Chapter 212 Police Officer's Suspect
Warm sunlight shines into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling glass, illuminating the clock on the small coffee table.
The numbers on the square smart clock are jumping, showing the date and time.
The time jumped to 12 o'clock. Lin Zhi cleaned the house and put the kitchen waste at the door, intending to take it downstairs when he went out.
As soon as he opened the door, he met the man standing at the next door.
He was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, a little thin, wearing old-fashioned round glasses. Even though it was summer, he was wearing a gray suit. He looked gentle and old-fashioned, like an old pedant.
Lin Zhi guessed that he should be a teacher. When he thought about what the older sister next door said the day before, he soon knew the identity of the person in front of him.
He took out his key to open the door. Like his wife, his key was also tied with a red string.
But before he could put the key into the keyhole, the door was opened from the inside.
The eldest sister was wearing an apron and seemed to be cooking. She said, "I heard you coming out of the elevator a long time ago. What are you waiting for? Is this family a cannibal or something?"
She did not hide her resentment at all, and her brows were furrowed.
My eldest sister's eyebrows should have been semi-permanently tattooed a few years ago to keep up with the trend. They don't quite suit her age, and because they have faded and are a little dark blue, they look even more troublesome.
The middle-aged man listened to his wife's lecture without saying a word and took off his shoes slowly.
Lin Zhi's gaze fell on the eldest sister's neck. The eldest sister was wearing a floral scarf. Her curly hair had not been well-groomed and was messy like dead grass, making her overall appearance seem even more out of place.
Seeing that both of them were safe and sound, Lin Zhi thought that he might be too suspicious.
The dull noise he heard last night sounded very much like the sound of a fight. He found it unusual because a fight between a couple would usually be accompanied by the sound of quarreling. In addition, he had heard the two quarreling before, and the eldest sister had a hot-tempered personality and a shrill voice.
But yesterday there were only sounds of fighting, no sounds of quarreling, and it was very strange that my eldest sister didn't say a word.
As long as there is a one in ten thousand chance that it is a homicide, Lin Zhi believes that he should go out and take a look. Perhaps his actions can save a life.
Lin Zhi felt that he should do this, and he would not hesitate when thinking of his revenge.
If something really happened and the police came to inquire the next day, Qiu might be disappointed in him when he knew that he had clearly noticed the abnormality but did not take any action.
But this is just Lin Zhi's guess, maybe Qiu won't do that.
But whether it is true or not, Lin Zhi doesn't like this assumption.
He doesn't like others to be disappointed in him, especially if the other person is his lover.
He was certain that the man next door could not be the mastermind behind the inverted triangle serial murders. The murderer was overly cautious, and knowing that the police were following him, he would not get too close to him.
In fact, Lin Zhi felt that the murderer would not kill him until he witnessed the completion of the murderer's work.
It now seems that the neighbor couple did have some disputes yesterday, but nothing serious happened.
Lin Zhi's mind was in a state of confusion, but it did not show on his face.
The eldest sister saw him and nodded to him in greeting.
"Xiaolin, have you eaten?"
"Not yet. I'll eat it later. Are the apples I gave you that day sweet? How about I give you two more?"
The eldest sister shook her head: "No, no, just keep it and eat it yourself."
"Okay," Lin Zhi looked at the shoes the man had laid out, and asked casually, "Are these the shoes you took to get repaired the other day? The shoemaker's craftsmanship looks pretty good. Where did you get them repaired?"
When the middle-aged man who had already entered the door heard Lin Zhi mention shoes, he turned around suddenly. He looked straight at Lin Zhi, seeming a little absent-minded.
Judging from appearance, the eldest sister looked older than him, but he was dressed dully, like a dull and gray autumn day. His expression made him look even more haggard.
The eldest sister patted her husband on the back and asked him to go into the house, saying with a sullen face, "How could that be? The shoes are not broken. I asked him to get them repaired, but he didn't bring them back for two days, so I went there myself. Who would have thought that he didn't forget at all, but that he simply threw away the shoes because he thought they were too worn out. He is absolutely sick."
The man didn't say a word even though his wife said this in front of others.
