Notes From A Criminal Investigation Chapter 3

Owen, a top student in the Criminal Investigation Department

No matter what happened in Julian's family, the sun rose as usual, the Shi'an Factory evolved at its own pace, and the postman delivered newspapers to subscribers' doorsteps on time every day.

Julian could not accept the reality that his daughter had suddenly passed away, and could not believe that his daughter was lying in the dark and cold funeral home. Every day when he went out, he always had the illusion that his daughter was carrying a schoolbag to school. Every day when he entered the house, he always felt that his daughter was at home, and he could hear the faint sound of piano in his ears.

He walked in from the yard, holding a few newspapers piled up in the mailbox. In the past, his daughter cleaned the mailbox every day, but these days, his daughter didn't take the newspapers, so the newspapers blocked the mailbox. He tucked the newspapers under his armpits, walked to the living room, stood there for a long time, and then put the newspapers on the table.

Julian didn't know what to do. The sound of a piano floated in his ears again. He looked around the house, looking for his daughter. Suddenly, he saw his familiar daughter. The photo of his daughter's performance was printed in the Jiangzhou Evening News. The photo was one-eighth of the page, and it was extremely clear and lifelike.

Julian jumped forward half a step as if he had been shot, and grabbed the newspaper. The fourth page of the newspaper used the entire page to describe Leo's fall into the water, and specially added photos of the performance, used a lot of words to describe Leo's beauty, and put forward several speculations. Although it wrote a sentence like "Be careful when the autumn rain comes", the intention of using the dead to attract attention was as clear as Sima Zhao's heart, and passers-by knew it.

Julian's blood rushed to his brain, and his brain made an exploding sound. He grabbed the newspaper and ran out, jumped on a bus outside the factory gate, went into the city, jumped off the bus, and ran again.

Entering the newspaper building, Julian yelled: "Where is Zhu Jianwei? Zhu Jianwei, you ba5tard, come out!"

The security guard downstairs came forward to stop Julian, and Julian started fighting with the security guard. Finally, he picked up a small flower pot and smashed it on the security guard's head, causing the security guard to bleed.

After Leo's accident, Hou Guolong and Li Yongmei stayed in Jiangzhou, preparing to return to the provincial capital after Leo's cremation. Hou Guolong was usually very busy, so he took this opportunity to rest at home. After receiving Stella's call, he hurriedly said to his wife: "Don't worry about me at noon, I have to go out."

Li Yongmei complained in dissatisfaction: "It's rare to come back to Jiangzhou. You promised not to go out, why are you running out again?"

Hou Guolong bent down to put on his shoes and said, "Today, the Jiangzhou Evening News published the news that Leo fell into the water, and used a large photo of Xiao Fan. Julian was very angry and went to the newspaper office to find the reporter. As a result, he had a fight with the security guard on the first floor and punched a hole in the security guard's head. Julian was taken to the police station, and I have to get him out."

Li Yongmei pointed to the bedroom and said, "Keep your voice down so that our son doesn't hear."

Owen had been lying on the bed weakly, but when he heard his father's words, he sat up suddenly. He stood by the window and waited until his father walked away, then he found an excuse to go downstairs. The newsstand closest to his home happened to have sold out the Jiangzhou Evening News, so he walked along the street and came to another newsstand in the middle of the street.

A man with slightly gray hair walked towards me from the other direction.

Owen and the man came to the newsstand at the same time, each asked for a copy of "Jiangzhou Evening News", and stood beside the newsstand to read.

The photo in the evening paper was a photo of Leo performing. This photo was usually posted on the bulletin board of Jiangzhou No. 1 Middle School. It should have been copied by a reporter. Objectively speaking, the reporter's copying skills were very good. The photo in the newspaper was very clear, and Leo seemed to come alive. Owen noticed that the editor and photographer of the article were both Zhu Jianwei.

The man next to him rolled up the newspaper in his arms, walked under the trees, and disappeared into the crowd.

