Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 404 Investigating Xiao Bing
"Zhou Yi?" A passerby stopped at the door, glanced at him, and asked.

Zhou Yi turned his head and saw that the person was somewhat unfamiliar, but he had seen him at the meeting earlier.

Wang Yao, a forensic expert sent by the provincial department.

Zhou Yi immediately stood up to greet him: "Hello, Teacher Wang."

The two shook hands.

Wang Yao smiled and said, "Teacher Qin called me and told me about your situation."

Zhou Yi didn't know exactly what Qin Beihai said, so he could only thank Old Qin for his help.

Wang Yao is over forty years old, and both his age and position are much higher than Zhou Yi's.

However, because of Qin Beihai, the feeling of talking to Zhou Yi was as if they were peers. Although Zhou Yi did not know what Qin Beihai had said to his student, he was still quite touched.

Zhou Yi thought to himself that he should make more trips to the provincial capital to visit the two elderly people in the future.

He knew that no matter how he expressed his gratitude, it wouldn't be what Qin Beihai and his lover wanted; what they truly desired no longer existed in this world.

As a substitute who only partially resembles someone, all I can do is offer them some comfort, since older people are more prone to overthinking.

“If you encounter any more difficulties, you can come to me anytime.” Wang Yao patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Mr. Qin, for your recognition." Zhou Yi expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

After seeing Wang Yao off, Chen Yan was a little confused because the three of them were actually not quite clear about the situation regarding the previous report against Captain Wu and Zhou Yi's entry into the special task force.

Upon hearing Wang Yao's words, Chen Yan hurriedly asked, "Zhou Yi, is the 'Teacher Qin' that the forensic doctor Wang mentioned the same as Elder Qin Beihai?"

In the case of the second instance in Donghai Community, Qin Lao came to Hongcheng to help. At that time, Chen Yan and Jiang Biao went to the provincial capital with Wu Yongcheng, so they did not meet him, but he had naturally heard of Qin Beihai's name.

"Yes, the reason I was able to get into the task force this time was because Old Qin personally recommended me to the provincial leaders," Zhou Yi said while eating.

"Huh?" Chen Yan exclaimed in surprise, "You knew Old Qin before?"

"We met when Old Qin came to Hongcheng to help with Tang Xue's case last time. It was Old Qin who gave me the advice I asked you about pursuing further studies last time."

"You've only met him once, and Old Master Qin is already willing to help you?"

Zhou Yi looked up and saw Chen Yan's incredulous expression. He smiled and said, "I'm just lucky to have latched onto a powerful figure, hehe."

After finishing their meal, Zhou Yi and Chen Yan started working.

Xiao Bing's case is not currently a key focus of the investigation.

As a new member of the task force, Zhou Yi naturally couldn't directly interfere with the work assigned to her by others.

Director Xie gave him this lead to investigate. Zhou Yi felt that it was not only because he had raised this point of suspicion, but also because Xiao Bing was currently the only suspect among the teachers at Hongda University.

Zhou Yi learned that the inquiry work targeting all students and teachers of the 1996 Financial Management major is still ongoing, and this work is mainly led by Ni Jianrong.

If any anomalies are discovered, the entire task force will be immediately notified to conduct analysis and in-depth investigation.

If no anomalies are found and there is no intersection with other clues, proceed as normal. After all inquiries are completed, organize and archive the information for all members of the task force to review.

This task will theoretically not be much different from the previous one, because the questions for all teachers and students are basically the same.

What kind of person do you think Xu Liu is?

What's your relationship like with Xu Liu?

When was the last time you spoke to her?

"Where were you between the evening of April 28th and the evening of April 30th? Is there anyone who can testify to this?"

Do you know who Xu Liu has had conflicts with?

"Have you seen Xu Liu with any strange men on or near the school?"

For Xu Liu's roommates, the questions will be more detailed, such as whether Xu Liu has contact with anyone on a daily basis, including making phone calls and writing letters; whether she has had any unusual emotions or behaviors; and whether she has mentioned anyone she is close to, etc.

The reason this work is slow is twofold: firstly, there are a large number of people to inquire about, and secondly, repeated cross-verification is required to prevent anyone from lying or concealing information.

One thing in particular made Zhou Yi feel a little guilty, although it was something he had expected.

According to Lu Xiaoshuang's second uncle, around 10 p.m. on April 30th, a middle-aged man in his forties came to their house and asked if Lu Xiaoshuang was home. He claimed to be a teacher at the school, and left immediately without saying a word after being told she wasn't home. However, because it was too dark and there were no streetlights in the courtyard, her second uncle couldn't see what the man looked like.

The task force considered this person highly suspicious and decided to conduct a thorough investigation. Therefore, they specifically screened and matched middle-aged faculty and staff members at Hongda University.

For those who did not have a clear alibi during that time period that evening, Lu Xiaoshuang's second uncle was asked to identify them by appearance and voice.

Unfortunately, there has been no progress so far.

However, only Zhou Yi knew that this lead would never lead anywhere, because this person was not a teacher at the school at all, but Qian Hongxing, whom he had sent.

However, judging from the results, Qian Hongxing was cautious enough and did not expose himself.

Zhou Yi planned to review the investigation records again when he had time, since time and the deceased had changed since their previous life, so the investigation records would definitely be different as well.

Even if it's just a pile of ashes, you still have to rummage through it to see if anything is hidden inside.

Regarding the investigation into Xiao Bing, Zhou Yi felt that at this point, there was no need to conduct further peripheral investigations.

