Chapter 413 She must be lonely
What is shocking statement!
This is called shocking statement!
It was the late night, and after eating a hot midnight snack, the blood in the stomach was aiding digestion, and everyone was feeling very sleepy.
But Zhou Yi's words woke everyone up.
Initially, based on important physical evidence, everyone thought that the murderer was most likely Lu Xiaoshuang, or at least that Lu Xiaoshuang had conspired with others.
But as the investigation unfolded, it was discovered that there were many loopholes in the claim that Lu Xiaoshuang was a suspect.
The task force's subconscious began to change, from proving that Lu Xiaoshuang was the murderer to proving that Lu Xiaoshuang was innocent.
The unreasonable points raised at the case analysis meetings after Zhou Yi joined the team were all based on this thinking and direction.
From verification to falsification.
Because the logic of this matter itself cannot be supported.
Looking at the interrogation video, Lu Xiaoshuang's calmness, rationality, cooperation, clear logic and suppressed panic during the police interrogation were all details that won the favor of the task force.
Because before this, to everyone except the Third Brigade, Lu Xiaoshuang was just an ordinary person in the file who was closely related to the case. Even other police officers in Hongcheng had basically never seen her.
Just like Zhou Yi back then, he was just a person in the information and could never feel the vitality.
But even so, most people have already regarded Lu Xiaoshuang as a shield and scapegoat for the murderer.
Therefore, Zhou Yi's analysis and final conclusion were so surprising because Zhou Yi's analysis filled in many logical gaps and made the case clearer and more understandable.
At this time, Ni Jianrong, who had been silent all the time, spoke. After all, he couldn't always be a bystander and have no sense of existence.
"Ahem, you said the murderer's original target was Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang. Isn't that a bit too much? Everyone knows that the motive for a murder is either a love killing, a revenge killing, or a dispute over property. Since both of them are poor students, it's naturally impossible that it was a financial problem."
"If it's a vendetta, who would have such a deep blood feud with two female students that they would go to such great lengths to set up such a large scheme?"
Ni Jianrong spread his hands and smiled, "The only thing left is a murder caused by love. Could this be a murder case caused by a love triangle?"
Zhou Yi didn't say anything. In fact, Ni Jianrong's speculation was reasonable, but from Zhou Yi's perspective, it made him feel very uncomfortable.
He suddenly understood why Brother Biao hated Ni Jianrong so much. Brother Biao, a man with a bold and upright personality, must have been disgusted by Ni Jianrong, so he has remembered it until now.
At this time, Liang Wei spoke up, because he noticed a change in Zhou Yi's eyes, so he said, "Captain Ni's speculation is quite reasonable. Didn't Xiao Bing escape? We can further investigate whether Xiao Bing and Xu Liu had any contact. However, in a love triangle, it is usually unlikely that a man would kill both women. The emotional disputes caused by a love triangle are just because of the extra person. More often, it is the same sex killing another person, or a man killing another woman for a woman."
Liang Wei's words first affirmed and then refuted, which not only saved Ni Jianrong's face, but also did not lead the investigation direction astray.
Liang Wei waved his hand and said, "Zhou Yi, please sit down first. You speak very well, with clear logic, comprehensive thinking, and sharp insights. Your analysis is very valuable for reference."
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Captain Liang was very satisfied, and the degree of evaluation in the two sentences was completely different.
Zhou Yi immediately sat down tactfully.
Liang Wei prompted to continue playing the video.
Lu Xiaoshuang said that when she woke up again, it was pitch black around her and the restraints on her hands and feet had been untied.
She didn't know where she was or how long she had been unconscious.
As I struggled to get up, I felt very rough stones and sand, and then began to grope forward.
But after walking a few steps, she felt weak and dizzy and fell down.
But she did not give up. Instead, she gritted her teeth and crawled on the ground, trying to find a way out, while shouting for help with all her might.
It must have been a full twenty-four hours from the time she was knocked unconscious to the time she woke up in the mine. She hadn't eaten anything during that time and was even given sleeping pills several times, so her body was already very weak.
But her dizziness and collapse was actually a good thing.
Because the methane and carbon monoxide in the mine are lighter than the air, especially the methane will float and concentrate in the upper layer of the mine.
