230: Chapter 230 Are you jealous?
The case took a turn, transforming from an accidental poisoning into a cold-blooded murder.
Lei Zhen reported the case to Wan Qiang, who was also somewhat surprised.
"I didn't expect the case to be less simple than we imagined. Lei Zhen, you might as well establish a Special Task Force in Qinghe. This case will still be under your full authority. As I said before, let me know whenever you need help."
After hanging up, Lei Zhen immediately established the Special Task Force and called a meeting.
The members of the Special Task Force included Gu Qingcheng, Zhu Xiaojun, Zheng Honglin, and several Auxiliary Police Officers who had previously investigated the case with him.
Everyone perked up once they heard it was a homicide.
Especially those Auxiliary Police Officers.
After all, Auxiliary Police Officers usually played second fiddle; when had they ever personally participated in a homicide case?
Lei Zhen first analyzed the case for everyone.
"This is a case within a case," Lei Zhen said. "First, on the day of Ou Mingquan's burial, over thirty relatives and friends of the Ou Family were poisoned. We have currently confirmed that they all were poisoned by eating toxic chicken."
"Next, we discovered that the chickens were poisoned to death by toxic rice fed to them by Zhang Suxia. Sister Pang couldn't bear to throw these chickens away, so she instructed the owner of the catering service to use them as ingredients for the banquet."
"And before that, Sister Pang and the deceased, Ou Mingquan, were also poisoned by eating the toxic rice. However, Ou Mingquan's death was not due to poisoning, but rather because he was strangled to death while poisoned."
He picked up a teacup, took a sip of water, and continued his analysis with an air of experience: "According to Sister Pang's own statement, she and her husband finished eating at six o'clock and had a toxic reaction in less than ten minutes, which was around six-ten."
"According to Li Hongyan's statement, she closed the shop at six o'clock and then rode her bike home with her son. We have also confirmed this through the town's surveillance."
"Li Hongyan passed a crossroad at 6:03. She was riding a newly bought national standard electric scooter with a top speed of only 25 km/h. It takes about half an hour to get home from town. Furthermore, Li Hongyan met two older women from the same village, a woman named Li and another named Gong, at the village entrance and her own doorstep respectively; both confirmed that Li Hongyan arrived home around 6:30."
"According to Sister Pang's recollection, less than ten minutes after she and her husband finished eating, she began to feel dizzy and soon became unconscious. Li Hongyan discovered the poisoned couple around 6:30."
"In other words, there is a twenty-minute 'window'."
"During this period, Sister Pang was semi-conscious. Even if someone entered the house, she wouldn't have noticed. The murderer likely used these twenty minutes to strangle the old man to death."
After Lei Zhen finished speaking, everyone burst into discussion.
Auxiliary Police Officer Tan Lin said, "Captain, I've seen on TV that the person who discovers the deceased is always the prime suspect. Is there no problem with this Li Hongyan?"
Lei Zhen said, "I did suspect Li Hongyan, but I basically ruled her out later. First, there was no conflict between Li Hongyan and her father-in-law, and she had no motive for murder. Additionally, Li Hongyan's testimony was consistent. We confirmed through surveillance that she indeed left the town at six o'clock and arrived at the village entrance around 6:30."
"There were two witnesses along the way."
"According to Auntie Gong, from the moment Li Hongyan entered the house to when she heard her cry for help, only about ten seconds had passed. If she had strangled Ou Mingquan after entering the house, that amount of time would be completely insufficient, as the forensic doctor said the strangulation marks on Ou Mingquan's neck would have required at least a minute to be left."
"If Li Hongyan is ruled out, what about Sister Pang? Could it be that she murdered her own husband?" another Auxiliary Police Officer asked.
"That possibility exists, but it doesn't seem likely at the moment," Lei Zhen said. "According to Li Hongyan's statement, she saw Sister Pang foaming at the mouth and semi-conscious as soon as she entered the room. In such a state, it's unlikely she would have the strength to strangle Ou Mingquan. Besides, Sister Pang doesn't seem to have any motive for murder."
