Cheng Mingxiang looked at Xiao Long seriously, while the other party looked back at her with gentle eyes as usual. However, Xiao Long's gentlemanly expression did not respond to the sincerity and fear in Cheng Mingxiang's eyes. Rather, there is a greater meaning there. Xiao Long's eyes are like the vast and boundless sea, as terrifying and dark as if it wants to suck people into it.
"Okay, I'll go."
"Wait a moment and I'll ask him."
Xiao Long picked up the phone and told the switchboard a certain room number.
"Uncle? I'm going to find you right away. Is it convenient?"
Voices came from the other end of the phone, but Cheng Mingxiang couldn't hear the content clearly.
"Ah, really?"
Putting down the phone, Xiao Long said to Cheng Mingxiang: "He said it's okay now. However, there may be visitors later, but he said it's not important. He is a busy man and wants us to go there right away, otherwise it will be difficult to make an appointment."
Cheng Mingxiang stood up from the chair, and Xiao Long also stood up. The door was locked, and there was only a touching distance between her and Xiao Long. When Xiao Long passed by her, he stirred up a breeze and walked straight towards the door. Cheng Mingxiang suddenly fell into an indescribable sense of emptiness.
Mr. Xiao lives in room "No. 807". Cheng Mingxiang and Xiao Long took the elevator to the eighth floor together. Walking along the red carpet in the corridor to the door, Xiao Long raised his fingers and knocked on the door gently, then put his hand on the doorknob. This room is a suite. When you walk in, it is a reception room. Behind the door in the corner seems to be a bedroom. There was a couch against the wall and three chairs across the table. If there is any difference, there is no cabinet in the room like in a hotel. There is only a box in the corner for an old man to store his personal belongings.
Mr. Xiao raised his thin face with prominent cheekbones, and his short body was sitting on the soft sofa.
"Excuse me for disturbing you." Xiao Long bowed to his knees and greeted, "This is the young lady you have met before."
Xiao Long stepped back slightly, allowing Mr. Xiao to see Cheng Mingxiang clearly behind him.
"Oh?" Mr. Xiao's eyes lit up, a faint smile appeared on his cheeks, and he stretched out his skinny hand, pointed to a chair in front of Cheng Mingxiang and said, "Come on, please sit down!"
"Sorry to bother you!" Cheng Mingxiang said with a bow.
Xiao Long sat down on the chair next to Cheng Mingxiang. Mr. Xiao smiled and said, "Xiao Long, I'm going to go to my old place for a walk later. Can I take her with me?"
"This question is not something I can decide. Please ask her directly."
"What, you haven't told her yet?"
"Because you often change your mind, even informing you in advance may not be useful."
"I'm extremely busy. Two people are coming soon, both of whom are doing business with me." Mr. Xiao said, "And I'm about to go out. You need to help me, don't you think?" Mr. Xiao said. The thin face looked directly at Cheng Mingxiang, "I hope she will set aside some time to accompany me to a place. That place is very quiet. In short, she just needs to follow me silently..."
Xiao Long moved aside, as if giving Cheng Mingxiang a code to match the old man's statement.
Xiao Long returned to the dean's office and a waiter informed him that he had a visitor.
"A gentleman named Hao Dong is looking for you."
He is constantly in contact with many strangers, current or former patients, who sometimes come to visit him or complain to him.
"Invite him over."
The waiter brought a man in his thirties with a broad forehead. He looked like a bill collector in a wrinkled suit.
"Are you Dean Xiao Long?"
"Yes."
Xiao Long took a breath because he saw the man take out a black police ID card from his pocket.
When Xiao Long learned that the visitor was a policeman, his tone became polite.
Xiao Long pressed the button and asked his secretary to bring some black tea.
"You're welcome."
Detective Hao Dong sat on the leather chair with a serious expression.
"Excuse me, police officer, what do you do for me?" Xiao Long asked with a smile.
"I have some questions to ask you today, but I feel a bit embarrassed because it involves your privacy..."
"It doesn't matter." Xiao Long replied with narrowed eyes.
"However, this is for reference only, so please just relax and answer."
"I know. If you have any questions, just ask."
"Excuse me for being presumptuous. On March 9, I heard that you were at the Fangxian Hotel. Would you like to dine there?"
"I did go, but it was at night."
"It doesn't matter. So what time is it at night?" Detective Hao Dong said with a smile on his lips.
