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At that moment, Old Wang had finished his phone call, and within half an hour, the police department had arrived in full force. Everyone was kept on site, and I immediately instructed Old Wang to send someone to find Wen Bei and Yang Yi. Juan Juan came running over with a large box, starting a preliminary examination of the body, while Yan Junde was responsible for calming everyone down and conducting inquiries.
The other officers began to cordon off the scene.
A police officer handed me a towel. As I wiped the water off my body, I observed the second-floor platform.
Looking up, the second floor was at least seven or eight meters high, with wide and long stone stairs on both sides, and there was no elevator. When Old Wu fell, he had brought down numerous stones with him, fortunately not hitting anyone else. From below, it was clear to see a gap in the railing; it appeared that Old Wu had crashed through the Stone Rail before falling.
I casually touched the Stone Rail of the stairs; it felt heavy and sturdy. Even a car might not be able to break the Stone Rail in one go, yet a person managed to break through it? This was simply unfathomable; the only explanation was that someone had tampered with these Stone Rails.
I signaled for Old Wang to follow me up the stairs and then asked, "Were you present when this happened? Did you see what exactly occurred?"
As we ascended, Old Wang quickly recounted, "We had been drinking quite a bit inside. Old Wu said he needed some fresh air and stepped outside. Just then, we felt a strong light hit us. In that instant, our eyes couldn't adjust. By the time we recovered, we saw that Old Wu had already fallen down the stairs."
By this time, we had reached the second floor. The area was now sealed off by arriving police officers; those dignitaries and their children had been taken to the hotel lobby. At this moment, only Old Wang and I were on the second floor, giving it an expansive feel due to its layout.
Old Wang and I carefully examined the break in the railing; it was cleanly fractured. I touched it with my hand; the outer layer of the Stone Rail was wrapped in a gray paper-like material, reminiscent of what people used for wall coverings in the past. Inside the Stone Rail were several wooden supports that had already splintered. In other words, these two Stone Rails had been hollowed out by someone and poorly reinforced with inferior wood inside, then disguised with a layer of paper on the outside.
The damage was located slightly above the bottom of the Stone Rail; if one wasn't particularly attentive, they would easily overlook this detail. However, cutting through these two Stone Rails along with their surroundings would not be an easy task. I looked up across to see something dark on the opposite ceiling; from afar it was unclear what it was but likely something used by the Killer to shine bright light.
At that moment, Yan Junde ran up to us and said, "Among those who attended the gathering, aside from Wen Bei and Yang Yi who are missing, everyone else is here. The officers are taking statements one by one; some are uncooperative and insist on leaving. They are all influential figures in the city. What do you think we should do now?"
I pondered briefly before replying, "Old Wang, you manage things here and keep track of those two's whereabouts. Remember to retrieve that dark object from across there. Dezi and I will go take a look..."
"I'll go with you," Old Wang stood up and said. "I'm familiar with these people; I can gather some information..."
I smiled and shook my head, patting Old Wang on the shoulder as I said, "Precisely because of that, you don't need to step forward. You'll still have dealings with these dignitaries later on while I can just walk away without consequence. If any friction arises later on, they can't blame you for it."
Old Wang nodded silently as I walked alongside Yan Junde toward the lobby.
When we reached downstairs, Juan Juan told me, "The cause of death and time are clear: high fall. Unfortunately for him, he landed headfirst on impact and died instantly. We haven't detected any toxic substances in his blood yet, but there is a significant alcohol content present. Based on his height and distance fallen, it appears he slipped and fell."
"By the way, he had a mobile phone on him, but it was smashed along with its owner," Juan Juan said, showing us the phone in the Evidence Bag. "I don't know if it will be of any use."
I nodded and turned to Mary. "Mary, check if there were any calls made to this SIM card recently."
At this moment, there were significant doubts about the case. What commonality did the Killer see in their targets? Destroying the Stone Rail meant that anyone could fall off. If someone leaned against the Stone Rail to look at the young man below, wouldn't that make the person who fell down just a random victim? I frowned in thought.
A premeditated crime is much easier to solve than a random murder. When there is no clear motive, no reason, and no pattern, it becomes a headache. The Killer might have committed murder here today and escaped elsewhere tomorrow, killing again and then moving on to another location. Often, those unsolved cases stem from this very chaos.