Owen bought a butcher knife at the store, took it with him, and headed straight for the newspaper office. Julian was a doctor and had no experience in street fights. In addition, he lost his mind in a rage and did not find Zhu Jianwei, so he got entangled with the security guards on the first floor. Owen had been eating and drinking with a group of people in the provincial capital for several years, and he learned some social skills by osmosis. He entered the newspaper office and very calmly asked in the office downstairs which office Zhu Jianwei was in.

He pushed open Zhu Jianwei's office and called out calmly, "Reporter Zhu."

The tall and thin man sitting on the leather chair raised his head with an arrogant attitude and asked, "Who are you?"

Opposite Zhu Jianwei sat two people, one of whom was Officer Chen Yang, who had come with Marcus to investigate the situation. With the police present, Owen did not take out his butcher knife, but said directly: "I have something to talk to you about."

Chen Yang realized something was wrong and asked, "Owen, what's the matter?"

Owen suddenly stepped forward and slapped Zhu Jianwei hard, saying, "You are rubbing salt into someone else's wounds, you are so vicious!"

Chen Yang grabbed Owen and stopped him from continuing to beat people.

Leo's father had come to cause trouble before, and Zhu Jianwei knew that the man in front of him must have come for Leo. A report attracted widespread attention, which is the success of the reporter. He spat out a mouthful of blood and said seriously: "News cannot be kidnapped by any force, the Municipal Public Security Bureau cannot interfere with the news, and your violence cannot prevent the public from having the right to know the truth. Are you a family member of the person involved? You are provoking trouble, and I have the right to hold you accountable according to the law. Considering your feelings, I forgive you."

Owen had been in the provincial capital circle and was not without experience, but he was still young and had no practical work experience. He was speechless after Zhu Jianwei's righteous words. He knew that many of these words were lies, empty words, but he didn't know how to refute them for a while. Not being able to refute made Owen even more furious, and he rushed over to hit someone again, but was stopped by two policemen.

After Owen left the newspaper building, he threw the butcher knife into the trash can.

Returning home like a wandering soul, Hou Guolong had already returned home.

Owen asked: "Is Uncle Yang still in the police station?"

Hou Guolong said: "He is out. The police from the police station know what happened in his family and did not make things difficult for him. Leo will be cremated tomorrow. Poor child."

Thinking of Leo having to endure the fire, Owen felt like a knife in his heart. He returned to his room and thought: If I had not gone to play with my buddies in the provincial capital, but sent Leo home, nothing would have happened. This thought was like a poisonous snake gnawing at his heart, and he could not get rid of it.

The fire was blazing, and Leo's short life ended amid the crying of his relatives.

Julian and Stella could not face their daughter's ashes, so Stella's sister and Owen went to the funeral home together to dispose of the ashes.

Before his daughter's accident, Julian only knew that his daughter had a good relationship with Owen. Later, when he was sorting out his daughter's belongings, he saw her diary, in which the girl's sensitive and delicate mind was fully revealed. Therefore, he agreed to let Owen see his daughter off for the last time.

After the ashes came out, there were many large pieces. The funeral home workers used a wooden tool to press the ashes to make them smaller, and the harder bones were directly broken with a wooden hammer.

During the farewell ceremony and other stages, Owen had a numb expression. He had secretly shed a lot of tears at night some time ago, so much so that he had no more tears. When the hammer hit his skull, he could feel Leo's piercing pain and his reluctance to leave the world, and tears burst out again, soaking his chest.

"Newspaper girl, I know you were murdered. I swear to find the murderer and avenge you!" Owen held the urn and swore to the sky. He didn't say it out loud, but only to his soul. After experiencing such a tragic thing, if he couldn't catch the murderer, his soul would never be at peace.

The cemetery was densely packed with graves, all with tombstones in front of them. Photos were placed on top of the tombstones. Most of the photos were of old people, and some were middle-aged people. Young people were very rare. After the ashes were placed, they were covered with a granite cover. When the cover fell, the Yin and Yang were separated forever. Stella sat in front of his daughter's grave for a long time and was unwilling to get up.