The eldest sister was not in the mood to chat. She said that she still had food in the pot and closed the door.
The bang was very loud, but it wasn't directed at Lin Zhi, let alone anyone else.
Lin Zhi also closed the door. Not long after, he received a text message and opened the door again.
This was only the third time Qiu Huo came in from outside, but he had already walked into the kitchen with ease.
Lin Zhi had already cooked the rice and was just waiting for him to cook.
The fruits and vegetables were washed, and the kitchen knife looked very delicate in Qiu Huo's hand. His movements of cutting the vegetables were neat and decisive, which matched his tall and mature appearance and was even somewhat pleasing to the eye.
"I just saw the neighbor couple when I put the garbage at the door."
Sharing is one of the most direct and effective ways to enhance connections with each other, and it is also a natural emotion.
Qiu Huo asked: "What did you see?"
"They must have had a fight. The eldest sister tied a silk scarf around her neck to hide the scars, but I didn't see any marks on the eldest brother's body. Judging from his body shape, he didn't have the upper hand, so the scars must have been covered by his clothes."
"It's good that nothing serious happened. It's not advisable to take action."
Place the dish on a plate, wipe the knife and continue with other ingredients.
Lin Zhi crossed his arms and joked, "Of course, if the officer wants to attack me, I can't withstand a punch."
As a result, the topic suddenly turned from serious to ambiguous.
There is a couple next door, but they are not.
Qiu Huo paused, looked back at Lin Zhi and said, "I won't do it, but it's hard to say what other lessons I can teach you."
"When you put it that way, I don't want to be careful, but rather look forward to it. Officer, does this count as inducing someone to make a mistake?"
Lin Zhiwei's beautiful face had a gentle expression, and there was a hint of seductive innocence between her smiling eyes.
Qiu Huo put down the kitchen knife in his hand and said slowly: "Come here, I will tell you the answer."
Lin Zhi looked at the curved shape on Qiu Huo's side and estimated that if he walked over, he would be the dish that was cut.
"Then I'll listen to the answer later. Right now, it's more important to fill my stomach."
Whether to do it or not, and when to do it, Lin Zhi has his own ideas and plans. Although they are an old couple in a sense, he doesn't want to be rash.
Besides, he still has something on his mind now, so his desire is not very strong.
Qiu Huo picked up the kitchen knife again and continued cooking as if nothing had happened.
Lin Zhi admired the male beauty for a while, and continued, "I feel like there's something wrong with them."
Lin Zhi was a very perceptive person. During the brief moment when they greeted each other at noon, he felt that the two people were unnatural, so he asked about the pair of shoes out of nosyness.
Lin Zhi talked about the strange things he felt, including not hearing his eldest sister's voice last night and the man's reaction when he mentioned the shoes.
"It sounds a bit unusual. When investigating you, our people asked them. From the conversation, we learned that they moved in last year. The man's surname is Zhang. He is a teacher at a nearby junior high school and has taught for many years. The woman is a worker at a fish processing factory. We didn't ask too much about other things."
Apart from the fact that one could tell, without a professional sense, that their relationship was not good, Qiu Huo didn't pay much attention to them.
"I thought the officer would think I was being overly sensitive."
"You're very perceptive, which is a good trait."
"That seemed to be the first time a police officer had complimented me."
Qiu Huo didn't comment, turned on the range hood and started cooking.
The hydrangeas in the vase on the dining table were blooming beautifully. During the break in the meal, Lin Zhi asked about the gang fight that took place last night.
Qiu Huo brushed it off by saying, “A person died, so we had to deal with it very late yesterday.”
Lin Zhi suggested, "Officer, please enter your fingerprint into the door lock later, in case I fall asleep due to the effects of the drug when you send me a message."
Qiu Huo's expression was a little strange. He said, "You seem to trust me very much."
Even though his tone was questioning, what he said was a statement.
Qiu Huo actually never understood where the young man's trust in him came from.
After all, this kind of emotion is different from □□, and the young man's body language often reveals his trust in him.
When he lifted him up for the first time, the young man's limbs were soft and there was no resistance at all, but they must have been strangers to each other at that time.
