"We went to Shin Shin Tea Restaurant to investigate. Captain Hou told us.
The next morning, in the office of the criminal police team of the county public security bureau, Captain Hou and we synchronized the information they had investigated in the past few days.
"Don't say it first, let me guess~~~" Uncle Jiange waved his hand, "I think the news you got from Xinxin Tea Restaurant must have confirmed that Liu Xiaojing was indeed drinking tea with friends there that day." "
"Yes. You guessed it right. Captain Hou told us, "The restaurant's surveillance camera has been broken for more than a month. "
"Another broken camera ~~~" Uncle Jiange muttered.
"Yes. It seems that frequent guests know this. Captain Hou continued, "So we have no way to verify through monitoring." "
"Hmm."
However, the staff who clicked confirmed that Liu Xiaojing was there drinking tea with friends that afternoon.
"I arrived around 2 o'clock, and the staff who left at what time I left was not impressed, as if she left first, and her two friends continued to sit there for a while.
"But we confirmed with the two friends she was drinking tea with, and they confirmed that they were still drinking tea together at 3:50, because Liu Xiaojing asked one of them about the time when they went to the bathroom together, and looked at the phone at 3:50, so I remember it well." "
"That means that Liu Xiaojing's alibi is very sufficient." Uncle Jiange said.
"Yes. Assuming that the fire was not an accident, but a murder, Liu Xiaojing also had no time to commit the crime. "
"According to the investigation, the fire broke out around 3 o'clock that day. Uncle Jiange recalled what he learned at the fire brigade at the time.
"Well, yes. The fire brigade received the alarm at 4:40," Captain Hou picked up the file on his desk and flipped through it, "They arrived in about10 minutes, according to the scene investigation after the fire was extinguished, and the examination of the body, the accident should have occurred." Born between 3 and 4 o'clock. "
"And what about their little babysitter?"
"We have also confirmed her whereabouts, and the camera in that supermarket is not broken. "
So her trip to the supermarket is beyond doubt. "
"Yes, from the surveillance video, Zhang Mengling arrived at the supermarket at 2:4 3 and left the supermarket at 4:15, during which she has been shopping in the supermarket, and the surveillance camera of the supermarket has been filmed the whole time. Although she wore a mask and did not photograph her face, from the hairstyle, clothing, and body shape, she couldn't be wrong.
"His son is abroad again, which means that so far nothing has been found. "
"That's right." Captain Hou concluded, "Several relatives around the deceased have sufficient alibi. In addition, from the situation of the site investigation, it can basically be concluded that it was an accident caused by the aging of the hose, and there is nothing suspicious. "
In the afternoon, Li Shilan's only son, Li Mingming, returned home. In the reception room on the first floor of the Li family manor, we met him.
This is a tall young man, handsome and handsome. Just like him in the group photo, he really looks very similar to his father in the photo, with similar height and size.
"I heard that you were on your way to America on the day of the accident. Uncle Jiange said.
"Yes. Dad asked me to go to Los Angeles to deal with some business matters, we booked a flight ticket from Hangzhou at 3 p.m. that day, and the next day after the plane landed at the hotel, I received a call from my mother, and I knew that my father had an accident. However, it is very difficult to buy a temporary ticket back to China, so I just landed at Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport this morning and rushed back immediately. "
"So the purpose of your trip? "
"Our family has a house in Los Angeles. The young man replied, "But I don't know exactly what to do, Dad said to go first, and he will notify me when he is sure." "
"Did your father mention this before?" "
Li Mingming shook his head.
"You have a house in Los Angeles?"
"Yes, entrusted to an agent for renting. So I guess my dad let me go over probably related to the house, but I don't know exactly what to do, whether to sell it, buy another one, or simply have nothing to do with the house. "
Through our conversation with Li Mingming, we further confirmed some information about Li Shilan. Li Mingming's answer is very clear, he has been going to school outside, he does not know much about family affairs and his father's business, he does not know whether his father has enemies in Shanxi or Hangzhou, and he has not noticed any changes in his father's behavior recently, and he has never heard his father mention any secrets. He insisted that the trip to North America was most likely related to the house, because he really couldn't think of anything else to do with it.
"I know that Dad invested in a few small Internet companies in Hangzhou and was doing some apps and the like," Li Mingming frowned, thinking while saying, "But these small apps are all for China as far as I know, and I have never heard him say that he wants to enter the US market, and such a small company is still too far from going public, so it should have nothing to do with this." "
During the pause in Li Mingming, Uncle Jiange changed the subject.
