deep white secret

Chapter 9 Find a suspect
Ningxia got up on time at [-]:[-] the next day.

The rice cooker turns on the automatic porridge cooking mode, goes out for a run, comes home to take a shower, and has breakfast.

When Ningxia arrived at the gate of the community, he looked at his watch: it was exactly 55:[-].

Three minutes later, a black car drove over from the community parking lot. Xu Jie rolled down the window and waved to Ningxia.

"Good morning Captain Xu!"

Xu Jie glanced at Ningxia. He was still wearing a black shirt and jeans, but today he was wearing a black baseball cap.

The car started and Xu Jie asked:

"Running in the morning?"

Ning Xia looked at Xu Jie doubtfully. Can you tell this?
Xu Jie realized that Ningxia thought this was his analysis again, and explained with a smile:

"I saw you!"

"Team Xu also runs?"

"I originally fell in love with this community because there is a citizen fitness park next to it where you can do morning exercises. You ran for 10 minutes."

Ningxia nodded:
"But I didn't see Captain Xu."

"I was earlier than you. When I saw you, I was over there with the exercise equipment."

Ningxia discovered that Xu Jie was actually quite gentle. Today was the second day of the countdown. Wanting to perform well, Ningxia asked humbly:
"Captain Xu, do you suspect that the murderer is someone from a shop along the street?"

"They may also be residents near Shanping Street."

Ningxia's heart sank:
“If you have to find a needle in a haystack, that’s going to be troublesome.”

Xu Jie had a solemn expression and put away his usual smile:
"The murderer was captured on surveillance video for the first time. He appeared at the Shanping Street subway entrance. We passed by there yesterday, and I vaguely remembered that there was a building next to it."

"The murderer is probably someone from the building."

The two of them walked to the intersection of Shanping Street. Xu Jie parked the car. Ningxia got off the car and looked up. It turned out to be a residential building facing the Shanping Street subway and bus station.

Ningxia pointed out to Xu Jie:

"Captain Xu, look, there is a road across from this building. Lu Yuan and Xu Ling went their separate ways. The only place where they meet is here."

"Yesterday, we selected two supermarkets, a fast food restaurant, and a laundry shop. These are the places where both Lu Yuan and Xu Ling have been. Let's visit them."

Banks, restaurants, and convenience supermarkets are scattered in the residential building and public building areas.

The first one was a brand chain laundry. Xu Jie and Ning Xia walked in. A woman in her 30s was sorting clothes. The doorbell rang and the woman looked at them.

Seeing that the two people were empty-handed, the woman asked:
"Pick up?"

Ningxia takes a step forward:
"We are police from the city's Criminal Investigation Detachment. We would like to ask if you have seen these two people?"

As she spoke, Ningxia took out the photos of Xu Ling and Lu Yuan.

The woman stared at the photo for a while, looking sad, and finally pointed at Lu Yuan:

"This girl often comes to my place. I saw the news a few days ago and heard that she was killed."

"Where is this girl? Do you have any impression?"

The woman looked at Xu Ling's photo and shook her head:

"I don't have much of an impression. There are a lot of people coming in and out of my small shop every day. Some people who have been here once or twice may not remember it."

"You're usually the only one here?"

Xu Jie asked.

"Yes, I run it alone."

"This girl comes often. How long does it usually take?"

"Almost half a month old. This girl likes to wear white shoes. She is good-looking and likes to talk, so I have an impression of her."

"Besides these, do you have any other connections?"

"No."

The woman shook her head.

The two people walked out of the laundry. 50 meters away was the fast food restaurant that both Lu Yuan and Xu Ling had patronized.

Walking in, the strong smell of tea eggs hit your face, and more than a dozen people eating breakfast sat around several tables and ate with their heads down.

"Take a seat, please. What can you have something to eat?"

A man in his 40s wearing an apron and holding a small white book in his hand came over with enthusiasm.

