In the guest room of the Li family manor, I had an analysis of the case with Uncle Jiange, and he felt that this matter had become more and more interesting so far.
"So, shall we go back to Beijing tomorrow?" I asked Uncle Jiange.
"Go back? Why go back? Uncle Jiange looked at me curiously.
"The client has passed away and there seems to be nothing wrong with an accidental fire. We don't have any tasks to complete, so shouldn't we go back? "
"You, can you move your little gray brain cells? Don't you think the whole thing is getting interesting? Uncle Jiange looked at me with an incredulous look.
"Is there something wrong with that? Didn't Li Shilan die from a gas explosion? "
"Frankly, I don't know anything. He mused, "But aren't you curious at all? "
"Uh~~" Why should I be curious, I'm not a detective, I was just an I.T dog before this time. "I lack this professional sensitivity, I really don't see anything wrong." "
"Whether it was just an accident is difficult to say now, but there are some doubts here. At the moment I can only determine this, maybe in the end it turns out that it was really just an accident, who knows! "
"Like what? What do you find suspicious? "
"Li Shilan's family is very wealthy, and it took less than a year to move in, and when he moved in, the house was completely new furniture, but why a month ago Specifically go to the thrift market to buy an old gas stove? Why have two gas stoves in your kitchen? Why modify privately instead of looking for a professional installer? At noon on the day of the accident, he was drunk and resting in his guest room, but why did he appear in the kitchen? Did he sober up so quickly? Uncle Jiange asked a series of questions.
"Perhaps, he is purely because he can pretend and understand this, so he solved it himself? To be honest, I disagreed, "Don't you think all these problems are explainable?" "
"Of course, almost everything can be explained. But this interpretation is only one of the possibilities, not the only possibility, and may often be ruled out in subsequent processes as more information is learned. "
"So, let's consider all the possibilities?"
"Yes. Also, why is his neighbor's daughter so concerned about this matter? Do you have to double-check whether it is sure that it is an accident, does she know something? I have a feeling that the two people I met today, Li Shilan's wife and the little girl in the neighborhood, did not tell the truth all. But what the untold truth is, I don't know yet. "
"That's not easy, just ask them, can't you?" I don't think it's a problem.
"Haha, you think too simply. If they wanted to say it, they would have said it long ago. Besides, the police have not filed a case at present, and they can completely discooperate with us. Although even if the case is filed, without the cooperation of the police, they can still ignore us. "
"Oooh, that's true, too. So what are we going to do? Do you think we should stay and check it out? Do you think the Yongjia police will file a case? "
"Let's go to the Public Security Bureau tomorrow and have a chat."
Early the next morning, we went to the Criminal Police Brigade of the Public Security Bureau, and Captain Hou Chunliang, who was in charge of receiving us, did not want to deal with us, probably thinking that it was too strange for two ordinary people to want to intervene in possible criminal cases, and the criminal police department had already gone to the scene to investigate on the day of the fire, and came to the conclusion that it was a cause Accidents caused by unauthorized modification of gas pipes and aging equipment. But after Uncle Jiange revealed his identity and explained the reason why we came here from Beijing and the doubts in his heart after coming, Captain Hou let down his guard and was happy Uncle Jiange communicated the facts of the case, after all, Uncle Jiange is so famous in this industry.
"So, Li Shilan had a premonition in advance that he might be murdered?"
"I think so." Uncle Jiange took out his mobile phone to show Captain Hou the email he had received.
"It's so unusual. "Captain Hou roughly scanned the email and returned the mobile phone to Uncle Jiange." Well, he said there was a secret, but unfortunately he didn't make it clear. We thank you very much, Mr. Liu, and sincerely hope that you will assist us in our investigation. When will you return to Beijing? "
"I'm going to stay, Captain Hou. I didn't arrive in time to prevent my client from being murdered, but I felt a moral duty to investigate the whole thing and see if it was an accident or a murder. "
Since we had reached an agreement to investigate the accident further, we returned to the Li Family Manor with Captain Hou Chunliang.
When passing by the row of roadside self-built houses next to the manor, Uncle Jiange asked about the situation of the mother and daughter yesterday, after all, he also mentioned that the little girl was very curious about this accident.
