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

Chapter 410 Xiao Bing! Open the door! (Chapter closed)
After Xiao Bing closed the door, Zhou Yi peeked out from the corner where Zhou Yi and Chen Yan had disappeared.

Zhou Yi stared intently in the direction of Xiao Bing's house.

About three minutes later, after confirming that Xiao Bing wouldn't suddenly open the door again, Zhou Yi tiptoed over.

By this time, it was completely dark, and visibility in the alley was entirely dependent on the lights shining through the windows of the surrounding houses.

Chen Yan wasn't sure what Zhou Yi was up to, but he didn't bother him. He just stood at the corner, watching out for anyone who might come by, to prevent Zhou Yi's strange behavior from arousing suspicion.

Zhou Yi quietly walked to Xiao Bing's door, then put his ear to the door to listen to what was happening inside.

If Xiao Bing were to suddenly open the door at this moment, both the person inside and the person outside would probably be startled.

Strangely, there was no sound at all inside the house.

Zhou Yi listened for a few minutes and indeed heard no movement inside.

Then he quietly approached the window of the inner room and stood by the window.

There was no movement from the inner room either.

"That's strange. Doesn't Xiao Bing do anything? Did she just go to sleep with him?" Zhou Yi wondered to himself.

"Oh no, did they escape through the back window?"

Zhou Yi panicked and quickly went around to the back of the house.

Chen Yan thought Zhou Yi had discovered something, so he quickly chased after him.

Just then, a loud banging on the door suddenly came from inside the house, startling the two of them.

This means that Xiao Bing didn't run away, but is still inside the house.

What was he doing when there was no movement for so long?
However, the loud slamming of the door suggested a great deal of emotion, and the two were afraid that Xiao Bing might open the door at any moment, so they quickly left.

Moreover, it's almost time, because Lu Xiaoshuang is about to return to Hongcheng.

On the way, Chen Yan said, "Zhou Yi, while you were questioning me, I was observing the situation at Xiao Bing's house."

"Did you find anything?"

"Is Xiao Bing single?"

"Yes, he claimed that he had impaired sexual function and could not get married, saying that he did not want to hurt the girl."

Chen Yan asked in surprise, "Huh? When did you say that? How come I didn't know?"

"While you were in the restroom," Zhou Yi recounted his private conversation with Xiao Bing.

After he finished speaking, Chen Yan asked, "Do you believe what he said?"

Zhou Yi shook his head: "This afternoon at the Third Municipal Hospital, I happened to go to the urology department. Although the doctors and nurses didn't remember Xiao Bing, I still kept an eye on her and consulted a doctor about the treatment options for this situation."

"The doctor meant that it depends on the situation. Male sexual dysfunction can be psychological, pathological, or traumatic. According to Xiao Bing himself, he was injured when he was a child, so it falls into the category of traumatic. The doctor said that with the current level of medical technology, this condition is basically incurable."

"Brother Yan, do you still remember Long Zhiqiang?"

Chen Yan nodded.

“He has a neurological disorder. If medication were effective, he would have solved the problem long ago.”

Chen Yan said, "But it's strange, I feel that Xiao Bing doesn't live alone."

Chen Yan's words surprised Zhou Yi, who quickly asked, "Why?"

"Chair."

"A chair?" Zhou Yi didn't understand.

“Xiao Bing’s house only has two chairs, so we had to sit while he had to stand. When he poured water for us, he opened the cabinet, and from my angle I could see it. I noticed that there were only two cups in the cabinet. Next to the sink, there were clean bowls and chopsticks that were draining, including two small bowls and chopsticks for eating.”

Chen Yan asked, "If Xiao Bing is single and doesn't live with anyone else, why are all these things in double?"

Zhou Yi couldn't help but nod. He did find the chair a bit strange, but he didn't think too much about it, since the room was already excessively tidy.

As for what Chen Yan said, he indeed did not observe it, because the position he was sitting in was with his back to those directions.

"So I think Xiao Bing either has a girlfriend who often comes to his house, but for some reason he doesn't want us to know, like this woman is married. Or..."

