Previously, all reasoning seemed like castles in the air, precarious and uncertain.
Uncle Jiu looked at Jiayi’s silent, downcast demeanor, always feeling that she appeared somewhat thin and desolate.
He couldn’t bear it and went over to comfort Jiayi: “It’s okay even if you guessed wrong. Being a detective doesn’t mean you will never make mistakes. You’ve already been very diligent and done well…”
Jiayi took a deep breath, looked up and smiled. She had personally witnessed Qin Hongliang committing murder and didn’t waver at all, nor did she fall into the self-doubt that Uncle Jiu and the others were worried about.
She had already guessed that since Qin Hongliang had made such extensive arrangements, the alibi involving time couldn’t possibly expose him with just a simple question to the police.
But perhaps, she also harbored some hope, expecting that Qin Hongliang might be clever in some aspects but enormously flawed in others.
However, as expected, a person who is consistently meticulous in their thoughts did not fulfill the detectives’ wishes.
After the interaction, did Tu Guisheng ask what time it was, to remind Tu Guisheng to check the time, and to reinforce the memory of it being 5:40 in the morning?
No matter how you think about it, there seemed to be a problem!
Everyone continued to discuss the case, but after consulting with Fang Zhenyue, Jiayi ran off to the forensic department’s autopsy room.
She requested to spend some time with the corpse of Zhao Meini.
The colleagues at the police station who often interacted with Jiayi knew some of her unusual investigative methods. Xu Junhao didn’t make things difficult and decisively agreed.
After Zhao Meini’s body was pulled out, seeing Jiayi’s somber expression, Sir Xu patted her shoulder, ensuring her state was okay before continuing to autopsy another body.
…
Facing Zhao Meini’s corpse, Jiayi reviewed the stream of images over and over again.
In the dimly lit scene of the crime, she repeatedly confirmed the murderer’s movements, posture, body shape, voice, hairstyle outline, and so on.
Half an hour later, Jiayi walked back to the Team B office.
All the detectives saw her solemn expression and thought she was upset because the case had reached a dead end, and they started comforting her.
Fang Zhenyue had already called Sir Xu earlier; the time of death of Zhao Meini couldn’t be mistaken.
Since the time when the body was discovered was too close to the actual time of death, the error rate was very low.
So, Tu Guisheng is indeed a witness of Qin Hongliang’s alibi.
After completing today’s visits, they had no choice but to circle back to the beginning, revisiting and reanalyzing all clues. Even veteran detectives could feel frustrated and annoyed.
“Are you okay?” Fang Zhenyue asked with some concern.
“Thank you, Brother Yue, I’m fine.” Jiayi shook her head, her eyes bright as she looked at Fang Zhenyue and requested:
“Brother Yue, I want to propose a search of Tu Guisheng’s home.”
Fang Zhenyue raised his eyebrows, thinking she would be silent, disheartened, filled with self-doubt, and depressed. He was considering how to motivate her again, but instead, she was unexpectedly spirited and stubborn.
“Tu Guisheng has the right to refuse. If he does, we will have to apply for a search warrant from higher up, but we currently lack compelling evidence to support our argument, and the application could very well be rejected.”
Fang Zhenyue looked directly at Jiayi, speaking softly:
“This is what investigating cases is like, often hitting a wall, setbacks are the norm.”
“You can propose the search to Tu Guisheng, and you may attempt it, but you must understand the situation you might face.”
“Jiayi, do you know what you are doing, and can you accept all possible outcomes?”
Before everything was clear, Fang Zhenyue would not make any definitive statements.
This was a habit he had developed early on as a detective: to approach every deduction with skepticism until it was fully proven, digging deep into the problem until the whole truth was uncovered.
Thus, he neither gave up on pursuing the suspicious aspects of Clara nor stopped questioning the alibi of Qin Hongliang.
Jiayi’s request to search Tu Guisheng’s home might be refused, or it might not.
If Tu Guisheng agrees, the search might uncover key evidence, or it might not.
Anything could happen, such is the way the world works, and he just hoped that when Jiayi faced these unpredictable outcomes, she could remain calm.
Just like when he first brought her into the major crimes unit, he hoped that even in darkness, she could maintain her brightness and warmth.
He wanted to protect her, but she was a wild creature not content to live under another’s wing, so he had to let her charge ahead. Only making sure she was prepared before she soared.
After listening carefully to Fang Zhenyue, Jiayi understood his worries. Judging by her expressions and demeanor today, she probably had all her colleagues worried.
Taking a deep breath, Jiayi slightly lifted her lips to look a bit better, then said with unusual determination:
“I know, Brother Yue, I want to try.”
…
Fang Zhenyue agreed to Jiayi’s request, but he didn’t let her call Tu Guisheng.
