Chapter 23: The Viper Murder Case (2) The house was filled with the stench of corpses...

"Open the door, I'm a police officer!"

Sang Luo knocked on the door of No. 8 Chaxiang Lane, but no one responded. She repeated the knock several times, but there was still no sound. She tried to hold the doorknob to open the door, but the door was pushed open a little - the door was not locked!

A strange stench came from the crack of the door. Sang Luo and Yuan Xiaohu looked at each other and both felt uneasy. The smell reminded them of the stench of a corpse. One murder case hasn't been solved yet, could there be another one now?

Sang Luo immediately pushed the door open with force, and the two rushed in together. A stench hit them in the face. There was no one in the living room, but it was full of garbage. Sang Luo didn't bother to cover his mouth and nose, and went straight to the bedroom. The stench came from here.

After entering the bedroom, Sang Luo saw a person lying on the bed. The mattress was tattered, the sheets were dirty and black, and the quilt was also gray and black, with a greasy smell. There was a human figure under the quilt. Sang Luo shouted at the "person" a few times, but the other party did not respond.

When Yuan Xiaohu came in and saw this scene, he said directly: "It's over, the person is dead, you can see the stench of corpse, I don't know how many days he has been dead, I will call the forensic doctor."

"Wait--" Sang Luo grabbed Yuan Xiaohu. The man who pulled the curtains just now must be this guy. Since he could pull the curtains, it meant that he was fine and just deliberately kept silent.

Sang Luo walked forward and mustered up the courage to lift the dirty quilt. Yuan Xiaohu was so frightened that his face turned pale, and his eyes were filled with admiration for Sang Luo. After all, even he didn't want to touch the things on the bed.

As soon as the quilt was lifted, Sang Luo screamed in surprise - there was a naked skinny old man under the quilt!

Seeing that Sang Luo was frightened, the old man grinned and laughed, revealing a mouthful of big black teeth.

"Exhibitionist!" Sang Luo turned around and cursed inwardly. She had seen this kind of person on the news before, but she didn't expect to meet him today. When she saw this scene just now, she really wanted to wash her eyes with tap water.

Yuan Xiaohu was furious. He stood in front of Sang Luo and shouted at the old man, "What are you doing? Are you trying to play a trick on the police? We called you at the bedside just now, why didn't you answer?!"

The strange old man chuckled and said, "I'm too lazy to reply."

Yuan Xiaohu asked again: "Why didn't you open the door when the police knocked?"

The strange old man shrugged: "I'm too lazy to drive."

"You knew the police were coming, why didn't you put on your clothes?" Yuan Xiaohu raised his voice in anger.

The strange old man chuckled again: "I'm too lazy to wear it."

Yuan Xiaohu clenched his fists in anger. The strange old man looked at him fearlessly. It was obvious that he did it on purpose, deliberately not wearing any clothes, and deliberately waiting for the policewoman to find him. Just now when Sang Luo visited the neighbors, he heard the voice of the policewoman. He knew that a beautiful policewoman came to the alley to investigate the case, so he deliberately staged this scene, pulled the curtains, lured her in, and let her lift his quilt with her own hands.

No wonder Xie Ling'er didn't like to go to the scene. Sang Luo suddenly understood Xie Ling'er's feelings in an instant. Sometimes when encountering some scum, female police officers would be unreasonably humiliated and teased because of their gender. If a male police officer came, such a thing would not happen.

But the next second, Sang Luo immediately changed her mind. She couldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Standing here at the moment, she not only represented herself, but also the police. She had to be worthy of the uniform on her body and couldn't show any fear. It was just naked. What was there to be afraid of?

Sang Luo's expression returned to calm. She turned around, waved her hand at the strange old man, and said coldly: "Cuff him and take him away!"

This man maliciously played a trick on the police, so he must be taught a lesson. Besides, he lives next door to He Taohua. If we take him back for interrogation, we may be able to get some clues.