"If you can't even trust the police, who can you trust?"
Lin Zhi asked back with a smile, lightly blocking the words back.
He had no intention of explaining the transformation of souls in past and present lives. It was too troublesome and too bizarre. What's more, he didn't fully understand the inside story.
He believed what 01 said and believed his lover's illness, but Lin Zhi had no idea what plane and time his lover was from, what his personality was like, what experiences he had that led to his illness, and what kind of life he lived.
He has not yet been able to move from the so-called virtual to the so-called reality, so we can put all this aside for now.
All questions have answers, but not all answers are materialized results.
"You know my illness. I might lose control at any time. Now there is a murderer watching me. It is better for you to come into my house than not being able to come in when something goes wrong."
The reasons Lin Zhi gave were very sufficient and seemed reasonable.
But he is not a fragile, naive and trusting person, and he knows the hatred very well.
Young people’s excessive trust is like honey that lures people into indulgence, and the threads of love are so entangled that they make people’s hearts numb.
It’s hard to describe the feeling of hatred, but to put it intuitively, it’s very hard.
After dinner, Qiu Huo washed the dishes and Lin Zhi took him to the door.
But before the door could be opened, he was held against it.
Lin Zhi's body was suspended in the air, and could only be supported by Qiu Huo.
He put his arm around Qiu Huo's shoulders to prevent himself from sliding down completely.
He bit the side of Qiu Huo's neck and said vaguely, "Officer, your grip is too strong."
It's not like dough is without feelings. People also feel pain.
Qiu Huo has been training since he was young, and he never slacked off after something happened at home. Later, he went to the police academy and hung out with a group of rough guys. He had strong hands and never thought about how to control them. But the situation is different now.
He eased the force on his hands and did not mention this matter when he spoke. He only said, "My name is Qiu Huo."
While he was speaking, Lin Zhi happened to kiss his Adam's apple, feeling the slight vibration between his lips.
"Qiu or."
Lin Zhi opened and closed her lips, and murmured her name with a smile.
Like a mark, a name that is extremely special to all things is the shortest spell in the world.
Qiu Huo would never have imagined that one day someone would be able to make him unable to control his emotions just by saying his name.
Lin Zhi's upper body was lifted up to be almost as tall as Qiu Huo. The air in his lungs was taken to the extreme, and the root of his tongue was numb.
In summer, thin fabrics rub and squeeze against each other, and the richness collides and stacks.
Lin Zhi was a thin man. In the past few days, he had a regular schedule and ate well, and gained some weight back.
Ten minutes later, the new fingerprint was entered into the door lock.
The enemy may not have left, but the door was closed again.
Lin Zhi's lips were too red, and he said something ambiguous: "The officer is really very calm."
Qiu Huo narrowed his eyes and said, "There may be a mission in a while."
If you have to start, even if you can't enjoy it to the fullest, at least you can't end it hastily.
This is really not a suitable time, at least he can take some time off and ensure that there will be no unexpected interruptions.
Lin Zhi thought so too. If Qiu Huo had to withdraw at a critical moment, according to his current ability to control his emotions, he might have a seizure on the spot.
Just imagining it made him feel a little upset.
As usual, Qiu Huo would rest for a while at Lin Zhi's place before going back to work, but today, before he could even wake up from sleepiness, a new case came up.
"There's a floating corpse in the east of the city? Okay, I'll be there right away."
Qiu Huo hung up the phone and stood up immediately.
"Can I come with you?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhi stood up and walked towards the door.
"Don't worry, I won't hinder your investigation. I'm just a bystander, and I'm just looking for some inspiration and material for my new book."
Qiu Huo looked down at Lin Zhi and asked, "If I say no, will you not go?"
"If I can't get a ride, I'll have to take a taxi."
Lin Zhi smiled and did not lie.
Qiu Huo knew this was the answer, so he asked Lin Zhi to follow.
Qiu Huo rushed to the crime scene at lightning speed. There was already a crowd of onlookers around, standing on the bridge and the embankment, looking down.