Zhou Yi thought Chen Yan's analysis made a lot of sense and was waiting to hear more, but then he noticed that Chen Yan, who was driving, was silent.

"Brother Yan, why did you stop talking?"

Chen Yan said somewhat awkwardly, "Either Xiao Bing is psychologically abnormal and fantasizes about someone as his live-in girlfriend, so he prepares everything in duplicate."

As he spoke, Chen Yan glanced at Zhou Yi: "For example... he imagined Lu Xiaoshuang as his girlfriend, after all, he seemed to care about Lu Xiaoshuang too much."

Zhou Yi lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

Chen Yan's words were not without merit, but they also had their problems.

Chen Yan added, "Think about it, last time we learned about the cause of Xiao Bing's parents' death from the local police station, Master said that such a situation could easily leave Xiao Bing with psychological trauma. He's been alone for so many years, it's normal for him to have psychological problems. It's possible that he was already secretly paying attention to Lu Xiaoshuang before you met her, like what happened at the food street, it might not have been a coincidence."

"Brother Yan, I think your analysis makes a lot of sense. To be honest, I really didn't think of that. But if that's the case, why did Xiao Bing insist that we tell him as soon as we heard news about Xiao Shuang?"

"Perhaps he wanted to test whether we had actually found Lu Xiaoshuang?"

Zhou Yi frowned and shook his head: "Trying to extract information from the police is far too risky. If he really is someone who has been tracking Xiao Shuang for a long time without being discovered, he wouldn't theoretically do something so risky."

Chen Yan thought about it and felt that Zhou Yi's words made sense. Indeed, if Xiao Bing was the murderer who killed Xu Liu and kidnapped Lu Xiaoshuang, it would be very abnormal for him to make such a direct request when the police came knocking on his door.

Zhou Yi took a deep breath: "Regarding Xiao Bing, what I'm certain of right now is that he lied about the content of his conversation with Xiao Shuang."

"Really?" Chen Yan was somewhat surprised, because he hadn't noticed that.

"As for the rest... I'm really not sure. I initially thought the inner room was the dismemberment scene, but it doesn't look quite like it."

Chen Yan comforted him, "Forget it, the investigation has only just begun. Let's continue tomorrow and first find out if what he said today is true or not. Besides, Lu Xiaoshuang will be back soon, and we'll know immediately what Xiao Bing said on the 30th."

Thinking of Lu Xiaoshuang, Zhou Yi raised his hand to check his watch. It was just past 6:30, and he would be at the Municipal Bureau in five or six minutes, just in time to catch Lu Xiaoshuang's return.

Zhou Yi didn't know if Xiang Jie had explained Lu Xiaoshuang's current situation to her.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask a question: "Brother Yan, it's already the 8th today. You said Xiao Shuang has been awake for several days now. Hasn't Officer Xiang thought about asking a few key questions first? Even if it's inconvenient for her to speak, she could at least write something, right?"

During the previous meeting, Zhou Yi didn't dare to ask too many questions, after all, Lu Xiaoshuang's matter was quite sensitive. But then he thought he shouldn't have, asking a few questions shouldn't have been a big deal.

Zhou Yi asked casually, but Chen Yan didn't react at all.

He felt something was off and involuntarily turned his head to take a look.

But then he noticed that Chen Yan's expression seemed hesitant, and he panicked. He quickly asked, "Brother Yan, is there something I don't know?"

Chen Yan loosened his grip on the steering wheel, scratched his head, and said hesitantly, "Actually, regarding Lu Xiaoshuang's situation, I overheard a conversation between Director Xie and Captain Liang last night."

"Brother Yan, tell me quickly, I promise I won't tell anyone." Zhou Yi knew that overhearing the leaders' conversation and letting it get out was a big taboo.

"That's not what I meant. I was just afraid you'd worry if I told you."

"No, Brother Yan, you're making me even more worried."

"Alright, okay. Here's the thing, not long after Lu Xiaoshuang woke up, her condition worsened again."

"What?" Zhou Yi's eyes widened in disbelief. "I asked the doctor, and the doctor said it should be fine."

"From what I can hear, it seems to be myocardial damage caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. It appears that the symptoms were masked because he was unconscious before."

