Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Caught a Ghost in Broad Daylight!
Listening to Zhang Xian’s words, Chen Xiao started to waver too.
Could it really be that Luo Dali drank too much and started hallucinating?
Thinking about it, Chen Xiao still took out his phone to call Luo Dali.
"Hey, Brother Chen, did you and Captain Zhang from the substation go to catch a ghost?" As soon as he answered, Luo Dali sounded extremely excited.
Chen Xiao replied irritably, "Cut the crap. I’m asking if you’re sure you saw that so-called female ghost in the house across from No. 314 last night?"
"Yeah."
"What state was she in when you saw her?"
"She was just floating back and forth around the stove, wearing white clothes, with long hair. Damn, it was terrifying!"
Luo Dali vowed with certainty, which made Chen Xiao curse, "We really ran into a damn ghost."
"Right! I told you, I really..."
"Beep beep..."
Chen Xiao had no interest in listening to Luo Dali any further, so he hung up the phone directly.
Then he looked toward the stove area and said, "There’s definitely something wrong here, we just haven’t found it yet."
Zhang Xian nodded, "Yeah, ruling out Luo Dali drinking too much and hallucinating, there are indeed a lot of problems here. Whether it’s human or not, we need to confirm it first before we can plan our next step."
As he spoke, Zhang Xian put on a pair of gloves and tossed a pair to Chen Xiao too.
Taking the gloves, Chen Xiao didn’t say anything, putting them on while observing.
Just as he finished putting them on, Chen Xiao suddenly pulled at Zhang Xian, delightedly pointing to one side of the stove, "Captain Zhang, look."
Zhang Xian looked puzzled in the direction Chen Xiao pointed, but at first glance, he didn’t see anything, "Is there anything?"
"Get closer and look carefully."
Zhang Xian did move a few steps closer, almost pressing against the stove, squatting down to look carefully, and his gaze froze instantly:
"What sharp eyes you have! You can see even that!"
"I told you my eyes are sharp, but that’s not important. The marks here clearly show something brushed past sideways. Considering what Dali saw, do you think it might be the hem of that ghost’s white dress brushing the side of the stove?"
"The marks look like those left by a skirt brushing past, but why is there no change on the ground at all?" Zhang Xian questioned.
"I already said it’s a ghost. Would a ghost’s footsteps touch the ground when it walks?" Chen Xiao said with a smile.
Zhang Xian was just about to retort, but the next second, he saw Chen Xiao looking upwards.
Above the stove, there was a wooden beam horizontally!
Seeing the beam, Zhang Xian finally understood, jumped onto the stove, and then saw the marks of pulling on the beam.
"Haha, who would’ve thought we’d actually catch a ghost in broad daylight!"
The marks on the beam made Zhang Xian laugh heartily, and without even consulting Chen Xiao more, he directly took out his phone to make a call.
"Hello, Xiaoyan, go to the demolition office right now and find the original owner information for Swallow Lane Building No. 506. Oh, and also find out the original owner information for No. 314, and if possible, bring them all to the team."
After the call, Zhang Xian jumped down from the stove.
"Captain Zhang is so clever, just a glance at the marks above, and you immediately thought of finding the original owner." Chen Xiao praised with a smile.
Zhang Xian calmly replied, "There are pulling marks above, which means someone is pretending to be a ghost. But in this demolition area, who’s bored enough to do this, especially on the night of the incident? So, the original owners of these two households, and the family of the deceased, Su Haidong, are definitely connected."
Listening to Zhang Xian’s analysis, Chen Xiao nodded in agreement. But suddenly, Zhang Xian quickly looked over and asked, "How did you know there were pulling marks up top?"
For a moment, Chen Xiao was caught off guard by the question. After realizing, he said with some exasperation, "Captain Zhang, do I still need to go up to see? Didn’t you say there are no ghosts in the world? Since the side of the stove has been brushed by a skirt, and there’s a beam above, it’s obvious someone is pretending to be a ghost!"
"What do you mean do you still need to go up there? Showing off how quick you can react or what?"
Zhang Xian retorted irritably, and Chen Xiao chuckled bitterly, "Yeah, yeah, actually I just didn’t want to climb up."
"It’s not that you’re lazy, you just believe in your own reasoning, but since you’re not a police officer even if I guessed it, I have to verify it personally."
Chen Xiao nodded, "Well, but while Sister Liang is sorting through the information, how about we do some deducing?"
"Deduction? Deduce what?"
"The person pretending to be a ghost, what is their aim?" Chen Xiao asked.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xian couldn’t help but ponder for a moment before replying, "The ghost appeared last night, and Su Haidong was also killed last night. His manner of death suggests the entire execution process wasn’t short. Both are completely irrational acts, so there must be some connection."
"I think you have the answer in your heart, right? The manipulated ghost surely wasn’t meant to attract the drunken Luo Dali, it was to lure Su Haidong! But, 506 isn’t a building in the first row of the alley, it’s in the second. The special geography implies the target of the murderer would definitely find his way to 506."
Zhang Xian voiced his deduction, but it didn’t surprise Chen Xiao.
At this time, Chen Xiao actually hoped Zhang Xian could come up with a deduction that would surprise him since only he knew that whether it was his past life or present, Luo Dali that bastard was involved.
Su Haidong is indeed the dead, but in Chen Xiao’s heart, Luo Dali suddenly became extremely special.
He said he got drunk and somehow found himself at 506, is that explanation really reasonable?
Chen Xiao really didn’t want to doubt his brother, but with some things laid out in front of him, he really hesitated.
In that hesitation, Chen Xiao didn’t manage to respond to Zhang Xian.
The latter, seeing his unusual expression, shouted, "Hey, spacing out?"
Chen Xiao didn’t intend to voice his doubts about Luo Dali, shaking his head, "No, I just think you’ve thought of all the scenarios."
"Have I really thought of everything?" Zhang Xian didn’t seem very confident.
Chen Xiao sighed, "If anything’s missing, it’s that Su Haidong didn’t come here last night. Had he come, there would be traces on the ground. He’s a ghost now, but he wasn’t back then."
"Yeah, that’s a very odd point. If pretending to be a ghost was to lure Su Haidong, then by trajectory, Su Haidong would surely appear at 506. He didn’t come, yet still ended up killed. Did some mishap occur during the perpetrator’s operations? Was it because of your brother’s accidental intrusion?"
"This issue, I fear even Dali himself wouldn’t be able to answer," Chen Xiao replied.
Zhang Xian squinted slightly, smiled, "Forget it, what’s the point of thinking too much now? I’ll have the place thoroughly examined later. How about we head back to the criminal investigation unit together?"
Chen Xiao was about to agree, but saw Zhang Xian’s eye expression, just exposed and then hidden, so he declined, "Forget it, my in-laws are here and I need to take them around the city."
Zhang Xian nodded with a smile, softly said "Okay!"