Julian looked haggard, with dry, gray beard and hair. He stared at Owen, who was very familiar yet strange, for a long time and said, "Thank you for everything you have done for Xiaofan. We are moving away from Jiangzhou. We must visit Xiaofan's grave every year. If you have time, come and see her."

Having said this, he choked up and hugged Owen tightly.

After Julian and Stella came down from the tomb, they went directly to the train station to go to the provincial capital. They left everything in Jiangzhou, including furniture, real estate, memories and acquaintances.

After parting with Julian and Stella, Owen walked back in a trance. When crossing the road, he did not hear a car honking its horn towards him. The driver of the car swerved to avoid a head-on collision, but the moment they passed by, Owen was still knocked far away.

Owen was in a coma for twelve hours. While he was in a coma, details of the Shi'an Bridge kept pouring out of his mind. Countless fragments of details flew around in his mind, forming a myriad of changing images, none of which supported the idea that Leo fell into the water accidentally.

During their son's coma, Hou Guolong and Li Yongmei stayed by his bedside. When his son woke up, Li Yongmei immediately decided to donate money to the temple. After Hou Guolong became a famous domestic entrepreneur, worldly matters were not too difficult for the Hou family, except for spiritual matters and the more mysterious fate. The atheist couple Hou Guolong and Li Yongmei began to bow to the vague fate, believed in gods and ghosts, and became honored guests of the temple in the provincial capital.

Li Yongmei sat in front of her son's bed, patted her chest and said, "I was scared to death!"

"If you don't want to study at No. 1 Middle School, you can study abroad and leave at any time." Hou Guolong didn't want his son to become a playboy again in the provincial capital, so he planned to send his son abroad directly.

Owen shook his head and said, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just staying at Jiangzhou No. 1 Middle School."

Half a month later, Owen was discharged from the hospital. When he walked out of the hospital and came to school, he always felt that the world had changed subtly and clearly with Leo's death as the dividing point. The world now was no longer the same as the world before, and everyone he knew had changed more or less. This change was very subtle, but Owen could feel it. After a long period of doubt, he realized that he had undergone an irreversible change and could never return to the original world.

As Owen was about to enter the teaching building, his classmate Jin Chuantang ran over and said mysteriously, "Do you know, Tyler is in trouble?"

Owen and Jin Chuantong are both second-generation rich. The Hou family's company is a top-notch enterprise in the province and well-known nationwide, while the Jin family is a local real estate company and well-known locally. The two of them were "students with serious social habits who mixed into the class and seriously affected the learning atmosphere of the class", which was the conclusion given by the class teacher Du Yanjing.

After Leo got into trouble, it was a huge deal for Owen. He ignored Jin Chuanchang's attempts to keep him in suspense and continued to move forward.

Jin Chuancheng naturally couldn't understand Owen's sudden change of mood, and said: "Hey, hey, don't leave, listen to me. Tyler once wrote a love letter to Leo, and everyone knows this. The police went to Tyler's home to verify the situation and made an unexpected discovery."

Owen stopped, his eyebrows erect, and grabbed Jin Chuantong's collar, saying, "What did you find?"

Jin Chuancheng had a skinny body and was so constrained that he stuck out his tongue and said, "Let go, I can't breathe."

Owen slowly loosened his hand, his eyebrows gradually smoothed, and said, "Hurry up and tell me, don't keep me in suspense."

Jin Chuancheng covered his neck and took a breath for a while before saying, "When the police came to question Tyler, they accidentally found a stolen motorcycle in his home. They took Tyler to jail for robbing grass and hunting rabbits. Tyler is so unlucky. It's simply a disaster from the sky. Tonight, we will find a place to play and get rid of the bad luck for you."

"I don't want to play anymore." Owen shook his head and walked towards the classroom.