Previously, they were worried about the school's lack of cooperation, but now they don't care anymore. So Zhou Yi and Chen Yan discussed it and decided on three key areas for investigation.

First, the Third Municipal Hospital!
Zhou Yi first met Xiao Bing there. He had prescribed some medicine, which fell out of the bag when Zhou Yi bumped into him.

Zhou Yi also helped pick them up, but because his wound was on his abdomen, it was a bit difficult for him to bend over or squat down. Xiao Bing mainly picked them up himself.

Zhou Yi immediately picked up a box of medicine and handed it to Xiao Bing.

He now regrets not glancing at the name on the medicine label.

Otherwise, we could simply follow the clues and trace the source backwards.

Second, Xiao Bing's family.

Xiao Bing's home is in the old town area near Daguan Street. Zhou Yi went there before to look for someone. The houses in that area are very old, and the terrain is very complicated, with alleys that are not recorded on the map.

In terms of conditions, the requirement of an independent dismemberment site can be met.

Because Zhou Yi had seen it before, the houses in that area were all old, detached houses next to each other, unlike residential communities which have common areas and stairwells.

Moreover, the severed head was found in the sewers of Daguan Street in the previous life, which was very close to Xiao Bing's house. It is possible that after the body was dismembered, it was thrown into a nearby manhole cover in a panic.

Afterwards, they realized that leaving the bodies nearby would easily arouse the suspicion of the police, so they began to scatter the bodies to divert attention.

Regarding the murder weapon found in the mine, Qin Beihai's student, forensic doctor Wang Yao, proposed a hypothesis: the murder weapon may not be just this kitchen knife, and there may be other weapons involved.

Theoretically speaking, it would be very difficult to commit this level of crime with just a kitchen knife, as the delicate cutting of the human body requires very sophisticated tools.

This type of cleaver is more suitable for chopping open the connecting parts of limbs and dismembering them into large pieces.

Slicing human flesh should be done with sharper and more handy knives.

If the truth is consistent with what Wang Yao proposed, then Lu Xiaoshuang's suspicion will be reduced by one point.

Because no murderer would dispose of only one weapon when dumping the body and handling the murder weapon.

The fact that the real murderer used only an old kitchen knife to frame Lu Xiaoshuang shows that the murderer believed the police couldn't find him with that old knife.

Conversely, this suggests that the other kitchen knife might expose the murderer's identity.

Therefore, for Xiao Bing, who has a place to live and lives alone, the most effective solution is for Zhou Yi to visit Xiao Bing's home in person.

However, at present, there is only suspicion about Xiao Bing, and it is impossible to directly search his home.

The third point is about Xiao Bing himself.

Although, based on the current scope of the investigation, he belongs to the peripheral group that has no connection with Xu Liu, as a teacher at Hongda University, so many days have passed, it is impossible that he has not heard from his colleagues about the murder of a female student named Xu Liu.

Direct communication is definitely the best way to observe the other person's reaction.

As for Xiao Bing's superiors and colleagues, their priority is not so high; they can be placed later as a reference to verify Xiao Bing's own confession.

Zhou Yi laid out all her thoughts to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then I suggest we combine the second and third points together and not look for Xiao Bing for now, because he's definitely at school at this time. Why don't we wait until after get off work tonight and go directly to his house to find out what's going on? He can't possibly turn us away. Unless, of course, he's guilty!"

Zhou Yi nodded repeatedly: "Brother Yan, I think exactly the same thing as you. What time do the teachers at Hongda University usually get off work?"

"I know that, it's usually five o'clock."

Zhou Yi calculated the time and figured Lu Xiaoshuang would be sent to the Municipal Public Security Bureau for formal interrogation around seven o'clock.

Although time is a bit tight, I should be able to get back to the station if there are no unexpected situations.

Director Xie didn't say he was allowed to participate in the interrogation of Lu Xiaoshuang, but he didn't say he wasn't either.

Moreover, in this situation, the fact that Lu Xiaoshuang came back and saw him immediately was a way of putting her mind at ease.

Of course, in this situation, he couldn't say anything to Lu Xiaoshuang. He could only see if she could understand his eyes and expressions.

“Okay, let’s go to the hospital first. If we have time, we can go to the neighborhood committee on Daguan Street to find out more about the situation,” Zhou Yi said.

Chen Yan said, "Wait a moment, I'll go get Xiao Bing's personal information provided by the school. You can look at it on the way."

On the way to the Third Municipal Hospital, Chen Yan drove while Zhou Yi sat in the passenger seat looking at Xiao Bing's photocopied documents.

There are two sets of documents: one is the faculty and staff information, and the other is Xiao Bing's student record from when she was in school.

Xiao Bing was admitted to the French Department of Hongda University in 1983. In the 1980s, French was no longer considered a minor language. At that time, the main majors were English, Russian, Japanese, German and French.

Since China began its reform and opening up in 1977 or 1978, the demand for people proficient in foreign languages ​​has increased significantly. As a result, foreign language majors were the most popular among liberal arts majors in those years, followed by finance, law, and journalism.

Therefore, for Xiao Bing, who became a loner at the age of sixteen, choosing to apply for a popular major and staying at the university after graduation were relatively safe choices.

From this perspective, Xiao Bing's personality should be relatively conservative and seeks stability, indicating that he is very clear about his own situation.

A person's character and true inner thoughts can actually be gleaned from their major life decisions, and the likelihood of such sudden changes is not high.

Unless, of course, some special circumstances have occurred.

(End of this chapter)