On the couch in the No. 1 courtyard of Wolong Restaurant, Lu Ming was half lying and half sitting, flipping through the files of Xiao Cui's case. Behind him, the window with carved window spirits was propped up, and outside was the Wolong Bay with bamboo forest and the sound of gurgling water.
Lu Ming carefully flipped through the case file page by page.
I have never had a very good impression of Li Mingxuan, so my judgment will be subjective. I must speak with evidence. I cannot prejudge my position just because I suspect Li Mingxuan and analyze the case based on the premise that he is a suspect.
The police investigation was vague, but they did ask where Li Mingxuan was and what he was doing at the time of the incident.
It was early in the morning, and Li Mingxuan happened to be on duty to watch the elevator that night.
At Jingtian Building where Li Mingxuan worked, there are records of his signatures when he went to and from get off work.
The police believe that Li Mingxuan has sufficient evidence of his alibi.
However, Jingtian Building is not far from the pub opened by Li Mingxuan and Xiao Cui.
In the early hours of the morning, there were basically no residents entering or leaving the building. If Li Mingxuan returned to the tavern, killed Xiao Cui, turned on the gas, and set up a device to cause an explosion and fire when the gas filled the room, and then returned to the building, he would definitely have time.
However, it can only be said that Li Mingxuan's alibi is very weak, and he cannot be arbitrarily listed as a major suspect.
As for Liu Shoucheng's side, it stands to reason that Xiao Cui was his witness in the beginning. Even if he had given Liu Laoer a face, his status and position were increasing day by day. Logically, even if he was angry, he should have endured it. He should not have blatantly demonstrated how Li Xiaoyan died and blatantly repeated it.
Not to mention, it is still unclear who the real murderer of Li Xiaoyan's case is.
Liu Shoucheng is also a major suspect in this case.
Speaking of which, he transferred the files of Yang Guiren's suicide case and more than a dozen difficult and complicated cases to his own office, including Li Xiaoyan's case.
Because the real murderer has not been found yet.
As a lawyer, I don't have to worry about who the real murderer is, but as an independent prosecutor, I really want to get to the bottom of this case.
Of course, the idea that a murder case must be solved is an idealistic myth. It is understandable that one cannot find the real truth in the end, or that one can identify a major suspect but does not have enough evidence to prosecute.
In the case of Li Xiaoyan, if Li Mingxuan was not the murderer, then Liu Shoucheng hired the murderer, or Li Xiaoyan's cousin Du Laifu would be a strong suspect.
Therefore, Liu Shoucheng should not take the initiative to stir up this case again.
However, just as he could not arbitrarily determine that Li Mingxuan was the culprit, he could not easily rule out Liu Shoucheng's suspicion.
In this world, people in power act recklessly.
Of course, the past life was just the same, but ordinary people just couldn’t access it.
In this world, if I were not in this position, how could I be exposed to so many shocking things
As I was flipping through the pages and pondering, suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
In fact, the door of this upper room was open, with only low curtains. The layout inside the room was also very old and traditional, with a couch, high-legged furniture, various porcelains, and so on.
"It's me!" Han Annie's voice came, and the curtain was lifted, and a slender figure in a dark blue suit appeared in front of the door.
"Oh, Annie, come here, quickly, take off your shoes and sit up!" Lu Ming patted the couch.
There is indeed no sofa or coffee table or anything like that, there is just a small table on the couch, and guests can sit on the other side of the table.
Seeing this layout, Han Annie naturally wanted to take off her shoes and come in, but after hearing Lu Ming's words and seeing Lu Ming staring at her beautiful feet, Han Annie bit her lip and said, "I'd better go..." She looked at the waiter next to her, "The flower hall, right?"
"I'll wait for you in the hall." Han Anni lowered the door curtain and turned to leave.
Lu Ming smiled. His heavy mood became much brighter when he saw Han Annie's figure. He smiled even more when he looked at her back.
…
In the flower hall, Han Annie looked at the thick files, including the files and trial records of Li Xiaoyan's case.
In addition, there is the story of Li Mingxuan and Xiao Cui's breakups and reunions.
"Annie, take a good look. We'll go to the scene later."
Lu Ming has asked Fu Mo Si to conduct an in-depth investigation into this case, including the recent reunion of Li Mingxuan and Xiao Cui, their relationship over the past two months, and Liu Shoucheng's recent movements.
But I still want to go and take a look in person to make sure there are no omissions by the investigators.
Han Annie looked at the file carefully and ignored Lu Ming's nagging.
"Annie, I wanted to treat you to a meal because I have something to tell you. You passed the upgrade test at the end of the year, right? You're now a formal prosecutor. Xiaohu told me when he wished me a happy new year that he passed it, too."
