False evidence

Chapter 19 The Secret of the Photo Studio (Part 2)
Lin Dan scoffed, "The entire floor is set up, with just one wall empty. Don't you think it looks bad? It's out of place?"

I smiled and said, "As I mentioned before, my classmate's family owns a photography studio, the traditional kind. Because the place is small, the layout is very meticulous."

I didn't continue speaking, and glanced at Gao He.

Gao He slapped my shoulder hard. "I told you, I never misjudge people!"

He waved his hand repeatedly, "Two people, raise that backdrop!"

Soon, someone went over and raised the backdrop.

Gao He nodded repeatedly, pointing to another narrow backdrop on the wall, "This is too old-fashioned. I didn't even choose this when I got married. My father and his family only used this for taking photos."

The obscured backdrop was indeed very old. It was a scene of skyscrapers in a big city, which was very popular in the 80s and 90s, and there was even a row of flowers as a border at the bottom.

Gao asked me in a low voice, "Does your classmate's family's photo studio still use this kind of background?"

"If his house still uses such outdated decorations, then he's just waiting to go bankrupt."

I glanced back at the hanging corpse, then at the concealed setting, and my breathing became heavy. "Was the deceased an employee or a shareholder?"

Gao He scratched his head vigorously. "I can only be considered a long-time employee. I've been working here for four years."

He turned to the people and said, "Take fingerprints from this set!"

Then he put his arm around my shoulder again, "Come on, let's go downstairs and take another look."

As we went downstairs, Gao He used the most concise language to introduce me to the situation of the photo studio.

After we went downstairs, he turned around and extended his right hand to me, saying, "Thank you so much for your help."

I reluctantly reached out my hand, but he grabbed it tightly, leaned forward, and whispered, "..."

"Besides the one who hanged himself, this photo studio had a total of nine employees, including the owner: three makeup artists, three photographers, and two outdoor assistants. Guess who the real culprit is?"

I forcefully pulled my hand back. "You already guessed it, so stop playing games with me."

Gao He suddenly became serious. "We never do things by guessing. Judging from the era of that set design and Tong Liru's age, the most likely person to be the murderer, or rather, to instigate Tong Liru to commit murder, is her boss, that guy who is nearly fifty years old and used to run a photography studio."

In fact, the moment I arrived at the scene, I checked everyone's information. The owner's background was really simple. Moreover, he had a wife; they were childhood sweethearts. His wife was also one of the photographers there. So, out of the nine people, this couple could basically be ruled out.

I sighed: "Since Tong Xiangnan is willing to speak up, he must have revealed all of Tong Liru's secrets."

Gao He nodded, "That's absolutely right. The two are siblings. Their father was an educated youth who went to the north to work in the countryside back then. How tough it was to work in the countryside back then! So their father always thought about going back to the south, which is why their son is named Xiangnan (meaning 'facing south'). By the way, I haven't had breakfast yet, I'm hungry. It's already noon, let's go eat together."

Lin Dan, who had been following them, asked, "Where are we going to eat?"

Gao He clicked his tongue. "Eat, eat, all you know is eating. Can't you have a little professionalism? After the rest of the team finishes their work, we'll go back to the team and order takeout together."

Gao He led me into a restaurant, found a quiet corner, ordered the food, and then took out a cigarette, offering it to me as he said, "Let's continue what we were talking about. Later, Tong Xiangnan was taken back to the south by his father, received a good education, and eventually became a psychologist. Meanwhile, his father found another woman in the city and started a new family. Tong Liru and her mother were in a terrible situation; they were truly an orphan and a widow, and in the countryside at that time, how could they not be gossiped about behind their backs?"

According to Tong Xiangnan, he went back there once when he was just an adult. As siblings, blood is thicker than water, and he and his sister had a really good relationship. However, on his first trip back, he discovered that his mother was a little… a little mentally unstable. And then…”

Gao He glanced around furtively, then lowered his voice and said to me, "There's something else, which Tong Xiangnan also told me. Tong Liru had a boyfriend, a love marriage, but when it came time to discuss marriage, her mother 'got sick,' saying that in addition to the 'three gold pieces' and 'three large items,' there had to be a dowry of 50,000 yuan. Otherwise, no one could marry her daughter."

At that time, Tong Liru was only twenty years old. In the countryside, fifty thousand yuan? That was no small sum! Just like that, the two broke up, and the man refused to marry her! What's even more absurd is that this couple had already consummated their relationship. Five months later, Tong Liru became pregnant. Wouldn't rumors spread like wildfire throughout the village?

Just then, the waiter brought the dishes over, and Gao He gestured with his chin toward me, "I don't drink while I'm on duty, how about some beer?"

I said, "I drove here... I said Gao... Can I call you big brother? You can call me uncle too, can you give me the certificate?"

Gao He frowned. "Hey, you still have two more days before school starts, right? What's the rush? It's just a piece of paper!"

Seeing that I didn't speak, Gao He leaned forward and asked, "Are you angry? Did you think I was deliberately making things difficult for you?"

I shook my head. "You look a lot like one of my classmates."

"Your classmate? The current one? Isn't he a veterinarian too? Unlike me."

"He's a notorious chatterbox."

Gao He rolled his eyes. "Who's being a chatterbox? I'm just discussing the case with you. This is a police-civilian cooperation, of course, you have no obligation to do so, which is why I have to be more careful about how I communicate with you."

I rolled my eyes too, "Captain Gao..."

"Hey, call me 'brother,' not 'big brother,' that might make people misunderstand my identity. Call me 'Brother Gao.'"

"I'm truly speechless." I picked up the plate and shoveled half a dish of vegetables into my rice bowl. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

"You've hit the nail on the head!"

Gao He slammed his hand on the table. "Just like you analyzed before, if Tong Liru had severed her own Achilles tendon, even if she could barely climb onto a 40-centimeter-high stool, there would still be traces of blood at the scene. Let me be frank with you, according to our forensic and criminal investigation analysis, Tong Liru hanged herself first, and then her ankle was cut."

Let's continue from where we left off. Tong Liru came here six years ago because her mother passed away, and she had no choice but to stay with her brother. You know what Tong Xiangnan does; he's really smart, and he quickly realized that Tong Liru had some mental issues at the time.

He chose to study psychology for his mother's sake. Then he discovered his sister had problems, and spent two whole years counseling and treating her. According to him, he definitely cured his sister's illness. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to let Tong Liru work. But with mental illness, well, Tong Xiangnan himself said there's a chance of relapse.

Gao He said a lot more, but he was very clever and kept telling me things in a 'casual' manner.

After finishing his meal, Gao He stretched as he went outside. "So, want to come back to the team with me?"

"What else do you want me to do?"

"Tsk, don't worry, this isn't official business. Your neighbor, Pei Xiaofan and her daughter, are still at the station. Since you're going back anyway, you might as well take them with you. That would save police resources."

(End of this chapter)