He personally took Jiayi and Liu Jiaming, who was more familiar with Tu Guisheng, out. On their way, they passed a gold shop and bought a gold toad ornament, which they packaged before heading straight to Tu Guisheng’s store.
Jiayi faintly understood Brother Yue’s intention, and awkwardly said, “Brother Yue, this is too extravagant.”
“I never count the cost when handling a case,” Fang Zhenyue reassured her with a smile, then said no more.
Jiayi understood Brother Yue’s intention; he was telling her that the purchase was not for her, so she shouldn’t feel guilty or burdened.
He dismantled all her potential negative emotions, wanting her to start work relaxedly, without any concerns, just to forge ahead.
Indeed, he treated all the detectives of the Major Crime Team B in the same way.
Fang Zhenyue’s dedication to everyone was selfless, and he awkwardly hoped others wouldn’t think too highly of him. It seemed that others’ gratitude made him feel uncomfortable.
Indeed, he hadn’t done much; he simply cleared obstacles and provided full support for everyone… that was all.
…
For businessmen like Tu Guisheng, profit-seeking was instinctual. Anyone who was a client was treated as an honored guest.
As soon as Fang Zhenyue entered the store, he placed an order.
Upon hearing this, Tu Guisheng came down from upstairs with a smile, personally greeting the buyer and enthusiastically leading Fang Zhenyue and the other two upstairs.
It was still the same tea table, the same seat, and Liu Jiaming opened the gold toad gift for Tu Guisheng.
While Tu Guisheng was smiling and confused about what the police were up to, Fang Zhenyue politely made a request on behalf of the police.
“It’s no trouble at all; I’ll just treat it as inviting the officers over to my home. What’s the big deal? The police need to conduct their investigation, and I’ll definitely cooperate!” Tu Guisheng immediately agreed, standing up to take Fang Zhenyue and the others back to his home.
Only then did Jiayi use the phone in Tu Guisheng’s store to call Brother Da Guangming.
Sir Fang requested to borrow two lab technicians to assist with evidence collection and site investigation.
…
15 minutes later, Diane from the Forensic Department arrived with Brother Ah Jie, and they began a comprehensive investigation of the house.
Fang Zhenyue looked at Jiayi worriedly, “Are you scared?”
Afraid that they might not find anything?
Jiayi decisively shook her head, her eyes continuously searching around Tu Guisheng’s home like a wolf ready to join the battle.
Fang Zhenyue pursed his lips; she always seemed so confident, always full of faith in her own ideas. Despite usually appearing as a cheerful and lively young girl, she was full of fighting spirit at work.
Turning his head, he seriously surveyed Tu Guisheng’s home, beginning to reconstruct the behavior of Qin Hongliang on the day of the incident.
Suppose Qin Hongliang was indeed the murderer from the start, she must have left Tu Guisheng’s house and then returned after the murder.
So, could she have left any traces in this room?
Regarding Qin Hongliang’s alibi, did Tu Guisheng lie to cover for her, or did Qin Hongliang use some cunning trick to ‘tamper’ with Tu Guisheng’s memory?
After pondering for a while, Fang Zhenyue turned his gaze to the bathroom.
A germophobe, probably would take a bath after committing murder, right?
If she happened to have traces of something from the victim Zhao Meini’s home on her, could it have been left in the bathroom?
If Qin Hongliang believed her scheme to frame Clara was flawless, then this arrogant person might have slipped up at Tu Guisheng’s house after the murder.
After all, Tu Guisheng was just a tool for providing an alibi, and she might have thought it completely unlikely for the police to suspect him.
Just as he was about to ask forensic technician Diane to focus on inspecting the bathroom, he heard Jiayi speak up:
“Diane, can you inspect the bathroom first? Mainly the drain, bathtub, and the areas where hair might have brushed against while lying in the tub…”
Fang Zhenyue pursed his lips, good, no need for him to speak.
Diane meticulously examined all the details around the bathtub and finally discovered several very faint blood reactions.
Using several cotton swabs dipped in water to carefully absorb the contents before properly storing them in evidence bags.
“We can have the blood type results tonight, but for a detailed DNA analysis, we need to send it to a professional institution and wait a while,” Diane explained to Jiayi, then gently patted her arm and asked with a smile:
“Any other areas you want us to focus on, Officer Yi?”
By now, Fang Zhenyue had walked to the side bedroom where Tu Guisheng claimed to have been intimate with Qin Hongliang, and looked up to see a clock hanging over the bed, clearly visible upon looking up.
He measured the height of the clock and recalled Qin Hongliang’s behavior of asking Tu Guisheng for the time, a thought suddenly flashing in his mind, he turned to speak.
Jiayi preempted him again:
“Diane, could you help me check the fingerprints on the clock?”
“Sure thing, madam,” Diane nodded with a smile, took off her shoes, and stepped onto the bed head, her height just right to reach the clock.