"Do you know that your dad bought a second-hand gas stove a few months ago and installed it in the kitchen himself? "
"I didn't know at the time, but by the time I came back from the summer vacation, he would have already installed it. "
"Do you know why?"
"Dad said that it was for the convenience of making soup, and there were two gas stoves so that the normal stir-fry was not delayed when the soup was cooked. "
"Your dad loves soup?"
"It's okay. I don't remember him drinking soup so much, but when I came back from summer vacation, I found that he did drink a bowl of every meal. Also let Mengling cook that kind of old soup, a pot is a whole day, often to start preparing ingredients on the first day, and then get up in the morning and start cooking. "
"Don't you think it's strange?"
"I asked my father, and he said that now that he is old, his stomach is not good, and he should start nourishing his stomach. So I think it's okay, nothing strange. "
"Then why buy an old gas stove? The new ones are not expensive. "
"I don't know about that, when I came back from summer vacation, he was already installed. "
"Okay, got it. By the way, how are you doing with your dad? Uncle Jiange asked.
"Of course. I have a very close relationship with him, my father has been very good to me, and he has always spoiled me since I was a child. "
"Then your little mother and your father have a good relationship?"
"The two of them also have a good relationship, they have been together for more than ten years, my mother has known my father since she graduated, and the two of them never seem to quarrel. "
"Your biological mother and your father divorced, don't you hate them both? "
"Nope. I don't hate them. "
"Why?"
"Are you really going to ask? The young man became impatient, with anger in his tone, "You don't think that I was arson in this accident, do you?" You know, I went to Hangzhou early that morning! "
"No, no, no, you misunderstood. The police have never concluded that it was not an accident, but as an investigative procedure, such questions still need to be asked. Uncle Jiange was not in a hurry, and still replied unhurriedly.
"But you're not a cop! Or rather, you just used to be a cop! He was still agitated, "You don't have the right to ask me these questions!" "
"So, do you know about this? Uncle Jiange took out the printed email sent by Li Shilan and handed it to Li Mingming.
Li Mingming took the email, read it again, opened his eyes wide, and looked puzzled.
"This, this, what's going on here? I've never heard of it. "
"You don't know either?"
"I don't know, Dad never mentioned it, and I didn't see anything abnormal. "
"I came here on behalf of your father, and although I don't know exactly what happened, the police investigation still tends to be an accident, but this email is very strange," Uncle Jiange folded the mail Li Mingming handed back and put it back in his pocket, "It's very strange."
"So you suspect there might be something wrong with this?"
"I can't judge right now, and I hope you can help me, if you can." "
"If someone really killed my father, I would definitely not let him go!" The young man looked very angry, "You tell me what I should do. "
"Tell me everything you know in its original form." Uncle Jiange looked at Li Mingming amiably.
"Okay. But I still want to tell you that I don't hate my little mom and my dad! Because my dad was unhappy before, very unhappy! "
"Oh?"
"My mother, I mean my biological mother, is a very selfish person. Her family, which is my grandfather's family, is very rich, and my mother has been pampered since she was a child, and she has developed a wayward temper. He never looked up to my dad and thought my dad was a son-in-law who ate soft rice! Li Mingming couldn't help but blush when he said this.
"Since I can remember, my mother has been scolding my father every day for all kinds of big and small things, no, it's not just scolding! Even though my father later started a career with his own efforts, he was still just my mother's punching bag when he returned home. She always said that if it weren't for her, her father would have been a poor ghost for the rest of his life.
"When I was a child, every time my mother scolded my father, my father always said nothing and never defended himself.
"He can't even escape, he can't hide, and if he works outside for a little longer, it's another storm to come back."
"Not only to my dad, but my mom and she to me, and when my dad is not home, she will hit me and scold me. She is a very controlling woman.
"At that time, Dad was already suffering from depression, and he kept banging his head against the wall during attacks, and he had tried to kill himself. I said to my dad many times: 'Divorce you!' But Dad didn't say yes every time, just held me in tears, and he didn't want this family to fall apart for me."
Later, this situation continued until I met my mother. Xiao Ma is very good and gentle with Dad. Since meeting Xiao Ma and they secretly got together, Dad has been in a much better mood. Then I turned 18 and became an adult, and I brought it to my dad to suggest that they get a divorce, and my dad agreed, and they divorced. "
"And then?" Uncle Jiange had been listening patiently, and finally asked a question, "Has your mother ever come to trouble you again?" "
"Nope. Although she has a bad personality, she is not a bad person in essence, but she is too self-centered, even if she is married and has children, she still has not grown up in her heart, and she feels that she will always be a baby, that's all. "
"So she just accepted this ending? "
"Yes. When Dad filed for divorce, she made a big fuss and did not agree to divorce. I think Dad must have mustered a lot of courage when he finally dared to file for divorce! But then the court ruled away, and she accepted. After the divorce, she never contacted us again, probably forgetting us, after all, she only had herself in her heart.
