She shouldn't have come home at such a late hour.
It stands to reason that the salary given by the newspaper is not enough to keep her working until midnight. After working at her desk until dark, she turned on the glass table lamp. The soft light from the emerald lampshade made her not feel tired at all. When she raised her head again, the clock on the wall had moved to a quarter past one. ..
A quarter past one in the morning.
With such a good editor who doesn't need to pay overtime, the president would laugh out of his dreams. It would be better if it didn't cost the newspaper's electricity bill. But she is really not a dedicated person, and she has some selfish motives for staying here until now. She had never stayed so late before, but there was a rumor that the Public Security Department was preparing to close a case, so she hurriedly got the information from the archives room. These things couldn't be taken away, so she could only stay here and look at them. She saw what they were now, but she didn't know much about them.
It's getting colder and colder, and a cold wind blows from time to time at night. If it weren't for the branches outside the window being pulled against the glass, she might not know how long she would have to sit there. It's okay not to look at the time, but this is a big deal. My eyes started to lose focus, my cervical vertebrae couldn't stop feeling sore, and my back ached everywhere. So she folded the paper products, put them up and knocked them on the glass table again and again, until the sound became clear and neat, then put them aside. She only took the key to the office and the key to the main entrance of the newspaper. The contents of the database could only be returned tomorrow.
Only then did she feel cold. On weekdays, there are five or six people in the office, which is very lively. When it is busy, it becomes even more bustling. When she was alone, she realized that this place could be so spacious. The coat was originally draped over the shoulders to keep warm, but it was already put on when I put my hands into the sleeves. As soon as I picked up the small bag and turned off the lamp, there was no light at all in the room. Fortunately, she is familiar with every layout here, and she is familiar with the roads even when walking in the dark.
The thick-soled shoes clicked in the corridor, and there was even an echo. Winter is coming soon after all, and the sky is getting dark earlier and earlier. Although it is impossible to see anything at more than one o'clock in any month throughout the year.
The whole newspaper office was very quiet, and she was not afraid. She has never believed in any strange powers and chaos, and the security in this area is pretty good. Anyway, she has lived alone here for four or five years, and apart from losing her purse twice, nothing major has happened to her. Now she has learned to be smart and bought a small leather bag to put on her shoulder. At least when there are people crowded, the target is big enough so that no one will get lost. There are other wallets, apartment keys, various documents in the bag, as well as handkerchiefs, lipstick, hair clips and other things that girls would have. I heard that in the early years, there were arrogant robbers who would snatch bags on the street. They would come and cut off the straps of the bags and snatch them away, all at once. When she came to work, it was said that the Public Security Bureau had undergone a major reshuffle, and many high-level people had been replaced. Now a female director was in charge. Yaozhou City was very big and complicated, and she couldn't tell whether this person was here for training or gold plating. But according to locals, public security has indeed improved.
That said... When she locked the door of the newspaper office and put the key in her bag, she still looked around. The case she was watching happened in the apartment where she lived, and it was a murder. In less than three months, it was announced that the case would be closed. Has the murderer been caught? That's according to the most informed reporter in her office. He was the same age as her, and the two of them went to the newspaper office together - they were even classmates. But they weren't in the same class either. It was only after work that the two discovered the coincidence. Unlike her, the young reporter is a local who went to school and then came back to work. Others find jobs based on their ability, but she came to the big city because of her family's connections. She was a little excluded at first, but her writing was really good and her work was not sloppy, so her popularity gradually became more and more reasonable.
Walking alone on the dark road, she finally started to feel frightened. The information and photos were dazzling before her eyes. The victim lived below her, near the spiral staircase, which she would pass by all the time. He is a middle-aged man who lives alone and has a muscular appearance. If there is a head-on conflict with him, it will be difficult to kill him. He is a small collector. There are many antique calligraphy and paintings in the house, as well as many rare jewelry. However, many of them may have had shady origins. The police initially speculated that they were murders for financial reasons or vendettas.
The reason is simple. Serious collectors are so low-key, unlike him, who always wants to show off overtly or secretly, which leads to death. And with the power of a great collector, who would live in such a cramped place? Although it is an apartment, which is six stories high, the rent is not prohibitive, and not all officials and wealthy businessmen live here. Many years ago, it was said that a big boss acquired this land to build a
A large private mansion. As a result, he was framed and was arrested and sent to a jail. Without getting paid, the building was only half-finished. It's not a very prosperous area, and the land is not very valuable. During that time, various forces were busy with other things, so his distant relatives took possession of this piece of land, and asked the engineering team to seal it up and turn it into an apartment for rent collection.
It was very impressive when it was first built. The walls are covered with dark purple ceramic tiles, and the Western-style carved window lintels and wrought iron railings add a lot of charm. Instead of a dome, there is an open terrace with plants planted along the edge. The colorful flowers and plants hang down naturally, and it looks very full of life when you raise your head. However, now a few bricks and tiles have fallen off the exterior wall and it looks full of holes. The metal on the balcony was even more rusty. As for those plants, they had long since died due to no one taking care of them. On the contrary, the ivy growing from bottom to top beside the wall grew rapidly. Within a few years, it became impossible to open the windows for ventilation in the summer. The windows on the lower floors are covered tightly at all, and the ones on the upper floors allow mosquitoes to carry away the residents.