Crawling on all fours after falling to the ground can actually effectively reduce the rate of inhaling harmful gases and buy more time for your escape.
However, the core of this matter was her strong desire to survive, which supported her until a chance of survival appeared.
Zhou Yi decided that after the grand case was solved, he would definitely thank the little boy who picked up coal slag.
He was probably a messenger sent by God. Without him, Lu Xiaoshuang would probably be finished.
Later, Lu Xiaoshuang said that she lost consciousness and had no memory, and when she woke up again, she was already in the hospital.
That was the morning of May 4th.
She woke up and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Zhou Yi lying beside the bed.
Although Zhou Yi was lying down at that time and she couldn't see his face, she knew that it was her elder brother Zhou.
At that moment, she had never felt so at ease.
He couldn't help but gently touch Zhou Yi's hair.
Of course, these feelings were not expressed during the interrogation.
As for what happened later, it has been taken over by the task force, so there is no need to elaborate.
Qiao Jiali stood up, walked to Lu Xiaoshuang, took out a few photos and placed them in front of her.
Although the camera couldn't capture the picture, Qiao Jiali then asked, "Lu Xiaoshuang, look at this bag and this knife. Do you remember anything about them?"
Lu Xiaoshuang lowered her head and carefully examined it for a while, then shook her head and said, "I haven't seen it before."
"Are you sure?"
What Qiao Jiali showed her was the travel bag containing Xu Liu's head and the kitchen knife used as the murder weapon.
Lu Xiaoshuang nodded: "Sure, it's not mine, and I haven't seen it before."
"Your fingerprints are on these two things."
Lu Xiaoshuang suddenly showed an expression of surprise and looked at her hands.
"Officer...Officer Joe, I've passed out. If someone wants me to leave some fingerprints, it should be easy, right?"
Qiao Jiali nodded, took back the photo and sat back down.
"Lu Xiaoshuang, is there any conflict between you and Xu Liu?"
Hearing Xu Liu's name, Lu Xiaoshuang was obviously a little sad. After all, from the beginning of the interrogation, Qiao Jiali announced to Lu Xiaoshuang the reasons for interrogating her according to relevant legal provisions, which clearly mentioned the four words "Xu Liu was murdered."
But she knew she had to follow the police rules and answer whatever the police asked, so she didn't mention Xu Liu until now. He couldn't help feeling sad again.
"I had a conflict with her a while ago. I suspected she had cut my sweater, but the dorm supervisor said we couldn't jump to conclusions without evidence, so the matter was left unresolved."
Qiao Jiali asked: "Do you hate her?"
Lu Xiaoshuang was stunned for a moment before answering, "I wouldn't say I hate her, but I'm really angry and I dislike her. After all, that sweater is very precious to me. But the dorm supervisor is right. I don't have any evidence, so I can't just casually accuse her. After all, in a society ruled by law, everything should be based on evidence."
Zhou Yi was very satisfied with Lu Xiaoshuang's answer. If he said that he had no emotions about such things, it would be too hypocritical and would make people feel suspicious.
But if we talk about hatred, the next question would be whether you have ever had the thought of revenge.
But Lu Xiaoshuang responded directly and perfectly with the words "In a society ruled by law, evidence is the key."
As expected, Qiao Jiali didn't follow the normal interrogation process. "Before or after this, have you and Xu Liu had any conflicts or frictions?"
"No, I've discussed this with Mo Youyou before. I don't know why Xu Liu suddenly targeted me. Before March of this year, I didn't spend much time with my roommates in the dormitory because I had to work, so I didn't have any conflicts or friction with others. I can only understand that maybe Xu Liu was in a bad mood at the time, so she didn't like me or maybe I just happened to bother her?"
"In your eyes, what kind of person do you think Xu Liu is?"
"Hmm... She must be quite lonely..."
This question surprised everyone on and off the screen, because in the survey so far, the word most often used by classmates to describe Xu Liu was "arrogant."
Some teachers also commented that "Xu Liu is a smart student, but he just doesn't focus on his studies."
Their counselor, Wu Na, was the only person besides the school leaders who knew about Lu Xiaoshuang's disappearance.
