I didn't say anything, just gave him a serious look from the side. If I looked at him directly now, he would notice me.
After the journalist's body was taken away, Li Hong from the technical department quickly confirmed his identity. Following the previous investigative methods, I had someone take over my work, like visiting relatives and friends, checking if the deceased had experienced headaches recently, or buying any medicine.
However, this time, we didn't find any purchase records on their phones, nor did we find any surveillance footage of them visiting the pharmacy. How, then, did they take the explosive pills?
We had just finished our meeting in the criminal case conference room and everyone was left in confusion. Taking advantage of the time, I intentionally approached Professor Ho, and while we were in the bathroom, I deliberately asked, "Professor, do you remember the perfect crime you once mentioned to us?"
"Of course, I remember. You mean the scenario where I hypothetically become the murderer to kill a classmate at school, right?"
"Yes. If you were the murderer in this case, how would you escape the blame?" I asked, trying to probe.
"If it were me, I would certainly hide my identity as the producer of the drug and then track the police's movements, constantly shifting the production location."
Professor Ho spoke so seriously that it almost frightened me. His tone made me feel uneasy. Noticing my reaction, he quickly laughed and said, "Haha, I was just making a hypothesis. After all, investigating from the perspective of the murderer might reveal different clues."
"I understand," I replied, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something in his expression was off. He quickly left the bathroom. I didn't want to doubt him, but Professor Ho's behavior had indeed been odd recently.
I went to the technical department and found Xie Deguang, asking him to investigate Professor Ho's recent whereabouts. When he saw it was about Professor Ho, he was surprised. "He Sheng, what are you planning to do?"
"Don't waste time. If you trust me, just investigate!" I snapped.
"But this is your teacher, the influential figure in Fuming City, moving between Gaogang City and Fuming City."
I shot him a glare, and Xie Deguang immediately began the investigation. After some time, he told me, "I've found Professor Ho, also known as Ho Jias, has mostly been in Gaogang City. He only returned a few days ago."
"Has he ever visited a pharmaceutical company?"
"He has always been teaching at the police academy. Sometimes he goes to Gaogang City, other times to Fuming City."
"Did the surveillance show him at any pharmaceutical company?"
Xie Deguang shook his head. "That needs further investigation. The Tianwang surveillance system is vast. I can only check part of it!"
I had the entire technical department work together to investigate Professor Ho's whereabouts. After the efforts of Xie Deguang, Li Hong, and Feng Sicheng, they found several footage clips. Sure enough, Professor Ho had been seen at Longteng Pharmaceuticals in Fuming City. What? It's here?
This was the same place as the last wealthy businessman's company, where we found a refrigerated laboratory. What was Professor Ho doing here?
I immediately decided to visit Longteng Pharmaceuticals again. I brought Xiao Yuande and Gao Qiang with me. When we arrived, Manager Du was surprised to see us again. "What's going on this time, Officer He?"
"Of course, there's another issue." I handed him a photo of Professor Ho and asked, "Has this person been to your company recently?"
"Yes, he came. What's the matter?"
I asked, "Did he take any pills with him?"
"No, he only asked for some painkillers. Why?"
Painkillers?
My heart twisted. I took out the photo of the painkillers the deceased had taken and showed it to Manager Du. "This is the type of painkiller."
Now I understood. Professor Ho had deliberately mixed explosive pills into the painkillers, using a fake to mask the real, intending to mislead us and escape the blame.
No wonder it was always painkillers. I finally understood. Seeing my reaction, Gao Qiang asked, "What's wrong, Team Leader He?"
Xiao Yuande sneered, "Suspecting your own teacher is never easy."
"Yeah, but just knowing he took painkillers isn't enough," I said.
"We need to find his laboratory where he manufactures the explosive pills," Xiao Yuande said.
Sometimes, this guy was quite clever. He immediately stated what I had in mind. I said, "We must thoroughly check all of Professor Ho's movements and find that secret workshop!"
We quickly left Longteng Pharmaceuticals. To find more precise clues, I asked Gao Qiang to keep an eye on Professor Ho's every move. Meanwhile, I went back to the technical department to help the tech officers review some surveillance footage.
I watched for a long time, almost falling asleep, when suddenly a phone call jolted me awake. I answered quickly, "Any updates?"
"I've discovered that Professor Ho is missing!"
"What? He was walking down a road, and then suddenly disappeared behind a tree."
"How? Are you sure?"
"I..." Gao Qiang was about to continue when I suddenly heard chaotic shouting from his side. "Who are you! Ah!"
It sounded like Gao Qiang was being attacked. I kept calling out, but he didn't respond.
It seemed that Gao Qiang was in trouble. I had the technician locate his position. Fortunately, there was a mobile signal, and we quickly found that Gao Qiang was near New Moon Square in Fuming City.
I drove to the location, but when I arrived, Gao Qiang was gone. However, there were many footprints on the ground. Using my sharp eyes, I deduced that many people must have surrounded Gao Qiang, beat him up, and then taken him away.
Who did this? Could it be Professor Ho? Did he realize Gao Qiang was following him, so he had someone beat him up?
But how could he be connected to so many people? Why would they help Professor Ho?
The more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong with Professor Ho. He seemed like a different person, or perhaps he was always like this, but I hadn't noticed before.
Since Gao Qiang had been taken and we didn't know where, I returned to the police station. I had already checked earlier that there was no surveillance in the area where Gao Qiang was attacked. The assailants knew to use this place to commit the crime, which showed they had strong anti-surveillance capabilities.
It was Professor Ho who had someone do it! I was almost sure, but there was no evidence.
At a loss for clues, I decided to call him. "Professor, are you asleep?"
"Not yet. What's the matter?" His tone was calm, as if nothing had happened.