I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 134 He's just unlucky
At this point in the investigation, the direction of the case is quite clear.

There is a high probability that there was a fourth person involved, and that he was the one who made the move.

The problem is that all the necessary interpersonal relationships have been investigated, and no suspicious persons have been found.

Ren Yi's father's alibi has also been confirmed. There are witnesses and surveillance footage from neighboring businesses, proving that he did not leave the breakfast shop on the day of the incident.

This leads to a dead end.

There is a high probability that there is a fourth person, but this person leaves no trace, which is illogical.

How could someone willing to participate in a murder not be found within one's social network? If hiring someone, it's unlikely that a graduate student and a recent graduate would have the money and connections.

"Han Ling, what do you think?" Ji Bowei's gaze fell on Han Ling.

Since becoming Yin Yunliang's student, the other party's status in the Criminal Investigation Brigade has changed, and coupled with the solving of many previous cases, their abilities are truly solid.

His opinion was subconsciously considered very important by everyone.

Han Ling said, "It's right that we can't find a fourth person for the time being, so Pan Xia's insistence that she didn't know anything about Du Juncai's death shows that she knows in her heart that it will be difficult for the police to find the real culprit."

This person is not part of the interpersonal relationships of Ren Yi, Lü Zhanpeng, and Du Juncai.

Ji Bowei: "Then why did he help kill someone?"

Han Ling: "I think the problem lies with Ren Yi's mother. Ren Yi and Lü Zhanpeng have simple interpersonal relationships, but Ren Yi's mother has a very complicated interpersonal relationship. She knows a lot of people, from breakfast shops to multiple part-time jobs."

Perhaps Ren Yi isn't the only one seeking revenge?

Over the past few days, after making inquiries from various sources, we have confirmed that Ren Yi's mother is a very compassionate and loving woman. Whenever she encounters customers in difficulty, she will lend a helping hand within her ability, giving them a bowl of porridge or a steamed bun.

A drop of kindness deserves a spring of gratitude in return; one should not underestimate a person's evil deeds, nor should one underestimate a person's good deeds.

Ji Bowei nodded slightly: "We need to increase manpower to investigate in this direction. If we find anyone who meets the criteria, bring them back directly."

Everyone has worked hard lately. Rest tonight, recharge your batteries, and continue our visits tomorrow.

The next morning.

Han Ling and Tong Feng went to a breakfast shop near the Ren family's house for a meal. Since the Ren family's breakfast shop closed down, a new breakfast shop has opened and "inherited" all of the Ren family's customers.

Unfortunately, after Mrs. Ren passed away, Mr. Ren was unable to support the breakfast shop on his own, especially since he was also seriously ill.

"I believe you." Tong Feng ate the delicious mantis shrimp wontons while talking to Han Ling, "But there are too many people who have received her kindness, how are we going to find them?"

A bowl of porridge is a blessing, a steamed bun is a blessing, and if you calculate it this way, it must have amounted to hundreds of yuan over the years.

Han Ling believes that since no interpersonal relationships can be found, the murderer must be someone outside of those relationships, and most likely someone who has received kindness from Ren's mother.

“There must be a very special one among them,” Han Ling said. “Ren Yi’s mother did not die because of Du Juncai. To commit murder is not just about repaying a debt of gratitude. This person’s personality and childhood experiences are probably abnormal.”

Tong Feng: "That's true."

If Du Juncai directly caused Ren's mother's death, thus arousing the murderous intent of the person seeking repayment, it would be emotionally reasonable. However, Ren's mother's death was due to a family tragedy and had nothing to do with Du Juncai.

Even if a normal person is angry that Du Juncai stole Ren Yi's scholarship, they shouldn't hold Du Juncai responsible, let alone commit murder.

Ren Yi knows Du Juncai and is his daughter, so she might be a bit paranoid. For example, she might have always disliked Du Juncai, and now that her mother died suddenly while working because of the scholarship issue, she was extremely saddened and devastated, which led her to have murderous thoughts. It's not surprising that she might think that way.

People who are not related to you or your family are more likely to remain rational.

Unless, of course, the murderer is a person with personality flaws, lacking a certain degree of rationality and empathy.

These people have obvious characteristics, and if they exist, they should be able to be found in a short period of time.

"Your tofu pudding and crispy fried buns are here, right?"

The breakfast shop owner brought the food to the table, and after receiving confirmation, placed it on the table.

Just as he was about to leave, Han Ling stopped him: "Boss, you said last time that you and Ren Yi's family are neighbors and have a good relationship. Have you encountered any special regular customers recently?"

The breakfast shop's skills mostly came from the Ren family, which can be considered a cross-sex inheritance. After the breakfast shop became profitable, it even paid the Ren family a sum of money.

The shop owner stopped and looked Han Ling and Tong Feng up and down. He quickly remembered their identities as police officers and a smile appeared on his face: "We have too many regular customers. I don't think there's anything special about them."

Han Ling: "Is someone causing trouble?"

The breakfast shop suddenly changed locations and owners, and the taste also changed. If you encounter a discerning regular customer, they might complain a bit.

"No," the boss shook his head.

It's peak season now, and there are a lot of customers. The owner said a few words and then hurried off to get busy.

Han Ling and Tong Feng ate slowly.

After finishing his meal, Han Ling lit a cigarette to enjoy the last bit of coolness in the morning; the temperature in July was about to rise.

"Where do we go next?" Tong Feng asked. "How about we ask Ren Yi's dad again?"

Ren Yi's father must have remembered the special guests from his early years. He may have forgotten about them before, but he could ask them multiple times.

Han Ling: "Alright, let's go see him one more time."

