I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 131 Ren Yi's Motive

At 9 p.m., the task force held a meeting to analyze and discuss all the clues they had gathered so far.

With the detention of Pan Xia and Lü Zhanpeng nearing its 24-hour mark, the task force faces two choices: detention or release.

After discussing the matter with Captain Feng Yao and Deputy Director Zhao Xingbang, Ji Bowei decided to place the two under criminal detention.

Detain them first, then investigate slowly.

The basis for Pan Xia's criminal detention stems from her lying. She clearly went to Ping'an Garden on the afternoon of the incident, but lied to the police, saying she hadn't. This is a serious problem, and she cannot be released.

The basis for criminally detaining Lü Zhanpeng stems from the high degree of consistency between his criminal preparation and his modus operandi. Although his alibi is sufficient, the possibility of him being aware of the crime or being an accomplice cannot be ruled out.

According to regulations, criminal detention can be imposed on suspects who may destroy or falsify evidence or collude with others, even if there is no evidence at the moment.

Criminal detention is not a punishment and will not leave a criminal record. After the term expires, the special investigation team will find no results and he will be released naturally. Regardless of whether Lü Zhanpeng and Du Juncai's deaths are related, he can only accept his bad luck.

Han Ling and Tong Feng first reported the results of their visit to Qingchang University and offered their own opinions and judgments.

The relationship between Du Juncai and his girlfriend Ren Yi is a bit strange. Du Juncai's pursuit methods are likely to backfire, but Ren Yi eventually agreed to date him and doesn't seem to resent Du Juncai for taking her scholarship.

Despite agreeing, the two never had any physical relationship in the two years since. Their courtship was rather uneventful, consisting mainly of meals and shopping trips.

Young people's love is usually passionate and unrestrained, but this was not the case with Du Juncai and Ren Yi.

It is reasonable to suspect that Ren Yi did not genuinely agree to be Du Juncai's girlfriend, or that she had other motives.

However, on the afternoon of Du Juncai's death, Ren Yi was in the laboratory at Qingchang University. Her classmates and supervisor can testify to this, and the surveillance footage has been checked and found to be correct. She has a sufficient alibi.

The murderer is not Ren Yi.

After consulting with the undergraduate advisor, it was confirmed that everyone's evaluation of Du Juncai's personality was that he was overly confident, smooth in dealing with people, and able to get along well with student leaders, teachers and leaders. He was arrogant towards his classmates, and some people liked him while others found him very annoying.

The counselor liked Du Juncai very much because she had just graduated with a master's degree and started working. Du Juncai's class was the first class she had taught, and she desperately needed a capable class leader to help manage the class.

Du Juncai did a great job and never caused his advisor any trouble.

Based on this alone, the counselor could accept Du Juncai's other shortcomings, which were not serious, as long as they were not too excessive.

The college leaders also liked Du Juncai very much because his position in the student union brought a lot of convenience to the college, and Du Juncai respected them a lot.

This sounds a bit like bullying the weak and fearing the strong, currying favor with superiors and looking down on subordinates.

It's not easy for a student to do this, and it can be considered another form of excellence, allowing them to adapt to the real world more quickly after graduation.

Other investigation teams also reported their findings.

Lu Zhanpeng's call records have all been retrieved, revealing that he has maintained contact with Ren Yi from his senior year of college until now without interruption.

The QQ chat history is normal, but what was discussed on the phone is unknown.

Du Juncai's call records were also retrieved, revealing that his network of relationships was significantly more complex, consisting mostly of alumni, with them still being contacted one by one.

“Captain Ji,” Yang Hui, an officer in the investigation team, spoke up, “I remember asking Lü Zhanpeng a question before: Is Ren Yi still Du Juncai’s girlfriend? His answer was ‘it seems,’ not sure. But since they’ve been in contact, how could he not know? Does that ‘it seems’ mean he’s lying?”

It's a very small detail that many people have forgotten.

Ji Bowei: "Is he subconsciously avoiding the question about his hidden relationship with Ren Yi?"

Yang Hui nodded: "Yes, I prefer to cooperate in murder."

Ji Bowei: "But who was the one who did it?"

Yang Hui fell silent.

Ren Yi and Lü Zhanpeng both have solid alibis. If they were truly collaborating, the only suspect exposed at this moment would be Pan Xia.

Did Pan Xia go to Du Juncai's house on the afternoon of the incident?

"How's the surveillance footage coming along?" Ji Bowei asked the third investigation team.

The other party replied, "We have thoroughly investigated and found no one. We did not capture any images of Pan Xia."

Han Ling previously mentioned that there were blind spots in the community's surveillance system. We conducted an on-site investigation and testing, and it is indeed the case. There are two routes that can bypass the surveillance cameras to reach the building where Du Juncai is located.

The only unavoidable surveillance camera happened to be broken, which was very strange.

