Chapter 36
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After leaving Wu Meili’s house, Xie Qing checked her watch under the hallway light: 20:38.

She asked, “Captain Tan, what’s next? Are we going to Lijiagou?”

Wu Meili said that Li Xiaoming took the last bus into the city, arriving around 6 PM yesterday and leaving at 10 AM today. She didn’t know if Li Xiaoming encountered any neighbors while going upstairs. So, her statement was one-sided and needed to be verified by finding Li Xiaoming. Moreover, if Li Xiaoming knew about Hou Zi’an’s infidelity, he would have a motive to kill Hou Zi’an, which also needed investigation.

Tan Yi asked, “Are you familiar with Lijiagou?”

Xie Qing and Li Ke shook their heads together.

Tan Yi said, “Let’s head back to the police station first.”

On the way back, Li Ke fell into a long silence.

Xie Qing didn’t disturb her. As a newcomer, one would inevitably experience some ups and downs in both work and love. Only by learning to digest and summarize these experiences could one gradually grow.

After returning to the city bureau, Tan Yi went to the office building.

Not having received any orders, Xie Qing and Li Ke returned to the dormitory.

After taking a shower, Li Ke was able to joke again. Although she wasn’t as talkative as before, she was clearly trying to move on. When they came out of the bathhouse, she said to Xie Qing, “You won’t laugh at me, will you?”

Xie Qing replied, “Why would I laugh at you? Isn’t this a very normal thing?”

Li Ke said, “I was rejected to my face.”

Xie Qing countered, “Haven’t you ever rejected someone? With your qualities, it’s unlikely.”

Li Ke scratched her head, “I… I think I’ve rejected a few people.”

Xie Qing shrugged.

Li Ke laughed, “Then I’ll go to sleep.”

…

The next day, Xie Qing ran into Li Ke in the cafeteria.

The young girl had slept well and looked energetic, showing no signs of being down.

Xie Qing admired her mindset.

After getting her meal, Xie Qing sat across from Li Ke. Just as she was about to drink her porridge, she saw Tan Yi and Fu Da leaving together. She glanced to the side and saw Du Zhun still there, so she asked, “Brother Du, who went to Lijiagou last night?”

“Of course, it was your Brother Du!” Du Zhun swallowed his bun and eagerly sat down with his tray. “Let me tell you, Li Xiaoming was furious. At first, he refused to testify for Wu Meili. After I talked to him, he reluctantly admitted he had been to Wu Meili’s house. After giving his statement, he went to Wujia Village overnight to return the betrothal gifts.”

Xie Qing asked, “Brother Du, did it seem like he was acting?”

Du Zhun pursed his lips and shook his head, “Honestly, I couldn’t tell. A man being cuckolded is always angry; even if he’s acting, it’s very convincing.”

That’s the plain truth.

Xie Qing asked, “What’s the next step? Continue investigating the Hou family?”

“That’s right,” Du Zhun said. “Hou Zi’an had two mistresses in Sunshine Community. Do you think his family didn’t know? If they knew, they had a motive.”

Li Ke said, “There are many suspects.”

Du Zhun finished his soy milk, “Who said there aren’t? We’ll check them one by one. Hurry up, it’s getting late.” He got up and left.

Li Ke asked, “Qing Qing, do you think it could be Li Xiaoming?”

Xie Qing said, “Hard to say, but I want to remind you that the killer was familiar with the victim’s routine in the hospital. If Li Xiaoming frequently visited the hospital, someone must have seen him. I bet Captain Tan will soon have someone take Li Xiaoming’s information to the inpatient department for investigation.”

Li Ke gave a thumbs up, “Impressive.”

Xie Qing said, “What’s impressive? Hurry up and eat. We’ll probably have a meeting soon.”

…

In the meeting room.

Tan Yi updated the clues in Hou Zi’an’s case.

First, the fingerprint comparison from the forensic department showed that the fingerprints on the door were mostly from doctors, nurses, cleaners, Hou Zi’an himself, and his relatives. The medicine bottles only had Hou Zi’an’s fingerprints.

Second, they supplemented Hou Zi’an’s social relationships.

The officers discussed enthusiastically, like an audience watching a festival until Huang Zhenyi arrived, and everyone quieted down.

Huang Zhenyi said, “The case happened in the hospital, causing a significant impact. The city hospital leaders have spoken to our bureau leaders. Let’s work hard to solve it as soon as possible.”

Du Zhun said, “Captain Huang, we also want to solve the case quickly, but this guy was too restless. He had two mistresses in one community. Who knows if there are more outside?”

In just one day, the victim had gained a nickname.

“Respect the dead, stop joking,” Huang Zhenyi scolded him and asked Tan Yi, “What’s the situation?”

Tan Yi briefly explained the situation.

“Truly, trouble leads to death,” Huang Zhenyi sighed. “What’s your plan?”

Tan Yi said, “First, the source of the tetramine is still a priority; second, investigate Li Xiaoming; third, investigate the victim’s family and all business associates with conflicts; finally, focus on those with family members currently hospitalized in the inpatient department.”

“Hmm…” Huang Zhenyi pondered, “Alright, I won’t disturb you any longer.”

After he left, Tan Yi sent out all the officers from the first and second teams.

Xie Qing went back upstairs. With no forensic tasks, she had some rare free time and chatted with Cao Haisheng.

Xie Qing asked, “Master, where is tetramine usually sold?”

