Chapter 37
Screening

The two walked side by side, each lost in their thoughts.

In the morning, Tan Yi stayed at the hospital, screening the entire inpatient department’s patient list and comparing all target individuals, but found no valuable clues. He thought that even if evidence couldn’t be found temporarily, normal logical thinking wouldn’t differ too much. If the logic was correct, there must be a key point that hadn’t been discovered yet.

So, what was this key point?

Medical staff, cleaners, recently admitted and discharged patients, and regular caregivers had all been screened, with no connection to Hou Zi’an. Besides these, there were also the relatives of patients who had been discharged before Hou Zi’an’s murder.

This was a difficult point. If they wanted to investigate, they would need to assign someone to revisit and gain a deeper understanding.

Xie Qing was thinking about what to eat for lunch. Before reaching the cafeteria, she smelled the aroma of braised pork—if there was braised pork, she didn’t need to think about anything else, just pair it with some vegetables. Lost in thought, she overheard two colleagues discussing a case from the first team.

At that moment, Tan Yi suddenly said something.

Xie Qing thought she heard him ask, “What are you going to eat later?”

She absentmindedly replied, “Braised pork.”

Tan Yi looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “You like braised pork?”

Thinking she had heard correctly, Xie Qing cheerfully said, “Of course, the chef’s braised pork is exceptional—rich and flavorful without being greasy.”

Tan Yi raised an eyebrow, “No wonder.”

Xie Qing asked, “No wonder what?”

Tan Yi said, “I just asked if you had any plans later.”

Uh…

A bit awkward.

Xie Qing ignored the misunderstanding and answered, “I don’t have any plans. I was thinking of going to the hospital in the afternoon to participate in the investigation. Is that okay?”

Tan Yi said, “I’d be delighted.” That was his intention anyway, as Xie Qing had a keen mind and a talent for criminal investigation. Having reached an understanding, they stopped talking and entered the cafeteria.

As soon as Tan Yi walked in, Director Yan called him over.

After getting her meal, Xie Qing ran into Cao Haisheng, who was almost done eating and told him about her plans for the afternoon.

Cao Haisheng had no objections, so after finishing her meal, Xie Qing headed to the city hospital.

Xie Qing thought that if the killer was a patient, they might consider getting discharged early, but it was also possible they had good psychological resilience and quietly waited for the case to hit a dead end.

If the killer was a patient’s relative, they might consider transferring the patient to another hospital or changing caregivers, but the same psychological resilience could apply.

If the killer was hospital staff, it seemed unlikely unless they were a psychopathic killer, as Tan Yi would have likely found some clues by now.

There were too many variables and targets, which was the dilemma faced by all the detectives, including Tan Yi.

Xie Qing hypothesized that if she were the killer, she wouldn’t choose to kill after being discharged. Under the premise of absolute confidence, she would stay in the hospital to monitor the situation. After all, hiding in plain sight would be less likely to attract police attention. However, considering the killer didn’t wear gloves during the crime and wiped fingerprints afterward, Xie Qing thought the killer’s psychological resilience wasn’t great, just bold.

…

Lost in thought at a red light, Xie Qing calmed down as soon as she entered the inpatient department—people are diverse, and cases can’t be solved by imagination and reasoning alone; practical investigation is necessary. She studied the inpatient department’s floor plan and decided to take the elevator up and screen from the top floor down.

The nurses at the nurse’s station were busy, and it wasn’t appropriate to disturb them repeatedly, but there were still many bored patients and relatives.

To avoid missing anything, Xie Qing planned to visit each room.

Soon, she knocked on the first room and greeted the elderly woman sitting in a chair, “Hello, Grandma.”

The elderly woman, with kind eyes, smiled and said to the old man in the bed, “Old man, this young lady is so pretty.”

Xie Qing took out her police badge, “Grandma, I’m a police officer and would like to talk to you. Do you have time?”

The elderly woman slapped her thigh, “Oh my, a police officer! Such a pretty police officer is rare. I thought she was a big star! Old man, don’t you think so?”

The old man lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, not responding.

The elderly woman said, “My old man was sharp all his life, and now he can finally rest and listen to me nag every day.”

Despite her optimism, Xie Qing sensed the underlying bitterness in her words.

Xie Qing said, “You have a positive outlook.”

“Sigh, if you don’t stay positive, you’re just making things hard for yourself. Everyone gets old and dies eventually. It’s a blessing to go quickly…” The elderly woman continued talking non-stop.

Xie Qing tried to interrupt several times, but the elderly woman kept circling back. Her first attempt was a failure, taking twenty minutes to extricate herself. Fortunately, the other rooms went smoothly, with each taking about three to five minutes.

After visiting several floors, it was almost time to clock out.

Xie Qing noted a few key points, drank water, and prepared to return to the bureau. Before leaving, she went to the bathroom.

While in the stall, she overheard two nurses fixing their makeup at the sink.

“Hey, no one is taking care of the old lady in room 603 again.”

“Wasn’t someone there yesterday? Don’t worry. That family seems decent. They won’t neglect her.”

