Tong Meng's face lengthened with anger, but Lü Qingqing paid her no mind.
The polite smile disappeared. You're still the ugly one!
"What did you deduce?" Ouyang didn't want the two women fighting in his office.
"Look, this tavern waiter, Zhang Yunzhi, admitted to killing for money. But why didn't he take all of He Yue's belongings, only twelve yuan? That's not logical."
Indeed, who would rob only a portion of the money, especially when He Yue's遗物 (yi wu - belongings) were worth far more than twelve yuan.
"Furthermore, look at this autopsy report. He Yue was 1.67 meters tall, and Zhang Yunzhi was 1.69 meters. Their heights were similar. Yet the deceased was stabbed five times, each wound from bottom to top, at an angle of 78 degrees. This also doesn't make sense."
Generally speaking, if the killer and the victim were of similar height, when stabbing the abdomen, the knife would be held parallel. Even with some deviation, it wouldn't be that extreme.
Of course, one could argue, 'I just stabbed crookedly.'
That's possible!
But if one stab could be crooked, five couldn't all be.
Seventy-eight degrees is almost vertical.
There's only one possibility: the killer was shorter than the victim.
"Also, why would the killer leave the murder weapon at the scene?"
The case file clearly stated that He Yue was discovered half a day after his death. This indicated that the situation wasn't urgent. The killer would have had ample time to clean the scene and search for valuables. He shouldn't have fled in such haste.
"Finally, this room is obviously a locked-room mystery. How did the killer leave the scene after murdering someone and then lock the door and windows from the inside? To say a monkey locked the door is a bit far-fetched."
After listening to Lü Qingqing's analysis, Ouyang's expression also darkened. He had been so proud of his subordinates moments ago, only to be proven wrong so quickly.
He only blamed himself for not carefully examining the case files at the time.
Embarrassing!
"Tong Meng, tell me in detail how the police station concluded the case back then," Ouyang said, returning to his seat.
At this moment, Tong Meng's face was also flushed red. Lü Qingqing's three consecutive questions had rendered her speechless.
"I was just observing the interrogation at the time; I didn't conclude the case," Tong Meng began to explain, but Lü Qingqing interrupted her. "Captain Ouyang asked you to describe the process, not to shirk responsibility."
She detested people who rushed to claim credit but pushed blame away.
Investigating cases should never be driven by personal gain.
...
Tong Meng glared at Lü Qingqing. If it weren't for this woman, she wouldn't be so humiliated.
Finally, filled with shame and resentment towards Lü Qingqing, Tong Meng recounted the entire process of the case's investigation.
Four days ago, a murder occurred in Zhangjiatuo, Nanan. He Yue, a monkey trainer, was found dead in his home. Strangely, his door was locked from the inside, and the windows were latched from within.
If He Yue's wife hadn't returned from her parents' home, his decaying body might have gone undiscovered for even longer.
The case had no leads and no witnesses, immediately becoming an unsolved mystery.
However, according to the local police investigation, He Yue had won a significant amount of money at a gambling house the day before. He then appeared at a local tavern and left after midnight.
During this time, He Yue had a dispute with Yang Er, a thug from the gambling house, because his request for a loan was rejected and he was mocked.
Secondly, He Yue had also argued with the tavern proprietress. Because He Yue often drank on credit. That night, when the proprietress, Sister Cui, saw He Yue with many banknotes, she demanded repayment. When refused, she angrily kicked him out.
Lastly, according to Sister Cui's statement, after He Yue left, she sent her waiter, Zhang Yunzhi, to collect the debt. The waiter eventually returned with twelve yuan.
These three were brought to the police station, but each denied killing anyone, leaving the police stumped. They had no choice but to report it. Tong Meng was the criminal detective sent to assist.
In Tong Meng's opinion, the case would be easily solved if the owner of the murder weapon could be identified.
But how to find the owner of this dagger?
Faced with such a difficult situation, Tong Meng thought of a solution. There was still a monkey at the murder scene. It was said that monkeys were intelligent. This monkey had been with He Yue all day and must have seen the perpetrator. Perhaps it could identify the killer.
