Piranha Plant (14)

Tang Xiaochuan asked, "What's wrong?" He asked this while slowing down the car and pulling it to the side of the road.

"Zhao Leiting and I visited the mall half a month ago. Hu Dingxiang's colleague Liu Min said that Hu Dingxiang had had an unhappy relationship with a woman. I suspect she was Song Xinran." She looked at the back row, where Zhao Leiting was still fast asleep. "Wait a minute, I'll go check it out."

Tang Xiaochuan said: "I'll go with you."

"That's fine."

The two got off the car and entered the mall together. As it was close to the Spring Festival, the mall was crowded with people. On the second floor, they found the clothing store where Hu Dingxiang used to work. Her colleague Liu Min was communicating with customers there.

The two waited at the door for a while until the store was empty, then went in. Meng Siqi smiled and asked, "Do you still remember me, Miss Liu?"

Liu Min took a closer look and smiled: "Remember, you are Officer Meng. Let me pour you a glass of water."

"No, I'm here to confirm something with you. I'll be leaving right away." She took out a notebook from her bag and pulled out a photo. She always carried the suspect's photo with her in case of emergency. She handed it to Liu Min, "Take a look. Have you seen her?"

Liu Min took the photo, and looked at it closely, her brows furrowed, as if she was trying hard to recall. After a while, she said seriously: "It's her, I remember her, she is very beautiful, didn't I mention her to you..." Liu Min looked up at her.

Meng Siqi nodded, and Liu Min continued, "That time, the lady tried on a lot of clothes, and Hu Dingxiang might have said something unpleasant, so the lady was not very happy, threw the clothes on the counter, turned around and left."

Meng Siqi was not wrong. Song Xinran had indeed been here that day. She had a record of withdrawing money from the bank next door that day. That should have been the first time she met Hu Dingxiang, but Song Xinran said she didn't know her at all.

It is very likely that this unpleasant remark was her motive for killing Hu Dingxiang. As for what Jin Yaming said about killing for the sake of art, it was simply a lie he made up.

After leaving the Shangyin Shopping Mall, she and Tang Xiaochuan opened the door and got into the car. Zhao Leiting woke up in a daze and asked in a dazed tone, "Where did you go? You left me alone."

"I bought you something to eat." Meng Siqi specially bought a bag of hot chestnuts on the first floor of the mall. She and Tang Xiaochuan had already eaten a few, and there was half a bag left, which she reached out and stuffed into his hand.

"You still have some conscience." Zhao Leiting took out a chestnut, peeled it and ate it. "I wonder how long it will take to get to Cai Chunmei's place."

Tang Xiaochuan smiled and said, "We have completed the investigation."

"ah?"

Meng Siqi laughed.

The car started and in less than half an hour, it stopped in front of a small villa on the outskirts of the city. Although the villa was not big, it was very well decorated. There was a small courtyard in front of the door. A few tall bamboos shaded the gate. It was a two-story living room, probably with three bedrooms and one living room.

Meng Siqi was a little confused: "Old Tang, are you sure this is where Cai Chunmei lives?"

Jin Yaming comes from the countryside and his family is poor. His photo studio does not earn him a high income, and it is impossible for him to make a lot of money by holding art exhibitions. This villa is not cheap, and he cannot afford it in his current situation.

Tang Xiaochuan flipped through the address in his hand again, "It's right here." He deliberately crawled under the bamboo and checked the house number, "It's really right."

Meng Siqi followed him to the gate of the courtyard. The gate was locked, with a big lock on the outside. She said, "Is he not home?"

Zhao Leiting stood on tiptoe and looked inside from the courtyard wall. The door inside was also closed and seemed to be locked. He emphasized: "It's all locked. Did Song Xinran run away with her?"

Tang Xiaochuan's face suddenly darkened.

Meng Siqi was shocked at first, but then calmed down. If Song Xinran really escaped, the work would be very difficult, especially with her intelligence. What if she left the country? But she thought about it carefully and felt that it was impossible. She said hurriedly, "Don't worry, I don't think she will leave."

On the one hand, it is inconvenient to move around with Cai Chunmei. On the other hand, Song Xinran should be very confident now. Jin Yaming has already pleaded guilty and the police do not have any evidence against her. Why should she take the risk?

"It's possible that it was placed somewhere else. Let's go to Song Xinran's pharmacy to confirm."

Zhao Leiting and Tang Xiaochuan nodded.

The car drove all the way to the pharmacy where Song Xinran worked. Song Xinran was not in the store. There was a new pharmacist. Zhao Leiting stepped forward and showed his police ID. "We are from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. We are here to understand the situation. Where is Song Xinran?"

The pharmacist said quickly, "She's on vacation."

"take a vacation?"

"Yes, he said he wanted to take a break for a while."

"Didn't you say where you were going?"

