Murder in a locked room bed and breakfast (17)

Meng Siqi said calmly, "On the afternoon of February 24, Long Shanwen drove Ding Qian, Xia Sulan, and Sun Yuanyuan to your B&B for a dinner party. The B&B was booked by Long Shanwen that night. It wasn't your turn to be on duty that night, but your colleague had covered for you before, so naturally, you asked to cover for the shift today."

Xu Liang interrupted her: "Can you please get to the point? What is the meaning of these words?"

"Of course it is meaningful, because you arranged all of this in advance. You knew that Long Shanwen would come to the B&B on February 24th because it was her birthday. She would come here every year on her birthday. From the day you knew this information, you planned all of this. You studied cooking and got your chef certificate, and the first thing you did was to come to this B&B to apply for a job."

After she finished speaking, Xu Liang's disdainful look finally narrowed, and he seemed to be listening to her seriously.

"That night, you and Hao Chunlai were the chefs on duty. You were responsible for providing the meals requested by Long Shanwen and the others, and also for providing services. Your B&B requires chefs to also serve as waiters. Therefore, you and Hao Chunlai entered the yard many times, leaving many footprints and fingerprints, but these cannot prove that you committed murder."

Xu Liang's mouth was filled with disdain again, as if in his heart, no one could crack his sophisticated design.

"But you are wrong. This guesthouse has only one door, and the yard is surrounded by iron bars and electric wires. It is impossible for an eighth person to enter except for the seven of you. This means the murderer is among you."

"I think the time is almost up," Xu Liang said with a smile, "Beauty, you haven't gotten to the point yet."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Meng Siqi remained calm. "That night, you worked until 11:30 p.m. as stipulated by the B&B. After you finished your work, you and Hao Chunlai were very tired. You didn't even change your clothes. You just lay down on the sofa and prepared to face the game that was about to start."

"The game was to start at twelve o'clock, but you were already excited and had prepared a case of beer and a few packages of cold dishes. In the 45-minute first half, you and Hao Chunlai drank a total of more than ten bottles of beer. You were evenly matched and both got drunk."

"There was a fifteen-minute halftime break before the second half of the game. Hao Chunlai was drunk and fell asleep. His confession told us that you woke him up at the beginning of the second half. You don't have a perfect alibi. You had fifteen minutes to commit the crime."

The smile on Xu Liang's face slowly disappeared, and he retorted: "I was drunk at that time, and I had a stomachache and went to the toilet."

"Yes, you were drunk too. You drank five or six bottles of beer and you were drunk. You couldn't commit the crime, right?"

"Is this a problem? My colleagues at the B&B know about it!"

"Yes, you have been in the B&B for more than half a year, and you have been telling your colleagues through continuous drunken incidents that you have a poor alcohol tolerance. Even Hao Chunlai thought you would not drink. But your adoptive father Xu Mengkun knew it. He knew that you had been stealing his liquor since you were a child, because Xu Mengkun liked to drink at that time, and his temper changed after drinking. In order to stop him, you stole his liquor. At first you were just curious, but slowly, you also tried to drink. You found that alcohol can actually paralyze yourself, a coward, a self who watched his father being wronged but dared not speak out..."

Xu Liang gritted his teeth and said, "Shut up, shut up..."

Five minutes were about to pass. Tang Xiaochuan looked at the time anxiously. Fifteen minutes of speculation and the lie about drinking were indeed shocking enough, but it was not evidence of murder. Xu Liang could still defend himself. The interrogation had entered the most tense moment. If Meng Siqi could not produce key evidence in the next second, Xu Liang might ask to leave at any time. His heart was lifted.

"That night!" Meng Siqi said loudly, "You arrived at the backyard around 12:50. You originally planned to kill Long Shanwen while she was asleep. She happened to be at the dining table in the middle of the yard at the time. There were desserts and leftover birthday cake on the table. Long Shanwen woke up that night and got up alone to eat something. She picked up a piece of cake and ate it, enjoying a moment of silence. You quietly walked over and picked up the fruit knife she was using to cut the cake..."

"Long Shanwen noticed you, and she suddenly turned around. You had already found the fatal spot on her body and stabbed her in the chest. You told her in person that you were Kong Qushan's son! She was in pain and full of shock. She was panicked and desperately grabbed you, but you stepped back and pulled the knife out."

"Long Shanwen held her bleeding mouth with her hands and looked at you in horror. She couldn't stop her body from falling apart, so she knelt down, as if to atone for her sins to you. She fell and lay on the ground, but there was still fear in her eyes."

