48 Red Roses
The third day after the murder.
The sun shines high in the sky.
"A director who is absent is deemed to have automatically waived his or her voting rights."
Signed: Acting Chairman Gu Qianfan.
**
Yau Ma Tei Police Station, Criminal Investigation Division Office.
Lin Long leaned back against his desk, facing the two people sitting on the sofa in front of him, and said suspiciously with his arms crossed, "This photo I gave you was taken and sent over yesterday afternoon by a colleague who was waiting downstairs at Gu's Company. Gu Qianfan is going to hold a shareholders' meeting in three days. I heard it's related to the shares held by Gu Mansheng. Gu Mansheng owned 30% of the shares and could decide the group's affairs. Now that Gu Mansheng is dead, it seems that Gu Qianfan can't wait to take power. His motive for committing the crime is very obvious. It's unlikely that he has no suspicion at all."
Zhou Yun looked at the scanned document with a calm expression: "But solving a case requires complete evidence, especially physical evidence and witness testimony. We can only arrest someone if we have even one of these. Without evidence, it's too hasty to judge based solely on motive."
Lin Long shrugged: "So you think Gu Qianfan has absolutely no suspicion? Could it be that he orchestrated this whole thing? He thinks he can clear his name by making it impossible for the murderer to be so stupid as to reveal his information?"
Zhou Yun put down the scanned document, stood up, and looked directly at Lin Long. "We still don't know what the murder weapon that killed Gu Mansheng was. The forensic report Xia gave us only mentioned a sharp knife. If we can't connect the physical evidence with the suspect, this case will definitely remain unsolved. I think our most urgent task right now is to find the murder weapon as soon as possible."
Lin Long remained silent for a few seconds, then turned to Fang Chengjin and asked, "Old Fang, what do you think?"
This case involves few people, but the deceased was a prominent socialite in Hong Kong. Rumors and gossip spread like wildfire. The police chief ordered him to solve the case within a week, a tight deadline and a heavy task.
The bureau invited Fang Chengjin to join their criminal investigation support team. To the outside world, Fang Chengjin is a case-solving consultant invited by the bureau.
Fang Cheng raised his chin, looked up, stood up, and smiled slightly: "Let's go, it's time to smell the second suspect."
**
At the old Gu family villa, two guards stood on either side of the gate. A black police car slowly drove up in the distance, with the Yau Ma Tei Police Station sign prominently displayed on the hood. The two guards immediately straightened their backs.
The back door opened first, and a pair of long, slender legs stepped out, gently touching the stone pavement. She wore pure black suit trousers, a snow-white shirt, and a brown woolen vest.
Fang Cheng pursed his lips, his eyes gleaming.
Yellow leaves lay scattered in front of the villa, and the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms filled the air.
It smells of autumn.
The officer in front got out of the car; he was in plainclothes, but had a police badge around his neck.
The two guards nodded in agreement and then opened the villa's gate.
Police officer Da Huang was sent by Lin Long to assist Fang Chengjin in solving the case.
Da Huang: "Professor Fang, I've already spoken to Gu Qianfan. Let's go in now; he's waiting for us inside."
The villa was filled with the scent of fallen leaves, and with each step Fang Chengjin took in the courtyard, the scent became more and more pronounced.
Upon arriving at the main hall, the guards asked them to wait a moment before going upstairs to report.
Soon, Gu Qianfan came downstairs, dressed in a white GUCCI tracksuit, and walked slowly towards him.
Da Huang spoke first: "Hello, Mr. Gu, this is Professor Fang. Captain Lin already introduced him to you."
Gu Qianfan looked at Fang Chengjin, his expression unchanged: "Team Leader Lin said you're here to assist in the investigation of Gu Mansheng's murder case. What do you want to investigate?"
He called Gu Mansheng by her full name, which is unusual for siblings. This suggests that the siblings do not have a good relationship, and as Lin Long said, his motives are quite suspicious.
He had to turn half his body to the side, breathe through his mouth, and use Da Huang's shoulder to block the perfume molecules.
"Let's chat," Fang Cheng said, then his gaze fell on the sofa in the hall a few steps away.
Following his gaze, Gu Qianfan couldn't help but say, "Then please come over here and sit for a while. You can ask us any questions you may have."
The three moved to the living room sofa. Suddenly, Fang Chengjin stopped and his gaze fell on the round coffee table.
"Who sent this bread?"
These words came so suddenly that both Gu Qianfan and Da Huang were taken aback, and they both turned around to look at him at the same time.
Gu Qianfan looked puzzled and followed his gaze to the beautifully packaged small gift box on the coffee table.
"How did you know it was bread?" Gu Qianfan asked in surprise. "I haven't opened this gift box, so I don't know what's inside."
"The smell. Compared to what I smelled on site, it's not fresh, and it has a slightly musty, rotten smell."
Fang Chengjin stared intently at the gift box, walked up to it, and tore open the strap, revealing a piece of bread that was half moldy.
Gu Qianfan frowned slightly.
Da Huang secretly sniffed, thinking to himself: This Professor Fang has a really good nose, how come he can't smell anything?
Fang Cheng glanced at the two of them and kindly explained, "If you don't get close, most people can't smell this. You might be able to smell it, Mr. Gu, unless the bread is completely moldy. But I guess you haven't been sitting in the living room much lately."
Gu Qianfan put his hands on his hips, somewhat helplessly: "You're right. Since Gu Mansheng's accident, some people in the company have been restless. I have indeed been very busy lately."
