Chapter 19 19 Did you see anything suspicious that day?

Pang Le rarely panicked. Guan Xia knew the reason but couldn't say it out loud. After thinking about it, she agreed to Pang Le's suggestion.

"Then go," Guan Xia said, "but I don't know if there are any very spiritual temples in Yongquan City. You can make your own strategy, and I will bring someone with you."

Pang Le's tone became lighter. "Okay, I'll go check it out now and ask my friends. Wait for my news."

Pang Le has always been a man of action. Guan Xia had just said the word "OK" when the phone was hung up.

After having a meal and making a cup of Isatis root to prevent a cold, Guan Xia planned to catch up on some sleep, but after tossing and turning in bed for half an hour and still unable to fall asleep, she simply curled up on the sofa, covered herself with a thin blanket, and started watching TV series.

It is always difficult to concentrate when you have something on your mind. Guan Xia couldn't help but look at the time as she watched.

When the clock struck six in the afternoon and the sky outside the window had darkened, Guan Xia's cell phone, which had been placed on the coffee table, finally rang.

Guan Xia almost jumped up and picked up the phone. She took a look at the screen and saw that it was Pang Le.

The phone call she had been waiting for finally came, but Guan Xia suddenly felt a little timid, afraid to really hear the answer she had guessed.

After taking a few deep breaths, Guan Xia picked up the phone.

There was silence on the phone for a few seconds, and only the heavy breathing of each other could be heard. After a moment, Pang Le spoke, "That child... is gone."

The guess might become reality. Even though Guan Xia was mentally prepared, he felt his chest tighten.

Although the child was a stranger, Guan Xia couldn't help feeling sad whenever she thought of the video she had seen and the little red figure.

"Time of death," Guan Xia paused before asking, "Was it yesterday at noon?"

Last night, Guan Xia had been praying for a miracle to happen to the little boy, but now she hoped that he would die directly and without too much pain.

Pang Le was silent for a moment, then replied, "The time of death was about 14 to 15 hours ago."

Guan Xia also fell silent. According to the time calculation, it was around three or four o'clock in the middle of the night last night. I don't know if it was still raining at that time. If it hadn't rained, would the little boy have held on longer?

Guan Xia couldn't help but imagine that scene, but she quickly shook her head to stop herself from thinking about it. She was only concerned about one question now, "Will that man, that murderer, be sentenced to death?"

Pang Le said in a deep voice: "I asked Lawyer Shi, and he said it's possible, but there's also a high probability that he will be sentenced to suspended death penalty."

Guan Xia sneered, "For a case with such a serious impact, he can still be sentenced to suspended death penalty. Doesn't that mean he will only serve a dozen years in prison before being released?"

"It's possible," Pang Le sighed. "Lawyer Shi doesn't specialize in cases like this, but he consulted his friends, and this is very likely the result."

Guan Xia didn't want to talk anymore.

Pang Le was in a complicated mood. He told Guan Xia to stay at home well recently and to call her if she wanted to go out, then hung up the phone.

It took Guan Xia a few seconds to realize the hidden meaning in Pang Le's words. It seemed that she had heard some information from somewhere. There must have been another major case in Yongquan City that had not been solved yet, so she warned her so solemnly.

Guan Xia immediately thought of Qi Bai and Xu Nian. They had originally agreed to go hiking together yesterday, but they broke the appointment at the last minute on Friday. Thinking of what Qi Bai had said before that their squadron was rather special and handled major cases, Guan Xia couldn't help but wonder if they were responsible this time as well?

Although the four of them had dinner together and added each other's contact information, in Guan Xia's opinion, they were at most acquaintances, not even friends. So she was curious, but it was just a thought and she didn't even send a message.

So when Guan Xia saw Xu Nian's call the next afternoon, she was both surprised and had a bad feeling.

Guan Xia answered the phone while trying hard to recall what had happened in the past few days.

Before she could even say "Captain Xu," Xu Nian asked directly, "I heard from Qi Bai that your camping location on Saturday is a wild mountain diagonally across from Niujiao Peak in Cuiping Mountain?"

Guan Xia's heart skipped a beat, and she replied nervously, "The mountain we climbed is indeed diagonally opposite Niujiao Peak, a small wild mountain with no name."

Xu Nian's voice immediately rose several degrees. "I sent you a photo. Have you ever been here?"

Guan Xia responded, put the phone on speakerphone, and quickly clicked on the photo sent by Xu Nian.

Guan Xia recognized it at a glance. It was the flat land used as a parking lot by people who came to camp on Ono Mountain. The few cars that she had seen parked there for who knows how long were also there when she looked around on Saturday.

Guan Xia's bad premonition grew stronger and stronger, but she replied confidently, "We've been there. We parked our car here for our hike on Saturday."

Xu Nian immediately asked, "Did you see anyone suspicious that day?"