Therefore, the task force specifically asked Wu Na about her opinions on her classmates Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang.
Her answer was that Lu Xiaoshuang studied very seriously and hard, and if she could spend more time and energy on studying, her grades would probably be better.
As for Xu Liu, her evaluation is that she has a good brain and understands things quickly, but it seems that she does not have much motivation to study, so her grades are just barely average.
But this is the first time someone has used the word "lonely" to describe Xu Liu.
Qiao Jiali asked, "Lonely? Why do you say that?"
"Because she doesn't have many friends and is always alone. And several times when I ran into her in the cafeteria, she was always sitting alone in the corner."
People who like to sit in the corner mostly lack a sense of security.
"Especially the look in her eyes at that time, I could feel that she was very lonely."
Zhou Yi knew very well that Lu Xiaoshuang was a sensitive and delicate person. She could feel the loneliness in Xu Liu's eyes, which meant that it was the same look as her own.
Perhaps before she met me, she was also the girl who sat in the corner, eating the cheapest meals with a lonely look in her eyes.
To some extent, they once shared the same suffering.
However, Lu Xiaoshuang later met Zhou Yi, and a ray of light came into her life.
"Lu Xiaoshuang, have you ever seen Xu Liu with any strange men before? Either inside or outside the school?"
"No... not really." Lu Xiaoshuang shook her head, "But I encountered something a while ago, it was a bit strange."
These words made all the policemen in the room prick up their ears.
"Tell me more specifically."
"Last semester, I worked part-time as a waiter at a restaurant. One night, while I was working, I suddenly noticed that the person standing at the front desk looked very much like Xu Liu. I walked over to take a look, and it turned out to be her."
"I went up to her and said hello, and asked if she was waiting for her friends to have dinner. If she wanted to go in and sit down first."
"I didn't expect her to be surprised and nervous when she saw me. She said she had misremembered the place where she had made an appointment with her friend, and then she left without looking back."
"I thought it was strange at the time because she didn't look like she was in the wrong place before. It seemed like she was waiting for someone."
This clue excited the entire task force. Someone couldn't help but say, "He must be waiting for his lover, otherwise why would he run away in such a hurry?"
But immediately, Lu Xiaoshuang's words changed the direction.
Lu Xiaoshuang said, "Then I went to work. About five minutes later, I saw the foreman ask the front desk, 'Where's the person who interviewed me?'"
"The front desk said they didn't know. They were just at the door."
"I didn't dare say anything at the time because the boss was very angry and scolded me for being uncultured."
"Later, I asked the front desk lady, and she said Xu Liu had an appointment to interview for a part-time waiter position. Because her boss was called away, she asked her to wait a moment. Unexpectedly, she disappeared after only two minutes of walking away, and she was also scolded."
Qiao Jiali asked hurriedly: "When did this happen?"
"It was probably last December. It was pretty cold anyway. I don't remember the exact day."
I originally thought that Xu Liu was having dinner with her lover outside, but I didn't expect that she was actually looking for a job.
But from the current investigation, he is not in financial difficulty, and there is still two thousand yuan in cash in her suitcase.
You have to know that in 1997, the normal living expenses for a college student were about 300 yuan. Does Xu Liu need to find a job in his situation?
"Tell me the name and address of this restaurant," Qiao Jiali said. "Also, when did you leave and why?"
Lu Xiaoshuang immediately reported the specific name and address of the hotel, and said that she initially found this place because the hotel's recruitment advertisement was posted near the school.
She left a few days before the Chinese New Year after receiving her salary.
As for the reason, it was because the foreman was very annoying and always touched the female employees under various pretexts, which made her feel disgusted.
When Zhou Yi heard this, his anger instantly reached its maximum. He would have to apply to Liang Wei for this line and verify it himself.
How dare you touch Lu Xiaoshuang!
At this point, the interrogation video of Lu Xiaoshuang has ended.
At this time, the sky outside the window was already turning pale.
This is the state of the police when investigating major cases. The day does not understand the darkness of the night.
Liang Wei directly called out his name: "Zhou Yi, what do you think about the last clue provided by Lu Xiaoshuang?"
Just as Zhou Yi was about to stand up, Liang Wei waved his hand and said, "Sit down and talk."
