Chapter 213 Police Officer's Suspect
"Boss, we found the victim's information."
Xiao Chen, a technical worker in charge of information in the office, shouted excitedly, attracting everyone's attention.
Qiu or they walked over and stood behind Xiao Chen's computer.
"I found a clue on a web page using the new search function."
That was a list of outstanding employees in the local section of the food delivery software's homepage, with portraits posted on it that matched the deceased's facial data.
The next step was easier, and the man's information was quickly found.
The deceased was named Ma Xide, 32 years old, a resident of a town under Runing City, and a food delivery boy.
"Erhe and I will go to the vicinity of the deceased's home. Yunjun and Changdong will go to the deceased's company to investigate. The clothes the deceased was wearing were not work clothes. We need to find out where he might go during his non-working hours. The others will take the photos and investigate near the crime scene."
As soon as Qiu Huo finished speaking, the team members immediately carried out the order.
Ma Xide lived in a shared house. The small room was divided into three rooms, and Ma Xide lived in the smallest one.
When the landlord used his key to open the door, he told the police about his situation.
Ma Xide has lived here for almost three years, and because he works as a delivery man, he often returns home in the middle of the night.
"He is a very honest man. He has never defaulted on rent. He is a nice person. He would help with repairing appliances or moving things. He works very hard. He is just unlucky. Now something like this has happened. I don't know what will happen to his children."
The landlord was deeply saddened upon learning of Ma Xide's death.
The door was opened, and the furnishings inside were very simple, like a residence for a single man to spend the night, without any breath of life.
Qiu Huo followed her words and asked, "What happened to his child?"
"There were some problems here in the past few years when there was an accident. He basically lived in the hospital. Otherwise, he wouldn't work so hard to make money and still squeeze into this place."
The landlord pointed to her head and told her everything she knew in detail.
Based on the clues provided by the landlord and Ma Xide's consumption records, Qiu or his team soon found his hospitalized son in the First People's Hospital.
His son, seven or eight years old, was lying sickly in bed. The doctor said that he had blood clots in his brain due to the accident. Given his condition, even a craniotomy would have a relatively high risk. In addition, Ma Xide was unable to afford the high cost of the operation, but the situation was not optimistic if he continued with conservative treatment.
Qiu Huo called his place of residence to inquire about the situation, and they responded shortly afterwards.
A few years ago, Ma Xide’s wife violated traffic rules and got into an accident. She died despite rescue efforts, her child was seriously injured, and the other party also got into trouble. The two parties reached a settlement.
Ma Xide brought his child to Runing for treatment and also found a job here.
Wei Yunjun and others who were investigating at Ma Xide's company also responded. Ma Xide's life is all about work and the hospital. He doesn't have many personal relationships with his colleagues, nor does he have any enemies. He has not received any bad reviews or complaints about his work recently. Judging from the communication information of his private number, he has not contacted anyone, and has no strange income or consumption.
So how could a man who was busy making money to treat his child's illness be thrown into the river?
If it was not a revenge killing or a murder of passion, but a sudden situation like robbery, the tools used in the crime would not make sense.
He was killed indoors due to hatred or inclination, and died in a physical conflict with someone.
"Boss, as you said, we checked his debt situation. He does owe a lot of money, but the creditors are all his relatives, and these people haven't come to Runing recently."
Wei Yunjun yawned as he spoke. They had been working like a top without a break since they received the report.
Qiu Huo looked at the time and found that it was already 11:30 in the evening.
"Got it, you go back and rest first."
"You want to work overtime alone again?"
"No, I have something to do."
Qiu Huo took the car keys and hurried out the door.
He told Lin Zhi that he would get there as soon as possible, but he is still busy now.
He pressed his finger into the groove and opened the door.
The lights in the living room were dimmed and it looked empty.
The message he sent to Lin Zhi before leaving still hadn't been replied to. Qiu Huo opened the door of the master bedroom, but didn't see the young man on the bed.
He quickly searched every space in the house, big and small, and walked into the bathroom in the master bedroom before letting out an almost inaudible sigh of relief.
The bathroom in the master bedroom is also very large and has a bathtub.
There was no light in the bathroom, only a small window to let in the moonlight.
There was a dark light floating on the water surface. The young man was lying in it with his arms on the edge of the bathtub and his long black hair draped behind his head. In the light and dark shadows, he looked like a siren.
Lin Zhi heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and met Qiu Huo's eyes.
"No one answered your call."
He opened his mouth and explained the reason for his intrusion.
"My cell phone is outside, officer. You are too slow."
There was a hint of complaint in Lin Zhi's tone. He was not really angry, but that did not stop him from making a fuss about it.
"I didn't take my medicine on time today because I was waiting for you."
Out of consideration for Lin Zhi's safety, Qiu Huo did say this.
However, when these words came out of Lin Zhi's mouth, they had a different meaning, as if he chose to wait until now for revenge rather than for himself.
"I got caught up in something," Qiu Huo explained simply, looking at Lin Zhi and asking, "It's 11:50 now, how long have you been soaking?"
Lin Zhi tilted his head: "Maybe more than an hour."
"Then you can take medicine."
There seemed to be no connection between Qiu Huo's two sentences. The moment Lin Zhi heard them, he thought Qiu Huo was going to get him medicine. However, Qiu Huo's action of stepping forward revealed the subtext.
You have almost finished soaking, so you can get up and take medicine.
Lin Zhi was fished out of the water by Qiu Huo. This wording is not an exaggeration. Qiu Huo leaned over and held both sides of his body with his hands, and lifted him out of the water like a child.