"I remember going there before twelve o'clock in the evening and drinking until about 2:30 in the morning. There were no other customers. The environment there was quiet and elegant, and the proprietress and I knew each other well."
"Ah, you mean..."
"My hospital often has patients from out of town. When this happens, I introduce the patient's companion to the 'Fangxian Hotel', so I am very familiar with the hotel proprietress."
"Oh, that's right."
Xiao Long thought that the criminal police officer would take notes while asking questions, but the other party did not do so.
"Do you remember which room you drank in?"
"Hmm... I don't remember, but I know that the waitress who was drinking with me was called... I think her name was Cheng Mingxiang, Miss Cheng Mingxiang..."
The detective nodded slightly.
"Was she with you from the time you entered the room until you left?"
"Well, that should be it."
"How to say?"
"Of course, she stayed for more than two hours and always went to the bathroom."
"Oh, is that just it?"
"Yes, because I know the operator of that hotel, and the environment there is quiet and pleasant, so I decided to have a drink in the room. These days, there are not many hotels that are open late at night and have a quiet environment. Generally, restaurants are about ten It closes at 0:00 and is open almost until midnight, which is very convenient.”
"Is that so, do you always order that waiter named Cheng Mingxiang to drink with you?"
"It's amazing that restaurants and hotels are places like this. The waitress who serves you at first gradually evolves into being the one who takes care of you all the time. Every time I go there, it's Miss Cheng Mingxiang who takes care of you. Mr. Detective, what happened? ?”
Xiao Long picked up the cigarette and knocked on the silver cigarette box.
"There was a fire in Miss Cheng Mingxiang's house, and she happened to be away from home that day. In short, it was probably when you and Miss Cheng Mingxiang were drinking together that a fire broke out in her house."
"Oh?" Xiao Long lowered his head and lit his cigarette, "Is there any problem? For example, is she insured?"
"She had no insurance, neither her burned husband nor her belongings..."
"So, you suspect her of arson?" Xiao Long put the lighter on the table and looked at the detective absentmindedly.
"As I just said, their family did not have fire insurance, and the house was rented, with only some worthless furniture. In addition, her husband did not have fire insurance. If there is a huge amount of insurance this time, that would be a different matter. , but because there is no such problem, judging from this clue, it seems that there is no suspicion of arson."
Hao Dong raised his eyes and glanced at Xiao Long.
"Oh, so, are there any other doubts?" Xiao Long looked at the detective with a somewhat thoughtful expression.
"Although there is nothing suspicious, judging from the point of the fire, there is something worthy of scrutiny."
"You are right. However, didn't the fire brigade determine that the fire was accidental?"
"Are you quite clear about it?"
The detective raised his eyebrows, picked up the matchstick, and bent down to light a fire.
"No, I saw it in the newspaper. The page was very small."
"Oh, has this news been published?"
"Yes, it's just not obvious."
"Oh, you actually looked so carefully." The detective blew out the cigarette from his mouth.
"As you said, that's what happened. Even though it was an accidental fire, the cause of the fire still has to be investigated, and it doesn't mean that no one is legally responsible." Hao Dong said.
"But isn't it the jurisdiction of the fire brigade? The police also have to assist in the investigation?" Xiao Long asked.
"It depends."
"How to say?"
"Cheng Mingxiang was not at home that night when the fire occurred. The fire occurred after the female nurse came home, and only her husband with limited mobility was left at home. First, the flames from the coal stove spread to the wooden door, and then it became a fire... I asked I interviewed the female caretaker and roughly figured out the route of the coal stove. However, her confession about where the coal stove was placed was vague."
"Oh, why did you mention it so vaguely?"
"The woman initially said that the coal stove was placed a little far away from the wooden door, and then she became more and more ambiguous. After investigation, it was found that the female caregiver was a bit mentally retarded. No wonder her answers were somewhat vague when asked. In other words, she The position of the coal stove that she answered at the beginning may be the correct one. Of course, it is not ruled out that someone came in and moved the coal stove after she got off work. Speaking of someone moving the coal stove, it couldn't be Zhao Kuan because he had a stroke. It’s immobile, I can’t escape, it’s impossible to move it.”
"so……"
"So, I investigated whether anyone happened to pass by her house at that moment. I will skip the details. In short, I finally found an eyewitness who said he saw a suspicious-looking woman at that time."
"..."