"But, in fact, I think that your character, which hates evil, often makes you unable to analyze things objectively. When you really go to court, your character will suffer. For example, in some cases, the evidence is not enough, and it is best to reach a plea agreement with the other party with a lighter sentence. You will definitely not agree and insist on going all the way."
"Just like my aunt said, tomboyish and reckless."
Han Annie finally frowned, glared at Lu Ming, and then lowered her head to look at the file.
"So, this is what I think. Well, the East China Sea Armed Guard has been decided."
"In the end, it is like this. Under the Donghai Municipal Committee, an Internal Affairs Department will be established. The full name of the armed guard force is the Donghai Public Security Armed Guard Internal Affairs Force, which can also be called the Internal Guard."
"The Minister of the Interior, who is also the Chief of Staff of the Internal Guard, and the Commander of the Internal Guard, will be appointed by the military."
"The Internal Guard has a temporary quota of 2,500 people. Haha, it will be the largest armed force in the East China Sea. The real professional officers and soldiers in the military do not exceed 1,000 people. Of course, if we encounter a real war, the military reserve will have no problem mobilizing tens of thousands of people. If we encounter a world war, there is also the potential to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people..."
Han Annie rolled her eyes and finally put down the file: "What do you want to say?"
"The Internal Affairs Police School established by the Internal Security Force, whose full name is the Donghai Public Security Armed Internal Affairs Police School, is about to start. The first batch of three-month intensive training will include 2,500 people from police officers to ordinary armed police officers. I think you should just go to the Internal Security Force. I happen to have this little power and can help you transfer it. Because among these 2,500 police officers, there will be a separate female police unit with 100 people. They will mainly handle matters that male police officers cannot handle, such as arresting, guarding and interrogating female suspects, etc. At the same time, it is also a guard of honor and can be used for various celebrations."
"You are a formal prosecutor, and you have been transferred to the internal affairs police. You should at least be given the rank of major, right?"
Lu Ming said as he looked at Han Annie's expression.
In fact, years ago, Christine called me and asked me if I had found any outstanding female police officers in the police system, preferably Central African policewomen.
Her daughter Yin Shabel will join the Internal Guard and serve as the captain of the Red Winged Guard, a 100-member female police force.
The Red Winged Wither Guards will have a very high military rank system.
Christine was worried that her daughter wouldn't be able to do the job and wanted someone to take care of her.
Because there are a high percentage of Central Asian female police officers in the police force, Christine hopes that she can become good friends with the outstanding Central Asian female police officers.
It seems that as a mother, Justice Christine is no exception. She does not have much confidence in her daughter's abilities, and she does not have a close relationship with her daughter, so she is worried about her daughter behind her back.
In my opinion, in fact, the Red Winged Withering Guard is probably there to help the third generation of the Duke's family gain fame.
This was definitely done by the forces supporting Christine as the crown prince.
Because if Christine is confirmed as the crown prince, then her only daughter will be the first in line to the throne in the future, and will also be the second in line to the throne now.
Therefore, from now on, we must shape its glorious journey.
The conduct of the second generation of the public reserve will also be an important reference when candidates for the public reserve compete.
Such a gilded position for female police officers has a bright future, and the salary is definitely generous. It is not dangerous and not tiring.
Moreover, deep down, whether you call her selfish or whatever, Han Annie always felt that something was not right when she was being commanded by a bunch of men in the Supreme Procuratorate.
If I put her by my side, my relationship with her would become awkward.
Going to the Red Winged Wither Guard is a good choice.
As for whether or not to make friends with the third generation, it doesn’t matter. Friends should have similar interests. Who can say whether we can become friends
Thinking wildly, Lu Ming said: "Actually..."
"Okay, I'll go." Han Annie nodded.
Lu Ming was stunned. He racked his brains to think of many excuses, but he didn't need to say anything. He never expected that she would agree so readily.
"Is there something going on in the Supreme Procuratorate?" Lu Ming frowned slightly and looked at Han Annie's expression.
The Supreme Procuratorate is an absolutely patriarchal society. Female prosecutors are rare, and those as young and beautiful as Han Annie are even rarer.
Han Annie shook her head gently: "Not really, I just like shooting and riding horses."
"No, give me a name!" Lu Ming's expression became serious.
Han Annie looked at his expression and shook her head. "It's nothing. He just asked me to watch the horse race. He's quite old, so I felt a little uncomfortable. I don't know how he knew I like riding horses. Moreover, he asked me out a second time after I rejected him the first time. But it's nothing."
