There was indeed someone here just now.
Guan Jinsong immediately entered a state of alert, searching every corner of the living room.
No one!
He then turned his gaze to the study and bedroom on the second floor.
He had been to the bedroom several times. Besides some of Dao Liu Ye's daily clothes, there was nothing else unusual.
Just then, he heard a slight creaking sound downstairs, a faint impact of wood, but in the silent space, it was clearly audible.
Guan Jinsong immediately ran out of the bedroom and peered outside, but it was still empty.
This was really strange.
Guan Jinsong found it odd. He had been guarding the small courtyard entrance. Even if he was slightly distracted, he shouldn't have let someone in without seeing them.
And that person, where had they been hiding? Who did they call?
Guan Jinsong looked at the still swaying telephone cord and decided to investigate the destination of this call.
While Guan Jinsong was at the telephone bureau checking the destination of the mysterious call, a house in the city caught fire.
Flames soared into the sky, and there was a strong smell of kerosene at the scene. Even with many people helping to fight the fire, it was likely that after the flames were extinguished, this place would still be reduced to ruins. kuAiδugg
"What's going on? How did this place catch fire?" Lü Qingqing pushed through the crowd, her face turning ashen as she saw the charred remains.
"Oh, Captain Lü. You've come at just the right time. The fire is at your police station's person's house. The owner is named Tong Meng," a police officer participating in the rescue explained.
Lü Qingqing knew this was Tong Meng's home. However, she hadn't expected that just as she had obtained a search warrant and intended to clean out Tong Meng's place, it would catch fire.
"Gao Liang, did you tell anyone about our plan to search Tong Meng's house?" The incident was too coincidental, making her suspicious. Lü Qingqing suspected someone had deliberately set the house on fire to destroy any evidence Tong Meng might have hidden.
"No, absolutely not. I got the application form from Director Xie and went directly to Deputy Director Qiao for his signature. I didn't go through anyone else," Gao Liang said.
"What? You got Qiao Huali's signature?" Lü Qingqing seemed to realize where the problem lay.
"Yes, he is in charge of our criminal investigation team. Isn't it normal for me to go to him for a signature?" Gao Liang didn't understand why Lü Qingqing was reacting so strongly.
Lü Qingqing was speechless. She then remembered that Gao Liang had been sent to Jiang Jin at the end of the year and only returned today. Too many things had happened in between that he knew nothing about.
In his mind, Qiao Huali might still be on Hu Jia and their side.
"Let's go find him." Lü Qingqing was now one hundred percent certain that the fire at Tong Meng's house was related to Qiao Huali.
About ten minutes later, Lü Qingqing appeared at the door of Qiao Huali's house. Zhan Ruoxuan and Zhou Fengjiu were surprised to see her arrive.
But upon hearing about the entire incident, they also exploded, "I knew he was rushing home in such a hurry for something. Turns out he was busy coming back to tip us off."
Gao Liang finally understood that Qiao Huali had now become a primary suspect for Lü Qingqing and her team in the case of the "Dao Ren." This shocked him immensely.
"Has anyone seen him since he returned? Or has he gone out?" Lü Qingqing asked.
"No, absolutely not. Not only am I watching here, but Ruoxuan is too," Zhou Fengjiu assured her.
Hearing this, Lü Qingqing narrowed her eyes, "Then he might have made a phone call."
With this suspicion, Lü Qingqing knocked on the door of Qiao Huali's house. Qiao Huali was quite surprised to see Lü Qingqing and the others arrive.
At the same time, he enthusiastically invited them in.
"Deputy Director Qiao, you're still in contact with them?" Lü Qingqing didn't beat around the bush and directly voiced her suspicion.
"How could I be? I just had an upset stomach and came back to use the restroom. Besides, aren't you people following me? You can ask him if I went out or if anyone came in to see me?" Qiao Huali didn't hide anything and directly revealed that he was being monitored.
Zhan Ruoxuan and Zhou Fengjiu felt a bit awkward. They had thought they were well-hidden, only to realize they had been completely figured out by the other party.
"Ruoxuan, go to the telephone bureau immediately and check all the phone activity at Deputy Director Qiao's home in the last two hours." Lü Qingqing decided that Qiao Huali wouldn't confess without proof. So there was no point in wasting time with inquiries; they would present evidence directly.
"Okay. I'll get back to you in half an hour." With that, Zhan Ruoxuan quickly ran out.
Seeing Lü Qingqing's lack of deference, Qiao Huali didn't raise his voice and invited everyone to sit down and chat.
Lü Qingqing observed his every move, but to her surprise, he showed no panic, as if he were certain that Lü Qingqing wouldn't be able to produce any answers.
"Deputy Director Qiao, have you been in contact with Tong Meng recently?" After mentioning the fire at Tong Meng's house, Lü Qingqing casually asked Qiao Huali.
Qiao Huali naturally said no, "We're not close. Besides, isn't she your subordinate? She's missing, so you, as her captain, should be concerned. Also, a living person has been missing for so many days, and you, as the captain of the criminal investigation team, aren't even worried or sent anyone to search for her. It seems you don't care about her much either."
Hearing Qiao Huali's words, Lü Qingqing snorted, "That's none of your business, Deputy Director Qiao. Tong Meng is currently involved in murder, kidnapping, and selling important government information to the enemy. We will definitely bring her back. We hope Deputy Director Qiao will not obstruct us then."
After speaking, Lü Qingqing added, "Tong Meng's case is a done deal. I hope Deputy Director Qiao will turn over a new leaf and not cause any more trouble."
After all, without concrete evidence, and considering Qiao Huali was part of the police department's high command, Lü Qingqing couldn't force her way in before she had definitive proof.
Thus, they casually sat in Qiao Huali's house, waiting for the information that Gao Liang would bring back.
"Huh?" What are you doing here?
Gao Liang, upon entering, encountered Guan Jinsong who was just about to leave.
"Are you also here to investigate a case? Related to a phone call?" Seeing it was Gao Liang, Guan Jinsong was also excited.
Then they both reacted, "Who are you investigating?"
...
Two hours later, everyone gathered in the office.
"So, the information you found is that Qiao Huali didn't make any calls from his home?"
"Yes."
"And you discovered that someone appeared at Dao Liu Ye's house and made a phone call? The call was to a restaurant?"
"Yes."
"Have you investigated the restaurant?"
"We have. The call was made to a waiter named Tang Li. That person had just started working at the restaurant not long ago. After receiving the call, he never returned to his post."
After hearing the investigation results from Guan Jinsong and Gao Liang, everyone had a rough idea.
The person named Tang Li should be the one who set the fire. However, everyone was puzzled. Who did Tang Li receive the call from?
Was it Qiao Huali?
But he hadn't made any calls, and he hadn't left his house since returning, nor had he contacted anyone else.
"I think our previous guesses are about to be confirmed," Hu Jia suddenly interrupted everyone's discussion.
Just now, Hu Jia had suddenly remembered something odd about Dao Liu Ye's room.
There was no smell of cooking.
"When you mentioned the restaurant just now, it reminded me that in his house, there seemed to be only one set of bowls and chopsticks. Most people's kitchens have a lot of cooking utensils, let alone freshly bought vegetables. At least you'd have some seasoning, right? But in his kitchen, I didn't even see any bottles or jars of seasoning."
Did this look like a kitchen that someone used?