Chapter 81 Solving Cases Like a Pro - That's amazing! He knew as soon as he got back...

At this moment, Qiu Xiaoman was in Meng's office reporting on the cooperation in Shanghai.

After the report was finished, Captain Meng suddenly mentioned that Fang Zhenhong was dead, which surprised her quite a bit.

Fang Zhenhong was a serving police officer, and the most likely cause of death was either dying in the line of duty or being the victim of revenge.

Of course, crimes of passion, manslaughter, death from illness, car accidents, and other accidents are all possible, but the first two are more likely.

Qiu Xiaoman pondered for a moment and asked, "Were they silenced?"

Team Leader Meng rested his chin on his hands and shook his head: "It's hard to say."

Qiu Xiaoman fell silent. Someone should have already taken over the case. According to regulations, it wasn't her case, so she couldn't inquire about the details.

But since Captain Meng brought this up with her, it means that police dogs were definitely involved in the case, so it should be okay for her to ask for more details.

Besides, she had also been having Magpie keep an eye on Fang Zhenhong, so she could get involved in the case as a source of information.

Unfortunately, she has just returned and hasn't gone to find that magpie in the Criminal Investigation Department yet.

So she asked, "How did you die? Where did you die?"

Team Leader Meng sighed silently: "He died in the Yongding River. According to the preliminary forensic examination, it should be a drowning. Yesterday, Deputy Team Leader Qu took Mingming to the scene. There were many traces of pedestrians on the riverbank, making it impossible to determine whether anyone else was present when Fang Zhenhong died. In other words, whether it was suicide or homicide is still undetermined. The preliminary estimate is that the time of death was the night before last, but the exact time will have to wait for further autopsy."

"Then I'll go to the Criminal Investigation Department now. I have an informant; I'll go ask him." Qiu Xiaoman checked the time. Although it was almost time to get off work, she thought that if she went now, she might still be able to see Captain Zou.

Team Leader Meng took out a special field operation form and handed it to Qiu Xiaoman: "Director Wen prepared this especially for you. He said that you can participate in any case where you can provide clues or help find ways to provide clues. However, when you leave the base, you need to sign a field operation report form so that we know where you went."

This demonstrates the utmost respect for Meng, Meng's direct supervisor, in terms of procedure.

Otherwise, if Director Wen or Captain Zou could call her away at any time, wouldn't Captain Meng's leadership position be essentially non-existent?

Qiu Xiaoman had to admit that Director Wen was really considerate of other people's feelings.

It's no wonder that Captain Meng brought up the case with her; it's likely that Captain Zou had already asked her to join.

She signed the fieldwork form without mentioning the magpie incident, which is currently only known to her and Team Leader Zou. Therefore, in the "reason for action" section, she wrote: "Investigate Fang Zhenhong's whereabouts before his death and take the dog, Huihui, who has not yet passed the assessment, to the scene for investigation."

Captain Meng signed the papers, waved her off, and then reminded her, "If you're still busy with this case after lunch, you don't need to report to the base this afternoon. I know you're with the criminal investigation team. By the way, I heard you brought back two disabled dogs. I've discussed it with Deputy Captain Qu. If you can't take care of them, you can bring them to the base. There are spare kennels here, so you can board them here until they recover. However, you'll need to pay for their food."

"Really! That's great!" Qiu Xiaoman couldn't be happier. Although Mango and the others would accompany Bengbeng and Tiaotiao, the two dogs had just been beaten up in Shanghai and were injured.

However, we need to deal with Fang Zhenhong's cause of death first today, so we'll bring it up tomorrow.

When Qiu Xiaoman took Huihui out, Chen Jianjun from the criminal investigation team had already arrived in a police car.

Qiu Xiaoman assumed he was looking for someone else, so she nodded politely as a greeting.

Chen Jianjun stopped her, saying, "Get in the car, Captain Zou sent me to pick you up."

"Does Captain Zou know I'm back?" Qiu Xiaoman opened the car door and led Huihui inside.

Chen Jianjun said, "Of course, Captain Zou called Shanghai yesterday to confirm that you would be back today, and he inquired about the flight schedule first thing this morning. Let's go."

Qiu Xiaoman laughed: "It seems I should get my driver's license as soon as possible, otherwise it's too much trouble for you guys to pick me up every time."

"Learn it, driving yourself is definitely much more convenient." Chen Jianjun stopped at the intersection and looked at Qiu Xiaoman in the rearview mirror. He had to admit that this young man was really energetic. He hadn't rested for a week, and even helped solve a case in Shanghai. He was still full of energy.

It's so good to be young.

After crossing the intersection, he asked, "Do you want to go to the forensic science building to meet with Captain Zou first, or go directly to the crime scene?"

