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

Chapter 414 She must be very lonely
What does it mean to say something shocking?

That's what you call making a startling statement!
It was late at night, and after eating a hot late-night snack, everyone was feeling sleepy as their blood was flowing into their stomachs to aid digestion.

But Zhou Yi's words immediately woke everyone up.

Initially, based on crucial physical evidence, it was widely believed that the murderer was most likely Lu Xiaoshuang, or at least that Lu Xiaoshuang conspired with others.

However, as the investigation unfolded, it was discovered that there were many loopholes in the fact that Lu Xiaoshuang was a suspect.

The task force's subconscious began to shift, from proving Lu Xiaoshuang was the murderer to proving Lu Xiaoshuang was innocent.

The unreasonable points raised by various departments at the case analysis meetings after Zhou Yi joined were based on this way of thinking and direction.

From proving true to proving false.

The reason is that the logic behind this matter itself is flawed.

Then, when watching the interrogation video, Lu Xiaoshuang's composure, rationality, cooperation, clear thinking, and strong restraint in the face of police interrogation were all details that won the favor of the task force.

Before this, to everyone except the Third Brigade, Lu Xiaoshuang was just an ordinary person closely related to the case in the files. Even other police officers in Hongcheng had basically never seen her.

Just like Zhou Yi back then, you can't feel the vibrancy of someone just by looking at their profile.

Even so, most people have already regarded Lu Xiaoshuang as the murderer's shield and scapegoat.

That's why Zhou Yi's analysis and final conclusion were so surprising. Because Zhou Yi's analysis filled in many logical gaps, making the case clearer and more understandable.

At this moment, Ni Jianrong, who had been silent all along, spoke up. After all, he couldn't just sit idly by and have no presence at all.

"Ahem, you're saying the murderer's original target was Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang? Isn't that a bit of an oversimplification? Everyone knows that the motives for murder are either crimes of passion, revenge killings, or disputes over property. Both of them were students without money, so it couldn't have been a financial issue."

"If it were a revenge killing, who would have a blood feud with two female students and go to such lengths to set up such a big scheme?"

Ni Jianrong spread his hands and laughed, "The only thing left is a crime of passion. Could this be a murder case caused by a love triangle?"

Zhou Yi remained silent. In fact, Ni Jianrong's speculation was a reasonable one, but from Zhou Yi's perspective, it made him feel very uncomfortable.

He suddenly understood why Brother Biao hated Ni Jianrong so much. Brother Biao, a tough guy with a straightforward and outspoken personality, must have been disgusted by Ni Jianrong and had held a grudge ever since.

At this moment, Liang Wei spoke up, noticing a change in Zhou Yi's expression. He said, "Captain Ni's speculation is quite reasonable. Didn't Xiao Bing run away? We can further investigate whether Xiao Bing and Xu Liu had any contact. However, it's unlikely that a man would kill two women in a love triangle. The emotional disputes arising from a love triangle are usually due to an extra person. More often, it's a same-sex man killing another same-sex man, or a man killing another woman for the sake of one woman."

Liang Wei's words, first affirming and then refuting, both saved Ni Jianrong's face and prevented the investigation from going astray.

Liang Wei waved his hand and said, "Zhou Yi, sit down first. What you said is very good. Your logic is clear, your thinking is comprehensive, and your insights are sharp. Your analysis is very valuable."

Anyone with eyes could see that Captain Liang was very satisfied; the two statements he made showed completely different levels of satisfaction.

Zhou Yi immediately sat down, understanding the situation.

Liang Wei instructed that the recording should continue playing.

Lu Xiaoshuang said that when she woke up again, it was pitch black all around, and the restraints on her hands and feet had been removed.

She didn't know where she was or how long she had been unconscious.

When I struggled to get up, I touched very rough stones and sand, and then I began to grope my way forward.

But after walking only a few steps, she felt weak all over, dizzy and collapsed.

But she didn't give up. Instead, she gritted her teeth and crawled on the ground, trying to find a way out, while shouting for help as loudly as she could.

From the time she was drugged until she woke up in the mine, a full twenty-four hours had passed. During that time, she hadn't eaten anything and had been given sleeping pills several times, so her body was already very weak.

However, her dizziness and collapse were actually a good thing.

