Chapter 1099

Sure enough, as soon as Duan Xu drove out, a Xiali car at the gate of the county government compound followed him. Although it was far behind, it could not escape Duan Xu's eyes.

Duan Xu smiled faintly. To play this game with him was like brandishing a big sword before Guan Yu. He first drove to the vicinity of the square and bought a pack of cigarettes, then drove off in the opposite direction, parked, and went to a store to buy some things.

After coming out again, he drove around in circles; only after two loops did he head toward the procuratorate.

The tail was also persistent; that Xiali kept following. Not only Duan Xu, but anyone with a bit of awareness could notice.

While Duan Xu was driving around, Su Yang had already hailed a taxi and arrived at the Public Security Bureau.

This was his first visit to the County Public Security Bureau; the bureau's building was more imposing than the original county government building of Lieshan Xian.

However, his mind was not on that at the moment; he went straight to a first-floor office, wanting to inquire where the office of Liu Qing of the Public Security Brigade was.

The staff normally glanced at people askance, especially those working in the Public Security Bureau, who tended to look at others as if they were criminals.

If it were an ordinary person, they would surely ask, 'What do you do? Who are you looking for?'

As for other things, I can't say, but when it comes to eyesight, the people of the Public Security Bureau are probably the most accurate.

Upon seeing Su Yang's demeanor, they immediately asked, 'May I ask whom you are looking for?'

Su Yang didn't beat around the bush, directly stating his identity: 'I am Su Yang. Where is the woman suspected of selling silver at the Coal Hotel last night? And which office does the captain of the Public Security Brigade, Liu Qing, occupy?'

As soon as he said that, all the staff in the office sprang to their feet and saluted: 'Hello, Secretary Su! Captain Liu has gone out; as for whether the Public Security Brigade has detained anyone, we are not yet clear.'

Su Yang directly said, 'Then take me straight to the case-handling center. I dealt with this matter last night; I must get to the bottom of it and investigate it thoroughly, otherwise I cannot release the person.'

Moreover, since no one has reported this to me up to now, it shows that it hasn't been clarified yet, so that person must still be in the Public Security Bureau.

Everyone's faces in the office changed; they never imagined that the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary would, without any notice, just show up at the Public Security Bureau on his own.

He only took office yesterday, and today he's already come to the Public Security Bureau?

What is this? An inspection? A covert visit?

Some of them didn't know about last night's operation, but some certainly did.

But the Public Security Bureau is run by Director Xu Jinxiu; even now that the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary has arrived, they dare not speak recklessly.

Someone in the corridor heard that Su Yang had arrived and immediately called Director Xu Jinxiu.

The police officer whom Su Yang had designated to lead the way broke out in a cold sweat, for he was bypassing the director's orders; if the director later questioned him, how could he bear the responsibility?

At this point he had no choice but to proceed to the case-handling center. The center is on the second floor, they are on the first; he wished that this short flight of stairs would take him ten or eight minutes.

For the first time in history he hoped the staircase would be as long as possible, yet Su Yang walked quickly, mounting the stairs in two or three steps, so he had to hurry after him.

Having gone up, before he could even speak, Su Yang directly said to the people in the case-handling center, 'What about the woman who was taken back from the Coal Hotel last night?'

The people at the case-handling center were momentarily unresponsive, then bluntly replied, 'No, what woman? No one was detained last night.'

Su Yang couldn't help but snort coldly: 'Fine, very well. I'll call the captain of the Public Security Brigade, Liu Qing, right now to come here and explain himself immediately.'

Upon hearing the name 'Su Yang,' the case-handling center staff initially had no reaction, but seeing the pallor of the colleagues following Su Yang, they then realized who he was.

But he had already said what should and shouldn't be said; it was now too late to make amends.

However, at that very moment, having received the news, Director Xu Jinxiu and all the members of the Public Security Bureau's leadership hurried to the case-handling center.

'Secretary Su, why didn't you give advance notice so I could have my comrades meet you at the door? And you people, do you not know Secretary Su, or what? Why wasn't he invited to my office right away?'

Then he said to Su Yang, 'Secretary Su, would you like to go directly to my office, or should we gather everyone to say a few words and meet face to face? I've heard you've taken office, and the comrades in the bureau are all excited; our political and legal system finally has a backbone.'

Su Yang glanced calmly at Xu Jinxiu, who handled matters even more thoroughly than Pan Wenhai, and thought to himself: As far as he knew, Xu Jinxiu had originally wanted to take the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary's post as well, but his qualifications were insufficient, since the commission secretary is a member of the County Party Committee's Standing Committee.

Even so, Xu Jinxiu felt extremely displeased, believing that Su Yang was blocking his path to promotion and fortune.

Obviously, one could also see Pan Wenhai's style reflected in Xu Jinxiu.

He said, 'I'm not going to the office, and I won't spout any pep‑talk nonsense—those are just empty words. My purpose in coming here, I think you know, is simply to see the woman suspected of selling silver last night.'

Upon hearing this, Xu Jinxiu's face flickered with a hint of surprise; he hadn't expected Su Yang to come for this matter. Of course, this didn't faze her.

He said, 'Oh, regarding this matter, after interrogating her last night we released her. She admitted she is a hostess who provides services. The bureau also fined her 1,000 yuan. After all, although her conduct could constitute a violation, you know that truly arresting her and treating her as a criminal suspect is still far from justified.'

Su Yang had anticipated this response from the bureau chief; he calmly replied, 'This matter involves me; it cannot be brushed off lightly. Even if you released her after questioning, I will not pursue it further, but I want to see the interrogation record from that time.'

'I need to know who was behind her, urging her to jump onto my bed in the middle of the night—this is a typical case of political extortion. Don't you even have a bit of political sensitivity?'

Xu Jinxiu's expression changed instantly: 'Just now you said the person had been released and that you wouldn't pursue it—how can you suddenly elevate the nature of the case to political extortion?'

'Political extortion is not something an ordinary case can be upgraded to. An ordinary case at most involves dealing with the parties involved, or at worst disciplining the investigators—that would be enough to get by.'

'Once it rises to the level of political extortion, even he, the Public Security Bureau director, gets dragged in.'

'The crucial point is whether there is any record of this matter; he knows in his heart. He can only steel himself and say, 'Secretary Su, the interrogation record for this case should have been sealed away; the person in charge of the files is not here today—he's on leave. Could we perhaps postpone this to another day?'