Chapter 57 Chapter 57 Police Officer Ji plays the bad guy...
"Sweet, your smile is so sweet..."
Posters of Hong Kong stars fluttered down from the corners of the walls, and Hair Salon Street woke up in the afternoon sun. Even in broad daylight, the red and blue neon light poles still illuminated the street in front of the shops, making it look psychedelic.
Several little girls in sequined sundresses wrapped in military coats leaned against the doorway, humming Teresa Teng's songs and looking boredly at the people coming and going on the street.
Tan Li parked the car on the side of the road, took a deep breath, and then gestured to the special team following behind her.
This was the seventeenth hair salon they had visited in the past two days.
Time is too tight and there is too little known information. Even if Ji Yinhe wanted to draw a profile of the deceased, the portrait he would get would be that of a handsome shampoo boy with a rose tattoo on his body who had been missing for more than a week.
Jingzhou has seen a large influx of people from other places in recent years, and there are simply too many young boys like this.
Everyone is afraid of missing out on clues, so even if there is a slight possibility, they will keep asking questions.
The entire team has been working for twenty hours without a break.
But everyone still cheered up and rushed to the next destination.
Under the surprised gazes of the younger sisters, Tan Li took the lead and pushed open the glass door of a hair salon.
A strong smell of inferior potion suddenly hit me in the face.
"Hey, a customer is coming! Do you want a haircut or—"
The proprietress in a gaudy rose-red sweater raised her eyes from behind the bar and stopped talking abruptly.
Without waiting for her to speak, Tan Li flashed her ID and said, "This is a case handled by the provincial department."
Several guests in the front hall turned their heads.
The proprietress stood up with a guilty conscience, her expression fawning, "Hey, officer, the anti-pornography and anti-illegal publications police were here just last week. Look at our small business..."
Tan Li didn't want to make the case public, so she took a few steps closer and explained in a low voice.
Ji Yinhe stood behind the crowd, looking around calmly.
——This shop is not a small storefront. The lobby on the first floor is divided into two halves by a hazy crystal bead curtain. There are seven or eight barber tables in the front half, and a circle of sofas in the back where three or five men and women sit together with their arms around each other.
There seemed to be a staircase at the end, and the suggestive music coming down from upstairs was even better than that in Lijing Nightclub.
A few gangsters giggled at the only young policewoman, Ji Yinhe. Lu Zheng calmly took a step forward and protected Comrade Ji behind him.
Behind the bar, the proprietress was flipping through a dirty register quickly.
"Oh, what you're talking about is real!" She tapped her short, plump fingers, painted with fluorescent green nail polish, on the notebook and said in a gruff voice, "Rose tattoo! Isn't that Xiaolin? The last time I saw him was before the New Year!"
No one had much hope at first, so they were all shocked when they heard her say that.
——Finally found out who the deceased was!
"Xiao Lin...is your surname Lin?" Tan Li asked, "What's your specific name?"
The proprietress scratched her forehead and pulled the passing barber aside, "What's Xiaolin's full name?"
"...his name?" The young man narrowed his eyes. "Isn't his name Xiao Linzi?"
Everyone: “…”
The proprietress laughed wryly, "Alas, we are a mixed bunch here, who would still want to travel the world with a famous name..."
A few wealthy men in leather jackets, holding cell phones and hugging young girls, strolled down the stairs. Ji Yinhe poked his head out from behind Lu Zheng and couldn't help asking, "What kind of business do you guys run up here?"
"As for massage and beauty treatments, don't worry, officer. We don't have any illegal business here! But if a customer takes a fancy to a young man or a young girl, and they want to have a romantic relationship and relax, we can't stop them, right?"
“…”Everyone was silent again.
Tan Li extracted a key point from Ji Yinhe's question, "Does this little Linzi have a boyfriend? He's quite handsome, right?"
"Yes, Xiao Linzi is quite good-looking, with fair skin. Otherwise, why would we be so impressed by his rose tattoo?... Just think about it, a bright rose on his delicate arm—how appealing!" The proprietress thought for a moment and added, "As for his partner, it seems he doesn't really have a stable partner! Oh, the one who's been asking him for his hair the most lately is Gong Lingling!"
Zhao Zhuoqun raised his eyebrows and asked, "The daughter of Director Gong of the Development Zone?"
"You're right!" the proprietress said mysteriously. "She comes here almost every few days to have Xiaolin do her hair. Not only does she perm her hair, but she also does makeup and outfits!"
This is the daughter of a high-ranking official! Everyone had different expressions for a moment, and Ji Yinhe hurriedly asked: "Has she been here recently?"
The boss lady lowered her head and flipped through the account book. "Well, Miss Gong stopped coming to my place after Xiao Linzi was absent from work... Maybe she found a new beautician?"
She looked at Tan Li with a flattering smile, but she lowered her head to look at the account book and ignored her.
So he grabbed the only young female police officer present, Ji Yinhe, and asked with a shameless face, "Officer, how serious of a crime is this kid involved in? It won't involve my hair salon, will it? I'm an honest businessman and can't stand any more trouble..."
“…”
Ji Yinhe shook her arms slightly, trying to pull the sleeve out from between her fingers, but failed.
Lu Zheng stood forward with a cold face. His tall figure made the proprietress shudder and let go of her hand.
Ji Yinhe touched his wrinkled sleeves and said loudly, "It's inconvenient to tell you the details of the case right now. Where does Comrade Lin live now? Could you tell us?"
