Chapter 133 Annual Meeting
◎It is a disgrace to our Provincial Writers Association!◎
Zhao Xiangwan glanced at the young man.
The young man's lips were a little dry and had white skin on them. He looked in a very bad mental state. The elbows and soles of his baseball jersey and the buttocks and thighs of his pants were all covered in dust. It seemed that what he said about hiding in the stairwell and waiting for the writer Wei Lan's autograph was true.
There are two staircases in Furong Hotel. One is the main staircase, which is about 3.6 meters wide and faces the lobby. The other is the evacuation staircase, which is located on the west side of the guest rooms. The evacuation staircase is relatively narrow, only meeting the fire protection requirement of 1.1 meters, and few people usually use it.
If this guy hides in the stairwell, he can only sit at the entrance of the stairs. If people go up or down, he has to move to the wall or railing. In this way, if he sits on the ground, his buttocks and thighs will be covered with dust; if he leans against the wall or railing, his elbows will be rubbed with dust.
Li Mingyang happened to walk over at this time. He was a careful person. He stopped the young man and asked carefully: "What's your name? Why are you hiding in the stairwell? You just said you heard a quarrel, what's going on?"
Zhao Xiangwan finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the police officers of Luo County Public Security Bureau were well-trained and he didn't have to worry too much.
Ji Zhao understood what she was thinking and took her hand and walked towards the elevator.
There was a security guard at the elevator entrance, who said apologetically, "I'm sorry, the elevator is out of order and cannot be used right now. Please use the stairs."
[The police said they wanted to protect the scene, and they even didn’t allow us to use the elevator. I’m really impressed.]
Zhao Xiangwan glanced at the Luoxian police who were arranging the investigation details in an orderly manner, and did not say much. There was a murder in the hotel, and the murderer might go down the elevator. It was right to temporarily stop using the elevator to protect the scene.
She nodded and walked towards the stairs with the Ji family.
Just after walking up a few steps, a dozen people came running down from the upstairs, men and women, old and young, some carrying luggage and some empty-handed, making a lot of noise.
"Someone died in the hotel, and you still want us to stay here? Check out, check out!"
"That's outrageous. Today is the Little New Year. It's really unlucky."
"If the train hadn't been delayed, I wouldn't have stayed in the hotel at all."
Hearing that the train was delayed again, Zhao Xiangwan paid a little attention.
The guy in the baseball shirt mentioned that there was an argument in the corridor on the third floor about the train being late. Whether it is related to the murder case will require an interrogation.
The clue that the train is delayed needs to be kept an eye on.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiangwan stood at the stairs and did not go up. He turned around and watched the group of people rush to the front desk and start arguing with the hotel service staff. The scene was in chaos.
The guests staying in the hotel have left their ID information and paid a certain amount of room deposit. Now, more than a dozen people have come to check out and demand that the hotel not charge today's room rate but return the deposit in full. The front desk staff has no idea what to do and is so anxious that they are sweating and start calling for support with the intercom.
A fat man in his thirties, wearing a brown leather jacket, a thick gold necklace around his neck, and gold rings on his hands, looked like a wealthy man. He had slightly yellow teeth, and slammed his fat hands on the counter, shouting, "Hurry up and check us out! I don't dare to stay overnight in a hotel where someone died."
Li Mingyang walked over. His olive green police uniform gave him a natural sense of majesty. He said in a deep voice, "Everyone, please be patient. Now you need to cooperate with the police to complete the record and leave your contact information before you can leave."
The fat man glanced at Li Mingyang, not afraid at all. Instead, he said arrogantly: "You said you can't let us leave, so we can't leave? This is a hotel, not a public security bureau. You can't restrict our personal freedom!"
Behind him, a dark-skinned man with sly eyes looked around and shouted, "That's right! The police can't restrict our personal freedom. Besides, I don't want to stay in a place where people have died for even a minute. Who knows if I'll be infested with ghosts and evil spirits?"
After saying that, the thin dark man didn't even ask for the deposit and walked towards the door carrying a luggage bag.
[Damn it, I was just enjoying myself in the room when the police suddenly came running. If I don’t leave now, should I stay here and wait for them to catch me? If I get caught, I’ll die here!]
A group of people who didn't know what was going on also started to make a fuss. Many of them followed the thin dark man out, while the remaining few were reluctant to leave their deposits at the front desk and stood there urging the waiter. The lobby suddenly became a market, full of noise.