"They are a single-parent family, their mother's name is He Lihui, their daughter's name is He Xiaoya, and they have lived here for almost 20 years The little girl has no father, never knows who her father is, and relies on her mother to raise her alone, and her family is not rich, it can be said that she is very poor. Although the mother and daughter live quietly, the mother is very beautiful, and the longer the daughter, the more water spirit, so there are always a lot of rumors about their mother and daughter. Although she is not young, really, I have seen him walking down the street, men looking back at her, and she is always the focus of passers-by. Now, that focus has become their daughter. But anyway, it's their family anyway. But in the past six months, she has suddenly become rich, spending money lavishly - her family has suddenly been renewed, and everyone in the town knows it. The days of cutting back on food and clothing are over. Captain Hou shook his head, "Although no one knows how she suddenly had so much money, as a result, there are more rumors about the two of them." "
"Didn't you check it? I asked curiously.
"Check what? There are no clear clues to prove that her money is not coming from the right way, suspected of a crime or something. Captain Hou explained to me, a layman in the legal profession, "She is not a state servant, and the crime of unknown sources of huge wealth cannot be placed on her head." That is to say, to investigate, we can only check whether these are stolen money and stolen goods from certain clear criminal facts, and cannot check whether there is a crime from the source of her property. "
"So what do they do? "
"My mother used to work as a salesman in the county's supply and marketing cooperative, and my daughter worked in Guangdong a few years after she grew up. However, after returning from the New Year this year, I have not gone to Guangdong to work, it is estimated that I am preparing to find a mother-in-law at home to marry, after all, they are twenty-five or six. "
Liu Xiaojing was surprised to see us come back with the police, her face showed a hint of panic and unease, but in the end she did not object. She led us into the living room and sat down. The living room is spacious and luxuriously decorated, with some famous paintings on the walls, some embroidered cushions on the sofa, a thick carpet on the floor, and a large coffee table in the middle with some fruits and snacks. Mengling, the little nanny at home, brought everyone a cup of tea on a tray, she was wearing a black uniform, her hair was tied into a ponytail, she looked young and beautiful, there was a trace of curiosity and fear in her eyes, but she didn't speak, just quietly retreated and casually closed the door of the living room.
"Comrade Liu Xiaojing, I am very sorry to disturb you. We need to know more about the unfortunate accident the afternoon before yesterday. Captain Hou explained his intentions to Liu Xiaojing.
"Didn't you come to investigate the afternoon before yesterday? I have told you everything I know, what else do you want me to say? Liu Xiaojing stared at us with anger and grievances, looking extremely aggrieved, "Do you know, every time I think of the events of that afternoon, I feel like I have been cut by a knife, which is the most painful experience in my life." Her voice was filled with sadness and despair, and her tears couldn't help but flow.
I'm really sad, I can understand your pain, it must have been a huge blow for you. Captain Hou said softly, "Please take care of your body, don't be too sad, we will try our best to find out the truth for you." He said sincerely, "Please also cooperate with our investigation so that you can give an explanation to your loved ones." "
"Okay, no problem, did you find something?" Is there any doubt? Could it be that my husband ~~~ is not an accident? Oh, my God! This is terrible! If you want to ask anything, feel free to ask, I'll tell you! "
Uncle Jiange interjected: "No, no, please don't get me wrong, we just want to know more, not that we will necessarily find something." "
"Oh, so. I understand. "
"So, let's get started. Can you describe to me in more detail what you were doing the afternoon before yesterday, the afternoon of the accident? I know, you told us before, but I'm sorry, can I trouble you to recall it carefully? Please tell us all the details you remember. "
"Okay, okay. Let me think about it. Liu Xiaojing closed her eyes, covered her face with her hands, and tears flowed from her fingers.
