When Song Che and Xu Xiao arrived at the inn, everything was tightly controlled inside and out.
Suzhou City imposes curfew.
Cao Tian was in Suzhou on a mission, and he was the only one living in the post station. Counting the bodyguards he brought with him from Beijing, there were a total of thirty-two people to protect him.
Xu Xiao took advantage of his position to bring Song Che into the inn.
Cao Tian lived in the elegant house on the second floor, which was roughly two bedrooms and one living room. The entrance was the living room, the study room was on the left, and the bedroom was on the right, all separated by bead curtains.
Cao Tian stared, slumped in his seat, with a dagger stuck in his chest, and an unfinished book on his desk.
The blood dyed the skirt of his clothes red, but it did not spatter, which showed that the killer was skillful and clean, killing him with one knife.
"Why did you find him?" He Qiu glanced at Song Che and asked Xu Xiao. There was a big man with a sword beside him, who should be Cao Tian's personal guard Yang Xin.
Xu Xiao said: "Master Cao was killed, and it was related to the coin business, so I went to the Shen family to invite Mr. Song."
The imperial official died in Suzhou, Song Che lost his business, and his parents and officials could not escape the blame. He Qiu knew very well that now they were in the same boat.
"So, Aunt Song, do you have any advice?" He Qiu asked.
Song Che said first: "There shouldn't be too many people at the murder scene. Please escort everyone out. Just leave Mr. He, Xu Dutou and me."
Yang Xin said: "I failed to take good care of Mr. Cao. I was derelict in my duty. I should stay and assist in the investigation due to circumstances and reasons."
Song Che said: "When I need protection, I will ask you for questions."
Yang Xin frowned and looked at Song Che with a cold look in his eyes, "With all due respect, you are just a businessman and you are doing business with adults. You should avoid this suspicion more than anyone else."
Song Che said solemnly: "Master Cao's death will do no harm to my Shen family, why should I avoid suspicion?"
Yang Xin shouted: "Then you told us to leave, do you mean we should avoid suspicion?"
indeed.
With such a tight guard, Cao Tian was killed with a single knife. Regardless of the inability of the guard, let alone the possibility of one of his own doing.
Song Che was too lazy to say anything and glanced at He Qiu.
He Qiu understood immediately, "Wei Yang, this case is serious and the Suzhou Prefecture will handle it entirely. If you really need your help, just wait for the order."
The words were clear, and Yang Xin could only keep a straight face, give Song Che a cold look, and exit the guest room with his guards.
Xu Xiao covered the doors and windows.
"Master He, do you understand the basic situation?" Song Che walked to the study and asked while inspecting the body.
"I've just arrived," He Qiu said, "If you're a second-hand swordsman, don't touch the body. I've already sent someone to ask the widow to do it."
Song Che said: "The killer is a professional, clean and tidy, and usually does not leave any clues. It is useless to ask for help."
He Qiu asked: "How about you tinkering? Act like a professional."
"Determine the time of death."
Have you never been a forensic doctor or watched a criminal investigation drama?
"The face and limbs of the corpse were stiff, the blood was scabbed, the body was not completely cool, and the weather was so hot, it had no body spots yet, and the time of death was probably about an hour;"
Song Che then pointed to the fingerprints on the neck of the corpse and the dagger on his chest, and moved behind the corpse, "Judging from the direction of the fingerprints, the murderer came from behind, first grabbed Cao Tian's throat, and then stabbed into the heart. like this--"
He reenacted the murderous action, "The murderer must be highly skilled and move quickly and accurately, otherwise the blood would never flow so slowly."
"Why didn't the murderer just wipe his neck?" Xu Xiao asked curiously.
Song Che said: "This is the genius of the killer. There is a large artery in the neck. Cutting the throat will definitely spurt blood. If it splashes on the body, it will leave clues, giving the investigators an opportunity to take advantage."
"There are guards on all sides of the inn. How did he get in and kill people, and how did he escape?" Xu Xiao asked.
Song Che looked around the entire elegant house. There were two windows in total, one for the bedroom and one for the study, facing the backyard and the street respectively.
More than an hour ago, there were pedestrians on the street. It was impossible for him to enter through the bedroom. The possibility was higher in the backyard, but there was a guard handle in the backyard. Such a cautious and skillful killer would probably not take this risk.
"Is it possible that he has been hiding in the house all this time?" He Qiu asked.
These words awakened Song Che. The elegant apartment was simple and chic. The only places that could hide people were the wardrobe and the bottom of the bed. Both the wardrobe and the bed were in the bedroom. There was no way the murderer could go around and kill people.
So……
Song Che slowly raised his head.
The Ping Lei facing the corpse is a large beam, about four feet high from the ground. If you don't deliberately look up, no one will notice that someone is hiding.
"The beam has been gathering dust for a long time. If the murderer really squatted here, he would have left footprints." Song Che asked Xu Xiao again: "Can you go up this distance?"
Xu Xiao said: "It's easy."
He Qiu warned: "Remember not to cover up the evidence."
Xu Xiao nodded, stepped on the window sill to use his strength, kicked hard, stepped on the wall twice, changed his body skills three times, and easily climbed up the beam.
Song Che put his hands on his hips and sighed repeatedly. Every time a person uses kung fu, he will sigh that Chinese martial arts are broad and profound.