Upon hearing this, Ji Bowei turned around and wrote the word "surveillance" on the whiteboard.

Today, the technical team conducted a third re-inspection at Ping An Garden, but found no trace of a second person in the damaged fence or nearby area.

Entering and exiting through a broken fence presents significant limitations; even someone of slender build will likely leave marks and may even risk injury.

Assuming the suspect is not Pan Xia, and assuming the suspect did not enter or exit through the fence, then only the small door in the northwest corner remains.

The surveillance camera at the small gate was deliberately sabotaged, and the surveillance camera in Du Juncai's unit was also broken.

Ironically, the two surveillance cameras were the only two that could capture the suspect entering and exiting.

If you don't think about this more deeply, you might as well quit being a criminal investigator.

"Could there be some that have been missed?" Ji Bowei pondered.

Or perhaps it was Pan Xia who did it.

Either the investigation was not comprehensive enough, or some interpersonal relationships were missed.

It's only the second day, so there's no rush. The scope of the investigation is being expanded gradually.

"How's the investigation into the source of the cyanide going?" Hu Lihui asked Fang Zhou while Ji Bowei remained silent.

Fang Zhou replied, "It's still under investigation. So far, no abnormalities have been found in Lü Zhanpeng's company. I have asked the person in charge of the company to verify the information specifically, and they guarantee the accuracy of the results."

The loss of cyanide might go unnoticed under normal circumstances, but now that something has happened, the company is conducting a targeted investigation, and any problems should be traceable.

This is strictly regulated, and legitimate companies can't afford to ignore it, otherwise they'll face big trouble.

After a while, Ji Bowei came to his senses and said, "The source of cyanide is the first direction, Du Juncai's interpersonal relationships are the second direction, Ren Yi's interpersonal relationships are the third direction, and Lü Zhanpeng's interpersonal relationships are the fourth direction. You don't need to worry about the on-site verification; the technical squadron will follow up."

What we need to do now is to investigate the motive for the crime and the points of conflict. There's something strange about these people; there must be something we don't know about them.

The tasks assigned to each investigation team remain unchanged: to continue expanding the scope of the investigation and uncover all hidden points of conflict.

All officers: "Yes, sir!"

After the meeting, Han Ling and Tong Feng left the branch office overnight and rushed to Ren Yi's home to visit Ren Yi's father.

The reason for wanting to meet Ren Yi's father was because Ren Yi's mother had passed away.

It's been checked; it was sudden cardiac death.

The death of a loved one is arguably the biggest blow in life, and this is a path that cannot be ignored.

What if Ren Yi's mother's death is directly or indirectly related to Du Juncai? Wouldn't that be the biggest point of contention?
This isn't a guess; we have to go through it all. Even if it turns out to be false, it's still a valuable lesson.

Ren Yi's classmates and teachers at school are not familiar with her family situation and need to talk to her face-to-face.

Ren Yi's home is a breakfast shop.

It used to be a breakfast shop, but now it's been converted into a small residence. The door was ajar. Han Ling knocked gently, and after receiving permission, she pushed the door open and went inside, just in time to see a middle-aged man sitting there taking his medicine.

"Who are you looking for?" the man asked, swallowing the medicine in his mouth.

Han Ling: "Hello, are you Ren Yi's father?"

Upon hearing Ren Yi's name, the middle-aged man stood up: "It's me, it's me. And who are you?"

After confirming Ren Yi's identity, Han Ling smiled and revealed that she was Ren Yi's friend, then placed the fruit and other gifts she had bought on the ground.

"Oh, you've come all this way, and you even brought things with you." Mr. Ren greeted him warmly, "Please sit down, please sit down. I'm sorry, our house is small, please don't mind."

After they were both seated, Han Ling, based on what she saw, started a conversation on the spot: "Ren Yi mentioned your illness, what's the situation now?"

Judging from the way the other person took the medicine, Ren Yi's family fits the description of "falling back into poverty due to illness".

"Sigh." Mr. Ren sighed, "Coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure, this is how my life will be. If it weren't for Yiyi saying that she needs me to live, saying that I am her pillar of support, I really want to follow her mother... Never mind, let's not talk about it."

The topic was a bit heavy, but Han Ling guided the conversation as she spoke, eventually piecing together a complete picture of Ren Yijia's situation from the fragmented information.

Ren Yi is an only child. It's not that her mother didn't want to have a second child, but that Ren's mother never got pregnant again. It's possible that Ren Yi was destined to be her only daughter.

They are content with having one daughter.

The couple ran a breakfast shop. They would sleep in the afternoon and get up at 2 a.m. to prepare. The long-term fatigue from standing, irregular work and rest, and unhealthy diet triggered Ren's father's severe coronary heart disease.

Just one coronary artery bypass surgery, along with the out-of-pocket costs of imported stents and drugs, emptied the Ren family's savings, with expenses reaching hundreds of thousands of yuan in just a few months.

