The keys are one large and one small. The smaller one is about three centimeters in length, similar to an ordinary household key. The larger one is about four centimeters in length. There is a wavy pattern on the key handle. After seeing the big key, Liang Zhe immediately took out his own key and compared it. He found that the shape and pattern of the two were almost the same, but there were slight differences in the gears.
This big key is probably the universal house key in Liang Zhe's neighborhood.
There is a small amount of dirt and gravel on the surface of both keys, and there is mold and rust on the sides and bottom of the keys. After the keys were taken out, the traces left in the grooves were also obvious, indicating that they had not been put in recently.
The key had been exposed to wind and rain, and there must be no trace of its user. Liang Zhe took a photo first, and then put the key into a transparent plastic bag. When he walked out of the cave, the golden sunlight fell on him like running water, making him feel dizzy and the surrounding scenery became unreal. He sat on the stone, took out the key, and looked through the plastic bag again. He couldn't be sure what his mood was at the moment. When he saw the key for the first time, his mind went blank, then excitement and excitement, and then uncontrollable joy, as if Yangyang had found it. Now he's calming down, knowing it's not over.
He began to think about what to do next.
His wife was much calmer than him and sent a text to remind him: Should he call the police?
He also had this idea, but in the past few years, he had provided clues to the police. Every time he found something, he couldn't wait to tell the police. After the police went to investigate, the results were all based on rumors.
While he was thinking, the woman called, and Liang Zhe answered immediately.
"It's been a day." The woman spoke first, "How are you preparing the money?"
"Still planning." Liang Zhe wanted to delay, "Give me one more day."
"I knew it." The woman said in a serious tone, "Since you don't want to pay, then don't blame me for destroying the evidence."
"I've recorded everything you said." Liang Zhe decided to test it. "I'm going to call the police. You can't run away. Even if you didn't participate in Yangyang's affairs, just extortion is enough for you."
"Then let me tell you the truth. I don't know any evidence at all, let alone what happened to Yangyang. I just happened to pass by the mountainous area a year ago and randomly stuffed a key into the cave. If you believe it, you have it, and if you don't, you don't. ." The woman's tone became relaxed, "As for the money, you are willing to do it and it is a normal transaction. I didn't force you. This is called information fee. This number is a wild number and you can't trace it to me at all. Did you record it? What’s the use? If I say something on a whim, I can convict you. Don’t be too naive.”
The woman's words made Liang Zhe feel disappointed and even more angry. Although judging from the state of the key, it did not look like it had been put in in the short term, but it could not rule out the possibility that the woman had put it in a year or two ago.
"So, please do it." The woman hung up the phone directly.
Liang Zhe called back immediately, but the other party didn't answer. He called back again and said he couldn't get through. He should have been blocked.
The joy and excitement just now disappeared. Liang Zhe realized that the woman's request for one hundred thousand might be a pretext. Her original intention was twenty or thirty thousand. The woman's persistence yesterday made Liang Zhe feel that she was not lying. Today, when the woman heard that Liang Zhe wanted to call the police , immediately picked himself clean, and it seemed that he was ready to retreat at any time.
Are women really liars? Liang Zhe was defrauded of 20,000 yuan by these two meaningless keys?
But Liang Zhe always felt that something was wrong. He took two deep breaths and began to think carefully, but his thoughts were always inconsistent. The woman's words and deeds were indeed unreasonable, and the timing of their appearance was also coincidental. Just after he found out Yangyang appeared after being pushed into the pit by Pang Jinji. There was another question that Liang Zhe couldn't figure out, and that was why there were two keys. If the woman had planned to deceive her, just inserting one key would have the effect.
A woman who knows turtle toys and the location of a cave takes such a risk just for 20,000 yuan?
The wife sent a text: There is another possibility, that is, the key is real. When the woman saw that you didn’t want to give any more money and planned to call the police, she thought about taking as much as she could, and quickly put aside the relationship and ran away.
"It is indeed possible." Liang Zhe's thoughts finally opened up. "She retreated too quickly. It was more like she felt guilty. Maybe she said that because she was afraid that I would call the police. But before calling the police, we need to confirm where she is. This statement is true. I think we have to start with these two keys. The keys are evidence and clues."
Liang Zhe and his wife briefly discussed it and then went down the mountain.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Liang Zhe returned to the city.
He first made a one-to-one copy of the two keys, including the gear and key handle, and tried it on his door. The key could be inserted but could not be rotated. Then he went to Deng Zhongquan's house upstairs. Deng Zhongquan had already moved out. He inserted the key directly and tried, but it couldn't be turned. Then he went to Pang Yi's house. After trying the key but it didn't work, he knocked on the door. Pang Jinjin opened the door. When he saw Liang Zhe, Pang Jinjin looked surprised and took two nervous steps back.