Xu Jie spoke first:
"We are criminal police. I see there is surveillance video in your store. Can you bring up the surveillance video from June [-]th and show it to us?"

Xu Jie's voice was not loud. Some guests heard the sound and raised their heads to watch the excitement. The man quickly invited Xu Jie and Ning Xia inside:
"Okay, okay, comrade police, please come here."

As he spoke, he led the two people to the aisle leading to the back kitchen. Through the medium-sized window, Ningxia saw a chef busy inside.

The aisle was long and narrow, and waves of the aroma of meat noodles wafted over. Xu Jie stood sideways next to Ning Xia and asked in a low voice:
"Ningxia, are there any initial concerns here?"

Ning Xia blinked, looked at the busy chef in the kitchen and whispered:

"If the two people could not provide evidence of their alibi on the night Xu Ling was killed, they would be very suspicious."

Xu Jie nodded, and the middle-aged man came over with a USB flash drive in his hand:

"Comrade police, all the videos from June are here."

Xu Jie took it:

"How many people are there usually in the fast food restaurant?"

"Three people, including my wife, who went to the morning market to buy groceries and hasn't come back yet, and the chef, that's who."

The kitchen couldn't hear anyone talking outside, and they were still busy with their heads down.

"On June [-]th, last Friday, when there was a heavy rain, was your fast food restaurant open?"

"Last Friday? We closed early that day. The radio, television, and mobile phones were all announcing flood control measures, and my son's school also ended early, so we closed at around three o'clock."

Xu Jie glanced at Ningxia, and Ningxia took out the photos of Lu Yuan and Xu Ling and handed them over:
"These two girls live nearby, have you seen them?"

The man obviously remembered Lu Yuan:

"Ah, this girl was killed, I know, but I have no impression of either of them."

"We found that both of them have consumption records here."

At this time, a reminder came out on the man’s mobile phone:
"You have a new takeaway order, please process it in time."

The man smiled:

"Officer, girls rarely come to noodle restaurants to eat nowadays, but there are quite a lot of takeaways. If they live nearby, can they order takeaways from me?"

"Where were you after closing on June [-]th?"

"At home, there was a heavy rainstorm that day. My wife was glad that we went home early. The family had hot pot and then did homework with the children."

Xu Jie pointed to the chef in the kitchen:

"Where's the cook?"

"He also went home after the store closed."

"I want to talk to him."

The man was quite nervous. He stumbled when he opened the kitchen door and waved his hand sheepishly at Xu Jie.

Ningxia said:
"Team Xu, we found a suspect."

Xu Jie chuckled:

"I haven't asked anyone yet, so there must be suspicion somewhere."

Then he handed the USB flash drive to Ningxia:

"Go back and investigate."

The chef came out. He was about 1.7 meters tall, in his 30s, with a tall build and a strong jawline. He was only wearing black short-sleeves and had a red complexion.

"Officer, are you looking for me?"

Ningxia took out two photos:

"Do you know these two girls?"

The cook shook his head.

"Last Friday, June [-]th, where did you go after the restaurant closed?"

"Go home!"

"Do you have any witnesses?"

The chef was obviously stunned:

"I'm not married, I'm alone in Jinghai, and there are no witnesses."

"How old are you?"

"34 is old."

"Have you ever been married?"

"No, I had a girlfriend before, but we broke up later. I came to Jinghai City only after the breakup."

"How long have you been here?"

"Over a year."

"What does your girlfriend look like?"

The chef obviously didn't know why Ningxia asked this, and his face showed impatience and sensitivity:

"Officer, did I do something wrong?"

The more Ning Xia asked, the more he felt that the chef in front of him was consistent with the forensic doctor's inference of the murderer, and his voice was a little urgent.

Xu Jie said from the side:

"That's right. We are investigating the movements of the two girls and found that both of them are related to here. It is also the responsibility of every citizen to cooperate with the investigation of the case. You only need to provide the itinerary for the night of June [-]th."

(End of this chapter)