Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Even better than the stars on TV...

Buzz——

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the sound of the engine tore through the silence of the street. The dewy wind blew up Ji Yinhe's coat and blew into his ears, making a rustling sound.

Su Yue said that Lijing Nightclub is in Beijiang District, more than ten stops away from Meiqingyuan.

She rinsed her mouth with the remaining half cup of water in her bag and stepped on the accelerator to the maximum, with only one thought in her mind: "Faster, faster, faster...!"

The red motorcycle twisted and turned out of the dense streets, and the sign of "Lijing Nightclub" appeared in sight.

However, there were two police Jinbei vans parked on the side of the road.

Ji Yinhe's heart skipped a beat... Oops, it might be too late!

She parked the car and walked towards him.

"Hello, this is the Municipal Bureau's Serious Crime Squad." Ji Yinhe followed Tang Ci's instructions and neatly showed his ID to the person who got out of the police car.

"We're from the Hongchang Subdistrict Police Station in Beijiang. We received a report half an hour ago that someone fell from the Lijing Nightclub. The initial diagnosis is suicide..." The officer asked in surprise, "Comrade Ji, why are you from the Municipal Bureau here?"

"Well, I was just passing by." Ji Yinhe looked around. "Where is the place where he fell? Can I take a look?"

Out of respect for the city police, the police officer pointed to the back of the building and said, "That's right there. Our technicians have just completed the preliminary autopsy."

Ji Yinhe ran to the back of the building.

The Lijing Nightclub's decor was quite luxurious. Five stories high, its exterior walls were beige marble inlaid with brass carvings. A corner of a large poster had been blown off by the wind, and flies were buzzing around. The floor was littered with bottles, cigarette butts, and food scraps, as if to tell the story of a night of debauchery for its guests.

Yellow masking tape wrapped around a dirty, greasy trash can, where a woman in a silver sequined fishtail dress lay facedown on the concrete floor.

Several police officers and witnesses were also gathered around.

Ji Yinhe took a deep breath and walked over.

The last time, she was squeezed into the back row by believers, too far away from the crime scene. The body of Zhang Chunbo she later saw in the autopsy room had also been handled by Ye Qing. Although the stench was strong, it did not have this heavy, sweet smell of blood.

This was her first time facing a fresh death scene.

The first thing that caught my eye was a pair of black patent leather high heels. Further away, there was a pool of reddish-brown blood on the ground, mixed with grayish-white turbid brain matter.

Although the person was lying down, his neck was twisted a full ninety degrees. Half of his face had melted into the ground, and the other half still had some residual makeup on it.

Ji Yinhe looked at her carefully and could see that she had a pretty face, about thirty years old. Melted mascara drew thin winding lines on her cheekbones, as if she had cried sadly before falling from the building.

She clutched the note in her pocket, fighting the urge in her stomach to churn.

Is this woman... the dancer Su Yue mentioned?

A technician from the police station came over carrying a box and asked, "Are you from the Municipal Bureau?"

"Yes, what did you find?"

"The person who reported the incident is a waiter at the breakfast shop." The technician pointed to the side, where the two police officers were questioning a young man wearing sleeves and an apron. "According to him, the deceased's name is Bai Mei, a dancer at Lijing Nightclub. She often bought her buns at the breakfast shop, so there's no mistake. I've conducted a preliminary examination of the body, and it's consistent with a fall from a height."

Ji Yinhe was about to say something when the technician took out a crumpled piece of letter paper.

"This is the suicide note found in her coat pocket. According to it, the cause of death was a long-planned suicide for love." He shrugged, revealing a rather contented expression. "No need to worry, comrades from the Municipal Bureau. We can call it a day now."

"……etc."

Ji Yinhe squatted down and his eyes fell on Baimei's wine-red fingertips.

"Excuse me, would someone who has been planning suicide for a long time have the leisure to paint their nails?"

