Chapter 80 Contract of Indenture

At the stairwell.

The innkeeper's face was etched with worry; he was quite old, and he truly couldn't recall.

"It's me, but I really don't know."

His face showed an expression of apology and a hint of anxiety.

Seeing this expression, Chen Mo had a rough idea of what was going on.

In fact, when he had asked this question earlier, he had already sensed the old man's underlying worry.

It wasn't that he was lying, but rather hesitation because he didn't dare speak recklessly about things he wasn't sure of.

It gave the impression that he was terrified of saying the wrong thing, leading the police investigation astray, and getting himself into trouble.

Since the point of the man's hesitation had been found, things would be easier to handle.

"In that case, let me ask a different question."

"Last night, after you had dinner, how many guests went out?"

Hearing this, the old man fell into thought.

"I can actually answer that question."

A moment later, he held up two fingers on his right hand.

"I only remember two people going out. Last night, there were only ten rooms occupied in the inn; one was the customer from 306, and the other from 401."

Chen Mo nodded slightly.

He had asked this question to determine whether the old man had any memory issues.

The answer was no; he had an impression of everyone who had gone out.

Since he hadn't seen Xu Dong and his group leave, but couldn't guarantee they hadn't, he didn't dare to speak nonsense.

It is worth mentioning that Xu Dong and his three companions were much sturdier than the average person, and all of them had large tattoos on their arms. Since they were wearing short sleeves in the summer, if the old man could remember other guests, there was no reason he wouldn't remember these four with such distinct features.

Given this, the probability of them leaving through the front door was already very low.

"I understand the situation now. Thank you for your cooperation."

After expressing his thanks, he turned around.

He noticed that Captain Long had been inside room 205, next to Xu Dong's, for a long time without coming out.

Curious, he walked over.

The officer inside noticed him and immediately called out:

"Captain Long, Brother Mo is here."

In front of the window, Long Hao, who was studying the handprint on the glass, turned his head and gestured for him to come over quickly.

"What's wrong?"

"There's nothing unusual on the rooftop or anywhere else, but there's a handprint on this window. The forensics team hasn't arrived yet; take a look and see if it belongs to Xu Dong and his group."

The handprint on the glass was a bit blurry, looking very much like it was left by someone who had accidentally gotten a drink like cola on their hand and then wiped it back and forth on the glass.

In essence, since many guests stayed in the room, it was normal to have a couple of handprints on it.

But given the special circumstances, every clue had to be taken seriously.

After looking at it for a moment, Chen Mo coughed twice.

"Ahem."

"Although it's only half a print and very blurry, this line appears to be the middle finger of a palm. It can basically be confirmed to be a woman's hand."

Long Hao listened, looked carefully again, and then extended his own middle finger to compare.

"Stop comparing!"

Watching Long Hao, Chen Mo felt like laughing.

Because this room was a couple-themed room.

A woman's hand appeared on the glass, and the other hand was, unsurprisingly, being held.

A little imagination was enough to know the state of the owner of this hand at the time.

"Damn it!"

Long Hao hurriedly withdrew his hand. He was a married man, so, of course, he realized what it meant.

He turned his head and saw that everyone's faces were flushed red, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

"What are you laughing at!"

"Keep your mouths shut! If anyone lets me hear a sound, you'll be sorry!"

After saying that, he stormed off in a huff.

Inside the room, bursts of laughter erupted instantly.

And laughter is contagious.

After a while, everyone finally stopped.

At this moment, there was new progress on Xu Dong's side.

Chen Mo returned to room 206.

He didn't know what methods Xiao Zhang had used, but at this moment, Xu Dong and his three companions had given up resisting.

They were probably frightened by being suspected as murderers.

"Lin Dahai couldn't pay back his debts—you can tell just by looking at where he lived. So, how did you plan to collect the debt?"

"By using his wife, Feng Juan, and his daughter as collateral."

As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Mo, standing by the door, frowned.

Using a wife and daughter to pay off a debt?

Actually, it wasn't hard to understand. After all, Feng Juan was a college graduate, and at 35, she still retained her charm. Whether they made her work as a prostitute or sold her into the deep mountains, they could get a sum of money.

And Lin Xixi would likely be treated as a child bride, or worse, sent to a place similar to Lolita Island.

"Do you people have any humanity left!?"

Xiao Zhang appeared very angry.

Forcing good women into prostitution and selling them into the deep mountains to accompany an old man—just thinking about it made him, and everyone present, feel suffocated.

"Officer, you can't just say things like that!"

"This method was proposed by Lin Dahai himself! He said that if he couldn't pay, he'd use his wife and daughter to settle the debt."

As Xu Dong spoke, he hurriedly unzipped his suitcase and took out a contract that looked like an indenture.

This thing had no legal validity, but both Xu Dong's side and Lin Dahai's side would tacitly abide by it.

After all, one side got the payment, and the other side cleared the debt.

A win-win!

Xiao Zhang took the contract, glanced at it, and handed it to Long Hao. Eventually, it ended up in Chen Mo's hands.

The writing on the contract was a bit crooked; one look and you could tell it was written by someone who didn't write often.

"The contract was written by Lin Dahai."

Xu Dong hurriedly began to explain; he said this to prove that what he had just said was true.

Chen Mo ignored him and studied the handwriting.

Throughout the entire text, although the handwriting was crooked, there was no sense of rush at all.

This ruled out the possibility that Xu Dong had forced Lin Dahai to write it.

"Damn it all!"

He thought to himself.

Even if he didn't like Feng Juan, he shouldn't have sold her because of a debt.

That was his wife, not a dog raised at home!

Combined with the fact that Feng Juan was beaten to death, it must have been Lin Dahai discussing this matter with her.

But Feng Juan didn't agree, and in a fit of alcohol-fueled rage, he beat her to death.

"Xiao Zhang, detain these few people for the time being. Release them after the case is closed."

"Even if you aren't the murderers, your thinking is deeply flawed. You need to learn some law!"

After Long Hao said this, he left the room.

Arriving in the hallway, his expression was very grim.

He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.

He didn't usually smoke; he only lit one when the pressure was truly immense to soothe his nerves.

"Lin Xixi."

Long Hao looked at Chen Mo, who had followed him out, and said these three words.

"Yeah."

Currently, all suspects had been cleared.

So, without a doubt, the fact that Lin Xixi was the murderer could be considered settled.

Her mother was beaten by her father for years; that was the motive.

As for turning the motive into concrete action, it must have been because she heard what her parents were discussing last night.

Her father was going to sell her and her mother to pay off his debts.

She had the time and the ability to commit the crime. That night, Lin Dahai had drunk a lot of alcohol and fell asleep in bed.

The fatal wound was on the neck, killing him instantly.

The previous casual speculation, that Lin Xixi could do it just by standing on a chair, had now become reality.

"I had been deliberately trying not to think about it being a child, but I didn't expect it to really be her."

Long Hao took a harsh drag, his heart filled with mixed emotions.