The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 82 Financial Owner
"How did she get here alone?" Qi Fei turned around and looked at Bao Chuchu.

"All our guests come here on their own," Bao Chuchu replied. "We'll pick up guests who've booked rooms or meals with us from the foot of the mountain. Many guests don't want others, especially work colleagues, to know their itineraries. Even if they have their own drivers, many won't let them drive them. These people know better than anyone that no one in this world is trustworthy."

"Well, the service is very thoughtful." Liu Tong commented softly, but his words did not sound like a compliment.

Qi Fei's words were not so pleasant. He said to Bao Chuchu, "We are investigating a homicide case, not asking you to flaunt your services. Hong Mei didn't come here alone to relax, did she?"

Bao Chuchu said: "I'm sorry, we have a responsibility to protect the privacy of other guests."

"Oh, so that means there was someone else with her yesterday?" Qi Fei immediately caught the loophole in her words.

Bao Chuchu's expression changed slightly as she realized she had let the cat out of the bag.

"This is Manager Bao, right? If the murderer is among these people, we can arrest you for harboring a criminal." Qi Fei looked at her name tag again and said.

Bao Chuchu wasn't panicking at all. "I'm sorry, even if it means going to jail, I can't violate my professional code of conduct. Otherwise, I won't be able to survive in this industry." Then she changed the subject, "I believe there can't be any murderers among my clients. Even if they want someone dead, they will use legal means. I don't think there is any article in the criminal law or the procedural law that says it's illegal for me not to provide the list. Officer Qi, I think you are very clear about this."

Qi Fei had to look at Bao Chuchu again. It seemed that she was not a good person. He just didn't know whether her non-cooperation was the so-called professional service or there was another reason.

He looked around again and asked Bao Chuchu, "You're the manager, right? Then the owner of this villa must know what happened, right?"

When Bao Chuchu heard this, her already bad expression became even uglier and she remained silent.

"Do you want us to find someone to check whether your business is legal or not?" Qi Fei's tone became increasingly negative.

"Wait, I might know who Sister Mei is here to see..." Li Peter interrupted unexpectedly.

Qi Fei and Bao Chuchu looked at him at the same time.

"Say it!"

"Don't say it!"

The two people spoke at the same time and made completely opposite requests.

Li Peter listened to Qi Fei decisively and said, "Sister Mei is a well-known workaholic in the industry. Once she joins the team, she won't ask for leave unless it's a business deal that she can't push forward. But there is only one situation in which she will leave the team, and that is if Mr. Huang invites her..."

Hearing this, Wu Shanqiu came over curiously: "Oh, so the rumors on the Internet are true?"

Peter Li looked at Wu Shanqiu and muttered, "Do policemen also eat melons?"

Wu Shanqiu pursed her lips. "Police are human too, why can't they just enjoy watching the show? Isn't it said that Hong Mei's looks and acting are average, but she has great resources, and that's all because of the big bosses behind her? The most credible rumor is about her and mining tycoon Huang Daqiu, who said Huang Daqiu spent a fortune on Hong Mei. What was the name of that movie that had such a bad reputation before? Oh, Night Walk of the Dragon Girl, where a bunch of big names played supporting roles for Hong Mei, and it was Huang Daqiu who invested in it."

"Didn't they say they were all picked up and dropped off by special cars?" Liu Tong said slowly. "Just ask Huang Daqiu if he took one yesterday and you'll know. If the drivers don't work for the villa, they can drive online ride-hailing cars."

When Bao Chuchu heard this, she knew that what Liu Tong said was right. Even if she didn't say it, the other service staff might not keep their mouths shut, so she had to let out a confession: "Yes, it was Mr. Huang's party yesterday. Miss Hong had dinner with them in the private room and then went back to the room alone." "Then what about Huang Daqiu?" Qi Fei asked.

"Mr. Huang went down the mountain after dinner."

"Didn't stay overnight?"

Faced with Qi Fei's persistence, Bao Chuchu was helpless and had to say, "I stayed in the room with Miss Hong for a while..." Looking at everyone's surprised expressions, Bao Chuchu explained, "Only about forty minutes. I'm sure Miss Hong was still alive when Mr. Huang left."

"Such a short time?" Liu Tong said with a smile, and everyone's laughter could be heard in the solemn atmosphere of the room.

Only Bao Chuchu, out of so-called professionalism, remained serious: "I'm sure it was because Miss Hong specially sent Mr. Huang to the car before returning to the room."

"This is a good attitude towards the sponsor, so it's well deserved that they become famous," Liu Tong continued.

"I always thought they made this up, but it turns out to be true." Wu Shanqiu muttered.

"It seems that your workload is still not full, and you still have time to surf the Internet and eat melons, Xiaoqiu." Liu Tong said with a smile.

Liu Tong has always been easygoing, and Wu Shanqiu is no exception: "Saturated, saturated! I saw a costume drama starring Hong Mei a while ago and really liked it. I followed it for a while, so I paid special attention to Hong Mei's news. Hey, I really hoped that her and the male lead's CP were real. I'm so disillusioned, so disillusioned. Huang Daqiu is rich, but he's so ugly... Oh, right!"

She turned to Peter Li and asked, "It's said that Hong Mei had plastic surgery. Is this true?"

Qi Fei nudged Wu Shanqiu with his elbow: "We're investigating a case, be serious."

Just as he finished speaking, Xiao Tao's emotionless voice, like AI, came over: "Whether she had plastic surgery or not, we'll know during the autopsy."

"Damn, Xiao Tao, forensic doctor, what you said is too 'hellish'!" Wu Shanqiu couldn't stand it anymore.

Xiao Tao, however, floated past them and walked to Hong Mei's body. He made a preliminary examination of the body: "A rose branch pierced the aorta in her neck, and a large amount of blood was splattered. This should be the main cause of death."

"Huh?" Xiao Tao made a rare sound of disbelief, "What is this?" He took out tweezers and carefully plucked Hong Mei's hairline. He saw that the skin was cut along her hairline. Xiao Tao gently lifted it with tweezers, and a long strip of skin was picked up like a peeled apple.

This scene shocked everyone present. It seemed as if the murderer had used Hong Mei's entire head as an apple and peeled off the skin in a continuous manner.

"Looking at the state of the cut skin edge, it must have been shaved off post-mortem," Xiao Tao observed carefully and said, "What did the murderer use to cut it?"

"We have just searched the room for evidence and found no sharp weapons," said Qi Fei.

"There are multiple strips of epidermal peeling and subcutaneous hemorrhage on the skin. In some areas, punctate wounds caused by rose thorns can be seen, and there is an inflammatory reaction around the wounds." Xiao Tao began to speak terminology.

"Speak human language." Qi Fei's requests are never late.

(End of this chapter)