Chapter 4: On the fourth day of quitting the circle, write me a good word of no less than 25 words...
Zhang Mao had never seen such a strange scene in his life.
Moreover, according to the hotel staff, the hotel windows were all closed that night, and there was no possibility for a crow to fly into the 36th floor.
But this is what happened.
"The most crucial thing is, after Zhong Jie reported the murder and the body being hidden, the first thing they told us was not to delve into how Sang Qiqi knew about it!" Zhang Mao snuffed out his cigarette, tossed the butt into the trash, and concluded, "I have a feeling this girl has some connections."
Kong Xingyan was stunned: "What connections?"
Zhang Mao: "Connections that can't be publicly discussed."
Regardless of whether Kong Xingyan understood what he said, Zhang Mao turned his head to look at his companion who was waving at him, made an 'understood' gesture, and said hurriedly: "I'll tell you the details when I come over tomorrow."
Kong Xingyan was stunned again: "What are you doing here?"
Zhang Mao: "Give the girl a banner and a bonus. It's a murder case, so she deserves a good reward, right? Well, I have something else to do, so I'll hang up first."
After the busy tone sounded, Kong Xingyan threw the cigarette butt into the trash can and quickly returned to the office.
No matter how Sang Qiqi knew it, since it was true that Zhong Jie killed someone and hid the body, then Qu Shen’s disappearance in Yujiang was most likely true as well.
With his hands on the table, Kong Xingyan called Chen Xin and asked, "Where are you?"
-
After leaving the Fuping District Public Security Bureau, Sang Qiqi went to the supermarket first and bought some instant noodles and other fast food.
I returned home with a sack of snacks, and as soon as I stepped into the kitchen, I met the eyes of the water ghost Ben Gui who was taking a bath in the sink.
Qu Shen pretended to casually glance at Sang Qiqi's face twice, and confirmed that Sang Qiqi was not beaten when she went out, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Although he and Sang Qiqi had only known each other for a day, Sang Qiqi had rescued him from the Yu River and offered to help him investigate the drowning child, so Sang Qiqi was his benefactor. In the face of online violence, he naturally didn't want anything to happen to Sang Qiqi.
"If you're bored, you can go hang out in the pool downstairs, but remember not to scare anyone."
Sang Qiqi pushed him away as she spoke, poured hot water into the kettle, and prepared to cook instant noodles.
Qu Shen uttered an "oh" but didn't leave. Instead, he asked curiously, "Is there instant noodles in the underworld?"
"Yes, but the prices are a bit high and there aren't many varieties." Sang Qiqi glanced at him and said, "If you're interested, I'll treat you to a meal when I send you off to reincarnate."
Qu Shen's eyes lit up: "Really?"
When he was alive, he was a nerdy otaku who ate instant noodles for meals. Back then, he didn't think instant noodles were that delicious; at most, they were just a way to fill his stomach. But now it was different. He'd been dead for almost a year, and there were no snacks left in Yujiang. The aroma of Sang Qiqi's braised beef noodles made him feel like his stomach was about to burst open.
"I will definitely give you a five-star rating." He raised his finger and swore.
Sang Qiqi raised the price: "You also need to write me a favorable review of no less than 25 words."
Qu Shen nodded frantically.
Sang Qiqi watched Qu Shen go to the pool downstairs. Before she could even take a bite of noodles, she received a call from someone claiming to be from the Xifeng District Public Security Bureau, saying that she had been rewarded for providing clues.
Sang Qiqi looked at the numbers in the original owner's bank account and felt that this bonus was very necessary.
Early the next morning.
While the water ghost Qu Shen was still sleeping soundly in the pool, the doorbell of Sang Qiqi's house rang.
The people from Xifeng District were Zhang Mao and Xiao Zhou, with Kong Xingyan joining in the fun. As soon as the two criminal investigation team captains entered, they instinctively scanned the house. The girl's house, where she lived alone, was clean and tidy. The light-colored curtains were drawn, letting in warm but not glaring sunlight, illuminating a bouquet of lisianthus on the coffee table.
But they still subconsciously rubbed their arms and muttered, "Why is it so cold in this room?"
Qu Shen, who was woken up, quietly dived into the pool, fearing that someone would notice something was wrong.
