Chapter 105
“…”
“…”
What responded to him was endless silence and Luo Jingyao's expression, which was mixed with a hint of danger.
Lin Jiafan, who was standing behind Pang Guang, spoke slowly, his tone barely concealing sarcasm: "You truly are a genius."
The young man, whose mouth was always quicker than his brain, also noticed something was amiss. He raised his hand and rubbed the tip of his nose uncomfortably: "I am indeed a genius."
"Look at this child's age. He's not Coach Luo's son, but he can't be her brother, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Pang Guang felt that the temperature around him seemed to be a little lower than before.
Lin Jiafan reached out and patted his shoulder helplessly, then pulled him behind him and took two steps forward, saying, "Coach Luo, is this your home?"
"Well... not really." After a little consideration, Luo Jingyao gave a fairly reasonable answer.
Then, she freed one hand and pointed to the security door next to her: "That's it."
After all, this place has been rented out for a long time, and the current residents are Ms. Wang and her husband. This way, we can save time on explanations.
At this time, Miss Wang and Xiao Li, who came out of the kitchen, noticed something was wrong and both walked over and asked in confusion, "Are you here to check the gas safety?"
Shaking his head, Lin Jiafan showed his work ID again. "We are from the Jinshi Public Security Bureau. Excuse me, is this Mr. Li Rui's home?"
"I am Li Rui." The husband, Xiao Li, pointed at himself in confusion. After he came to his senses, he hurriedly invited the two people outside the door into the house.
Lin Jiafan and Pang Guang were both very tall, and as soon as they entered the room, they made the originally spacious space seem a little cramped.
Mao Peilan also stood up from her dining chair, looking at the two of them curiously. Then she moved closer to Luo Jingyao and lowered her voice, "Jinshi Public Security Bureau? Are they your colleagues?"
Tilting her head helplessly, Luo Jingyao had never expected that the boast she had just made in the afternoon would backfire on her like a boomerang that very night.
She was about to respond when Lin Jiafan spoke first, "Auntie, I presume you're Coach Luo's mother, right? My last name is Lin, and technically, Coach Luo and I are colleagues."
"That one's surnamed Pang. We both belong to the Special Case Investigation Team of the Jinshi Public Security Bureau."
Pang Guang heard the noise and took two steps forward to say hello.
"Hey, hello, hello." Mao Peilan looked at the two people in front of her with a smile. Her eyes first moved around Pang Guang, and then completely fixed on Lin Jiafan.
"As expected of a policeman, he looks quite energetic. Is he married?"
This time, before Lin Jiafan could even open his mouth, Luo Jingyao's face darkened and she warned him in a drawn-out voice, "Mom—?"
"If you don't want to ask, then don't ask." Mao Peilan was still very good at reading her daughter's mood and acting accordingly. She raised a warm smile again: "Since you are Yaoyao's colleague, then you can come to my house and play when you have time. Auntie will make you some big buns!"
After receiving polite replies from Lin Jiafan and Pang Guang, she turned around and returned to the dining table with satisfaction.
Glancing at the young couple who were obviously at a loss as to what to do about the Municipal Public Security Bureau coming to their house, Luo Jingyao hesitated for a long time before finally taking the little girl in her arms and hiding in the restaurant.
On the surface, she was playing with the child with Mao Peilan, but in fact she was always paying attention to what was happening in the living room.
Feeling the woman's occasional glances at him, Lin Jiafan lowered the corners of his lips and quickly returned to his usual work state: "Mr. Li, please don't be nervous. We just have a few questions for you about the explosion at the Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant this morning."
"What's the problem?" Li Rui looked confused.
"The police retrieved the surveillance footage near the Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant, which showed that you entered the restaurant at 9:28 this morning?" Lin Jiafan said, as if afraid that the other party would not remember, and he thoughtfully retrieved a screenshot of the surveillance video from his mobile phone.
Glancing at the phone screen he turned over, Li Rui swallowed his saliva and said, "Officer, you can see from the surveillance video that I was holding a package. I went in to deliver it to them."
"Where did Mr. Li put the package after he entered the store?"
Li Rui was stunned for a moment, then frowned, as if he couldn't figure out how this had anything to do with the explosion at the spicy stir-fry restaurant: "It's... the front desk."
