian's eyebrow twitched, and his tone grew heavier. "Uncle Wu, you can't do that. That's tantamount to harboring a criminal."
"Trying to scare me?"
Wu Zhicun put on a devil-may-care expression and held out his hands. "Then arrest me. Send me to prison. That'd be perfect. Free room and board. I could live there till I die."
Shen Xin sucked in a sharp breath.
'What an old badass. This is incredible.'
Zhang Jian was suddenly in a bind.
Zhao Shouchuan, standing beside him, quickly interjected, "Uncle Wu, this isn't a joke. This is official business. You can't be like this. Besides, we've told you so many times—no one murdered your grandson."
Wu Zhicun yelled, "I don't care! My grandson came to me in a dream! He said he was murdered by bad people! He told me he's cold, that he doesn't even have any clothes! Oh, my poor Jia Wang… Dajun, I'm so sorry! I failed to look after your son!"
As he spoke, he broke down in tears.
After a couple of sobs, he slapped his thigh and said, "Anyway, I'll say it again: if you want to know about him, you have to find my grandson's killer first. Go on, take me in. Interrogate me however you want. If you've got the guts, beat me to death. See if I'll talk then."
Zhao Shouchuan quickly said, "Uncle Wu, that's taking it too far. No one said anything about arresting you."
He was almost seventy. Who would dare arrest him? And even if they did, who would dare interrogate him?
But Wu Zhicun didn't care. He just stuck his hands out again and told them to hurry up and cuff him so he could go back with them and "enjoy the good life."
Zhang Jian's eyelid twitched in irritation.
Just then, Chen Chao came in and asked in a low voice what was going on.
「The group stepped outside.」
Zhang Jian explained the situation, his head throbbing.
Chen Chao's brows knitted together instantly. He thought for a moment before asking, "Do you think he really knows something about that tenant, or is he just bluffing?"
"Who knows."
Zhang Jian shrugged. "Anyway, we've already asked around. The guy's a recluse and wears a mask all day; nobody knows anything about him. But since Wu Zhicun is his landlord and they live under the same roof, he might actually know something."
At this, Zhang Jian gritted his teeth and said tentatively, "Or… we could actually take him in. Just to scare him a little?"
Some people act tough, but the moment they get to the station and sit in one of those cold, stainless-steel chairs in the interrogation room, they start talking.
"Don't. Don't you dare do anything reckless. He's 67!" Chen Chao immediately shook his head.
At his age, and blind, he might have underlying health problems. If anything happened to him at the station, we couldn't handle the fallout.
"Just a thought."
Zhang Jian pursed his lips and fell silent.
If he really hauled Uncle Wu in, Song Liang would have a fit.
The elderly were one of the types of people police stations dreaded dealing with most.
If they had children, there was at least some leverage.
But someone like Wu Zhicun—all alone in the world—was basically untouchable. No one dared to lay a finger on him.
Even the prisons wouldn't take him.
Just then, Chen Chao suddenly turned to Zhao Shouchuan. "Lao Zhao, what's the full story with this Wu Jiawang? Was he really murdered, like Uncle Wu claims? Did he ever produce any evidence?"
If Wu Jiawang wasn't just missing but was actually murdered, that would change everything.
"Solve all homicides" was an iron-clad rule.
Zhao Shouchuan shook his head. "No. We investigated all the 'evidence' he mentioned. There was nothing to it. I think he just misses his grandson too much, or maybe feels too much guilt, and it's become a kind of… obsession."
Chen Chao folded his arms, lost in thought.
Zhang Jian, standing nearby, added, "Captain Chen, Wu Jiawang disappeared seven years ago. Let's say Uncle Wu is right and he was murdered. Where's the body? Lao Zhao and his team searched for a long time but never found anything."
"Okay, let's say the killer buried the body. This area was pretty desolate seven years ago, but in the seven years since, there's been massive development. Construction everywhere. If a body was buried around here, there's a high probability it would have been found by now. But there haven't been any reports of unidentified remains being discovered. That can only mean Wu Jiawang is simply missing—probably abducted."
Chen Chao nodded.
He agreed with Zhang Jian's analysis.
With all the development around here, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they've dug up every inch of ground. If any unidentified bones had been found, they would have been reported long ago.
Thinking of this, he gave a wry smile. "See? I told you this case wouldn't be easy. The suspect deliberately rented a room from a blind man, then lived like a recluse and always wore a mask. It's obvious he has strong counter-surveillance awareness."
Zhang Jian sighed. Catching Fan Jie had been so easy at first that he really thought this case would be solved in a flash, earning the station a major commendation.
Who would have thought the case would take such a turn, pitting them against a criminal with such a keen sense of counter-surveillance?
Just then, Chen Chao suddenly turned his head and looked at Shen Xin.
"Xiaoshen, what are your thoughts?"
Startled at being called on so suddenly, Shen Xin jumped.
Zhang Jian immediately added, "Xiaoshen, don't you want to be a detective? Here's your chance. Share your thoughts from a detective's perspective."
Hearing Zhang Jian mention that Shen Xin wanted to be a detective, Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, his expression a little odd.
Shen Xin actually did have an idea. "Captain Zhang, Captain Chen, I don't have much of a theory, but something feels a bit strange to me."
"What's strange?" Chen Chao asked immediately.
Shen Xin led the two men to the doorway of the main room. Pointing at Wu Zhicun inside, he whispered, "Look at his headphones and his phone. Those headphones cost over two thousand yuan, and that phone is over six thousand. He's on social assistance. Even though he's renting out a room, the rent around here can't be that high, right?"
"More importantly, elderly people are usually very frugal. Who would splurge on such expensive headphones and a phone? I highly doubt he even knows what brands they are."
"So who bought them for him? He doesn't have any family," Shen Xin countered.
And as he said it, his thoughts seemed to fall into place. A bold idea suddenly occurred to him. "Do you think… his headphones and phone… could the tenant have bought them for him?"
This is all stuff young people like.
Zhang Jian and Chen Chao exchanged a surprised look.
They had only just met Uncle Wu. If the investigation had proceeded normally, they probably would have noticed this anomaly eventually.
But Shen Xin had noticed it right away.
At the very least, it proved that Shen Xin had excellent powers of observation.
Staring at Uncle Wu in the other room for a moment, Chen Chao's brow furrowed again. "If, as Xiaoshen suggests, the tenant bought those for him, then this is a whole different situation."
The suspect bought such expensive electronics for Uncle Wu.
And Uncle Wu is deliberately concealing information about the suspect.
'What does that make them? Accomplices?'