Drapeau fantôme

Chapitre 16

"Let's go now—I want to rest," Huang Jieyuan said in a slightly tired voice.

The foreman understood, and quietly left the private room, closing the door behind him.

Huang Jieyuan was the only one left in the private room. He rubbed his temples and sighed softly.

Ten years have passed, and his energy is not what it used to be, but he still has no clue what he wants to accomplish.

He knew all too well that the longer things dragged on, the fewer opportunities he would have. But he couldn't give up; he had to reclaim his lost dignity.

The clock struck four in the morning, and the drama in the bar was drawing to a close. Huang Jieyuan threw himself onto the single bed in the private room; he needed a good night's sleep.

The private room was very warm, so he lay down fully clothed and casually pulled a blanket over himself.

Over the years, Huang Jieyuan had developed an attachment to that single bed. Whenever the "big show" took place, it was this bed that accompanied him through one disappointing dawn after another.

"If that case is ever solved, I'll hang the medal on this bed forever," Huang Jieyuan thought with a mixture of anticipation and helplessness. As he did so, waves of drowsiness washed over him, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

He slept for an unknown amount of time until someone woke him up from his dream.

Huang Jieyuan opened his sleepy eyes and saw the foreman from before leaning down in front of him.

"Mr. Huang, you have a phone call." the young man said softly.

Huang Jieyuan glanced at his watch; he had only slept for a little over four hours.

"Who is it?" he muttered, his tone revealing his dissatisfaction.

"The other party said they were from the public security system."

"Oh?" Because of his past experience, Huang Jieyuan immediately perked up when he heard the words "public security system". He sat up abruptly, straightened his clothes, and then followed the manager straight to the front desk of the bar.

The patrons had long since left, leaving only the waiters tidying up and preparing for the next "big show." Huang Jieyuan picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, this is Huang Jieyuan."

"Hello, this is the Public Security Bureau Archives Management Center." A man's voice came from the other end of the phone. It was a little hoarse, whether from a cold or something else, making it difficult to judge the speaker's age.

"The Archives Management Center?" Huang Jieyuan hesitated for a moment, clearly not the person he expected to be on the call.

“Yes,” the voice continued, “We have some questions for you about a case from eighteen years ago, the 130 hostage crisis. You were Ding Ke’s assistant at the time, and a direct participant in the case, weren’t you?”

"Case 130?" Huang Jieyuan pondered for a moment before asking, "Why are you suddenly concerned about this?"

"Here's the situation: Recently, the provincial department has been conducting random checks on criminal case files from previous years, and they happened to come across case 130. However, the case file contains very little detail about this case, and there are many unclear or ambiguous parts. Therefore, we need to revisit the parties involved and write a supplementary report for our records."

The other party's explanation was quite reasonable, but Huang Jieyuan scoffed and said, "It happened eighteen years ago, who remembers so much? Besides, I'm no longer a member of the public security system, I have no obligation to be responsible for you."

"Well, that's true..." the other party said carefully, "We're not asking you anything, but rather requesting some help from you."

"I don't have that much time..." Huang Jieyuan replied lazily, "I'm too busy with my own things."

The man was silent for a moment, then changed his tone and said, "Actually, we're helping each other out. Although you're no longer part of the system, if you're interested in the '119 Dismemberment Case,' perhaps we can provide you with some of the latest information."

Huang Jieyuan was taken aback by these words, and after a moment he said, "That's quite interesting..."

The man opposite chuckled through his nose and then turned back to his target: "So, do you remember what happened eighteen years ago?"

“Alright.” Huang Jieyuan had already made up his mind and answered readily, “I’ll go find the old logs; they should be useful to you.”

"What log?"

“I kept my own log. I recorded the whole process in detail for every case I was involved in back then. It was first-hand information, even more valuable than the official case files.”

"When can we find it?" The man's hoarse voice revealed an urgent desire.

“That depends on when I go looking for them,” Huang Jieyuan said in a tone of voice. “The logs are all in my garage, mixed in with a bunch of scrap paper and junk. I haven’t looked at them for years. Hehe, ten years ago when I took off my police uniform, I thought I would never need them again.”

"I hope to hear from you soon."