Cao Haisheng said, “It’s usually sold by street vendors and sometimes secretly at markets. I heard someone sold it in our village, but I missed it.”

Chen Qian poured a cup of hot water, “On one hand, we can’t find the source of the poison; on the other hand, we can’t find direct evidence. This case isn’t simpler than the Lei family’s. I say, Xiao Cao, your luck hasn’t been great lately, haha…”

Cao Haisheng put on his reading glasses, “If it’s your turn, there’s nothing you can do.”

Xie Qing hesitated.

Cao Haisheng said, “It’s not busy today. Xiao Xie, do whatever you want. Maybe you can help.”

Xie Qing was about to ask for leave and smiled when she heard this, “Alright, thank you, Master.”

Cao Haisheng waved his hand, “Drive carefully.”

Xie Qing put on her backpack and drove to Taohua Town, south of Fengshan District.

The town had a bit of an urban village nature, with a poor environment and presumably many rats. If she could find someone selling rat poison, it would indirectly help the second team.

Fifteen minutes later, Xie Qing parked her car in the heart of Taohua Town. Wearing fashionable denim clothes and driving a mighty City Hunter, she exuded a sense of authority, attracting many eyes as soon as she parked.

Xie Qing didn’t mind and walked towards a small shop.

The shopkeeper, a woman in her thirties, was watching Xie Qing curiously from the doorway. Seeing her approach, she became a bit nervous, “Do you need something?”

Xie Qing said, “I’m here to buy something.”

“Oh, oh…” The woman breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door, “Feel free to look around. Everything is on the shelves.”

Xie Qing browsed and bought two bottles of soda and two bags of fresh “gangzi bread”—her recent favorite, though dry, she inexplicably liked it.

After paying, Xie Qing asked the shopkeeper, “Sister, can you buy tetramine around here?”

“What?” The woman was surprised, “You want to buy tetramine? Do you have rats at home?”

Xie Qing said, “Not at home, but my dad’s construction site has many. I’m just asking around.”

“Your dad is a contractor? No wonder.” The woman said enviously, “Contractors have a lot of money.”

Xie Qing said, “Sister, can you point me in the right direction?”

The woman stepped out and pointed to a bun shop diagonally across the street, “Go ask them. They buy it often and know the way.”

Xie Qing thanked her and was about to cross the street when she heard a sharp whistle. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man in his twenties, with a rogue demeanor, smiling provocatively at her from about twenty meters away.

The woman behind her whispered, “This area is chaotic. Don’t engage with them. The more you engage, the more they’ll provoke you.”

Xie Qing thanked the woman and crossed the street.

The bun shop owner was preparing buns for lunch. Hearing Xie Qing’s request, he didn’t say much and had his wife give her a pager number for someone named “Old Wei.”

…

Xie Qing used her mobile phone to leave a message for Old Wei, saying it was for a construction site and she needed to buy several packs. Within ten minutes, he called back, asking her to pick up the goods near the Bell and Drum Tower in the old city.

The Bell and Drum Tower is a bustling commercial street in the old city, with some traffic congestion.

It took Xie Qing fifty minutes to get there. A man in his fifties or sixties stood in front of the Drum Tower with an oil-stained cloth bag at his feet.

She parked the car and walked over, “Hello, are you Old Wei?”

Old Wei was startled, “Who are you?”

Xie Qing said, “Here to buy tetramine.”

Old Wei didn’t speak, nervously looking around, and started to leave with his bag.

Xie Qing stopped him and took out a hundred yuan from her pocket, “Don’t go. My dad’s construction site needs it. I’m not lying.”

Old Wei was tempted, his triangular eyes blinking, “Two hundred yuan, fixed price.”

Xie Qing took out another bill, “Deal.”

Old Wei grabbed both bills together and took out a plastic bag from the cloth bag, which contained a large kraft paper package.

Xie Qing took it and stopped Old Wei again, “I have a few more questions for you.”

Having received the money, Old Wei seemed a bit more at ease, “Go ahead.”

Xie Qing said, “I have two questions. First, besides you, who else sells this drug in Anhai, and where do they get it? Second, who has bought this drug from you recently?”

“Are you crazy?” Old Wei cursed and turned to run.

Xie Qing was prepared and kicked him, making him fall flat on his face.

Old Wei fell hard and couldn’t get up for a moment, grimacing in pain.

Xie Qing said, “I’m a police officer. Come with me to the police station.”

Xie Qing wasn’t a criminal police officer and had no authority to arrest suspects, so she took Old Wei to the nearby local police station as a concerned citizen.

Hearing that tetramine had killed someone, Old Wei was terrified. As soon as he arrived at the police station, he spilled everything he knew about the places, people, wholesale locations, and vendors he had sold to in great detail.

By noon, Xie Qing returned to the city bureau with a complete statement. When she arrived at the second team’s office, only one officer was on duty; the others were not there.

Xie Qing decided to have lunch first. Just as she reached the stairs, she saw Tan Yi running up three steps at a time.

Xie Qing said, “Captain Tan, I was just looking for you.”

Tan Yi stopped, “What’s up?”

Xie Qing handed him the tetramine and the statement, “Captain Tan, take a look. I think it might help.”

Tan Yi glanced at it and perked up, “I was just worried about not having enough manpower. You’ve been a great help.”

Xie Qing said, “Glad it can be useful. Captain Tan, I’ll go eat now.”

Tan Yi checked his watch, “It’s already noon. Let’s go together.”

Xie Qing hesitated for a moment but eventually followed him.