The two sat for a while before getting up to leave the breakfast shop. By then, the shop wasn't very busy anymore, and the owner had a chance to catch his breath. Seeing that they were about to leave, he jogged over.

"Wait, wait, officer, you just asked about the special guest, right? I just remembered something."

"Oh?" Han Ling turned around. "What kind of person?"

The boss pointed and said, "It's over there, see? A car repair shop, and there's a young man in his early twenties inside. He's the mechanic there."

After confirming that there was a car repair shop at the end of the line of sight, Han Ling asked, "Why do you say he's special?"

The boss laughed and said, "You mentioned causing trouble, and I just suddenly made that connection."

This young man is named Ma Chen. He lives nearby. His father is a gambler who lost all the family's money. Later, his mother ran away and hasn't come back since.

Ma Chen has hung out on this street since he was a child. He doesn't go to school and spends his days doing petty theft. Everyone has a bad impression of him. He came to my place for dinner a while ago. When he was eating steamed buns, he called me over and said the taste was off. He only learned the basics—that they were really bad—and even stomped on the buns in front of me.

Upon hearing this, Han Ling pressed further, "Did he used to frequently eat at the Ren family's breakfast shop?"

The boss nodded: "I go often."

Han Ling thought for a moment and, based on the current clues, realized that it was insufficient to establish Ma Chen as a suspect, so she began to ask targeted questions: "Did Ma Chen's father take good care of him when he was a child?"

"What's so good about it?" the shopkeeper said helplessly. "It's good enough that we haven't starved to death."

Han Ling: "So, back then, for Ma Chen, having enough to eat was a luxury?"

Boss: "Yes."

Han Ling: "Did the Ren family provide food for Ma Chen?"

The shop owner said, "I have provided food to them. Old Ren's wife is kind-hearted. She will give food to beggars who are not missing any limbs, let alone poor children like Ma Chen. I have seen her several times and given her steamed buns to eat."

"Thank you."

Han Ling turned and left quickly.

Tong Feng quickly followed behind.

Neither of them spoke, and after walking for a few minutes they arrived at the car repair shop that the breakfast shop owner had pointed out.

The repair shop was already busy in the morning. There were about four or five people in the shop. Han Ling glanced around and his gaze settled on one of the young men.

The young man, dressed in work clothes, was squatting there, using pliers to remove a tire. He was about the same height and build as Lü Zhanpeng, and his shoes would fit him perfectly.

"Take him away directly?" Tong Feng asked.

Han Ling mentioned during breakfast that the suspect's personality and childhood experiences might be abnormal, and Ma Chen perfectly fits that description.

This person is highly suspected of committing the crime.

Han Ling didn't speak, but slowly approached.

The two were ten meters apart. Ma Chen sensed something, subconsciously turned his head to look over, and then stood up.

Han Ling and Tong Feng continued walking forward.

Seeing that the other party had a clear target, Ma Chen's expression hardened slightly, and he unconsciously took half a step forward with his right foot, as if he was about to run away.

But he didn't take any action; he pulled his outstretched foot back the next second.

This almost made Tong Feng yell "Stop!" and rush after him.

"Hey."

Han Ling sighed. The fact that the other party saw the police officer's physical reaction meant that they had basically identified the suspect. They might have other things on their mind, but the probability was low.

This case didn't need to result in a death at all. Often, the motives of suspects are actually hard to understand.

The two stood in front of Ma Chen.

"Put it down," Han Ling said, gesturing to Ma Chen's hand.

Ma Chen glanced down and obediently released his grip, throwing away the car repair tools.

At that moment, Tong Feng took out his identification: "Gu'an Branch Criminal Investigation Team, do you know why we're looking for you?"

Ma Chen opened his mouth, but didn't speak, and fell silent.

After the two men identified themselves as police officers, the surrounding workers and bosses tacitly chose to stay away and did not get involved.

"I'm asking you! Do you know why I'm looking for you?!" Tong Feng raised his voice.

Ma Chen remained silent.

Seeing this, Han Ling asked, "Do you know Ren Yi?"

Ma Chen reacted this time and nodded.

Han Ling: "Do you know Du Juncai?"

Ma Chen hesitated for a moment, then nodded again.

After asking two simple questions, Han Ling patted Ma Chen on the shoulder: "Let's go back to the branch office with us."

I respect your gratitude; you're a man of principle. But Ren Yi's mother wasn't killed by Du Juncai, so what kind of person are you to poison her?"

Objectively speaking, the death of Ren Yi's mother cannot be attributed to Du Juncai.

This is not an example of "not knowing how to persuade others to do good." The family's poverty due to illness was their own hardship. Du Juncai only took the scholarship money, which had nothing to do with Ren Yi's mother's death.

To say that Ren Yi's mother took a second job because Du Juncai took the scholarship, and that she died from overwork because of the second job, and to forcibly link cause and effect, would be utterly unreasonable.

Admittedly, Du Juncai has some money, but he received a scholarship, not poverty relief funds. It is right for whoever has the ability to receive it, and it has nothing to do with how much money he has.

You can't just say whoever is poor gets it, otherwise what's the point of the selection process? Just compare the degree of family hardship.

After saying that, the two of them left with Ma Chen on either side.

Han Ling hadn't asked a question, but Ma Chen seemed to understand the principle and gave an answer: "He's just unlucky."

The two turned their heads at the same time, and Tong Feng went straight to touch the handcuffs.

These four words indicate that Ma Chen admitted to poisoning Du Juncai.

It was that easy, without even a trial. His personality is very different from that of Lü Zhanpeng and Ren Yi.

The police currently lack evidence and need to conduct an in-depth investigation into Ma Chen. In fact, he could do what Ren Yi did and stubbornly deny everything for the time being.

(End of this chapter)