"Who is it?" He Ranran's questioning voice came from the living room.
Pang Yi, wearing an apron, poked half of his head out of the entrance.
Today is Saturday and none of them are at work.
Seeing Pang Yi standing still, He Ranran came over. After seeing Liang Zhe, she was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward, pulled Pang Jinjin behind her, and said to Pang Jinjin: "You have nothing to do here. Go to the study."
After Pang Jinjin entered the study, He Ranran crossed his arms and asked Liang Zhe coldly: "What are you doing?"
Liang Zhe directly explained the purpose of his visit: "Have you changed the door locks in your home in recent years?"
He Ranran replied reluctantly: "No, the door is the original one, and the door lock is also the original one."
Liang Zhe looked at Pang Yi at the entrance. A few meters away, he felt that Pang Yi's face was a little strange, as if this was not his friend of more than ten years, but a stranger he met for the first time. He asked Pang Yiyi: "Is this so?" ?"
Pang Yi nodded and said nothing. His eyes behind the lenses looked distant.
He Ranran took a step forward and asked in a bad tone: "What exactly do you want to do?"
Liang Zhe didn't want to talk to He Ranran anymore. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control his emotions if he talked too much, so he turned around and left.
He Ranran followed Liang Zhe out and said to Liang Zhe's back: "From now on, don't come to our house again. Also, if you dare to cause trouble for Pang Jinjin, I will never forgive you."
In the first half of the sentence, Liang Zhe stopped. After saying the last sentence, Liang Zhe turned back, grabbed He Ranran's collar, and said in a deep voice: "Remember, I'm just letting you go temporarily. Sooner or later I will have to settle the score with you, and when this is over, I will definitely make your whole family pay the price, very soon!"
Liang Zhe pushed He Ranran hard and pushed him directly into the door.
He Ranran didn't chase him out anymore. After Liang Zhe got into the elevator, he was still a little excited. Whenever he saw He Ranran, he would think of the scene of Yang Yang being pushed down, and his anger would surge up. He would have the urge to kill. This From the oldest to the youngest, there was no one who was a good person in the family. He secretly made up his mind to teach them a lesson one day.
Liang Zhe drove out of the community and headed to Deng Zhongquan's new home.
The person who opened the door was Deng Feifei.
"Where are your parents?" Liang Zhe asked.
"I don't know." Deng Feifei said lightly.
Liang Zhe glanced inside, and Deng Feifei turned around and walked towards the living room: "Come in and sit down."
Liang Zhe hesitated for a moment, then went in. He sat on the sofa and called Deng Zhongquan.
Deng Feifei placed a glass of water on the coffee table. Liang Zhe glanced at it and saw it was lemonade. The call was dialed, and Liang Zhe told Deng Zhongquan that he was at his home and wanted to ask him in person about something urgent. Deng Zhongquan said he would be home within half an hour. After hanging up the phone, Liang Zhe found Deng Feifei sitting on the chair opposite the coffee table and looking at him.
"Do you know something?" Liang Zhe stared into Deng Feifei's eyes.
Deng Feifei said nothing and still looked at him.
"Does Yangyang's disappearance have anything to do with you?" Liang Zhe raised his voice.
"Do you always ask this question to everyone you meet?" Deng Feifei's voice and expression were very calm.
Liang Zhe picked up the lemonade and took a sip. The sour and cool feeling was very refreshing and made him feel better. He does ask this question often, so he has accumulated a lot of experience. He knows that when he stares at the other person's eyes and asks questions with a serious expression, if the other person has something on his mind, his expression and gaze will change. Judging from Deng Feifei's reaction just now, Look, there should be nothing wrong with her, so there is no need to continue talking.
The conversation between the two ended abruptly with questioning.
Deng Feifei got up and walked into the small bedroom, the door ajar.
Liang Zhe drank up a glass of lemonade, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes to rest.
More than an hour later, Deng Zhongquan came back, which made Liang Zhe anxious.
"Have your door locks been changed in the past few years?" Liang Zhe asked.
"You mean your hometown, right?" Deng Zhongquan sat down and lit a cigar leisurely.
"Yes." Liang Zhe observed Deng Zhongquan's expression.
"Let me think about it -" Deng Zhongquan squinted his eyes and thought for a moment, "I did, about five years ago, the door locks were changed."
Liang Zhe rubbed his hands together, knowing that the key probably belonged to Deng Zhongquan's house.
"Why do you ask this?" Deng Zhongquan took a puff of his cigar and looked confused.
"I picked up a key. I wonder if it was from before you changed the locks." Liang Zhe took out a plastic bag from his pocket and put it on the coffee table. He had already packed the two keys separately. At this time, there was only the big key inside. .
Deng Zhongquan picked up the plastic bag, looked at it, and shook his head: "How can we judge this? The locks are gone."