Zhu Xiaojun said, "Could there be this possibility? Assuming Sister Pang is the murderer, she knew the rice was poisoned and deliberately gave it to her husband while not eating it herself. When he was poisoned and defenseless, she strangled him, then pretended to eat some poisoned rice to feign being a victim and deceive her daughter-in-law?"
Lei Zhen said, "Your theory isn't impossible, but I ask you, why would Sister Pang do that? If she wanted to kill Old Man Ou, wouldn't it be simpler to just add more poison to the rice? Then she could pretend to eat a bit herself. Why make it so complicated? You have to realize that if her family called the police, a forensic doctor would know at a glance the old man was strangled. Doing it this way would be like taking off her pants to fart—completely unnecessary—and it would leave evidence of her crime!"
Lei Zhen's words left everyone in deep thought.
Indeed, no matter how one looked at it, Sister Pang didn't seem like the murderer.
"Furthermore, Sister Pang is seventy years old this year and doesn't have that much strength. The forensic doctor speculated, based on the marks on the deceased's neck, that the murderer is quite strong and is likely a man."
"A male?" Gu Qingcheng looked at Lei Zhen. "Could it be Huang Yong? The one who had a conflict with the Ou Family over the fish pond contract?"
"We must consider every possibility," Lei Zhen said seriously. "Now, I'll assign tasks. Zhu Xiaojun, you, Tan Lin, and Liao Anqian will be one group. Go to the town and visit the neighbors around Li Hongyan's hair salon to see if she's had any abnormalities or emotional entanglements recently."
"Hong Lin, you, Li Shangjun, and Li Wenjie will be one group. Go and visit the villagers around Fengming Village to see if Ou Mingquan had any lifestyle issues or if he offended anyone recently."
"Qingcheng, you and I will be one group. We'll talk to that Huang Yong again to see if we can find out anything else."
So, everyone set out on their tasks, and Gu Qingcheng followed Lei Zhen to investigate the case, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
On the way, Gu Qingcheng finally couldn't help but ask, "Lei Zhen, what do you think of my Older Female Cousin?"
"Your Older Female Cousin? She's quite good." Lei Zhen thought she was talking about Zou Yuqing. "Your Older Female Cousin really should find a boyfriend. Everything about being a forensic doctor is fine, except that some people are superstitious, especially the man's parents. Many people find it hard to accept a girl who deals with dead people for a long time."
"I'm not talking about her," Gu Qingcheng said. "I'm talking about Shen Xiaoyun."
"Shen Xiaoyun?" Lei Zhen was momentarily stunned. "Which Shen Xiaoyun?"
"You forgot?" Gu Qingcheng was also surprised. "You even kissed her, and yet you forgot her name?"
"I kissed her?" Lei Zhen was stunned again. "Oh, I remember now. You mean that woman who tied me to the car? Right, she's also your Older Female Cousin. Why did you suddenly ask about her?"
"You really have no conscience, kissing someone and then forgetting their name." Gu Qingcheng curled her lip, but for some reason, she felt a sudden secret joy in her heart.
The fact that Lei Zhen even forgot her Older Female Cousin's name meant he didn't care about her at all.
"I was just joking at the time," Lei Zhen said. "How was I to know she'd actually kiss me? Oh, I see. No wonder you've been so snide to me since we saw Zou Yuqing that day. So she told you about this. I was wondering, even if you were on your period, your temper wouldn't be that foul!!"
"You talk too much." Gu Qingcheng gave Lei Zhen a sidelong glance.
"Gu Qingcheng, you wouldn't be jealous, would you?" Lei Zhen suddenly chuckled. He held the steering wheel with one hand and reached out to pull Gu Qingcheng's arm with the other.
"Who's jealous of you? Drive your car properly." Gu Qingcheng turned her face away, afraid that Lei Zhen would notice the curve of her lips.
It turned out that Lei Zhen didn't have those kinds of feelings for her Older Female Cousin at all.