Lin Zhi did not follow Qiu Huo inside. Instead, he found a suitable location and asked the people around him about the situation.
Twenty minutes ago, someone walking along the shore saw something like algae floating on the surface of the river and moving slowly along the current. He thought something was wrong, so he called the police.
After the police salvaged the debris, they discovered that it was not algae, but human hair.
The body had not been soaked for too long, and the water in this area was turbid, so it was not very obvious.
Qiu Huo showed his ID, opened the cordon, put on special gloves and walked inside. Wei Yunjun, Zhu Changdong and others had already arrived.
Zhu Changdong: "Boss, no valid ID was found on the deceased. We immediately sent the photo back to Erhe for search. He was not found in the missing persons list and there is no criminal record. We are investigating further."
Qiu Huo looked at the wet man who was fished out of the water and observed how he died.
The deceased was approximately 35 to 40 years old, of medium build, with no distinctive features.
He did not have any characteristics of a drowning person. There were no knife wounds on his body, but there was a wound on his forehead and his fingers were swollen and bruised. He must have fought with someone before his death, and must have been killed and dumped.
Qiu Huo squatted down and touched the man's trouser leg.
The man was wearing a pair of sweatpants with some subtle marks on the cuffs.
"Did you find any stones when you pulled the body out?"
"No," Wei Yunjun looked carefully and found the marks on the trouser legs. He said, "It's a little bumpy here, as if it was tied with a rope."
Qiu Huo rolled up the man's trouser legs and found that there were indeed shallow marks on his calves. Judging from the depth of the marks, they were probably caused by being restrained after death.
"It was tied so tightly, how could it be gone when it was salvaged? It's impossible for a dead person to untie the rope himself."
Wei Yunjun imagined the scene and felt a little scared.
Zhu Changdong: "It's obvious that someone helped him to untie it, in order to quickly discover the body. Why would the murderer go to such lengths?"
Qiu Huo lowered his trouser legs and said, "He's not the murderer."
The murderer's mood can be judged from the binding marks. He was anxious and confused, and had a strong wish that the body would never see the light of day. However, the marks were shallow, which showed that they were not formed long ago. There is a contradiction here, which means that it is very likely that the binding and releasing were not done by the same person.
The forensic doctor conducted a preliminary examination and gave feedback: "The deceased died between 10:30 and 11:00 last night. The preliminary judgment is that the death was caused by a blunt instrument injury to the back of the head, which caused intracranial hemorrhage. I need to go back to the bureau for a detailed examination of the specific blunt instrument. Interference factors cannot be ruled out."
Qiu Huo nodded and ordered, "Check the speed of the water flow and go upstream to find the place where the body was dumped. Leave two people to check the surrounding area to see if there are other witnesses. The others follow me back to the bureau."
The body was put into a bag and carried into the car. Qiu Huo looked at Lin Zhi on the shore from a distance and sent him a message in the car, asking him to go home early.
After the initial shock, the man who called the police was still telling everyone with great interest how his pair of wise eyes worked.
Lin Zhi listened, replied with revenge or news, and walked out of the crowd.
It's not very far from his residence, but it still takes some time to walk there.
Lin Zhi saw a coffee shop on the way here and planned to buy a cup of coffee before going home.
Suddenly, Lin Zhi felt like he was being watched again.
Someone is watching him.
Lin Zhi looked back and could only see a crowd of people standing by the river.
Although the body had been taken away, there were still many people who came to watch the fun walking forward, casting curious glances at the river, listening to what others said and joining the army of speculation.
As if knowing that he had been discovered, the sight disappeared again.
But when Lin Zhi continued to move forward, it appeared again.
That person was among the crowd, watching him quietly, without malice or even strong emotions, like a shadow.
It was the person who looked at him in the rain last time. Most likely he was not a policeman. There was only one possibility.
Why is he here? Has he been following him, or is he related to this case?
Lin Zhi thought about it, walked into the coffee shop with a normal expression, bought a cup of coffee, hailed a taxi on the roadside, and returned to the apartment building.
When I entered the building, the intermittent sight disappeared without a trace.
The elevator door closed, blocking out everything from the outside world.
