Being recognized by the duty officer was something Chen Ge hadn't anticipated before coming here.
He cleared his throat and quickly got into character: "On my way to the eastern suburbs, I stumbled across a child trafficking case. You know how I am — I can't stand injustice, I have a very strong sense of justice. After a desperate struggle, I finally rescued the child."
"People with a real sense of justice don't go around announcing it every five minutes." All three officers on duty at the Xicheng police station had come over. One of them had previously worked with Li Sanbao on the Muyang High School corpse-hiding case and had a deep impression of Chen Ge. "I can't make the call on this. Our station chief and Director Li both gave strict orders — whenever a case involves you, we have to report to them first before making any decisions."
"This isn't a murder case, so it can't be that serious, right?" Chen Ge had other things to do. His original plan had been to drop the child off here and leave with a clear conscience.
"Oh, so in your book only murder cases count as serious? That's a dangerous attitude." The officer immediately dialed Li Sanbao's number. The remaining two officers split up — one took the child to the side, while the other stood guard next to Chen Ge, on high alert.
A few minutes later, the officer who had been on the phone with Captain Li walked out of the office, looking at Chen Ge with an odd expression.
"What did Captain Li say? Can I go now?" Chen Ge hadn't slept all night, and the haunted house opened at nine. He was desperate to get back and catch some sleep.
"Not happening." The officer set a stack of documents on the desk. "Last night at nine, a pair of young parents came to report that their child had gone missing. The photo they provided matches the exact child you brought back."
"Well, that's great news! Saves you time too — just hand the kid back to them and we're done." Chen Ge was confused. "Do the parents want to thank me in person? There's really no need for that."
"No, we'd like you to cooperate with us." The officer flipped open the documents, which contained information on several children. "These are the children who've gone missing in the western suburbs over the past few months. All these cases share one thing in common — they happened on rainy nights. We've been investigating, and through interviews we found that a witness saw a middle-aged woman entering and leaving the scene of the crime. And last night, when this boy went missing, someone in the neighborhood spotted that same woman again."
"Multiple cases in a row?" Chen Ge knew these incidents were almost certainly connected to the mastermind in the eastern suburbs. He just didn't understand why the person needed so many children.
"Yes. This has had a terrible impact on the community. In the areas with the highest frequency of cases, a story has even started circulating — that whenever it rains, a middle-aged woman carrying a basket appears. She was driven out by her husband because she couldn't bear children, and so she came to hate men and children alike. She lures children deep into the streets using all sorts of methods, then hides them away."
"That's just your typical urban legend, isn't it? You can't take that seriously." Chen Ge hadn't expected the police to bring this up.
"Local legends and urban myths usually have some basis in reality. You can't believe everything, but you can't dismiss them entirely either." The officer finished speaking and turned to Chen Ge. "There have been seven child disappearance cases in total. This child is the only one who's been recovered, and you're the only person who's had any contact with the suspect. So I have to keep you here."
"Fine, I'll cooperate with your investigation fully." Chen Ge realized he wasn't getting away. He poured himself a cup of hot water and sat down in a chair. "But let me say this — cooperating is one thing, but you can't keep asking me to cooperate without giving anything back. When I provided key leads for the Ping'an Apartment family massacre case, you even rewarded me with fifty thousand yuan. Now forget money — there's not even a commendation or a letter of praise. That doesn't seem right, does it?"
Seeing Chen Ge putting on his rascal act, the officer couldn't help but laugh out of exasperation: "Rest assured, all your contributions are on file with the city bureau. Who knows, maybe they'll award you an Honorary Citizen title or make you one of Jiujiang's Top Ten Outstanding Youth."
"Really? Does that mean I might get on TV?"
"Help us crack the case first, and those things will come."
"Deal. But when the time comes, make sure you coordinate with the reporters. If they insist on interviewing me, please have them do it in front of my haunted house entrance — that counts as free publicity." Chen Ge replied with complete seriousness.
Half an hour later, Captain Li arrived. Chen Ge told him the story he had prepared.
He said he had been riding his electric scooter to the eastern suburbs when, passing by a bus stop, he saw a middle-aged woman holding a child, apparently waiting for someone.