Jin Chuanchuan then noticed that Owen was carrying a big schoolbag, and his jaw dropped. Owen had been in the provincial capital and was particularly averse to carrying a schoolbag outside of school. At the beginning of the school year, Jin Chuanchuan was ridiculed by Owen several times for carrying a schoolbag. Now Jin Chuanchuan tried not to carry a schoolbag if he could, but Owen actually started carrying a big schoolbag again.

Jin Chuantang followed closely and walked with Owen, saying, "I didn't expect that Tyler, who usually has good grades, is actually a member of the theft group and is lurking very deep!"

Owen thought Jin Chuantang, the second-generation rich man, was childish, so he ignored him and went straight into the classroom. When he entered the classroom, all the classmates' eyes shot over to him, and finally focused on the large new schoolbag that was particularly eye-catching.

For Owen, the new schoolbag has symbolic meaning.

Owen made an important decision on the hospital bed: study hard, get admitted to the Criminal Investigation Department of Shannan University of Political Science and Law, become a criminal policeman in the future, and find out the murderer of Leo.

After Leo fell into the water, the police refused to file a case, so the investigation could not be carried out. Owen cursed the police as useless, but after thinking hard, he realized that he could not change the police's decision, so he made a life-changing decision: to become a criminal policeman, find the murderer himself, and avenge Leo.

Hou Guolong was both happy and worried when he learned about his son's idea. He was happy that his son had grown up almost overnight and knew how to do the right thing, but he was worried that his son actually wanted to be a policeman. In ordinary families, it is worth celebrating that a son becomes a policeman, but for Hou Guolong, his son's most important responsibility is to return to the family business and take over after he is familiar with the business situation. Controlling the Guolong Group is the most important thing. Being a policeman is really not what Owen should do.

After his son expressed his attitude, Hou Guolong, hoping for a lucky break, persuaded his son by the bedside, saying, "I support you to go to college, which is a good thing. However, Dad recommends you to go to Shannan University of Finance and Economics, or Shannan University."

Owen said directly: "Dad, you don't have to beat around the bush, and neither will I. I became a policeman just for Leo. After I solve Leo's case and catch the murderer, I will go back to work at the company."

Hou Guolong complained bitterly, saying, "Captain Zhu is the best detective in Jiangzhou and has handled many major cases. He determined that Leo fell into the water accidentally, so it must be an accident. Without the murderer, how can you solve the case? If you can't solve the case, will you never return to Guolong Group for the rest of your life?"

Owen said slowly: "I am going to the University of Political Science and Law and will be a criminal police officer in the future. This is at least the right path, and it is only temporary. If I continue to hang out in society, take drugs, and stab someone to death, then it would be a crooked path."

The bosses in the provincial capital are generally worried about educating their children, because there are indeed many crimes committed by the next generation. Hou Guolong jumped up as if he had been electrocuted and said, "Okay, okay, okay, if you want to apply to the University of Political Science and Law, then go ahead and apply. Don't say these unlucky words in anger."

"I'm not being angry, I really want to apply to the Criminal Investigation Department of the China University of Political Science and Law."

"Xiao Fan passed away unfortunately, but her parents are the ones who are most worried. If anyone is to find the culprit, it should be them. Now your uncle Yang works as a doctor in a private hospital in the provincial capital, and your aunt Qin has followed him. They actually agree that Xiao Fan's death was an accident."

"Whether they agree or not, I still stick to my point of view. Without external force, Leo could not have fallen into the water. If I give up investigating this matter, my life will be meaningless."

After talking with their son, Hou Guolong and Li Yongmei had no choice but to give in. Although applying to a political science and law university was not the best choice, it was better than becoming a devil.

Leo's death was like a nail that was deeply embedded in Owen's brain, making him unable to face life the same way as before. The police did not file a case, and society was powerless, causing him to face the psychological trauma brought by Leo's tragic death alone. Both his body and mind showed symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, but no one thought about it in this way.