It looks like this on the outside because of cheap pictures, not to mention the inside. According to the big boss's plan, there was an elevator and a hot water bath, but of course they are gone now. It is considered good if every household has electricity, it can heat its own stove and make its own hot water. There is no sloping dome, and corners were cut during construction, so drainage becomes a problem when it rains. Water seepage is the most serious on the top floor. When it rains heavily, there are water stains on the wall where she lives on the fifth floor. I didn't let her see it when I rented the house because the wallpaper was newly put up. In order to recover costs, the rooms were divided into very small rooms and the sound insulation was not ideal. In short, the poor cannot afford to rent this place, and the rich despise it. However, if young people like them who live alone and have no hobby of spending money can endure the above, this option is indeed economical and affordable, and it is considered decent to write letters home.
So the middle-aged man who is called a collector, living in a place like this, is more like hiding stolen goods. Maybe it's money laundering for other bosses or something... I can't tell. Her reporter colleague said that this case may not be handled well. If something is found to be wrong, they will not be allowed to continue reporting. And there are a lot of valuable items, so if you make some false accounts, you can make a lot of money. Although she was asked to make the original material - the one who is closest to the water and the tower gets the moon first. Many reporters in the newspaper also serve as editors, but her colleagues don't like to be frivolous, so she usually does not appear on the scene and is only responsible for writing materials, and the two work together. Although she looked at the bloody ground, she didn't feel any disturbance in her heart, but her colleague's attitude of wanting to put the camera in to take pictures still made her feel a little uncomfortable.
How should I put it... She never thought that this case would come to an end so soon. Because it was strange, I was suspicious. It’s not that I wanted to write an earth-shattering report, but I was afraid that I would be implicated. If the information is reliable, it will be handed over to other "professional" people to handle it later. The newspaper is not small, but it has no one to support it. It has gained a lot of opportunities by starting early, but it never dares to "make impassioned speeches". No matter who it is, it must not be provoked. Especially for someone like her who is looking for work from outside, she can only write honestly and write whatever she is told, walking on thin ice every word and every word. It is good to occasionally publish her own poems.
He is really the best candidate to be pushed out to take the blame...
Before coming, my family had made it clear that their relationship with the newspaper was not very good, and they had to rely on their own abilities to get in. She is not a boisterous character who will cause trouble. After joining the company, she remained low-key and taciturn, just like in school. She didn't like to talk to anyone and wouldn't offend anyone. Except for the one person she has a good relationship with in the club, everyone else is just an acquaintance. But she is anything but stupid. The more times and situations like this happen, the more you should become more alert and cautious.
By the way, is the office door locked?
Thinking of this, she suddenly stopped and subconsciously turned around and glanced in the direction of the newspaper office. But it was only this time that her heart suddenly tightened as if she was being pricked by a needle. She turned back slowly and stiffly, took steps again, and swallowed the scream that almost escaped her lips along with the saliva into her stomach.
Someone is following her.
It's unmistakable, she has very nice eyes. Even if the streetlights were sparsely spaced, the starlight in the sky was enough for her to see clearly. About twenty meters away, against the wall, there was indeed a person. If the man didn't hide and return the favor, he just dodged to the alley next to her the moment she turned around. The movement was quick, but she still saw it. She was not a very alert person, but her movements were definitely not like ordinary turns. In addition, she had watched the murder case for a long time before, so it was impossible not to panic.
It was late at night, there were no shops open nearby, and unfortunately there were no patrols.
figure. She thought to herself that it would be foolhardy to turn around and ask for clarification. She had absolutely no intention of fighting, and if she couldn't protect him, he still had a knife. After adjusting her breathing slightly, she pretended to be calm and walked a certain distance before suddenly stopping. She pricked up her ears, and sure enough, there were unfamiliar footsteps in the silent night, even though they were very brief - the man also stopped. Although the voice was very soft and passed by in a flash, it was enough to prove that she was not the only one walking at night.
The test was too obvious, that person must have known that she was aware of it. She sped up, her steps more frantic, her breathing more rapid. For the first time, she felt the presence of her heart so distinctly, beating more violently than in college physical education class. Is the weather so hot? The skin was like paper soaked in water, with drops of water seeping out.
what to do? It was far away from the police station and reporting the crime was impossible. Try to get rid of that guy and go home. Fortunately, she is very familiar with this area. She will soon come to the entrance of an alley. It was long, narrow, and without lights. She usually never goes there because it's always dirty. I don't care about that much now. As long as you take this shortcut, you can reach the brightly lit road faster.
The moment she made up her mind, she ran without hesitation and rushed into the alley, like a flexible and soft cat. The patter of footsteps echoed between the walls on both sides, making it very noisy. There was light at the end of the alley, and she rushed over desperately.
The sharp sound of brakes would tear the night apart. She had never thought about why there were still cars passing by at this time.
