Murder in a Secret Room B&B (1)

Meng Siqi lived a very comfortable year. Ye Xiuhui no longer yelled at her, and Meng Tingzhe also deliberately avoided her.

On the contrary, Meng Hui would talk to her whenever he had time. However, he was too busy and had hardly been home since the second day of the Chinese New Year. Time passed quickly. On the third day of the Chinese New Year, Aunt Chang came back and cooked some of her favorite dishes for her. Meng Siqi went to work on the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, just in time to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

During the Lantern Festival, Meng Hui returned home and the family sat together again. After dinner, they were silent. Meng Hui suddenly took out a box and said, "Daughter, this is a gift that Dad bought for you."

Meng Siqi never thought that Meng Hui would buy her a gift. Ye Xiuhui had no expression when she said this, and Meng Tingzhe curled his lips.

Meng Siqi walked over, took it in his hand, returned to his seat and opened it. It was a ladies' mechanical watch, and the brand name indicated that it was very expensive.

She was suddenly delighted. She usually asked Zhao Lei Ting for the time when she went out on patrol. This watch was very important to her.

She quickly said, "Thank you, Dad."

Meng Hui's face was full of contentment and satisfaction.

At that time, Ye Xiuhui showed a helpless smile. Instead, Meng Tingzhe smiled and said, "Sister, this watch really suits you."

Meng Siqi smiled and pursed her lips, but did not reply. She was the biological daughter of the Meng family, and she deserved this gift, and she would cherish it.

"Tingzhe," Meng Hui ordered, "Go back and buy a pager for your sister."

Meng Hui must be hoping that Meng Siqi could contact him conveniently. Meng Tingzhe raised his lips with a hesitant smile, but did not respond immediately.

Pagers were very expensive in that era, perhaps several thousand yuan. She could have one, but there was no need to because of the high price. Almost all bureaus did not have one, and she did not want to be an exception. She could just use the walkie-talkie to communicate normally.

She took the initiative to say, "Dad, our director doesn't use that, it would be inappropriate for me to use it."

Meng Hui smiled and said, "Really? Forget it. After all, we can't be better than the director, right?"

Meng Tingzhe didn't know why, but a strange smile appeared on his face, as if he thought she was acting on purpose.

Meng Siqi deliberately put the watch on her hand, and unexpectedly it fit perfectly. The watch was silver in color and had a shiny surface, which added to her elegance when worn on her white wrist.

She was very satisfied and raised her hand deliberately, "Look, Dad, you have a really good eye."

Meng Hui smiled and said, "As long as my daughter likes it."

Meng Siqi really liked her. She felt that she began to have a sense of existence in the Meng family. She didn't know whether it was the third-class merit that brought changes to Meng Hui, or whether Meng Hui was just loyal to her. In fact, none of this mattered. As long as Meng Hui recognized her as his biological daughter, it was enough.

She did not do this to please the Meng family. She was stubborn in her nature. She would always remember the image of her father, a policeman, who was shot and paralyzed. That was the source of all her energy.

After the Lantern Festival, the bureau has become very busy. Meng Siqi and Feng Shaomin have handled several small cases nearby, which were resolved very quickly.

That morning, she had just made some fruit tea and was about to record the minor cases of the past few days when a police officer ran in at the door and said hastily, "Team Han, there's a murder."

Han Changlin was just holding a teacup to add water, so he asked him, "What's going on?"

"A woman was killed at the Romantic Poetry B&B in Qiankang Tourism Development Zone. The local police station has sealed off the scene."

Han Changlin put down his teacup and shouted, "Everyone in the second team, let's go."

Meng Siqi was just worried, and after hearing Han Changlin's order, he immediately got up and packed his luggage, including his police officer ID, walkie-talkie, notebook, etc.

Five minutes later, all the members got into the police car except Tang Xiaochuan, who had taken a day off and was not there today.

Haijiang Province is close to the sea, but Jinyang City is located in the west of Haijiang Province, and is not connected to the sea or the river. The only upstream river seems to be the unintentional leakage of river water, which prevents Jinyang City from being without water or river.

However, Jinyang City has advantages in Haijiang Province that are different from those of coastal cities. Jinyang City has eight counties, many of which have mountains. Qiankang County, which is close to the urban area, has a mountain area that is not high but has beautiful scenery. It has been developed as a tourist attraction by the city and usually attracts tourists from surrounding provinces and cities, but it is not a particularly famous attraction.

The car drove through the city and entered a narrow road, and gradually the road began to spiral. Meng Siqi had experienced too many speeding scenes, and the signs of motion sickness were almost blocked. This time, she even looked out the window to appreciate the scenery.

