hsntnovel Chapter 16: Those Who Know Him
Chapter 16: Those Who Know Him
Squeak...!
The door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
The old lady, who was standing on tiptoe and peering into the house, was caught off guard and hurriedly took two steps back. Her steps faltered, and she almost fell to the ground. She barely managed to steady herself by holding onto the wall of the stairwell, her heart pounding.
She was an elderly woman in her sixties, with her gray hair tied back. She wore a faded floral shirt, and her apron was still covered in flour. Her rubber gloves were dripping wet, indicating that she had been washing dishes in the kitchen and had come over to peek in because she heard too much noise from next door.
Su Wan quickly stepped forward and reached out to help the elderly woman up: "Auntie, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"
The old lady waved her hand, her face still showing signs of shock. She didn't have time to calm her breathing, and her cloudy eyes were fixed on Jiang Chen, who was wearing handcuffs in the room. Her lips trembled slightly.
"Officer...Officer, has something serious happened to Xiao Liu next door?"
Su Wan did not respond directly. She carefully helped the old man to sit down on the old, worn-out sofa in the living room, handed him a bottle of mineral water, and spoke in a gentle and measured tone.
"Auntie, we're just here for routine questions, please don't be nervous. Please sit down for a while and calm down."
The old man's fingertips trembled as he unscrewed the bottle cap, took two small sips, and then calmed the panic in his heart. His voice carried the heavy nasal tone characteristic of the elderly, and he was exceptionally cautious.
"We're not exactly close, just neighbors for almost two years, seeing each other all the time."
"So, what kind of person do you usually see Liu Qiang as?" Su Wan asked casually.
The old man lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the scattered takeout boxes and empty beer cans on the coffee table. He sighed softly, his tone carefully measured, refusing to utter a single unnecessary word.
"This child is neither good nor bad. He looks quite energetic and has a sweet tongue. He always calls me 'Auntie' when he sees me. Occasionally, when he buys fruit, he will give me a couple of pieces as well. During holidays, he will hang a small lantern at my door, saying it's for good luck."
After a slight pause, the old man subconsciously glanced out of the stairwell, his voice unconsciously lowering, revealing the unique apprehension of an elderly person living alone.
"But there has never been any real peace in this house."
"How exactly are you being restless?"
"Every few days, someone comes to knock on the door and bangs on it loudly." The old man frowned and became more cautious in his tone. "Whenever I open the door to let in some fresh air, I always see several burly men blocking the doorway. They don't talk to the neighbors, they just glare at me coldly, and then they keep banging on Xiao Liu's door."
She deliberately lowered her voice, afraid that someone might overhear her.
"One time I couldn't hold back any longer and mustered up the courage to ask them what they wanted. The leader, a bald man with a cigarette in his mouth, was very arrogant and said that Liu Qiang owed their boss money and they had come to collect the debt. As he spoke, he flicked his cigarette ash, which burned a black hole in the doormat at my door."
The old man pointed to the dusty old doormat by the door, where a charred black dot was clearly visible on the corner.
"Did Liu Qiang repay the money on time?" Su Wan pressed.
"I pay them back occasionally," the old man nodded. "Sometimes I settle it the next day, sometimes it drags on for several days. As soon as I pay them, those people leave immediately, and things quiet down for a while. But it doesn't take long before they come back to cause trouble again."
"With this happening so frequently, didn't you ever consider calling the police?"
The old man gave a bitter smile, his eyes revealing deep helplessness and fear.
"How could I dare? It was so noisy that I couldn't rest, so I secretly called 110. When the police came to mediate, those people were very slippery. They just said it was a private business meeting, that they didn't hit or smash anything, and that they were just there to communicate. The police could only give them a few words of warning and then leave."
At this point, she lowered her voice even further, almost whispering in her ear.
"As soon as the police left, those people came knocking on my door, threatening me and telling me not to meddle in other people's business, lest someone come to my door to cause trouble in the middle of the night."
Su Wan's fingertips tightened slightly, and her heart sank.
"I'm an old woman living alone here. My son works away from home all year round and never comes back." The old woman's eyes reddened, full of helplessness. "I really can't afford to offend these people. From then on, I could only pretend that I couldn't see or hear anything and dared not get involved in anything more."
The living room fell silent instantly. The kitchen faucet, not fully turned off, dripped slowly, a rhythmic patter that seemed to strike at the heart.
Jiang Chen stood quietly to the side, observing the old man's expression without interrupting. Only then did he speak slowly, his tone calm and without any sense of oppression.
"Ma'am, have you ever seen Liu Qiang's ex-girlfriend come to see him?"
