Chapter 295 U disk, locate the murderer!
Detective Reina walked over steadily, carefully took the plaid cashmere shawl from An Zhaoyan's shoulders, and put it neatly into a large evidence bag and sealed it.
She then took out a thick emergency blanket and gently draped it over An Zhaoyan. She said gently but firmly, "Miss An, we will investigate this matter thoroughly. Come down the mountain with us now. It's still unsafe in the mountains at night."
An Zhaoyan seemed to come back to her senses, nodded silently, wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, and followed Detective Reina down the mountain.
On the other side, Thorne had been handcuffed by Detective Evans and Detective Modi, and was being escorted down the mountain, one on each side.
Xia Lili distributed the snacks in her bag to two skiers who were innocently involved in the incident, as well as two staff members, and received a round of gratitude.
Detective Evans had already contacted the follow-up rescue forces in advance, and before they had gone far, they met the rescue team carrying lighting and medical equipment.
With the help of an experienced professional team, the process of going down the mountain became much smoother despite being physically and mentally exhausted.
After arriving at the foot of the mountain, in view of the thrills and rush of the day, everyone except the Los Angeles detective decided to check into the nearest hotel to rest and deal with all matters after dawn.
Xia Lili stayed in the hotel room with An Zhaoyan.
An Zhaoyan obviously had not recovered from the shock yet. She huddled on the edge of the bed, her fingers tightly gripping the blanket, and panic in her eyes.
Xia Lili understood her very well. Being chased by a bear would leave a psychological scar on anyone.
She didn't say much, but just silently poured a cup of hot water and placed it next to An Zhaoyan, and stayed by her side quietly.
Xia Lili gently advised: "Don't think about anything tonight, just get a good night's sleep first."
An Zhaoyan shook her head, her eyes devoid of sleep, only a blank, shaken expression. "I can't sleep..." she said, her voice hoarse. "I just can't understand. I train diligently and work hard every day, and I've never offended anyone... Why would someone want me dead?"
She suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with deep confusion. "Besides, why did the police show up so promptly? Even the rescue team seemed to have been prepared for a long time."
Xia Lili had already prepared her words and took over calmly, "Actually, my cousin is very familiar with the Los Angeles Police Department. Before he arrived, he had received news that the police had intercepted intelligence about a suspected murder. After tracking it down, they discovered that Thorne might be harmful to you."
She continued in a steady tone, explaining, "So his visit to the ski resort wasn't accidental. He was helping his friends at the police station control the scene and protect our safety."
An Zhaoyan still couldn't let it go, muttering, "But I still don't understand... Why did Mr. Thorne want to kill me? We've known each other for three or four years. He had so many opportunities before, why did he have to do it now..."
Xia Lili suddenly remembered what she had seen on Thorne's phone screen: "She must die today. Otherwise, if she really finds something in the maintenance log and tells Professor Tian, I'm finished!"
She immediately pressed the issue, "Sister An, I don't know much about it, but I happened to hear my brother mention the maintenance log."
"It seems someone is particularly afraid that you might discover something in the logs and report it to Professor Tian." She stared at him and got straight to the point. "So, did you find any problems in those logs?"
An Zhaoyan's eyes suddenly widened, her tone shocked. "Is there a problem with the maintenance log?" She paused, as if remembering something. "I did organize and back up last week's maintenance data, but I've been so busy with experiments and so stressed lately that I haven't dared to look through it in detail... I was planning to work up the courage to deal with it after I finished skiing."
Xia Lili hurriedly asked, "Where is the backup now?" Her heart beat faster.
If An Zhaoyan can find abnormalities in the backup data of the maintenance log, and even track down who tampered with it, wouldn't the real mastermind behind the scenes come to light?
An Zhaoyan didn't say anything, but started to unbutton his thick coat and carefully took out a silver USB flash drive from the secret pocket of his inner clothes.
She forced a smile and said, "It's easy to run into professional thieves when there are so many people here. I hide my valuables very carefully. I feel safe keeping them close to my body."
Xia Lili breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately you are cautious!"
As soon as she said this, she suddenly realized that in the foreseeable scene, Thorne returned to the scene not only to retrieve the crossbow, but more likely to search for the USB flash drive hidden on An Zhaoyan!
"Now we only need a computer to verify it," said An Zhaoyan, holding the USB drive tightly.
Xia Lili immediately took out her phone and called Li Qihan: "Captain Li, we need a laptop urgently, the sooner the better!"
The laptop arrived quickly. An Zhaoyan took it, neatly inserted the USB drive, and quickly retrieved the maintenance log file.
Her eyes were focused, her ten fingers tapping quickly on the keyboard, code and data windows flashed on the screen one after another, she looked like a top student calmly solving a difficult problem.
Xia Lili stood quietly by the side, but another figure suddenly appeared in her mind.
The boy sent by Professor Tian, who had been in the beginner ski area at the foot of the mountain, was Peng Lang.
Xia Lili remembered that she had inadvertently asked about Peng Lang's background while chatting with An Zhaoyan on the cable car.
He came from an ordinary family and relied on part-time work and scholarships to study abroad. He was by no means financially well-off.
The person behind the hiring of Thorne mentioned in the chat log that the final payment was as high as 300,000, which was far beyond Peng Lang's means.
But Xia Lili did not completely rule out his suspicion.
If he wasn't the mastermind, could he be an accomplice? After all, Detective Reina hadn't noticed anything unusual at the Peak Tram Station.
Then the place where the cable car was tampered with is most likely the cable car control room at the foot of the mountain.
A student who is easily overlooked and has access to the control room might be just the right person to complete this kind of "auxiliary" task...
"By the way, Sister An,"
Xia Lili lowered her voice and asked casually, "Did Peng Lang tell you anything about skiing today? Was he arranged by Professor Tian, or did he ask to come along on his own initiative?"
An Zhaoyan stopped what he was doing and tilted his head slightly to look at her: "Are you doubting him?"
She thought for a moment and said, "He has always been playful and playful. When he heard that I was going to take you skiing, he took the initiative to ask Professor Tian to come along."
At this point, she smiled helplessly: "In the end, this guy was so engrossed in playing in the beginner area that he didn't even keep up with us."
But then her tone turned serious, with a hint of hesitation: "But he is, after all, a junior fellow student in our lab, and we have a good relationship... No matter what, he wouldn't want to kill me, right?"
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