Free Web NovelChapter 576: Chapter 546 New Discoveries_1
Liu Zhen nodded, and Zhou Ning sized her up. The woman was not tall, very thin, dressed neatly, with many wrinkles on her hands and rough skin, clearly someone who did manual labor.
"When do you usually come to clean Li Li’s house?"
"Usually on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Other times, she calls me if she needs cleaning done. Last night, Li Li called me to come clean and to take some clothes she had sorted out to the dry cleaners. It seemed she was preparing to go to the North for the National Day holiday."
"Oh? Did she say who she would go with?"
Liu Zhen smiled awkwardly.
"It’s not good to pry into the employer’s private matters. I have three other jobs, and the reason why I can work long-term is because I don’t talk too much. That’s the rule in this line of work. If you have any questions, you can ask the employer."
"Let me ask differently, then. Did you notice anything unusual when you came to Li Li’s place this morning? Did it feel like someone outside had stayed over?"
Liu Zhen thought for a moment and then slightly shook her head.
"I didn’t notice anything special. I arrived at nine in the morning, and Li Li had already left. There was just a pair of her slippers at the door. As for a used towel in the room, I replaced her bed set and washed it, sent the autumn clothes from her laundry basket to the dry cleaners. Can I ask what happened to Li Li?"
Fang Mu placed his phone in front of Liu Zhen. It showed the scene of the accident with the car stuck in the ground, missing a third of it, a dark area, still emitting smoke occasionally. Liu Zhen didn’t even realize what the photo meant.
"Li Li’s car fell from a height, and she has passed away. We’re investigating whether it was an accident or due to human factors, so we hope you’ll tell us everything you know. Now, think carefully again, were there any signs that someone else stayed in the room?"
Liu Zhen was scared, clutching her clothes with trembling hands.
"Dead... dead?"
Zhou Ning knew it was now his role to play good cop. Ordinary citizens don’t encounter accidents, unexpected events, or murders every day, especially considering this was her employer, and she didn’t even know if her salary had been settled.
"Big sister, don’t be nervous. Think carefully again. We’ll judge what’s useful. This could help our investigation. If someone harmed her, we can catch the culprit faster. If not, we can rule it as an accident sooner, allowing her family to bury her earlier."
Liu Zhen bit her lip and after a long silence, finally looked up at Zhou Ning and spoke:
"Then... then I’ll speak. When I was tidying up the bed, the four pillows were thrown around on the ground and on the lounge chair, and the bedsheet was all out of place, crumpled, and there was hair on it, the curly kind, you understand?"
Zhou Ning nodded, held back Fang Mu who was about to speak, and signaled Liu Zhen to continue:
"Good, keep going. What else did you find?"
"There was a used condom under the bed. I threw it in the trash can in the bathroom. When I opened that trash can, I found a few more, wrapped up in bunches of toilet paper. I had just cleaned up on Friday, so I guess they were tossed in these past two days.
On the dining table, there were two empty cups and plates, and an empty cake box. It looked like fried eggs and ham had been eaten. She never cooks at home, only occasionally boils noodles in plain water without any seasoning, saying salt makes her gain weight."
Zhou Ning quickly composed a message and sent it to Mr. Zhao, instructing him to talk to Cui Lili and to hurry Mr. Qu for the CCTV footage.
He had seen the trash bag full of toilet paper and indeed had not checked inside. According to Kong Wanshan, he hadn’t been there recently, and the housekeeper had come to clean and change it on Friday. Just one wild night on a Saturday, it was obvious that Li Li had secrets.
"Does Li Li usually eat cakes or sweets?"
Liu Zhen thought for a moment and then slightly shook her head.
"I’ve been cleaning for Li Li for almost three years now, and she never has any candy or snacks at home. You can take a look in the kitchen; there are no seasonings. She’s very strict about her figure, only eats fried egg whites or boiled eggs, only treats herself to lunch out, and eats well. Furthermore, she claims she never eats dinner."
Fang Mu found Kong Wanshan’s photo and showed it to Liu Zhen.
"Do you recognize this person?"
Liu Zhen nodded.
"I recognize him, have seen him twice, but we’ve never spoken. Both times I came, this gentleman was just leaving. Li Li told me that he’s her husband. Judging by his age, I also understand what kind of relationship they have. However, you can’t poke your nose into these matters as a housekeeper, right?"
Fang Mu struggled to keep a casual expression as he continued to inquire.
"Like seeing this kind of condom, had you encountered it before?"
Liu Zhen glanced at Zhou Ning, who was encouragingly looking at her, and after taking a deep breath, she said: ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"I had seen it before, but very rarely. In the last six months, there were a lot, especially in these last two weeks. Every time I came to clean, I would find several in the trash can, and even... even next to the bathtub, it would be all sticky, and I even stepped on it."
At this, Liu Zhen appeared very embarrassed, and Fang Mu glanced at Zhou Ning.
"There’s nothing embarrassing about speaking with the police, big sister. Think carefully, have you ever seen this person?"
