Chapter 150: Chapter 123: Aishang Foot Massage Shop

Secondly, according to clues provided by a technician at Aishang Foot Massage Shop, the deceased was last seen leaving with a boss driving a Mercedes.

Lastly, the biological evidence collected from the deceased’s trash bin and body is crucial evidence.

Li Xiang believes that whether these three clues point to the same person or three different people, the truth will be uncovered in their hands.

The first step is to investigate Gu Jian. According to the DMV records, he only owns a domestic vehicle, which doesn’t match the second clue.

Moreover, the deceased only contacted him once in the past three months, and it was the last call, so Li Xiang and his team feel Gu Jian is not a major suspect.

However, they still plan to summon him to understand the situation. What exactly was said in that last call, which lasted just over ten seconds?

To find out everything, they need Gu Jian to come over.

Li Xiang made a call, summoning him to the police station.

In the interrogation room, Li Xiang got straight to the point and asked:

“Do you know Miao Xiuhui?”

“Who?”

“Miao Xiuhui.” Li Xiang took out her photo and handed it to Gu Jian. Of course, it wasn’t the decomposed photo, but one taken when she was alive.

The latter looked at the photo for a moment and nervously asked: “Officer, you’re not arresting people for soliciting, are you? I didn’t do anything that time!”

“It seems you do know her. What did she say when she called you at 10 PM on April 25th?”

“She called me?”

Li Xiang placed the call records in front of him: “She called you at 10 PM on April 25th. The call lasted 13 seconds. What did she say?”

“Oh, I remember. So it was her who called that night.” After thinking for a while, Gu Jian expressed a sudden realization and continued, “That night she called me, and I thought it was a scam call. She was shouting for help on the phone, but when I asked who she was, she wouldn’t say, and after shouting twice, there was no more sound. When I asked again, there was no response, so I thought it was some scam call asking for money, so I ignored it. What? Did something really happen to her?”

It was at this moment that Gu Jian finally realized the police were asking about that call because the woman might really have met with an accident.

It turned out that the last call was a distress call, but why did this call get made to Gu Jian?

Could it be that Miao Xiuhui dialed the wrong number in panic, or is there more to it?

“Did you have any contact before? Where were you at 10 PM on April 25th?”

“I really didn’t do anything, I thought it was too expensive so I didn’t. That night I was at home with my wife, please don’t tell her. If she finds out, I’m dead.”

“If you’re so afraid of your wife, why take risks?”

Gu Jian scratched his head and said, “Everyone occasionally loses their mind, but I promise, never again.”

“Promising us is useless, you should promise your wife!”

“Ah, are you really going to tell her?” Gu Jian looked distraught, nearly crying.

“We need to confirm your whereabouts with your wife for that night.”

Subsequently, Li Xiang contacted Gu Jian’s wife and confirmed that Gu Jian was at home with her the entire evening of April 25th.

Thus, Gu Jian’s suspicion was cleared.

After this lead went cold, Mao Ji conducted a comprehensive big data screening of other phone numbers.

—————–

Time flew by, and soon a week had passed.

The victim’s relatives from Jiangchuan County took the train to Jinghai City and confirmed in the morgue that the deceased was indeed Miao Xiuhui. Needless to say, the family was heartbroken, although the husband’s face darkened upon understanding the situation; he sat there smoking one cigarette after another in silence.

The deceased’s parents gave blood for DNA testing, and unsurprisingly, it matched with the deceased.

Moreover, the DNA found in the condom matched no one in the police database, indicating that this person had no prior criminal record or other matching details.

Through meticulous screening of all phone numbers, Mao Ji finally untangled a few numbers frequently contacting the deceased and found three people in the DMV system who owned a Mercedes.

Li Xiang printed photos of the three Mercedes models and returned to Aishang Foot Massage Shop to show them to the technicians, asking which Mercedes had picked up Miao Xiuhui three months ago.

“It looks like this one.”

“Yes, it’s this one, I remember it clearly!”

At Aishang Foot Massage Shop, several technicians pointed definitively at the black Mercedes GLC.

“Alright, thank you!”

Back at the station, Li Xiang and the team immediately investigated the car owner.

The owner, named Gao Hongwei, had a criminal record, having been imprisoned ten years ago for intentionally causing serious injury, serving seven years before being released.

Seeing this, everyone assumed he was more suspicious, as those with prior criminal records are statistically more likely to reoffend than those without.

However, the biological evidence found in the deceased’s home trash did not match, indicating that the last person to have sexual contact with the deceased was not Gao Hongwei.

“Is this Gao Hongwei a small-time businessman?”

“Of course, why else would he drive a Mercedes?”

As the investigation deepened, Li Xiang discovered that this person’s story was quite motivating.

After his release, Gao faced job rejections due to his seven-year prison past, so he started his own company in the brushless motor business, showing business acumen and becoming successful within three years, gradually accumulating wealth.

Could such a person, an exemplary case of post-reform and rehabilitation, be the killer?

After learning some background, the criminal investigation team decided to meet him, hoping to stir up his guilty conscience if he was indeed guilty.

Thus, Gao Hongwei was summoned to the interrogation room.

“Do you know Miao Xiuhui?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your relationship?”

“Ex-girlfriend.”

“Broke up? Why?”

“We met at the massage parlor. I found her pretty and pure, so we started a relationship. I had money, and I didn’t need her to work, thinking it was embarrassing for my girlfriend to work at a massage shop. So I asked her to quit, and she did. But while preparing for the wedding, I found out she secretly sold herself, so I broke it off.”

“Did you know anyone she got close to at that time?”

“I didn’t know. I just noticed strange men finding her, and my male intuition led to confrontation, resulting in a fight. Afterwards, we broke up.”

Gao Hongwei answered flawlessly, making it hard to catch any mistake. Oddly, he sought a girlfriend at a foot massage parlor but then despised her for working there.

Uncertain what that psychology is.

But as protocol dictates, Li Xiang still asked: “Where were you at 10 PM on April 25th?”

“April 25th? I should’ve been at the company. I have a bed in my office, and I often sleep there when it’s too late to return home.”

“Alright, thank you for your cooperation. If we need anything further, we’ll reach out.”

“Are you detectives? Did something happen to Miao Xiuhui?”

Having been in jail, he knows the difference between police officers and detectives.

After asking so many questions, it’s evident that something’s wrong.

“Miao Xiuhui is dead.”

“I knew it, someone like her—always involved with unsavory men—it was inevitable. Breaking up was the right choice.”

Li Xiang paid no heed to his nonsense, instead telling him to immediately contact them if he recalls any relevant leads about Miao Xiuhui.

With that, Li Xiang gave him his phone number.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep