Chapter 43
So far, Chen Pu and Li Qingyao have found three suspicious points in the process of reviewing Xiang Siling's alibi:
First, if the eight unplanned cameras captured Xiang Siling, it would prove that she had been to the villa that night and had avoided road surveillance by swimming across the lake.
Second, the night bus driver Zhang Chaohua behaves abnormally. Does he have some secret connection with Xiang Siling?
Third, how long did it take Zhang Chaohua to complete the remaining bus routes? If the time is obviously shorter than the previous section, it means that he is suspected of deliberately lengthening the time taken to travel from Yingzhu Mountain to Mingya Lake, thereby confusing Chen Pu and the other person and indirectly forging an alibi for Xiang Siling.
At present, the in-depth investigation results from the three aspects have not yet been fed back from the rear.
In the dark night, the vast Mingya Lake is like a dormant giant beast, its outline hidden behind the large forest in front.
Chen Pu asked Li Qingyao: "Can you still hold on? There is only a small section left to finish the circle. I will let you go back to sleep as soon as you finish it."
Li Qingyao raised his chin: "You go ahead."
Chen Pu smiled slightly. He actually guessed that she would not complain of being tired. After a long time of contact, he came to understand better that Li Qingyao usually bossed him around - he was only like that with him - but when it came to investigating a case, he was very worry-free, hardworking and not the least bit squeamish.
Chen Pu looked down at the map and said, "Run in a straight line."
"Okay." Li Qingyao understood as soon as he heard it. From the place where they got off the bus where they were standing now to the farthest of the eight surveillance cameras by the lake, if Xiang Siling had really come that night, he would have had to run this section.
The two of them ran, one in front and one behind.
Passing through the dense forest and bypassing puddles, Chen Pu noticed that there was not a single surveillance camera on this route. It took exactly half an hour for the two men to climb over a low wall and run along the lake to the farthest monitoring point, which was opposite the lakeside greenway.
After Chen Pu stood still for a few minutes, Li Qingyao arrived breathlessly, put her hands on her hips and bent down. Chen Pu pulled her up and held her arm tightly. His breathing was only slightly rapid and very steady.
"Am I much stronger than you?" he said.
Li Qingyao: "Otherwise, why would you have grown all that muscle in vain?"
He smiled again, and when he saw her breathing become steady, he let go of her arm and looked into the distance. The outline of the villa on the mountain was faintly visible in the night.
Li Qingyao: "Calculate the time?"
"Let the academic master count."
Li Qingyao said: "Assume that Xiang Siling rode down the mountain at 9:35-40 that night, and arrived at the minibus station 45 minutes later, which means she took the 10:30 bus. If she drove at a normal speed, she would arrive at Huanhu East Station in 1.5 hours, which is 12 o'clock. At 12:30, she would be where we are standing now. She went into the water at a certain point on the greenway, and the walking and swimming time was assumed to be 1.5-2 hours, so she arrived at the villa between 2 and 2:30."
Chen Pu: "The man in the flowered shirt arrived at the villa at 2:11 and left at 2:40."
Li Qingyao looked into his eyes: "They overlap exactly." Chen Pu: "Go on."
"Assuming it took 30 minutes to kill someone, Xiang Siling left the villa at around 2:40. She returned along the same route and arrived at Huanhu East Station, just in time to catch the return bus of driver Zhang Chaohua at 5 o'clock. She arrived at the town's minibus station at 6:30. It takes longer to ride up the mountain than down the mountain, assuming 45-1 hour. So she returned to the room just before 7:30."
After Li Qingyao finished speaking, he took a deep breath slowly.
It was perfect, the whole route.
Chen Pu sneered: "As long as any of the eight surveillance cameras on my master's side captures Xiang Siling, our entire reasoning process will be established - she is the mastermind of the whole case."
Li Qingyao was feeling unusually excited. Two days ago, the entire criminal police team's attention was focused on the man in the flowered shirt. Xiang Siling seemed to have neither motive nor conditions to commit the crime, and her alibi was perfect, so no one considered her a suspect.