"At noon the day before yesterday, my husband had a dinner party with some of his business partners to discuss some business matters, and he said that it was a very important cooperation project and could not be postponed. Then he came back around one o'clock in the afternoon, he was so drunk that as soon as he entered the door, he fell to the ground, and kept nagging that he was not drunk and that he would drink again. I helped him to sleep on the bed in the guest bedroom on the first floor, because he was so heavy that I couldn't lift him, so I let him sleep there. Then he cleaned up his vomit, helped him take off his clothes and threw them in the washing machine to wash them, and covered him with a quilt for fear that he would catch a cold. Around two o'clock, because I made an appointment with my two girlfriends to have tea at Shin Shin Tea Restaurant in Wanda Plaza, I went out to meet them at Shin Shin Tea Restaurant, where we drank tea, chatted, talked a lot about family, work, children, and stayed until close to 4 o'clock. Then after we separated, I met another girlfriend in Wanda, went shopping together to see clothes, she recommended me a very beautiful dress, I tried it, felt that it fitted, and bought it. Then I received a call from Mengling saying that there was a fire at home, and I quickly drove back. Didn't think of.... I didn't expect..." she cried, "I regret it, I regret it, if I hadn't gone out in the afternoon, this would never have happened..." She grabbed Uncle Jiange's hand and cried heartbreakingly.
"Please mourn. You just said that you and your two girlfriends were drinking tea and chatting at Shin Shin Tea House until it was close to 4 pm, do you remember the specific time? After she cried for a while and gradually calmed down, Uncle Jiange continued to ask.
"I don't remember the exact time, but it must have been between 3:50 and 4:05. Because I remember before that, one of my girlfriends was holding a phone and scrolling through the video, and I asked her the time, and she said it was 3:50, which I remember very well, because she was swiping a very funny video, and we all laughed very happily. Then we sat for a while and parted. I went shopping with another friend of mine, and when we met, I looked at my phone, and it was around 4:05. "I remember sending her a WeChat message saying I had arrived and asked her to come quickly." "She took out her phone and showed us the WeChat she sent, which showed the time at 4:02 Divide.
"So what is your babysitter doing in the afternoon, you know?"
"She started the afternoon at home, and then I called her and told her to go buy some vegetables, steak, Boston lobster and stuff, so she went out to buy vegetables, and when she came back, she just came to the gate of the yard and found that there was a fire, so she immediately called the fire alarm and called me. "
"Why does your husband go to the kitchen when he wakes up? Do you know what the reason is? "
"I don't know, I don't understand why he went to the kitchen. He actually rarely goes to the kitchen. "
"Does he smoke?" Uncle Jiange noticed an ashtray on the coffee table in the reception room.
"I smoked so hard that I basically asked for at least one pack of cigarettes every day. The first thing I do when I wake up from sleep is to smoke. "
"So is it possible that he went to the kitchen to smoke?" Where is his lighter? "
"I don't know, it could be. But supposedly he doesn't go to the kitchen specifically to smoke, and he carries a lighter with him. But the day before yesterday was very strange, I didn't seem to see where his lighter was, the lighter that was originally placed in the reception room and dining room on the first floor was not seen, we and Mengling did not find it in the past two days, and the bedroom on the second floor was still there. "
"That is to say, it is possible that Li Shilan woke up from drunkenness and habitually wanted to smoke a cigarette, but he couldn't find a lighter, so he went to the kitchen to turn on the gas stove and light a cigarette, not wanting to cause a fire because of the gas leak." Uncle Jiange made a preliminary judgment.
"When I saw you at the funeral home yesterday, you said that your husband told you about us, and you knew that he had given me a commission," Uncle Jiange mentioned the email, "So do you know what commission he is going to give us?" "
"I don't know about that, he just said that he invited a detective from Beijing to help with some investigation." "
"What exactly to investigate, have I told you?" "
Liu Xiaojing thought for a while.
"No, I asked him, but he said it was a business thing, and he didn't know exactly what was going on. "
"Do you know what threats he's been threatened lately? Uncle Jiange took out a printed version of the email and handed it to her.
"I don't know, I think it should be not, I have never heard him mention it, and I don't see anything unusual about him recently." "
"Okay, so have you noticed anything suspicious lately?" "
"No, I think everything is normal, I don't know if I'm too insensitive, but I really didn't find anything. "
"Is there anyone else in the family?" What about your son Li Mingming? Captain Waiting asked.