"Stop at the supermarket ahead, I'll buy something, then go to the Criminal Investigation Department to find Captain Zou." Qiu Xiaoman didn't want more people to know about Magpie, so using seeing Captain Zou as a pretext was the best option.

Chen Jianjun didn't ask any more questions. He stopped the car and soon saw Qiu Xiaoman return empty-handed.

He was completely confused and wanted to ask her what she had bought, but then he felt that he wasn't that familiar with her, so he decided against it.

Actually, Qiu Xiaoman bought a handful of walnuts and a handful of almonds. Because it was a small amount, she just put them in her pocket to avoid arousing Chen Jianjun's curiosity.

Now that Chen Jianjun is driving quietly and not causing any trouble, she is quite relieved.

A colleague who knows to keep quiet is much more pleasant than a chattering colleague.

She will do her best to keep the existence of that magpie a secret.

Fortunately, Captain Zou had the same idea as her. For the past two days, he had been staring at the telephone poles outside the window, trying to find the magpie. Unfortunately, he noticed that all the magpies looked the same, so he kept quiet about it and proceeded with the investigation according to the usual procedures.

Just then, Qiu Xiaoman arrived. He quickly closed the office door and whispered, "Xiao Qiu, tell me quickly, is that bird still there? How do we tell them apart?"

He was terrified that the magpie that was keeping watch had disappeared, and he had been extremely anxious these past two days.

Qiu Xiaoman stood at the window, looked around, and smiled: "Come on, Captain Zou."

Team Leader Zou moved closer and stood beside her, following her gaze: "Are you there? Which one?"

"The third one from the left, the one that's grooming itself." Qiu Xiaoman recognized it at a glance. She peeled a walnut, but couldn't find a trash can, so she temporarily placed the shell on Captain Zou's table. She crushed the walnut kernel into small pieces, spread them in her palm, and returned to the window. She whistled, and the magpie immediately turned around. Seeing that she had returned, it flapped its wings and flew over.

"Human, where have you been?" The magpie landed on her palm, its bright black eyes full of curiosity. As it spoke, it lowered its head and pecked at a walnut kernel. "So delicious! This human is so nice."

Qiu Xiaoman explained, "I went to another city and found a new home for a homeless child."

The little magpie was extremely surprised and exclaimed, "Chirp, chirp, you are such a kind person!"

"Thank you for the compliment. Little magpie, tell me quickly, how did the person I asked you to keep an eye on die?"

"She was held down in the bathtub and killed, then her body was dumped in the river. That person looked horrible, with scars on his face."

"Dumped the body? Can you now identify which house the bathtub where he drowned is in?"

"Sure, my friends live in those trees over there. Are you going now?"

"Wait, do you know who that person with the scar on their face is? Where do they live?"

"I don't know about that. It was too late that day. After disposing of the body, I went back to sleep and didn't follow them anymore."

"Can you describe what that person looks like?" Qiu Xiaoman said, tugging at Captain Zou and pointing to the paper and pen on his desk.

Team Leader Zou quickly brought over a workbook and a ballpoint pen, and Qiu Xiaoman wrote down three characters: Wu Shirong.

After writing it down, she started taking notes. According to the magpie's description, the murderer was a very tall, broad-shouldered, and thick-waisted man with a large head and large eyes. In the magpie's own words, "His eyes were even bigger than the magpie eggs I used to lay."

Qiu Xiaoman knew the size of magpie eggs; they were generally a size larger than pigeon eggs but slightly smaller than chicken eggs.

If Little Magpie wasn't exaggerating, then this man's eyes were indeed ridiculously large.

In addition, when a man speaks, his mouth will reflect light, which indicates that he has had dental work done. Moreover, teeth that reflect light are mostly made of metal, such as gold teeth.

Little Magpie also mentioned that the man had a foul odor. Qiu Xiaoman asked, and there was no obvious dirt on the man's body, so it was very likely that he had body odor.

This person is relatively easy to identify, since the probability of Chinese people having body odor is quite low.

If there really was such a person walking in a crowd, Qiu Xiaoman's nose could accurately find him.

Finally, Little Magpie mentioned that the man also smoked, but unfortunately there were too many shopping malls and convenience stores selling cigarettes in Beidu, making it difficult to investigate. There were also some street-side newsstands that sold cigarettes, alcohol, melon seeds, and the like to generate revenue.

In short, the current clues are sufficient for a preliminary investigation—from small dental clinics to dental offices in major hospitals.

She handed the record to Captain Zou, then looked at Little Magpie and instructed, "Stay at the door for the next two days and don't wander off. If I find a suspect who matches the description, I'll ask you to identify him."

"Okay, no problem." The little magpie ate all the walnut pieces in her palm.

