Chapter 14: Searching for the Primary Human Trafficker (Part 2)

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As soon as the call connected, the person on the other end asked bluntly, “Hello, who is this?”

Zhang Heng was extremely surprised. The fact that the call had connected at all seemed unbelievable. The person in question had clearly been dead for some time, so the number should have been canceled. Even if it had not been canceled, the phone ought to have been switched off or disconnected. Yet now, the call had gone through—and someone was actually speaking.

“Hello? Who is this? If you’re not going to say anything, I’m hanging up.”

The voice on the other end asked again.

Zhang Heng immediately replied, “Hello, hello.”

“Who are you?” the person asked again.

Seeing that the caller seemed so eager to speak with him, Zhang Heng decided not to hide his identity. He switched on the recording function and said directly, “Sir, hello. I’m with the Beijing Public Security Bureau. We’re currently investigating a child-trafficking case, and this number is the only lead we have at the moment…”

“Are you insane? Click…”

Before Zhang Heng could finish, the person on the other end hung up, even calling him insane.

The result was within Zhang Heng’s expectations.

Still, the fact that he had managed to get through to Liang Lahua’s husband’s number was already quite useful.

“Uh…”

Liang Lahua waved at him, but Zhang Heng could not understand what she wanted. He handed her the phone. After taking it, Liang Lahua began typing.

When she finished, she handed the phone back to him. Zhang Heng looked at the message she had written:

(Officer, I forgot to mention something. My husband had two numbers—really, he had two. The number we just called was his work number. He also had a personal number. His personal number was 13813647528. Try calling that one.)

After reading the message, Zhang Heng looked at Liang Lahua. She nodded repeatedly.

He then dialed the personal number she had provided.

This time, the response was: “We’re sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected. Please try again later.”

Seeing this, Liang Lahua looked deeply embarrassed. She pointed toward the room and gestured that she wanted to return there.

“Sorry. I’d like to go back to my room. If you need anything, just call me.”

Zhang Heng nodded in response.

Liang Lahua then returned to her room.

After she left, Zhang Heng sat alone on the sofa and began to think.

What should he do next? Should he start by tracing the suspect’s location through the phone number, then find and question him? Or should he begin by investigating Liang Lahua’s husband’s other numbers?

He fell into deep thought.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang.

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He picked up the phone and saw that it was Brother Li from his team. He pressed the answer button.

Once the call connected, Brother Li said, “Little Zhang, how is the investigation going? Everything proceeding smoothly?”

Hearing his team leader ask this, Zhang Heng replied without hesitation, “Brother Li, I’m doing fine.”

“Little Zhang, I have two pieces of good news for you.”

“Oh? All right, Brother Li.”

“First, after discussions between the bureau and the higher authorities, you have officially become a permanent employee. You are now officially a criminal investigator with the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Beijing Public Security Bureau. On top of that, for solving the human dismemberment and organ-trafficking case last time, the bureau and the higher authorities have decided to award you Third-Class Merit as a newcomer. This is the highest honor available to a new officer. Normally, a newcomer needs at least three to five years of hard work before reaching that level, but you’ve already done it. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Brother Li. Thank you.”

“The second piece of good news is that now that you’re officially part of the criminal investigation team, your income will naturally increase as well. Starting today, the expenses incurred while you’re away handling cases will still be reimbursed by the bureau according to the usual proportions, but your salary will also go up. You’ll receive the full benefits of a permanent employee, and your five social insurances and housing provident fund will begin counting from today.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, Chief.”

“By the way, there’s one more thing.”

“Go ahead, Brother Li.”

“Because the case you’re handling this time is a serious child-trafficking offense, there can’t be the slightest mistake during the investigation or evidence-gathering process.”

“I understand, Brother Li.”

“Oh, right. There’s a senior officer on our team named Liang Song. He also graduated from the same police university as you and is a criminal investigator. He was the officer who recently solved the national-treasure theft case. He has finished all his current assignments and is free now. I’ll have him go over to you and work with you to identify the suspect in this child-trafficking case. You can exchange experiences as well, and the two of you should be able to solve the case more quickly together. Besides, the case you’re handling is only one part of a larger series. There are other similar cases waiting for you to deal with, so speed is very important.”

“All right. Thank you, Brother Li.”

“Oh, and Liang Song is about five or six years older than you, I think. I’ll have him contact you shortly.”

“All right, Brother Li.”

A moment later, Brother Li ended the call.

Only five minutes had passed when another call came in. The number appeared to be from Beijing Mobile.

This must be Liang Song, whom Brother Li had recommended, Zhang Heng guessed.

He answered the phone.

As soon as the call connected, the man on the other end asked, “Hello. You’re Zhang Heng, the new member of our team, and a graduate of the People’s Public Security University of China, right?”

“Yes. Are you Liang Song?” Zhang Heng asked.

“That’s right.”

“I heard from Brother Li that you also graduated from the public security university and that you’re older than me. I suppose I should call you Brother Liang.”

“Oh, we’re colleagues and brothers. Just call me Liang Song.”

“No, no, Brother Liang. First of all, you’re older than me and graduated before me, so you’re senior to me in experience as well. Besides, Brother Li told me that you recently solved a case involving the theft of a national treasure. Just those two points alone are enough reason for me to call you Brother Liang.”

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“All right, then. Since you’re calling me Brother Liang, what should I call you?”

“Brother Liang, just call me Zhang Heng. Or you can call me Little Zhang, like Brother Li does.”

“Hmm… all right. I’ll call you Zhang Heng.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, you’re still in Yuncheng, Shanxi, handling the Liang Lahua case, right? How is the investigation going?”

“I’m doing all right. Based on my judgment and my investigation of the people involved, I’ve already obtained reliable information about the suspect. But the case is rather unusual…”

Before Zhang Heng could finish, Liang Song interrupted him.

“Brother, how about you wait for me to come over? We can investigate it together. First, let me add you on WeChat.”

“All right.”

Liang Song added Zhang Heng on WeChat.

Afterward, the two began chatting there.

Liang Song immediately sent Zhang Heng a message asking him to send over his current address. He intended to come that very day.

After Zhang Heng sent him the address where he was staying, Liang Song promptly booked a flight from Beijing to Yuncheng for that day.

…

When Zhang Heng saw that Liang Song had booked his ticket and was preparing to leave for his city immediately, he decided to go to the airport to meet him.

After quickly gathering his belongings, he knocked on Liang Lahua’s door and called her out. He told her that he had to go out and asked her to stay home alone. Then he left the apartment and went downstairs.

After exiting the residential compound, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for the airport.

More than an hour later, Zhang Heng arrived at the airport’s passenger pickup area.

At that moment, Liang Song had only just boarded his plane.

Zhang Heng therefore waited at the airport.

After waiting for more than two hours, he finally saw Liang Song arrive.

The moment they met, Zhang Heng embraced him as warmly as though he had found a kindred spirit.

After the hug, they found a corner with seats and sat down to talk.

Following a brief exchange, Zhang Heng took Liang Song to the home of the older woman, as Liang Song had requested.

They decided to use the woman’s home as their base while they handled two tasks in the city.

First, in accordance with the instructions from their superiors, they would precisely identify the buyer who had purchased Liang Lahua’s trafficked child, arrest him, and escort him back to Beijing for an open and transparent trial.

Second, after identifying and apprehending the suspect responsible for trafficking the child, they would gather evidence concerning the criminal activities of the local underworld organization known as the Black Dragon Society, based on the information Zhang Heng had learned from the older woman. They would then submit the evidence to the provincial and national anti-gang authorities, eliminate the organization’s illegal influence, and restore a harmonious and stable society to the local people.

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