"You threw the knife on the ground, walked up to her right hand, and drew a symbol with the blood on your finger. However, the blood ran out and the symbol was not finished. But you thought this was enough to prove that the symbol was a dandelion, so you gave up and chose to leave..."

At this moment, Xu Liang's eyes were filled with disbelief and surprise. He suddenly clapped his hands. He didn't smile disdainfully, but seemed to be sincerely praising her. His expression was also very serious: "Officer, your reasoning is really perfect. I am impressed by you. However, you have no evidence to convict me. Don't think that I don't understand the law."

"Yes, all of this really can't convict you." Meng Siqi said calmly, "But there is one thing you may not remember."

"What?"

"Your apron!"

At this moment, a hint of darkness finally flashed in Xu Liang's eyes, which had always been confident.

"That night, when you stabbed Long Shanwen, she panicked and grabbed your apron with both hands. This apron is a symbol of your noble status as a chef in your B&B. Each of you has one with a golden dragon embroidered on it. Look, I brought it all to you."

Meng Siqi took the apron wrapped in a transparent evidence bag from the chair and pushed it to his eyes. "Do you remember? This was originally your apron. That night, when Long Shanwen picked up the cake, his fingers grabbed this apron. There were still some cake crumbs on it."

Xu Liang just glanced at the apron and didn't look at it again. He seemed to know everything and remained silent.

Meng Siqi continued, "You are a very cautious person. You knew that this apron had the fingerprints of Long Shanwen's hands on it, and you couldn't completely remove them. You couldn't destroy or wash it, which would have aroused suspicion from others. It was precisely because of your excessive caution that you did something you probably thought was foolproof. You sneaked into another dormitory and exchanged your apron with that of your colleague Xiao Zhuangzhuang."

At this moment, Zhao Leiting suddenly understood that the association that Meng Siqi had when she was eating noodles at noon today because of the face change turned out that she had been observing everything around her. At this point, things were very clear, and these evidences were enough to convict Xu Liang.

Five minutes had passed and Tang Xiaochuan breathed a sigh of relief. Now even if Xu Liang wanted to leave, the evidence would not allow it.

Feng Shaomin was aware of all the physical evidence before participating in the interrogation. He thought Meng Siqi's interrogation ideas were very clever, and that he gradually peeled off Xu Liang's psychological defenses until the final blow was decisive.

Xu Liang smiled, but this time it was a forced and dry smile: "So, you found Long Shanwen's fingerprints on the apron?"

"Yes." Meng Siqi took out the final fingerprint identification report, opened it, and pushed it in front of Xu Liang. "After testing, Long Shanwen's fingerprints were left on your apron. The fingerprints are very clear."

"That's amazing," Xu Liang exclaimed, "This beautiful police officer, can I ask your name?"

"Meng Siqi."

"Officer Meng, I really underestimated you at first. I followed you for several days, and you really made me anxious. I thought that a little girl could not solve any case. I had to assassinate Gui Xiangyang to make you suspicious, but today, it seems that I did the right thing. I was right to meet you."

Xu Liang's words were surprising. He didn't seem to be committing a crime, but was doing something he thought was right. But Meng Siqi understood his thoughts instantly. He just wanted to use the police station to help him find out the truth about his father's wrongful conviction.

She felt very sorry that there could have been a better solution to this matter. "Xu Liang, you actually had more ways to uncover the truth about your father, but why did you choose the most inappropriate path? You could choose to call the police or disclose it to the media, but why did you have to kill Long Shanwen?"

Feng Shaomin also expressed regret: "I remember you just turned 18 during this year's Spring Festival."

Xu Liang shouted, "Long Shanwen is just a chicken. What if I kill her?"

Meng Siqi was shocked. She had always thought that Long Shanwen was framed by rumors, but why did Xu Liang slander her like this? Xu Liang lived in that era and that textile factory. He must know something. Are his words true and credible? At this moment, she became curious about the real Long Shanwen.

"Xu Liang, since you hate her so much, can you tell us about that past?"

"Please call me Kong Yang. I like the name Kong Yang. I wanted to tell you all this, but I need to find someone who can really help me. I hope it's you, Officer Meng!"

Xu Liang spoke very frankly, completely different from his initial arrogance and disdain. He seemed to place all his expectations on Meng Siqi.

No matter whether he is a murderer or an ordinary person, in Meng Siqi's eyes, the truth is everything. She nodded solemnly, "Please speak."