"Front desk, according to the decoration structure diagram of Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant, the checkout counter is located on the left side as soon as you enter the door, only about ten meters away from the main door." Having said this, Lin Jiafan deliberately paused. After seeing the man's slightly changed expression, the black eyes behind the lenses slowly narrowed in satisfaction.
"At a normal walking speed, it shouldn't take more than two minutes to put the items at the front desk and come out again. Even if you add the signing process, three to five minutes should be enough, right?"
"So, Mr. Li, would you like to explain why you were in there for a full thirteen minutes?"
After saying that, he was very considerate and swiped his finger across the screen of his mobile phone to show the other party another screenshot of the surveillance video.
The lower right corner of this video screenshot clearly shows the time when Li Rui came out of the spicy stir-fry restaurant: 9:41 in the morning.
“I…I…”
Perhaps because Lin Jiafan's gaze was too intimidating, Li Rui panicked a little. After a long while, he stumbled over an excuse: "I had to go to the bathroom urgently. I went in and borrowed a toilet."
"On the way to the bathroom on the first floor of the store, you should pass by the back kitchen. Did Mr. Li notice anything wrong at that time?" Lin Jiafan took back the phone.
The wrinkles between his brows deepened. Li Rui thought carefully and shook his head with regret: "I don't know. There's a half curtain hanging on the kitchen door, and I'm anxious..."
The man defended himself anxiously, but he didn't expect Lin Jiafan to not respond. He just looked at him quietly, and the surroundings suddenly fell into a strange silence.
Only the pot on the induction cooker was still bubbling.
"One last question."
Finally, Lin Jiafan spoke again: "The surveillance footage shows that Mr. Li was holding three packages when he went in. Why did he still have one when he came out?"
"I took the wrong one! That package wasn't from their spicy stir-fry restaurant. I read the wrong address." Li Rui spread his hands with an innocent expression.
The logic between the questions and answers was quite consistent, and the man's reaction seemed to be within a reasonable range.
So in the end, Lin Jiafan just handed the couple a piece of paper with a phone number on it: "If Mr. Li remembers any unusual details, please contact us in time."
"Also, your phone needs to remain accessible at all times. The police may need Mr. Li's cooperation later. After all, according to the surveillance footage, you were the last person to enter or exit Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant before the explosion."
"Okay, okay." Li Rui took the note and, still a little dazed, sent the two of them to the entrance.
Bang!
As the security door was closed, the atmosphere in the house instantly became much more relaxed.
Mao Peilan quickly stepped forward to comfort him, "Xiao Li, are you okay? If I were to ask, the Public Security Bureau would be just like that. They're just asking questions, why are they making things so scary?"
Li Rui glanced awkwardly at Luo Jingyao, who was holding her child in the restaurant, and changed the subject: "If we don't eat it soon, the pot will dry up. Aunt Mao, let's get to the table!"
Just as the couple was preparing to eat, Luo Jingyao thought for two seconds and returned the little ball in her arms to Miss Wang.
After greeting Mao Peilan, he turned around, opened the door and walked into the corridor without waiting for the three people at the table to respond.
At that time, Lin Jiafan and the other person were standing in front of the elevator waiting quietly, and they were a little surprised at her sudden appearance.
"I'll see you off." Luo Jingyao explained with gritted teeth.
Soon the elevator door opened, and the three of them got on. Seeing Pang Guang busy with his phone, she pursed her lips and opened her mouth tentatively: "You guys came here so late just to conduct a simple inquiry on Li Rui?"
"I guess so." Lin Jiafan's handsome face rarely showed some fatigue. "Because of the explosion, the damage at the scene was too severe. So far, there hasn't been much progress regarding the hand."
"We have to consider the worst possibility, which is that due to the explosion, nothing is left of the deceased except the hand."
If this is true, the situation will undoubtedly become very tricky. It would be very difficult to confirm the identity of the deceased based solely on a hand whose skin has been burned.
After all, not even a fingerprint could be extracted.
But Luo Jingyao always felt that it was not the case. If the hand was really related to the crime scene she had seen in the morning, the deceased was still intact at that time.
If you want to achieve the effect of leaving no body behind, you have to lie on the exploded gas tank, right?
But the murderer clearly sealed the body in an extremely enclosed space.
All kinds of thoughts were running through her mind. Looking at the elevator door slowly sliding open in front of her, Luo Jingyao suddenly wanted to go to the scene of the explosion to take a look.
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