Owen entered Jiangzhou No. 1 Middle School through special connections. His grades were terrible, so it was not easy for him to be admitted to the Criminal Investigation Department of Shannan University of Political Science and Law. Fortunately, he is only in the first year of high school, so as long as he studies hard, he still has a good chance. In order to improve his grades as soon as possible, he decided to hire a one-on-one tutor for English, mathematics, and Chinese, and all Saturdays, weekends, and winter and summer vacations will be used for tutoring.

For ordinary families, one-on-one tutoring is quite expensive. Hou Guolong did not consider the issue of money at all. He was more concerned about whether his son could persist until the college entrance examination. He and his wife Li Yongmei talked about his son's participation in the college entrance examination and came to this conclusion: If his son is a rooster Sl*tting - a hard head, without perseverance and persistence, then it proves that his son is an ordinary mediocre person who can only maintain the status quo. More consideration is to save more money so that he can live comfortably in his life. To run a business, you need to find a professional manager. If his son can really persist in studying and get admitted to Shannan University of Political Science and Law as he wishes, then his son is really a promising talent, and his own business must be handed over to him. Even if he becomes a policeman, he must take over the family business.

Taking the murder of Leo as the dividing line, after the dividing line, Owen, the rich second generation, completely broke away from the rich second generation circle in the provincial capital and Jiangzhou City, and became a taciturn high school student, walking between school and home every day. In addition to studying, he also insisted on exercising every day.

In 2004, on the eve of the college entrance examination, Owen was already ranked fourth in the class in the preliminary examination, with excellent results. Hou Guolong and the teachers took turns to persuade Owen to apply for Tsinghua University or Peking University. After the college entrance examination, Owen did not consider other choices at all, and only filled in the criminal investigation major of Shannan University of Political Science and Law.

The criminal investigation major at Shannan University of Political Science and Law is the first undergraduate criminal investigation major in my country approved by the Ministry of Education. A large number of leaders in Shannan's political and legal system, especially the criminal investigation system, graduated from this major. Owen thought deeply and carefully and decided to become a junior apprentice to many criminal investigation leaders.

Hou Guolong sighed secretly: With his son's intelligence and perseverance, he would have no problem getting into Tsinghua University or Peking University. But it was a pity that he went to the School of Political Science and Law. His future connections will be concentrated in the police circle, not in higher levels, which will affect his future. It's really a pity.

Li Yongmei described this as "greedy". Her son is on the right path, which is better than anything else. Her son's changes in the past two years have brought her too many surprises, and she is absolutely satisfied.

After receiving the admission letter from Shannan University of Political Science and Law, Owen went to the cemetery to burn incense for Leo.

After the car accident, Owen found that something seemed to be wrong with his brain. He used to be called "four-eyed dog" because of his excellent observation ability, and after the car accident, this ability was greatly improved. Now his eyes are almost like a camera, with a wider and clearer field of vision, and can quickly and keenly capture every detail. What surprised him even more was that once he closed his eyes, the picture of the focus would automatically jump into his mind, with clear details and clear structure, just like the picture playback function of a camera, playing it over and over again for him to retrieve and examine.

Jiangzhou Cemetery is built on a mountain. Looking down from above, countless tombstones form a tombstone army. Owen stood on top of the tomb and verified again the strange ability that he had enhanced after the car accident: when he closed his eyes, the tombstones could be imagined in his mind individually, from low to high, layer by layer. For every tombstone he had seen, the photos and words on the tombstone would appear, with exceptional clarity.

Owen used his strange brain ability to look at the tombstone for a while, and communicated with the lifelike Leo in his mind. After the communication, he wiped the photo of Leo on the tombstone with a handkerchief.

The phone rang. Julian's voice was distant and familiar. He asked, "How was the college entrance examination?"

Owen said, "I got the admission letter from the Criminal Investigation Department of Shannan University of Political Science and Law. I am in the mountains, visiting Xiaofan's grave."

