Chapter 13: The Nacheng Case (Part Six)
Page 1/3
Jia Wenming then smoothly took the opportunity to invite her to “come over” to his place. The implication behind his words filled the woman with excitement, and without much thought, she went home with him. After an intense and passionate encounter, the woman was left powerless.
But at that moment, Jia Wenming suddenly sprang up and grabbed her by the neck. Only after she ceased struggling did he release his grip. He then got out of bed and rummaged through her bag, pulling out several dozen yuan.
Afterward, the woman chose to report him to the police. However, due to insufficient evidence, Jia Wenming was detained for only a few days before being released.
“Wait!” Li Rui suddenly felt a sharp prick in his nerves.
“What is it?” Wen Rou asked.
“What exactly did he do?” Li Rui inquired.
Wen Rou rolled her eyes and said, “He solicited prostitutes! What, are you interested too?”
Li Rui nodded, “Interesting.”
“What?!” Wen Rou burst out angrily.
“Hey, it’s not what you think!” Li Rui shot her a glance. “Haven’t you forgotten? The last person who lived in the room with the cellar where the bodies were hidden was a prostitute, wasn’t she?”
Wen Rou’s mind flickered. “That’s right! I almost forgot about that!”
“Since Jia Wenming robbed prostitutes before, isn’t it possible he specifically targeted prostitutes for murder and robbery?” Li Rui asked.
“That’s very likely!” Wen Rou agreed.
“When did Director Wen get so emotional? Everything must be based on evidence!”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Old Cui was completely fed up.
“Cui Wenming came to me three times in total: July 2008, May 2013, and March 2015. Each time it was two bottles. At most, I sold him six bottles, definitely not ten!” Old Cui protested.
Lei Chen rolled his eyes. “Stop with the useless details. Six or ten bottles, it doesn’t make a fundamental difference!”
Li Rui frowned. “They all match.”
“Match what?” Wen Rou asked.
“The times Jia Wenming bought the paint thinner were ten years ago, five years ago, and three years ago. The first two purchases were far apart, but only two years separated the last two, indicating a large consumption of the thinner during that period. The greatest number of bodies in the cellar also died around that time.”
“Since the last purchase three years ago, Jia Wenming hasn’t contacted Old Cui again. Could it be that he stopped?”
Li Rui shook his head. “Guesswork won’t get us anywhere.”
Page 2/3
After speaking, he pressed the call button. “Lei Chen, show him the photo. Ask if he’s seen that ring before.”
“Are you suspecting Liu Meixin?”
“There are no coincidences in this world. Liu Meixin disappeared three years ago and is directly connected to Cui Wenming. If she’s still alive, what kind of role do you think she would be playing?”
Lei Chen took out a photo and asked, “Have you seen this ring before?”
Old Cui shook his head.
“Think carefully. This could be your chance to redeem yourself!”
Old Cui opened his eyes wide and stared for a long time. Suddenly, a gleam lit up his eyes. “Ah, I remember now—I have seen it, really seen it!”
“When and where?” Lei Chen pressed.
“It was the night three years ago when I traded with Jia Wenming in the small woods behind our factory. Usually, we deal separately—money in one hand, goods in the other. But that night, Jia Wenming brought an outsider, a woman. I couldn’t see her face clearly, but her figure was definitely stunning!”
“I didn’t ask for all that. What happened that night?”
“Nothing happened at all. Jia Wenming gave me the money, I handed over the thinner, and we didn’t say a word.” Old Cui said innocently.
“Nothing happened? Then how do you know the woman wore that ring?” Lei Chen slammed the table suddenly.
Old Cui was startled and immediately said, “Officer, I’m telling the truth! Nothing happened; that woman was held tightly by Jia Wenming the entire time. I thought she must be a prostitute and didn’t think much of it. I just took the money and left. As for the ring, it’s because when I handed the goods to Jia Wenming, he didn’t take them himself but told the woman to do it. When she extended her hand, I happened to see the ring by chance!”
