pjbooks Chapter 74 The Ticket Stub for 300 Kilometers
Chapter 74 The Ticket Stub for 300 Kilometers
"Let me see!" As soon as Zhou Yang received the message, he and Fang Duo arrived at a muddy road on the west side of Changleyuan Community.
"Here you go!" Xiao Jiale carefully handed it over.
This is a bus ticket stub from Pingshui City to Ning'an. Although there are some mud stains on it, you can still see that the date is July 9th.
Zhou Yang looked at Xiao Jiale with a puzzled expression.
Seemingly aware of Zhou Yang's doubts, Xiao Jiale smiled and pointed to the pond behind him: "Someone was fishing with explosives here. The noise was so loud that it attracted the attention of many residents who were relaxing in the shade. And that suspicious figure was roughly where we are standing!"
Wang Chao leaned in too: "It was my suggestion. I figured if that person stayed here, they'd leave some footprints or something. If all else failed, the fishmongers might see their face. Who knew, hey, we actually found something!"
The joy on their faces was impossible to hide. After all, this place was nearly 300 kilometers away from Pingshui City, and there was a high probability that the suspicious figure came from there.
Zhou Yang looked down at his feet and then looked at the Changleyuan residential area not far away. The distance between the two was about 100 meters.
The spot I was standing in was a good vantage point, from which I could see most of the buildings in the neighborhood.
Behind it is a small pond, about one acre in size.
"Have you found the person who was frying fish?"
Wang Chao shook his head: "We probably arrived too early and didn't see it. We notified you as soon as we found the ticket stub!"
Zhou Yang nodded. It's not even seven in the morning yet. Unless it's a fisherman who fished with explosives or electricity overnight, why would he be up so early?
"Let me take a look at this pond first!" Zhou Yang said, turning around to observe the pond.
The pond was calm, and weeds grew rampant on the banks.
Suddenly, he stopped, looked at everyone questioningly, and then turned his gaze to Fang Duo: "Is that model school in Pingshui City the one Zhong Yue attends?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Duo's eyes widened, and she hurriedly pulled out her notebook from her arm, pointing to each line with her finger. A fleeting look of joy crossed her face: "Yes, Zhong Yue is a model student from the class of '88!"
"Is it the girl who was attacked?" Xiao Jiale looked at the two of them. "If that's the case, it seems to make sense. The murderer came from Ping Shui, killed Gong Xiaojun, and then left by car. No wonder we couldn't find him!"
Zhou Yang didn't respond; he vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
If the murderer was truly a stranger, did he know about Gong Xiaojun's narrow escape from death and the drastic change in his personality?
He probably doesn't have time to lure the birds over to the rooftop, does he?
Why didn't they just throw the body into the pond after killing Gong Xiaojun, a complete stranger, by taking such a huge risk and luring him to the rooftop?
Could it be that the person was originally from Ning'an and was just passing through to study?
"Let's go!" Zhou Yang turned and left.
"Where are you going?" Xiao Jiale didn't expect that this guy would turn around and leave without saying anything.
"Go to the Education Bureau and check if there are any other random students attending the school!" Zhou Yang added, "Just continue investigating along your own lines of thought!"
"Wait for me!" Fang Duo quickly grabbed her notebook and followed Zhou Yang, stumbling along.
"Wow..." Wang Chao smacked his lips. "The way he talks and acts, if you didn't know better, you'd think Brother Yang was a criminal investigation captain!"
Before he could finish speaking, he caught a glimpse of Xiao Jiale walking towards Changleyuan residential area with a sullen face.
......
Fang Duo contacted the bureau again, and the bureau stepped in to coordinate, and Zhou Yang obtained the information from the Education Bureau.
Zhou Yang's screening was simple: using Zhong Yue as the anchor point, he looked for students who had been admitted to Pingshui over the past three years and had any connection with Zhong Yue, such as those from the same school or village.
There aren't as many schools now as in later generations, and the number of people who can take the college entrance examination is already small, so screening is relatively easy.
There were thirteen people in total. Among them, three were related to Chung Yuet: two women and one man. One of them was a man named Pan Gao, who not only attended the same high school as Chung Yuet but also enrolled in Ping Shui Demonstration School together. Further information can only be found at Ping Shui Demonstration School.
"Why investigate Zhong Yue's side?" Fang Duo wrote in her notebook without looking up. "Do you still think Gong Xiaojun's death is related to Zhong Yue's matter?"
Zhou Yang nodded. For now, unless new strong evidence emerges, he will continue to hold this view.
There was one thing he didn't understand: why did the killer wait five years to kill Gong Xiaojun? He couldn't find a reason in Zhong Yue and Zhong Tao's group.
Could it be because of Gong Xiaojun?
Because of Gong Xiaojun's prodigal son's return?
"I just called the village committee, and Pan Gao's family said he's been assigned to teach at a primary school in Pingshui City!" Fang Duo said, pulling open the car door. "I checked the distance; it's less than three hours. Shall we go?"
Zhou Yang let out a long sigh of relief: "Let's go!"
"Zhou Yang, if you ask me, with a brain like yours, getting a driver's license should be a piece of cake. When are you going to take the test?" Fang Duo tightened her seatbelt and teased.
In police academies, driving skills are only required for majors such as public security, border defense, fire protection, or security.
Furthermore, only those majoring in traffic management receive systematic training; otherwise, there are only "special talent students."
Otherwise, they would only take the driving test after arriving at their internship unit.
"Yes, Sister Duoduo, you've worked hard!" Zhou Yang said with a smile, trying to comfort her.
I think I drove all the time in my past life. I would never drive if I could walk, and I would never drive if I could ride an electric bike. I still haven't changed this mindset.
However, given the sparse number of vehicles on both sides of the street and the fact that the traffic wasn't as congested as in later years, it wasn't impossible to put it on the agenda.
"I was just saying it offhand. Take this time to clear your mind and rest. We'll need you when we get to Ping Shui!" Fang Duo saw Zhou Yang's serious expression and thought he had taken her words to heart, so she quickly tried to dissuade him.
Just kidding, if Liu Da knew that he had persuaded such a brilliant detective to learn to drive, would he give him a good look?
Zhou Yang smiled, closed his eyes slightly, and pondered the clues in his mind.
Perhaps because he hadn't rested much last night, he drifted off to sleep while thinking about it, waking up once in the middle of the night before falling back asleep.
He opened his eyes abruptly when he felt someone shove his shoulder.
"arrive!"
Zhou Yang got out of the car and found that there was a primary school in front of him, Pingshui City Xingfu Road Experimental Primary School.
Pan Gao is the homeroom teacher of Class 5, Grade 3 at this school.
Since their visit was to gather information rather than to conduct a formal inquiry, the two had not contacted their colleagues in Ping Shui beforehand.
Upon entering the school, they found a vice principal in the teaching affairs office, who then vacated an office for them to quietly wait for Pan Gao.
About five minutes later, the sound of leather shoes clicking could be heard outside the door, and a man wearing thick glasses and a long-sleeved shirt appeared outside.
A soft knock on the door drew Zhou Yang and his companion's attention.
"Hello, officers, I'm Pan Gao!"