Those rushing out were led by dark and thin men and rich fat men.
"Go, go, go! I don't want the deposit anymore. Someone died here. It's unlucky."
"Spending money to avoid disaster, bah bah bah."
"Don't bother me, I want to go home."
Those who stayed behind were led by a handsome young man.
"Is your hotel a scam? I only stayed for two hours but you charged me a full day's price? I'm telling you, return my deposit immediately! I won't stay here anymore."
"I'm already being polite by not asking you for psychological compensation, but you still have the nerve to not let us leave?"
"Return your money, quickly!"
The only police officers left in the lobby were Li Mingyang and two other young people who had just joined the job. They were suddenly faced with such an aggressive crowd. One group of people slammed the table and swore at the head waiter, while another group of people were trying to force their way out the door. For a moment, they were in a state of chaos.
Firstly, someone died in the hotel, so it is understandable that the guests would have emotions.
Secondly, the law does not punish the masses. The police cannot take action against such a large group of people, right?
Li Mingyang stretched out his arms to stop everyone from leaving and shouted at the top of his voice: "Everyone, please cooperate with our work!"
His eyes were anxious and veins were bulging on his forehead. He was patiently explaining things to everyone, but he was pushed away by the thin, dark man and almost fell down.
Zhao Xiangwan saw it all, how could he bear it?
She hurried downstairs, rushed to the dark and thin man, threw him over her shoulder, and with a "bang", pinned him to the ground, unable to move.
Half of the man's face was numb from the fall, but he still stared with his eyes wide open and shouted, "The police are beating me! The police are beating me!"
Zhao Xiangwan pulled off the black travel bag that he was holding tightly to his body and threw it into Li Mingyang's hands: "Check his luggage. This guy is not a good person."
The man began to struggle desperately.
Li Mingyang really didn't expect Zhao Xiangwan to lend a helping hand, and he subconsciously took the travel bag. The zipper of the bag was locked and could not be opened for a while.
Ji Zhao reacted quickly, took out a small paper cutter from his pocket and cut open the travel bag.
A bag of white powder fell to the floor.
"Ah——" the man began to scream.
[Damn it, damn it! ]
[The good stuff I brought back with great difficulty... is over! ]
Zhao Xiangwan knelt down on one knee to hold down the thin dark man, looked around, and said coldly: "Anyone who dares to leave is his accomplice!"
As soon as these words were spoken, all those who were clamoring to leave the hotel were stopped dead in their tracks.
The fat man had already walked to the door, but he turned around and was attracted by the noise. When he turned around, his pupils shrank and he broke out in a cold sweat.
[Damn, drug trafficking?!]
[I was almost killed by this piece of shit. ]
[With so many drugs, this is a brain-destroying thing. ]
Li Mingyang never expected that Zhao Xiangwan would catch a drug dealer with just one move!
Judging from this bulging travel bag, he must be trafficking a lot of goods.
Oh my god~
A great achievement.
Li Mingyang's eyes sparkled with excitement. He quickly took out handcuffs and handcuffed the dark and thin man, and handed the travel bag to the two newcomers following behind him. I knew that when Officer Zhao took action, it would be a big case, right? In order to investigate the hotel murder case, he also solved a drug trafficking case. He got both the person and the stolen goods. Awesome!
Zhao Xiangwan stood up, staring at the fat man standing at the door with a sharp gaze: "Aren't you going to leave? Why don't you leave?"
How could the fat man dare to go now? He returned with a wry smile and tried desperately to explain himself: "I, I don't know him, I'm not his accomplice. I just happened to run into him when I was going downstairs."
Several other guests who had joined in the fun also reacted and hurried to prove their innocence.
"I won't leave. I will cooperate with the police investigation."
"Yes, yes, I won't leave either. Just ask whatever you want to ask."
"We don't recognize this bad guy."
The hotel lobby was hurriedly attended by several security guards, who apologized and assured everyone, and promised that today's accommodation would be free. As long as the guests cooperated with the police in taking a statement and left their contact information, the hotel would immediately return the deposit and give them a small gift. The customer who was yelling at the front desk clerk was soon calmed down.
