Fake Divorce Turns into Murder Case (20)

Chapter 72

With Huixiang’s testimony, the case finally had a clear direction.

The people in the know were Old Man Yang, Yang Laowu, and Yang Lao’er. In a case where multiple people are privy to the secret, a breakthrough is usually easy to find.

After Yun Song devised an interrogation plan, the three men were questioned separately.

Initially, all three assumed the police had summoned them because of the dispute over Huixiang’s farmland, so they remained defiant.

Old Man Yang spoke up immediately: “I don’t believe for a second that the police can lock us up just because we won’t give up that land. I might be uneducated, but I know the police don’t have that kind of power.”

Yun Song replied, “It’s not about that. We are here again regarding the murder of your third son. A witness has reported seeing you, Yang Lao’er, and Yang Laowu carrying Yang Laosan toward the reservoir that night.”

The old man was startled by these words. Privately, they had naturally wondered if anyone had seen them that night.

However, after more than a year had passed without anyone speaking up, they had relaxed their guard.

Now that the police were saying this, he immediately retorted, “Officer, you can’t go framing people. Who said that? Have them come out and face me!”

Yun Song didn’t answer his question, but continued, “There used to be a large water vat outside your third son’s door. Why did it disappear later?”

Old Man Yang hadn’t originally believed that someone had seen them, thinking the police were just bluffing. But hearing about the water vat, a bad premonition rose in his heart.

“Where did that vat go?”

“I’m busy all the time, how would I notice a water vat?”

The water vats in the village were all made by stonemasons from large boulders. Carved from a single piece, one could weigh three or four hundred pounds, making them very difficult to move.

“An eyewitness claims that someone drowned Yang Laosan in that water vat.”

“Who said that? Let them come out and say it. We didn’t do it. Laosan committed suicide.” Old Man Yang simply repeated this line, refusing to cooperate with the police.

The three of them had rehearsed this matter countless times in private, aligning their stories perfectly.

Regardless of what happened, they would not admit to anything. They wouldn’t acknowledge a single detail.

Yun Song had already read the psychological states of the three men.

Yang Laowu certainly wouldn’t confess voluntarily. To him, this was a murder case; if he confessed, he would go to prison.

As for Old Man Yang, having already lost one son, he didn’t want to lose another.

Thus, the focus shifted to Yang Lao’er, the one with the weakest presence among them.

Yang Lao’er’s reputation in the village was average, but it was better than Yang Laowu’s.

“What’s the age difference between you and Yang Laosan?”

“A little over a year.”

“Then you were quite close in age. Was your third brother good to you?”

Yang Lao’er was already ruminating on the past, and being suddenly asked this question made him feel a pang of guilt.

From the start, he had felt that his father’s actions were wrong.

Laowu wasn’t his son, after all. There was a significant age gap between him and Laowu, so their relationship wasn’t naturally that close. On the contrary, Yang Laosan was close to him in age, and they had a better relationship.

But he couldn’t speak up. If he did, his family would surely blame him.

Over the past few days, he hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about this, and the secret had been stifling him. Now, hearing the police mention Yang Laosan made him feel miserable.

Yun Song continued, “I heard from others that when you got married, your third brother even lent you five hundred yuan.”

That was many years ago. The family had been poor then, and his bride had made it a condition that they split from the main household upon marriage.

Splitting the household meant building a new house. He didn’t have enough money at the time, but Laosan had some savings and lent it to him.

Recalling this, he felt even worse. Laosan hadn’t been very good to their eldest brother, but he had been exceptionally kind to him, the second brother.

Seeing that he was reminiscing, Yun Song pressed on: “We have a witness report stating they saw someone drown Yang Laosan in the large water vat with their own eyes. Later, they saw you, your father, and Yang Laowu carry the body together to the reservoir uphill.”

Yang Lao’er’s heart trembled when he heard someone had seen them. It trembled even more when he heard the next part. What did “someone drowned Laosan” mean? Did they not see clearly who it was?

Also, why was his name mentioned first in the later part? Why did it feel like he was being framed as the leader of the three?

He remembered that because his father was old, he had indeed carried Laosan for a stretch of the road that night. Could it be that they had seen him clearly at that exact moment?

He desperately wanted to ask if the witness had failed to see who the killer was, but he couldn’t ask that.

Instead, he said, “You don’t actually suspect me of killing Laosan, do you?”