Qiu Xiaoman thought for a moment and then asked, "Let's be friends, and I'll help you choose a name, okay?"

"Okay. What do you want to call me?" The little magpie pecked at Qiu Xiaoman's finger.

Qiu Xiaoman smiled and said, "How are you, Lele? I hope you're happy every day."

"Okay, I like it. I'll wait for you at the door." Lele spread its wings, flapped them, and jumped onto the windowsill. However, before Qiu Xiaoman could speak, Lele turned to look at Qiu Xiaoman instead of going back to the telephone pole.

Qiu Xiaoman simply took out all the walnuts and almonds from her pocket and placed them on the windowsill: "Here, take them all back to your nest. After you're done, take me to see where that bathtub where the drowned person was."

Wow!! So many! Great! When the weather gets warmer, I can lay eggs and hatch my babies.

"Go for it, Lele!"

"But you bought me too much. I can't finish it all at once, and other guys will steal it. Why don't you leave it with your friend? I can just come in and eat it once a day."

"Okay." Qiu Xiaoman turned to look at Captain Zou, entrusting him with this glorious and sacred mission.

Team Leader Zou was both amused and exasperated, and quickly nodded, "Okay, okay, from now on, he'll not only be the captain of the criminal investigation team, but also the magpie keeper, the walnut shell remover, the almond shell peeler, and the observer who can't tell which magpie is this silly Lele..."

Seeing the man's strange expression, Lele tilted its head, chattered, and flew to the telephone pole to wait. Once Qiu Xiaoman came downstairs, it could fly ahead and lead the way for her.

Team Leader Zou looked at Qiu Xiaoman curiously: "What did it say about me?"

Qiu Xiaoman sighed and rubbed her forehead: "She said your expression looked like you couldn't poop."

Team Leader Zou: ...

Thank you, that's a really vivid and apt metaphor.

He quickly put the walnuts and almonds into the drawer and then turned around to make a phone call to Wu Shirong.

Wu Shirong is a special talent and has a dedicated office. He also desperately needs a quiet working environment, so Team Leader Zou arranged for him to work in a corner on the top floor.

Wu Shirong was currently browsing through foreign books, all of which were large volumes on foreign criminal investigation techniques.

It will also mention some portraiture techniques.

He was busy when the phone rang. He quickly closed the book and said, "I'm coming right now."

When Wu Shirong arrived at Team Leader Zou's place, he did not see Qiu Xiaoman.

He looked regretful: "Where is Comrade Xiao Qiu? I wanted to thank her."

After all, his Mimi owes a lot to Qiu Xiaoman's guidance; otherwise, he wouldn't know what was going on.

Team Leader Zou locked the door from the inside, let Wu Shirong sit down, and whispered, "She went to the scene. Take a look at this. Right now, only Xiao Qiu, I, and you know about this. Don't tell anyone."

He was referring to the truth behind Fang Zhenhong's death; he didn't mention the matter of Xique Lele.

Wu Shirong took the workbook handed to him by Captain Zou, and his eyes narrowed involuntarily. What beautiful handwriting!

It is bold and expansive, giving a sense of heroic ambition to conquer all directions.

He recognized Captain Zou's handwriting; it didn't look like this. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who wrote this?"

Team Leader Zou sat down and explained, "It was written by Xiao Qiu. Don't ask how the clues came about; just reconstruct the murderer's portrait based on this description."

Wu Shirong quickly looked at the specific details, stood up and said, "I will try my best to hand over the portrait to you before I leave work this afternoon."

Team Leader Zou was already used to his efficiency and wasn't surprised at all. He simply reminded him, "This lead might be a bit off. After all, the informant..." Actually, he meant the informant was a bird. Team Leader Zou paused for a moment and then said tactfully, "The informant is quite young. He might not have seen clearly, or he might have been frightened, causing some memory distortion. In short, try to think it over carefully and don't rush."

"Understood." Wu Shirong stood up, his gaze falling on the walnut shells on Captain Zou's desk. He subconsciously reached out and brushed them onto Zou's workbook, then took them to the trash can outside and emptied them.

Team Leader Zou smiled. "Little Wu, who loves cleanliness, really does clean wherever he goes. That's great, perfect for a home life."

I wonder which woman will benefit from this in the future.

*

Qiu Xiaoman, with Huihui in tow, and Chen Jianjun driving, followed Lele's directions to a high-end residential area.

Chen Jianjun was carefree and didn't notice the magpies flying in front of him, content to be his driver.

After Qiu Xiaoman got out of the car, she felt a little complicated, because this was the Lido Garden where Shen Qinghuai lived.

It was just lunchtime, and the school children were all coming home.

At the elevator entrance, she ran into Shen Qinghuai, who had just returned from outside.