"Give me a name." Lu Ming gritted his teeth, "Is it Cheng Lingyu?"
I feel the possibility is very slim. Although Lao Cheng is a pervert, he knows that she is his man and he should not do such a thing.
"How could that be?" Han Anni was surprised. "I can't even see Prosecutor Cheng, and Prosecutor Cheng is not that kind of person."
Lu Ming was speechless. It seems that, Annie, it is right to transfer you out of the Supreme Procuratorate. You are just a little white rabbit in tiger skin.
"If you don't tell me, I can just call you and find out who it is. Don't blame me if you lose some limbs." Lu Ming waved his hand, "Okay, continue reading the files."
"It's Wang Bohan. Okay, I told you, you promised me not to cause trouble, it's nothing!" Han Annie looked at Lu Ming helplessly. Sometimes, this guy did things that could not be judged by normal people.
Lu Ming nodded: "I haven't met him before. He's a high prosecutor, right? There shouldn't be many people in the High Procuratorate who don't know that I'm pursuing you, right?"
Han Annie rolled her eyes: "If you chase me, others can't chase me. At least, Prosecutor Wang has no wife. His wife has passed away for several years."
Lu Ming was stunned, "Then you can go with him!"
The atmosphere immediately froze.
Lu Ming picked up the teacup and suddenly found it funny. A 19-year-old love relationship, is that it? But his mental age is not a teenager. He always feels that he is very old. He glanced at Han Anni and said, "Settle down in a few days. No, after my 20th birthday, I will give Auntie a gift and marry you."
"She can't control me." Han Anni stared at the file.
Hmm? Hearing this tone, Lu Ming's heart moved, "Annie, are you willing?"
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside. The person walking towards the flower hall from the cobblestone path with a smile on his face was Liu Teng, the head of his office.
Lu Ming sat up straight helplessly. This guy was quite sensible, but he never got the timing right.
Han Annie suddenly sighed softly: "Xiao Cui is so pitiful. Prosecutor Li has had such a bad fate since coming to Donghai..."
Lu Ming nodded, and his original relaxed mood disappeared.
…
The pub opened by Xiao Cui is located in an alley in a slum area.
It was a bungalow at the intersection of an alley. It had been burned to pieces and turned into a black ruin. The shops on both sides were also affected and were half burned.
The crime scene here has been investigated by the police and has been cleared.
At this time, Lu Ming, Han Annie and Liu Teng were wandering around in the tavern which was now dark and empty.
Outside, several auxiliary police officers were standing guard.
Sun Bo, paced further away.
In fact, it is easy to imagine that the crime scene had been opened for a long time, and countless people had been there, especially children who were probably jumping around inside. Even before the ban was lifted, it would have been difficult to find any useful clues.
Not to mention the murder weapon, according to the forensic report, Xiao Cui was hit on the head by a hard tubular object, but the police did not find any similar objects at the scene.
Lu Ming walked around inside, and his heart became even heavier when he thought that Xiao Cui might have died here.
On the other side, Han Annie squatted down, patiently using a small wooden stick to pick away the black ash on the ground.
Lu Ming looked at her and thought that Annie was indeed more suitable to be a police officer.
Seeing that Han Annie was moving her body almost inch by inch, she was afraid that she would scrape every inch of the ground in this small house.
I feel ashamed of myself for having the patience to do such boring work without any goals.
He walked out, and Liu Teng followed behind him.
Lu Ming looked around and saw a few neighbors standing far away watching the excitement.
"I'll go ask them?" Liu Teng said.
Lu Ming nodded and looked at the row of shops, most of which were closed.
Probably because a murder happened here and the Chinese New Year had just passed, so all businesses were temporarily closed to avoid being contaminated by bad luck.
There is only one grocery store open, selling daily necessities such as oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, and it is naturally open all year round.
Lu Ming walked over and a young auxiliary police officer followed hurriedly behind him.
The light in the grocery store was dim, and the proprietress had been watching Lu Ming and others busy at the murder scene through the dirty glass window.
At this time, he had returned behind the counter.
Lu Ming came in and wanted to buy a pack of cigarettes. He bought Nine Fortress, a popular cigarette among the working class. It cost 6 cents a pack, and 10 cents for two packs, both containing ten cigarettes.
Donghai is indeed a commercially developed country, but transportation is inconvenient nowadays. On the contrary, the more rural you go, the less such cheap cigarettes are available. In some remote areas, cigarettes are sold by the stick, at 1 cent per stick. In total, they are twice as expensive as those at Jiupaotai.
Of course, in remote areas, rolling one's own tobacco leaves to smoke is the norm, and occasionally buying a civilized cigarette is just for show, and smoking it is not enough to satisfy one's desire.