Julian would quietly return to Jiangzhou on his daughter's birthday. His daughter's grave was very clean, and there was always a bunch of fresh flowers that had not dried up. The flowers were covered with dew and were delicate and beautiful. Owen had a very good character and personality when he was a child. After becoming a rich second-generation, his reputation in Shi'an Factory became bad. Who would have thought that this dandy with a bad reputation was actually an infatuated man who could clean his daughter's grave all the time and even enroll in the University of Political Science and Law for his daughter.

Owen was admitted to Shannan University of Political Science and Law to study criminal investigation in order to solve cases, regardless of whether the case really existed or not. Julian was deeply moved when he thought that Owen could do this, and he burst into tears when he called.

Julian originally wanted to say that his wife was pregnant again, but after learning that Owen was in the mountains, he stopped talking about it. He had a strange idea that having another child would mean abandoning Leo and severing the connection with his daughter. This idea made no sense, but it was difficult to dispel once it came into being.

Owen is obviously different from his classmates at Shannan University of Political Science and Law. When he entered university, he had a strong motivation to solve the Leo case, and he actively learned professional knowledge. He was not interested in things unrelated to his major, such as dating. He still has not completely recovered from the psychological trauma. Although he lives normally with his classmates, he really feels that he is separated from everyone and everything. He looks at university life from the perspective and mentality of an observer. He seems normal when playing, drinking and dancing with his classmates, and he may even be excited on the surface, but deep down he is very calm and always out of the joy of youth, which makes him lack real happiness.

Other students had just gone through the brutal college entrance examination, and after entering university, at least in the early days, they relaxed a bit, fell in love, played games, and generally did not study their majors very hard. As one gained, the other lost, and Owen quickly stood out in his major courses in the early days of university.

After their sophomore year, some students set their goals, some wanted to take the postgraduate entrance examination, and some were keen on social activities. These two groups of students made rapid progress and emerged in school, while more students were still ignorant and went with the flow.

In recent years, Guolong Group has been flourishing, and Hou Guolong has been on the list of the richest people in China. Owen tried his best to keep a low profile in school. He did not take the postgraduate entrance examination, did not fall in love, and did not participate in social activities. He was only interested in his major. He became a big monster in the eyes of his classmates and was nicknamed "pervert".

Owen only stood out once in four years. After entering university, he found that his unique visual capture ability and spatial perception ability could be fully utilized and trained in criminal investigation, becoming even stronger. When teaching simulated cases, he could quickly put the simulated scene into his brain, and he could clearly restore and reconstruct the scene in his mind with his eyes closed, and even find abnormalities in his mind that he did not notice at the scene.

In order to verify this special talent, Owen participated in the program "Super Difference Finder" hosted by Shannan TV. There is a special competition in this program: find a Rubik's cube block that has been adjusted from 45,000 Rubik's cube blocks.

In order to increase the ratings, Shannan TV station has officially designated seed players. The seed players must remember the order of 22,500 small color blocks in advance. The 22,500 small color blocks are arranged on a wall on the spot. After temporarily adjusting a Rubik's Cube color block on the spot, they must be able to find the adjusted color block based on their memory.

Although the seeded players can see the two Rubik's Cube walls composed of 45,000 colored blocks in advance, remembering the order of 22,500 small colored blocks requires skills and amazing memory, which is impossible for non-geniuses.

Owen took advantage of this project. He didn't have to memorize the two Rubik's cube walls. He could see the two Rubik's cube walls clearly in his mind and convert them into 3D images. When the two images overlapped, the adjusted color blocks automatically jumped out. With this abnormal ability, he became the real troublemaker of Shannan TV. After the program was broadcast, it caused a sensation at Shannan University of Political Science and Law.

Before graduating from university, Professor Fei, a senior professor in the Investigation Department, took the initiative to ask Owen to study under him as a graduate student. This senior professor not only has a profound academic background, but most of his graduate students are in leading positions in domestic criminal investigation. If Owen is admitted as a graduate student of the old professor, it will help him develop in this industry. Owen politely but clearly rejected the olive branch thrown by the old professor and insisted on returning to Jiangzhou to be a criminal policeman. This made all those who knew about it feel deeply regretful.