Da Huang asked in confusion, "But Mr. Gu, don't you have a housekeeper? He cleans the house every day, would he leave these moldy foods behind?"
Fang Chengjin immediately replied, "This is a gift. Even if it's spoiled, the butler has no right to throw it away."
Gu Qianfan's lips curved slightly: "Professor Fang is right."
Gu Qianfan's gaze fell on the gift box again, lost in memories: "I remember this was given to me by Gu Mansheng half a month ago. She was in a good mood that day, and she was much more well-behaved. She even knew to give her younger brother a gift. But I didn't care for this gift, so I never touched it."
Da Huang then asked, "Gu Mansheng likes to make desserts? But it seems that socialites all like them."
Gu Qianfan shook his head, his gaze slightly disdainful: "I don't know, I'm not very familiar with her preferences."
Fang Cheng sat on the sofa, his gaze deep and unsettling: "Why did she come to you that day? And why did she give you a gift? Please tell me the details of that day, Mr. Gu."
Gu Qianfan walked over to the sofa and sat down. He looked at the gift box and continued, "That day she came to ask me if I could join the company as a human resources director. I said I would think about it and told her to go back and wait for news."
At this moment, the butler came over with three cups of hot tea and placed one of each on the table in front of the three people.
Da Huang asked in confusion, "Does Gu Mansheng need to ask you to join the company? Isn't she a rich young lady?"
Gu Qianfan's face was long and drawn, as if he wanted to freeze Dahuang to death. The lid of the hot tea he was holding made a scraping sound, and he seemed about to splash it on someone.
“I’m in charge of the company. She’s just a spoiled rich kid who just wants to eat and play around. She doesn’t know anything about managing a company.”
Although he was born out of wedlock, he enjoyed the same inheritance rights.
Fang Cheng switched legs, picked up the hot teacup, smelled it, and wrinkled his nose.
The tea cake is good tea, but the flavor is too strong. I don't know how many years this strong tea cake has been stored, but it's pungent. This flavor is just like Gu Qianfan himself.
He put down his teacup, crossed his right leg over his left, and placed his hands on his knees, sitting gracefully.
Gu Qianfan noticed this scene and couldn't help but speak up: "I've heard a lot about Professor Fang's reputation. It's said that he has an extraordinary sense of smell and can identify prisoners by their scent. I specifically instructed the housekeeper to use good tea for this. What's wrong, it's not to your liking?"
Fang Cheng shook his head: "I only drink plain water."
Gu Qianfan nodded and didn't pursue the matter further.
Fang Cheng asked, "Did you notice anything different about Gu Mansheng that day?"
Gu Qianfan continued to recall, and after a long while, he reluctantly said, "Maybe her attitude has improved a lot, and she smiles a lot more. I haven't noticed anything else. To be honest, I don't have much interaction with this so-called older sister."
After saying that, Gu Qianfan picked up his teacup and took a few more sips, seemingly having nothing more to say.
The butler walked up to Gu Qianfan and whispered something in his ear. Gu Qianfan waved his hand, put down his teacup, and said to Fang Chengjin, "I'm sorry, gentlemen. The company's senior executives will be coming to discuss something with me later, so I can't stay with you for that long."
Seeing that Gu Qianfan was about to leave, Da Huang became a little anxious because he hadn't gotten any specific information from him. He quickly moved closer to Fang Chengjin.
"Professor Fang, what should we do?"
Fang Chengjin stood up and blocked Gu Qianfan's path. "Mr. Gu, I only have one question to ask you. Gu Mansheng just died, and the seven-day mourning period hasn't even passed yet. You want to hold a shareholders' meeting in three days. Isn't this blatantly showing your desire to monopolize the company?"
Da Huang covered his forehead. Good heavens, Professor Fang's questions were so direct, were they going to be kicked out?
Gu Qianfan turned to the side, straightened his back, sneered, and tossed out a copy of an encrypted will: "Your focus should be on Shen Jun. You don't know, do you? My father wrote a will three years ago. If Gu Mansheng is found to have committed 'non-homicide' within 30 days, Shen Jun will directly inherit 27% of the shares."
Gu Qianfan closed his eyes. "I only have 25% of the shares right now. I need the support of the other shareholders. If I don't make a move soon, wouldn't I be letting this person benefit?"
He wanted to become one of the chairmen as soon as possible, so that even if Shen Jun had 27% of the shares, he wouldn't be able to compete with him.
Big Yellow was shocked: "What did you say?!"
Gu Qianfan sneered: "If it weren't for the murder case, I wouldn't want to say it. I absolutely did not kill Gu Mansheng. Although I hate her, she is still a member of the Gu family. She has a terrible personality, but she is still family."
As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Chengjin's phone rang suddenly.
It was Zhou Yun calling.
Gu Qianfan: "Alright, you all go ahead and do what you need to do."
With that, he turned and left, leaving the butler standing there.
Fang Chengjin took the phone, and before he could say anything, Zhou Yun's voice came through, urgent and whistling, and Fang Chengjin could almost smell the fragrance of lilies.
"Professor Fang, we found it! We found this type of flour in an expensive dessert shop on Kowloon Street, and we also found the surveillance footage. A woman came in and bought a lot of this flour that day. This woman asked Captain Lin to have the police station's technicians compare the data, and we found her information. Guess what we found!"
Zhou Yun's tone was high-pitched and lively.
Fang Cheng listened intently, a slight smile playing on his lips. "This woman should work at the bar we visited before."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.
How did you know?
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