“…Ah?” The technician, a chubby middle-aged man, argued, “Maybe it was painted on a long time ago—”

"That's impossible." Ji Yinhe raised her chin slightly. "There's no visible distance between the nail polish and the skin at the edge of the finger. This means she couldn't have painted her nails earlier than this time yesterday."

"She had a job, so she had to dress up for her singing and dancing performances..." "That's possible, but we can't rule out murder based solely on this suicide note." Ji Yinhe stood up. "And it's obvious that the deceased was a young woman who loved beauty. Even if she wanted to end her life, she wouldn't choose to jump next to a trash can."

The technician became excited and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"You're just a little girl, what right do you have to come here and question my professional judgment? What's your intention?"

"It's nothing. I just think this case can't be hastily closed as suicide. I suggest you report it to the branch, or directly hand it over to our city bureau—"

Two policemen who were questioning heard the quarrel and ran over quickly.

"She doubts me!" the technician complained to his colleague, feeling aggrieved. "She took one look at the dead man's hands and insisted it was homicide! What's the point of all the trouble we've come all this way so early in the morning? Maybe after we turn it over to the city bureau, they'll still rule it suicide. Then you'll just be taking away our jobs."

Ji Yinhe: “…”

I was careless. I didn't expect there were so many twists and turns between the municipal bureau and the grassroots.

"How about I call and ask the medical examiner to come over and do another examination, okay?" She promised sincerely, "If it's really suicide, I'll definitely hand the case back to your police station."

Tech snorted, "I don't believe you!"

——Beep!

There was a soft sound of a horn next to my ears, and the crowd of onlookers dispersed with a rumble.

A large jeep rushed from the main road, made a sharp turn, and stopped on the side.

Tang Ci opened the driver's door and jumped out amid everyone's surprised gazes.

Ye Qing and Xiao Wu also got off the car later.

"I'm Tang Ci, captain of the Municipal Bureau's Serious Crime Squad." He walked over and flashed his ID. "Hongchang Branch? How's your Director Gao doing lately?"

Several police officers at the police station exchanged glances quickly, and one replied, "Very good, he's about to retire."

The atmosphere calmed down a bit, but the technician still stiffened his neck and looked furious. "Is this woman from your city bureau? Take her away immediately! I've never seen someone so unprofessional as to rush into a case!"

Ji Yinhe was calm and said, "I didn't mean to steal the case, I just raised appropriate questions."

"I see you just want to—"

"Don't get excited. I trust Xiao Ji's judgment." Tang Ci understood what he had heard and turned to smile at the technician. "Did you hear about the Qigong master case in the western suburbs last month? It was our Comrade Xiao Ji who discovered the suspicious points and identified the suspect, which led to the case being quickly closed within three days."

"Wow!" "The young are so formidable!"

The policemen's eyes immediately showed more respect.

Comrade Xiao Ji touched his nose guiltily.

"...Forget it, forget it. I don't care anymore. Leave it to your city bureau!"

Seeing that no one was on his side, the technician turned away unhappily.

Tang Ci completed the handover with the police officers from the police station. After the other police car drove away, he turned around and looked at Ji Yinhe, who looked innocent. He put his hands on his waist and let out a wry smile.

"The last time I saw you chatting with the old lady, you seemed quite relaxed, weren't you? Jiangtan is still very considerate. When dealing with grassroots police officers, you must pay attention to the methods and ways."

Ji Yinhe thought to himself that this was work and a matter of principle, and he really couldn't compromise.

She let out a long "Oh," "Captain Tang, why are you here?"

"I got a call."

In fact, after Su Yue left the Ji family, she told Tan Yaxin about the incident, who immediately called her fiancé, Tang Ci, to wake him up. With the murder case looming, Captain Tang dared not neglect the situation and called his subordinates to rush over.

But he didn't want Ji Yinhe to know that he was engaged, so he said vaguely, "What about you? Is it that mysterious informant again? Why didn't you call me?"