Lin Zhi almost thought that he was going to be carried up again. Fortunately, Qiu Huo had no such intention. He lifted him up in his arms. His legs were forced to spread apart and hang on Qiu Huo's body. If Lin Zhi hadn't known that he was going to take medicine, he might have misunderstood.
It was summer now and he wasn't too cold when he came out of the water. He was wet all over and as Qiu Huo walked, water droplets formed lines on the ground.
Qiu Huo hugged him with one hand, pulled the bath towel hanging on the side, and almost wrapped Lin Zhi up when he put him on the sofa, so as to prevent the water from Lin Zhi's body from getting the sofa wet.
He bent down and opened the drawer of the coffee table and asked, "What kinds are they and how do you eat them?"
Qiu Huo is a man whose actions speak louder than words, and this is fully demonstrated in his smooth and flowing movements.
The situation was unexpected. Lin Zhi was slow to react for a moment and couldn't help laughing out loud.
He told Qiu Huo which medicine and how much to get, and the pills appeared in Qiu Huo's palm. He then poured Lin Zhi a glass of water and placed it in front of Lin Zhi.
Lin Zhi took the water, but did not take the medicine from Qiu Huo's hand. Instead, he used Qiu Huo's hand to pour the medicine into his mouth and swallowed the pills in two batches.
After taking the medicine, seeing Qiu Huo was about to carry him into the bedroom, Lin Zhi spoke out to stop him.
"I just stuck to you, so my shower was in vain. Please take me back to the bathroom."
Qiu may have been busy outside all day, so his clothes are not clean.
His black short-sleeved shirt was soaked by the water from Lin Zhi's body, and it stuck to his body, outlining his muscles.
Qiu Huo raised his eyebrows slightly and put the person back into the water.
The bathroom light was turned on. Lin Zhi did not add any essential oil to the water, so the water was crystal clear.
The hatred or the gaze was so unbridled that there was no concealment at all.
That was pure desire, and he gave the most genuine response.
Lin Zhi was attracted by his gaze and asked, "Together?"
Qiu Huo refused: "Too small."
Indeed, a single bathtub is not large enough to accommodate two grown men, especially if they are tall.
Lin Zhi thought Qiu was going to do something, as there was fire in his eyes, but surprisingly he did nothing and just stood not far away and watched him.
Qiu Huo suddenly asked: "Can I have a cigarette?"
"Please."
Qiu Huo took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
The light in the bathroom suddenly dimmed, and a faint blue light flashed from the lighter, followed by a scarlet flame. The fine tobacco rolled in the paper flickered with the action of smoking.
Lin Zhi heard the sound of a belt being unbuckled. The light of the cigarette was reflected in Qiu Huo's eyes, and his handsome and mature features were tinged with a bit of lustful coldness.
In the darkness of the night, he felt Qiu Huo's gaze on him, never moving away.
Even though I didn't touch him, I felt more excited than if I had.
The sound of the tending was amplified in the space, along with the occasional sound of puffing. Lin Zhi's tongue tip pressed against the roof of his mouth, soaked in the water, and his fingers closed.
When wisps of smoke appeared on the water surface, Qiu Huo had already finished smoking his cigarette, but the conversation was not over yet.
Lin Zhi pressed the smart water-changing function of the bathtub. Instead of taking a milk bath, she used the massage function and enjoyed it leisurely.
By the time he came out of the bathroom, his skin was already wrinkled.
The curtains on the bedroom bay window were drawn tightly, blocking out any light.
Qiu Huo didn't open the curtains, but only opened the sides, so that he could see the outline of the balcony next door. He put down his hand and closed the curtains.
Qiu Huo had a topographic map in his mind and planned to go to a place where he could see the bay window to investigate during the day tomorrow.
"He looked at you for a long time?"
"Not for long, just a little while now and then."
Lin Zhi lay lazily on the bed. His bones were softened by the water, and due to the effect of the medicine, he was already a little drowsy.
"When did you feel it?"
"Today... yesterday to be exact, when we were on the bridge in the afternoon."
This was the scene where the floating corpse was found. Qiu Huo frowned slightly. Could it be a coincidence?
If it's not a coincidence, then how are they related?
According to their judgment, Xiao Xia is very familiar with the city and is most likely working as a delivery boy or a taxi driver.
However, the criminal method in this case is different from the previous ones, and the murderer's personality profile is completely inconsistent.
Serial killers don't usually change their methods unless there are special circumstances, especially those who leave a unique signature.
The rope that was untied on Ma Xide's legs, the gaze following Lin Zhi, two seemingly completely unrelated cases, and the residence within the range of activities of the murderer of Ma Xide's case... Qiu Huo's thoughts were complicated, and something seemed to flash through his mind, but it seemed like it was just his fantasy.
Qiu Huo was distracted for a while, and when he turned his attention back to Lin Zhi, he found that he was about to fall asleep.
Lin Zhi put on pajamas, and considering the temperature at night, Qiu Huo covered him with an air-conditioned quilt.
The sudden ringing of the cell phone startled Qiu Huo, and he quickly answered the call.
He walked to the bedroom door with his phone and heard the forensic doctor say, "Captain Qiu, I found something like fish scale fragments in the seam between the deceased's clothes. After testing, it was found that it should be the scales of some marine fish, which is different from river fish and cannot appear in the river area at the crime scene."
The things that just flashed through Qiu Huo's mind suddenly made a connection, and he clenched the phone tightly.
——I think the neighbor next door is a little weird.
The young man said this to him during the day.
According to the structure of the house, Lin Zhi could see the balcony next door from the bay window. Theoretically, the murderer who had been watching him could also see there.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