"So, why don't you say I don't hate my dad for divorcing my mom, and don't hate my mom for being a junior, because I'm also about to be tortured crazy by my biological mother, okay!" If this continues, my dad is not the only one suffering from depression! "
After listening to Li Mingming's words, we were silent for a long time.
Finally, Uncle Jiange spoke: "Then, let's stop here today!" I don't have any more questions to ask for the time being, and I'll come back to you when I need it. Believe that I will try my best to find out the truth about your father's death. Whether it's just an accident or not, I'll give you an explanation. "
"Okay, thank you very much!"
"If you can think of something, suspicious people, or suspicious things. Whether it's related to your father's death or not—that's what I'm here to discern, you don't have to worry about it—as long as you think about it and feel something is wrong, feel free to tell me. "
"Okay, I definitely will. Well, it's in trouble for you! "
It was already dark, and after dinner with Uncle Jiange and I, we walked out of the gate of the Li family manor and walked along the path of the park.
This is our daily habit, walking and talking, observing and thinking, looking for clues and breakthroughs in this complex case. We walked for about half an hour, saw that the moon had risen, and planned to go back.
We returned along the same road, passing a path on the right side of the manor that led to a small gate of the manor, which was usually rarely walked by, except for some of the servants and handymen of the manor.
I was about to speed up my pace and walk across this path, but I saw Uncle Jiange suddenly stop, and his body stood there stiffly, motionless. I felt strange for a while, and was about to ask him what was wrong, but saw him slowly turn his head, make a silent gesture to me, and then point to his ear, signaling me to listen carefully.
I immediately understood what he meant, and immediately held my breath and approached his side, my ear close to the bushes next to me.
On the other side of the bushes, there was the small door of the manor, and I heard a burst of whispers, what seemed to be two women talking there. I tried to distinguish their words, but I could only hear some staccato fragments, which startled me.
"... He's dead... Money... Save a little..."
"... Uncle Lee... No... resigned..." "
... There is no way to go... Get the money..."
"Mom!"
"... Brat... Inherit... got him..."
"... Horoscopes... Think too much..."
"... It's too late..."
Their voices grew farther and farther away, fading into the night, and it seemed that they had left the place.
I breathed a sigh of relief and felt a pang of fear for a moment not knowing what they were saying, but I felt that there was a smell of intrigue and intrigue in their words.
I looked at Uncle Jiange to find out what he thought. Uncle Jiange didn't speak, just turned around and walked towards the gate of the manor, muttering in a low voice as he walked: "Interesting, interesting..."
"What's interesting?" I followed him and couldn't help but ask.
He glanced back at me, a hint of excitement and cunning in his eyes, and said, "For now, I don't know." But I think the twists and turns in this will be known sooner or later. After he said that, he quickened his pace and walked into the gate of the manor, leaving me alone behind, full of doubts and curiosity.
I hurried to follow him to ask him more questions, but he ignored me and just walked all the way to our room, then closed the door and started looking through his notebook.
I had to sit helplessly on the bed, thinking about the words I had just heard, not knowing who they were, why they said them, and what they had to do with this case.
I thought for a long time, and I didn't have a clue, I only felt that this Li family manor was becoming more and more mysterious, more and more dangerous, and more and more frightening. I couldn't help but shiver, feeling a chill.
I looked out the window, and the moonlight shone on the roof of the manor, looking cold and gloomy, like a haunted house. I couldn't help but think of the owner of the dead Li family manor, I don't know how he died, whether someone killed him, and whether it was related to those two women. I remembered his will, which I didn't know where or if he had, who his huge inheritance would be left to, whether there was any hidden secret, whether there was any conspiracy. I remembered his son who had just returned, and I didn't know what was going on in his mind, where he came from, why he came here, whether there was any purpose, whether there was any danger. I remembered Zhang Mengling, a little beauty who employed people, and I didn't know who she was, what background, what motives, what secrets, and what plans she had. I remembered Uncle Jiange, I don't know what he thought, what clues, what evidence, what reasoning, what conclusions.
I thought and thought, the more I thought about it, the more chaotic it became, the more I thought about it, the more I was afraid, the more I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned until dawn and did not fall asleep. I only hope that this case can be solved soon, and we can leave early and stay away from this mysterious Li family manor.