Upon hearing this, Wen Rou also became excited and lightly tapped the table. “Great! The clues are finally connecting!”
“Don’t celebrate yet,” Li Rui remained calm. “At most, we can say that three years ago, Liu Meixin was indeed in Jia Wenming’s hands. Whether she was involved in the crime, voluntarily or coerced, remains unknown. Also…”
“Three years have passed; whether she’s still alive is also uncertain.”
“The immediate priority is to find Liu Meixin!” Wen Rou said.
…
Li Rui stood before the whiteboard in the task force meeting room, drawing a simple mind map. He wrote “Liu Meixin” in the center, surrounded by keywords like “ring,” “cellar,” and “Jia Wenming.”
“We need to find Liu Meixin’s whereabouts,” Li Rui said. “If she’s alive, she could be the key witness in this case.”
Wen Rou nodded. “But Liu Meixin has been missing for three years. Where do we even start?”
Just then, Han Junshan entered.
Page 3/3
“Director Han!” Lei Chen was the first to rise.
“Everyone’s here!” Han Junshan’s face was bright with a smile.
“Li Rui, you’re impressive. You’ve uncovered threads in this headless case and brought some clarity!” Han Junshan said. “Through police interviews, villagers near the crime scene confirmed that among many clients of that prostitute, Jia Wenming appeared most frequently. Many have seen him, so it’s very likely he was her regular.”
“Such an important lead—why wasn’t it discovered earlier?” Li Rui asked.
Han Junshan looked a bit embarrassed and explained, “The grassroots police did miss some details during their investigation. But it’s not entirely their fault. The villagers only said Jia Wenming appeared more often and was somewhat familiar, which alone wasn’t enough to label him a suspect.”
“Any leads on that prostitute?” Li Rui asked.
Han Junshan sighed, “None yet.”
Li Rui pondered briefly and said, “Liu Meixin’s last known appearance was at the Nacheng Hotel. What happened after she left the hotel is unknown. But with the evidence we have, there is a deep connection between her and Jia Wenming—possibly even joint criminal activity.”
“Let’s make a bold hypothesis,” Li Rui continued, pointing at “Jia Wenming” on the whiteboard. “After leaving the hotel with nowhere to go, Liu Meixin might have been walking alone on the street and happened to meet Jia Wenming, who was out hunting for prey. Naïve Liu Meixin was soon deceived by Jia Wenming’s hypocritical charm and followed him to his rented room. Then, he drugged her with paint thinner, murdered, robbed, and dumped the bodies!”
Han Junshan questioned, “Li Rui, any hypothesis must be based on evidence. Do you have any?”
Li Rui picked up a photo from the table and stuck it on the whiteboard. “This is a picture of Jia Wenming when he was young. Handsome, isn’t he?”
Qi Wei smiled, “I must say, he fits the taste of today’s girls.”
“Jia Wenming was spoiled since childhood. After middle school, he started working on the assembly line. Relying on his good looks and smooth talk, after marriage he became unrestrained and had many inappropriate relationships with female workers. Due to his misconduct, he was fired, and his wife divorced him.”
Han Junshan nodded. “Yes, we have all his personal data.”
Li Rui continued, “Unrepentant, Jia Wenming lost his income and began to entertain ideas of making money by other means. He set his sights on fallen women.”
“He indeed has a criminal record in this area,” Wen Rou added.
“That was his first crime. After coaxing a fallen woman home, he robbed her. Being his first time, he was nervous and scratched his face, leaving a blood mark. But he didn’t stop there. Like opening Pandora’s box, it spiraled out of control.”
“He probably realized his looks were a weapon, helping him ‘cut through thorns and thistles’ along this path to profit. So he repeated the pattern mechanically: lure fallen women on the street, bring them home, drug them with paint thinner, then kill and rob them.”