Chapter 115
As expected, the laboratory department failed to find any suspicious traces during the second re-examination of the crime scene.
But their trip was not without gain. At least they learned some "truths" from the peeping curly-haired man that the police had not yet touched upon.
After handing over the curly-haired man and related evidence of voyeurism to the local police station, Lin Jiafan took the list of owners and long-term residents provided by the property manager Zhao, and returned to the Jinshi Public Security Bureau with Luo Jingyao and others.
It was past dinner time and the door of the company cafeteria was closed. I saw two aunties from the kitchen sitting in front of the door, washing vegetables for dinner in a large basin.
Fortunately, the food Mao Peilan sent over in the morning was sufficient, so Luo Jingyao used the microwave in the lounge to make some food.
Although it is not as hot as when it was just out of the pot, it at least retains 70% to 80% of the flavor, enough to fill the stomachs of the entire special case investigation team.
While she was heating the buns, Lin Jiafan sat at a long table, staring at the list in his hand with his eyes lowered, a little absent-minded, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Soon, the members of the special case investigation team who received Luo Jingyao's message came to the lounge one after another.
The originally spacious space suddenly became inexplicably cramped because of the quarrels between Pang Guang and Pan Chang.
Guo Zhen finally arrived after Luo Jingyao brought the hot buns and braised pork intestines to the table. Everyone expressed their gratitude to Mao Peilan again, and then started eating happily and lively.
Occasionally, colleagues from other departments would come over to get some coffee or something, and their curious eyes would wander over them.
"Captain Lin, Sister Pan and I spent several hours visiting almost all the businesses around the Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant, but unfortunately we didn't get any new information." Pang Guang spoke vaguely while chewing the bun skin in his mouth.
"Most merchants said they weren't familiar with Hou Guoan and were only vaguely aware of Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry. The owners of the shops next to the spicy stir-fry restaurant, however, were more or less acquaintances of Hou Guoan, and their opinions of him were largely the same... Hou Guoan was a kind and warm-hearted person."
"They've all seen Feng Shurong come to their house and cause trouble, but they don't know anything more than that."
"What did you and Coach Luo learn? I heard you called the laboratory department over for a re-examination?"
Lin Jiafan hummed calmly, "A cigarette butt was found in the wall where Yu Wenxin's body was found. It's been sent to the laboratory for DNA comparison. They just gave me feedback a few minutes ago saying that the DNA extracted from the cigarette butt matches Hou Guoan's."
"Huh?! So it really was Hou Guoan who killed Yu Wenxin?" The young man's eyes widened slightly, and he smacked his lips with some regret. "But now the suspects are dead. Are we going to try to make the dead speak?"
Even if Hou Guoan's DNA appeared at the crime scene, it would not be enough to prove that he was the murderer. Both parties involved in the case were unable to speak. Could it be that the case was going to be dropped?
"Not to mention that the timing of the appearance of this cigarette butt is somewhat intriguing, Coach Luo and I accidentally discovered something very interesting when we were visiting the community." Lin Jiafan said, and placed the photo he brought back from the curly-haired man's house in the center of the table.
After hearing the whole story, the other three fell into a brief silence. After a long while, Pang Guang managed to find his voice: "So, the relationship between Hou Guoan and Yu Wenxin is not what everyone seems to think?"
"One is Feng Shurong's ex-husband, and the other is Feng Shurong's current boyfriend. Wow! I can't think of any reason why these two could coexist peacefully."
"Could it be...?" The young man's eyes suddenly lit up, and he lowered his voice to gossip, "Could it be that they are actually a couple?"
…
Such a wild guess successfully left everyone at the table speechless.
"Think about it carefully, this is very reasonable! In order for the two of them to be together openly, Yu Wenxin sacrificed himself to seduce Feng Shurong, allowing her to take the initiative to file for divorce from Hou Guoan." Pang Guang analyzed while shaking his head.
"This kind of thing is not new. I often see it on the Internet."
The corners of Luo Jingyao's mouth twitched uncontrollably. After swallowing, she opened her mouth uncertainly: "But according to Feng Shurong, it was Hou Guoan who cheated on the store manager Fang Xiuni first, and Fang Xiuni didn't deny it."