The situation was quickly brought under control. Li Mingyang was very grateful to Zhao Xiangwan for his help: "Officer Zhao, if it weren't for you today, the drug dealer would have gotten away. Also, the hotel murder case is under investigation. So many people left at once. If the murderer is among them, it will be troublesome to track him down in the future."
Zhao Xiangwan stretched out his hand to him: "Where is the notebook? Let me help you take notes."
Li Mingyang excitedly handed her the transcript and said, "Oh, I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow! Isn't today the Little New Year? The bureau is short-staffed, Officer Zhao, you really are a timely help."
Ji Jinmao, Luo Danfeng, and Zhou Fangxi had been standing at the stairs waiting for Zhao Xiangwan. Seeing this, they looked at each other helplessly. Alas! My future son (grandson) and daughter-in-law is a workaholic. What should I do?
Ji Zhao stood beside Zhao Xiangwan.
【I'll accompany you.】
Ji Zhao had a beautiful appearance. Standing there, she looked like a landscape painting, so beautiful that everyone in the hall looked over at her. For a moment, the atmosphere became quite harmonious.
Li Mingyang briefly explained the case.
301, the easternmost room of Furong Hotel, is occupied by a Luoxian writer, whose pen name is Wei Lan and whose real name is Wei Qingfen. She is 32 years old this year. She has a beautiful appearance and a slim figure, and is known as a beautiful writer in the contemporary literary world.
About an hour ago, Wei Qingfen was killed.
被人一刀割喉，身體一半在屋內，一半在走廊，腦袋朝着外面，鮮血流了一地。
兇手不知道是誰，可能是酒店住戶，也可能早就逃之夭夭。
羅縣公安局偵查支隊的人在樓上勘察現場，李明楊這一組主要是負責對住戶進行調查、記錄，看能不能發現什麽有用的線索。
李明楊問話，趙向晚幫忙記錄，偶爾也會幫忙問幾句。
與趙向晚合作，李明楊感覺很愉快。
訓練有素、經驗豐富的趙向晚問話精準簡潔，記錄速度很快，這讓李明楊感覺工作效率得到大大提升。
兩名跟在李明楊身後的菜鳥刑警很好奇，不知道趙向晚是什麽路數。不過他們很聰明，并沒有過多詢問，盡職盡責地看着剛抓的毒販，拎着證物，維持酒店秩序，絲毫不敢松懈。
趙向晚問胖子：“今天哪一趟火車晚點？”
胖子名叫柴定山，是一名生意人。他掏出手帕抹了把額頭的虛汗：“羊城到京都的那一趟快車，晚點了五個多小時。本來應該下午兩點左右到羅縣，我打算叫個出租車回老家，結果晚上七點多才到站，只好先在縣城住下來。”
趙向晚看了他一眼：“你認識魏清芬？”
柴定山慌忙搖頭否認：“不不不，我不認得她。”
【警察眼睛好利，我和清芬是同學，十幾年前耍過朋友。聽她說要回來過年，我還想和她敘敘舊呢，哪知道……她死了呢？唉！】
【可不能讓警察知道我認得她，不然把我當兇手。】
趙向晚鳳眼一眯，眼神銳利無比：“現在說實話，還來得及。”
柴定山心虛無比，尴尬一笑：“我，我當然說的是實話。”
“實話？”趙向晚轉過頭看向李明楊，“這個人可以铐起來了，帶回去問話。”
柴定山慌了：“警察同志，你這是什麽意思？”
趙向晚沒有理睬他，沖李明揚擡了擡下巴。
李明楊一看到她的神态，立馬來了精神：“好嘞！”二話不說，又铐上一個。
柴定山不敢反抗，只能不斷地解釋着。
“是是是，我說謊了，我認得她。”
“可是，人真不是我殺的。我發誓，我絕對沒有殺人。”
“我只是和她同過學，而且好多年沒有來往了。”
趙向晚繼續往下問。
有讀心術在手，迅速篩選與案件相關的人。
一共十二個鬧事要離開的人。
