Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife

Who did Qin Fei find?

Chen Xiao didn’t know and didn’t ask.

Watching as Liu Dayou received the birthdate details, Chen Xiao stopped worrying and continued examining the footage.

His primary interest upon arriving at Xiaozhuang South Town was what the surveillance had captured on the day of the incident.

Chen Xiao sat in front of the computer, watching frame by frame without speeding up.

Not long after, he saw Yuan Keyu appearing at the entrance of the rental house.

Yuan Keyu seemed to look around at the door of the rental house, then took out his phone and made a call.

The surveillance angle could capture a white paper posted on the door of the rental house.

Several words were written on the white paper, although the camera’s resolution was poor, the words should be easy to recognize.

It should say "House for rent, phone number ***...".

Chen Xiao noted the time and then called out to Qin Fei:

"The task force has a lot they haven’t told us."

Qin Fei sat back down and asked, "Are you referring to the inquiry about the landlord’s son, Sang Xiaoming?"

"Not only that, it’s logically been almost a day and night, the police inquiry with Sang Xiaoming should be concluded. Yet Captain Cao hasn’t mentioned the latest situation to me, which means either he feels it’s not necessary to tell us, or they haven’t seen Sang Xiaoming yet."

"That shouldn’t be the case, Sang Xiaoming is a senior high school student, a visit to the school should locate him immediately."

"That’s why I say the task force is strange. Also, regarding the time, did you notice the issue with the time Yuan Keyu appeared in the video?"

Qin Fei’s brow furrowed instantly, and after looking at the time, he quickly responded:

"You mean, the files don’t show anyone documenting the time Professor Yuan Keyu appeared at the rental house. Based on the time he arrived at Xiaozhuang South Town, he came almost without any delays."

"Exactly, which is why this time is problematic. His purpose was very strong, further confirming that the relationship between Professor Yuan and that house is highly unusual."

"Moreover, unless there is really an accident, I don’t think the inquiry with Sang Xiaoming couldn’t have concluded."

Chen Xiao said, his expression slightly heavy as he looked at Qin Fei.

At this moment, Qin Fei’s demeanor wasn’t looking good.

It’s not a good thing for the investigation if the task force isn’t united.

Moreover, while most of the task force members come from Cao Xiuyuan’s team, some are from other units.

Instead of being united as they should, they ended up having their own agendas.

"Should I reach out to higher-ups, clarify the situation of the task force?" Qin Fei tentatively asked.

Chen Xiao shook his head: "You aren’t Cao Xiuyuan, even if you have a good relationship with the higher-ups, this matter isn’t for you to address. I raised these points to ask Captain Qin how you plan to handle this case?"

"What can I do? Of course, I’ll investigate to the best of my ability."

"Breaking the case is our responsibility, but what do you think about handling the credit once the case is solved?"

"That depends on who solved it, but no matter who solves it, everyone will be acknowledged at the end." Qin Fei laughed.

Chen Xiao squinted his eyes and said, "What if it’s not solved?"

"If it’s not solved, don’t worry, we just put in our best effort."

"But I feel this case has been dragging on long enough, if it goes on longer, someone has to take responsibility."

Chen Xiao warned, making Qin Fei momentarily silent, with a hint of worry in his gaze.

Soon, Chen Xiao diverted the topic.

Issues outside the case, he merely brought them up.

He was most concerned with the case itself.

Once the case is solved, what the result is, has little to do with him as a civilian detective.

In any case, it wouldn’t be for him, hired as a crime consultant by the police, to take the fall.

It wouldn’t convince others.

Chen Xiao composed his thoughts and continued watching the surveillance.

However, he also began to recall Huang Hao’s words.

Huang Hao mentioned weather, location, and people.

If there’s any issue with weather, it’s checking the time when the victim appeared.

As for location, Chen Xiao saw it as whether the surveillance has any problems and if the closed room is truly closed.

These two aspects currently appear problem-free.

If one insists on finding problems, the weather issue is merely Professor Yuan’s strong intent.

Regarding location, it’s about the clarity of the surveillance itself.

The surveillance shows the landlord Sang Yupeng and the victim Yuan Keyu.

But with current equipment and the landlord’s cost-cutting approach for the rental property, it’s unlikely to have purchased overly expensive and fine surveillance.

Hence, the video can only say the person looks 95% like Yuan Keyu.

No one dares to claim 100%.

Chen Xiao thought it over, and to be cautious, he took out his phone and called Cao Xiuyuan.

"Hello, Captain Cao, can I make a copy of the surveillance data to take for professional restoration for clearer quality?"

"You can."

On the other end, Cao Xiuyuan paused slightly, then agreed to Chen Xiao’s request.

Soon after, Chen Xiao made a copy and called Xie Wensheng:

"Brother Sheng, I’ve sent surveillance data to your email, have the company’s tech staff optimize it and see if the clarity can be improved."

"Alright."

After arranging that, Qin Fei noticed Chen Xiao’s intention and asked:

"Are you suspicious of the people appearing in the surveillance?"

Chen Xiao chuckled and said, "During my time coming to Xiaozhuang South Town, I kept thinking about how to create such a perfect closed-room murder case."

"Moreover, I rented Auntie Cai’s room for better preparation. But I’ve thought it over, and still don’t believe human effort alone can account for the murder case we’re seeing."

"Many closed-room murder cases either utilize time or space to craft the scene they want people to see."

"The biggest problem we’re facing is that the murderer never appeared in the surveillance, nor any signs of escape within the house. In that case, how did the person get there? If we assume around this question, Captain Qin, how would you hypothesize the reasoning?"

Chen Xiao asked back, making Qin Fei struggle to think, then shook his head:

"Why don’t you directly say your thoughts?"

Chen Xiao nodded, subconsciously glancing at Liu Dayou, who was still pondering over the copper coins, then said:

"The premise of my hypothesis is that if any of the appearances of Professor Yuan in the video weren’t him, could this closed-room murder case stand?"

"Or to refine the question, it’s highly possible the victim Yuan Keyu met his end earlier than we thought!"