Usually, Detective Ji Feng would not let a suspect off easily. But Jian Jing was an old friend who had helped the police many times, so he couldn't be too harsh on her.
He relented: "Jin Meixian was murdered. Anyone who had contact with her today is under suspicion."
Jian Jing was puzzled: "What's my motive?"
Ji Feng: "That's what I'm asking you."
"Don't you know me well enough to not have to ask?" she said. "Today was the first time I met Jin. She sat next to me during the exam this morning. I don't know her at all, so I can't think of any reason to..." She trailed off as she glanced at Cheng Jia You standing in the distance. She sighed, "No, don't tell me this is about..."
Ji Feng said: "Two classmates mentioned that you and the victim's boyfriend had a history. She was hostile towards you and provoked you many times."
Jian Jing: "..." She wanted to have some peace and quiet to think this through.
After collecting her thoughts, she looked at the other three people: "Who are you?"
They introduced themselves one by one.
They were Fang the student council president (male, wore glasses, regular features), Wang the victim's roommate (looked plain, with dark eye circles), and Zhang the victim's best friend (wore stylish clothes, old Dior resin earrings, new Swarovski crystal bracelet).
Ji Feng dragged over a chair and opened his notebook: "Now that everyone's here, let's go over each person's activities today."
He called on Wang Roommate: "You first."
Wang Roommate: "I got up at 7 am today, washed up, had breakfast, and arrived at the classroom for the exam at 7:45. After the exam, I had lunch in the cafeteria, then went to the lakeside to review vocabulary. In the afternoon, I went for an interview. I ran into Jin Meixian there and we chatted briefly. Afterwards, I went back to the dorm until you called me here."
Ji Feng neither agreed nor disagreed, and called on Zhang Bestie next.
Zhang Bestie: "I didn't have classes today. At 10 am, Meixian called me to meet her at the classroom. We went to the student council together and had lunch with everyone. In the afternoon, I accompanied Meixian to her interview, until her boyfriend came to pick her up."
"You." He pointed at Cheng Jia You.
Cheng Jia You: "This morning I was at the student council the whole time. Around 10:30, Meixian and her friend came to see me, and we had lunch together. I had something to do in the afternoon so I didn't go with her to the interview. After I finished up, I went to pick her up. We were supposed to go eat, but she was a little upset that I didn't accompany her for the exam. We argued a little, then she turned and ran away. She stood on the bridge for a while before suddenly jumping off."
He looked very distressed: "I really didn't know she would do this..."
Ji Feng nodded and looked towards Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan: "This morning I was reviewing in the library. At noon I went to the student council and met up with them for lunch. After lunch, I went back to the student council to take care of some matters until you called me here."
Fang President: "I was at the student council all day today. I had lunch with them, then went back with Zhao Xuan and stayed until now."
Liu Kai was sharp and took the initiative to add: "The president and I can vouch for each other."
Finally, Ji Feng looked to Jian Jing.
She said: "The exam was at 8 am. At 10, I went to a cafe for lunch and left at 1:40 pm. My interview ended at 2:30 pm. Afterwards I stopped by a bookstore. I have a dashcam, go check it yourself."
Ji Feng couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile. Dealing with smart people was less tedious.
He asked: "You said the victim spoke to you. What did you two talk about?"
"Heh," she remembered very clearly. With a blank expression she said, "She asked me if writers make enough money to buy a bag."
Silence filled the room.
A slight smirk appeared at the corner of Wang Roommate's mouth: "That was the kind of person she was, no wonder."
Ji Feng immediately asked: "What kind of person was she?"
"A bitch who looked down on others just because her family was rich," Wang Roommate said coldly with undisguised disgust. "She was lucky to have a rich family. She died today, her bad luck."
Liu Kai was the shrewdest and followed up: "Sounds like you really wanted to kill her, huh?"
Wang Roommate: "Don't you have people you hate?"
Ji Feng didn't stop their quarrel. Sometimes when suspects argued, they were more likely to reveal hidden clues.
But after her outburst, Wang Roommate ignored everyone. He had no choice but to say: "From what I know, the victim stayed on campus last night. According to what your roommates said, she left the room at 7:30 am. Is that right?"
He looked towards Wang Roommate.
Wang Roommate nodded: "She was still in bed when I left."
"She arrived at the classroom at 8 am." Ji Feng looked to Jian Jing.
Jian Jing also nodded.
Ji Feng said: "We checked the school surveillance footage. Between 7:30 and 10 am, only you two and the victim had contact."
He hastily sketched out a timeline of the victim's activities today:
07:30 Woke up (interacted with Wang Roommate)
08:00 Arrived at exam classroom (interacted with Jian Jing)
10:00 Met up with Zhang Bestie
10:30 Went to student council (encountered Cheng Jia You, Zhao Xuan, Liu Kai, Fang President)
10:40 Had lunch at cafe (Cheng Jia You, Zhao Xuan, Liu Kai, Fang President, Jian Jing present)
13:30 Finished lunch, went to interview room with Zhang Bestie
13:40 Ran into Wang Roommate
14:40 Interview ended, parted from Zhang Bestie, left with Cheng Jia You
15:00 Argument erupted at lakeside, fell into lake and died
While Jian Jing was still thinking about how the victim died, the others were very surprised. "You were at the cafe too?"
"Why can't I be at the cafe?" she retorted. "It's the only cafe near school with good coffee. Am I not allowed to go?"
Zhang Bestie glanced at Cheng Jia You and said, "That's quite a coincidence."