Zhou Yi hurriedly asked, "So how is it now?"

Indeed, when he first arrived in the provincial capital, he asked the doctor, who said that carbon monoxide is much more toxic than methane and causes more damage to the body.

“It’s all settled now. Last night, Captain Liang and Director Xie discussed bringing Lu Xiaoshuang back for interrogation, feeling that we couldn’t just keep dragging this on.” Chen Yan paused, then added, “However, she might be a bit weak, because… because…”

"Because of what?"

“Because it seems there was a period of heart failure, and he even had to be resuscitated once.” Chen Yan finished speaking and immediately added, “But don’t worry, my uncle also had carbon monoxide poisoning before, and the doctor said that the body can repair the myocardial damage in this situation on its own.”

Zhou Yi froze on the spot. In other words, after he left on May 4th, Lu Xiaoshuang's condition worsened, and she even had to be rescued, but he was completely unaware of it.

Thankfully, nothing happened afterwards, otherwise... that farewell would have been a final goodbye.

So it wasn't that the task force didn't want to ask, but rather that they were considering Lu Xiaoshuang's health condition and didn't put pressure on her until her health condition allowed it.

"Beep beep beep..." Just then, Zhou Yi's cell phone rang in his pocket.

He snapped out of his daze and pulled out his phone. It was a call from a number he'd never seen before.

"Hello?" Zhou Yi answered, asking with a puzzled expression.

A deep voice rang out: "Zhou Yi, I am Ni Jianrong."

The voice on the other end of the phone startled Zhou Yi. Why would Ni Jianrong call her?
"Oh, Captain Ni, this is Zhou Yi. What are your instructions?"

"Director Xie asked you to investigate Xiao Bing, right?"

“Chen Yan and I are in charge of the investigation. We just left Xiao Bing’s house less than twenty minutes ago and will be back at the station in a few minutes. Chief Ni, are you at the station or with the special task force? If you are at the station, we can report the progress of the investigation to you.”

Ni Jianrong is a leader. Although his behavior of shirking responsibility in the Qian Lailai case was really unpleasant, Zhou Yi didn't need to go against him. As long as he wasn't someone who would break principles and bottom lines, Zhou Yi still had basic respect for this leader.

Ni Jianrong didn't respond, but said in a deep voice, "Don't go back to the bureau."

"What?" Zhou Yi was taken aback.

"Return to Xiao Bing's house immediately and take him into custody. He is closely connected to this case!"

"Captain Ni, has there been any major discovery?" Zhou Yi asked hurriedly.

Ni Jianrong's words took Zhou Yi by surprise.

Ni Jianrong said, "According to Lu Xiaoshuang's confession, Xiao Bing found her at noon on April 30 and told her, 'Zhou Yi asked me to pass on a message to you. He is waiting for you at home.'"

"Brother Yan, turn around quickly," Zhou Yi said after hanging up the phone.

"Turn around? Where to?"

"Arrest Xiao Bing!" Zhou Yi said through gritted teeth.

……

The night wind howled outside the window, and Zhou Yi kept checking his watch, calculating how much longer it would take to get to Xiao Bing's house.

Ni Jianrong didn't explain anything; as the detachment leader, he didn't need to explain to Zhou Yi.

He's not like Wu Yongcheng, who would speak up on his own initiative, or Zhou Yi could press him for details, since he's not their superior and they can't overstep their bounds.

However, at least two things can be confirmed from his words.

First, Lu Xiaoshuang's interrogation was started ahead of schedule.

They were originally supposed to arrive at the station around 7 o'clock, but now, just after 6:30, we have a crucial lead.

Zhou Yi didn't know if this arrangement was due to special circumstances or to deliberately avoid him and prevent him from interrogating Lu Xiaoshuang.
But at least the good thing is that Lu Xiaoshuang's physical condition is no longer a major concern, since she is now able to undergo interrogation.

Secondly, the person who deceived Lu Xiaoshuang under his name was indeed Xiao Bing!

He had told himself earlier that he had run into Lu Xiaoshuang downstairs and had only greeted her briefly.

However, Lu Xiaoshuang claimed that Xiao Bing approached her first, and even lied that she had asked him to deliver the message.