"I don't know about that. We usually take turns and don't ask each other about personal matters."

The three of them went out, and Zhao Leiting said, "Since she's on vacation, she must have returned to her rental house, right?"

The car drove towards Song Xinran's rented house, but the door was locked and there was no one inside.

Zhao Lei Ting said anxiously: "She wouldn't really run away, would she? I should have controlled her earlier."

After Jin Yaming pleaded guilty, the police relaxed their vigilance against Song Xinran. If she really escaped from Jinyang City and went to an unfamiliar place, or even ran away, Meng Siqi also felt that this was possible.

But she still firmly believed in her judgment. Song Xinran was an extremely confident person. She had a careful plan. If everything was normal now, she would not take the initiative to escape.

She insisted, "There is another place, Jin Yaming's photo studio."

Song Xinran had stayed there several times after Jin Yaming was arrested, which showed that she had feelings for the place. Maybe she had gone there.

The car drove towards the photo studio again. Song Xinran's rented house, the pharmacy and the photo studio were not far from each other, forming a triangle. Her daily route was very simple, and it seemed that she had chosen it deliberately.

The car sped away and stopped in front of the photo studio. Through the car window, Meng Siqi clearly saw that the sign "Yizhihua Photo Studio" on the photo studio had been removed, but the door was open. Her first reaction was that the photo studio had been sold.

She didn't expect that Song Xinran would act so quickly in just a few days. She even felt that her speculation was wrong.

The three of them had tense expressions and got out of the car in a hurry, rushing to the photo studio in two steps at a time. Meng Siqi walked behind, and as soon as she stepped through the door, Tang Xiaochuan and Zhao Leiting stood in front of her.

Looking between the two of them, the stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.

Song Xinran was standing in the photo studio, but she was not alone. She was pushing a wheelchair. In the wheelchair was a woman with half-white hair, who looked to be around fifty years old. The woman was sitting in the wheelchair with her head slightly tilted to one side and her eyes a little dull. When she saw someone walk into the room, she smiled.

Meng Siqi had seen this kind of smile on the faces of mentally retarded people who were cared for on TV.

It turns out that Jin Yaming's mother Cai Chunmei has been in this state all these years. Cai Chunmei is neatly dressed, and her hair and nails are very clean, which shows that she has been well cared for for a long time.

Meng Siqi's heart was in turmoil. According to her psychological profiling, Song Xinran and Jin Yaming were both murderous demons. They had conspired to kill people since they were ten years old. Their souls should have been devoured by the demon by now, but they still retained a little goodness in their humanity.

If you think about it, they have been taking care of a mentally ill person with limited mobility for about 16 or 17 years. This might not be possible for a normal family.

Meng Siqi walked up to Song Xinran. No matter what, before there was direct evidence to arrest her, she should have a conversation with her in a normal questioning manner: "Hello, Song Xinran, can we have a private conversation with you?"

"I've been waiting for you..." Song Xinran still maintained that confidence and elegance. Her exquisite appearance seemed to be a kind of protection for her complex soul, which made people automatically eliminate their vigilance against her at a glance.

After she said this, she slowly pushed Cai Chunmei into the inner room.

When she came out again, she was holding a water bottle and three cups in her hands. With graceful movements and a calm demeanor, she brewed three cups of tea and placed them in front of the three people.

This photo studio has been transformed. All the photos that used to hang on the walls are gone. Now it's like a home, with tables and chairs. There is only one photo on the wall, which is a group photo of Song Xinran, Jin Yaming and Cai Chunmei.

If they hadn't committed any crime, perhaps this scene would be touching, but Meng Siqi still looked solemn. She took out her notebook, removed her pen, and said, "Song Xinran, this is not a formal interrogation. We are just chatting casually. If you don't want to say anything, we won't make it difficult for you. But I hope you don't lie."

"I understand," Song Xinran sat in front of the three people at a round table. She and Meng Siqi faced each other, and smiled softly on her red lips. "Don't worry, I'll tell you everything I know."

"Do you know Hu Dingxiang?" Meng Siqi asked directly. She had the record of Song Xinran withdrawing money from the bank next to the shopping mall that day, and also had Liu Min's testimony. If Song Xinran was lying, then she would be able to suppress her emotionally.

"Yes." Song Xinran nodded unexpectedly.

Meng Siqi was a little surprised, and she hurriedly asked, "Why did you lie last time?"

"I didn't know her name at the time. I only found out after Jin Yaming got into trouble."

"Then how much do you know about Hu Dingxiang?"

Song Xinran pursed her red lips, as if thinking, and slowly said, "Hu Dingxiang and I have met before. I had an unpleasant quarrel with her in a clothing store. I didn't take it seriously. Later, I talked about it with Jin Yaming. Maybe he cares about it."