Because this monkey was trained, it often performed tricks of taking objects from guests and returning them.
If it saw anyone pick up a knife, it would return the knife to them.
Soon, the police, desperate for any lead, brought the monkey to the police station.
The monkey had dozens of scars all over its body and was emaciated.
A police officer threw a dagger on the ground, ordering the monkey to pick it up. To their surprise, the monkey refused and clasped its hands together, begging for money.
The crowd was pestered by it, and one officer even started whipping it.
Frightened, the monkey jumped around frantically. In its panic, it picked up the dagger.
Seeing that it was no longer being cornered, the monkey became arrogant. It toyed with the dagger for a while. Perhaps bored, it was about to drop it again.
At this moment, as pre-arranged, the three suspects simultaneously extended their hands towards the monkey.
The monkey scratched its ears and seemed to be contemplating.
Then, it walked towards Zhang Yunzhi.
At this point, Zhang Yunzhi's face had turned ashen. When questioned, he had to admit that the dagger was indeed his.
However, Zhang Yunzhi claimed that he only intended to scare He Yue with the knife to get him to repay the debt and had not injured anyone. Furthermore, as it was late, he was in a hurry to get home and had left the knife at the scene.
"Then why did he eventually sign and confess to the murder?" Ouyang asked.
"Uh..." Tong Meng stammered, "That's because they used torture."
"Nonsense!" Ouyang slammed the table. This was a classic case of a coerced confession.
"When Zhang Yunzhi admitted the knife was his, and that it was the murder weapon, I just accepted that answer." Seeing Ouyang's anger, Tong Meng became even more flustered.
Hearing this, Lü Qingqing understood. The monkey had indeed played a role in the case, but the investigative methods of these people were truly questionable.
From ancient times to the present, torture had been one of the means of solving cases.
And it was precisely because of this method that so many wrongful convictions had occurred.
From the day Lü Qingqing entered this profession, she had told herself: doctors find the root of the illness, and police solve cases based on evidence. She had thought such backward interrogation methods only existed in the countryside, but unexpectedly, they still persisted in the city.
Just as Lü Qingqing was recalling the details of the case Tong Meng had narrated, Hu Jia walked in.
"Let's go, we're going home."
Home?
Lü Qingqing was taken aback. Brother, can you speak more clearly?
It meant 'go back to your respective homes.'
"Why are you still here?" Lü Qingqing flatly refused.
"Waiting for you!" Hu Jia smiled.
Uh...
Lü Qingqing pouted and said nothing. Actually, this man was quite nice. For the past two days, he had been acting the part of a fiancé at every turn.
It's just a pity that what is acted is ultimately just an act.
"Xiao Jia!" Ouyang was also pleased to see Hu Jia and quickly went to greet him.
However, Hu Jia instinctively took a step back. "What? You want to send me to Shanghai again?"
Ouyang's smile froze. That damned Li Yang, always using that excuse.
"That was so long ago. Don't listen to that bastard Li Yang's nonsense," Ouyang said with an awkward laugh.
"I don't believe you. A few days ago, you were still plying me with alcohol, trying to send me away when I was drunk," Hu Jia said.
Uh...
Ouyang was speechless. A few days ago? That was years ago.
Hu Jia only had memories up to the age of 22. Therefore, in his memory, Ouyang was the image of an older brother who didn't let him be on the front lines and was always trying to kick him out of the police force.
Lü Qingqing understood with a little thought and felt sorry for Ouyang in her heart. He would probably live under Hu Jia's suspicion for the rest of his life.
However, this issue couldn't be resolved for the time being. The most important thing at hand was the He Yue case.
Seeing Lü Qingqing still contemplating the case, Hu Jia said leisurely, "What's so difficult about this? Just find the person who was identified as the killer."
He had heard everything clearly from outside the door regarding the case.
"Ah?" Tong Meng was dumbfounded. She wasn't eager to take on this hot potato.
"Ah what?" Ouyang said impatiently. "He's talking about the monkey!"
Find the monkey?