"Don't rush. You need to make time to prepare the information for the '119 Dismemberment Case'. So, I'll wait for your news."

"Okay, okay, I understand." The man on the other end laughed. "Mr. Huang is indeed a businessman who won't suffer losses."

Huang Jieyuan also gave a smooth laugh: "Good that you understand... I hope we can achieve a pleasant cooperation."

Having said that much, it seemed that both parties had achieved their desired outcome. After exchanging a few more polite words, they each hung up the phone.

As the radio signal cut off, Huang Jieyuan's smile froze on his face. He first checked the time: it was 8:33 a.m. on October 31st. Then he waved to the foreman who was waiting nearby and said with a somber expression, "I need to use your phone."

10:47 AM.

The Rhine Garden residential area in the east of the city is where Huang Jieyuan's home is located.

When Rhine Garden was first built seven or eight years ago, it was considered a high-end residential complex in the provincial capital. However, with the rapid development of the real estate industry in recent years, the construction of Rhine Garden now appears quite outdated, most notably in its parking garage configuration.

The developers at the time clearly didn't anticipate the widespread adoption of private cars within the next few years, so the "garages" were actually designed for bicycles. The ground floor of the building was divided into rows of "pigeonholes," each about seven or eight square meters, with one room for each household. For Huang Jieyuan, once he bought a car, the garage lost its practical use. So, like many other families, the "garage" eventually became a "storage room" for temporary items.

It was nearly noon, and the neighborhood was rather deserted when a couple walked through the gate.

The woman nodded and greeted the doorman; she appeared to be a resident of Rhine Garden. She was in her thirties, neatly dressed, and without makeup. In her right hand, she carried a plastic bag filled with groceries and vegetables, indicating she was returning from grocery shopping.

Following behind her was a young man pushing a tricycle. Judging from his muscular build, dirty skin, and clothing, he was most likely a farmer who had long been engaged in manual labor. Several large baskets of bright red apples were piled on the tricycle, confirming the guess.

"Oh, you bought apples?" the security guard asked the woman with a smile.

"Yes, these apples are delicious and cheap. I bought a lot, and they'll deliver them to my door. I'll give you some to try later." The woman spoke crisply and readily.

"Oh, don't mention it." The gatekeeper stepped forward and helped the man push his tricycle. The young man thanked him profusely. Perhaps because he shouted all day long, his voice was low and hoarse.

The woman quickly led the young man to a garage downstairs. As agreed beforehand, the young man was only responsible for delivering a basket of apples downstairs, so the woman would store the apples in the garage first.

As the woman took out her keys to open the garage door, the young man also unloaded a basket of apples from the tricycle. The apples looked quite heavy, and the young man hurriedly took small steps into the house, found an open space, and put down the bamboo basket.

"Okay, thank you!" The woman took out a banknote and handed it to the young man. The young man took the money but did not leave. His gaze wandered around the room, finally settling on the clutter piled up in the corner of the room, made of old newspapers and papers.

"Sister, do you still want these scraps of paper? I'll give them to you for thirty yuan," the young man asked tentatively. To be honest, he was offering a very good price.

The woman's eyes widened, a look of utter astonishment on her face. What surprised her wasn't the suggestion itself, but the pile of clutter on the floor. She didn't recall having such a pile of waste paper and debris in her garage, and the two large cardboard boxes next to it were something she'd never seen before.

There were two boxes, one for a refrigerator and the other for a washing machine. The woman was certain they weren't hers. She glanced at the garage door number, wondering if she'd gone to the wrong house. But then something even more horrifying happened.

The two large cardboard boxes simultaneously opened, and two strange men jumped out as if by magic. One of them grabbed the box and closed the garage door, while the other pounced on the young fruit seller like a tiger, knocking him to the ground.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye; the woman's scream hadn't even escaped her lips. As the door closed, a man whispered, "Don't be afraid, we're the police!"

The woman was Huang Jieyuan's wife. She looked at the middle-aged man in front of her, still in shock. The identification he showed revealed his name: Luo Fei.