The mountains in this tourist area are not high, but the mountain scenery is beautiful. There are green hills in a row, like a dragon spewing mist among the clouds. Although it is not a famous mountain, coming here can purify the mind and calm the soul.

The car stopped in front of a homestay halfway up the mountain, and everyone got off one after another. It had been a long time since we had breathed in such fresh air, and the first thing Meng Siqi did after getting off the car was to take a deep breath.

When she turned around, she saw that the entire B&B was cordoned off by a cordon. From the outside, the B&B was a wooden structure, or perhaps it was a two-story house with brick walls covered with wood on the outside, a black tile roof, and it was obvious at a glance that this was a more tourist-oriented B&B.

There were three or two policemen standing by the cordon. One of them was about 40 years old, with sparse hair, a round face and rosy cheeks. When he saw Han Changlin, he smiled and walked up to him to shake his hand. "You are finally here. I am Yao Bingchun, the captain of the Qiankang County Police Station. Welcome, Captain Han."

"Okay, is it your director who contacted the Municipal Bureau?" Han Changlin made a gesture to enter the house and asked as he walked inside.

Yao Bingchun followed up and said, "Yes, we investigated for two hours this morning and felt that there were too many suspicious points in this case. The director wanted to ask the city team to investigate, and we will do our best to assist."

The second team and the police officers from Qiankang Police Station followed them into the house. Meng Siqi walked at the back. She observed the furnishings in the house and listened to the conversation between Han Changlin and Yao Bingchun.

Yao Bingchun introduced that "the deceased is a 26-year-old woman named Long Shanwen. She came to the B&B with her three sisters yesterday afternoon and planned to go hiking today. The deceased had booked a hotel in advance. Yesterday, the B&B was booked by the deceased alone. There were four people in the B&B in the afternoon and evening. The deceased was found by one of the sisters the next morning, so she reported the case."

Director Han Lin slowed down his pace and asked, "Have all the suspects been brought under control?"

Apparently Han Changlin regarded these three sisters as suspects in this case.

"Yes, everything is under control. In addition to the deceased and the three sisters, there were two chefs and a waiter in this B&B yesterday. We think the three sisters are suspects, but there are too many doubts. We can only ask you for help."

"The body has not been moved, has it?"

"No, no, we didn't have time to move the body." Yao Bingchun waved to the police station again, "Send over the shoe covers and gloves over."

Several people stood at the door of the hall. Han Changlin said, "No need, we have brought them all."

Everyone put on gloves and shoe covers together. After Meng Siqi had put everything on, he observed the furnishings in the living room. It was very simple, mostly made of wood, with a reception desk, a wooden coffee table, and wooden chairs for rest. A clock hanging on the wooden wall showed 9:30 in the morning.

Han Changlin asked: "Have you forensic doctors seen it?"

"The forensic doctor is on leave today. We originally wanted to ask someone to come over, but considering that you are here, the forensic team is more professional, so we didn't ask the forensic doctor to examine the body."

"Hey," Han Changlin pulled at his gloves, "Have Chen Jierong and the others not arrived yet?"

Feng Shaomin said: "It's probably difficult to drive on mountain roads, so we should be the first group."

"Yes." Yao Bingchun said, "You are the first group, why don't the Korean team go in first and take a look."

"Okay." Director Han Lin paused, his tone becoming more serious. "When you go in, you must protect the scene. Strictly speaking, this is also a secret room, and every detail is crucial."

"Okay, Korean team."

Several people walked into the crime scene, which was the open-air courtyard of the B&B, from the front hall to the courtyard, passing through the aisle. Meng Siqi observed that there were corridors on both sides, which should be the accommodation rooms of the B&B.

After walking a few steps further inside, the view suddenly brightened. The yard was spacious but not big, slightly larger than a basketball court. Below the steps was a floor paved with gray-white non-slip ceramic tiles, extending all the way to the middle of the yard. There was a large flower pavilion in the middle with a white jade-colored roof and pillars, a hollow shape, and small star-shaped flowers entwined on the roof.

Under the pavilion was a long table filled with a dazzling array of things.

There seemed to be a person in white clothes lying in front of the table. Because the sight line was far away, Meng Siqi slowly fell from the pavilion to the person. There seemed to be blood, which was very obvious on the gray-white tiles from a distance.

The tile floor is surrounded by mud on both sides with an even color. It should be the sand material specially selected by the B&B. There are fine young grass growing occasionally, a light grass green color, which looks very fresh in the yard.

There was a huge square glass cover on the mud ground, like a glass house. It was bright outside, but dark inside. It seemed like something was displayed, but it was difficult to see clearly.

There were three or two police officers from the police station busy near the glass house, probably checking the scene for traces.

Before reaching the deceased, Meng Siqi made a quick observation and obtained this basic information.