We noticed a photo of their family of three on the wall, a photo taken in the park, green trees, flowers, small bridges, everything seemed so harmonious. In the photo, he is obviously a handsome, handsome big boy, and his father is simply carved out of a mold, even the height and body shape are very close, are one meter eight meters tall, broad shoulders and broad chest, at a glance is the figure of an athlete. Both of them were wearing blue shirts and white pants, very stylish and awe-inspiring. Both of them have thick black hair, deep black eyes, an angular face, their eyebrows are thick and very spirited, their noses are very straight and attractive, their lips are thin and decisive, their chins are both pointed, and they have a lot of personality. Both of them smiled brightly, confidently and affectionately.
"Obviously he went abroad, and the plane went to the United States at 10 noon the day before yesterday. I called him last night and told him that his plane had just landed in Los Angeles. The ticket back home is not easy to buy, and he may not be able to return for a few days. "
Li Mingming is the child born to Li Shilan's ex-wife, and he is 20 years old this year. Captain Hou explained to us.
"Yes. Obviously the child of my husband and his ex-wife, they divorced a few years ago, obviously with his father. "
"Can you write down the names and contact details of the friends you met the afternoon before?" Captain Hou Chunliang handed over a piece of paper and a pen.
"Okay." Liu Xiaojing took the pen and paper and wrote down two names and mobile phone numbers.
"Thank you. In addition, I would like to venture to ask, why do you have two gas stoves in your house? Uncle Jiange asked.
"Because my husband likes soup, our family makes soup almost every day. This old soup takes a day to cook, and it is very inconvenient to have only one gas stove, and other meals cannot be cooked, so he bought another gas stove so that he can stir-fry a few dishes while boiling soup. "
"I see. Okay, and can you remember any other information that you felt compelled to tell us? "
"No, I think that's all, there is nothing else useful information. "
"Then why did you buy a worn-out gas stove?" Captain Hou interjected and asked a question, "and also modified the gas pipeline himself." "
Perhaps the question was a little sharp, and Liu Xiaojing was silent for a while.
"This is my husband's purchase, and he also installed it himself." She glanced up at Hou Chunliang, then lowered her head and answered, her eyes seemed to be a little evasive, "At that time, he said that the old one is also used, and the new one will not be better than the old one, just use it." As for modifying himself, this is his old habit, and he thinks that he can do things in three or five minutes, why invite others, and wait for days. "
"Does your husband have a will? How might his estate be distributed? "
"As far as I know, he doesn't seem to have made a will, so it should be me and Ming Ming equally, I guess." "
"Okay. So, that's it. Thank you for your time, I want to talk to your babysitter, don't you mind? Of course, individually. Uncle Jiange asked Liu Xiaojing kindly.
"No problem, of course no problem, you can ask her about it at any time. Then she stood up, shook hands with us one by one, and walked out, leaving the living room to us.
Their little nanny, Mengling, walked in and stood humbly in front of us. This is a very handsome girl, a black and translucent hair hanging down to the back, seems to have just reached the age of 20, looks very restrained, but dressed quite fashionably and decently, does not look like an ordinary nanny, she is wearing a black uniform, white shirt, black uniform pants, and a pair of black on her feet Little leather shoes, looking young, very lively, red face, a very embarrassed look, under the onlookers of several of us, so nervous that she didn't know where to put it, she kept fiddling with her hair, lowering her head, not daring to look into our eyes.
"You are Zhang Mengling?" Captain Hou asked first.
"Yes."
"How long have you been working as a nanny at Li Shilan's house? "
"I came in July last year, almost a year. "
"Can you tell us where you went the afternoon before yesterday and what you did?" "
"Okay. At noon that day, I cooked first, then cleaned my room, and then went to the supermarket to buy groceries. "
"Can you elaborate a little more? What did you do after cooking? "
"I cooked and served Sister Xiaojing after lunch, and Mr. Li had a meal outside at noon and did not come back for lunch. After eating, around one o'clock, Mr. Li came back, he was drunk, and I helped him to bed with Sister Xiaojing. "
"Is it the room on the first floor?" "
"Yes, it's the room on the first floor, because he's so heavy, we can't help him upstairs." Then Sister Xiaojing changed his dirty clothes, and I took them to wash them in the washing machine and then clean the floor. "
"And then?"
