Chapter 2159: Chapter 2159: 2160: Related Cases

“Let’s leave it at that for now,” Li Xianghui lit a cigarette and said to Gu Yiran,

“We’ll call Zhang Peng over later. He arrived early, so he probably knows more than us.”

“Then let’s go downstairs.”

The three went downstairs, called Zhang Peng, and the four met up in the car.

“How’s the situation? Did you find anything?” Lin Yi asked.

Zhang Peng took out a transparent, sealed bag containing a cell phone that was damaged.

“I brought Li Youlan’s phone. I found a lot of videos and photos of children.”

“Let me see.”

Lin Yi took Li Youlan’s phone out of the sealed bag.

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One corner of the phone was smashed, but fortunately, it still worked.

Lin Yi turned on the phone’s gallery and, just like what Zhang Peng said, there indeed were many photos.

At first, Lin Yi didn’t think much of it; the photos seemed normal, with some of them being the same ones Yang Na had shown him.

But soon, Lin Yi sensed something was off.

The timestamps on the photos did not sync up with when Li Youlan sent pictures to the victims’ families!

Suddenly, Lin Yi had an epiphany!

“I get it now,” Lin Yi said,

“These videos, they were prepared by Li Youlan in advance, to be sent to the parents when they were needed.”

Li Xianghui took the phone and looked carefully, “It’s very likely. There are multiple angles of the photos and videos; she must have prepared thoroughly.”

“But this woman named Li Youlan seems to be from a peasant background, she looks quite simple and honest, how could she be so cunning?” Gu Yiran said.

“That’s hard to say. We still have to investigate to understand what really happened,” Lin Yi said gravely,

“But what we can be sure of now is that the child had an incident five days ago, which was when Li Youlan moved in.”

“However, the forensic report has already given a definite conclusion that the time of death was about 72 hours ago, which doesn’t fit the timeline,” Gu Yiran said.

“Death and incident are two different concepts,” Lin Yi said,

“The child could have gone missing earlier and then died a few days later. That makes a lot more sense.”

Both of them nodded frequently, agreeing with Lin Yi’s explanation.

“Let’s head back now. The bureau called me a while ago, saying the victim’s family has returned, and we need to deal with that.”

“You handle that. I really can’t stand scenes like this anymore,” Lin Yi said.

“I feel the same way, we two will look into other things,” Gu Yiran said.

Li Xianghui didn’t say anything else and took on the heart-wrenching task.

The three drove back to the precinct and busied themselves with their respective tasks.

In the afternoon, Lin Yi, Gu Yiran, Zhang Peng, and Zhang Zixin gathered together.

“What have you all found out?” Lin Yi asked.

“We checked Li Youlan’s bank account, her account mysteriously gained 100,000 yuan in cash, but 50,000 of it was transferred to a man named Ma Dongdong, which, upon investigation, turned out to be her husband,” Zhang Peng said.

“Who transferred the 100,000 yuan to her? Did you find out?”

Zhang Peng shook his head, “She deposited the cash herself.”

“Then it’s quite clear,” Gu Yiran said leaning back on the chair,

“This woman named Li Youlan likely sold the child for money and then committed suicide out of guilt.”

“I think Ji Qingyan makes sense,” Zhang Zixin agreed.

“The case now has a complete logical loop, fits together perfectly, but it’s far from over,” Lin Yi said with a grim expression,

“The buyer and seller in the transaction have not been caught, the case is not yet complete!”

The expressions of the remaining three were also extraordinarily serious.

This point in the investigation marked only a pause, and the upcoming tasks might be even tougher.

“Come over here, Brother Li is calling a meeting,” Zhu Junchi stood at the entrance of the office and said to Lin Yi and the others.

They filed back into Li Xianghui’s office, ready to continue the meeting.

“How’s it going, did you find anything on your end?” Li Xianghui asked.

Gu Yiran relayed the results of their analysis, telling the three men exactly what they had concluded.

They believed the case should enter the next phase.

“There’s still a doubt.”

Li Xianghui looked at Lin Yi, “Let’s hear it.”

“The 100,000 yuan on Li Youlan’s account must have come from the buyer, but 100,000 yuan is not a small sum. For a case like this, they wouldn’t normally pay so much. What’s the buyer’s motive?”

“I was thinking about that too,” Li Xianghui said,

“The most important thing is, the person is dead and the money is gone, which doesn’t align with their interests.”

Everyone fell silent, the doubt presenting a conundrum.

Even Lin Yi had no clue.

Involuntarily, Lin Yi thought of Qiao Xin. As a big fan of Detective Conan, she always had hints for him at times like these.

“If you can’t figure out this problem, stop thinking about it. There’s new information now.”

There was a document in front of Li Xianghui, and after looking at it for a while, he said,

“We just got a call from Shanwei police. They saw our case and said it was very similar to a disappearance case on their end, except the victims were twins. They suspect the same people are behind it.”

“That’s a possibility,” Gu Yiran said,

“Such cases are not limited by geographic location. The people behind the transactions generally operate nationally. If there are commonalities, it’s reasonable to suspect them.”

“The common point is that these missing children, all come from very wealthy families,” Li Xianghui said,

“I just learned that these children’s families are quite rich, and they are all around four or five years old. That’s their similarity.”

“What about the way the children went missing?” Lin Yi asked.

“Both children are twins, and while the nanny was taking them around the shopping mall, they disappeared in a moment of inattention and couldn’t be found.”

“Another nanny!” Lin Yi frowned.

“Exactly!” Li Xianghui said,n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“But there’s a slight difference on their end, after the incident, the nanny herself called the police, unlike Li Youlan who committed suicide out of fear.”

“But we can’t conclude the nanny is innocent. Some people are naturally strong-minded and resort to such ways to disguise themselves. Although they might face grievances or lawsuits from their employers, at least they don’t bear other responsibilities.”

“Indeed, that’s also why Shanwei police contacted me,” Li Xianghui said. “The two cases are indeed very similar.”

“Did they investigate the nanny?” Lin Yi asked quietly,

“She’s key to this case.”