"What's going on? Are there any footprints?" He Qiu said anxiously.
Xu Xiao shook his head, "Nothing."
He Qiu secretly sighed: "It seems we are all wrong."
"That's not necessarily true," Song Che asked Xu Xiao on the beam, "Isn't there even ashes?"
Xu Xiao jumped onto the beam, wiped it from head to waist, shook his head and confirmed: "No, the whole beam is clean."
No one has cleaned the beams for a long time, how could there be no dust?
Song Che looked at He Qiu with a smile: "Sometimes clues are not just left behind, and some people are often misled by their cleverness."
He Qiu was confused, "The inn has not received any other guests since Mr. Cao's visit, and it is strictly guarded by guards. How did the murderer get into the inn?"
Song Che pointed out three fingers and said, "There are only three types of people who are qualified to enter the Yashe. The first is the master, the second is the servant, and the third is the guard."
He Qiu frowned even more and lowered his voice, "You mean, the murderer is probably hiding in this inn?"
"It's possible," Song Che pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and said to Xu Xiao: "In this case, Xu Dutou, you go and summon everyone at the inn to wait in the courtyard. Mr. He and I set up a dark room on the first floor and called Anyone will be brought in, and we will ask questions in a staggered manner.”
"no problem."
…
The advantage of staggered interrogations is that flaws can be found in different confessions.
Before the interrogation, Song Che and He Qiu sorted out Cao Tian's itinerary today.
It was very hot during the day, and Cao Tian never left the house.
When the sun was setting, Cao Tian wanted to bring some specialties from the south of the Yangtze River to his family because he would escort the coins back to Beijing tomorrow, so he left the inn with his guards Yang Xin and Li Cheng.
After selling the specialties, we went to Babaolou for dinner, and then returned to the inn at about one o'clock in the morning, and then stayed behind closed doors.
Before the second watch, Huang San, a clerk at the inn, went to Yashe to deliver face wash. He found that Cao Tian had been assassinated. Later, Yang Xin went to Suzhou to report the case, which happened to be on the second watch.
The inn's defense is divided into three levels. The first level is the outer perimeter. Twenty-four people are divided into three groups of eight people. They change every three hours and take turns patrolling and guarding. The second level is the inner perimeter, which is divided into the front yard and the back yard. , cross-guarded by eight guards brought from the capital.
The peripheral guards were all recruited locally, and their household registrations were in Suzhou. They had a clean background and did not have much motive for committing the crime. Therefore, the focus of the investigation was on the eight personal guards brought by Cao Tian from the capital.
"Sir He, you have to help me register whatever I ask later and whatever they answer, so that I can make a confession book." Song Che instructed.
"I think you are more like the prefect of Suzhou." He Qiu rubbed his ink reluctantly.
"We are grasshoppers on the same rope now. I am here for business and you are for official career. We should work together." Song Che said and summoned:
"Bring in the inn boy Huang San first."
After a while.
Xu Xiao took Huang San into the house.
Huang Sanzhan fought against Hehe.
"Huang San, let me ask you, since the transport envoy checked into the inn, are there any strange faces wandering around?" Song Che asked first.
Huang San shook his head and said: "No, Mr. Cao has done a great job. From the day he moved in, the post station refused to work, and even the post men were temporarily sent back."
"Did you clean the apartment before moving in?"
"Of course it was cleaned and spotless."
"Where are the beams, have they been cleaned?" Song Che asked again.
Huang San groaned and knelt down quickly, "I was negligent for a moment and forgot to clean the beams. I beg you to atone for your sins!"
"Just asking, you don't need to panic," Song Che paused and then asked, "How many times have you entered the Yashe today?"
Huang San replied: "Twice, once in the morning to bring face wash to Mr. Cao, and once in the afternoon. After Mr. Huang went out, I folded his quilt and cleaned the room."
"Are the windows closed?"
"It's covered. Mr. Cao's room is exposed to the sunset. In order not to let in the heat, I closed all the windows when I left."
"Is it locked?"
"Of course it's a threadbare. In summer, there are often strange winds and easterly rain. There are a lot of letters, paper and books in Mr. Cao's study. I don't dare to be careless. I pulled the thread several times after putting it on, and it really couldn't blow. Just leave after driving."
"You should be careful."
"Although this villain is just a shopkeeper, he still eats royal food. I'm afraid he won't be careful."
"Go out, remember, don't tell anyone else what we asked you, no one is allowed to tell."
"The villain must keep his mouth shut."
Huang San exited the darkroom.
He Qiu put down his pen. He was worthy of being the number one scholar. He could write so gracefully while taking quick notes.
"You asked him so many questions, but what did you gain?" He Qiu asked.
Song Che said: "Since the beams of the room have not been cleaned, it means that the murderer did it to cover up his tracks. Huang San closed the window before leaving, which means that the murderer has not entered the house yet."
He Qiu thought for a moment and said: "There are guard handles in the front yard and the back yard. It is almost impossible to enter the house from the front door. The bedroom window on the right faces the street, and it is even more impossible to enter from there. So the murderer must go to the left to enter the house. window."
Song Che added: "And someone has to open the window from inside the room before he can get in."
He Qiu said in a deep voice: "Then, whoever enters Yashe during this time period is the murderer."
"Take front yard guards Zhou Tai and Han Dong!"