“Decent? They come and go, and the old lady soils the bed every few days.”

“By the way, about the incident on the fifth floor… do you think it could be the family?”

“Impossible. The family changes caregivers frequently. I think the family of the patient in bed two of room 318 on the third floor is more suspicious.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

“Nurse Zhang said they don’t watch the patient properly. The patient was still on an IV, and they were wandering around. It was risky several times.”

“How old are they?”

“Thirty or forty, always looking for trouble.”

“That doesn’t seem likely.”

“Haha, that’s why we didn’t tell the police.”

Xie Qing was frustrated, thinking she had overheard something important, but it turned out to be nothing. She was about to flush when she heard more.

“Do you think there’s anything suspicious?”

“Actually, yes.”

The young nurse lowered her voice.

Xie Qing could barely hear, so she quietly opened the door…

“Nurse Wang said there’s a man in his forties in room 421 who brings food to a rural patient every day, claiming to be a relative, but they’re not very close.”

“Isn’t that normal?”

“Nurse Wang said she saw him coming down from the fifth floor.”

“That night?”

“No, a few days ago in the afternoon, around five or six.”

“Lots of people go to the fifth floor. Did Nurse Wang tell the police?”

“No, she just mentioned it to me. Forget it; maybe he has friends on the fifth floor. We can’t afford to offend people in our line of work.”

The two nurses left the bathroom.

Xie Qing also came out of the stall. The situations mentioned by the nurses were mostly things she had just learned, except for the last one.

The police focused on people who were frequently at the hospital, so during questioning, they emphasized the duration of stay and overlooked the frequency, which was normal. She washed her hands and went to room 421—its location was close to room 524, just a few seconds’ walk down the east staircase.

Xie Qing entered room 421 for the second time.

The room had three beds, one occupied by an elderly woman. She had previously asked and learned that the elderly woman was from Qingshan Cliff, and her eldest daughter was the caregiver. The mother and daughter were not good at communication, answering only when asked.

Xie Qing asked, “Sister, who brings you food every day?”

The sister looked at Xie Qing warily, “Why are you asking? He couldn’t have killed anyone. He just delivers the food and leaves, rarely even entering the room.”

Xie Qing said, “I’m just asking.”

“Why ask? Are you police so idle that you ask the same thing multiple times a day? One leaves, another comes, never a moment of peace,” a middle-aged man in the next bed said angrily.

“Exactly. It’s been so long since the person died, and you still don’t have any suspects. What are you even doing?” the middle-aged man’s wife chimed in.

The elderly woman in the third bed said, “A fellow villager brings food every day, better than my own children. Young lady, don’t ask around unnecessarily. He’s definitely a good person.”

Xie Qing understood. They might have known the food delivery man was a suspect but didn’t want to associate him with such trouble because they thought he was a good person. Although well-intentioned, it was not advisable.

In this situation, Xie Qing thought reasoning wouldn’t work, so she said, “Sister, if you don’t tell me now, and something happens to him later, you’ll be suspected of harboring a criminal.”

A man carrying a lunchbox pushed the door open, “Harboring what?”

“Oh, Pi San, why are you here so early?” the sister complained, taking the cotton bag from the man’s hand.

The man smiled, “It’s mealtime, isn’t it? What’s going on?”

The middle-aged man in the second bed said, “You’re just delivering food, but they’re suspecting you of murder.”

“What?” The man was startled, “Is this young lady a police officer?”

He met Xie Qing’s gaze.

Xie Qing asked, “Do you sell cigarettes and alcohol?”

The man admitted frankly, “Yes, just outside Sunshine Community. Have you bought cigarettes and alcohol from our store?”

Xie Qing nodded, “Do you know Hou Zi’an?”

The man said, “He bought cigarettes at my store a few times, but I don’t really know him.”

Xie Qing said, “You know he’s dead, right?”

The man said, “Of course, the police even came to my store to ask about his whereabouts. He often went to Sunshine Community. Are you a police officer? I didn’t kill him; we had no grievances.”

Xie Qing smiled, “Our leader said we must thoroughly screen everyone in the hospital, so don’t worry, it’s just routine.”

The man exaggeratedly sighed in relief, “Not worried. If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t fear ghosts knocking at your door. Oh, young lady, I didn’t mean to call you a ghost.”

“It’s okay, you can even scold me. I’m used to it,” Xie Qing said. “Brother, can you give me your name? I need to report back.”

The man said, “Pi Yan.”

“What?” Xie Qing almost laughed, “Pi Yan (dermatitis)?”

Pi Yan said, “Laugh all you want. My parents were ignorant and didn’t know about the skin disease, so they gave me this name. It’s Yan as in ‘serious.’ You can call me Pi San.”

Xie Qing said, “Alright, I’ll be going now. You all take care.”

Pi San insisted on seeing Xie Qing out and asked, “Young lady, haven’t you caught the person yet?”

Xie Qing said, “Not yet.”

Pi San said, “Such a good person died so tragically. You must hurry and catch the culprit.”

Xie Qing said, “Alright, please stay.”