Because methane and carbon monoxide in the mine are lighter than air, especially methane, which tends to float and concentrate in the upper layers of the mine.

Falling to the ground and then crawling on your stomach actually reduces the rate at which you inhale harmful gases, giving you more time to escape.

However, the core of this matter was that her strong will to survive sustained her until a chance of survival appeared.

Zhou Yi made a decision: once the major case was solved, he would definitely go and thank the little boy who collected coal cinders.

He was probably a messenger sent by God; without him, Lu Xiaoshuang would probably be finished.

Later, Lu Xiaoshuang said that she lost consciousness and didn't remember anything. When she woke up again, she was already in the hospital.

That is, on the morning of May 4th.

When she woke up, the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Zhou Yi, who was lying next to her hospital bed.

Although Zhou Yi was lying face down at that time and she couldn't see his face, she knew that it was her older brother Zhou.

In that instant, she had never felt so at ease.

He couldn't help but gently touch Zhou Yi's hair.

Of course, these feelings were not expressed during the interrogation.

As for what happened next, it was taken over by the task force, so there's no need to go into details.

Qiao Jiali stood up, walked to Lu Xiaoshuang's side, and took out several photos and placed them in front of her.

Although the camera couldn't capture what the photos were, Qiao Jiali then asked, "Lu Xiaoshuang, look at this bag, and do you recognize this knife?"

Lu Xiaoshuang looked down and examined it carefully for a while, then shook her head and said, "I've never seen it before."

"you sure?"

What Qiao Jiali showed her was the travel bag containing Xu Liu's severed head and the kitchen knife that was the murder weapon.

Lu Xiaoshuang nodded: "I'm sure, it's not mine, and I've never seen it before."

"Your fingerprints are on these two items."

Lu Xiaoshuang immediately showed a surprised expression and looked at her hands.

"Officer Joe... I've already passed out. If someone wants me to leave some fingerprints, it should be an easy thing for them, right?"

Qiao Jiali nodded, put the photo away, and sat back down.

"Lu Xiaoshuang, do you and Xu Liu have any conflicts?"

Hearing Xu Liu's name, Lu Xiaoshuang was visibly saddened. After all, from the very beginning of the interrogation, Qiao Jiali had explained to Lu Xiaoshuang the reason for the interrogation in accordance with relevant laws, clearly mentioning the words "Xu Liu was murdered."

But she knew she had to follow police procedures and answer whatever the police asked, so the fact that Xu Liu was only mentioned now made her sad again.

"I had a conflict with her a while ago. I suspected that she had cut my sweater badly, but the dormitory supervisor said that we couldn't draw conclusions without evidence, so the matter was dropped."

Qiao Jiali asked, "Do you hate her?"

Lu Xiaoshuang paused for a moment before replying, "I wouldn't say I hate her, but I do get very angry and dislike her. After all, that sweater is a very precious thing to me. But the dormitory supervisor is right. I don't have any evidence, so I can't just accuse her. After all, in a society governed by law, everything should be based on evidence."

Zhou Yi was very satisfied with Lu Xiaoshuang's answer. If one said there was no emotion in such a matter, it would be too hypocritical and would make one seem suspicious.

But if we're talking about hatred, the next question is whether you've ever had thoughts of revenge.

But Lu Xiaoshuang's statement that a society governed by the rule of law values ​​evidence directly and perfectly resolved the issue.

As expected, Qiao Jiali didn't follow the standard interrogation procedure. "Before and after this, did you and Xu Liu have any conflicts or friction?"

"No, I talked to Mo Youyou about this before. I don't know why Xu Liu suddenly targeted me. Before March of this year, I didn't spend much time with my roommates in the dorm because I had to work, so I didn't have any conflicts or friction with others. I can only understand that maybe Xu Liu was in a bad mood at the time, so I didn't like me or I just happened to disturb her?"

"In your eyes, what kind of person is Xu Liu?"

"Hmm...she must be quite lonely..."

This question surprised both those on and off the screen, because in the survey so far, the word most often used by Xu Liu's classmates to describe her was arrogant.

Some teachers commented that "Xu Liu is a very smart student, but he just doesn't focus on his studies."

Their counselor, Wu Na, was the only person besides the school leaders who knew about Lu Xiaoshuang's disappearance.