Yun Song didn’t give a direct answer, asking instead, “Would you do such a thing?”

“I definitely wouldn’t. Go ask around and see if anyone has a bad word to say about me. My third brother and I always had a good relationship, you must know that too.”

“Someone saw the three of you disposing of the body at the reservoir. Do you have an explanation for that?”

“They must have seen wrong. He definitely committed suicide.”

Yun Song said, “Do you know the consequences of murder?”

Murder was a crime, and it meant facing a firing squad. This was something everyone had known since childhood.

But to Yang Lao’er, such things had always felt distant, as if they had nothing to do with him.

Even if Yang Laowu had killed someone, that was Yang Laowu, not him.

But now that the police were asking him this, the reality of the situation was suddenly thrust right in front of him, placed squarely on his shoulders.

A sense of injustice rose in his heart. Yang Laowu was the one who did it. Helping to hide it until now was already doing his duty as a brother.

“You know exactly how it happened. A while ago, the mobile court came to the countryside. You should have gone to listen; you know that those who break the law will be punished. I hope you understand that there are only two paths before you now. One is to continue withholding the truth and wait for the full severity of the law. The second is to confess voluntarily and strive for leniency.”

Yang Lao’er fell silent.

At that moment, Tang Chao knocked on the door from outside.

Yun Song stood up, and Tang Chao whispered, “Yang Laowu says he’s willing to confess.”

Even though the officer lowered her voice, Yang Lao’er still heard it.

His fifth brother… had never been a man of much character to begin with.

Originally, they had all agreed to say nothing, though at that time they didn’t know someone had witnessed the events.

Now, his fifth brother must have heard from the police that the witness didn’t see clearly who exactly drowned the third brother.

So what was his fifth brother going to confess?

He panicked. The witness had only mentioned three people: him, his father, and Laowu.

Yang Laowu certainly wouldn’t blame their father.

Yang Lao’er felt certain that this fifth brother was going to say he was the killer.

If it came to that, who would his father side with?

Yang Lao’er remembered how, for all these years, Laowu had been the family’s favorite.

The older brothers had done heavy labor non-stop since they were children, but Laowu rarely did any hard work. The excuse was always that he was young. It was the same with school; Laowu had the most education, and the excuse then was that Laowu was born into a better era.

The more Yang Lao’er thought about it, the more resentful he became, especially now that there was a high possibility he would be the one taking the fall for Yang Laowu.

On what grounds?

But the police had already walked out.

He sat there restlessly, his mind consumed by the matter. Perhaps his fifth brother was actually confessing to the crime.

Because of this incident, the whole family had known no peace lately.

Maybe his fifth brother realized he was wrong and was confessing now.

He constantly tried to comfort himself and calm his emotions.

An hour later, Yun Song and Tong Jin finally returned.

As soon as they entered, their previous gentle demeanor was gone. Their faces were grim. Yang Lao’er felt that the way these two officers looked at him was full of scrutiny, as if they were looking at a murderer.

Laowu definitely talked nonsense! Already on the edge of breaking trust, Yang Lao’er immediately reached his own conclusion.

“Did Laowu say I was the one who drowned Old Third?”

Yun Song said, “Don’t worry about what he said. We don’t investigate cases based on just one person’s word. We’ll listen to you too. The question now is, are you going to talk?”

If he didn’t speak now, he wouldn’t get another chance.

Yang Lao’er hardened his heart and said, “It was Yang Laowu who killed Old Third. I was only called out of bed by my father to help.”

Recalling the incident, he was still angry. Why did they call him to do such a shameful thing? Wasn’t it just because he was honest and easy to bully?

Since they treated him like this, what reason did he have to keep their secrets?

“It happened like this. Laowu always wanted a son, but he was afraid of the fines, so he got a fake divorce from his wife. After the fake divorce, he wanted her to have a fake marriage with Old Third. But Old Third didn’t want the fake marriage, and the two of them started fighting. Laowu lost his temper and held Old Third’s head underwater until he died.”

“Officers, you have to believe me. I didn’t have a grudge against Old Third, why would I kill him?” He originally thought the police would be excited once he told them this, but to his surprise, they remained calm. He grew even more anxious. “Why would I lie to you? I didn’t do it!”

“Don’t be anxious. What you’ve said is too general. Tell us everything that happened that night from start to finish.”

Soon, Yang Lao’er recounted everything he knew. His story basically matched what Huixiang had said earlier.