It was Chen Pu who took her back and set a perfect scope of investigation - investigating three external competitors and Qian Chengfeng. From the details of their conversation, he keenly deduced that Xiang Siling and Luo Hongmin had an improper relationship.
The process of reviewing Xiang Siling's whereabouts throughout the night was hard, but very rewarding. If you don't make this trip in person, it would be impossible to discover so many suspicious points.
Li Qingyao dared to bet that once he found the last family member, Li Meiling, he would definitely get unexpected gains.
She had a feeling they were very close to the truth.
And this step was taken by her and Chen Pu, shoulder to shoulder and back to back.
Chen Pu was still standing by the lake with his hands in his pockets, probably because he finally saw the dawn. He looked tired but relaxed, and his tall and thin figure was like a chilly tree.
Li Qingyao looked at him from behind for a while, suddenly said "Hey", and sat down on the ground.
When Chen Pu turned around, he saw the person who usually looked as exquisite and graceful as a rose, sitting on the ground in a very ungraceful manner, supporting himself with his hands, and exuding laziness all over his body. Chen Pu was also happy when he saw it and sat down next to her.
Neither of them spoke. The night fell, the surroundings were quiet, and a gentle breeze blew. Under the moonlight, the surface of the lake was rippling with dark waves, and occasionally a fish would jump up with a "swim" sound. Two people, equally relaxed, lazy, and silent.
Until Chen Pu's phone rang, he picked up: "Lao Li."
Old Li from the traffic police team informed the stalking situation: Zhang Chaohua took only half an hour to complete the last third of the journey. The people and the car have been detained by the traffic police.
Chen Pu thanked the other party and contacted Fang Kai to bring Zhang Chaohua back.
"Let's go." He patted his butt and stood up, "Go out this way and take a taxi on the roadside."
Li Qingyao asked: "Going back to the team?"
Chen Pu turned around and smiled at her. The street lights in the distance shone from behind, making the smile bright and peaceful. "You have been working with me non-stop until midnight. Aren't you tired? Go home and sleep, and report to the team early tomorrow morning."
"That Zhang Chaohua..."
Chen Pu said gently, "There are not only two of us in the criminal police team. Do you really think you are a donkey? Didn't I just borrow Fang Kai back from my master? This driver has an average psychological quality. Fang Kai took him down easily. Let's wait and see the results of the interrogation tomorrow morning."
——
When Li Qingyao got home, it was already 2:30 in the morning. She wanted to lean on the sofa for a while before taking a shower. Who knew that he would lean on it until dawn and sleep extremely soundly.
Last night they rode bikes, took smelly buses, and even went through the jungle. When Li Qingyao woke up in the morning, her face turned green. She took off all her clothes with great disgust, and threw the sofa covers and blankets that she had stained into the washing machine, added disinfectant, and washed them vigorously.
When she finished her shower, she looked at the time and it was already 8:30, but they stayed out so late yesterday, so it didn't matter if she went later today. There was a text message in the phone that Chen Pu sent 10 minutes ago: [Are you awake? 】
She smiled slightly: [Let’s have noodles today. 】
He quickly replied: [Okay, I'll wait downstairs. 】
Li Qingyao closed the door and ran downstairs with brisk steps. At a glance, she saw Chen Pu, who also looked clean and refreshed, standing under a big tree in the bright summer sunshine. He looked at her with dark eyes and a calm expression. This person always appears cold, arrogant and solemn in front of outsiders.
Li Qingyao didn't know why, but he couldn't stop and ran towards him quickly.
Chen Pu was obviously stunned.
Li Qingyao did not notice that Chen Pu's hands hanging by his sides moved slightly.
She ran up to him and found that her strange impulse was not over yet. She still wanted to jump on his back. However, Li Qingyao would never allow herself to do such a cheap thing. Her face was slightly red from running after taking a shower, but her expression was calm: "Let's go, I'm hungry."
Li Qingyao turned around and walked in front with clear steps, while Chen Pu followed behind with his long legs. As he walked, Chen Pu lowered his head and smiled.
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