If Hou Guoan and Yu Wenxin are really a couple, then we can only say that both of them are quite extravagant.
Lin Jiafan rarely expressed his agreement with her opinion. "Indeed, the emotional entanglement between these three people is quite fascinating and eye-catching. But if we really get caught up in it and affect the direction of the investigation, we will probably play into someone's hands."
"It's been known for a long time since Hou Guoan and Feng Shurong divorced. If the facts were really as Pang Guang said, then Yu Wenxin should have broken off all ties with Feng Shurong long ago. Now that his goal has been achieved, there's really no reason for him to continue to put himself in a difficult position by dealing with Feng Shurong."
"We had just suspected a murder of passion when a cigarette butt with Hou Guoan's DNA suddenly turned up. This speaks volumes."
Behind the two seemingly unrelated cases, there has been a person who has been silently pushing all of this forward.
Pang Guang nodded somewhat persuadingly, then frowned in confusion. "I have to say this is too strange. I really want to open the brains of these three people and take a good look at what's inside."
"The most stable relationship in the world is nothing more than interests. I can only say that there must be some secrets between Hou Guoan and Yu Wenxin that outsiders don't know about." Lin Jiafan curled the corners of his lips imperceptibly.
"Our next investigation direction must completely abandon the triangle relationship between the three of them and focus on exploring whether Hou Guoan and Yu Wenxin have any hidden connections."
After deciding on the next route to take, Lin Jiafan looked up at Guo Zhen across from him again: "Brother Guo, what are the results of the autopsy over there?"
Pulling out a tissue to wipe the grease from the corners of his mouth, the man reported in a serious tone, "Hou Guoan's body was blown beyond recognition. The only thing we can be sure of is that he died in the explosion."
"As for Yu Wenxin, the cause of death is not much different from my initial diagnosis. It was excessive blood loss caused by a sharp weapon piercing the carotid artery."
"After demolding the wound, I've basically determined the murder weapon." As he spoke, Guo Zhen pulled out a 3D simulation of the victim's wound from his phone and showed it to everyone: "Does it look familiar?"
"It looks like a knife, the blade is straight up and down, and why is it in sections?" Pang Guang touched his chin and muttered to himself.
"Is it a wallpaper knife?" Lin Jiafan raised his eyebrows.
"Yes." Guo Zhen nodded affirmatively. "And judging by the direction of the wound, the murderer and the victim must have been standing opposite each other at the time of the crime. The murderer is right-handed and stabbed the wallpaper cutter into the victim's neck from top to bottom."
"Based on this, we can infer that the murderer is slightly taller than the deceased, about 1.8 meters tall."
"The deceased had no signs of resistance, indicating he was caught completely off guard. Considering the fact that the two individuals mentioned above were standing opposite each other, I think it's highly likely they knew each other."
"If I remember correctly, Hou Guoan is only about 1.7 meters tall?" Lin Jiafan's eyes flashed.
The autopsy results further confirmed his point of view that Hou Guoan was not the murderer of Yu Wenxin.
In this way, Feng Shurong's claim that she designed the explosion and killed Hou Guoan in order to avenge Yu Wenxin became precarious.
Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Lin Jiafan stood up first and looked at Pang Guang: "You should dig deeper into Hou Guoan and Yu Wenxin later. This time, focus on the intersections between them."
Pang Guang nodded in agreement.
"Brother Guo, come with me to talk to Feng Shurong again. Given her relationship with those two people, she must know something." He said again.
Guo Zhen did not hesitate and stood up and left with Lin Jiafan.
In an instant, only Luo Jingyao and Pan Chang were left in the lounge. History always repeats itself.
Seeing Luo Jingyao starting to clean up the mess on the table, Pan Chang also reached out to help, and in the process extended an invitation: "Coach Luo, if you have nothing to do later, I will take you to the observation room to take a look?"
"I'm sorry, Officer Pan."
Unexpectedly, Luo Jingyao refused: "I have to go home."
When she was visiting outside with Lin Jiafan in the morning, she received a message from Mao Peilan. After calculating, she found that it had been a while since she had seen the old man in her family.
It's still unclear when these two cases will end, and since there hasn't been much progress at the moment, she might as well take some time to go back.
This reason seemed beyond Pan Chang's expectations, but the other party just blinked and reminded him to be careful on the road.
