Chapter 15
Visiting

New shoes getting scuffed can indeed cause conflicts. However, Shen Yi was wealthy, and his shoes were a newly introduced foreign brand—not a top-tier brand, but still expensive. The likelihood of such an incident leading to a tragedy was almost zero.

But Xie Qing, being a cautious forensic doctor, didn’t want to overlook any details.

In her view, human behavior is unpredictable, and any reason could potentially lead to murder—a word, a glance, or even without any apparent reason.

Xie Qing had anticipated the reactions of the veteran detectives.

So, thinking in reverse—why couldn’t Huang Zhenyi solve the case in the book? Was it because Cao Haisheng and other forensic doctors couldn’t find the cause of death or because the detectives didn’t uncover more details?

The former was unlikely. Even if they couldn’t find it initially, they would certainly discover it during the autopsy.

Thus, the latter seemed more probable.

Xie Qing believed that if even Cao Haisheng didn’t think the scuff on the shoe was an issue, then it likely was an issue.

In the afternoon, Xie Qing and Cao Haisheng went to the funeral home again to re-examine the body and clothing but found nothing new.

After returning to the police station, Xie Qing took a taxi to the Marriott Hotel.

In the evening, during peak hours, the parking spaces at the entrance were already full.

Xie Qing observed from a distance and found a very discreetly installed camera at the left corner of the hotel’s main entrance. In this era, surveillance was limited due to technological constraints, and its application was rare. The Marriott, being a top hotel in Anhai, installed cameras in this location to avoid many troubles. She followed a few guests into the main entrance.

A young and pretty staff member asked her, “Miss, how many of you are there? Do you have a reservation?”

Xie Qing flashed her badge, “City Police Department. Is your manager here?”

The staff member was startled, “Is something wrong again? Didn’t you come by this morning?”

Xie Qing didn’t respond and just stared at her.

The staff member didn’t dare to waste time and quickly took her to the lobby manager.

Knowing the situation, the lobby manager didn’t dare to delay and took her to the surveillance room as requested. They found the recording from the previous night and personally took her to a room with a projector to watch it.

The recording had timestamps, and Xie Qing quickly found the two tapes related to Shen Yi—coming and going.

After carefully watching, she found nothing unusual.

Leaving the Marriott, Xie Qing went to the Golden Cabinet.

The Golden Cabinet also had surveillance equipment, more than the Marriott. There were five cameras in total—one at the front door, one at the back door, and one on each floor, discreetly placed near the restrooms at the end of the corridors.

Shen Yi and his group were on the third floor, so Xie Qing focused on the recordings from the front door and the third-floor restroom.

The security manager said, “Officer, your colleagues have already taken the recordings. You can watch them back at the station.”

Xie Qing replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll finish quickly. You can go about your business.”

The security manager rolled his eyes but obediently sat with her to watch.

Like at the Marriott, there was nothing unusual at the front door, and she quickly finished watching.

The third-floor restroom footage was longer—Shen Yi drank beverages and frequently went to the restroom.

From around 9 PM to 1 AM, nearly four hours, it would take a lot of time to watch it all.

Xie Qing, feeling sleepy at 9 PM due to her regular schedule, realized this wasn’t working and said to the impatient security manager, “Could you make a copy of these tapes for me?”

The manager hesitated, “Officer, these tapes belong to the boss. You’ve already taken several. I can’t explain it if you take more. Can’t you watch them at the station?”

Xie Qing took out her wallet and handed him 200 yuan, “I don’t need the front door footage. Just copy the first, second, and third-floor tapes.”

The manager had no reason to refuse and instructed the security guard in charge of surveillance, “Alright, make a copy for the officer, and be quick about it.”

Around 11 PM, Xie Qing returned to the dormitory with a backpack full of tapes. Fortunately, there were no incidents that night, and she slept soundly.

The next day was Saturday, and technically a day off, but with such a significant case, she still had to go to the office.