"He's waiting for you at home."

If Xiao Bing says that Zhou Yi is waiting for you in an unfamiliar place, or makes up an excuse like "Zhou Yi asked me to take you somewhere, and he's waiting for you there."

That would inevitably arouse Lu Xiaoshuang's suspicion.

But he said, "I'll be waiting for you at home."

This would give Lu Xiaoshuang two misconceptions: first, that Zhou Yi had already returned from his business trip; and second, that the place she was going to was safe for her.

His purpose in doing this was probably to lure Lu Xiaoshuang out of the school.

He must have followed Lu Xiaoshuang, knowing where Zhou Yi lived and how to get there from the school.

The destination may be safe, but the journey may not be.

He must have followed Lu Xiaoshuang all the way, then drugged her halfway and took her away.

And it's clear he let something slip earlier; he mentioned his business trip.

This was his oversight, something he hadn't even noticed.

Because I only told Lu Xiaoshuang about this!

Therefore, Xiao Bing is probably monitoring Lu Xiaoshuang at all times!
……

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang! Xiao Bing! Open the door!"

Zhou Yi pounded on the door and shouted loudly!
But there was no sound from inside. Zhou Yi knocked louder and louder, disturbing the neighbors.

Most of the people living in this neighborhood are elderly.

Someone came out with a flashlight, shone it on Zhou Yi and Chen Yan, and said irritably, "What's all the noise about at this hour?"

Zhou Yi flashed his badge and shouted, "Police are on a case. Unrelated people, please keep your distance!"

The man was so frightened that he immediately stopped talking and moved the flashlight away.

However, this sound attracted everyone around, who all wanted to see what had happened.

"Xiao Bing, I'm warning you! You are now a prime suspect. If you don't open the door, we will have to break it down! This is your first warning!" Zhou Yi shouted angrily.

More and more people gathered around, whispering among themselves.

But Zhou Yi's warning drowned out all other voices.

"Second warning!"

There was still no movement inside the house.

"Third warning!"

The onlookers suddenly fell silent, watching the two of them quietly.

Zhou Yi and Chen Yan exchanged a glance and nodded.

The two counted down three, two, one, and then together they slammed into Xiao Bing's front door.

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open.

Inside, the lights were still on, just like before.

But Xiao Bing was not seen.

"Brother Yan." Zhou Yi winked towards the door.

Chen Yan understood, and he and Zhou Yi simultaneously drew their guns, moving from the doorway to the left and right respectively.

Zhou Yi reached out and touched the doorknob, while Chen Yan held his gun in both hands, holding his breath and concentrating.

I initially thought the door would be locked, and that we might have to break in again.

As a result, Zhou Yi twisted the doorknob with a little force.

The inner room was dark. Zhou Yi suddenly flung open the door and rushed in with Chen Yan, one after the other, guns drawn, while simultaneously keeping watch on both sides.

There was no sound in the darkness.

Chen Yan reached out and touched the light switch on the wall.

As the lights came on, the inner room was also illuminated.

The room was the same as what the two had peeked out earlier; it had only simple furnishings and not a single person in sight.

Some of the bolder people crowded around the gate to peek in, but Zhou Yi turned around and scolded, "Don't come in, keep your distance!"

Chen Yan, holding his gun, walked towards the door in the corner, the only place in the room where someone could hide.

Unfortunately, the room was empty except for a shower room that was less than two square meters in size.

Strangely, there was a toilet inside, unlike what Xiao Bing had mentioned earlier.

Chen Yan turned around and shook his head at Zhou Yi, and the two put away their guns.

Zhou Yi knew that Xiao Bing had run away.

Isn't he being a little too vigilant? He and Chen Yan were just conducting a routine investigation, and they've already alerted the enemy?

So why is he so concerned about Lu Xiaoshuang's whereabouts? Is it really, as Chen Yan said, that he wants to extract information from the police?

Xiao Bing should not have any way of knowing that Lu Xiaoshuang was rescued.

Could it be that I gave myself away during the questioning and he noticed?
Zhou Yi walked out of the room, took out his phone, and prepared to report the situation to Ni Jianrong and request backup.

