Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 107 The Army of Justice 9
Qu He came with her current husband.

She was very tall and exuded the charm of a mature woman. Wearing a blue dress, you couldn't tell her real age just by looking at her.

It's also hard to imagine what it was like for her and Kim Hyang-won to sell steamed buns on the street in the past.

When Zheng Yan and his team rushed back to the police station, they saw her sitting in the interrogation room drinking water, her brows furrowed and her eyes red and swollen.

The tragic death of her son must have been a huge blow to her. She has been married and divorced several times, and now she only has one son, Jin Zixuan.

Given that both she and her current husband have alibis, the focus of this statement-taking session was to ask her for her guesses about the killer's identity.

"Regarding this theft and murder case at the Jin family home, after our investigation, we suspect that the murderer is someone who knows the Jin family. This person knows when Jin Xiangyuan is not at home, knows that his family has a large amount of cash and gold and silver jewelry, and may also know the layout of his house. After being discovered stealing, he became emotional and killed the elderly and children. Can you think of anyone who fits this description?"

Qu He hesitated and shook her head: "I can think of many people who know about the Jin family, but I can't think of anyone who could be so ruthless. Besides, Jin Xiangyuan and I have been divorced for three years, and I don't know his current social circle."

"But it's said that you occasionally pick up and drop off the children from school and visit them at home? Among the lost gold and silver jewelry were a pure gold 'no trouble' pendant necklace and a mutton fat jade 'peace buckle' that you made for the children. These were the two most valuable items. Were there any other people present when you gave them these items? For example, Jin Xiangyuan's friends? Or did the children ever show them off to others?"

The hints were very specific, and Qu He, holding back her tears, slowly recalled them.

“The child did show it off. I told him to wear the ‘Nothing Happened’ plaque and tuck it under his clothes so no one could see it, but he always pulled it out. He was almost snatched away, so his dad stopped him from wearing it and told him to put it away and wear it again in a few years.”

“We even had a fight back then. Jin Xiangyuan said that since I married a rich man, I was acting like a nouveau riche, wanting to wear gold and silver. He said I wasn't sincerely giving the child a gift, but just wanted to show off to him and his mother. I admit I did have the intention of showing off. In all those years of being married to him, I made steamed buns every day and still didn't get a necklace in a year…”

The conversation had gone off-topic, so Zheng Yan interrupted her sobbing and brought the topic back on track.

"When did you give these things to your child? When did Jin Xiangyuan tell the child not to wear them outside? Think about it from this timeline. Could it be that someone saw the child showing off, or that there were other people present when you delivered the things and they knew you bought something very expensive for the child?"

Qu He wiped away her tears, her mouth opening and closing several times as if she were thinking. After a while, she shook her head.

“I don’t remember who delivered the things to my door, but they were all people I used to brag about. I delivered to them several times. If the child wants to brag, he can only do so in the neighborhood or at school, with his peers, right? He doesn’t have any classmates from the same neighborhood at school because I paid to transfer him to a more expensive private elementary school. So it’s probably someone from the neighborhood, but I can’t imagine who in the neighborhood would steal or go crazy and attack someone.”

At this point, she cautiously asked, "My son, his body... how... I wanted to ask, I heard there was a lot of blood loss, he..."

Unable to speak a complete sentence.

Zheng Yan could only say, "You can go and take a look after it's over."

Then she continued, "Considering that you bought most of the missing valuables, and we haven't found any suspects related to the Jin family, it's possible the murderer learned about it from you. Who else knew you bought valuables for the child? Your husband…"

"It's definitely not my current husband! He's the one who gives me the money to buy things."

"Then think carefully, who else around you knows this, or who else have you told?"

Qu He was thinking hard, and for a moment she paused for two seconds, then lowered her head as if wiping away tears.

“Many people know about this. I’m not the kind of person who does good deeds anonymously. When people ask about my child’s upbringing and education, I always tell them what I’ve done and bought for my son.” She blinked several times, her tone heavy with sorrow. In short, there were too many candidates, and no one stood out as a clear suspect.

Zheng Yan looked at her and said slowly, "Okay, thank you for your cooperation."

After questioning, Qu He, accompanied by her current husband, went to see Jin Zixuan's body.

Less than two minutes later, a scream came from inside, followed by a heart-wrenching wail. A dozen minutes later, she was helped out by her current partner, her face pale and her eyes filled with terror.

Watching them leave, Zheng Yan whispered to Xiao Chen, "Have two plainclothes officers follow her."

Tan Jia asked, "Do you think there's something wrong with her?"

Could the murderer really be Qu He?
"Not necessarily, but she's definitely hiding something, like she knows who the murderer is."

Qu He's car drove away, and Zheng Yan looked up at his watch and said, "At this time, the trace evidence test results should be available."

Trace evidence examination is a complex and multifaceted task. Sometimes, even after several days of work, only one or two clues may be found that do not contribute to the investigation. However, at other times, it can play a crucial role in the outcome of a case investigation, pointing the way forward when there are no leads.

For example, the three important clues this time—

"Besides a peculiar stain, the shoe print left by the killer also had a very distinctive tread pattern on the sole. See, this is called a spike-like tread pattern, also known as a granular pattern. It provides excellent grip and is usually used on high-performance running shoes. There are differences between running shoes; many brand-name shoes have their own unique patterns, and some even have the brand's logo. The shoes the killer was wearing at the time were, without a doubt, from this foreign brand—"

The tablet displayed a long list of English brand names, and they huddled together, comparing it to the bloody shoe prints of the murderer in the photo.

"The second key point is that when the killer was frantically slashing people, his movements were so violent that two strands of hair fell into the blood. One of them barely had a hair follicle left, and a DNA test was conducted. It was male, but no match was found in the system. However, these two strands of hair can provide other clues: the killer's hair was bleached and is now dark brown."

"Thirdly, the elderly woman among the two victims must have had physical contact with the murderer. There were some skin flakes under her fingernails, and she scratched herself quite deeply. The murderer likely left marks on her body."

The killer's clothing can be seen in the surveillance footage: a black short-sleeved shirt and trousers. The places the victim could have scratched were probably his arms, neck, or face.

Zheng Yan and his team were invigorated: "This is a very useful clue. We will be able to identify the suspect soon."

As soon as the suspect was mentioned, the suspect appeared. At noon, the people who followed Qu He said that she had not gone home and had secretly gone to Jiefang South Road alone.

On Jiefang South Road, the suspects in more than a dozen previous theft cases are located somewhere on that street.

Zheng Yan: "Qu He really knows who the murderer is. Follow them and arrest them!"

The real twists and turns in this case have only just begun.

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(End of this chapter)