Back to 1994 (19)

"You said all that, and Li Meiyi still refused to expose Di Xueming?"

"Is she even human?"

Faced with this result, Shen Jianshe's group was also extremely furious.

"Could it be that she was also involved in these two murders?"

Lian Chi shook his head: "Looking at her reaction, it doesn't seem like it."

Shen Jianshe asked: "Is she crazy?"

Lian Chi replied: "Probably."

But that was no longer important.

The problem now was that Li Meiyi refused to expose Di Xueming and refused to provide the evidence she held, making all their previous efforts futile.

Normally, the golden time for solving murder cases is 48 hours after the crime occurs.

But now, nearly two days had passed, and they still hadn't found any clues.

So what should they do now?

Shen Jianshe suggested: "If there are no clues, let's go back to the crime scene one more time."

"Maybe this time we'll find something."

Lian Chi took a deep breath.

At this point, that was the only option.

So, twenty minutes later, they were back at Mr. Li's house.

Just like before, they searched the entire house, not even missing the floor tiles in front of the kitchen door, but in the end, they still gained nothing.

Yang Xiao sighed: "I've never felt so stuck."

"Knowing exactly who the killer is but being unable to find evidence to arrest him."

He had reason to fear that they would have to helplessly watch Di Xueming walk free.

He said dejectedly: "Forget it, let's go back."

In the past, Shen Jianshe might have comforted him.

But right now, Shen Jianshe's mood wasn't much better, and it was already late, so he sighed and said: "Yeah, let's go."

So, the team set off to return.

The sun had dipped below the horizon, and a light breeze blew, trying to dissipate some of the frustration in the three men's hearts.

"I want ice cream, I want ice cream!"

"You already had two this afternoon, you can't have any more."

"I don't care, I want ice cream, I want ice cream, wah!"

...

"Stand up for me, stand up right now... If you don't stand up, I'll call the police officer. I'm telling you, police officers love to deal with disobedient kids like you. Your skin is thick; a few lashes will teach you a lesson."

Lian Chi looked toward the source of the sound.

Sure enough, it was a mother scolding her child.

He suddenly realized that both sides of the street had become crowded with people out for a stroll.

But the next second, as if seeing something, the smile on his face vanished.

"Stop the car, stop the car!"

Lian Chi shouted.

Yang Xiao reflexively slammed on the brakes.

The car stopped abruptly, and Shen Jianshe hit his head on the front passenger seat.

"Are you guys crazy?"

Lian Chi was truly going crazy. He grabbed the car door, stood up, leaned out, and asked urgently: "Is this the only road nearby that leads to Mr. Li's house?"

Yang Xiao also stuck his head out the window, looking around: "It seems so."

With that, Lian Chi opened the door and jumped out.

"Brother Lian?"

Yang Xiao and Shen Jianshe didn't understand what was happening, but they also hurriedly opened their doors and followed.

A few seconds later, they were standing in front of the mother and child.

The young mother: "..."

The boy: "..."

The air was silent for a moment.

The young mother murmured: "I haven't even called the police yet!"

The boy immediately stopped crying, quickly scrambled up, and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"Forget it, Mom, let's go. I won't eat ice cream anymore."

The young mother: "..."

In fact, Lian Chi's attention wasn't on them at all but on the bank behind them.

Shen Jianshe and Yang Xiao followed his gaze, and their expressions also gradually stiffened.

Then they also went wild.

Because on the ceiling of that bank was a surveillance camera...

"When did you install the bank's cameras?"

The bank manager, who was dragged straight from his dinner table into the car, looked bewildered.

He reflexively answered: "Installed three months ago."

As soon as he finished, his professional habit kicked in: "...I'm telling you, our Chang City Commercial Bank was the first to install a surveillance system. Depositing money in our bank is both safe and guaranteed."

"Furthermore, our bank's interest rates are high. The one-year fixed deposit rate is 11.08%, and the three-year rate is 13.88%. That means if you deposit 10,000 yuan in our bank, you'll receive over 1,000 yuan in interest next year, which is half a month's salary for you."

"So, do you want to deposit money in our bank?"

One second passed, two seconds passed, and no one answered him.

He looked closer and saw that all three of them—Lian Chi, Shen Jianshe, and Yang Xiao—were clenching their fists, their faces tense.

Twenty minutes later, they were back at the bank entrance.

Under the urging of the three men, the bank manager hurried to open the door, ran into the office, and turned on the computer on his desk.

Lian Chi ordered: "Open the footage from after 6 PM on September 23rd."

