"Three, no! We know that sometimes cameras flicker because of interference from other lines, poor contact with video cable interfaces, or unstable voltage, and that video heads aren't soldered well. This flickering is too frequent and should just be a malfunction. If you don't believe me, ask the traffic police," Xia Xiaoling said confidently. Liu Yuning seemed to be somewhat reprimanded, but she wasn't petty and said she would verify it. I quickly smoothed things over, "Perhaps this time it really isn't hypnosis. Everyone, intensify your interviews with the victims' families. See if anything unusual happened before they had their accidents, if they were threatened, or anything. We must find a clue!"
"Understood!" Seeing that Zhi Yong and Xiao Yuan De weren't in the meeting, I figured Liu Yuning had sent them out. It was time for us to get busy. I ended the meeting directly, and everyone dispersed. I initially didn't want to join the tedious and boring work of visiting families, but Liu Yuning seemed unwilling to let me rest, so she dragged me to the home of a male driver, Tan Jianzhang. She had literally dragged me out just now. Oh my, can't I stay at the provincial department? I'm a leader, after all.
However, no matter how high one's rank, one must still be polite to his wife. There's no choice. It's good to get out anyway, otherwise, I'd be dozing off in the office again.
Tan Jianzhang's family was well-off. He was reportedly a salesman. He was driving his own car on his way to work when the accident happened. At first, we didn't mention the silver needle. Tan Jianzhang's wife thought it was an accident. But when I mentioned the silver needle, she was surprised and asked, "What silver needle? What's going on?"
"Don't you know? Your husband's tongue is full of medical silver needles." I was a bit confused at the time. They were a couple, and it had been a month. Wouldn't they have been intimate? If they were, she would have noticed the problem with his tongue. Could it be that they had been separated for a long time?
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Tan Jianzhang's wife said, "I don't know! We haven't been together recently."
"What happened? Is your marital relationship not good?"
"Uh, this, it has nothing to do with the case, right!"
"Whether it has something to do with the case or not is for us police to decide. Madam, you just need to cooperate with our work. Don't dwell on other things."
"Oh, okay. Actually, our relationship isn't good, and I haven't been home for a long time. If it weren't for Tan Jianzhang's accident this time, I probably wouldn't have come back."
"What exactly is going on between you two?" I pressed.
Tan Jianzhang's wife said sadly, "This man, a month ago, for some reason, his temper became extremely violent, and he would hit people at the slightest provocation. He wasn't like this before. I couldn't stand it, so I had to leave home, otherwise, I was really afraid I'd be beaten to death."
As the woman spoke, I could see subtle bruises on her eyes and the bridge of her nose. She had likely been a victim of domestic violence. Hearing this, Liu Yuning beside me was also surprised, "Are you sure it appeared about a month ago?"
"That's right. I also found it strange. At the time, I thought maybe he was having trouble at work, but you can't behave like this, can you? However, if he laid a hand on me once, he would do it a second and third time. Men are all like that. Such people are unforgivable, so I left. These past few days, I was applying for a divorce agreement when I suddenly received a call from the provincial department saying my husband had been killed. I was quite shocked at the time because I never imagined he would have a car accident."
"That wasn't a car accident. Someone might have been threatening him. Have you noticed if Tan Jianzhang had any enemies recently, or had any disputes with anyone before?" I asked a question that any detective would ask.
"About that, he was very filial and friendly before, and very considerate to me. Strangely, a month ago, he completely changed. I thought he might have a mental illness and even took him for a check-up. However, my words made him completely furious, and it was because of this that he punched me, and then pushed me to the ground. That's why I scolded him and left with my luggage."
"And after that?" Liu Yuning pressed.
"After that, I never came back. I stayed in hotels outside and didn't tell him my location. He didn't seem to care and didn't look for me. He was probably still working, but I don't know the specific situation. I was very angry at the time and even went back to my parents' home for a few days. As for enemies, he shouldn't have any, at least not before. Or perhaps he offended someone after he changed this month? Anyway, I don't know. I haven't been back this month!"
"Didn't you care more when he suddenly became like a different person?" I pressed.
"I wanted to care, but I couldn't. He would get very angry if I tried to communicate with him. Now that I think about it, I suddenly feel that perhaps he did this intentionally. Could it be that he knew he was going to have an accident soon, so he deliberately drove me away?"
It was better when the woman didn't say this. When she did, she seemed to have an urge to regret it. Her body trembled non-stop, her lips were dry and cracked, and her eyes were red.
Liu Yuning could only comfort her, "The situation is still uncertain now, so don't be sad or worried. Since things have developed to this point, what's the use of dwelling on it so much? Try to recall if Tan Jianzhang had any strange behavior recently, or if he met anyone different."
"Before I left, he did seem a bit strange. He always came back very late, drunk, and said things like 'You all leave, I don't want to implicate you. I'm being targeted...' "
"Is that so? How long did this situation last? Did it specifically start a month ago?"
"Yes, and then this situation got worse. The day he hit me was when he was drunk."
Liu Yuning and I exchanged glances. It seemed the victim had been acting strangely for a month. I don't know why, but from the words "You all leave, I don't want to implicate you," it felt like he had encountered some difficult problem, otherwise, someone like Tan Jianzhang wouldn't normally say such things. Liu Yuning and I asked a few more questions, and then I suggested we go to Tan Jianzhang's room to take a look. The woman ignored me and complained to Liu Yuning the whole time.