Chapter 68 Who Killed the Bride (Part 1)
September 2, 12:40 p.m., Xiyue Hotel
Qi Xiaolei took two hours off to attend a classmate's wedding.
At the wedding scene, the guests had just witnessed the romantic ceremony of the bride and groom.
However, when the bride was toasting, a child spilled some wine on her toast dress, so she went to the dressing room to change, and she was not seen coming out after that.
Because the banquet started early, the guests had already finished their meal and were ready to leave. The anxious parents on both sides began to urge them on, and the atmosphere became tense.
At this moment, a staff member rushed into the venue with a pale face and a panicked look. Her voice trembled as she announced a shocking news: "The bride is dead, the bride is dead!"
This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, and the originally festive scene fell into chaos in an instant.
Qi Xiaolei was about to leave, but her face changed when she heard the words and she quickly rushed to the scene. She calmly and decisively protected the first scene and ensured the integrity of the scene.
Fifteen minutes later, Han Jianye, Ye Bai and others hurried to Xiyue Hotel.
It was Qi Xiaolei who called the police. She looked at Han Jianye and said, "The deceased was my junior high school classmate, Jiang Qingluan, 28 years old, a native of Zhunan City. The deceased was killed on the dressing table in the dressing room, and the first person to discover the bride was the makeup artist Guo Xiaoyi."
Guo Xiaoyi was so frightened that her face turned pale. She recalled tremblingly: "I was a makeup artist, and when I was about to leave, my makeup box was still in the dressing room.
I knocked on the door and tried to get in, but no one answered. Because the bride was changing her dress inside, I waited at the door for a while, but there was still no sound from inside.
I found the door was not locked, so I opened it myself and went in. I saw the bride lying on the dressing table motionless, and thought she might be drunk when she was toasting. Unexpectedly, the bride suddenly fell down from the chair, her eyes wide open, and just looked at me. I was scared. ”
Mai Shaozhen examined the corpse carefully, his eyes as sharp as a knife.
"The purple strangulation marks on the victim's throat were clearly visible, her pupils were abnormally dilated, her tongue was purple and black, protruding from her teeth, and her face was distorted, showing extreme pain. These signs indicated that she was strangled to death."
Then, she stroked the body, frowning, "The body is still warm, which may be related to the deceased's drinking before death, and his body temperature is slightly elevated. Based on these signs, I preliminarily infer that the time of death is no more than half an hour."
Han Jianye added solemnly: "This means that she was found shortly after she was killed."
Mai Shaozhen nodded, confirming his analysis: "That's true."
Han Jianye continued to analyze in depth, his tone revealing a hint of calm sharpness: "The short time from death to discovery shows that the murderer acted decisively and quickly, with ruthless and precise methods. The victim may not have had time to react before the murderer strangled her neck and suffocated her to death. Afterwards, the murderer was able to calmly place the victim in front of the dressing table to disguise the illusion that the bride was drunk."
Mai Shaozhen echoed with certainty: "The murderer appeared within half an hour before the bride was killed."
The guests have been controlled by the police and are temporarily kept at the scene and are not allowed to leave.
Ye Bai and Su Wan quickly went to the monitoring room to check the surveillance video in the corridor.
This tragedy left both parents and the groom heartbroken. Such an unfortunate thing happened at the wedding that was supposed to be a happy one.
Due to the large number of people at the scene, Han Jianye was unable to determine who sneaked into the locker room and committed the crime, and could only wait for the results of the surveillance video.
Ye Bai and Su Wan were in the monitoring room. By reversing the surveillance video, they discovered that, in addition to the deceased, a total of five people had entered and left the locker room.
The deceased and bridesmaid Huang Aiping entered the dressing room at 12:05.
Huang Aiping left at 12:08 as the groom Wu Jinghong entered immediately.
The groom Wu Jinghong entered the dressing room at 12:08 and left at 12:15.
Next was the bride's sister-in-law Bai Shu, who entered at 12:16 and left at 12:22.
Next came bridesmaid Xue Ningning, who entered at 12:22 and left at 12:30.
Finally it was the makeup artist, who lingered at the door for five minutes, entered at 12:35, and ran out in panic at 12:38.
Based on the clues in the surveillance video, Han Jianye deduced that the murderer was most likely hiding among the groom Wu Jinghong, sister-in-law Bai Shu, and bridesmaid Xue Ningning.
Huang Aiping was cleared of suspicion because she was the first to leave the locker room and stayed there for a short time.
The makeup artist was in for only three minutes, by which time the bride had already been killed and was also excluded.
Huang Aiping explained tearfully, "I was helping the bride block the wine. I have a good alcohol tolerance, so I drank a little more. Qingqing can't drink much, but she would also take a few sips symbolically. Her dress was splashed with her nephew's drink. It's normal for children to be naughty. So I followed her to the dressing room to tidy up, and then the groom went in. When I left, Qingqing was still alive. How could she suddenly..."
Han Jianye asked her: "What was the bride's condition at the time? Was she very drunk?"
Huang Aiping recalled: "She blushed when she drank. I estimated that she only drank half a glass of red wine during the whole toast, and I drank most of it for her. Her face and neck were red. When we went to the dressing room, she was still joking with me happily. I left when the groom came in."
At this moment, the groom Wu Jinghong was already in tears and was very emotional: "When I left, my wife told me 'see you later', how could she die suddenly?"
He obviously found it difficult to accept this fact.
Liao Wei asked with concern: "When you went in, did you notice anything unusual about the bride? Or was there anyone else in the room?"
Wu Jinghong choked up and answered, "When I went in, the bridesmaid Huang Aiping was there. She left when she saw me coming in. Before I left, I kissed my wife for a long time in the dressing room, and then I asked her to get ready and come out, and I went out to accompany the guests first."
"That is to say, Jiang Qingluan was still alive when you left." Liao Wei confirmed.
"Of course I'm alive." Wu Jinghong answered very affirmatively.
At the same time, Ye Bai asked the deceased's sister-in-law Bai Shu in another cubicle: "Why did you go to the locker room to find Jiang Qingluan?"
Bai Shu's eyes were filled with tears and her face was solemn. "I went in to apologize to her. I heard that the dress was very expensive and my child accidentally spilled a drink on it. I knew she wouldn't mind, but I still felt bad. My aunt is usually very good to the children and me. She gives money and helps without saying a word. She is generous and cheerful. I wanted to go in and tell her that if the dress needs compensation, just tell me directly and I will pay for it. This is also what my husband wants."
Ye Bai continued to ask: "What was the bride doing when you went in?"
"She is lying on the dressing table to rest." Bai Shu replied.