After cleaning up the lounge, Luo Jingyao carried a cloth bag containing several empty lunch boxes out of the gate of Jinshi Public Security Bureau and successfully boarded the subway home.
Her sudden appearance surprised Mao Peilan and Luo Honghui.
When Luo Jingyao entered the house, one of them was leisurely arranging flowers, and the other was reading a book and drinking tea. Their eyes met, and there was an eerie silence in the air.
Fortunately, this atmosphere did not last long. Mao Peilan put down the flowers in her hand with a curse, turned around and started to get busy.
"You didn't even tell me you were coming back? I had plans to play mahjong with some old friends tonight! Besides, there's nothing to eat at home, so your dad and I have to go to the market to buy some!"
Mao Peilan complained, walked up and pulled Luo Honghui up from the sofa, and the two of them were about to go out, carrying brightly colored vegetable baskets.
Luo Jingyao, who had just reacted, subconsciously spoke out to stop them: "Dad, Mom, let's just eat whatever's at home. There's no need to bother."
"What do you know? You live outside by yourself and don't have a proper meal a day, right? You either order takeout or just eat some bread or something. You finally come home, so I have to nourish you well?" Mao Peilan scolded again.
Luo Jingyao, who tried to interrupt but failed, could only watch the old couple leave the door. With a loud bang, all that was left for her was a cold security door panel.
Not long after, Mao Peilan and Luo Honghui came back with lots of bags. Judging from the situation, they almost emptied the stalls in the market.
"Mom, is that an exaggeration?" Luo Jingyao followed her mother into the kitchen and couldn't help but sigh as she looked at the cupboards piled high with dishes.
"Ask your father to make you some more braised food. This kind of food can be eaten for several days in the refrigerator! I will make you some wontons and dumplings later. When you don't know what to eat later, you can take them out and cook them." Mao Peilan said, and with a wave of the big knife, she chopped the chicken on the chopping board into two halves.
Leaning against the door, Luo Jingyao quietly watched her parents busying around for a while. After coming to her senses, she shyly went in.
The three of them chatted and laughed while cooking a sumptuous dinner together, enjoying a rare reunion time.
After the meal, Luo Jingyao, who was full and satisfied, sat down on the sofa and relaxed, eating the cut fruit bit by bit, and by the way, she briefly exchanged information about the situation in the store with the store clerk on the chat software.
It was getting dark outside. After finishing her work in the kitchen, Mao Peilan hurried back to her room. When she came out again, she had changed into a dark green silk cheongsam and had put on exquisite makeup on her face. She looked dazzled with jewels.
"I have an appointment to play mahjong at your Aunt He's house. I won't be back tonight. Your dad will probably go downstairs for a walk and play chess in a while. Please do as you please!" The woman put on her high heels and stood in front of the mirror at the entrance, doing the final check of her appearance.
"Oh, by the way, there are two portions of stuff on the table. Take the red bag home, and give the blue bag to Li Rui and his wife on your way home."
"Last time they prepared such a large table of dishes to treat us to a meal, we have to practice reciprocity. I'll send you the couple's contact information later!" After hurriedly arranging the tasks, Mao Peilan put on her coat and left in a hurry.
"..." He picked up a piece of pineapple and put it into his mouth with an expressionless face. Luo Jingyao was already very familiar with such scenes.
A few minutes later, Luo Honghui also changed into a light down jacket and sweatpants, and walked out of the door while humming a little tune while holding two walnuts in his hand, without even saying hello to her.
Sighing silently, Luo Jingyao quickly finished the plate of fruit, then stood up and walked to the dining table.
I weighed the two big bags and conservatively estimated that each one weighed about 20 to 30 kilograms.
What kind of girl from a good family would be so careless as to carry 60 kilograms of things and take the subway all over the city?
Oh, it's her.
Because she was not sure whether there would be any unexpected situation at the Special Case Investigation Team tomorrow, Luo Jingyao hesitated for a long time, glanced at the sky outside the window, and finally resigned herself to her fate and picked up two large bags and left.
She first returned to her residence and sorted the food and put it in the refrigerator, then glanced at the contact information Mao Peilan had sent her on her mobile phone.
Half an hour later, Luo Jingyao appeared in the park of Jincheng Mingjun on time.