When she put on a stern face, she suddenly had a calm aura. The proprietress didn't dare to get close to her anymore and quickly called over a group of younger brothers and sisters. "Are you familiar with Xiao Linzi? Do you know his family?"
They all shook their heads, "...I'm not familiar with them." "I don't know!" "Everyone wants to stay in the hotel, who cares about this, right..."
"Get lost." The proprietress, fearing the police might get angry, turned around and explained, "I really don't know where they live, but our employees all have lockers for their belongings. How about I take you there?"
A group of people followed her into the locker room filled with smoke. Kobayashi's shabby cabinet was not locked and opened with a pull. Several cosmetics imported from Hong Kong fell out.
"There's nothing valuable." Lu Zheng put on gloves and looked around, then picked up two items and took them back to check for fingerprints.
Tan Li put her hands on her hips and thought for a moment, "Teacher Lu, take Guan Ye and Gao Ge back for the tests first. Xiao Ji and Lao Zhao will strike while the iron is hot and go talk to Miss Gong."
*
Ruian School.
This is a twelve-year school built with foreign investment. It is nominally known as the No. 1 aristocratic school in Handong Province, but in reality the teaching quality is quite average, and most of the students enrolled are the unsuccessful children of nouveau riche families.
Because the work is easy and sounds good to others, many wealthy and powerful people like to send their daughters to work here.
It was peak school time, and the school gate was bustling with people. Tan Li looked around from the car and said, "It's just a routine questioning. Miss Gong's situation is special, so we can't attract too many onlookers. You guys wait here, Xiao Ji, come with me."
It was the first time for Ji Yinhe to act alone with the team leader, and he followed behind honestly, taking notes anytime and anywhere.
They found Gong Lingling in the music classroom.
As the daughter of the director of the development zone, she is not very good-looking, but her clothes look very expensive, and they are brands that can only be bought in Shanghai. Her hairstyle is also very unique, with long curly hair tied elegantly behind her head with a silk scarf.
Tan Li talked about Xiao Linzi directly, and Miss Gong looked embarrassed.
"...He has good taste and speaks nicely. I want to look better. Is there anything wrong with choosing him?"
Tan Li narrowed her eyes, "Yes, but that kind of hair salon is not a place that a music teacher from an aristocratic school like you would go to."
Ji Yinhe couldn't help but give a thumbs up in his heart. He really deserves to be a leader. His approach is so meticulous!
Miss Gong touched her nose and whispered, "It's easy to run into acquaintances in high-end beauty salons in the city..."
It seems that she wants to be beautiful but is afraid of losing face. Ji Yinhe glanced out the window and found that everyone in this school, whether teachers or students, looked very rich. It was no wonder that Miss Gong had such a competitive mentality.
Tan Li thought for a moment and took out a photo from her bag.
——It was the broken arm. On the charred skin, a rose-shaped tattoo could barely be made out.
"Can you recognize this tattoo?"
Gong Lingling was startled. "Oh, it seems to be Xiaolin... What happened to him?"
"Dead." Tan Li said concisely and put away the photo.
“…” Gong Lingling stood there in a daze, looking at Ji Yinhe for help, trying to get an answer from her.
Ji Yinhe didn't expect the team leader to give such a strong medicine right away, and he was afraid of frightening this delicate young lady, so he could only nod gently in comfort.
"...Ms. Gong," Comrade Xiao Ji asked softly, "Can you tell us what you and Xiao Lin usually talk about?"
Gong Lingling opened her mouth blankly: "No, nothing... Hair style, makeup and so on. After all, with my father's status, I don't want to cause him any trouble."
Tan Li nodded. "The hair salon owner said that you haven't visited him recently... Did you know that he was in trouble a long time ago?"
"No, no!" Gong Lingling waved her hands in panic. "I went on a trip with my parents during the Chinese New Year! We went to Singapore and came back just before school started! You can go check it out, ask my parents, or my driver. I still have the plane ticket and photos. If you want to see them—"
"No need to bother." Tan Li and Ji Yinhe exchanged glances in unison.
With so much evidence, it can be seen that Gong Lingling's alibi is very solid. Judging from her physique, she does not look like the murderer who could kill and dismember Xiaolin.
"Okay." Tan Li stood up. "Don't leave Jingzhou during this period. We will contact you if there is anything."
Gong Lingling nodded meekly.
Ji Yinhe followed Tan Li for a few steps, and then something like a thin string sounded in his head, and he suddenly turned back.
"By the way, Miss Gong," she asked softly, "we saw a new domestic hand cream in Xiaolin's cabinet. Did you send it to him when you were traveling?"
"Oh, that's true." Gong Lingling blinked and said, "I bought it as soon as I arrived in Singapore. These little gadgets are popular there, they're called souvenirs... But I sent them to many friends in Jingzhou, not just one for him—"
"I know, I know." Ji Yinhe gently comforted, "Do you remember the date you sent it? We can calculate the time he received it - his accident must have happened after that."
"Oh... I sent it on New Year's Eve." Gong Lingling calmed down and thought for a moment. "Even though it's a neighboring country, it will take at least seven or eight days to deliver it to Jingzhou..."
Ji Yinhe nodded in understanding. It seemed that the time of Xiaolin’s murder could be accurately traced back to after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
She gave a thankful smile to the shivering Miss Gong and was about to get up to catch up with Tan Li when she suddenly heard the female teacher muttering to herself with her head down.
"...Lin Qingliang." Gong Lingling grabbed the hem of her skirt above her knees, looked up at Ji Yinhe, and said uncertainly, "His name seems to be...Lin Qingliang."
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