Chapter 57: The Taxi Driver

Chapter 57: The Taxi Driver

After consolidating the information received, it was discovered that over the past decade, excluding the recent incident in C City, there had been three unsolved cases of a similar nature. Two occurred eight years ago; although the crime scenes were in a different province than C City, they were not geographically far. The third case occurred two years ago in a much more distant location.

An Changpu and Qin Ruonan divided the tasks, contacting the local public security organs in an attempt to locate the officers who had been in charge of those investigations. The case from two years ago was relatively recent, so finding the officer in charge was not difficult. However, the cases from eight years ago proved more troublesome. Due to insufficient evidence and a lack of leads, those investigations had been shelved indefinitely. Eight years had passed, and of the several criminal investigators originally involved, three had already retired, while others had been transferred to different departments.

Fortunately, the location was easily accessible from C City. To better understand the situation and gather information, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan set off immediately. Tao Yinyin, who had come to the police station to wait for An Changpu to get off work—hoping to go shopping and watch a movie—had her plans dismissed because of his sudden departure. While she said nothing and maintained a supportive attitude, she looked pitiful, her eyes darting toward Qin Ruonan several times, whether intentionally or not.

Qin Ruonan simply assumed she was overthinking it. Since this was an official business trip rather than a personal endeavor, she felt no sense of impropriety and, consequently, no guilt.

Whether distracted by the trip or simply mindful that the police station was a public space where excessive displays of affection were inappropriate, An Changpu only offered a brief word of comfort to Tao Yinyin. He promised to treat her to a grand meal and a blockbuster movie as compensation once the case was solved. He then escorted her downstairs, hailed a taxi for her, and immediately returned inside.

That night, they took the last bus to the neighboring province. After a five-hour journey, they arrived in the middle of the night. An Changpu and Qin Ruonan checked into a hotel to rest and recharge their strength, planning to start their legwork early the next morning.

Before arriving, they had already conducted research into the current status of the officers who had handled the cases eight years ago, identifying where they worked or lived in retirement. They decided to begin by interviewing these predecessors one by one.

For the veteran investigators, the cases from eight years ago were no longer fresh in their minds. So much time had passed that many details were blurry, especially since they had handled numerous other cases in the interim, filling their memories with a chaotic array of investigations.

Furthermore, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan noticed that the active-duty officers seemed somewhat resistant to the inquiry, clearly reluctant to be questioned about the unsolved crimes. Most offered only the basic information the duo already possessed; when pressed further, they would show signs of impatience, offer vague excuses, and then return to their work.

Consequently, the pair had no choice but to leave the police station and visit the homes of the three retired officers.

"These people are truly infuriating!" Qin Ruonan remarked to An Changpu while on their way to a retired officer’s home, frustrated by the repeated evasiveness they had encountered. "The cases from eight years ago still haven't been resolved, and the culprit’s whereabouts are unknown. It’s quite possible that the incident two years ago, and even the current case involving Fang Wan and You Xiaoyang, are all bitter fruits born from the seeds sown eight years ago! If these cases are all the work of the same person, then those officers share the responsibility for failing to bring the killer to justice back then. Instead of feeling ashamed or reflective, they are indifferent and impatient! How can they behave like this?"

"Actually, you're wrong. The more they avoid our questioning, the more it proves that they still dwell on this matter. It is precisely because of their guilt, self-reproach, and the burden of their perceived failure that they feel a sense of shame. They want to escape, as if being questioned feels like undergoing a trial," An Changpu’s perspective differed from hers. "If they truly felt indifferent, they would likely talk about it at length without a second thought. People are like that; once pride is involved, the more they care, the harder it is to speak."

Qin Ruonan paused, pondering his words—especially the latter part—and realized he had a point. She looked at the address scribbled on the note in her hand and asked, "So, is that why your first stop is the home of the officer who retired shortly after the case was shelved? Because he only feels the regret of an unsolved case, rather than the guilt of leaving it behind while still on the force?"

An Changpu nodded.

"Are you two police officers?" The taxi driver, who had been eavesdropping on the whispered conversation in the back seat, finally couldn't contain his curiosity. "Your accents don't sound like you're from around here. Are you from out of town?"

"That's right, here on official business," An Changpu replied cheerfully, not minding that the driver had overheard them. Since they hadn't discussed sensitive details, he leaned forward toward the front seat. "Sir, you're a local, aren't you?"

"You bet! I’ve been here for over forty years, and I’ve been driving a taxi for more than a decade. I’m not bragging, but whether it’s a main road or a tiny alley, I know them all like the back of my hand!" the driver answered with a note of pride.

"In that case, you must have seen and heard quite a lot while on the road?"

"Of course. Why? Trying to find out something?"

"Not necessarily 'finding out,' just chatting. Sir, do you remember two cases from eight years ago where young boys were murdered?" An Changpu asked.

"You mean those two cases where the little boys were kidnapped, tortured beyond recognition, and then killed?" The driver clearly knew the story. "How could I forget? The whole town was in an uproar. Anyone with a son was terrified. My boy was fifteen or sixteen at the time; my wife was so scared she wouldn't let me drive. She insisted on dropping him off in the morning and picking him up at night. To be safe, she even bought him a mobile phone so he could call and check in during breaks. And since that devil who did it was never caught, for a while there—no, even before it got dark—you couldn't see a single child on the street! Schools didn't dare hold evening classes and let the kids out early, and parents stopped sending them to tutoring. Everyone was in a state of panic! My foolish boy, though, wasn't even scared; he was just happy he didn't have to attend evening study sessions. It wasn't until about half a year later, when nothing else happened, that everyone finally started to relax."

"Do you remember the details? Did the local TV stations or newspapers report on it?"

"Oh, they certainly did! It even made the evening news on the provincial station! We kept saying that our town was usually obscure, but when we did make the news, it was never for anything good!"

"What were the circumstances back then?" Qin Ruonan asked, joining in.

"Why? Did something like that happen where you're from?" the driver asked casually, his tone lacking much genuine concern. People are often like that; when a tragedy doesn't affect them or those close to them, they don't feel fear or anger—only the detachment of a bystander. "Let me tell you, the news didn't have many specifics; I guess they weren't allowed to report it. But I heard from another driver in our fleet—the kind who goes to watch when a body is found—that it was terrifying! The poor boy’s body was stripped of skin and flesh; I don't know how that monster could have held such hatred for a little kid!"

*Stripped of skin and flesh?* The description was visceral. Qin Ruonan silently noted it in her notebook. The online news article Tian Yang had found regarding the case two years ago had only mentioned that the victim had been abused and tortured, without specifying the extent. Now, hearing the driver say the body was "stripped of skin and flesh" and that there was "not a patch of good skin left," added a layer of horror to their previous findings—provided, of course, that one accounted for the likelihood of exaggeration.

"Hey, do you think the guy who did those bad things here ran off to your city?" The driver made a natural, instinctive connection. "You two better work hard then! That case from back then was never solved, and it caused such a stir here. The parents of the two boys would drag white banners and hold the children’s funeral portraits in front of the police station, crying and cursing. Forget about the people working inside; even us taxi drivers wanted to avoid that street! If you can solve the case, you’ll have performed a great service. But if you can't catch him..."

He paused, glancing at An Changpu and Qin Ruonan through the rearview mirror with a look of sympathy. "Then your lives are going to be tough! Especially since you two are so young... sigh!"