Their eyes met, and Shen Qinghuai awkwardly loosened his tie, wanting to say something, but Qiu Xiaoman had already turned around and looked at the changing elevator floor numbers.

Shen Qinghuai's children have been being taken care of by his sister lately, so he doesn't actually need to come back at noon; he usually has social engagements.

However, today is a special case. His eldest daughter—no, now I should say his second daughter—was being bullied at school.

The child's aunt went to the school to demand an explanation, but the teacher said it was the child's own responsibility—a classmate invited her to join the after-school science experiment group, but she ignored it and just stared blankly into space.

In addition, the child has been daydreaming in class for the past few days, and the teacher has long lost patience, so naturally she won't speak up for the child.

Having no other option, Shen Qinglan had to call her brother back.

Shen Qinghuai was extremely irritable. Unexpectedly, he ran into his eldest daughter at the elevator entrance again, which intensified his irritability and made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

What exactly does he need to do for Xiaoman to talk to him?

Never mind, let's urge Manager Zhao first. Xiaoman is back, so let's get her to sign the equity transfer agreement quickly.

He picked up his mobile phone, just as the elevator doors opened, but he didn't go in.

After Qiu Xiaoman and Chen Jianjun led the dog inside, they waited for him for a while. When he still didn't come in, Qiu Xiaoman pressed the floor button.

She had already seen Lele fly into the nineteenth floor before she came in, so she pressed the nineteenth button.

Chen Jianjun was incredibly curious. How did she know where to investigate the murderer as soon as she returned? That's amazing!

Didn't she just come from Yunnan not long ago?

Given how bad her relationship with Shen Qinghuai is, she probably hasn't been here before, right?

Forget it, let's not cause any more trouble. Chen Jianjun's greatest strength is that he can control his tongue.

He silently watched the fluctuating numbers and decided to be sensible and see things through to the end.

With a ding, the door opened. Having only reached the eighteenth floor, Qiu Xiaoman thought someone was about to come in, so she took a step back.

Standing outside the door was a distraught Shen Qinglan, holding her youngest nephew in her arms, waiting for Shen Qinghuai.

Because she was in a hurry, she pressed the button for the 18th floor in advance, so that when there were many people, Shen Qinghuai wouldn't have to go through the trouble of asking someone else to press the button for the 18th floor.

When the elevator doors opened, Shen Qinghuai wasn't there; instead, someone was standing inside...

Shen Qinglan was stunned.

She knew her brother's eldest daughter had come, and she also knew that his eldest daughter had gone to the police dog base, but she never expected to meet this niece here.

How did she determine that this was her niece?

Is there even a need to ask?

Isn't that Xiao Shen Qinghuai? There's a police officer in uniform standing behind her, and the little girl is holding a dog on a leash.

Shen Qinglan instinctively wanted to shout, "Child, have you seen your father?"

When Qiu Xiaoman saw that she hadn't come in yet, she pressed the close button.

Shen Qinglan had only said "child" when the door closed.

She sighed silently, deciding to wait for her brother to return before discussing it further.

She just stood there at the elevator entrance, watching the elevator stop and go down, go down and come up again.

The elevator doors opened, and she finally saw Shen Qinghuai. She quickly asked, "Brother, was that Xiaoman, the little girl with a dog and a policeman who came up with you?"

"It's her." Shen Qinghuai didn't know why his eldest daughter had come here.

In short, it must be related to some case.

He took the youngest son from Shen Qinglan's arms and asked, "Did you see her?"

"Hmm. They're just like you. None of Yu Ting's children look like you." Not a single one—not their faces, not their personalities. Who do they look like? Liang Yu Ting!

Shen Qinghuai was terrified of hearing such words, even though they were true, they would still hurt him deeply.

He quietly changed the subject: "What exactly happened to Yao Yao?"

"Maybe she misses her mother?" Shen Qinglan sighed helplessly. "She's still a child after all. It's normal for her to feel uneasy and overthink things when her sister-in-law is suddenly not home. Brother, don't get angry, try to talk to her."

Shen Qinghuai understood. He stopped at the door and looked upstairs, wondering if Xiaoman would be in danger while investigating the case.

He quickly picked up his mobile phone and called the two bodyguards: "Miss is back, are you back too?"

"She's back. Miss made a great contribution in Shanghai and immediately took on a new case upon her return. Mr. Shen, rest assured, we will maintain a proper distance and will never interfere with her work or betray her whereabouts."

"Good to know. You're downstairs?"

“We kept our distance from the police car just across the street to avoid being spotted.”

"That's good." Shen Qinghuai was relieved.

Unfortunately, neither he nor his bodyguard knew that a magpie had already noticed the bodyguard's presence and was perched on the window of the nineteenth floor, silently watching them.