Sang Qiqi was calm. She first took the banner, then the red envelope, and said thank you with a smile on her face.
Zhang Maoduo took a few glances at Sang Qiqi. The girl was pretty, with an oval face and almond eyes. When she smiled with her eyes curved, she had a natural brightness. She had nothing to do with the strange and eerie red-eyed crow.
Suppressing the thoughts in his heart, he kept a calm expression, smiled and kicked Kong Xingyan, urging him, "Come over and take a photo with us. Our comrades in the Propaganda Department will post it on Weibo later."
Kong Xingyan glanced down at the shoe prints on his pants, resisting the urge to throw him on his back as he instructed Sang Qiqi to open the banner. Zhang Mao, on the other hand, had already mastered the moves with experience. He pulled his uniform straight, leaving no wrinkles, leaned slightly towards Sang Qiqi, and placed his right hand on his chest, giving a thumbs-up.
Click, the photo is frozen.
Zhang Mao leaned over to take a look and was quite satisfied. However, considering that Sang Qiqi was a female celebrity, he considerately asked Sang Qiqi, "Do you need any photo editing? We have a young lady in the Criminal Investigation Team who is very skilled at photo editing."
Xiao Zhou glanced at the photo and didn't think there was anything to edit on Sang Qiqi's photogenic face.
Their boss, on the other hand, had an unshaven beard and bags under his eyes that almost reached his chin. He didn't look like a captain of the Xifeng District Public Security Criminal Investigation Brigade at all.
He sent the photo to Xiao Tang in the team, emphasizing: "Only beautify it for the captain."
Zhang Mao and Xiao Zhou finished their business and did not stay long. However, Kong Xingyan, who had originally said he would join in the fun, seemed to be trapped on the sofa and pretended to drink tea while the two said goodbye.
Sang Qiqi was lost in thought. After seeing Zhang Mao and Xiao Zhou off, she took the initiative to ask Kong Xingyan, "Captain Kong, do you have something to ask me?"
Kong Xingyan didn't try to play dirty with Sang Qiqi and simply said, "Well, last August we received a report from someone claiming to be Qu Shen, but due to some objective constraints at the time, we weren't able to find him, so the matter fell through. Yesterday, after you reminded us, our team spent the entire afternoon walking around the Beiliao Street area, but unfortunately, the nearby surveillance footage wasn't saved for seven or eight months, so our investigation has been put in jeopardy."
"I came to see you today to ask if you have any other clues to provide."
When Kong Xingyan said these words, Sang Qiqi turned her head to look at the kitchen, and sure enough, she saw the water ghost who had been hiding because a stranger had entered the house quietly raised his water algae.
Sang Qiqi recalled her conversation with Qu Shen and said truthfully, "He said he drowned while trying to save a child. From what he said, it was late at night and there weren't many people near the Yu River, so it's unlikely anyone noticed them. But I suspect the child is not dead and may have been rescued. So I suggest you start with the child and see if you can find any clues."
As usual, Kong Xingyan took out the pen and notebook he carried with him and wrote down everything Sang Qiqi said.
After finishing it, he read it twice, drew two lines under the word "children", and nodded: "Okay, I understand. Then let's go walk around the Beiliao Street area again."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's just my job, not that hard. I'll be leaving now." Kong Xingyan said goodbye to Sang Qiqi, his steps quick. Even as he got into the car, he was still thinking about the child. He tossed the notebook aside and buckled his seatbelt. His gaze shifted to the windshield, but he froze for a moment.
Wait.
What did Sang Qiqi say just now?
Kong Xingyan frantically picked up the small notebook and read the words on it again: "He said he drowned while trying to save a child. He also said it was late and no one found them..."
How did Sang Qiqi know that Qu Shen had drowned? How could she have heard him say it was late when he had already drowned?
Kong Xingyan's expression gradually cracked, and the hand holding the small notebook began to tremble.
Is this correct?
Is this reasonable?
"Boss?"
