Yuan Huaiyi knew the cook?
Lü Qingqing really felt that her trip was worthwhile.
"Who is the cook?" Lü Qingqing asked with surprise.
"He's not a person," Yuan Huaiyi said.
What?
"It's a code word between me and Tong Hua." Since he had already started talking, Yuan Huaiyi had nothing to hide. He said that the first time he found Tong Hua, he disguised himself as a cook. Tong Hua had laughed at him for being in such a state, and Yuan Huaiyi had explained that he was someone who wandered around the kitchen.
"So, did Tong Hua entrust anything to you for safekeeping?" Lü Qingqing asked.
"No. Other than financial transactions, we have no other intersection," Yuan Huaiyi said.
Huh?
That's strange.
Why would Tong Hua say the evidence was with the cook? Could the evidence he mentioned be the things Yuan Huaiyi had just confessed?
But those things, besides damning himself, couldn't threaten Dao Ren at all.
Seeing Lü Qingqing frown, Yuan Huaiyi spoke, "You can search his house's kitchen. Because Tong Hua later said that people who lingered around the kitchen were cooks, and if they stayed long enough, even the kitchen became part of the cook."
So?
"You think the cook Tong Hua mentioned actually refers to his kitchen?" Hu Jia finally understood.
"Perhaps. This is all I can help with. I really don't know anything else," Yuan Huaiyi said.
...
After leaving the restaurant, Lü Qingqing and Hu Jia chatted casually for a while before parting ways again.
One was going to investigate the kitchen, and the other was going to study Tong Hua's suicide.
Hu Jia had originally thought the killer had been found, but unexpectedly, there was such a twist at the end. After learning from Yuan Huaiyi's boss and colleagues that Yuan Huaiyi had not left the store at 4 PM five days ago, this lead was completely broken.
For this, Lü Qingqing specially comforted him, "Investigating cases is never that simple. For every case, there are thousands, tens of thousands of suspects, and everyone is a suspect, but there is only one killer."
Hu Jia understood this principle, but he couldn't stand the fact that the case remained unsolved for so long.
Seeing Hu Jia still looking dejected, Lü Qingqing said again, "Go to the crime scene more often. Imagine you are the killer, what would you do, and why would you do it? Follow your heart to investigate and track down the truth."
Although these were just clichés, Hu Jia found them very helpful. He went to the crime scene every day, questioning people one by one, and recorded everyone's statement.
One day, also at the Supervisory Bureau of Governance, Hu Jia finished questioning the relevant personnel and saw several workers arguing nearby.
"We agreed on 50 copper coins a day, but now they're only giving us 45. This is a rip-off."
"Yeah, I don't know who pocketed the money. Are they not afraid their palms will burn?"
"Right. Because of this, we can't even recruit enough staff. If not for two new workers who came two days ago, we probably wouldn't even be able to finish the normal work."
Hearing the group complain to each other, Hu Jia pondered for a moment. "Hello, may I ask, are you all temporary workers at the Supervisory Bureau of Governance?" He wanted to ask if anyone had seen any suspicious individuals recently.
The group, seeing Hu Jia's refined attire but polite demeanor, immediately felt a good impression. "Yes, we are responsible for the renovation of this second floor."
Second floor?
Hu Jia looked up. The second floor seemed fine, so why was it being renovated? He had never heard about this before.
Suddenly, Hu Jia's heart skipped a beat. Everyone had always had a doubt. If Tong Hua was murdered, why did no one hear Tong Hua's cries or any other sounds? It turned out to be because of the renovation.
Could it be that the killer was hiding among the renovation crew?
"It's not this second floor, it's the second floor near the offices," just as Hu Jia was delighted with this new discovery, one of the construction workers shattered his fantasy.
Oh, so it was the offices that were being renovated.
No wonder there was no information collected about this before.
Hu Jia chuckled. Just as he was about to leave, thinking he was looking in the wrong direction, an old man started chatting with others. "We're not just renovating the second floor. Didn't Li Yong and the others go to repair the bathroom?"
"They didn't get paid for it, so it doesn't count."
"Ah, speaking of which, they didn't get paid, but they did a lot of work. This heartless boss is just exploiting us."
These few words successfully caught Hu Jia's attention.
"What were you just talking about? That bathroom was repaired?"
"Yes."
"The bathroom where the person died?"
"No, no, the one on the second floor."
Hu Jia narrowed his eyes. The second floor? "May I ask, is that bathroom still under repair? When did those two people you mentioned go to repair it?"
"It was repaired long ago. They went on the day the person died. Oh, right, when the person died, Li Yong and the others were on the second floor," someone replied.
Now Hu Jia couldn't stand still. Someone was in the upstairs bathroom at the time of the incident?
Could it be that the killer was hidden among those maintenance workers?
"I'd like to ask where your foreman is?" Hu Jia decided to investigate the identities of Li Yong and the others first.
"Foreman?" Everyone was stunned, and then they burst into laughter. "We don't have a foreman here, but we do have a forewoman."
Forewoman?
A woman?
Hu Jia's heart skipped a beat. Could it be Tong Meng? If she was the landlady, she could have arranged for a killer to infiltrate the construction team.
But to Hu Jia's disappointment again, the workers said the landlady was around 40 years old, which clearly did not match Tong Meng's age.
However, it didn't matter. Whether she was human or a ghost, he would find out when he met her.
Soon, guided by the workers, Hu Jia met the forewoman.
Hu Jia did not recognize this person.
She indeed looked quite old, with wrinkles around her eyes. When Hu Jia shook her hand, he clearly felt that her hands were rough, even calloused.
It seemed unlikely that she had used a disguise.
Upon hearing Hu Jia's purpose, the forewoman became obsequious, saying she would tell him everything she knew. But when Hu Jia asked to see Li Yong and the others, the forewoman hesitated. "Officer, it's not that I'm uncooperative. I just hired them as temporary workers. As soon as they heard that someone had died downstairs, they were so scared they couldn't stand. I sent them home?"
Sent them home?
Hu Jia had no suspicions about the forewoman at first, but when she said that, Hu Jia immediately began to observe her closely. "According to my information, due to the murder in the bureau, all external personnel were restricted from entering and exiting. How did Li Yong and the others leave? When did they leave?"
Uh...
The forewoman was speechless.
She seemed to have said the wrong thing.
She gave an awkward smile and said, "They left after the murder, but the bureau hadn't blocked the gate yet. By the time I knew someone had died in the bathroom, they were already long gone. Later, when the police came to investigate the death, I hid this matter out of fear of taking responsibility."
Seeing Hu Jia scrutinizing her words, the forewoman quickly said, "Officer, I really didn't mean to hide it. As you know, people in our line of work just want to avoid trouble."
Hu Jia grunted. "May I ask your surname?"
"My surname is also Li. You can call me Aunt Li."