Therefore, the task force specifically asked Wu Na for her opinion on classmates Xu Liu and Lu Xiaoshuang.

Her answer was that Lu Xiaoshuang studies very diligently and assiduously, and her grades would be even better if she had more time and energy to devote to her studies.

As for Xu Liu, the assessment is that she is very bright and quick to understand, but she doesn't seem to have much motivation to study, so her grades are only mediocre.

But this is the first time someone has used the word "lonely" to describe Xu Liu.

Qiao Jiali asked, "Lonely? Why do you say that?"

"Because she doesn't have many friends, she's always alone, and several times when I ran into her in the cafeteria, she was always sitting alone in a corner."

People who like to sit in corners are often those who lack a sense of security.

“Especially the look in her eyes at that time, I could feel that she was very lonely.”

Zhou Yi knew very well that Lu Xiaoshuang was a sensitive and delicate person. She could sense the loneliness in Xu Liu's eyes, which meant that it was the same kind of look in her own eyes.

Perhaps before she met herself, she was also that girl sitting in a corner eating the cheapest food, with a lonely look in her eyes.

To some extent, they once shared a similar plight.

However, Lu Xiaoshuang later met Zhou Yi, and a ray of light shone into her life.

"Lu Xiaoshuang, before this, have you ever seen Xu Liu with any strange men? On or off campus, it doesn't matter."

"No... I don't think so." Lu Xiaoshuang shook her head. "But something happened before that was a bit strange."

These words made all the police officers in the room prick up their ears.

"Tell me more specifically."

“Last semester, I worked part-time as a waitress at a restaurant. One night while I was working, I suddenly noticed that the person standing at the front desk looked a lot like Xu Liu, so I went over to take a look, and it really was her.”

"I went up to her and greeted her, asking if she was waiting for a friend to have dinner. I suggested she come in and sit down."

"I didn't expect that when she saw me, she seemed very surprised and nervous. She said she had forgotten the place she was supposed to meet her friend, and then immediately left without looking back." "I found it strange at the time, because she didn't seem to have gone to the wrong place before; she seemed to be waiting for someone."

This clue excited the entire task force. Someone couldn't help but say, "He's probably waiting for his lover, otherwise why would he run away so nervously?"

But immediately, Lu Xiaoshuang's words changed the course of events.

Lu Xiaoshuang said, "Then I went to work, and about five minutes later, I saw the supervisor ask the receptionist, 'Where is the person who was interviewed?'"

"The receptionist said she didn't know; it was just at the door a moment ago."

"I didn't dare to say anything at the time because the boss was very angry and scolded me for being rude."

"Later I asked the receptionist, and she said that Xu Liu had made an appointment to interview for a part-time waitress position. Because the manager was called away by the boss, she was asked to wait a while. I didn't expect that she would disappear after only two minutes, and she even got scolded because of her."

Qiao Jiali hurriedly asked, "When did this happen?"

"It was last December, I think. Anyway, it was pretty cold, but I don't remember the exact date."

I initially thought Xu Liu was out having dinner with her lover, but it turns out she was actually looking for a job.

However, based on the current investigation, he does not appear to be experiencing financial difficulties; she even has two thousand yuan in cash in her suitcase.

In 1997, a college student's normal living expenses were about 300 yuan. Did Xu Liu need to find a job?

"Tell me the name and address of this restaurant," Qiao Jiali said. "Also, when did you leave that place, and why did you leave?"

Lu Xiaoshuang immediately recited the restaurant's name and address, adding that she initially found the restaurant because its recruitment advertisement was posted near the school.

She left a few days before the Lunar New Year after receiving her final paycheck.

The reason was that the supervisor was annoying; he always used various excuses to grope the female employees, which disgusted her.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi's anger instantly surged. He knew he would have to ask Liang Wei for permission to verify this information himself.

How dare they lay a hand on Lu Xiaoshuang!
This concludes the playback of the interrogation video of Lu Xiaoshuang.

At this moment, the sky outside the window was already showing the first light of dawn.

This is the state of the police when investigating major cases; they don't understand the darkness of the night.

Liang Wei directly asked, "Zhou Yi, what are your thoughts on the last clue provided by Lu Xiaoshuang?"

Just as Zhou Yi was about to stand up, Liang Wei waved his hand and said, "Let's talk while sitting down."