The Killer deliberately set up the scene to appear as an accidental death but left behind a note with obvious human intent. Analyzing from a criminal psychology perspective, such a person must have a contradictory personality. They could be both timid and arrogant, cautious yet bold; surely they have some psychological issues.
Lost in thought, we had already arrived at the hall. It was noisy inside; several wealthy individuals were using their status to intimidate others. The younger officers appeared somewhat flustered, but thankfully some of the older officers managed to maintain control over the situation; otherwise, these people might have slipped away by now. They were eager to distance themselves from such matters, fearing that being associated with this incident could affect their future or finances.
I clapped my hands loudly to draw everyone's attention before speaking up. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid you cannot leave just yet. You are obliged to cooperate with our investigation until we have completed it. Please remain quiet and assist us. Once our investigation is concluded, you will naturally be free to go!"
"Who do you think you are?" a portly man in his fifties interjected. "I said this has nothing to do with me; I want to leave now! Let's see who dares stop me! Not even your chief would have the authority to hold me back."
"Oh really? I have the authority to keep you here! If you disagree, I can give you a number to file a complaint against me. But for now, you cannot leave." I smirked as I continued, "Everyone here knows what happened. According to police investigations, someone tampered with the Stone Rail on the second floor, making it easy to break."
As I paced around, I observed these individuals closely. "This means that everyone who was on the second floor just now was in danger. Anyone leaning against the Stone Rail could fall six or seven meters down. That height may not sound fatal, but if you fall headfirst, not even a miracle could save you."
Hearing my words made them tense up; after all, people fear death—especially those who possess great wealth. My statement made them realize that death was lurking close by. I continued, "Moreover, this indicates that someone knew about your gathering today well in advance and set everything up beforehand. So tell me, besides yourselves, who else could possibly know about this gathering?"
My words struck like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples of discussion among them. One person asked nervously, "Are you suggesting that the Killer is among us?"
"Well," I replied while shaking my finger thoughtfully, "I can't say for certain yet. What can be confirmed is that the Killer knew about your gathering. Each of you should tell us who you think might know about it as well. Of course, there's no need to write down names of those attending; think carefully for your own sake. Whoever finishes first can leave—fair enough?"
"As we take statements," I added while recalling my lost Police Badge, "we will also search your belongings." I then provided them with our department's phone number for any complaints they might have.
When I revealed the number, some individuals caught on to its implications while others continued grumbling. I remained silent and simply watched them.
Once one person began writing down names, others quickly followed suit. I noticed that no one seemed concerned about Wen Bei and Yang Yi's disappearance—was it possible none of their parents were present among these people? It would be normal for others not to notice their absence; however, if their parents didn’t realize they were missing either, that would be quite alarming.
At that moment, Zhao Mingkun walked up to me and said fiercely, "Let me tell you, this matter is not over. Even if you are a police officer, I will still beat you up!"
I completely ignored the girl’s words and asked, "Do you know Wen Bei and Yang Yi? Are their parents here?"
Zhao Mingkun frowned but still answered, "The invitation cards here are divided into two types. One is the black invitation card like my father's. The other is the red invitation card that allows us children to invite others. I'm not familiar with those two; they might have been invited by someone else."
"Don't change the subject!" Zhao Mingkun shouted. "This matter isn't over yet!"
"Captain Shao! Captain Shao!" At that moment, Old Wang ran over from behind and leaned in close to my ear, saying, "Just now, Wen Bei and Yang Yi were arrested near Xu Rong's house. They were acting suspiciously at Xu Rong's doorstep; someone happened to see them and called the police."
It seemed these two were indeed related to Xu Rong's death. I leaned closer to Old Wang and said, "You stay here and finish up other matters. We'll head back to interrogate them! Remember to look for my Police Badge."
The body was sent to the morgue, with the Special Investigation Team moving ahead first. Old Wang took a team to handle the follow-up matters here. Yan Junde asked, "I heard Wen Bei and Yang Yi were arrested? Could they be the killers?"
I shook my head and replied, "From my intuition, these two must be related to Xu Rong's case, but they are not the killers. Serial murders are rarely committed by two people; sometimes having more people doesn't mean strength; it can actually be a burden."
A Charming Widow sent a letter to a Young Man, inviting him to dinner at her house in the middle of the night. Afterward, she let him drive her husband's Gallop. Coincidentally, on the way, he encountered a Young Woman hitchhiking. Her actions after getting into the car made it hard for him to control himself—more benefits for homebodies await…
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