In fact, Luo Fei had already contacted Huang Jieyuan through Director Song as early as yesterday evening. Because Eumenides was unaware that the task force had tracked the 130 hostage situation, Luo Fei began devising a plan to lure Eumenides into a trap using Huang Jieyuan. Considering Eumenides might attempt to counter-surveillance the task force, Luo Fei and Huang Jieyuan bypassed the task force in their communications; even Zeng Rihua and others were unaware of the plan. Luo Fei knew Huang Jieyuan's background; eighteen years ago, he had become the deputy to the legendary police officer Ding Ke, indicating exceptional abilities in criminal investigation. Having him participate was a reliable option.

It was easy to guess that the man who inquired about the 130 case with Huang Jieyuan was Eumenides. Huang Jieyuan's performance did not disappoint Luo Fei. When he spoke with Eumenides that morning, his feigned indifference was completely subtle; while he was bargaining with the other party, a large net was quietly being cast.

After receiving Huang Jieyuan's tip, Luo Fei immediately led Liu Song to the Rhine Garden residential area. They spent ten minutes setting up the garage as needed and then lay in ambush: it was not difficult to pile up a few large cardboard boxes containing refrigerators and washing machines in such a storage room and then hide one or two people there.

Huang Jieyuan did not directly participate in the ambush, because he knew his actions were likely under Eumenides' watchful eye. After calling Luo Fei, he deliberately took a stroll in the downtown area, both to distract Eumenides and to give Luo Fei and his men time to set up their ambush.

Eumenides clearly wouldn't actually exchange case information with Huang Jieyuan. The simplest method he could find was to sneak into the poorly guarded garage of the residential complex and steal the relevant "logs."

Of course, the so-called "log" did not exist. Waiting for Eumenides in the garage were two officers from the special task force, Luo Fei and Liu Song.

Luring Eumenides into the garage was a method Luo Fei and Huang Jieyuan had previously agreed upon. The garage was an excellent place to make the arrest—enclosed and small. Once inside, escape would be difficult, and it wouldn't pose a threat to the safety of the people outside.

With everything arranged, all that remained was to await Eumenides' arrival. Luo Fei believed that the other party would definitely take action, because Huang Jieyuan's information contained the cause of Eumenides' biological father's death, and also revealed Yuan Zhibang's involvement in the matter—mysteries in Eumenides' life that he could not avoid.

Luo Fei knew he would definitely pursue these mysteries. It was in his nature, just like his own—the instinct to pursue mysteries and prey.

Luo Fei and Liu Song hid inside the two large cardboard boxes, and could observe the situation inside the garage through small holes in the boxes. The boxes were also treated so that they could be easily opened up if needed, without restricting their movements.

They lay in wait for over an hour, and finally the garage door was opened, but it was a woman who opened it.

Luo Fei immediately realized that this woman was likely Huang Jieyuan's wife.

Luo Fei had suggested that Huang Jieyuan tell his wife about the ambush in the garage to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, but Huang Jieyuan disagreed with Luo Fei's suggestion after considering it.

“My wife doesn’t work, and buying groceries every morning has become a routine for her. If she knew about our plan, she would definitely behave strangely. And before Eumenides acted, he would probably try to observe and test her. So it’s best to keep her completely in the dark. She goes straight home after buying groceries and doesn’t go into the garage. Even if she does go in, she’ll definitely call me first when she finds those two boxes. I can explain to her then.”

Luo Fei agreed with Huang Jieyuan's assessment. After all, their adversary, Eumenides, was far too sensitive; any unusual clue could alert them. Considering this, Luo Fei didn't even dare deploy police officers within the residential compound. Therefore, from a decoy strategy perspective, having Huang's wife cooperate unknowingly was indeed the most ideal approach.

So Luo Fei adopted Huang Jieyuan's idea. Therefore, Huang's wife's appearance was not unexpected for Luo Fei. What truly caught him off guard was the young man who followed Huang's wife into the garage.

From the outside, he was just a rural man selling apples. But Luo Fei and the others had already witnessed Eumenides's skill in disguise; who could guarantee that this tall, muscular young man was definitely not related to Eumenides at all?

So as soon as the young man appeared, Luo Fei and Liu Song immediately became highly alert. They closely watched his every move through the small hole.

What happened later revealed even more and more suspicious points.

