ryethenovel Chapter 155 The body was buried under the old locust tree in the yard.
Chapter 155 The body was buried under the old locust tree in the yard.
"I believe in Mr. Shen," he said firmly into the phone.
"Hello, is this 110? I need to report a murder in Xitou Village. The body is buried under the old locust tree in the yard. The address is Old Wang's house at the westernmost end of Xitou Village."
After hanging up the phone, Wang Kai said coldly to Old Man Wang:
"Whether it's slander or not, we'll find out when the police come and dig it up. If we're really in the wrong, I'll kowtow and apologize to you, and compensate you for all your losses. But if what Mr. Shen said is true, you can expect to go to jail."
When Old Wang heard the word "police," his body visibly trembled, his crying subsided, and his eyes were filled with fear and unease.
But he still stubbornly insisted, "Come on then! I'm not afraid of you! We didn't kill anyone! We're not afraid even if the police come!"
Forty minutes later, two police cars roared into the village, shattering the tranquility of the mountain village.
The team was led by Chief Zhang of the local police station. He was wearing a police uniform, had a serious expression, and led several police officers, carrying shovels and professional investigation equipment, into the yard.
"Who called the police? What exactly happened?" Chief Zhang asked, his gaze sweeping over the people in the courtyard.
Wang Kai quickly stepped forward: "Chief Zhang, I'm the one who called the police. This Mr. Shen said that Wang Qiang's wife, who went missing three years ago, was murdered and buried under this old locust tree."
Old Wang immediately rushed forward, blocking the police and spreading his arms to shield the old locust tree:
"Officer! Don't listen to his nonsense! He's a liar! We didn't kill anyone! He made this up to frame us! My wife ran off with someone three years ago! Everyone in the village can testify to that!"
"Get out of the way!" Director Zhang said sternly, his eyes sharp as an eagle's. "Whether there's murder or not, we'll find out once we dig it up! Obstructing official business, I'm handcuffing you!"
Old Wang trembled with fright and dared not stop them any longer. He retreated to the side, his hands gripping his cane tightly until his knuckles turned white.
Two policemen, carrying shovels, walked to the old locust tree and began digging at the location indicated by Shen Yu.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the spot where the shovel had landed.
The soil was dug out shovel by shovel, carrying a damp, fishy smell. As they went deeper, a faint, pungent odor gradually filled the air, growing stronger and stronger.
Su Wanqing covered her mouth, her stomach churning, and turned to run outside into the yard to dry heave. Wen Ran followed her out, patting her back repeatedly.
Chen Guodong and Bai Hui held Duoduo tightly, not wanting the child to see this scene. Jiang Xinlan also held Niannian and Guigui in her arms and covered their eyes.
When they had dug about three feet deep, the shovel suddenly struck something hard with a clang.
Everyone's heart was in their throat.
"We've found something!" a policeman shouted.
Director Zhang immediately stepped forward, squatted down, and carefully used his hands to clear away the surrounding soil.
As the soil was gradually cleared away, the skeletal remains of a woman, curled up, were revealed to everyone.
The skeleton remained in the posture of struggling before death, with its hands tightly clasped to its chest, and in the bone of its right hand, it tightly gripped a silver bracelet that had oxidized and turned black.
It took the police a lot of effort to get the bracelet out of her hand.
After the bracelet was wiped clean, the character "楠" was clearly engraved on it, with a small plum blossom pattern next to it, showing exquisite workmanship.
Upon seeing the remains, Old Wang's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, muttering repeatedly, "It's over... It's all over..."
Grandma Liu lay on the bed, unable to catch her breath, and almost fainted.
Wang Qiang was also trembling all over, like a leaf, his eyes unfocused. He sat down on the ground with a thud, not even noticing the cigarette butt in his hand fall onto his pants.
Director Zhang stood up, his face ashen, and glared at the three of them. He said sternly, "What do you have to say now? Caught red-handed, do you still dare to deny it?"
He said to the police officer beside him, "Cuff all three of them! Take them back to the police station for questioning! The entire family of three is a prime suspect!"
"No! Don't arrest my son!" Old Wang suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the policeman's leg tightly and crying out.
"Officers! Please! Don't arrest my son! I killed her! It has nothing to do with my son! I beat her to death by myself! Arrest me instead! I'm an old man, I'm not afraid of going to jail!"
"Yes! It was me and the old man who did it!" Old Mrs. Liu, who had just been choked awake, struggled to sit up, her hair disheveled, her face covered in snot and tears.
"We two old folks beat her to death! My son went to town to buy fertilizer at the time; he wasn't home at all! He knew nothing! We buried her because we were afraid of going to jail!"
Wang Qiang nodded quickly, as if grasping at a lifeline:
"Yes! It was my parents! I really did go to town that day! I didn't come back until night! When I got back, she was already dead! My parents begged me not to tell anyone, so I helped keep it a secret for three years! Officer, I'm innocent!"
Both elders were vying to take the blame, each trying to shift the responsibility onto themselves and protect Wang Qiang, the only son of the Wang family.
The courtyard erupted in uproar.
No one expected that the Wang family, who usually seemed honest and kind and always smiling, had actually killed someone and kept it a secret from the whole village for three whole years.
Everyone was stunned, and Uncle Li stared at them in disbelief.
"Old Wang! You...you really killed someone? And you lied to us for three whole years? We all thought Zhang Nan really ran off with someone, and we were even talking badly about her behind her back...How could you do this?!"
Old Wang kept his head down, not daring to look Li Bo in the eye, and just kept crying:
"We had no choice... If she hadn't insisted on running off with that other guy, we wouldn't have accidentally killed her... We really didn't mean to..."
Su Wanqing had just returned from outside when she heard their words. She was so angry that she trembled all over and pointed at them, cursing:
"You've gone too far! You killed someone and then lied! You even tried to take the blame for your son! Do you have any humanity?! What did that woman do wrong to deserve this?!"
They're both old and sick, how could they possibly commit murder?
Anyone with eyes can see that Wang Qiang is the real murderer; they are just accomplices, taking the blame for their son.
"Exactly!" Wen Ran said, her eyes red. "Even if she really ran away with someone, you can't kill her! Besides, she didn't even run away! How could you be so heartless!"