The old man looked Jiang Chen up and down, his gaze lingering briefly on the handcuffs on his wrists before quickly looking away. He seemed hesitant, but still answered truthfully.
"You mean Xiao Li? I've met him before, he's come by several times."
"What kind of girl is she?"
"She looks quiet and gentle, with delicate features, speaks softly, and has a kind nature." The old woman's expression softened. "Every time she comes over, she helps Xiao Liu tidy up the house, do laundry, and cook. I've bumped into her a few times in the hallway, and she always greets me politely as 'Auntie.' She's very kind to people."
She paused, as if recalling something that left a deep impression, but clearly held back, unwilling to elaborate.
"I didn't see her for a long time after that. One night, I went downstairs to take out the trash and happened to bump into her at the entrance of the community. She was holding a child who was wrapped up tightly in her arms and was standing alone by the roadside. I casually asked if she was looking for Xiao Liu. She just shook her head, said lightly that she was just passing by, and turned and left."
The old man gestured to indicate the child's size: "Looks like he's just learned to walk; his steps aren't very steady yet."
Jiang Chen and Su Wan exchanged a quick glance.
The child. Li Yutong's child.
It is currently known that Liu Qiang is not the child's biological father, a fact already confirmed by the photo with the face obscured. However, he maintained contact with Li Yutong even after their breakup, regularly ordering takeout for her and keeping detailed records of their expenses in a notebook.
A large portion of that flowing water quietly flowed towards Li Yutong.
If it's not because of the parent-child relationship, then what's hidden behind it?
Is it guilt and compensation? Is it resentment? Or... did he accidentally stumble upon some secret that cannot be exposed?
"Auntie, thank you for cooperating with our questioning." Su Wan stood up at the right time, her tone polite and compliant. "Would it be convenient to leave a contact method? If needed for further details of the case, we may need to verify a few more things with you. We will not disturb your normal life and will keep your information confidential."
The elderly man, already afraid of getting into trouble, stopped making excuses when he saw the police officer's composed demeanor. With trembling hands, he pulled out his old, basic mobile phone from his apron pocket and slowly recited the number. Xiao Zhang, standing nearby, immediately took out his notebook, properly recorded the information, and made notes.
After seeing the old lady off, Jiang Chen stood at the door of Liu Qiang's house, staring at the closed door at the end of the corridor, and stood silently for a long time.
"This woman was hiding something, but she didn't dare to say it all," he suddenly said.
Su Wan looked at him: "You figured it out?"
"She said the girl just unconsciously raised her hand to rub her cheek as she passed by, a typical subtle gesture of self-concealment and unease," Jiang Chen said calmly. "She was deliberately hiding the truth, but out of fear, she dared not say more."
Su Wan took a deep breath.
She had long been accustomed to Jiang Chen's extraordinary observational skills, but she still couldn't help but sigh... It was really illogical that such precise insight into details fell on a novelist who was involved in a case and was in custody.
West City Logistics Park, Feida Logistics Company.
After leaving Liu Qiang's residence, Su Wan drove directly here.
It was afternoon, and the sky was a hazy gray, with thick clouds hanging low over the horizon like a lead plate that could topple at any moment. Trucks shuttled back and forth in the logistics park, their engines roaring and reversing warning lights mingling into a cacophony of industrial noise.
Beep beep beep... Reversing. Beep beep beep... Reversing.
The sounds were incessant.
Su Wan parked her car in front of a gray-white two-story building. On the roof stood the rusty iron sign "Feida Logistics". Due to years of wind and rain, the second character was mostly missing, making it look particularly dilapidated from a distance.
Before his death, Liu Qiang worked as a truck driver for this logistics company.
Xiao Zhang had given prior notice, and the company manager was already waiting at the door. The man, in his early forties, named Qian Shengli, was the owner of Feida Logistics. His skin was tanned dark from years of sun exposure, he wore a thick gold chain around his neck, and two gold rings on his fingers. He dressed like a shrewd businessman, and his shrewdness was written all over his face.
"Oh, officers, you've worked hard. We've been waiting for you." Qian Shengli greeted them from afar with a big smile, extending his hand to say hello. "This happened to Xiao Liu so suddenly, I still haven't recovered."
Su Wan shook hands politely, without exchanging any further pleasantries.
Qian Shengli warmly led the two into the office. The room was simply furnished, with a large desk taking up most of the space. On the desk was a set of purple clay teaware, and next to it was a potted green ivy with drooping leaves, almost dead.
"Xiao Liu has been working for me for almost two years, always in charge of the freight line from the west to the south of the city, mainly transporting building materials," Qian Shengli said as he poured tea. The tea was cloudy, obviously having been brewed repeatedly. "He's a conscientious worker, never late or leaving early, and always completes the tasks assigned to him perfectly."