最後留下了三個人。
一名毒販、一個魏清芬的舊相識柴定山，一個追着魏清芬而來、求她賜稿的《荒唐》雜志社編輯黃亮，就是站在總服務臺拍桌子要求退押金最積極的那一個。
其餘十個人，全是在酒店開房打麻将、聚會玩耍的當地人，覺得死了人晦氣，再加上毒販唆使，便嚷嚷着要退房回家。
半個小時，酒店大堂再次恢複安靜。
該走的，都離開了。
走不了的，老老實實垂着頭，等待警方的詢問。
柴定山看向黃亮：“你們雜志社不是在羊城嗎？怎麽跑這裏來了？”
黃亮嘆了一口氣，顯得很沮喪：“我和你坐一趟車來的羅縣，也是因為火車晚點所以來得晚了點，錯過了和蔚藍女士的見面時間。本來打算今天睡一覺，明天再與蔚藍女士碰頭，誰知道……唉！”
柴定山有些同情地說：“那你和我一樣慘，今晚看來得到公安局住一個晚上了。”
很快篩選完鬧事的顧客，趙向晚與李明楊握手道別。
幫了羅縣警方這個小忙之後，趙向晚終于神清氣爽。
洗完澡躺在床上，趙向晚雙手枕在後腦，看着天花板微微一笑。
從91年進入公安大學之後，刑偵大案就如影随形，沒想到來了羅縣，依然逃不開遇到案件的命運。
你別說，還真習慣了。
第二天一早，趙向晚與季家人一起，來到一樓餐廳吃早餐。
芙蓉酒店的自助早餐還挺豐富，西式包括牛奶、咖啡、點心、各色面包、蛋糕、火腿、煎蛋，中式包括豆漿、油條、包子、饅頭、稀飯、鹹菜、炒飯、炒粉……
趙向晚拿了些愛吃的，坐在靠窗的桌邊。
季昭坐在她對面。
睡了一覺之後，季昭肌膚白似瓷、眼眸黑似墨，養眼得很。趙向晚雖然不是重貌之人，但此刻面對着漂亮得像畫中人的季昭，不知道腦子裏忽然飄過一個念頭。
——我和他要是生個女兒，會不會很好看？
這個念頭剛剛升起，趙向晚便強行将它按了下去。
可是，坐在對面的季昭就這麽專注地看着趙向晚，眼眸之間滿是歡喜，仿佛有一個漩渦，要将趙向晚的心神吸引進去。
剛剛按下去的念頭，瞬間又冒了出來。
最好皮膚像季昭，白得像牛奶一樣；
眼睛像季昭，黑白分明，亮晶晶的。
嘴唇也要像季昭，豐潤明豔，像百合花那厚厚的花瓣。
臉型像自己，蘋果臉嘛，可愛一點。
鼻子也可以像自己，因為趙向晚對自己最滿意的地方，是小巧端麗的鼻子。
如果是個女兒，趙向晚希望能夠對她好一點。
認真陪伴她長大，給她最完整的愛。
她一定會很幸福的吧？
有相愛的父母，有和藹慈祥的爺爺，有清冷優雅的奶奶，有熱情快樂的太奶奶，多麽溫暖的一家人。
這麽一想，趙向晚開始對婚禮有所期待。
她笑眯眯地看着季昭，越看越覺得他生得好。果然，找對象還是得找長得好看的，不都說女兒像爸爸？
季昭雖然聽不到趙向晚的心聲，但從她越來越亮的眼眸裏，他似乎看出了什麽，心跳陡然加快，伸出左手，輕輕蓋在她手背上。
【愛你。】
千言萬語，不如這一句美麗。
趙向晚的心跳也開始急速地跳了起來，體溫漸漸有些升高，臉頰微霞。
身後有人拉開椅子，坐了下來。
叮——
瓷器碰撞發出清脆的聲響。
【死了？死了好。】
【這個臭女人，自以為寫幾本無病呻吟的言情小說，就混進了作家行列，簡直丢我們某省作協的臉！】
雖然看不到說話的人，但心聲響起時，通常會帶着點奇怪的滋滋電流雜音，比真實的說話聲音顯得稍微模糊一些。
明确對方在腹诽昨晚死亡的作家蔚藍之後，趙向晚的心思一下子便被案件吸引，開始側耳傾聽起來。
身後桌上坐着的是兩個人，正在對話。
“真可惜啊，咱們作協難得搞一次年會，還特地選在蔚藍的老家舉行，結果卻出了這樣的事，唉！”
“是啊，我和袁會長建議在星市搞年會，省會城市嘛，哪裏都方便一些。結果一堆人跑到這個小小縣城來，吃沒得吃，逛沒得逛，真沒勁。”
“我聽說，蔚藍死得很慘……”
“我也聽說了，我不敢去看，反正我住五樓，也離得遠。”
“你說，誰會殺她呢？”
“這誰知道，也許是情殺？”
“情殺？快說說，你知道些什麽。”
說話的人，是某省作協的兩名作者。身為作者，打聽八卦、深挖內幕是本能，一說到情殺，其中一個明顯來了興致，開始仔仔細細打聽起來。
趙向晚也豎起了耳朵。
不知道昨晚羅縣公安局的警察有沒有詢問這些作協的人，有沒有打聽出一些重要線索。如果是作協在芙蓉酒店開年會，那這一大堆文字工作者聚在一起，其中的愛恨情仇估計能寫十幾篇小說出來。
“蔚藍是個美女，喜歡她的人排長隊喲。她已經三十六歲了，結婚五年一直沒有孩子，你知道為什麽嗎？”
“為什麽？”
“她是小三上位，對方老婆雖然同意離婚，但卻提了一個要求，那就是蔚藍不能再生孩子，因為對方有個兒子。”
“她愛人是誰？怎麽可能會答應這麽過分的要求？剝奪一個女人做母親的權利，這不太好吧？”
“她愛人是藍玉出版公司的老板喻惠民，有文化局的背景，家裏超級有錢。先前蔚藍還年輕的時候，投稿投到這家出版公司，連人帶書一起被喻老板看中，當地下情人當了六年，後來她出名了，開始逼宮。喻老板舍不得這棵搖錢樹，只能和當時的老婆談判。他老婆是京都子弟，為人硬氣，家財一分為二，并提了這一個條件。喻惠民能夠有今天，其實也有老婆的一半功勞，不敢不答應。”
聽到這裏，趙向晚開始對蔚藍好奇起來。
今年36歲，算一下應該是1960年出生，上小學時正遇上十年運動，恐怕很難在小學、初中靜下心來讀書。她二十四歲被喻惠民看中，正好是1984年趕上了文化大爆炸時代，在港臺文化、西方文化的沖擊之下，八十年代大陸小說精彩紛呈。她是怎麽在那個時候異軍突起，成為當代知名作家的？
趙向晚從來不看言情小說，自然也沒有聽說過蔚藍的名字。
In fact, Wei Lan is a well-known romance novelist in mainland China. Her writing is delicate and emotional, and her words are full of spirituality and appeal. Once you read her works, you will be immersed in them and can't help but want to walk into the book and talk about a passionate love.