"Okay." Zhou Yi put his butt down on the stool again as soon as he had just gotten off.

“I think the clue provided by Lu Xiaoshuang is very valuable. According to the current investigation information, Xu Liu has never asked her parents for living expenses, and her classmates have not noticed that Xu Liu is experiencing financial difficulties.”

"But if the investigation confirms that Lu Xiaoshuang did not lie about this matter, it means that Xu Liu's financial situation was already so dire last December that she had to find a part-time job to earn money."

"This means that her original source of income has been cut off. So this completely matches what you mentioned earlier, Captain Liang, that Xu Liu could not possibly be a prostitute or a hostess. If this kind of person can no longer make money, there is only one possibility: she has been arrested and imprisoned."

"So it's pretty much certain that she was kept by someone before."

Liang Wei nodded; this logic indeed further confirmed his judgment.

Zhou Yi continued, "But Xu Liu clearly didn't want people she knew to know her true situation, so she immediately chose to leave after meeting Lu Xiaoshuang."

Judging from the current outcome, apart from Lu Xiaoshuang encountering such a minor incident, no one else around her knew about it, which means that Xu Liu has maintained her "persona".

"So it's very likely that Xu Liu harbored resentment towards Lu Xiaoshuang after that incident, because Lu Xiaoshuang was a potential threat who could expose her pretense. Therefore, she later made unfounded accusations and targeted Lu Xiaoshuang, since her personality is outwardly arrogant but inwardly insecure, and insecure people are the most sensitive and suspicious."

Everyone nodded in agreement, because Zhou Yi's analysis made a lot of sense and could indeed fill the logical gap in the original conflict between Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu.

Zhou Yi held up three fingers and said, "Although Xu Liu's financial situation was in trouble at the time, this happened last December, which is almost half a year ago. And her classmates didn't feel that Xu Liu's quality of life had declined. That means there are three possibilities."

"First, Xu Liu moved to a different place and found a part-time job, just like Lu Xiaoshuang, to make a living by working. But I think this is unlikely, because college students have to sacrifice their spare time to work part-time, and it's impossible to hide it from their roommates."

"Secondly, the man who originally provided Xu Liu with financial support has reconciled with her. It's possible that they had a previous argument that led Xu Liu to break off contact with him, only to find that she couldn't support herself, so she took the initiative to apologize and they got back together."

At this point, Ni Jianrong raised a question: "Why can't it be that the man takes the initiative to end the relationship, then regrets it afterwards and tries to get back together with Xu Liu?"

Zhou Yi replied, "It's not that it's impossible, but I think the possibility is relatively small."

"Why?" Ni Jianrong pressed.

"If a middle-aged man has average disposable income but has saved some money for various reasons, his first choice will definitely be prostitution, a low-cost activity that pays out in one go. Those who can support female college students are those who have some money and confidence to provide such continuous support."

"In this situation, there are only two possibilities for a man to voluntarily break off contact. Either he's gotten tired of the relationship, or his wife has found out and is forcing him to end it. In either case, it's unlikely that the man would take the initiative to go back to Xu Liu and reconcile."

Zhou Yi further explained: "Even if the man is the latter, and was forced to break up with his wife after she found out, and then couldn't forget Xu Liu and secretly tried to get back together with her, it's been almost half a year. How could the man's wife not have found out at all? If she had, wouldn't she have made a scene at the school and made it known to everyone?"

It's a pity Jiang Biao wasn't there, otherwise he would definitely have jumped out and clapped his hands in delight, because he had slapped Ni Jianrong in the face.

At this point, Liang Wei asked, "What about the third one?"

Zhou Yi put away his last finger and said, "The third possibility is that Xu Liu has found a new caregiver and solved her living expenses problem!"

"Excellent!" Liang Wei suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Zhou Yi's analysis is excellent. The second and third scenarios are indeed more likely, and we should focus our investigation in that direction. Zhou Yi, tell me which line you want to investigate next. You can choose yourself."

Liang Wei's attitude says it all.

The expert will know if it is there as soon as he reaches out his hand.

Within a day and a night of joining the task force, Zhou Yi had already successfully gained the trust of this provincial-level expert on major crimes.

Zhou Yi thought to himself that, fortunately, his performance at least did not disappoint Coach Qin and Team Leader Wu.