Xie Qing woke up at 7 AM, feeling refreshed, and went to the office after breakfast.

Cao Haisheng was already there, and the two went to the funeral home.

…

In the funeral home’s morgue, Xie Qing pulled Shen Yi’s body out of the freezer and re-examined it.

The findings confirmed everyone’s judgment—there were symmetrical restraint marks on his shoulder blades and arms and a bruise on his left thigh.

Xie Qing said, “Master, doesn’t he have too few external injuries?”

“Indeed, not many,” Cao Haisheng pushed the body back, “If there was a knife at his throat, these injuries wouldn’t be considered few.”

Xie Qing said, “There are no knife marks on his neck. Would someone like Shen Yi, a privileged person, be so obedient?”

Cao Haisheng removed his gloves and threw them into a nearby trash can, “What are you trying to say?”

Xie Qing said, “Reasonably speculating, could the killer have had a gun?”

Cao Haisheng gave her a warning look, “That would make it a major case. Privileged people have no reason not to fear a knife. Besides, without any evidence, your so-called reasonable speculation is not reasonable.”

Xie Qing nodded, “You’re right, Master.”

As they walked out, Xie Qing silently recalled the plot.

There didn’t seem to be any mention of a gun in the book. However, she remembered something else—Xie Yun and Shen Qing were good friends. With such a significant incident involving Shen Yi, why didn’t Xie Yun, who had been reborn, save him? And why did she attend this birthday party?

Did they have a grudge? Probably not!

Wait, the author seemed to have written about Xie Yun’s thoughts regarding Shen Yi’s death, but she had been following the serialized version, was busy with work, and often read hastily, so it was common to overlook long inner monologues and forget some details.

So, did Shen Yi die in Xie Yun’s previous life, and how did she justify herself after his death?

If she could glean something from Xie Yun’s reaction, maybe she could figure out where Shen Yi went wrong.

It seemed she needed to visit home.

“Sigh…” Xie Qing sighed unconsciously. She really didn’t want to face Xie Yun and her mother.

Cao Haisheng glanced at her, “Don’t be anxious.”

“Ah.” Xie Qing was startled and realized Cao Haisheng had misunderstood her, “Okay, Master.”

The master and apprentice returned to the police station, supplemented the information, and briefed the second team before heading to the development zone.

Xie Qing took a taxi, dropped Cao Haisheng off at home, and then went to the Xie family home.

Both Xie family cars were in the yard—one shared by the Xie couple and one by Xie Chen.

Housekeeper Aunt Sun opened the door for Xie Qing, “Second Miss is back.” She was in her thirties, slightly plump, with a cheerful face, and a clean and diligent married woman.

“I’m back, Aunt Sun.” Xie Qing greeted her and entered the living room, glancing at the sofa, “Mom, Brother, I’m back. Is Xie Yun not here?”

Chen Yuehua put down her crossed legs and glared at Xie Qing, “She’s older than you. Can’t you call her sister?”

Xie Qing complied, “Is Sister not here?”

Chen Yuehua, surprised by the smooth response, didn’t know how to react and changed the topic, “Why are you back?”

Xie Qing said, “I heard that my sister is related to Shen Yi’s death, so I came back to check on her.”

Chen Yuehua slapped the armrest of the sofa, “What nonsense are you talking about? How could they be related? They were just gathering together. Don’t bring that police talk back home.”

“Mom,” Xie Chen spoke up, “Qing Qing didn’t mean it that way. You’re overthinking.”

Chen Yuehua retorted, “How is it not that way? If it weren’t for Shen Yi’s incident, would she come home?”

Xie Qing was speechless.

Chen Yuehua was partly right. If it weren’t for Shen Yi’s incident, she wouldn’t have returned. But the reason she didn’t come back was also because of Chen Yuehua. In the end, it was Chen Yuehua’s typical double standard—only seeing others’ faults and not her own.

Xie Qing hesitated for a moment, then changed into slippers, deciding to wait for Xie Yun.