Chapter 51 Suspected Crucial Material Evidence

The information gathered from the visit to Yang Qi's parents had just been reported via phone to the special investigation team at the bureau. This was standard procedure for every investigative unit, allowing irregular updates to facilitate the seamless integration of information.

The two officers drove to the residential complex where Yang Qi lived.

Squad Leader Hu Lihui had noted that although no items matching the material of the murder weapon were found in Yang Qi's home, it could not be ruled out that Yang Qi might have discarded them.

Where would he discard them?

In theory, anywhere was possible. However, the area surrounding Yang Qi's residential complex definitely had to be canvassed. This served a dual purpose: searching for the murder weapon and investigating whether Yang Qi had exhibited any abnormal behavior recently. The goal was to ensure comprehensive coverage of both broad and specific directions.

Other colleagues were busy checking real estate agencies, reviewing surveillance footage, investigating Hou Jiarou's friends and relatives, and probing bank accounts... Not to mention the police dogs, which were also hard at work.

Yang Qi, Zhao Zhiqiang, and everyone connected to the victim, Hou Jiarou, were within the scope of the investigation.

The entire special investigation team wove a giant net, diligently eating away at every investigative lead available.

On Han Ling's end.

Property management personnel, including security guards, were the primary targets of the interviews, along with Yang Qi's neighbors and other residents who might frequently cross paths with him.

Armed with photographs, they inquired door-to-door. More than half of the people recognized or had seen him. Through in-depth questioning, the two officers gained a clear picture of what kind of couple Yang Qi and his wife appeared to be in the eyes of their neighbors.

Every family has its hidden troubles that outsiders never know. Yang Qi was quite busy at the bank and occasionally went on business trips, so the neighbors saw Hou Jiarou around the complex much more often.

Was it possible that Hou Jiarou had been unfaithful? Han Ling brought up this question while chatting with Tong Feng.

Yang Qi had admitted to his own infidelity but had said nothing about Hou Jiarou. When a woman, a wife, is murdered and the husband is the prime suspect, the possibility of cuckoldry remains a viable angle.

This was something no man could tolerate.

However, judging from Hou Jiarou's call logs and QQ chat history, no evidence indicated that any particular man had maintained an improper relationship with her.

During the interviews, Han Ling had covertly touched upon related topics without eliciting any such information. Everyone reported that the couple seemed completely normal and that they had never witnessed them arguing.

The interviews also served to verify statements made by relevant individuals. Regarding the arguments alleged to have taken place on the second and fifth days of the Lunar New Year, inquiries directed at the residents living directly above, below, and across the hall revealed that only the downstairs neighbor had been home on the afternoon of the fifth day. However, that neighbor stated that too much time had passed, they had no clear impression, and could not remember.

Logically speaking, if a severe argument had broken out, the downstairs neighbor should have heard it.

Perhaps, the volume hadn't been that loud.

As for the second day of the Lunar New Year, all the neighbors had gone to visit their wives' families, so none of them knew the situation.

At five o'clock, residents of the complex began returning home from work one after another. Han Ling and Tong Feng intercepted a man at the entrance of the stairwell and started chatting with him about Yang Qi.

"I know him, we're pretty close. What's wrong, officers?" The man was very cooperative.

Han Ling asked, "How is the relationship between Yang Qi and his wife?"

"Very good," the man replied.

"Do you and Yang Qi often hang out together?"

As the questioning deepened, the man's expression gradually began to look unnatural. His answers started to feature pauses, indicating that he was mentally screening his upcoming words before speaking them aloud.

Leaving aside Han Ling, even Tong Feng could tell something was amiss.

"Are you close with Hou Jiarou?" Han Ling stared right at him.

The man shook his head. "Not close. I'm close with Yang Qi."

"Have you and Yang Qi ever done anything out of the ordinary?"

The man definitely had issues, and those issues stemmed either from Yang Qi or Hou Jiarou.

"No, we haven't," the man denied, his gaze subconsciously shifting downward, not daring to meet Han Ling's eyes.

Han Ling warned, "We are investigating a major criminal case involving Yang Qi. If you are concealing anything, I'm afraid you'll need to pay a visit to the branch bureau."

A major criminal case?!

The man was startled. "I'm not hiding anything! I haven't hidden a single thing, I swear."

Han Ling waved a hand. "Then let's go. We can chat back at the branch bureau."

This tactic proved extremely effective, and the man showed considerable resistance. "No, no, no... There's no need for that, really. I... I went to a foot massage parlor with Yang Qi. That's all."

"A foot massage parlor?" Tong Feng, standing beside him, pressed on. "A green one? If it were a legitimate one, you would've just said so openly right away, wouldn't you?"