Soon, the footage was opened.

The three men clenched their fists even tighter, their eyes unblinking, fixed on the screen.

After six o'clock was the end of the workday, and the streets were busy with people.

From seven to eight o'clock, it grew completely dark. The shops on both sides of the street closed one after another, and the number of pedestrians thinned.

At 8:15 PM, pedestrians were sparse.

Just then, Shen Jianshe suddenly spoke: "Stop!"

He said urgently: "Rewind one minute, play at normal speed."

The bank manager followed his instructions.

At 8:14:39 PM, a man wearing a peaked cap, a white shirt, and blue jeans, carrying a yellow woven bag, appeared in the footage.

Although the person always kept his head low while walking, when he bumped into someone else and looked up to apologize, Shen Jianshe still recognized him: "It's him, Di Xueming!"

Lian Chi stood up straight and rubbed his dry eyes.

"Excellent!"

Yang Xiao couldn't help but clench his fist and swing it hard.

This proved that Di Xueming had been nearby on the day of the crime; both Di Xueming and Liu Gaoge had lied.

But that still wasn't enough.

Shen Jianshe urged the bank manager: "Keep playing."

A few seconds later, Di Xueming's figure disappeared from the screen.

Time passed. Twenty minutes later, Di Xueming appeared again.

This time, his steps seemed much lighter.

Almost simultaneously, Lian Chi and Yang Xiao said in unison: "He made his move."

"The yellow woven bag in his hand is gone."

What was in the bag?

Lian Chi speculated: "The rope. He used it to strangle Mr. Li."

That's right, how could they have missed such an important detail?

To ensure Mr. Li's house had no rope, the killer would surely have prepared one.

And that rope was currently in the Bureau's evidence room.

Shen Jianshe recalled that the rope seemed quite new; Di Xueming must have bought it not long before.

So they could investigate in this direction.

Just then, Lian Chi froze again.

Because he saw a familiar figure in the footage again.

"Li Meiyi."

She was walking with a colleague.

Then she saw Di Xueming in the crowd.

But because Di Xueming was disguised, she wasn't sure if it was him, so she didn't chase him immediately.

By the time she realized it was indeed Di Xueming, he was already far away.

Furthermore, it seemed her colleague wanted to stop at a nearby clothing store, so she only chased for a few steps before being pulled into the shop.

So that was it.

Lian Chi thought with irony.

Just then, Shen Jianshe suddenly asked: "How long can you store this surveillance footage?"

The bank manager seemed to have realized they were investigating a murder case, so his expression became more serious: "35 days."

Thirty-five days?

Yang Xiao thought quickly.

Thirty-five days ago—wasn't that the day Li Xue, Mr. Li's granddaughter, drowned?

Shen Jianshe's breathing became rapid: "Quickly open the footage from 6 AM thirty-five days ago."

Three minutes later, when they saw the familiar man in the peaked cap, white shirt, and blue jeans appear in the footage, Shen Jianshe knew they had guessed right.

Di Xueming was indeed the one who killed Mr. Li and Li Xue.

Yang Xiao thought a bit further.

The bank's surveillance cameras only kept footage for 35 days, which meant in only four hours, this footage would be overwritten, and they would no longer have evidence of Di Xueming killing Li Xue.

No, more accurately, in 30 days, they would no longer have evidence of Di Xueming killing Mr. Li.

After all, from the beginning, everyone thought Li Xue had accidentally drowned, and Mr. Li had committed suicide out of guilt.

He reflexively turned to look at Lian Chi.

Lian Chi ordered: "Copy this footage, then head back to the Bureau."

At 11 AM the next morning, they were back in the meeting room.

Shen Jianshe said disappointedly: "This morning I led a team to search Di Xueming's house but didn't find those clothes. He probably destroyed them."

Yang Xiao was excited: "I've checked all the general stores near Di Xueming's house and the hardware stores near Primary School No. 2. I've confirmed that the rope was bought from a general store called Lao Niu's Sundries near his house."

"The owner of that store said that type of rope is the best quality and also the most expensive. Currently, not many stores in Chang City stock that type. Because it's expensive, they've only sold one in the past half month, so she remembers very clearly—the rope was bought by Di Xueming."

Hearing this, Shen Jianshe sneered: "Was he afraid he wouldn't be able to strangle Mr. Li to death that he had to buy the best rope?"

If he hadn't, they wouldn't have been able to gather this evidence today.

Lian Chi only said: "Now we can officially arrest Di Xueming and Liu Gaoge."