"Reporting to the leader, I would like to investigate the restaurant that Lu Xiaoshuang mentioned at the end."

This surprised Liang Wei somewhat, because the information Lu Xiaoshuang mentioned during the interrogation did indeed need to be verified.

But the most important task right now should be to find Xiao Bing, who is on the run, and the man who has a sugar daddy relationship with Xu Liu.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi didn't choose either of these two options, but instead chose the most routine confirmation task.

This kind of thing can usually be handled by the peripheral police officers. After all, Xu Liu only appeared briefly at that restaurant and wouldn't leave any clues. The purpose of the investigation is just to confirm the truthfulness of what Lu Xiaoshuang said.

Suddenly, Liang Wei seemed to realize something, nodded and said, "Alright, since you've chosen, then it's up to you and Chen Yan to investigate."

Just as Zhou Yi was about to express his gratitude, Liang Wei added, "However, the investigation cannot focus solely on the restaurant incident; it must be consistent. You are responsible for investigating the No. 68 bus and the apple vendor mentioned in the statement."

Zhou Yi and Chen Yan immediately replied, "Yes."

Liang Wei said loudly, "It's almost dawn. Everyone has been working hard all night without sleep. Let's take a short break and then continue the fight. I believe the dawn of victory is just around the corner."

Currently, the search for Xiao Bing is being handled by Jiang Biao, as he was already leading a large number of peripheral police officers to search for the remaining bodies, so he has the largest and fastest net.

Therefore, after Zhou Yi reported that Xiao Bing had escaped, Jiang Biao immediately changed direction and organized manpower to start a search and capture operation, even though he was not present at the meeting.

Most of the other people's work could not be carried out better until dawn, so they lay sprawled in their chairs in the conference room and began to doze off, taking as much sleep as they could.

Liang Wei and Ni Jianrong left the conference room, presumably to report the case to Xie Guoqiang.

Zhou Yi chased after him, calling out, "Captain Liang!"

Liang Wei turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'd like to confirm and verify a few key points in Lu Xiaoshuang's statement with her again, such as the specific physical characteristics of the ticket seller and the street vendor. This will allow us to confirm the situation more quickly and effectively," Zhou Yi said, sounding a little guilty.

Liang Wei seemed to have already seen through his thoughts, and said calmly, "You can handle these details yourselves, just don't violate the principles."

After saying that, he patted Ni Jianrong on the shoulder and turned to leave.

Zhou Yi smiled, bowed to Liang Wei's retreating figure, and said, "Thank you, leader."

Then, back in the conference room, she excitedly pulled Chen Yan out.

Chen Yan hadn't quite grasped what was going on yet, and asked as he followed, "Where are we going?"

"Go back to the station and see Lu Xiaoshuang," Zhou Yi said impatiently.

At this moment, Chen Yan suddenly realized: "Oh—I see..."

"I'll drive, Brother Yan, you can take a nap in the car."

Chen Yan laughed and said, "Forget it, I'll drive. You can take a nap."

The two returned to the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Zhou Yi went straight to the detention room. The normal procedure should have been to take Lu Xiaoshuang from the detention room where the suspect was temporarily held to the interrogation room for further questioning.

But Zhou Yi couldn't wait any longer.

On the iron-framed bed in the detention room, Lu Xiaoshuang lay on her side, curled up in a ball.

In her dream, she was trapped in darkness, and no matter how hard she tried to escape, she couldn't get out.

Just as she was trembling with fear, a light suddenly appeared behind her.

She turned around and saw a familiar figure reaching out to her.

She instinctively grasped that hand—a large, broad, and warm hand—which held her tightly.

Then the figure pulled her forward quickly, and the surrounding darkness receded rapidly like the tide.

A dazzling ray of light shone into her eyes.

She opened her eyes on the iron bunk bed, turned around, and saw that familiar face.

"Xiao Shuang," Zhou Yi called her name softly.

"Brother Zhou?" She was stunned for a moment, then got out of bed and threw herself into his arms.

Tears welled up instantly, and she burst into loud sobs.

Zhou Yi hugged the person in his arms tightly and whispered, "It's okay, it's okay. I will never lose you again."

　Hey everyone, we've combined all the chapters, no missing updates!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)