First, Mrs. Huang bought a large basket of apples but only paid the young man fifty yuan. The basket of apples weighed several dozen kilograms, each one plump and round; they couldn't possibly sell for only fifty yuan in the market. Doesn't this sufficiently demonstrate that the young man wasn't genuinely interested in selling the apples?

What's more, after selling the apples, the young man actually offered to buy the pile of waste paper in the house. And he didn't just happen to see it; his gaze was clearly deliberately searching for it. Keep in mind, that pile of paper was the bait Luo Fei had just prepared for Eumenides not long ago! How could the young man be so coincidentally drawn to it? His asking price was also significantly higher than that of normal waste collectors; all of this confirmed that this man had ulterior motives for coming to the garage!

The situation at the scene didn't allow Luo Fei to wait any longer, because Huang's wife's face had begun to show surprise when she saw the pile of papers and the two large boxes. If the young man was indeed connected to Eumenides, he would soon be able to make a judgment that would be extremely unfavorable to the police based on the woman's unusual behavior.

Luo Fei had no choice but to issue the battle orders. He and Liu Song immediately jumped out of their ambush position. Liu Song lunged at the suspicious young man, while Luo Fei rushed to close the garage door, both to prevent the man from escaping and to minimize the impact of the attack on the outside world should the man turn out to be the real target.

After confirming that Luo Fei and his companion were police officers, the woman calmed down slightly. Then, bewildered, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Who is he?" Luo Fei asked, pointing at the young man on the ground. The latter, his hands restrained by Liu Song, grinned and cried out in panic, "Oh no, I'm not a bad person, big sister, you have to prove it to me!"

"He sells fruit," the woman said, completely bewildered. "What... what's going on?"

Luo Fei frowned and asked the woman, "How much is this basket of apples?"

"Fifty."

"How can it be so cheap?"

"He just sold it cheaply, and I didn't haggle." The woman looked puzzled.

"Did he sell it to you willingly?"

“Yes. I was shopping at the market when he came up to me and said he had cheap apples to sell me. And… he even offered to deliver them to me, so I bought them…” After Luo Fei’s reminder, the woman also felt something was amiss. She glared at the young man and asked, “What are you up to?”

"Tell me quickly! What happened?" Liu Song increased the pressure on his hand, and the young man, in pain, begged for mercy, "Gently, gently! I'll talk, I'll talk... Someone paid me extra to sell it to me at a lower price."

Liu Song immediately looked up and met Luo Fei's gaze; the latter's expression was grave. Without waiting for instructions, Liu Song tightened his grip on Luo Fei's wrist and demanded sharply, "Who is it? Where is he?!"

"Ouch, ouch! I don't know him... really... really don't know him!" The young man was in so much pain that he could barely speak.

Luo Fei sighed softly and said to Liu Song, "Let him go first and let him talk properly."

Liu Song shook his head; the cowardly guy in front of him certainly didn't seem like Eumenides. He quickly searched the man's body, and after confirming there was no weapon, he released him, but still kept his hands gripping the man's arms warily.

"Explain exactly what happened," Luo Fei asked in a low, stern voice.

The young man, grimacing and shaking his almost broken wrist, replied with a pained expression, "I was selling fruit at the market when a man came over. He gave me two hundred yuan and asked me to sell a basket of apples to this lady cheaply. I... I didn't think much of it. I even thought that the man and this lady... were... having an affair."

"Bullshit!" Huang's wife suddenly flew into a rage, pointing at the young man and yelling, "You hooligans, what nonsense are you spouting?"

The young man was frightened and shrank back, not daring to speak. Luo Fei waved to Huang's wife, who understood something from his stern gaze and calmed down. Luo Fei then asked the young man, "What did that man look like? What else did he say to you?"

"The man was quite tall, but I couldn't quite make out his face—he was wearing a big hat and a scarf covering his face. He insisted that I help this lady deliver the apples to her garage downstairs. Then he said that she might have some waste paper in her garage, and if I could collect it, he would pay me three yuan a pound." The young man said, glancing at the pile of paper in the corner. Huang's wife also looked over there, realizing that there might be something fishy about that pile of paper, and quickly explained, "This pile of paper doesn't belong to us."