The Liu Gao Ge Clue

But quickly, Yang Xiao frowned again: "But it’s also possible the deceased wanted to maintain his dignity, so he intentionally trimmed his nails before committing suicide."
"After all, he was once the Vice Factory Manager of the Textile Factory; it’s understandable he’d care about such things."
"I thought so at first, too."
Lian Chi placed another photo on the desk.
It was a photo of the deceased’s feet.
In the photo, the big toe and second toe of the deceased’s left foot had also just been trimmed, but the nails on the remaining toes were still long.
The pupils of everyone in the team immediately contracted.
If the deceased wanted to maintain his dignity and thus trimmed his nails, there was no way he would stop halfway and suddenly go hang himself.
The most likely scenario was that while the deceased was trimming his nails, the killer knocked on the door. He stopped what he was doing and was subsequently murdered.
Reasoning in this direction, everyone in Yang Xiao’s team recalled more details, and more suspicions arose.
Shen Jian She said, "The fact that Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi didn't even want to kneel to burn joss paper for the deceased suggests, in my opinion, that they hated him more than they mourned him."
"If so, their first reaction upon arriving at the scene wouldn't be to take the deceased down so he could rest in peace."
"Most importantly, the person who reported the crime advised them not to move the body, yet they still took him down."
Yang Xiao added, "The neighbors said they didn't hear any unusual noises last night."
"This indicates the killer must be someone the victim knew. Otherwise, how could the killer enter the house and easily murder him without making a sound?"
Finally, he concluded: "The killer is very likely one of the two—Di Xue Ming or Li Mei Yi. They disturbed the crime scene to hide something."
The medical examiner, Uncle Chu, immediately stood up: "If that’s the case, the killer might have put sedatives in the food, waiting until the deceased lost consciousness before acting."
"I will conduct the autopsy again."
Yang Xiao said, "I’ll go investigate the recent schedules of Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi."
Lian Chi said, "Focus on Di Xue Ming."
"Li Mei Yi came from a wealthy background and was pampered by the deceased since childhood; she likely wouldn't care about the electricity bill."
"Oh, right. Let me see the case file of the deceased’s granddaughter, Li Xue, who drowned a month ago."
Perhaps these two cases were linked.
Yang Xiao replied, "Okay."
Shen Jian She said, "I’ll go to the scene one more time to see if I can find any clues."
Lian Chi said, "I’ll go with you."
Ten minutes later, Lian Chi and Shen Jian She returned to the deceased’s house.
Unexpectedly, the sound of wailing was echoing there.
Four people were kneeling in front of the deceased’s door, crying while throwing joss paper into a brazier.
"Grandpa Li, we’re too late."
"Grandpa Li, why did you have to take your own life!"
Because the house had been cordoned off for investigation.
"What’s going on?"
Lian Chi pulled a tall, thin man standing nearby and asked.
It turned out to be the person who reported the crime.
He said, "These are all poor students supported by Old Man Li. They graduated from high school this year and planned to visit him before starting university. Who knew they’d hear he committed suicide as soon as they arrived? So they’re crying."
Shen Jian She was surprised: "This Old Man Li also supported poor students?"
The tall, thin man replied, "We only just found out, too."
"Those students said Old Man Li started helping them twelve years ago. Besides them, there are several other poor students in the county he supported."
Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh: "We only knew he was wealthy and lived practically, never looking down on others or wasting money. Who knew he had such a kind heart?"
The tall, thin man suddenly remembered: "You’re the police? Why are you back?"
Hearing this, Di Xue Ming looked up almost as a reflex.
Li Mei Yi was standing behind Di Xue Ming, so Lian Chi and Shen Jian She couldn't see her expression clearly.
Lian Chi said directly, "We discovered there’s a possibility this wasn't a suicide, so we’re back to investigate."
"What?"
The tall, thin man almost lost his voice: "Old Man Li didn't commit suicide?"
The wailing of the students also choked up.
Lian Chi and Shen Jian She entered the crime scene again.
Normally, before hanging oneself, a person would find a chair, climb up, throw the rope over the rafters, tie a knot, then put their neck in and kick the chair away.
In other words, if the deceased hanged himself, the distance from the neck to the feet must equal the distance from the noose knot to the chair.
The rope was still on the rafters.
Shen Jian She found the chair placed under the rafters and used a ruler to measure the distance from the knot to the chair.
"One meter sixty-one."
Almost exactly the height from the deceased’s neck to his feet.
So it seemed the deceased really did hang himself.
Lian Chi frowned.
They searched the scene again but still found nothing.
Perhaps they were overthinking?