Just as I took out my phone, I caught a glimpse of the incense table in the corner of my eye.

In the incense burner on the altar, only a small piece of incense remained, almost completely burned.

He dialed Ni Jianrong's number.

"Team Leader Ni, I'm sorry, Xiao Bing has escaped. He's probably been on the run for about half an hour."

Half an hour later, which means that Zhou Yi and the others had just left, Xiao Bing ran away.

……

The alleyways in the old town of Daguan Street were brightly lit, with emergency lights surrounding Xiao Bing's house.

The alleys here are too narrow; police cars can't drive in at all, they have to walk.

The area around Xiao Bing's house was cordoned off with police tape. Some police officers were taking notes from the onlookers, most of whom were long-time neighbors and had watched Xiao Bing grow up.

Inside, the technical department was conducting a detailed on-site investigation.

Liang Wei and Ni Jianrong both arrived, but the forensic doctor did not come because no body or body parts were found.

The technical department is conducting luminol tests on Xiao Bing's house from various angles.

Ni Jianrong, his face dark, said coldly, "If it weren't for the two of you alerting him, Xiao Bing wouldn't have been able to escape."

"I'm sorry, Captain Ni. We didn't think things through. We didn't expect him to be so vigilant," Zhou Yi said sincerely, admitting his mistake.

Liang Wei tried to smooth things over, saying, "Young people shouldn't blame themselves so much. You were just conducting a routine investigation. After all, Director Xie entrusted this line to you. It's just that Xiang Jie set off earlier today, so he arrived an hour early, which allowed us to interrogate Lu Xiaoshuang ahead of time. Nobody expected that it would involve Xiao Bing, a teacher who wasn't part of Xu Liu's social network."

Zhou Yi finally realized that they had arrived early.

"Captain Ni, how's the search operation going?" Liang Wei asked, turning his head.

Ni Jianrong's expression immediately relaxed, and he said, "After Zhou Yi reported to me earlier, I immediately arranged for the deployment of defenses. The train station, the long-distance bus station, and all major traffic intersections are being checked."

Liang Wei nodded: "Thank you for your hard work. Based on Lu Xiaoshuang's confession, Xiao Bing is a prime suspect and must be brought to justice as soon as possible."

Zhou Yi really wanted to know what exactly Lu Xiaoshuang had said.

But he didn't dare ask too many questions. After all, one of them was the branch captain and the other was a leader from the provincial department. It wasn't his place to ask them questions.

Zhou Yi suddenly missed Wu Yongcheng. He wished Captain Wu were here.

But Wu Yong took the blame for the whistleblower in order to get himself into the special task force.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi's spirits lifted again; he couldn't let Captain Wu's efforts go to waste.

However, the grand case of this life has undergone tremendous changes, and the information from his previous life is now useless, which is a thorny issue.

What should I do if I lack a voice and cannot demonstrate the advantages of rebirth?
Liang Wei said, "Zhou Yi, Chen Yan, you can go ahead and get back to work."

The two nodded immediately, thanked Liang Wei and Ni Jianrong, and then began their on-site investigation.

There was no ID card, cash, or bankbook in Xiao Bing's home; they had all been deliberately taken away. It was impossible to determine whether he had planned to flee all along and was prepared, or whether, as Ni Jianrong criticized, it was because Zhou Yi and his group "alerted him."

However, Zhou Yi discovered that Chen Yan's earlier suspicion in the car was correct.

There were only two chairs in the outer room, and the bowls for eating and the cups for drinking were also a pair.

In the corner of the inner room, in the toilet, there were two toothbrush cups, each containing a toothbrush, and one of the cups contained a tube of toothpaste that was half-used.

The small toilet had a shower, a toilet, and a sink.

But there was no mirror.

Not only were there no mirrors in the toilets, but there were also no mirrors in the rooms.

It's normal for a room not to have a mirror, since not many men like to look in the mirror, but it's a bit strange if there's no mirror in the bathroom.

Zhou Yi examined the two cups carefully; like everything else in the room, they were wiped very clean.

However, both toothbrushes showed obvious signs of use.

"Something's not right..." Zhou Yi muttered to himself.