"I remember that I was only nine years old that year. My family lived near a textile factory, in a family building. I remember the sky was very blue at that time. My father often took me to play on the street next to the textile factory. There were many toys and delicious food there. That afternoon, my father bought me a bag of popcorn..."

In September 1985, the weather was very good, with blue sky and white clouds. On the street near the textile factory, Kong Qushan bought a bag of popcorn for Kong Yang.

Kong Yang really likes the smell of popcorn just out of the oven. The old popcorn machine was a pitch-black round oven that looked a bit like an octopus, with rice grains and saccharin put into its round belly. The oven was roasted over a fire, and the old man slowly turned the handle of the oven, which looked like the tentacles of an octopus.

What makes Kong Yang happiest is waiting for the popcorn to come out of the oven. Kong Qushan will hold his hand tightly and will not let up for a moment even on the crowded streets.

This is Kong Yang's most peaceful moment, and also the most beautiful time in his life when he is alone with his father.

When the shouts of "It's about to pop," were heard on the street, Kong Yang knew that the popcorn was about to be ready. At that time, his father would deliberately let go of his hand and put his broad palm on his back.

Kong Yang covered his ears with his hands and stood under his father's arm. He heard a loud noise and billowing white smoke. Someone joked, "The God of Land has come out." From the billowing white smoke, the hunched popcorn old man appeared like the God of Land puffing out smoke.

White and soft popcorn spurts out from the round stove, emitting a strong aroma.

In fact, this was Kong Yang's happiest moment, because he knew that one portion of the fragrant popcorn belonged to him.

That was also the last time he ate popcorn in his life.

After paying the money, Kong Qushan followed him closely, protecting his little head with his hand. Kong Yang was very small and thin, and he picked up popcorn carefully along the way, eating one grain at a time in different ways.

He would also think of his father, find a large grain of popcorn, and put it into Kong Qushan's mouth with his little hands.

Kong Qushan bent down, put some popcorn in his mouth, smiled and touched his head, "Thank you, son."

The sky was originally clear, but soon it was covered with dark clouds. "It's going to rain," someone shouted.

Kong Qushan was a man who always planned ahead. He always carried an umbrella with him when he went on a long journey. He took the umbrella off his waist and said, "Son, take the umbrella home. I still have to go to the factory."

Kong Yang took the umbrella and nodded as usual. After listening to his father's words, he stood on the hillside outside the street and watched his father walk along the road towards the textile factory step by step, his back slowly shrinking.

That was the largest textile factory in Jinyang City, called Dandelion. There were thousands of employees in the textile factory, and my father worked there. He worked hard and was a model worker in the factory. There was an award certificate issued by the factory on the wall of our home. Kong Yang was extremely proud of and admired his father.

As lightning and thunder came, Kong Yang opened his umbrella in advance. His family building was not far from the market. Every time he said goodbye to his father at the market and received a bag of popcorn, Kong Yang would go home alone.

But this time, when the heavy rain began to fall, he turned around and looked through the rain toward the sky above the textile factory. He had a vague worry that his father didn't bring an umbrella, and would be soaked and unable to return home.

He walked in the opposite direction, heading towards the textile factory in the heavy rain. His greatest wish was to see his father.

As a factory owner, Kong Yang often came to the textile factory to play. When he arrived at the textile factory, his calves and below were soaked by rain.

He still remembered coming here a long time ago. No matter it was windy or rainy, it was always bustling here. There was a security guard at the gate of the textile factory. There would always be people coming and going at the gate, and there would always be machines humming inside the factory. But today, it was like an empty city.

Because the textile factory closed down, this place no longer has the vitality it once had. The only lively thing is a large group of factory workers blocking the factory and shouting about wage compensation.

It was raining heavily today, and instead of seeing these emotional factory workers, he walked into an empty city soaked by rain.

Dusk had already arrived, and with dark clouds and heavy rain, Kong Yang's vision was almost completely dark, but he saw a small piece of light in the gray vision.

He was familiar with the textile factory building. That place was the factory office. He walked over with a staggering step. Since his father said he came to the textile factory, he must have gone there.

Finally reaching the door of the office with a dim light bulb on, he folded his umbrella and prepared to knock on the door to go in. Before knocking on the door, he walked past the window outside the office and the scene inside the window suddenly flew into his eyes.

That was a scene that Kong Yang would never forget for the rest of his life. He often had nightmares in which he dreamed of returning to that scene. Every time, he was timid, panic-stricken and afraid. He was terrified and hateful, and he even wanted to end his life with a knife.