"I got there first," Jian Jing said impatiently. She turned to Ji Feng and asked, "Do you want to come with me to get the dashcam footage?"
Ji Feng stroked his chin and revealed a delighted smile: "Sure."
He called for another officer to continue taking statements, then left with Jian Jing.
However, she didn't take him to get the dashcam footage. "I want to go to the scene."
"I guessed as much," Ji Feng pointed towards the distant lake. "It's over there."
Police tape had been put up around the lakeside. School security guards stood far away, keeping back the students who had come to gawk.
Jian Jing stood on the stone bridge and said, "The time frame is too long and the range is too wide. It must be hard for you to investigate, right?"
Ji Feng nodded.
Through surveillance checks, the police had narrowed down the suspects to seven people. That was the best they could do. The cyanide was slipped into the powder compact. The time frame was too large, and the cyanide evidence had likely already been destroyed.
"Finding the real murderer is the only way for you to clear your name," Ji Feng stopped and said. "This is the death scene."
By now night had fallen. In the distance, lights shone in the library and classrooms, but there wasn't a soul by the lakeside. The cold wind blew over the lake surface, further dropping the temperature and chilling one to the bone.
Jian Jing stood on the stone bridge and said, "The timeframe is too long and the range is too wide. It must be difficult for you to investigate, right?"
Ji Feng nodded.
Through screening and monitoring, the police had narrowed down the suspects to seven people, which was already their best effort. But the cyanide was slipped into the powder compact, and the timeframe was too large. The cyanide evidence had likely already been destroyed.
"Finding the real murderer is the only way for you to clear suspicion," Ji Feng stopped and said, "This is the death scene."
By now night had fallen. In the distance, lights shone in the library and classrooms, but there wasn't a soul by the lakeside. The cold wind blew over the lake surface, further dropping the temperature and chilling one to the bone.
Jian Jing stood on the stone bridge and said, "The timeframe is too long and the range is too wide. It must be hard for you to investigate, right?"
Ji Feng nodded.
The police had narrowed down the suspects to seven people through screening and monitoring, which was already their best effort. But the cyanide was slipped into the powder compact, and the timeframe was too large. The cyanide evidence had likely already been destroyed.
"Finding the real murderer is the only way for you to clear suspicion," Ji Feng stopped and said, "This is the death scene."
By now night had fallen. In the distance, lights shone in the library and classrooms, but there wasn't a soul by the lakeside. The cold wind blew over the lake surface, further dropping the temperature and chilling one to the bone.
Although it was still possible to determine that she was on campus, how big is a university?
To find someone in a school, it would take dozens of police officers and a week's time.
They didn't have that many people.
To put it more bluntly, Wang Roommate's family didn't have that much influence.
"Let's cooperate," Ji Feng said. "You help me solve this case, and I'll give you a big gift."
Jian Jing was disgusted: "I don't want to eat."
"Tsk, what are you thinking?" Ji Feng said. "You can't usually take spray cans on public transportation, right?"
Jian Jing: "......"
With the system, she had never worried about it before.
But hearing him say that, she was indeed curious: "Do you have a way?"
"I'll apply for a permit for you. You can't carry guns domestically, but you can be allowed to carry self-defense equipment," Ji Feng threw out the temptation. "Stun guns, tear gas spray, things like that, for your self-defense."
Jian Jing was shocked: "You can do that?"
"You're assisting the police in solving cases, it's easy to be retaliated against, this is a reasonable request," he explained. "Similarly, if it weren't for your high rating before, I wouldn't reveal so many details to you either."
Jian Jing: "Deal."
"Then let's get started now," Ji Feng hooked up the corners of his mouth. "Come on, Teacher Jian, let me hear your thoughts."
Jian Jing thought about it and immediately spat at him: "You know the poisoning didn't happen here, but you still agreed to bring me here. Do you think the culprit might have been at the scene at the time, and may have destroyed evidence here?"
Ji Feng was stunned for a moment, and sincerely marveled: "Teacher Jian, you really have a talent."
Being a cop is just a profession, just like being a doctor. Many people do this job not because they are good at it, but to make a living and feed their families. Old cops can perhaps grope their own way of solving cases through experience, but young cops often can't find the threshold.
Only a few people are born to do this job.
He was, and so was Jian Jing.
This had nothing to do with experience or expertise, purely intuition.
They instinctively knew what to do, which clues to check, just like a dog smelling meat, always with a faint scent leading their footsteps.
However, Jian Jing was still unaware of her talent, glaring at him and starting to look around the lake.
"Do you think the stuff was thrown into the lake?" she asked.
"The safest way, but also took a risk," Ji Feng took out his phone. "There are quite a few security cameras around your school's lake. If you want to witness her death with your own eyes, you may get caught on camera."
He clicked open a few videos: "Our police buddies are quick, they've sent them already."
"Let me see," Jian Jing peered over.
Thud.
Their foreheads bumped together.
Jian Jing was already standing by the lake. With this bump, she lost her balance and her body tilted back.
As she was about to fall, she twisted her waist with force, took half a step back with her right foot, and steadied herself.
She felt the muddy sensation under her feet.
"You okay?" Ji Feng asked casually.
Jian Jing took a deep breath: "My shoes."
He: "?"
"The new boots I bought," she said, unable to breathe from the heartache. "I just put a film on the sole."
Damn, why didn't this guy steady her?
Such nice suede boots, just stepped into the mud pond QAQ.
