Chapter 271: Witness

As he thought this, he said, “The call log doesn’t show you made the emergency call—did you see the person who did?”

At his mention, Lu Yun immediately replied, “No, according to the traffic police, it was a concerned citizen—I don’t know who exactly.”

After bidding Lu Yun farewell, the two went to the traffic police unit; Luo Fei still harbored doubts about why the caller’s basic information was missing from the case file, but procedurally, this wasn’t a major issue back then.

He found Wu Haibo, the retired deputy captain of the former Traffic Police Unit Three who handled the case; when Luo Fei mentioned the incident, Wu pulled out a small notebook from his drawer, flipped through it noisily, then said, “Here it is! I wrote it down back then! This number!”

Luo Fei took the notebook—it was a work log—with a string of digits written on it and a small note below: “Emergency call for the 7.17 traffic accident.”

Luo Fei had Xiao Sun copy it down, then asked the old traffic officer for more details.

Wu Haibo, being a former cop himself, grew suspicious of their meticulous questioning; he knew the woman killed on the spot was a police officer’s family member—the officer now being Gu Changzheng, the city bureau chief and head of the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

Luo Fei didn’t hide his purpose; he touched his chin scar and said calmly, “Wu Lao, I won’t lie— we’re investigating this incident. You know, right after Old Captain Lu led us in dismantling the Chang crime syndicate and crushing a drug ring spanning several provinces, one of our heroes’ family members was involved in this strange accident! We can’t help but suspect something’s wrong.”

With this, he laid his cards on the table; he expected Wu Haibo, the original lead investigator, to be angry. But Wu merely glanced at them with flickering eyes, sank onto the sofa, lit a cigarette, and drew a deep breath: “Have you opened a case?”

Luo Fei had anticipated this question; he didn’t answer directly but changed the subject: “This case has been taken over by our Jiangdong Branch. We suspect Fang Jie’s death was a deliberate murder—so if you have any leads, please tell us outright.”

Wu Haibo gently crushed his cigarette in the ashtray with his fingers: “I’ve told you everything I know. The rest—you’ll have to find out yourself.”

Seeing the dismissal, Luo Fei smiled: “Thank you for the number today. If you remember anything else, just call me.” He placed his business card on the table.

Wu Haibo nodded, a faint worry in his eyes.

Leaving Wu’s home, Xiao Sun immediately dialed the number; Luo Fei chuckled, “The current owner will say he just got this number—we’ll still have to track down the previous one.”

Sure enough, the caller said he’d only had the number for about two years, but this was the first time anyone had asked about the previous owner.

Xiao Sun relayed the man’s words to Luo Fei, who asked, “He said that?”

Upon confirmation, Luo Fei said, “Interesting. I hope I’m not overthinking this.”

Xiao Sun stared at him, confused, scratching his head. Luo Fei said, “Let’s go to the mobile company.”

The current owner of the number Wu Haibo provided was quickly identified—he was indeed a new subscriber from two years ago.

The number belonged to an old prefix; before the current owner, it was registered to a woman named Liu Jinxiang. But records showed Liu Jinxiang was an elderly woman in her eighties—and she had died shortly after the accident.

He remembered the traffic police file recorded the caller as female. Luo Fei felt trapped—every lead had vanished.

Only now did he understand why his Master had never questioned the accident back then. Perhaps he had investigated secretly—and reached the same dead end.

What should he do next? Luo Fei had no direction.

The ancients said, “When the willow darkens and the flowers brighten, another village appears.” But Luo Fei saw no opening—further digging might only bring greater trouble.

Just as the case seemed destined to stall, Wu Haibo called.

From his tone, Wu was extremely cautious—and he had chosen a meeting place outside his residence, at the traffic police family compound.

Luo Fei’s heart quickened; he sensed Wu had vital information.

At the meeting spot—a small roadside park—Wu Haibo was already seated on a bench when Luo Fei arrived.

Luo Fei nodded: “Wu Lao, have you remembered something?”

Wu glanced warily around, then whispered, “You really want to investigate that incident?”

Luo Fei nodded firmly: “Yes. My Master may have had reasons to stay silent back then—but I have no such restraints. If there’s even a hint of wrongdoing, I’ll see it through to the end.”

“No matter who you uncover? No matter how high up? Can you bear the cost?” Wu stared into his eyes, each word deliberate.

“Wu Lao, say what you have. No matter who or how high, in my eyes there is only the law—if someone broke it, I won’t let them go.”

As he spoke, Wu watched his eyes. When Luo Fei finished, the old man’s clouded gaze suddenly blazed with intensity: “Good. I’ve waited years for someone to stand before me and say that. I’ll tell you—there was a witness at the scene that day.”

Though Luo Fei had suspected something, his heart pounded violently at the words: “Who was the witness? Where is he now?”

Wu Haibo swallowed hard, his voice low: “Me.”

“What?!” Even Luo Fei, composed as he was, was stunned: “You were there?”

Wu nodded, paused, then said: “That day I was home after work, ready to rest, when my wife suddenly had stomach pain. Our medicine was gone, so I went out to buy some. My house is on Fenghua Road; the pharmacy was at the crosswalk, the only 24-hour window in town. I got the medicine and turned to head back—then I saw a pickup truck parked by the roadside near Fenghua Road. I didn’t think much of it—thought the driver, caught in the rain, had stopped to wait it out. But just as I walked about a hundred meters, a massive crash rang out—and I saw the accident scene.”

“Why didn’t you report what you saw back then?” Luo Fei demanded.

“I… someone told me not to.”