"Sister Xiaojing went out to have tea with a few friends, and I cleaned up and cleaned the room at home. At about half past two, I received a call from Sister Xiaojing, saying that I wanted to eat lobster at night, and asked me to go to the supermarket to buy some Boston lobster, and by the way, buy some steak, and some other dishes, and I went out to the supermarket. "
"What time did Liu Xiaojing go out, do you remember?"
"I remember that it was two o'clock and I glanced at my phone. "
"What time did you get back from the supermarket?"
"I came back at about 4 o'clock, I don't know the specific time, I didn't pay attention at the time, maybe I arrived at my home at 4:30."
"And then what happened? "
"Before I entered the yard, I saw smoke coming out of the kitchen window, so I quickly ran in, but the fire was already very big in front of the kitchen door, I couldn't get in, and then I called 119. "
"And?"
"After calling 119, I called Sister Xiaojing again. After a long time, the firetruck came, and by the time the fire was extinguished, Mr. Li was no longer able to do it. "
"How long did you say you waited?"
"I don't know.... Maybe 1to 5 minutes, I guess. "
"You finished cooking at noon, about the gas stove?" "
"I guess I'm closed, no, I'm pretty sure I'm closed. "
"Can you prove it?"
Zhang Mengling was silent for a while, and after a while she replied softly, "I can't prove it, but I'm really sure I'm already closed." "
At this time, Liu Jiange, who had been sitting on the side listening to the conversation between Captain Hou and Zhang Mengling, interjected: "Did you know Li Shilan before?" "
"No, I don't know, I only met them when I came to their house as a nanny." "
"What about Liu Xiaojing? "
"I only met after I came."
"Where are you from? How did you come to Li Shilan's house to be a nanny? "
"My home is in Yongjia, in the countryside. My family was very poor, so I came out to work, and I was introduced by a nanny agent. "
"What do you know about Li Shilan? Is he nice to you? What kind of person do you think he is? "
"I don't know him very well, he's busy and I rarely see him. But the others were nice, nice to me, the driver at home, and others. "
"Have you seen anything unusual or strange lately?"
"You... You.... Zhang Mengling listened to Uncle Jiange's question, and looked a little confused, "Do you mean...?" "
"You can tell me anything that makes you feel strange and unusual."
"... No. I can't think of anything out of the ordinary. "
"Okay. If you have anything you feel you need to tell us, please feel free to come to us. Saying that, Uncle Jiange stood up, and Zhang Mengling immediately followed suit.
When sending Zhang Mengling out, Uncle Jiange casually asked: "I noticed that there is a camera at the gate, did it record the scene of the day before yesterday?" "
"That camera, as Mr. Li said, it has been broken for several days. "
"It should be quite clear now, this accident, it is an accident. "Back in the guest room, I said to Uncle Jiange.
But he shook his head.
"I think, you, ah, are still inexperienced. Uncle Jiange smiled and said to me, "Both of them, each has their own little secret. "
"You mean, they're both lying to us? "
"It's possible that some of it is a lie, but you don't know which part, so you can only say that there is something to hide. In fact, this is understandable, I understand them very well, everyone has their own little secrets, little secrets that they don't want others to know. All they need to do is selectively hide and mix a lie in the ninety-nine truths, and that's it. "
"For example?"
"For example, why, as a smoker addict, did the lighter on him disappear the day before yesterday? "
"Didn't he have entertainment that day? He came back drunk again, perhaps by dropping his lighter somewhere, such as in the dining room where they were meeting. "
"Regardless of this possibility, what should be the explanation for the disappearance of the lighters in the reception room and restaurant on the first floor?" "
"... So let's talk to them again? "
"Haha, of course it's not okay to do this~~~~" Listening to me say this, Uncle Jiange couldn't help laughing, probably mocking me for my lack of experience and being too naïve, I thought, "Unless you can have more evidence, go straight to their core, and make them feel pressure, Otherwise, since they don't want to say it, then if you talk to them more, people won't tell you, and now you can't torture to extract a confession. "
"So what do we do now?"
Uncle Jiange knocked on his head: "Observe, and think." "