"It's too early. I'm afraid it will disturb your rest. Besides, it has nothing to do with the informant." Ji Yinhe whispered, "It was Su Yue - the daughter of my mother's friend - who was molested in a nightclub last night. Fortunately, a dancer saved her and gave her this."

She took out the note that said "They want to kill me" and handed it to Tang Ci. She didn't notice that the other party's expression showed a hint of panic and his brows were slightly furrowed.

"Look, the handwriting on this note is very similar to the suicide note, but there are significant differences in the details of the strokes. I suspect the suicide note is a forgery. Does our bureau have a handwriting expert? We can ask him to do an appraisal and verify it."

"I understand." Tang Ci said in a concise tone, turning his gaze to the corpse on the ground.

Ye Qing has done another check with the help of Xiao Wu.

"Based on the degree of blood coagulation, the estimated time of death is no more than three hours. The body surface is consistent with a fall, and there are basically no other antemortem injuries. The remaining information will need to be returned to the police station for an autopsy."

Tang Ci nodded decisively, "Okay."

Ye Qing glanced at the increasing number of onlookers around her, lowered her eyes and took off her gloves.

Only Ji Yinhe, who was standing next to her, noticed that the corners of her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but due to the current situation, she chose to swallow it first.

Ji Yinhe didn't ask what was wrong, but quickly pulled her cold fingertips.

Ye Qing felt a warm and dry force, and couldn't help but look at the owner of the hand in a daze.

Ji Yinhe looked at her with calm eyes.

"Captain Tang—"

Ye Qing didn't know where she got the courage from, so she stopped Tang Ci who was about to leave, "I found some dark green fibers between the fingernails of the deceased's right hand. I think they are velvet fabric. Maybe there was a fight before she fell from the building. Of course, it's also possible that the deceased accidentally scraped them off before she fell. It has nothing to do with the murderer. And we have to take it back for testing..."

Her voice became smaller and smaller, but Tang Ci chuckled.

"Very good. I believe your speculation. I will pay attention to it when I visit and inquire later. It doesn't matter if you are wrong."

Ye Qing took a deep breath, looked at Ji Yinhe with gratitude, and then worked with other forensic department personnel to lift the body into the police car.

Tang Ci glanced at the closed door of the nightclub and waved to Ji Yinhe and Xiao Wu.

"Cheng Mo, Lao Che, and Lao Tian are on their way. Xiao Wu, you go to a conspicuous place at the intersection to meet them. Then divide into groups and question the witnesses. Ji Yinhe and I will go up to the rooftop from the fire escape to take a look."

"Okay!" Xiao Wu ran away.

The pale golden morning light slanted in from the east side of the alley. Ji Yinhe raised his head and looked at the giant neon sign above that was still running tirelessly. Several clues popped up in his mind, intertwined with each other incomprehensibly.

The dancer fell from the building, Su Yue was nearly raped, Su Yiyun, who no one dared to mention, and the baby swap incident from over 20 years ago...

What secrets are hidden behind this magnificent building?

"I have a feeling this is going to be a big case."

Tang Ci hummed solemnly.

His extremely solemn gaze fell on Ji Yinhe, but revealed a hint of imperceptible tenderness.

He spoke hoarsely: "Xiao Ji..."

"Is it the Serious Crime Squad?"

A lazy but clear voice like metal and stone sounded from behind.

Ji Yinhe and Tang Ci both turned around——

It was a strip of light not covered by the shadow of the nightclub building. Dust floated in the golden color. A young man in a white shirt stood in it, his posture casual, his sleeves rolled up, his long, slender hands casually shoved in his pockets, and a shiny metal box placed at his feet.

Ji Yinhe held his breath for a moment.

This man had an upright posture, broad shoulders and long legs. He was taller than Tang Ci. What was even more impressive was that he had handsome features, his eyes were slightly raised, and his pupils were slightly amber in color when they faced the light.

...She is even prettier than the stars on TV!

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