Chapter 1040: The Victim’s Best Friend

The police also conducted a focused investigation on Gao Feng, who had an unusual relationship with Zhao Xiaowan back then.

However, the other party denied ever meeting Zhao Xiaowan, and the police found no related clues.

"Personally, I think this Gao Feng is a major suspect."

Sun Biao expressed his suspicion.

"When Zhao Xiaowan left home, there were no records of her taking a flight, train, or bus."

"This means that she either left by taxi or was taken by someone in a private car."

"At the time, Zhao Xiaowan told her husband she was going to work at a mooncake factory in Haizhou City, but her husband didn’t agree. Nevertheless, her remains were found in Haizhou City."

"What does this indicate?"

"It indicates that Zhao Xiaowan probably left Dongjiang Province, as it’s unlikely a murderer from that province would transport a corpse a thousand miles to Haizhou City."

The police made some conjectures regarding the motive and initial crime scene involving the use of a stone.

Based on Lu Chuan’s reconstruction of the crime scene, it was deduced that the victim and the murderer likely knew each other.

The perpetrator struck the victim’s head with a stone from behind, causing blunt force trauma to the skull.

This suggests familiarity between the murderer and the victim; otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone to the secluded Nangang Village.

As for the time of the incident, it was most likely at night.

After all, committing murder during the day would easily be seen by others.

And the only person who could help Zhao Xiaowan leave Dongjiang Province was Gao Feng.

But this is merely Sun Biao’s logical guess without any evidence to support it.

"Personally, I believe we should start investigating Zhao Xiaowan’s social connections from back then."

Wang Zhaokai spoke up: "First, we confirmed that Zhao Xiaowan went missing in Dongjiang Province, but her body was found in Nangang Village of Haizhou City, indicating she left Dongjiang Province safely."

This hypothesis rests on the assumption that the murderer didn’t act in Dongjiang Province, implying that they couldn’t have transported the corpse from such a distant location to Nangang Village. Moreover, there’s no reason for them to do so.

It doesn’t make sense to kill someone a thousand miles away and then dispose of the body in an abandoned green water pool in a remote village.

"And, from the case files, we can confirm that Zhao Xiaowan didn’t return to work at the mooncake factory, meaning her residence in Haizhou City wasn’t at the mooncake factory. So where was she during that time?"

"My suggestion is to investigate the coworkers and friends Zhao Xiaowan knew at the mooncake factory back then."

"First, figure out where Zhao Xiaowan settled after leaving East Border Province for Haizhou City, and then investigate with whom she interacted, ultimately finding clues from these contacts."

After several people aired their opinions, Lu Chuan looked around to see if anyone had additional suggestions before proceeding with the next work arrangements.

"Identifying the victim’s identity, chiefly investigating these social connections, is our starting point. This can’t be wrong, and our subsequent work will focus on this direction."

The reconstruction of the crime scene indicated that the victim and the perpetrator were well-acquainted.

However, alongside that, Lu Chuan’s derived estimation regarding the perpetrator’s height and left-handedness could serve as critical references.

"First, investigate everyone in the dormitory when Zhao Xianwan worked at the mooncake factory, and understand who was close to her. Later, check who she had contact with. Carefully examine all those linked to Zhao Xiaowan in the phone records from that year, especially those she contacted before leaving Dongjiang Province."

"Second, focus the investigation on this Gao Feng!"

Although the case files didn’t provide detailed information on Gao Feng, as a subject of the investigation back then, he left some basic personal information.

What raised Lu Chuan’s suspicions about Gao Feng was his height of 1.82 meters.

The subsequent progress of the work was not smooth, especially the investigations regarding the mooncake factory.

Back then, the mooncake factory mainly hired workers for making mooncakes, but in the past two years, due to increased performance-based management, they rarely recruited temporary workers.

So none of the people who worked alongside Zhao Xiaowan at the time are still at the mooncake factory.

Wang Zhaokai, after three days of investigation, interviewed many people and only found two individuals who joined the factory with Zhao Xiaowan, yet neither were familiar with her nor still resides in Haizhou City.

Though the situation seemed bleak, with few findings, it still provided some relevant clues. Wang Zhaokai’s team traveled to locate those two individuals who joined the factory with Zhao Xiaowan.

They hoped to find some clues and discoveries from them.

On the side of Gao Feng, the investigation proved even more challenging.

Gao Feng didn’t hide his relationship with Zhao Xiaowan.

"Everyone at the mooncake factory was like that back then. I was married, and so was he. My wife wasn’t there, and her husband wasn’t there, so we stuck together, making do for a few days."

"I really didn’t know about her disappearance. The police also questioned me that year. She did call me before she disappeared, saying she wanted to come with four people, but I have my family, and I have kids, how could I go with her?"

"Later, I refused, and Zhang Xiaowan didn’t contact me again. I also don’t know where she went."

Lu Chuan was present during the inquiry into Gao Feng’s situation.

"Left-handed..."

He noted whether Gao Feng was left-handed.

Indeed, it’s true!

As it stands, the connection between Gao Feng and the murderer appears to be growing stronger.

According to Lu Chuan’s assessment, the perpetrator was about 180 tall and acquainted with Zhao Xiaowan.

However, there’s no evidence.

After all, nine years have passed, and while Gao Feng was in Haizhou City back then, there’s no definitive proof he killed Zhao Xiaowan.

The crime scene didn’t leave any of Gao Feng’s traces, or any directive physical evidence.

Moreover, Gao Feng continues to deny ever meeting with Zhao Xiaowan afterward.

"Director Lu, what do we do?"

What to do?

The questioning tone was almost interrogative.

With so much time passed, the party consistently denies it, leaving everyone at a loss.

Can’t resort to any means, can we?

The breakthrough came from Wang Zhaokai’s end.

Wang Zhaokai unearthed a somewhat crucial clue in Dongjiang Province.

Someone who went to work at the mooncake factory with Zhao Xiaowan, while not very familiar with her, knew that she had a close female friend during her time at the factory.

The two shared a dormitory and talked freely about everything while working.

The source said that if Zhao Xiaowan left Dongjiang Province without going to work at the mooncake factory, while others may not know, that woman certainly would.

Her name is Wang Fang.

She currently lives in Haizhou City!