The two authors who were chatting at the table behind him stood up and took their plates to get their breakfast. Zhao Xiangwan took the opportunity to take a look at them.
A man with a beard, permed hair, a jacket and bell-bottom pants, looking like a rock youth, someone greeted him and called him "Old Worm".
The other one wore gold-rimmed glasses, was gentle and refined, tall and thin, and was called a "nerd" by others.
The old man is the one who gossips in a low voice, and the nerd is the one who joins in the fun and acts as the supporting actor.
Lao Chong took a bunch of food, filled his plate, sat back at the table and started to eat, complaining as he ate.
"As far as I'm concerned, living is the best way. Fame, wealth and fortune are all fleeting. With Wei Lan's death, she has no children, and all the revenue from the publication of her works will go to Boss Yu. Then Boss Yu will use her money to marry someone younger and prettier, and enjoy a wonderful life, while she will suffer alone in that world. Sigh... If she had known this would happen, why did she do it?"
Zhao Xiangwan nodded secretly.
According to the basic principle of homicide, whoever is the beneficiary is the suspect. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that Yu Huimin hired a killer to commit murder.
According to the idea of revenge killing, it is not ruled out that Yu Huimin's ex-wife committed revenge killing.
Of course, who killed Wei Qingfen still needs further investigation.
The possibilities for murder vary.
It could be an internal fight among members of the Writers Association, leading to murder out of anger; it could be an uneven distribution of profits among publishers, leading to murder out of passion; it could be a loyal reader who became disillusioned with his ideals, leading to murder out of impulse.
In short, the death of a well-known writer in Luo County, and his murder in a hotel where a provincial writers' association was hosting an annual meeting, leaving behind millions of dollars in property and countless copyrights, must have been a headache for the Luo County police.
The nerd didn't eat much. He just ordered a fried egg and a piece of toast. He spread the jam on the toast with a knife, took a few bites slowly, and sighed.