The deceased really committed suicide?
Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi had set aside their resentment and taken the body down out of filial piety?
Thinking of this, Lian Chi turned his head.
Di Xue Ming, like the others, was staring at them.
But his expression was more serious than the others.
No, they must have missed something.
The killer hurriedly took the body down to cover something up.
Lian Chi withdrew his gaze and looked around once more.
Suddenly, he remembered something and walked quickly outside.
He found the person who reported the crime and asked, "When you saw the deceased, where was the chair he used to stand on?"
The tall, thin man frowned, recalling: "That chair... it seemed to be right under Old Man Li’s feet. Yes, right under his feet."
Lian Chi asked further, "Besides that chair, was there anything else on the ground at that time?"
This time, the man was certain: "Besides that chair, there was nothing else."
Hearing this, Lian Chi breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at Shen Jian She and then said, "Please come to the station with us to give a statement."
The man was stunned: "Huh? Okay."
Afterward, they drove back.
"What’s going on?"
The surrounding neighbors were all confused.
"Didn't they say there’s a chance Old Man Li didn't commit suicide?"
"So what does that have to do with the chair?"
"The chair?"
One poor student scratched his head in thought.
Just dozens of seconds later, he suddenly understood. He ran to the door of a neighboring house, jumped onto a stool, and then kicked it hard forward.
He landed safely at the stool’s original position, while the stool fell forward.
He said, "The position of the chair was wrong. If Grandpa Li committed suicide, when the chair was kicked away, it couldn't possibly be lying right under his feet."
"He was murdered!"
The other poor students also widened their eyes: "What?"
The surrounding neighbors were in an uproar.
Di Xue Ming held the trembling Li Mei Yi.
Before finishing work that afternoon, Lian Chi’s team met again.
Medical examiner Uncle Chu reported: "I tested the deceased’s blood and gastric juice, but found no traces of poison or sedatives."
So his guess was wrong.
No sedatives were used; the deceased wasn't murdered while unconscious.
Thus, this clue was cut off.
Yang Xiao gave the case file of Li Xue’s drowning to Lian Chi.
Then he said, "I’ve thoroughly investigated the schedules of Di Xue Ming and Li Mei Yi. When Li Xue’s case happened, Di Xue Ming was working at No. 2 Primary School, and Li Mei Yi was at the bank. Both have colleagues to testify for them."
"As for this case, Di Xue Ming was on duty at No. 2 Primary School with a colleague to testify, and Li Mei Yi was resting at home, but no one can prove it."
"In other words, at least Di Xue Ming has a perfect alibi for both cases."
Lian Chi opened the file on Li Xue’s drowning and read it three times but found nothing unusual.
So they knew clearly it was a murder, but they couldn't investigate it?
The initial excitement of Shen Jian She and the others for identifying it as a murder was quickly replaced by frustration.
"Let's leave it for now."
Lian Chi said, "It’s late. Let's call it a day."
Yang Xiao and the others agreed.
Afterward, Lian Chi went back to the office.
He brought both sets of files with him.
He planned to review them at night; perhaps he would find some clue.
Chen Du was fast asleep on the chair.
Lian Chi picked the boy up.
Even though he tried to be gentle, Chen Du still woke up.
The boy rubbed his eyes: "Godfather?"
"Yeah."
Lian Chi said, "I’ve finished work."
"I’ll go back to the room to put my things away and shower, then we’ll go to your house for dinner."
Because today was Du Zhi Qiang’s birthday.
The boy was happy: "Okay!"
As he spoke, the boy tilted his head to look at the files in Lian Chi’s hand.
He knew that for the past few days, Lian Chi and the others often looked at them.
Could it be that to become a great policeman, one had to look at these things every day?
So, when Lian Chi finished his shower, he saw Chen Du lying on the chair, looking at those files.
Lian Chi laughed: "How many words do you even know to be reading files?"
Chen Du puffed out his chest: "Although I don't know many words, I discovered this!"
"Oh, what discovery?"
Lian Chi walked over.
Chen Du pointed to a spot on both files: "Godfather, look. This person's name appears in both cases."
Lian Chi looked closely.
The person's name was Liu Gao Ge.
Di Xue Ming’s colleague.
Also the person who testified for Di Xue Ming in both cases, proving that Di Xue Ming was working at No. 2 Primary School at the time of the incidents.
Lian Chi was stunned.
Seeing Lian Chi silent for a long time, Chen Du asked worriedly, "Godfather, what’s wrong?"
Lian Chi snapped out of it.
He patted the boy’s head and said seriously, "Little Du, you will definitely become a great policeman in the future."