Lin Zhi reached the sixth floor and found that the shoes on the shoe cabinet in 603 had disappeared, which meant that the couple must have gone out.
Lin Zhi practiced the piano in the bedroom for a while, then sat on the bay window to read a book.
It wasn't until he received a message on his phone from Qiu Huo asking if he had arrived home that Lin Zhi realized he had forgotten something.
In fact, it can be said that he forgot, because he didn't need to specifically tell Qiu whether he had arrived home.
The June sun was not too scorching. Lin Zhi leaned against the pillow, put the book on her lap, and replied to the message of revenge.
[It’s been a while since I got home.] 】
【On the road I felt someone was following me. 】
[He is looking at me.] 】
[At this moment.] 】
The phone vibrated continuously because of the message, and when it vibrated for the last time, Qiu Huo's heart suddenly clenched.
He gestured to Zhou Erhe beside him and dialed Lin Zhi's number.
Lin Zhi's fingertips stroked across the pages of the book. He lowered his head, seemingly unaware of the outside world's prying eyes. There was nothing unusual when he answered the phone, except that he put the phone to his ear, covering his lips.
"Where are you in the house?"
"In the bedroom bay window."
"The source of the sight is outside?"
Lin Zhi chuckled and said, "Yes, if the source of the sight was at home, I might not have spoken to you so calmly."
Lin Zhi was not in danger for the time being. Qiu Huo's heartbeat returned to normal. Hearing this, he said, "I don't think so."
A page of the book was turned. Lin Zhi listened to Qiu Huo's words and smiled. She had to say that Qiu Huo was right.
"Can you sense the exact direction of the sight?"
Qiu Huo quickly recalled the topographic map in his mind. There were many residential areas surrounding the apartment where Lin Zhi lived.
"This is a bit too much to ask."
Although Lin Zhi is very sharp, he is not a professional after all. He has not received relevant training and is not that sharp.
And judging by the distance between the buildings, the other party should not be spying on him with the naked eye.
Qiu Huo advised: "Stay home and don't go out. Call me as soon as you feel any unusual movement. Try to stay calm. You can take the medicine after I arrive."
He knew that the drug would make people sleepy, and in the current situation, staying awake was more important than being rational.
There is no doubt that Officer Qiu gives people a sense of security. Lin Zhi responded, put down his phone and continued to read leisurely.
Qiu Huo hung up the phone and met two pairs of eyes.
Wei Yunjun: "Boss, is that Lin Zhi?"
"Well, he said he felt like someone was watching him. It was probably Xiao Xia."
Xiao Xia was the code name they gave to the serial killer with the inverted triangle mark. Without any new clues, the case had come to a stalemate. They could not completely determine that the man in black was Xiao Xia, and the nearby surveillance cameras did not capture any trace of him. However, because of this, the possibility that the man was Xiao Xia became higher.
Zhou Erhe muttered, "Boss, you are quite nice to him."
Wei Yunjun: "More than that, it's great. If I hadn't heard what happened before, I would have been wondering when the boss had a sickly partner, and when the boss had ever been so tender and affectionate."
It is not appropriate to say that her voice is as gentle as water. Qiu Huo's voice was not very gentle, as cold and hard as ever, but the feeling was just different.
Zhou Erhe: "It's like a spring breeze blowing on my face."
Qiu Huo looked at them coldly as they sang the same tune, and asked impatiently, "Are you done?"
The two men shuddered, stopped talking nonsense, and talked about serious matters.
"The DNA extraction from the skin scraps under the nails of the deceased is already underway, but because it has been soaked in sewage for some time, some of it has been contaminated and it will take a long time."
"Based on the wound on the back of the victim's head, the murder weapon is likely to be a trophy."
"Based on the flow rate and the degree of swelling of the body, the place where the body was dumped should be here."
Wei Yunjun used an electronic pen to draw a small circle in a certain section of the river, or zoomed in on the map, and drew a circle with the place where the body was dumped as the center and a certain distance as the radius. In most cases, this would be the murderer's range of activities, and the apartment building where Lin Zhi lived was clearly in it.
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