Hearing this, Chen Yan leaned over and asked, "What's wrong?"

“Brother Yan, look at these two toothbrushes, they’ve both been used. If Xiao Bing really is as you say, fantasizing about Xiao Shuang as an intimate woman he lives with, would he really use two toothbrushes?” Zhou Yi felt a little disgusted at the thought.

But Chen Yan seemed to have thought of something and said in surprise, "Could this Xiao Bing have a split personality?"

"Split personality?"

Chen Yan nodded: "Hmm, could it be that he unconsciously developed a new personality, and that personality believes it is Lu Xiaoshuang? And is living with Xiao Bing?"

“This…” Zhou Yi was startled. This idea was too perverted. It’s not that such cases are impossible, but Xiao Bing couldn’t see this tendency at all.

"We've found something!" a colleague from the technical department shouted.

Liang Wei and Ni Jianrong immediately went over, and Zhou Yi and Chen Yan also hurried over.

The technical staff handed Liang Wei an evidence bag containing a small fragment of a photograph, which they said was found under the desk after moving it against the wall.

Liang Wei held up the object in his hand and examined it carefully.

The evidence bag contained an irregularly shaped photograph fragment, about two centimeters wide. The front of the photograph showed one of a person's eyes and part of their face, with some background behind the face, indicating that it was taken outdoors.

There is some text on the back of the photo, which is neither Chinese nor appears to be English.

This piece is clearly a fragment torn from a photograph.

"Who's good at English? Can you tell me what this means?" Liang Wei asked, and everyone gathered around.

At this moment, Chen Yan said, "This doesn't seem to be English; it should be French."

French? Xiao Bing teaches French, so that matches up perfectly.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yi didn't know French.

Liang Wei asked, "Chen Yan, do you understand French?"

"I took a French elective course for a year when I was in college, so I know a little bit about it."

Liang Wei immediately handed over the evidence bag in his hand: "A top student, huh? Then take a good look at what this says."

Ni Jianrong, who was standing to the side, laughed and said, "Yes, Xiao Chen is the most educated person in our detachment. He graduated from the Public Security University."

Liang Wei asked in surprise, "Really?"

Chen Yan scratched his head sheepishly, then took the evidence bag and examined it carefully.

"It was torn off at both ends and wasn't completely intact, but it seems that the French words mean 'pure flower'."

Chen Yan was looking at the French text on the back, while Zhou Yi was staring at the eyes on the front.

"Brother Yan, let me take a look."

Chen Yan handed it to Zhou Yi, assuming he wanted to read the text on it.

As a result, Zhou Yi looked at the eyes in the photo and said, "This is a photo of Lu Xiaoshuang."

These words startled everyone.

Liang Wei immediately asked, "Are you sure?"

Zhou Yi stared at the eye on the fragment and nodded heavily: "Captain Liang, I'm sure the person in the photo is Lu Xiaoshuang!"

Previously, Liang Wei was unaware that Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang had a private relationship. He only knew that this suspect, who might have been framed, seemed to know many people in Hongcheng City Bureau. He had privately asked Wu Yongcheng and learned about the food street incident.

However, during the interrogation of Lu Xiaoshuang, although Lu Xiaoshuang tried to mention Zhou Yi's name as little as possible, there was still a lot of key information that was related to Zhou Yi.

He had basically guessed the general situation, but at present, the possibility that Lu Xiaoshuang was the murderer was extremely low.

If he wasn't the murderer, then he was a victim who was used as a scapegoat by the murderer.

He didn't mind the personal relationship between Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang, since there was no substantial kinship, conflict of interest, or specific role conflict between them.

He also wanted to see why this young man, who had suddenly emerged from a grassroots police station, would receive such a strong recommendation from Old Qin.

He wanted to see if Zhou Yi was truly a promising talent for criminal investigation.

Suddenly, Old Qiu, the head of the technical department, shouted, "Everyone come quick! There's been a major discovery here!"

Everyone immediately gathered around Qiu Zhiyong, only to see him move a floor-standing coat rack in the corner.

At his feet was a flipped-over floor tile, revealing a dark hole underneath!

(End of this chapter)