As soon as these words came out, Guan Xia's heart, which had been hanging in the air, instantly fell to the ground.

She was too lazy to even recall. As expected, a few seconds after Xu Nian finished speaking, the system interface suddenly popped up, and lines of words appeared quickly.

You were questioned by the police, and you suddenly remembered that at 8:37 am on May 4, you met a nervous-looking fisherman in the parking lot before going up the mountain. When you passed the car he was driving, you smelled a faint smell of blood and noticed a few stains that looked like blood in the corner of the trunk. You decided to tell the police.

After quickly reading these lines, Guan Xia's expression became numb, and she couldn't help but have question marks popping up in her mind.

Is this system a bit too abstract? The fisherman was clearly wearing a hat and sunglasses, and his jacket was zipped up to his chin, so she only saw one-third of his face. She couldn't even tell whether his chin was pointed or round. How could she tell that he looked nervous?

Also, she didn't smell any blood or see any blood-like stains on the way to the gathering.

Guan Xia had doubts popping up in his mind one after another. He waited patiently for a few seconds. Sure enough, the system interface flashed and started playing the video of encountering the fisherman as before. It kept playing until Guan Xia passed his car, then the picture was paused and enlarged. There were three familiar red frames this time, one just above the license plate, one at the joint of the trunk opening and closing, and one near the headlights. The bloodstains were very faint, but very narrow, as if they were accidentally rubbed on. In addition, the car was gray, and it seemed that it had not been washed for a long time and was covered with messy stains. If it were not for the system prompt, it would not be visible at all.

Guan Xia couldn't help but sigh in her heart. This time the bloodstains on the maintenance worker's cuffs were even more outrageous than the last time. If she told this to others, Xu Nian and the others would probably think that her eyes had mutated.

Guan Xia rubbed her forehead, and after Xu Nian called her again, she spoke honestly, "I did meet one."

Guan Xia said, "But that man was covered up very tightly, wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses, and his zipper was pulled very high. Only one-third of his facial features could be seen. If he had changed his clothes and stood in front of me with his face exposed, I would definitely not recognize him. But I saw his license plate number. I also smelled a little blood when I passed his car, and there were a few drops of suspected blood stains near the trunk. I'll give you his sketch later. The license plate number is 9Q337. Oh, by the way, he shouldn't be tall. I'm not sure how tall he is because there are no reference objects around. I estimate him to be about 1.7 to 1.75 meters tall, with a medium build. The clothes and shoes he wore don't have any special logos, so I don't know what brand they are."

After Guan Xia finished speaking, the phone was silent for a few seconds before Xu Nian's voice was heard.

Xu Nian's tone was unexpectedly excited. "Thank you, Guan Xia. If you think of anything else, feel free to contact me."

This time Xu Nian was even more anxious than Pang Le. Before Guan Xia could even utter a word "good", the call was disconnected.

After being speechless for two seconds, Guan Xia threw the phone aside, thought for a while, picked it up again, and called Pang Le.

As soon as the call was connected, Guan Xia couldn't wait to speak, "Pang Le, do you know who called me just now?"

Pang Le's curiosity was aroused. "Who? Dong Yuncheng? Qi Bai? Or Xu Nian?"

Guan Xia curled her lips. Is this a guess? This is completely a list of everyone she knows at this stage.

"It was Xu Nian," Guan Xia said without hesitation, "He asked me if I encountered any suspicious people while climbing the mountain."

Pang Le immediately understood what Guan Xia meant and asked in shock, "What the hell? Besides that little boy, were there other cases that day?"

Guan Xia sighed, "I suddenly feel that our physique is even stronger than Conan's. We can kill more than one person in one place. You are well-informed. Do you know what case Xu Nian and the others are working on now?"

"I heard a little bit," Pang Le said, taking a few steps, probably to avoid the crowd and walking to a corner. He lowered his voice and said, "It's a dismemberment case. It happened in Pingjiang District. Last Friday night, a body bag was found in a trash can in some residential complex. I don't know how many people died, but the murderer is much more brutal than last time."

Guan Xia shuddered, his hair standing on end, and his mind instantly thought of the fisherman he met that day. He was carrying a big bucket at that time. Could it be that he was using that bucket to transport the body bag into the wild mountains?

But since he dared to throw it into the community trash can, why did he suddenly throw it all the way to the mountains?

Was the body part he dumped that day the same person as last Friday, or was it someone else?

Guan Xia felt a little dizzy and slowly sat down on the sofa.

Pang Le finished what he had heard in one breath and began to ask, "How did you answer Xu Nian? Did you really see a suspicious person?"

Pang Le's tone was a little suspicious. "That's not right. We were together the whole day, even to go to the bathroom. I didn't see anyone suspicious."

Guan Xia said with some difficulty, "You saw it, it's that...that fisherman."

Pang Le was even more shocked, his voice so high it was almost shrill, "What did you say? That fisherman is the murderer?"