The man looked around left and right, and seeing no one passing by, lowered his voice. "It was totally legitimate! I was just afraid my wife would find out, you know? Women always have prejudices against foot massage parlors."

Tong Feng gave a dry laugh.

Only a fool would believe that. They were both men; could he possibly not know what was on the other guy's mind?

Since he had been to a foot massage parlor, he had probably visited an SPA club as well, and quite possibly engaged in direct prostitution.

"Alright, thanks for your cooperation," Han Ling said.

The man scurried off in a hurry.

Tong Feng watched as Han Ling reported to the command team that Yang Qi was suspected of solicitation, and then asked, "Are we just going to drop that guy from earlier?"

"Drop him? Who has the idle time for that?" Han Ling said. "Let's go. We're heading to the garbage collection station outside the complex."

Tong Feng muttered under his breath and followed after Han Ling.

Outside the residential complex stood a garbage collection station where all refuse was concentrated.

This time of day coincided precisely with the municipal sanitation workers collecting the trash, and scavengers would also linger around.

The odor was quite potent. Han Ling and Tong Feng symbolically blocked their noses with the backs of their fingers, standing by the side to question people as they approached.

The questions were simple: Had anyone seen or picked up fabric items such as towels, pillows, or quilts, especially ones that looked relatively new and could still be completely usable?

The two officers remained at the garbage collection station until dark, their clothes reeking of the stench.

"I'm throwing these out the minute I get back," Tong Feng muttered, sniffing himself with evident disgust.

Han Ling puffed on a cigarette and remarked, "You don't look like a criminal police officer at all. You should transfer to another department soon and stop letting Fang Zhou pin any hopes on you."

"That won't do. You're transferring to the branch bureau soon anyway, so the two of us can keep each other company," Tong Feng retorted. "You're so capable, I'll just tag along and learn from you."

As they chatted, an old, hunchbacked woman approached. She was a seasoned professional, carrying a snakeskin bag in her left hand and gripping a homemade iron hook in her right.

New garbage had already been tossed into the bins. Unfazed by the pungent smell, the old woman thrust her head almost entirely inside to rummage through the contents.

Han Ling walked over. "Granny?"

The old woman turned around, the wrinkles on her face resembling deep gullies. "What is it, my child?"

The endearment carried a touch of warmth. Han Ling smiled and said, "We're police officers. Could you rack your brain for a moment and think if you've picked up any items like clothes, quilts, or pillows here since the Lunar New Year? Anything made of fabric."

"The police, child? How could my memory still recall that kind of thing... Oh, wait, it seems I did." The old woman's first instinct was to brush them off, but then a memory appeared to surface.

Hmm?

Han Ling quickly pulled out a cigarette. "Granny, smoke?"

Among the older generation, regardless of gender, quite a few people smoked.

The old woman smiled, her wrinkles deepening further. She accepted the cigarette, tucked it carefully into her bosom, and said, "Now that you mention it, I did pick up a quilt. It was just sitting right there in the trash bin, so I took it back, washed it, and used it."

At that moment, Tong Feng also walked over, his expression growing slightly grave.

She had picked up a quilt—a major discovery. Rarely did people simply throw such items away.

Han Ling handed over the entire pack of cigarettes and pressed further, "What kind of quilt was it? A cotton quilt?"

"Thank you, child. My old man will have something to smoke when I get home," the old woman said, beaming even brighter as she pocketed the whole pack. "It wasn't a cotton quilt. It was a light summer quilt."

A light summer quilt?

Tong Feng froze, feeling something was amiss. Han Ling reacted swiftly, uttering two words under his breath: "Central heating."

Tong Feng was suddenly enlightened.

Ah, right—heating.

Nowadays, every household in the urban area had central heating. In residential complexes with good insulation, indoor temperatures could reach above twenty-five degrees Celsius during the winter.

Thick cotton quilts were completely unnecessary; light summer quilts were far more practical.

"Granny, could I go to your place and take it?" Han Ling asked.

The old woman blinked. "Huh?"

She was calculating whether half a pack of cigarettes was worth a quilt.

Han Ling added, "I'll buy it off you. How about fifty yuan?"

As a suspected piece of physical evidence, the criminal police had the legal right to confiscate it directly. However, the elderly woman before them did not look like someone who would willingly cooperate.

If he brought up the term "crucial physical evidence," she probably wouldn't understand anyway.

Buying it outright was the most direct method. He was reluctant to play hardball with an old woman; if the bureau could reimburse him, great, and if not, it didn't matter.

"Deal!" the old woman agreed.