Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 122 The Suitcase Corpse Disposal Case 3
The deceased was indeed Tang Tianyu, 23 years old, a rising third-tier male star who gained some popularity a few months ago for playing the third male lead in a hit drama and has been enjoying good popularity recently.

Tan Ming contacted his agent to identify the body. The agent was a man in his thirties. When he arrived at the location and saw the body, he immediately fainted.

The assistant was terrified and at a loss, his face pale as he shouted "Brother Pan!" Tan Ming, unfazed, helped him to find a doctor.

When the people regained consciousness, their sorrowful cries lingered for three minutes.

"How could this happen? How could this have happened? He worked hard for four or five years and finally got a breakout role. He just got a good script as the second male lead, how could this have happened!"

“We worked so hard to get this role. It's a great story, great actors, and a great production team. If he performs well, getting promoted won't be a problem. The production team is waiting for him to join! He told me yesterday at the hotel that he would study the script carefully…”

Pan Ge cried sincerely; even when the deceased's parents arrived, they didn't cry as loudly as he did.

Xiao Chen and Wu Yang watched videos of Tang Tianyu during his lifetime in the office and also browsed articles from marketing accounts.

"What his agent said is true. The deceased just joined the cast yesterday, playing the second male lead in an urban romance drama. However, it is said that many people wanted this role, and several actors fought over it. In the end, he was officially announced as the one who got the role. The fans of the other actors even cyberbullied him, saying that he got the role through underhanded means."

“Look, here’s a marketing account saying that he also had a physical altercation with one of the actors, which led to the other actor’s fans throwing an unknown liquid at his doorstep.”

"So the murderer might be an actor who was unhappy about losing a role, or an actor's fan?" Tan Jia asked without looking up, kneading a black suitcase with dough in her hands.

The square suitcase was easy to squeeze, but the dead body inside was not. She kneaded the dough, thinking about how to start.

Xiao Chen, still engrossed in reading the marketing posts, agreed with her analysis: "Very likely. Although we may think that fighting for a role is a trivial matter, half of the murder cases we've encountered in the entertainment industry are motivated by these minor conflicts."

On the other side, seeing that his agent, Brother Pan, had calmed down a bit, Tan Ming also asked about his speculations about the murderer.

When was the last time you saw the deceased?

Brother Pan: "Yesterday, yesterday afternoon, we just checked into a hotel near the filming location. Tomorrow... tonight we're supposed to shoot his first scene."

"Do you remember what time it was? How long did you stay together?"

“Around 1 p.m., he went to take some costume photos. He got back to the hotel around 5 or 6 p.m. I ordered him a chicken and vegetable salad and told him to familiarize himself with the script in his room. I had other things to do at the time, so I didn’t pay any attention to him.”

After Pan finished speaking, he was silent for a moment, then covered his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice, "How did he die?"

He was stabbed several times and thrown into the river.

"Who will it be?"

"This is also the question we want to ask. According to the autopsy, he was stabbed around 12:30 a.m. Who was in the deceased's room at that time?"

"No way? He doesn't stay up late much when he's not filming. Besides, everyone on that floor of the hotel is from the film crew, and nobody has a grudge against him."

"Do you know who he's had a conflict with recently? Have any suspicious people appeared around him?"

Pan hesitated for a moment and said, "Because he got this role, he was cyberbullied and threatened by fans of several actors. One of the actors was originally the second male lead recommended by the internet, but because the casting director decided on Tianyu, that person was assigned to the third male lead position. But they didn't stay at the same hotel."

Tan Ming understood and showed him a photo of the suitcase: "Have you seen this suitcase before? Is it the deceased's?"

Pan hesitated for a moment: "I'm really not sure. There are always several suitcases in an artist's room... Xiaolin, what do you think?"

The assistant examined the picture carefully, then shook his head and said, "Never seen it before."

The suitcase containing the body was not from the deceased's room.
Could it have been brought by the murderer himself? That would mean the murderer had planned to kill the victim long ago.

But there's another possibility: the primary crime scene wasn't the victim's room, but rather the room of the suitcase's owner, the murderer. Tan Ming put away his notebook and said, "Take us to the hotel."

The deceased stayed at a hotel in the North District because the film crew's nearest shooting location was in a residential complex there.

At this point, they should have been filming scenes for other characters, but because of this incident, the crew suspended filming and asked everyone to stay in the hotel and not go out.

The director followed behind Brother Pan, walking together toward the deceased's room, his brow furrowed as he quietly inquired about the body.

"What exactly happened? Filming hasn't even started yet... The casting process was already quite a spectacle, do you know how many people are eyeing this show... Do you know who it is? Arrest them as soon as possible..."

We've arrived.

Room 8319, right around the corner, Zheng Yan first looked up at the corridor surveillance camera.

"If the murderer had walked along the wall with his head down, the surveillance cameras might not have caught him. Xiao Chen, go find the hotel staff to check the surveillance footage."

Then open the door and wait for the trace evidence inspector to go in for scanning and taking pictures.

"It looks very tidy. Was it cleaned this morning?" Tan Ming asked after glancing at it.

"Celebrities who stay in long-term rooms should specify that they don't want room service, right?" Tan Jia peeked into the bathroom and saw, "The cosmetics bag was open, the hair dryer was still plugged in, and there were tissues in the trash can."

The hotel staff immediately verified that the room had indeed not been cleaned that morning.

Zheng Yan cast an approving glance at her, took her by his side, and intended to mentor her: "What else did you notice?"

"Hmm—there's a script on the small table by the window, closed with the corner folded, facing the chair. This means the deceased was in a calm state when he closed the script; no one rushed in, and there were no particularly intense emotions."

She wasn't intimidated and was used to everyone's gaze, carefully observing the entire room.

"There were no visible signs of a struggle or bloodstains, and the suitcases were all in place. This should not be the primary crime scene."

Zheng Yan lightly touched her wolf tail without saying a word, but his eyes seemed to say he wished this was the child he had given birth to for the police station.

Tan Ming couldn't bear to watch.

Just then, Xiao Chen returned with the hotel's surveillance video. The supervisor's tablet was playing footage of the corridor from last night to this morning. When the video was sped up to 11:48 PM, the door to room 8319 opened from the inside, and the deceased, wearing a hat, walked out of the room and entered the elevator.

"The deceased had a date with someone in the middle of the night? Did he have a secret girlfriend?" Tan Jia looked at the director.

"No way." The director looked at Brother Pan with a blank expression, and Brother Pan looked at his assistant Xiao Lin with a shocked expression.

"Did he go out tonight?"

"I didn't know! I thought he was resting!"

Xiao Chen asked, "So he has a secret girlfriend?"

“No! I’m controlling him so he doesn’t date at this time,” Pan’s tone softened again as he turned his head, “but… I really can’t be sure if he’s disobeyed me in private.”

"It seems someone invited him out, or he arranged to meet someone else," Xiao Chen pondered. "The deceased didn't have his phone with him, so the murderer might have taken it. Did the film crew work late last night? Who were they?"

(End of this chapter)