The group stopped. Including Meng Siqi, there were six people in total, their second team, Yao Bingchun from the police station, and a young policeman.

Yao Bingchun said: "Captain Han, look, the condition of the deceased is a little strange, isn't it?"

Meng Siqi had been following behind, her vision blocked. At this moment, when Han Changlin squatted down and Feng Shaomin bent over, she decisively stood in the gap.

As Yao Bingchun said, this is a woman wearing a white gown, lying on the ground, her calves in stockings, slightly bent, and her high heels still on her feet.

There was a large pool of blood in the chest area, as if the blood had overflowed from the body after death, forming a small pool of blood, but the blood seemed to have dried up.

Her face was lying on its side on the tile floor, with half of her face touching the cold ground. Perhaps because she had been lying there for too long, her face had become slightly deformed.

From her angle, she could see one of the deceased's eyes. The eye seemed a little bigger than normal, with a large white, and the black pupil seemed to be staring at something in front of it, as if with a kind of fear.

Before she died, she must have seen something scary or heard something scary. In any case, she was frightened to a certain extent before she died.

She had long hair, which was disheveled probably because of the wind. Her left hand was hooked outside her head, with her palm exposed, and it was covered in dried blood.

A bloody knife was not far from her left hand. The knife was not long, probably a fruit knife with a blade less than 10 cm long and a black plastic handle.

When she moved the angle again, her vision suddenly widened a little, and Meng Siqi saw her right hand. Her right hand was placed on the right side of her head, with her palm on the ground and her fingers slightly curled. Only the index finger was extended alone, pointing on the ground, and around the index finger was a circle drawn in blood that was not completely closed.

That is to say, before she died, the deceased used her last bit of strength to draw a circle the size of a can lid, and finally pointed her index finger in the middle, as if pointing to something specific. She might have drawn a symbol with a dot in the middle of a circle.

Combining her fear with this symbol, it is no wonder that Yao Bingchun found it so weird. If it was an ordinary homicide, the scene should be much simpler than this, but this scene clearly gave people the illusion that it was much more than that.

This may be the reason why the Qiankang Police Station deliberately sent the case to the Municipal Bureau. If some cases are very complicated, the police station may not have such a strong professional team and abundant resources to solve them.

After examining the condition of the deceased, Han Changlin stood up, glanced around, and suddenly shouted in a stern tone: "Yao Bingchun, tell your people to get out!"

Following Han Changlin's shout, Yao Bingchun stood up at a loss. He had been engaged in criminal investigation for many years and his emotions were always stable. At this time, he did not understand Han Changlin's words at all. He asked back: "What's wrong with the Han team?"

"Look." Han Changlin pointed his finger at the exact location of the footprints in the mud.

Meng Siqi looked up. She had noticed that place before. There was a thick blanket on the grass with pillows on it. It was also piled with snacks, empty cups, and fruit peels, and the plates were in a mess.

There is a TV, a tape recorder, wires, and a microphone in front of the carpet. There must have been some activity here last night. There are a lot of messy footprints around the carpet, of varying depths, but there are signs that they have been stepped on.

Han Changlin was probably referring to the act of stepping on footprints.

Yao Bingchun was also a criminal investigator. He immediately understood what Han Changlin meant and said with a smile, "Captain Han, calm down. This is because everyone is too impatient. All the comrades in the station came to the scene early in the morning to investigate the details, but they all wore shoe covers."

"Do you think you're not destroying the scene by wearing shoe covers?" Han Changlin glared.

Yao Bingchun's words got stuck in his throat. He immediately waved his hand and called out to the comrades who were still surveying in the mud: "All of you get out."

After receiving the order, the police officers immediately walked towards the gate of the yard, but as they walked, they stepped on the footprints on the ground again.

Han Changlin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Yao Bingchun smiled and asked, "Captain Han, do you have any other instructions?"

"You should also go and take a rest." Han Changlin's voice was stern and a little helpless.

This was tantamount to a total denial of Yao Bingchun's work, and his face immediately changed, but he could only endure it. The young police officer standing next to him said, "Captain Yao, let's let Captain Han check it first. Captain Han, if you need anything, just let me know."

The young police officer pulled Yao Bingchun towards the gate. As soon as they entered the corridor, Yao Bingchun complained in his heart: "Who is Han Changlin? He is lecturing me."

"You don't know that the city police are a well-known powder keg. If you can't explain yourself clearly, you will start a fire. Don't mess with such people. This case looks difficult to solve. Let's be patient for the sake of work."

Yao Bingchun snorted: "How can he solve this case? If it weren't for the director's request, this case would never have been his turn."

"Oh, it's all work, Captain Yao, calm down."