Yuan Xiaohu took out handcuffs and ordered the strange old man to put on his clothes. Unexpectedly, the strange old man was still lying on the bed with a frivolous smile on his face, looking unruly. Finally, Yuan Xiaohu had to handcuff the naked old man, wrap him in a quilt, and then take him to the police car.

After catching the strange old man, Sang Luo asked around with his neighbors and found out about this man's background. The old man's name was Fu Ainong, an unemployed vagrant, and was well-known in the area for being lazy and gluttonous. He had lived on his parents in his early years, and after his parents passed away, he inherited this house. With no one to take care of him, he became even more wantonly lazy. He slept day and night, never willing to work, and rummaged through the trash cans for food and clothes. His house was filled with things he had picked up, and it had basically become a garbage station. Neighbors avoided him when they passed by his house.

After getting on the police car, Fu Ainong was not panicked at all. He was still smiling and said to Yuan Xiaohu proudly, "This is great. I can have food and shelter again!"

Yuan Xiaohu frowned: "What do you mean by 'again'? Have you been in there before?"

Fu Ainong said proudly: "Of course, I have been to prison four times. Once was for petty theft, and another time was for fighting. Everyone says that going to prison is a bad thing, but I think it is a good thing. This prison provides food and accommodation, and also distributes clothes. I don't have to pick them up by myself. How happy!"

Yuan Xiaohu turned to look at this man in surprise. He had a criminal record, so he was even more suspicious.

Yuan Xiaohu asked in disbelief: "You just harassed my colleague, aren't you deliberately going to jail?"

Fu Ainong smiled shamelessly: "Well, officer, you know it, it's hard to find food in winter, and there's no heating in my small bungalow. I'll freeze to death! So every year when winter is about to come, I have to find an excuse to go in."

Yuan Xiaohu was speechless. He had never seen such a person before.

Fu Ainong had his hands handcuffed and posed no threat for the time being. Yuan Xiaohu locked him alone in the car and turned to look for Sang Luo. Sang Luo was standing at the door of No. 10 Chaxiang Lane. Although she was a little frightened just now, she had not forgotten her mission.

"The house of that person just now was so dirty that a living person could actually produce the stench of a corpse." Yuan Xiaohu sighed.

Sang Luo also said: "Yes, it's still autumn. If it were summer, the house would probably be full of flies. Even so, He Taohua's family insisted on living here and did not move out. The neighbors all said that they have good tempers. It seems that their tempers are really good."

While talking, Sang Luo observed the door of No. 10. There was a big lock on the door, and it seemed that the family had gone out. Sang Luo still knocked on the door without giving up, but no one responded.

This row of small bungalows all have a window facing the street. Sang Luo looked inside through the window of No. 10. The doors of the two bedrooms were closed, so he could only see the living room. Everything in the living room was neatly arranged and the floor was spotless. There was a plate of pears and a plate of apples on the coffee table. The two plates looked exactly the same, and even the number of fruits on the plates was the same.

Yuan Xiaohu: "Oh, this one is a model of hygiene. It's completely different from the one just now."

"This is not just a love of cleanliness," Sang Luo shook his head, "It's probably perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive disorder."

"What's the 'strong' thing?" Yuan Xiaohu had of course never heard of this term.

Sang Luo didn't have time to explain to him. Seeing that the morning was passing by, she urged Yuan Xiaohu to drive back to the bureau to reunite with her master.

The four of them returned to the office and reported on the progress of their investigation this morning. Master and Xie Ling'er had been investigating at the crime scene all morning. They collected more than a dozen relatively obvious fingerprints and planned to send them to the Municipal Bureau for fingerprint identification in the afternoon. They wondered if they could find the suspect's fingerprints among them.

Yuan Xiaohu said that no one raises snakes in Chaxiang Lane, which basically ruled out the possibility that the snake escaped accidentally. It can be confirmed that someone deliberately poisoned the snake in this case.

Sang Luo also shared her findings. Although the victim He Taohua and her husband had a meager income, they were usually generous and kind to their neighbors. In addition to daily help, some people had borrowed money from Nie Yu. Everyone said that the two of them had a good relationship with everyone and had never made enemies with anyone.

