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CHAPTER 5
PART 3
In the morning, as Tan Yong entered the Criminal Investigation Division's office, Li Bin walked over holding a cellphone and said to him, "I just went to the Technical Division. The data from Gong Yamei's phone has been recovered."
"How is it? Any leads?"
"Yes, at 10:14 PM the night before last, a remote number called Gong Yamei. The call lasted only forty seconds. After that, just a few minutes later, Gong Yamei left Li Xueli's house, exited the residential complex, and took a taxi to Guanhai Pavilion on Huanhai East Road."
Tan Yong flipped open his notebook. "At 10:14 PM. According to Li Xueli, she should have been cooking fermented rice dumplings in the kitchen at that time. Gong Yamei was alone in the living room. However, Li Xueli didn't mention that Gong Yamei received a call."
"This call lasted only forty seconds, so Li Xueli might not have heard it."
"Has the phone number been checked? Who is the owner?"
"The Technical Division has already checked. It's an old phone card from ten years ago, and it wasn't registered with real identification, so we can't trace the owner's identity," Li Bin said.
"I think it might be intentional. The person likely used an old, unregistered phone card to avoid being traced by the police."
Tan Yong nodded. "I think that's possible too. In that case, we can basically conclude that the caller is the murderer who killed Gong Yamei. They called her, arranged to meet her at Guanhai Pavilion on Huanhai East Road, and then pushed her into Yuehai Lake."
"The murderer must be someone Gong Yamei knew. Otherwise, she wouldn't have followed the instructions of a stranger and gone to such a place late at night."
"Exactly. It seems my earlier speculation was correct, this is a case of a perpetrator who knew the victim."
"Other than the people from the nursing home, Gong Yamei's acquaintances in Lishi are just the members of the 'big family.'"
"What about Gong Yamei's previous acquaintances?"
"On this matter, Tan, did you know? Gong Yamei's phone contacts, including her WeChat contacts, only consist of the people she met after coming to Lishi. Isn't that strange…?"
"She was 58 years old. She should have had relatives, friends, classmates, and colleagues before, but she doesn't seem to have any contact information for them."
"I know the reason for this. She told us." Tan Yong said.
"Gong Yamei had experienced great setbacks and harm before, to the point where she even considered suicide or becoming a Buddhist nun. Later, she received guidance from a master, which led her to come to Lishi and start a new life. But she told us that making this decision meant she was resetting her past life to start anew. So she changed her phone number, bidding farewell to all the chaotic people and events from before."
"If that's the case, then Gong Yamei's circle of acquaintances would indeed be limited to these people. In other words, the perpetrator could only be someone from the 'big family.' And in terms of feasibility, they could have done it because none of them had an alibi when the crime happened."
"Yeah, the current results of the investigation all point in that direction. But what I can't figure out is the motive behind this person's actions. Also, if someone from the 'big family' called Gong Yamei that night, why didn't she tell Li Xueli and went out alone?"
"Perhaps this person intended to discuss something secretive with Gong Yamei, something that couldn't be shared with others. So, he or she could be certain that Gong Yamei wouldn't reveal their private meeting."
"But they live in the same residential complex, even the same building. If they wanted to meet, they could have done it at either Gong Yamei's or this person's place. Why go to Huanhai East Road? Wouldn't that raise suspicion for Gong Yamei?"
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"It depends on how that person arranged the meeting with Gong Yamei. Maybe they used some persuasion to lure Gong Yamei to Guanhai Pavilion on Huanhai East Road for the crime."
Tan Yong rubbed his stubbled chin in thought for a moment. "If that's the case, can we draw a conclusion that among all the people, Li Xueli's suspicion can be ruled out?"
"Because after Yuan Dong and Shen Fengxia left, only she and Gong Yamei were in the house. In such a scenario, she wouldn't have had a reason to invite Gong Yamei to Guanhai Pavilion for a talk, and even more so, she wouldn't have called Gong Yamei since they were together."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"Li Bin, come with me to Yuehai Bay Residential Complex."
"Why? What for?"
"I'll talk to Li Xueli privately. You go search Gong Yamei's house and see if you can find any clues."
Li Bin nodded. The two of them walked out of the office.
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