Standing downstairs of Building 7, she raised her head slightly to confirm that the kitchen light of Unit 7001 was on, then she slowly walked into the building entrance and got on the elevator.
Because they had contacted her by phone in advance, Ms. Wang was not surprised by her arrival. Instead, she showed great enthusiasm.
"Ms. Luo! Please come in!" Miss Wang invited her into the house with a smile.
After all, the thing in her hand weighed more than 30 kilograms. Luo Jingyao really couldn't bear to let such a delicate southern girl do such rough work, so she did not refuse the invitation.
The chubby little Dumpling was sitting on the crawling mat in the living room, holding a toy in his hand and babbling something.
Perhaps because she was too focused, crystal clear saliva flowed out of her little mouth, stretching out very long.
Miss Wang was a little embarrassed by the excessive mess in the living room. She hurriedly gathered the clothes on the sofa and explained uncomfortably, "I'm sorry, the house is really a mess."
"It's like this for everyone with children." Luo Jingyao smiled kindly and walked straight to the kitchen.
After putting her things down safely, she planned to leave immediately, but unexpectedly, Miss Wang in the living room suddenly let out a sharp scream!
ah!
Without time to react, Luo Jingyao rushed out of the kitchen and saw Miss Wang walking around with the milk ball in her arms.
The little milk ball's originally fair face was now red, and there was vomit hanging around his mouth and chest.
Miss Wang kept patting the child's back. She turned around and looked at her. She pulled the corner of her mouth awkwardly: "At his age, he just likes to put things in his mouth for no reason. Fortunately, I found it in time..."
"Let me help you, you're all dirty." Luo Jingyao took two steps forward, stretched out her hand, and carefully took the little ball from the other's arms.
Smiling at her gratefully, Miss Wang even put a piece of cloth on her shoulders to prevent her clothes from getting dirty. Then she ran to the bathroom and started to tidy herself up.
"Ms. Luo, thanks to you today! If I were home alone, I'd be so flustered!" After changing her clothes, Ms. Wang came out and began to express her gratitude: "Auntie Mao is so polite! She usually takes good care of our family. It's just a meal, but you still have to bring so many things!"
"It's okay. My mom likes Mile too. Whenever she gets a chance when she gets home, she whispers a few words in my ear."
After Luo Jingyao returned the child to the woman, she curiously watched as she expertly stripped off the baby's jumpsuit: "It's so late, isn't Mile's father home yet?"
"They said they were working overtime, so it should be soon," Ms. Wang said, looking up at the clock on the wall. "I heard it's because of the explosion at the spicy stir-fry restaurant yesterday. Their express delivery point has a huge backlog of packages, and they all have to be delivered today."
"By the way, Miss Luo, I heard from Aunt Mao that you are currently working at the Jinshi Public Security Bureau?"
"You're amazing! You're a world champion, and you became a police officer after retiring," Ms. Wang said enviously. "Unlike me, I got married young and now I can only stay at home to take care of the kids. My daily life is all about food, clothing, housing, and transportation."
"I envy you for accomplishing such a major event in your life at such a young age." Luo Jingyao responded with a smile.
"Besides, I'm not a police officer. I'm just a physical trainer. My daily job is to teach the police officers and provide training."
"Is that so? That's pretty impressive too."
Just as the two were chatting, the sound of a door opening was heard at the entrance, and the next second Li Rui, covered in dust, walked in.
When he saw Luo Jingyao, the man was obviously a little surprised, but he quickly returned to his normal expression and greeted her with a smile.
"Honey, Miss Luo has brought us a lot of delicious food! They are all made by Aunt Mao and Uncle Luo!" Miss Wang came forward with the clean milk ball in her arms, and told Luo Jingyao the purpose of her visit today.
"How can I do that!" Li Rui was terrified and thanked him repeatedly.
"By the way! A few days ago, my colleague gave me a bottle of very good white wine. No one in my family knows how to drink it. I heard from Aunt Mao that Uncle Luo likes it. Miss Luo, please help me take a gift back!" After the man said this, he turned around and went to the back balcony, opened the locker and started searching.
"No..." Luo Jingyao was about to refuse, but the phone in her pocket rang unexpectedly.
