Chapter Fifty-Eight: Caught Between Two Dilemmas

Chapter 58: Caught Between Two Dilemmas

The sympathetic glance and tone of the taxi driver made An Changpu and Qin Ruonan feel a bit amused, yet they couldn’t quite bring themselves to smile. Perhaps he was worrying over nothing, or maybe the scenarios he described might actually unfold for them. Solving a case relies seventy percent on human effort and thirty percent on luck. After all, the modern legal process emphasizes solid evidence over mere testimony; without sufficient proof, even a direct confession may not lead to conviction. It’s not like those nineteenth-century Western detectives who could painstakingly unravel every detail to identify the true culprit.

The seventy percent effort involves meticulously analyzing and judging the nature of the case, speculating on the criminal’s type and mindset, and gathering evidence extensively. The thirty percent luck depends on whether fate is on your side—because if luck runs dry, even the clearest clues and evidence laid before you can vanish like footprints washed away by a sudden downpour.

In the recent cases involving Fang Wanhe and Xiaoyang, they found two children with commonalities: shared interests and even uncovered a mysterious benefactor whose identity remained unknown. They also learned of three other similar cases from the past. Yet these were only scattered fragments. Whether they could connect these threads required further careful consideration and more corroborating evidence.

With this slightly heavy mood, they arrived at the home of the retired veteran detective who had handled the two boys’ murder cases eight years ago. Before coming, they had called the old man and received his permission. So, upon reaching his door, they knocked a few times, and immediately someone came to open it.

The man who answered was tall and broad-shouldered, in his sixties, with mostly white hair but still robust and rosy-cheeked—clearly someone who had been physically strong in his youth. His sharp eyes scrutinized Qin Ruonan and An Changpu up and down before speaking first, “You must be the two police officers from City C, right?”

An Changpu nodded politely and greeted him, “Yes, I’m An Changpu, and this is my colleague Qin Ruonan. You must be Old Zhou?”

“That’s right. Come in! It’s terribly cold outside!” Old Zhou spoke with a booming voice full of confidence. He gestured for them to follow him inside and closed the door behind them.

His home was simply furnished—a wooden sofa set and a coffee table adorned with a few colorful folding fans. Smiling, he explained, “My wife’s out with a bunch of ladies dancing. She’s fine, just having fun. Come on, let’s go to the study.”

The study was modest, with bookshelves and a desk occupying most of the space. Unlike many retirees’ studies filled with calligraphy and paintings, Old Zhou’s contained none of these. On his desk sat a portable DVD player, surrounded by stacks of television drama discs. A quick glance revealed that they were all detective series.

“Even after retiring, Old Zhou still loves the old trade!” An Changpu chuckled, clearly seeing the passion the veteran officer still held for his former profession. Retirement must have been difficult to adjust to.

Old Zhou noticed their gaze and smiled, “Yeah, people are funny. Before retirement, I was always tired and sore, hardly ever had a good night’s sleep, just waiting to retire and rest. But once retired, my heart felt empty! So I watch these dramas to keep the feeling alive. My wife isn’t interested, so my kids got me this player so I could enjoy it alone in the study.”

He motioned them to sit as if his eyes could peer through them to a time when he was still fighting on the front lines of law enforcement.

“Old Zhou, we came today to ask about the two boys’ murder cases from eight years ago,” Qin Ruonan said directly.

Though he knew their purpose, Old Zhou’s expression instantly darkened upon hearing the mention of those cases.

“I’ve always worried deep down, afraid that since we never caught the culprit, they might go on to harm others. And now it’s actually happened! Sigh.” He sighed heavily and moved to a nearby cabinet, searching through it. “Those two cases were the last major ones I handled before retiring. With insufficient evidence, we had to put them on hold. Not long after, I was reassigned to a secondary post, enjoyed a year of leisure, then retired. Even after retirement, I often visited my old department to check for progress, but there was none. You know, I was already retired, and the younger officers had decided to put the cases on the back burner to focus on other investigations. I was powerless. Doing too much would only cause trouble.”