Liang Zhe immediately asked: "Do you still have the key from before the lock was changed?"
"I don't have it. Feng Yuan is embarrassed. If it were before moving, I could have looked for it. Now that I have moved, there is nowhere to look." Deng Zhongquan seemed to have thought of something and shouted to the small bedroom, "Feifei, Come on."
Deng Feifei leaned against the door frame and looked at the two people in the living room.
Deng Zhongquan asked her: "The locks of our house were changed five years ago. Do you still keep the key to the old lock?"
Deng Feifei thought for a while and returned to the bedroom.
A few minutes later, Deng Feifei came out again and placed a key on the coffee table.
"Are you sure this is it?" Deng Zhongquan asked Deng Feifei.
Deng Feifei nodded. Liang Zhe immediately picked it up and compared it with the keys in the plastic bag. The size and pattern were the same, and the gears could not be distinguished by the naked eye. He asked a professional who matched the keys to make a judgment. Deng Zhongquan and Liang Zhe went to a nearby key store together. After checking with instruments, the store concluded that the two keys opened the same lock.
"I found this in the cave where Yangyang disappeared." Liang Zhe suddenly said to Deng Zhongquan.
Deng Zhongquan was stunned, obviously not wanting to understand the cause and effect relationship.
"It should be carried by the person who plotted to murder Yangyang." Liang Zhe deliberately emphasized the word "murder".
Deng Zhongquan glanced at Liang Zhe in surprise. His pupils were dilated and his eyes were searching.
"You, or Feng Yuan, are the biggest suspects!" Liang Zhe said, raising his voice.
"How is that possible? Feng Yuan, I don't know. Anyway, I must have nothing to do with it." Deng Zhongquan looked at Liang Zhe and said honestly, "If it really does have anything to do with it, I will take the initiative to help you find the key and come to identify it with you?"
Liang Zhe said nothing. This was his test. He knew that Feng Guang was the biggest suspect.
"I remembered, the reason why we changed the locks five years ago was because of Feng Guang." Deng Zhongquan narrowed his eyes, "Do you remember Feng Guang? He was Feng Yuan's ungrateful brother. Five years ago, he and My girlfriend lived in my house for a while, and after he left, Feng Yuan suggested changing the locks for fear that he would come back suddenly. That was before Yangyang disappeared."
Liang Zhe didn't notice anything strange from the change in Deng Zhongquan's expression.
"There is one more thing I want to tell you." Deng Zhongquan pointed forward, and as the two walked, he said, "The night before yesterday, a strange woman blocked me at the gate of the community and said that she knew that Yangyang disappeared five years ago. If I didn't give her money, I would send Feng Guang to jail. At first, I thought she was lying, maybe working with Feng Guang to cheat money, so I didn't take it seriously. Now that you have found the key, I think Is there any connection between the two?"
Liang Zhe was thinking quickly in his mind. He didn't expect Deng Zhongquan to be so candid.
"You said you have always doubted me, and now that you have this key, you have to doubt me even more." Deng Zhongquan took a long breath and showed helplessness, "Anyway, the key belongs to my house, so I will be suspicious. But if That woman didn't lie, this matter does have something to do with Feng Guang, did he drop the key?"
Liang Zhe gritted his teeth. This was his idea. Confirming the ownership of the key was to verify his idea.
"I think you should call the police." Deng Zhongquan looked solemn, "Catch them and ask them clearly!"
Liang Zhe breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, he was basically sure that the key had nothing to do with Deng Zhongquan. If it was really related, not to mention that Deng Zhongquan's emotional reaction was normal, Deng Zhongquan would definitely stop it from calling the police.
"Don't worry." Liang Zhe remained calm, "The evidence is not conclusive. We need to verify first whether Feng Guang is really in the mountainous area."
"That's right." Deng Zhongquan rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, "I asked Feng Yuan the day before yesterday. Feng Yuan said that Feng Guang was not in the mountainous area at that time, but I think she was hiding something, and the time when Feng Guang left five years ago was also Coincidentally, after Yangyang disappeared, he didn't come back for five years, so I thought I might as well ask Feng Yuan first."
"Okay." Liang Zhe had more trust in Deng Zhongquan. After all, this matter was related to Deng Zhongquan's wife and brother-in-law, and Deng Zhongquan's words and deeds showed that he did not protect his family, but stood on Liang Zhe's side.
"I will help you find out." Deng Zhongquan patted Liang Zhe on the shoulder, "It also helps me clear myself of suspicion. I really didn't expect that this matter would be found out on me." Deng Zhongquan shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Liang Zhe felt a little moved in his heart, and there was more friendship in his eyes when he looked at Deng Zhongquan.
Deng Zhongquan also looked at him, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled, just like they did five years ago.
True friendship can stand the test of time.