Along the riverside of Beiliao Street, Chen Xin and Xiao Xiao looked at Kong Xingyan, who was obviously not in the right state, with surprise. They couldn't help but stretch out their hands and wave them in front of each other's faces. After waving them back and forth seven or eight times, they finally pulled Kong Xingyan back to his wandering thoughts.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Shouldn't we be the ones asking you what's wrong?" Xiao Xiao said with an exaggerated expression, "You looked like you'd seen a ghost since you came back from Sang Qiqi's place. Are you okay? Did Sang Qiqi do anything to you?"
Kong Xingyan: "What can a little girl do to me?"
He shook off the chaotic thoughts in his head, straightened his expression, and said, "Go ask around and see if anyone saw a soaking wet child on the night of July 16th last year."
"A child who is soaked all over?" Chen Xin repeated the sentence.
"Yes, Sang Qiqi said that Qu Shen died while trying to save a drowning child..."
"Wait a minute, how did Sang Qiqi know that Qu Shen died while saving a drowning child?" Chen Xin was a little confused.
They all had some guesses in their minds that Qu Shen was dead. After all, the outcome was almost the same when they were out of contact for too long. But wasn't it unreasonable for Sang Qiqi to reveal the cause of Qu Shen's death?
"You ask me?" Kong Xingyan pointed at his nose.
Chen Xin: “…”
What else?
The two looked at each other for ten seconds. Chen Xin took a step back, made an "OK" gesture, turned around and ran to investigate.
This investigation actually revealed something.
There weren't many shops along the river on Beiliao Street, but there were plenty of anglers. Chen Xin and Xiao Xiao had originally just wanted to try their luck, but unexpectedly, they had a clue when they asked the second person. The man was about forty years old, his face covered tightly, his eyes barely visible beneath his sunglasses, but the watch on his wrist, worth a house, was particularly eye-catching.
He hissed softly, "When you mention children, I do remember a little bit. I had an argument with my wife that day, so I decided to go fishing late at night to relax. I hadn't been fishing for long when I saw a fellow angler hurried off. I didn't think much of it until he came back with a soaking wet child about ten minutes later, saying his son had fallen into the river. That's when I realized he'd taken his son fishing with him and hadn't kept an eye on him. Luckily, he got the child back in time."
"But..." He frowned and recalled carefully, "The child's condition wasn't very good at the time. He rushed him to the hospital and even confiscated his fishing rod and equipment."
Chen Xin and Xiao Xiao exchanged a glance, and the latter quickly asked, "Are you still in touch with him?"
The man shook his head: "No, we're just fishing buddies who we met by chance."
Xiao Xiao: "Didn't we meet here again later?"
The man continued to shake his head. "No. It's quite strange, I've come here to fish quite a few times, and I know almost all the anglers around here. We all come here to fish from time to time, but he's the only one I haven't seen since that time."
Chen Xin pondered to himself, it was indeed quite strange.
Although she wasn't interested in fishing, the sight of the anglers' baskets filled with fish, both large and small, proved that the Yu River was abundant with fish, making it a prime fishing spot. So, why hadn't he come? Could it be that the child falling into the river had left him with a psychological trauma?
The possibility exists, but it's not that great.
Chen Xin stood there thinking for a long time, then suddenly clapped his hands and asked the man, "Did the man drive the child to the hospital himself? Did you see the license plate?"
"I was driving myself. I didn't look closely at the license plate..." The man said, then suddenly paused, "Wait, I remember sending a photo to my wife that day. Let me see if I can capture the car."
Xiao Xiao couldn't help but interrupt when he heard this: "Didn't you just say that you had a quarrel with your wife?"
The man glanced at him and said, "I can tell you're not married yet. Quarreling is one thing, and filing a marriage is another. These are two different things."
Xiao Xiao: “…”
The man opened WeChat, then opened the pinned dialog box, and flipped through the chat history to the date of July 16 last year. He clicked on it, and a pitch-black photo appeared in front of the three of them.
The man enlarged the photo, examined it carefully twice, and pointed his finger at the corner: "I actually got it. Here, the license plate."
Xiao Xiao was surprised and immediately added the man on WeChat, asked for a photo, and then sent the license plate number to his colleagues in the bureau.
Around nine o'clock that evening.
Sang Qiqi was about to go back to her room to rest when she received a call from the Fuping District Public Security Bureau. After hanging up, she looked at Qu Shen, who was staring at her eagerly, and after a moment of silence, she said, "There's a result."
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