"You mean, Jin Yaming knew that Hu Dingxiang said something to you that made you unhappy, so he wanted to kill her?" Meng Siqi had suspected this motive for murder before. In fact, she didn't believe it, but considering Song Xinran's childhood, she chose to believe it.

"I don't know how he did it. I only found out later that he killed Hu Dingxiang."

Song Xinran almost pushed all of this onto Jin Yaming. If Meng Siqi guessed correctly, Jin Yaming should also keep the same testimony. They have been living and prospering together since they were ten years old, and have formed a strong logical chain that outsiders believe cannot break.

"Do you know Sun Beizhe?"

"Who?" Song Xinran seemed not to hear.

Meng Siqi repeated it again, and Song Xinran said, "I don't know him."

"Sun Beizhe was kidnapped at the Lover's Night Club earlier this year. Someone saw him talking to you before the kidnapping."

"I go there almost every day, and everyone from the bartenders to the waiters knows me. Almost every time, a man approaches me. I don't know what you are talking about. Who is it?"

Meng Siqi has already realized how meticulous and terrifying Song Xinran is. She could obviously be the real murderer in the Sun Beizhe case, and the nightclub is not safe for her, but she still insists on going there. The more times she goes, the more it proves that she has nothing to do with Sun Beizhe.

"Was that Jin Yaming's mother, Cai Chunmei?"

"right."

"Can you tell me about her?"

Song Xinran was silent for a while, then said, "She wasn't like this before. It was probably because when Jin Yaming was seven or eight years old, he was accidentally beaten by his father, and there was something wrong with his brain."

Meng Siqi had never heard this information before. It turned out that this story had an even sadder layer. She began to believe that the whole story was ugly and that their father should be severely punished. She hoped that it was the law that punished them. This also proved that Song and Jin had mature motives when they conspired to commit a crime when they were children, and her psychological profiling was successful.

She asked: "Can you tell me how Cai Chunmei got her villa?"

They definitely couldn't afford this villa with their current abilities. If Song Xinran couldn't answer, she would definitely find a way to expose her loopholes.

But Song Xinran just smiled calmly: "You actually know it in your heart. Do you think I would be willing to live in that dark studio? Fu Songan wants to get me. Besides buying me off with money, what else do you think can attract me?"

Meng Siqi's heart paused, and an invisible sense of loss surged in her heart. Song Xinran was even more terrifying than she had imagined. She even put the last piece of the puzzle together, and her world was complete.

Fu Songan has his own studio. Although he is an associate professor at a university, his studio has private income from the trading of organ specimens. If Fu Songan gives part of this income to Song Xinran, then this money is more than enough to buy a villa.

Moreover, if Fu Songan's illegal organ specimen trading is confirmed in the future, Song Xinran can still stay out of it and rest assured, because she can say that she had no idea what was going on there, and the money she got was all given to her by Fu Songan through their love relationship.

In fact, Meng Siqi had prepared a lot of questions, but all the questions asked had been answered one by one by Song Xinran, and Song Xinran's testimony continued to fill in the logical chain of her innocence.

She will be like a white lotus, untainted by the filth of the world, crystal clear and pure, standing independent in the world.

Meng Siqi felt there was no need to ask any further questions. She could sense the same regret on Zhao Leiting and Tang Xiaochuan's faces.

She stood up slowly, thinking that once she walked out of this door, perhaps all of this would reveal answers that she couldn't decipher.

She even began to understand why Han Changlin and his team had a low crime-solving rate before. There are always some people in this world who can design impenetrable castles.

Perhaps time and technology can overcome this barrier, but the unwillingness in her heart will follow her as a police officer for many years, perhaps until she grows old and dies.

She began to understand her father's persistence, his regrets, and his fearlessness. He worked hard and wanted to do his best, but he still couldn't be a good father.

He still has many unsolved cases; he was once hit in the head by a bullet, but he never told his daughter until he died; he was obsessed with hunting down the murderer, but was hit by a bullet, paralyzing his thigh.

Lu He, the criminal police captain praised by everyone and a master at solving cases, was still persecuted by criminals in the process of chasing the murderer and died a heroic death. If it were not for his bones that appeared thirty years later, perhaps no one would know where he was.

Life is full of disappointments and regrets, and she must face them and must face them with courage.

"Sorry to bother you." Tang Xiaochuan said politely.

When Zhao Lei Ting left the photo studio, he still found that Song Xinran's mouth was again filled with that stunning smile, but no matter how you looked at it, it was a smile of success.

Meng Siqi walked to the door and stood on the empty street. She still looked back unwillingly. This photo studio was ordinary, but it made her feel deeply powerless.

Song Xinran stood in the photo studio, her expression elegant and delicate, her eyes like water, as if she was watching her leave forever with deep affection.

Just as Meng Siqi was about to turn his head, a magical scene suddenly appeared...