After frequent hospitalizations for recovery treatment, the expensive medications cost them their house, and eventually the family of three could only live in a breakfast shop.

This was their last refuge, and no matter how difficult things got, they didn't choose to sell it.

With her husband needing medication and her daughter needing to go to school, Ren's mother became the main breadwinner for the family. In addition to taking care of the shrunken breakfast shop, she would also do odd jobs in the afternoons and evenings to supplement the family income.

Overwork, severe sleep deprivation, and immense mental stress ultimately led to sudden cardiac death in Ren's mother one night, and she could not be saved.

After learning the whole story, Han Ling and Tong Feng both fell silent.

Falling back into poverty due to illness.

Special diseases can be a heavy burden for ordinary families, especially medical devices and medications that cannot be reimbursed and must be paid for out of pocket.

Families in this situation are not uncommon across the country.

"Do you know Du Juncai?" Han Ling asked.

Mr. Ren thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know him. Who is he?"

do not know?
After nearly three years of dating, Ren Yi's father doesn't recognize her boyfriend. Is Ren Yi truly sincere? Is Du Juncai truly sincere?

"It's nothing, just a friend," Han Ling said. "By the way, where was your aunt doing odd jobs back then?"

Mr. Ren replied, “She works as a cleaner in the mall in the afternoon and washes dishes and prepares food in a restaurant in the evening. I told her not to work so hard, but she just wouldn’t listen. Sigh… It’s my fault. I’m the one who’s dragging this family down.”

Han Ling comforted her, "We can't control when illness comes, so don't blame yourself too much."

These words were of no use. Mr. Ren continued to sigh. Three years had passed, and he still couldn't get over his wife's death: "Thank you, young man. I'm fine. Ever since she started working at night, I actually had a premonition. After all... that's how I got sick."

"Since?" Han Ling's eyes flickered slightly. "Did your aunt's night shift start suddenly?"

Mr. Ren said, "It wasn't sudden. She had wanted to work at night before, but Yi Yi and I disagreed. Later, I ran out of medicine and was short of money, so I couldn't borrow any."

Our relatives are all afraid of us; they don't even dare to answer the phone.

Yi Yi originally said she could use the scholarship money as a last resort, but another classmate of hers took the spot.

This is... fate.

Upon hearing this, Han Ling and Tong Feng both frowned, and the latter immediately spoke up: "You mean, if Ren Yi had received the scholarship back then, your aunt wouldn't have chosen to work at night?"

Father Ren: "Maybe so. What's the point of saying all this now? It's all fate."

The point of contention seems to have been found.

If Ren Yi had received a scholarship at the time, her mother might not have chosen to work at night, and her sudden cardiac death might not have occurred.

To put it another way, if Du Juncai hadn't taken the scholarship, Ren Yi's mother might not have died.

Objectively speaking, that's one way to put it.

What about Ren Yi's perspective?

She might think: Du Juncai indirectly caused her mother's death.

To take it to an extreme: Du Juncai killed his mother.

This is no longer a minor conflict; it could absolutely escalate to the point of revenge killing.

Han Ling mouthed to Tong Feng, "Call Brother Zhou."

Tong Feng nodded, made an excuse to get up and leave the breakfast shop, and took out his phone to dial Ark's number.

On the other hand, after learning that Ren Yi had a strong motive for committing the crime, Fang Zhou immediately reported it to Hu Lihui.

After a brief discussion, Hu Lihui and Ji Bowei decided to take Ren Yi with them and ordered two policewomen to go to Qingchang University immediately to summon Ren Yi from her dormitory to the branch office.

Like Pan Xia and her son, Ren Yi is very likely to face criminal detention.

He frequently contacted Lü Zhanpeng.

Her relationship with Du Juncai was abnormal.

They had the means to obtain cyanide.

There was sufficient motive to commit the crime.

The above four points are sufficient to send Ren Yi to a detention center to await the results of the police's subsequent investigation—even if she has an alibi.

This case is starting to lean towards a conspiracy to commit murder, and it's really not certain who actually did it.

Renjia Breakfast Shop.

Tong Feng, upon returning, gestured to Han Ling, implying that Ren Yi's father might be a suspect.

It's normal to avenge one's mother, and it's equally normal to avenge one's wife.

Since I already have a serious illness, what's wrong with killing someone?
If it's the death penalty, it'll be the end of it all, saving me from being a burden on my daughter while I'm still alive.

If the death sentence is suspended, the prison will provide necessary basic medical care (not out-of-pocket expenses) to a certain extent, and the daughter will receive free state meals, which will also reduce the burden on her.

If medical parole is granted after a medical diagnosis, killing the patient would be tantamount to killing them in vain.

You can't lose out no matter what
……

P.S.: I'm running out of time. Only one update today, currently two updates are owed.

(End of this chapter)