An Changpu nodded in understanding.

After a moment, Old Zhou pulled out an old file folder from the cabinet, dusted off its wrinkles, and handed it to Qin Ruonan, who was closer.

Curious, she took the heavy folder and opened it. Inside was a thick stack of papers—mostly handwritten notes about the two cases. Alongside textual records were rough sketches, simple lines, and arrows marking positions at the crime scenes.

“I…” she looked up at Old Zhou in confusion. The notes were detailed, but clearly not official files. Why would this retired officer have such a meticulous, personal record of an unsolved case?

Old Zhou gave a wry, somewhat embarrassed smile. Seeing her doubt, he explained, “These are my notes from when the cases were shelved, taken down before I forgot some details. I know it’s against regulations to keep such specific case files privately, especially unresolved ones. That’s why I always hid this folder deep within my bookshelf, wrapped in a pile of books. Not even my own children have seen it. My idea was that after being reassigned, I might take it out to review and maybe figure something out. If I could help solve the case, that would be great. But once I finally organized everything, I retired. After retirement, I neither had the qualification nor the mood to research it, so the folder has just been sleeping on the shelf all these years. If you hadn’t come, it probably would have stayed that way.”

An Changpu took the folder from Qin Ruonan and flipped through it, about to ask Old Zhou something, but he raised a hand to stop him.

“What I remember is all here. If it wasn’t recorded then, it’s impossible to recall now after eight years. So asking me to remember the details won’t help much. I only have vague impressions, which you could probably get from others anyway. You’d better ask the current officers. I have to keep a low profile.”

“We understand and won’t make things difficult for you. I just want to ask—was it because you couldn’t catch the killer that the families of the two boys reacted so strongly?” An Changpu didn’t want to pressure Old Zhou.

“Yes, it caused quite an uproar.” Old Zhou recalled the tense atmosphere and sighed again, his body still trembling slightly. “At that time, we felt like the villains ourselves—like rats everyone wanted to stamp out. Every day going to and from work felt like sneaking around like thieves.”

“Faced with such public pressure, why was the case shelved? Why not push harder to solve it quickly, quell the storm, and restore your reputation?”

“At first, that was our plan. But shortly after, a violent crime spree broke out—a gang illegally manufacturing firearms, targeting lonely women at night for robbery and assault. Those cases were frequent. By then, the boys’ cases had been investigated for months. We gathered what clues we could, but they were all disconnected fragments. And since then, no similar cases happened again. Now, if you were in our shoes, how would you prioritize? Two boys are dead; their lives can’t be restored. We felt heartbroken, but if we let that dead-end case consume our resources, the criminals preying on vulnerable women would continue unchecked. Would your conscience be clearer?”

Hearing Old Zhou’s words, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan fell silent. Both were recent graduates working on the front lines, still shedding their inexperience and accumulating social wisdom. They had never faced such a dilemma before and found themselves at a loss for words. If they were the ones involved, they might feel equally torn.

The police force is limited. Among them, detective officers handling criminal investigations are also few. Compared to the vast population, manpower is often stretched thin. During peaceful times, routine emergencies are manageable, but during turbulent periods with frequent incidents, there’s no magical power to multiply oneself like the Monkey King plucking hairs to create clones.

Left or right, blame comes either way. Stick your neck out and you’re attacked; withdraw and you’re still criticized.

Sometimes, life and work are just like that. You can do a hundred good deeds and go unnoticed, but make one mistake—and no matter how many unavoidable circumstances there were—you’ll be condemned immediately.

This chapter was truly intense… Today was Mother’s birthday at Xiao Mo’s house. I planned to come online after nine, but the site kept failing to log in. I thought it was going to be a bust, but luckily fortune smiled upon me—managed to cook a half-boiled egg and still made it on time! Hehe!