Helplessly, she could only smile apologetically at Miss Wang, waved the phone in her hand, then quickly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room and pressed the answer button.
"Coach Luo, I heard from Pan Chang that you went home?"
From the other side of the receiver came Lin Jiafan's deep and magnetic voice.
"Well, is there something wrong?" Luo Jingyao asked back, and she caught a glimpse of the young couple standing behind her. They seemed to be teasing Milk Ball.
For some reason, she was cautious and did not call out "Officer Lin", perhaps because she was concerned that Li Rui had been interrogated by the police before.
After realizing her own thoughts, Luo Jingyao was a little stunned, and suddenly remembered what Lin Jiafan once said: You have begun to think like a criminal police.
"Do you still remember Li Rui?"
The questioning voice beside her ears successfully brought her back to her senses and made her heart tremble.
"Um."
"I found out there's something fishy about him. Your mother seems to be very familiar with him. If it's convenient, we would like to ask your mother about this man." Lin Jiafan made the request very politely.
When her premonition came true, Luo Jingyao's heart instantly sank to the bottom.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to keep her voice calm: "I know, I'm at his house now."
The incoherent sentence made the person on the other end of the phone hold his breath: "Are you at Li Rui's house?"
After receiving her affirmative answer, Lin Jiafan just said "ten minutes" and quickly ended the call.
Listening to the beeping sound on the phone, Luo Jingyao pursed her lips, sorted out her facial expression, and turned around with a smile: "My mom is worried that I can't complete the task she assigned, so she called to check on me."
Li Rui didn't seem to be suspicious of her statement and handed over the bottle of beautifully packaged liquor. "I don't know much about wine, I hope Uncle Luo won't be disgusted."
The words of refusal circled around her lips, but Luo Jingyao swallowed them back. She took the bottle of wine and said, "Then I'll thank you on behalf of my dad."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Miss Wang rather embarrassedly: "Mi Le, can you let me hold him for a few more times? He's so cute, no wonder my mom likes him so much."
"Of course!" Miss Wang stuffed the child into her arms without hesitation: "Auntie Mao is Mi Le's godmother, and according to seniority, Miss Luo can also be considered his godmother!"
Putting the baijiu aside, Luo Jingyao raised her hand, gently poked the chubby cheek of the little girl, and started chatting: "I just heard from Miss Wang that due to the impact of yesterday's explosion, Mr. Li was forced to work overtime today?"
"It's not like I'm forced. It will be my own job sooner or later." Li Rui responded with a silly smile.
"Your work is really hard. Do you have any holidays?" Luo Jingyao asked again.
"We only get a few days off around the Lunar New Year. Sometimes, if something happens at home, we have to ask for leave."
The two of them started chatting with each other. Seeing that she had no intention of saying goodbye, the couple didn't want to take the initiative to ask her out, so they could only respond warmly and perfunctorily.
Time passes by every second.
Finally, before Luo Jingyao felt a little dry in the mouth, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it? It's so late..." Miss Wang first confirmed the position of the hour and minute hands of the clock on the wall, and then walked towards the security door muttering.
Click.
Along with the crisp sound of the door handle being pressed down, the person standing outside the door also came into Miss Wang's sight.
"You are..."
After a brief moment of surprise, Miss Wang recognized the faces of the two leading men and exclaimed in surprise.
"We are from the Jinshi Public Security Bureau. We were here yesterday."
A familiar male voice was heard, and Luo Jingyao, who was holding the baby, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is there anything wrong?" Miss Wang continued to ask.
"Excuse me, is Mr. Li home now? Would it be convenient for us to go in and talk to Mr. Li?"
Although Miss Wang hesitated, she finally nodded in response to such a request.
Just as the woman stepped aside to invite Lin Jiafan and others into the house, Luo Jingyao suddenly felt a cool breeze blowing from her side!
The hairs on her arms immediately stood up. Her body had an instinctive reaction to danger, and she subconsciously wanted to hide, but because she was concerned about the baby in her arms, she was inevitably restrained in her actions.
In just a breath, Luo Jingyao felt a chill on her neck, and an extremely sharp wallpaper knife was pressing against her fragile skin.
Then, Li Rui's sinister voice rang in his ears: "Miss Luo, I'm sorry."
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