Liu Zhen didn’t wait for Fang Mu to finish before she shook her head, stating very firmly:
"I know what you’re going to ask. I really haven’t seen him. Not to mention anything else, I haven’t even met Mr. Kong face to face; how could I possibly know about others."
Zhou Ning smiled, waving his hand dismissively, and leaned in closer to Liu Zhen, speaking in an even tone:
"We understand that Li Li didn’t want you to meet Kong Wanshan, let alone this man. She had her secrets, and before her death, these were none of our business, as we are not the MYPC; but now that she’s dead, we have to investigate everything related to her.
My colleague’s question just now might have been too direct. So think back, for example, inside the bedroom, you said the bed sheets were all messed up, the pillows were on the floor; were there any hairs that fell out, straight or curly, what color? Or, for example, did you find any fingernails cut off in the house, particularly large ones?"
Liu Zhen thought for a moment, then stood up and walked to the door of the master bedroom.
"I remember now, when I was cleaning the room this morning, there was a pair of nail clippers on the bedside table, and some large nail clippings. At my own house, I usually throw them away and sweep them up, but Li Li said that stuff makes the best fertilizer for plants and always reminded me to throw it in the flower pots."
Before Liu Zhen could finish speaking, Zhou Ning had already rushed to the flower pots and indeed found several big fingernail clippings, one of which was even over three centimeters wide, which made Zhou Ning feel nauseous.
He turned back, retrieved an evidence bag, and put them inside, while from the doorway came a sound — Mr. Zhao had run back. Seeing Zhou Ning’s actions, he quickly came over, with Fang Mu following behind him. Mr. Zhao caught on after a brief update and lifted his flashlight to the bedside, placing the flashlight on the floor.
On the ground, whether it was dust or hair, both were revealed. Mr. Zhao looked around and soon found several bent short hairs. Picking them up and shining them with the flashlight, Mr. Zhao confidently said:
"The hair has been dyed. This shade is what, chestnut brown? The roots show signs of having been permed, and it’s a recent job; you can still smell the scent of cold perming solution. Given the color and the signs of a perm, I can guarantee that this person doesn’t have very thick hair, as the strands are quite fine."
Fang Mu on the side seemed somewhat incredulous.
"Could there be a mistake? Which man dyes his hair?"
Mr. Zhao glanced at Fang Mu as if he were looking at an idiot.
"Men tie braids a lot; bleaching to a Huangmao isn’t uncommon either. It’s just that now, not many people opt for a ’Scream Makeover’ hairstyle anymore, otherwise there’d be even more dyeing and perming. Oh right, Mr. Qu isn’t done with the video; it seems there was some problem. Don’t put too much hope in that camera."
"How many fingerprints did we collect from the room just now?"
Mr. Zhao shook his head, glancing at the nanny, Liu Zhen.
"Not many fingerprints were collected from the room, most were Li Li’s. On the armrest of the study’s chair, we found Kong Wanshan’s prints. None of the others matched, and as for Liu Zhen, she hasn’t updated her ID card, so we don’t have her fingerprint data, but I can collect it now."
Zhou Ning nodded, and Mr. Zhao quickly collected Liu Zhen’s fingerprints. Afterwards, everyone stood up; the findings here were limited, and now it was time to see the progress on Liu Yufei’s end. Fang Mu left Liu Zhen’s contact information, smiled at her, and said:
"Alright, please make sure your phone is available. We might call you again if we need further information. Thank you for today."
Liu Zhen quickly waved her hand, picking up her cloth bag.
"So, can I leave now?"
Seeing Fang Mu nod, Liu Zhen hurried away, not wanting to stay a second longer.
"Mr. Dui, shall we head back to the station now?"
Fang Mu nodded and glanced at Mr. Zhao.
"Mr. Zhao, the cake box you took, were there any fingerprints on it?"
Mr. Zhao shook his head.
"The examination was urgent, so it was sent straight for testing. Mr. Qu has already retrieved the video, and he’s downstairs. Shall we watch it here, or shall we go back to view it?"
Fang Mu paused. If Zhao Xinli had found something valuable, he would have said so already. Thus, the lack of such an announcement clearly indicated there were not many useful findings, but Fang Mu still couldn’t quite give up.
"We still need to investigate everyone who entered this unit, don’t we? It’s not easy for an ordinary person to suffer from vitamin A poisoning; I don’t have any doubts, this is definitely not a normal traffic accident. Moreover, considering the identity of the deceased, there are indeed suspects worth doubting, such as Kong Wanshan’s wife."
Mr. Zhao chuckled, quickly sent a voice message to Mr. Qu, and approached Fang Mu.
"Don’t get agitated Mr. Dui, I just asked. Mr. Qu will be up shortly. He has gathered information about the residents of this unit, and he’s also captured footage of the people entering and leaving, which we can use to verify their identities."
Before he could finish speaking, Mr. Qu rushed in, holding two laptops, with a large bag slung over his back. However, after just four floors, he was already gasping for breath. Mr. Zhao kicked him lightly and laughed before helping him place the laptops on the dining table.
"Buddy, you’re out of shape. It’s only four floors, how can you be gasping like that?"
