Roses in Flames

However, what is suspicious is that Jiang Ning's husband, Xu Bainian, has no record of visiting his wife abroad for medical treatment within the past year.

Xiao Lin handed over the information about Jiang Ning that he had obtained from the community to Ye Yuntang, "Please check whether the dental features and pelvic shape of the deceased match those of Jiang Ning."

Ye Yuntang nodded, "Okay."

in the afternoon.

Ye Yuntang handed the test results to Xiao Lin, "It can be basically confirmed that the deceased is Jiang Ning."

Xiao Lin and the criminal investigation team all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the result.

Identifying the deceased means the investigation has a clear direction and is no longer just a case of an unidentified, decomposing corpse.

"Everyone, call a meeting!" Xiao Lin said in a deep voice.

Conference room of the Criminal Investigation Division.

Ye Yuntang also attended the meeting.

On the big screen was a photo of the deceased, Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning, female, 42 years old, is an art teacher at Yecheng University.

Three years ago, Jiang Ning and her parents were in a car accident. Her parents died on the spot, and Jiang Ning lost her ability to paint due to a ruptured tendon in her wrist.

Immigration records show that she had purchased tickets and boarding information for a trip abroad a year ago, but considering the time of death estimated by the autopsy, she may have changed her mind at the last minute and did not board the plane.

Jiang Ning's husband, Xu Bainian, is also a professor at Yecheng University. Jiang Ning did not go abroad and has been missing for a year. As her husband, Xu Bainian did not report her missing to the police. Moreover, Jiang Ning's social media updates every few days. Only the murderer who killed her could have obtained her phone.

Currently, Xu Bainian is the prime suspect.

……

Xu Bainian was taken back to the police station for investigation.

Xiao Lin walked into the interrogation room. The sleepless nights he had been staying up late for days had made his face even colder and more intimidating.

Xu Bainian, though middle-aged, is very well-maintained. He has no beer belly or baldness and exudes the refined air of an intellectual.

Facing Xiao Lin's seemingly piercing gaze, Xu Bainian adjusted his glasses, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Officer, what happened? Why were you suddenly brought to the police station?"

Xiao Lin spoke in a completely cold voice, "Did you know that your wife, Jiang Ning, was murdered a year ago?"

Xu Bainian's eyes widened suddenly, his face drained of color. "How is this possible? Wasn't she recuperating abroad? She even sent me a WeChat message yesterday."

"You're lying!" Xiao Lin stared directly at Xu Bainian, his voice icy. "When you answered the question, your eyes frequently rolled to the upper left. This is a micro-reaction of the brain constructing a false image. And when you said 'How is that possible?' the muscles at the corners of your mouth stiffened for a moment. You were feigning surprise."

Xu Bainian shook his head. "Officer, I don't know what you're talking about. I really didn't know my wife was in trouble. You can't wrong me."

Xiao Lin pulled out a stack of documents. "You said Jiang Ning contacted you on WeChat. Did you have a voice call or a video call? How can you be sure it was her? If she really went abroad for medical treatment, why is there no record of you visiting her overseas even once?"

Xu Bainian's face showed a pained expression. "Officer, ever since my wife's parents died unexpectedly and she injured her wrist, she has been depressed all the time. She finds it annoying when I get close to her. She told me that she wanted to go abroad alone to be quiet. How could I dare to disturb her? I even took her to the airport when she boarded the plane. I really didn't know that she didn't leave in the end."

Xiao Lin expressionlessly tossed the suitcase documents in front of Xu Bainian. "This suitcase was a dowry that Jiang Ning's parents ordered for her. It should have been kept at your house. Why is Jiang Ning's body inside? The suitcase disappeared from your house, and you say you didn't know anything about it?"

Xu Bainian shook his head painfully. "Ningning and I moved three times after we got married, and none of our suitcases were ever moved to our new house. I don't know where Ningning put them. Officer, I always thought my wife was still alive. You suddenly told me she was dead. I was really shocked and in pain. My wife's life is more important than my own. I could never hurt her!"

Xu Bainian insisted that he was unaware of the situation and tearfully expressed his deep affection for Jiang Ning.

The atmosphere in the interrogation room was extremely tense.

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Lin's deep eyes.

Without solid evidence, even with special approval, one can only be detained for 48 hours.

In other words, they must find strong evidence within 48 hours.

Xiao Lin and Cheng Lei and a few others went to Ye University.

They found Jiang Ning and Xu Bainian's superiors.

"Professor Jiang and Professor Xu are a loving couple and are a model couple at our school. Professor Xu came from a poor family and was able to attend university with the help of Professor Jiang's family."

"Professor Xu is grateful. After his career stabilized, he married Professor Jiang. Professor Jiang was unable to have children, but he had no complaints and always loved her deeply."

Xiao Lin then visited Xu Bainian and Jiang Ning's neighbors.

When Xu Bainian is mentioned, the neighbors give him a thumbs up in praise.

"Professor Xu is a good man. After Jiang Ning's parents had their accident, she became irritable and strange, and often yelled at Professor Xu. Professor Xu was busy with school affairs while also taking care of Jiang Ning at home. He is truly a perfect husband."

On the way back to the police station, Cheng Lei was furious. "This Xu Bainian has been hiding his true colors very well."

His "good husband" persona helped him cover up his crimes.

Because no one would have thought that a good husband would be a murderer.

Xiao Lin took out his phone and called the technical department, "Find out the specific IP address of Jiang Ning's phone when she posted the social media update as soon as possible."

It seems someone used a virtual location to spoof their IP address, deliberately displaying an overseas location when they were actually in China.

"Lei Zi, go check if Xu Bainian studied computer science in college."

"Yes."

When Xiao Lin arrived at the police station, just as he was about to go in, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a young woman standing by the flower bed with red eyes.

Xiao Lin strode over and asked in a deep, calm voice, "Hello, is there anything I can help you with? What brings you to the police station?"

The girl looked up at Xiao Lin, who was wearing a police uniform, and asked in a choked voice, "Officer, I'm a student at Ye University. I heard that Professor Jiang Ning was murdered a year ago. Is that...is it true?"

Xiao Lin scrutinized the girl. "Are you Professor Jiang's student?"

The girl nodded. "My name is Xia Xingran. I'm Professor Jiang's student. I couldn't afford the tuition back then, and Professor Jiang helped me. Professor Jiang is really a good person."

Xiao Lin took the girl into the police station, poured her a glass of water to calm her down, and then continued to ask, "Professor Jiang Ning has indeed been murdered. When was the last time you saw Professor Jiang Ning?"

Xia Xingran sobbed uncontrollably, "A year ago, Professor Jiang resigned from the university. She recommended me to the leadership to go abroad as an exchange student. I was originally chosen, but Professor Xu recommended his student Lin Qianqian. The last time I saw Professor Jiang, I saw her and Professor Xu having a fierce argument about the exchange student."