Seeing Lu Ming holding the nine-gun turret, the grocery store owner's attitude immediately changed and became more friendly, "Brother, are you working with the detective?" Of course it was because this young man had a similar living situation to her and was from the same class as her.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Yes, oh, I didn't expect that this place has always been quite peaceful, right? How could something like this happen?"
"Who said it wasn't true?" The lady boss shook her head. "Xiao Cui is such a nice girl, but she just left like that. Who would have thought?"
"The night the accident happened was the 14th?" Lu Ming said to himself.
"No, it was on the 15th. I remember it very clearly. I came back from visiting relatives that day. Maybe it was because I hadn't drunk Laobaigan for a long time. I drank a bowl of it that day and couldn't fall asleep. I saw the fire first!..."
After saying that, the lady boss paused, "I really didn't see anything else! The last time the detective asked me about it, I explained it very clearly."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "What does it have to do with me? Whether the case is solved or not, I am just running errands and thinking about it. It has nothing to do with me. I will do whatever my superiors say."
The lady boss laughed and said, "Brother, you are really honest."
Lu Ming took another bag of cheap snacks, stuffed a few into his mouth, and said in a sly voice: "I've been busy these past few days, and I don't have a regular meal schedule. I'm so hungry, I have to solve the case quickly, ah..."
The proprietress showed a smile that no one understood, and wanted to say something, but held back.
Lu Ming stopped chatting with her and was busy finishing the snacks in his hand.
"Hey, big brother, eat slowly. I'll get you some water!" The lady boss took a kettle and a jar and poured a glass of water for Lu Ming. After all, this young man looked very polite, dressed very elegantly, and was very clean. He was obviously the kind of young man who spent all his hard-earned money on improving his image. Nowadays, there are many young people like this. They spend all their money at the beginning of the month, and most of the time, they are so poor that they don't have a penny on them. But when they go out, they look like they are the same. Some are so poor that they have no place to live. They rent a slum and live with the poor, but they also dress elegantly and even take out loans to buy cars.
Lu Ming picked up the big teacup, held back, opened his mouth and took a sip of water.
"Well, brother, you should buy some dry food for the time being. You won't be able to solve this case in a short time."
"Love is broken or not..." Lu Ming shook his head.
The proprietress looked at the uniformed "detective" standing far outside, lowered her voice, and said to Lu Ming: "Actually, I don't know if it was my eyesight that day or what, I couldn't sleep the whole time. I got up in the middle of the night to urinate, and I said, don't disbelieve me, I saw a ghost, it came from Xiao Cui's roof, and it slid into the window, just like a bat..."
"Then, not long after, the house caught fire!"
"Alas, I don't know where Xiao Cui got the evil from. I think it must be that cripple. You said that thing is creepy to look at, and there is black air coming out of his head. Who would not be unlucky if he follows him? I don't know what Xiao Cui is thinking."
"Ghost?" Lu Ming frowned slightly.
At this time, outside, Han Annie ran over excitedly.
Lu Ming hurried out to greet him and asked curiously, "What did you find?"
Han Annie had two small wooden sticks with a small black shell in the middle. It looked like a nut shell, and the broken pieces were no bigger than half a fingernail.
"Look what this is?" Han Annie showed it to Lu Ming.
“What?…” Lu Ming was confused.
Han Annie looked at Lu Ming in surprise: "Dou Nao, are you from Wu'an?" Then she nodded in understanding, "Yes, you only know how to smoke opium."
Ah? This is Dounao? Lu Ming knew this thing. It was similar to betel nut in his previous life. Chewing it was addictive, but it also damaged teeth.
It is a specialty of Bac Ninh and many people cannot survive without it.
"Found at the scene?" Lu Ming looked at the burnt black thing. Since he came to Donghai, he had never seen anyone chewing bean brain.
"Well, it's near the toilet, stuck in the sewer." Han Annie pondered, "The person must have vomited into the toilet, and it must have been shortly before the fire, otherwise it would have been washed away far away."
"The person who chews bean brain..." Lu Ming turned around and looked towards the north.
"Go ask Prosecutor Li if he has any fellow villagers from the north visiting him recently?" Han Anni frowned. "Prosecutor Li, it seems that his whole family was killed in the north?"
"Well, let's go back and talk about it!"
Lu Ming looked at the three or two people around him and suddenly shuddered. They looked as if nothing had happened. But today, they didn't bring a large group of guards.
Fortunately, look at Uncle Sun not far away. Whether it’s a ghost or not, Uncle Sun should be able to handle it, right