"Anyone who wants to borrow money will agree? These two people really don't know how to live, they are just like children who spend money!" Xie Ling'er couldn't help but sigh, "Can they save up their monthly salary?"

"I haven't investigated the detailed economic situation yet." Sang Luo said.

Yuan Xiaohu touched his chin and said, "Since they have no grudges against anyone, can we rule out the possibility of revenge killing?"

Ma Shi Tu held the tea and shook his head: "On the contrary, these two people are good, but they are too nice. They borrow money everywhere, which actually makes enemies everywhere. There are always only a few people who can repay the money consciously, and those who are unwilling to repay the money often become enemies."

Yuan Xiaohu suddenly understood: "So, it can be said that those who have borrowed money from them are potential enemies of their family?"

Ma Shi Tu put down the water cup and said, "We can't rule out this possibility. Xiao Hu, you and Ling Er will drive to the Municipal Bureau for fingerprint identification this afternoon. Sang Luo and I will stay here to investigate."

"Okay." Xie Ling'er didn't say much and immediately started writing the application report.

Yuan Xiaohu rushed to say: "Wait, Master, I have an idea!"

He pointed downstairs and said, "The old man who is being held downstairs now is called Fu Ainong. He is He Taohua's next-door neighbor. We have asked around and found out that this man has a very bad character and is capable of doing anything. He also has a criminal record. I think this man is the most suspicious!"

"And..." he whispered, "This man likes to harass women. When Sang Luo and I entered the house, he deliberately disgusted us. He Taohua lives next door to him. She has a good figure and good looks. We are so close, I don't believe Fu Ainong has never harassed her!"

"This old bachelor, could it be that he once pursued He Taohua, but He Taohua rejected him, so he got angry and got a snake—"

Ma Shi Tu stretched out his hand and signaled Yuan Xiaohu to stop: "It's good that you have your own ideas, but there is no evidence at the moment. The investigation has just begun, and all the clues are just the beginning. There are many things waiting for us to investigate next. Go ahead and check it out. We are criminal police and we must base our actions on facts."

After receiving such an answer, Yuan Xiaohu shut his mouth in dismay. Xie Ling'er had already prepared the application report. After all, she had just been there once not long ago, so she directly used the template from last time.

Holding the written report, Xie Ling'er walked into Captain Liao's office tremblingly. This was Captain Liao, and everyone knew that he had a bad temper.

Yuan Xiaohu covered his ears in advance, fearing that he would hear another roar from next door. However, to his surprise, Xie Ling'er came back very quickly with a smile on her face:

"Master, Captain Liao said that we don't need to go. He happened to be going to the city for a meeting this afternoon, so he helped us send the fingerprint samples over for identification."

Ma Shi Tu nodded, and Yuan Xiaohu opened his eyes wide: "Oh my God, is he so kind?"

Sang Luo was not too surprised. She vaguely felt that going to the city for a meeting was just an excuse. The usually aloof Captain Liao was willing to take the initiative to help them make this trip, actually to apologize for the last criticism.

She smiled and said, "That's great, we can stay and concentrate on the investigation."

Ma Shi Tu said to everyone, "We will split into two groups this afternoon. Sang Luo and Ling'er, you two will go investigate the economic and emotional conditions of He Taohua's family. Xiao Hu, follow me to the interrogation room this afternoon. I want to meet the suspect you mentioned."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Sang Luo realized that her master had made such arrangements to prevent Fu Ainong from harassing the two policewomen again.

After the meeting, several people went to the cafeteria to get food. They came late and the dishes were almost all taken away. Yuan Xiaohu complained while eating that the meat had been taken away. Sang Luo did not say anything, but put mouthfuls of the already cold rice into his mouth, while thinking silently about the case.

Although a strange Fu Ainong appeared in the middle, Sang Luo still believed that it was Nie Yu who poisoned the woman. This was a case of wife-murder. She hoped that she could find evidence to prove her guess in the afternoon.