"Have you always been this well-behaved at work?" Su Wan asked.
"Generally, he's fine." Qian Shengli pushed the teacup towards him, his smile fading slightly. "It's just that in the last six months, he's been taking significantly more leave. Sometimes he calls to say he's not feeling well and can't come to work, and sometimes he simply disappears without a trace and doesn't answer the phone. When he comes back, I can't help but say a few words to him, but he doesn't talk back, he just lowers his head and agrees. He seems quite taciturn."
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sighed to himself.
"To be honest, it's not easy to recruit people in the logistics industry right now. Otherwise, given his performance over the past six months, I would have already decided to replace him."
How do he get along with his colleagues?
"He's fairly sociable, but not particularly outgoing." Qian Shengli remained measured in his words. "He doesn't smoke or socialize, and he doesn't hang out with colleagues for barbecue and drinks in his spare time. Don't be fooled by the piles of beer cans in his room; he just has a couple of drinks after get off work to unwind. He never participates in dinner parties or social events. Young people have their own personalities, and I've never been one to impose many restrictions."
"Do you know that Liu Qiang has debt disputes outside?" Jiang Chen asked at the right time.
Qian Shengli subconsciously looked at Jiang Chen, his gaze lingering on Jiang Chen's handcuffs for a moment, a slight look of surprise on his face, which he quickly concealed. He then turned to look at Su Wan with a hint of probing.
"Who is this?"
"We hired a special technical consultant to assist us in investigating clues." Su Wan's words were calm and natural, in accordance with the case-handling process, and not abrupt.
"Oh, comrade consultant." Qian Shengli put away his doubts, his smile became subtle, and his tone became cautious. "I've vaguely heard something about the debt. A stranger drove up to the company and blocked him, but I had the security guard stop him at the gate. Afterwards, Xiao Liu explained to me that it was a private dispute and told me not to get involved."
"What did the person who came looking for look like?"
"A black Passat pulled up two tall, muscular men, one bald and the other with a buzz cut, both dressed in black. They didn't look like law-abiding citizens." Qian Shengli lowered his voice, revealing the well-informed nature of a street businessman. "I later asked some friends in the underworld, and the bald man's nickname was Iron Head. He was one of Brother Ma's men in the west of the city."
"Brother Ma from the west side of the city?"
"Everyone in this area has heard of him." Qian Shengli gestured with his eyes, his tone cryptic. "On the surface, he runs several Ma Ge BBQ chain stores, doing legitimate catering business, but behind the scenes, he's got a lot more to his name."
He raised his hand and made a gesture of pinching coins, the meaning of which was self-evident.
"The main branch of Ma Ge Barbecue is on Jianshe Road," Jiang Chen said casually.
Qian Shengli nodded in agreement, the slick smile on his face slowly fading, revealing a touch of genuine emotion.
"Comrade Advisor, to be honest with you, Xiao Liu is not a bad person at heart, he's even a bit too honest."
"How so?"
"Once I arranged for him to haul goods. The consignor agreed to pick up the goods at 8 p.m., and he arrived at the warehouse gate at 7 p.m. to wait." Qian Shengli said with emotion, "In the dead of winter, when the temperature was several degrees below zero, he didn't even look for a place to shelter from the wind. He just honestly waited by the truck for an hour. The consignor saw that he was honest and gave him a tip of 100 yuan. When he came back, he happily showed it off to me, like a simple child."
As he spoke, Qian Shengli's eyes inexplicably reddened. He quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, picked up his teacup, and took a big gulp.
"Such an honest and upright young man, how could he suddenly suffer such a terrible misfortune..."
The office fell into a brief silence.
The warning sound of a truck reversing outside the wall kept coming in, one after another, shrill and muffled.
"Boss Qian," Jiang Chen said in a low but clear voice, "did Liu Qiang behave strangely during this last period? For example, did he seem flustered, suspicious, or say anything odd to you?"
Qian Shengli was stunned for a moment, frowned and thought carefully for a while, then suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Now that you mention it, I do remember. About a week ago, when he came to work, he was pale and bloodless, and looked extremely haggard. I asked him if he was sick, but he only said he hadn't slept well and wouldn't say anything more."
"and then?"
"Then he said something completely nonsensical to me." Qian Shengli mimicked Liu Qiang's low voice at the time, "'Brother Qian, if anyone comes to ask me about me in the future, just say you don't know anything about it.'"
"I even teased him at the time, saying he was acting strangely, thinking he was afraid of being harassed by debt collectors because he owed money to online lenders. He just forced a smile and didn't explain any further."