"Captain Zheng, what brings you here?" Li Hui asked in surprise.
Zheng Kaixuan snorted, "There's been a murder. You think I could just sit back at the station?"
"With you here to oversee things, I feel much more confident," Zeng Ping said with a smile.
"You're the team leader—do what you're supposed to do. I'm just here to keep an eye on things," Zheng Kaixuan replied, then looked down at the body.
"Han Bin was right. From my years of experience, this is clearly a homicide."
"You died so terribly, Jianbin…" cried the woman on the sofa. Upon hearing that her husband had been murdered, she rushed over and burst into tears. "Now that you've left us, how are we—your wife and child—supposed to survive?"
"Mrs. Li, please try to contain your grief. If your husband can see you from the other side, he wouldn't want to see you like this," Tian Li comforted her.
"Wuu wuu…" Li Yu continued sobbing.
"Take Mrs. Li aside—don't contaminate the scene," Zeng Ping instructed.
Zheng Kaixuan also crouched down to inspect the body. "The victim seems to have been strangled with a rope."
"If it's a homicide, then it's our job to investigate."
"I've checked—there are no signs of forced entry. The suspect likely knew the victim," Zeng Ping added.
"Trying to make a murder look like a suicide? It strongly suggests someone close to the victim," Zheng Kaixuan agreed.
Once Li Yu had calmed down, Han Bin and Tian Li began taking her statement.
Han Bin turned on his body camera while Tian Li took notes.
"Name?"
"Li Yu."
"What's your relationship with the deceased?"
"Husband and wife."
"How was your relationship?"
"Fine, just the occasional argument."
"Did your husband behave unusually yesterday?"
"No. After dinner, I went to my night shift, and he did the dishes."
"What time did you leave home?"
"Eight o'clock at night."
"Did he say he was meeting anyone?"
"No."
"What does your husband do for a living?"
"He doesn't have a steady job, just does some small business." Li Yu pursed her lips, trying to hide them.
Han Bin noticed the gesture—nervousness, lack of confidence. She was likely lying. She had also repeated his question—another tell.
"I'll ask again. Answer honestly. What business does your husband do?"
Li Yu's eyes shifted to the right—a sign of trying to fabricate a lie. "He's a truck driver."
Han Bin gave a cold snort. "Li Hui, check if Xing Jianbin has a criminal record."
"No—please, don't check!" Li Yu became anxious and quickly stopped them. "He used to… be involved in pyramid schemes."
"Why lie?" Han Bin scolded.
"I didn't think it was relevant to the case…" Li Yu replied.
"Whether it's relevant is not for you to decide. When we ask, answer truthfully. Understood?" Tian Li warned.
"Yes, I understand."
"Did your husband have any enemies?"
"Yes."
"Names?"
"I don't know exactly. After he got out of jail, many of his former pyramid scheme associates came after him—it was a lot of people."
"When you came home, did you touch anything? What did the scene look like?"
"The front gate was closed but not locked. The door to the house was locked. When I opened it…" she choked up and paused, "Jianbin was hanging."
"I didn't dare to touch him—I called the police right away."
"Was anything else missing from the house?"
"Yes, the cash we hid in the bedroom was gone."
"How much?"
"200,000 US dollars, and over 300,000 yuan."
"Why would you keep that much money at home?" Tian Li was shocked.
200,000 USD is about 1.4 million yuan. Adding the 300,000+ RMB brings the total to over 1.7 million.
"He was afraid of debt collectors. Didn't dare to put it in the bank, so we kept it at home," Li Yu sighed.
"Any other clues?
"No."
"If you remember anything, contact the criminal police team."
After understanding the situation and examining the scene, Zheng Kaixuan gathered everyone in the yard to discuss the case.
"You all know the details. Anyone notice anything else?" he asked.
No one responded.
Zheng Kaixuan pointed to Lu Wen. "Glasses—you guys in forensics find anything?"
"We collected fingerprints. Only the victim's, Li Yu's, and a child's—which is likely Li Yu's son. No unidentified prints," Lu Wen reported.
"Anything else?"
"I examined the body—no clear signs of a struggle, but we'll need the coroner's report to be sure."
Just then, the smell of disinfectant drifted through the air.
Zheng Kaixuan smiled, "Speak of the devil…"
Moments later, a tall, thin woman with short hair and white gloves entered, carrying a case—it was forensic examiner Wu Xia. Following her was her assistant, a young man in his twenties named Qiao Ziming.
"Dr. Wu, you're finally here," Zeng Ping joked.
"Sorry. I just finished handling another case for Team One," she replied.
"Thanks for coming."
"No problem," Wu Xia nodded and entered the house.
After examining the body, she called out, "Definitely a homicide. The victim was strangled from behind."
"Time of death?"
"At least nine hours ago."
"Can you confirm the murder weapon?"
Wu Xia carefully examined the victim's jaw. "I'll give a full report after the autopsy."
Zheng Kaixuan didn't press further—he knew these things take time.
"Let's continue," he told the second team.
"Captain Zheng," Han Bin said, "200,000 USD and 300,000 RMB—that's a large sum. The suspect probably had a vehicle. We might track them through it."
"Urban villages have fewer cameras than the city," Li Hui pointed out.
"Still, canvassing the area could turn up witnesses," Tian Li added.
"I think we should look at the method of the crime. The killer staged it as a suicide. It wasn't clever, but it was premeditated. They may have a record," Zeng Ping suggested.
"Not much to go on right now. Everyone split up and gather what you can—look for anyone suspicious," Zheng Kaixuan said, then looked to Zeng Ping. "Old Zeng, assign tasks."
"You're here, Captain. I'm not in charge today," Zeng Ping joked.
Zheng Kaixuan waved it off. "Cut the nonsense. Give the orders."
"Yes, sir." Zeng Ping acknowledged and started assigning roles.
"Zhao Ming, check nearby surveillance for suspicious vehicles—don't overlook private cameras."
"Tian Li, go to the station and pull Xing Jianbin's file. Talk to the officers who handled the pyramid scheme case—see if anyone had a major grudge."
"Han Bin, Li Hui—you two canvass the area. Ask if anyone saw anything suspicious between 8 PM and midnight."
"Yes, sir," everyone responded.
(End of Chapter)