"Okay." Zhou Yi just left the stool and put his butt back down.
"I think the clue Lu Xiaoshuang provided is very valuable. Based on the current investigation information, Xu Liu has never asked her parents for living expenses, and her classmates have not noticed that Xu Liu is in financial difficulty."
"But as long as the investigation proves that Lu Xiaoshuang didn't lie about this matter, it means that by December last year, Xu Liu's financial situation had reached a point where she was stretched to the limit, forcing her to find a part-time job to make money."
"This means her original source of income has been cut off. This completely aligns with what you mentioned earlier, Captain Liang. Xu Liu couldn't possibly be a prostitute or hostess. If someone like that can't make money anymore, there's only one possibility: they've been arrested and imprisoned."
"So it's basically certain that she was kept by someone before."
Liang Wei nodded. This logic indeed further confirmed his judgment.
Zhou Yi continued, "But Xu Liu obviously didn't want anyone he knew to know his true situation, so after meeting Lu Xiaoshuang, he immediately chose to leave."
Judging from the current results, apart from Lu Xiaoshuang who encountered such a small episode, no one else around her knew about it, which means that Xu Liu still maintained his "personality".
"So it's very likely that Xu Liu harbored a grudge against Lu Xiaoshuang after that incident. After all, Lu Xiaoshuang was a potential threat that could expose her disguise. This is why she subsequently made groundless accusations and targeted Lu Xiaoshuang. After all, she appears arrogant on the surface, but actually harbors low self-esteem, and people with low self-esteem are the most sensitive and suspicious."
Everyone couldn't help but nod, because Zhou Yi's analysis made sense and could indeed fill the logical gap that caused the original conflict between Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu.
Zhou Yi held up three fingers and said, "Although Xu Liu's financial situation was problematic at the time, this incident happened in December of last year, almost six months ago, and yet the students around him didn't feel that Xu Liu's quality of life had declined. This suggests three possibilities."
"First, Xu Liu moved to a new place and found a part-time job, relying on it to support his life, just like Lu Xiaoshuang. But I think this possibility is relatively small, because part-time jobs for college students require sacrificing their spare time, and it's impossible to hide this from roommates."
"Secondly, the man who had originally supported Xu Liu financially has reconciled with her. It's possible that Xu Liu had previously argued and cut ties with him, but then realized she couldn't support herself, so she took the initiative to admit her mistake and reunited with him."
At this time, Ni Jianrong questioned: "Why can't the man take the initiative to break up the relationship, then regret it and get back together with Xu Liu?"
Zhou Yi replied: "It's not that there is no possibility, but I think the possibility is small."
"Why?" Ni Jianrong asked.
"If a middle-aged man has average disposable income but has saved some money for various reasons, his first choice will definitely be to engage in low-cost, one-time transactions like prostitution. Those who can afford to support female college students usually have some money in their pockets and the confidence to provide this kind of ongoing support."
"In this situation, there are only two possibilities for the man to take the initiative to break up. Either he is tired of playing around, or his wife found out and forced him to break up. In either case, it is unlikely that the man will take the initiative to go back to Xu Liu and get back together."
Zhou Yi further explained, "Even if the man is the latter, and his wife found out and forced him to break up, and he later became obsessed with Xu Liu and secretly tried to get back together with her. But it's been almost half a year, how could his wife not notice any clues? If she had found out, she would have already made a scene at school and let everyone know."
It’s a pity that Jiang Biao was not there, otherwise he would definitely jump out and applaud at this time because it was a slap in the face of Ni Jianrong.
At this time Liang Wei asked: "What about the third one?"
Zhou Yi put away his last finger and said, "The third scenario is that Xu Liu has found a new sponsor and solved the problem of living expenses!"
"Excellent!" Liang Wei suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Zhou Yi's analysis is excellent. The second and third scenarios are indeed more likely. We should focus our investigation in this direction. Zhou Yi, tell me which line you want to investigate next. You can choose it yourself."
Liang Wei's attitude explains everything.
An expert can tell whether it exists or not just by stretching out his hand.
After joining the task force for just one day and one night, Zhou Yi had already successfully gained the trust of this serious case expert from the provincial department.
Zhou Yi thought to himself that fortunately his performance at least did not disappoint Mr. Qin and Captain Wu.
"Reporting to the leader, I want to check the restaurant that Lu Xiaoshuang mentioned last."
This surprised Liang Wei somewhat, because the information mentioned by Lu Xiaoshuang during the interrogation did need to be verified and confirmed.
But the most important task at the moment should be to search for the fugitive Xiao Bing and the man who has a kept relationship with Xu Liu.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi chose neither of these two options and chose the most routine confirmation job.
This kind of thing can usually be investigated by peripheral police officers. After all, Xu Liu only appeared in that hotel briefly and would not leave any clues. The purpose of the investigation is only to confirm the authenticity of what Lu Xiaoshuang said.
Suddenly, Liang Wei seemed to realize something, nodded and said, "Okay, since you've chosen it, I'll leave it to you and Chen Yan to investigate."
Zhou Yi was about to express his gratitude when Liang Wei added, "But the investigation can't just focus on the restaurant. It needs to be comprehensive. The No. 68 bus and the apple vendor mentioned in the confession—you're responsible for investigating those as well."
Zhou Yi and Chen Yan immediately replied, "Yes."
Liang Wei said loudly, "It's almost dawn. Everyone has been up all night and has worked hard. Let's take a break and then continue fighting. I believe the dawn of victory is just around the corner."
Currently, Jiang Biao is in charge of the search for Xiao Bing. Because he is already leading a large number of peripheral police officers to search for the remaining body parts, the net in his hand is the largest and fastest.
So after Zhou Yi reported that Xiao Bing had escaped, Jiang Biao immediately changed direction and organized manpower to start searching for him, and he was not at the meeting.
Most of the work in the hands of others could only be better carried out after daybreak, so they lay down in their chairs in the conference room and began to doze off, trying to sleep as long as possible.
Liang Wei and Ni Jianrong left the meeting room, probably to report the case to Xie Guoqiang.
Zhou Yi chased after him and shouted, "Captain Liang."
Liang Wei turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Regarding several key points in Lu Xiaoshuang's confession, I want to ask her to confirm and verify them, such as the specific appearance characteristics of the ticket seller and the street vendor. This will help us confirm the situation faster and more effectively." Zhou Yi said with a guilty conscience.
Liang Wei seemed to have seen through his thoughts long ago and said calmly, "You guys can handle these details on your own. Just don't violate the principles."
After saying that, he patted Ni Jianrong on the shoulder and turned to leave.
Zhou Yi smiled, bowed to Liang Wei's back and said, "Thank you, leader."
Then he returned to the meeting room and excitedly pulled Chen Yan out.
Chen Yan, still in shock, followed him and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Go back to the bureau and see Lu Xiaoshuang." Zhou Yi said impatiently.
At this moment, Chen Yan suddenly realized: "Oh - that's how it is..."
"I'll drive, Brother Yan, you can take a nap in the car."
Chen Yan smiled and said, "Forget it, I'll drive. You take a nap."
The two returned to the Municipal Bureau, and Zhou Yi went straight to the detention room. The normal procedure should be to bring Lu Xiaoshuang from the detention room where suspects were temporarily detained to the interrogation room for interrogation.
But Zhou Yi couldn't wait any longer.
On the iron bed in the detention room, Lu Xiaoshuang lay on her side, curled up into a ball.
In her dream, she was trapped in darkness and no matter how hard she tried to escape, she couldn't get out.
Just as she was trembling with fear, a light suddenly appeared behind her.
She turned around and saw a familiar figure reaching out to her.
She instinctively held that hand, a big, broad, and warm hand, and held her hand tightly.
Then the figure pulled her forward quickly, and the darkness around her receded quickly like the tide.
A dazzling light shone into her eyes.
She opened her eyes on the iron bed, turned around, and saw the familiar face.
"Xiaoshuang." Zhou Yi called her name softly.
"Brother Zhou?" She was stunned for a moment, then climbed up from the bed and threw herself into his arms.
Tears burst out instantly and I burst into tears.
Zhou Yi hugged the person in his arms tightly, whispering softly: "It's okay, it's okay, I will never lose you again."
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