Chapter 401 (1/2)
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The nail scratches covered by the paint were concentrated on the lower part of the door. Chen s.h.i.+ glanced back. The bedroom was located to the side of the door. He said, ”The victims crawled here, desperately scratching the door to try and escape.”
”People who are poisoned by gas are weak and can't stand up at all.”
”This doesn't count as key evidence either... But the woman deliberately covered it up.”
There seemed to be nothing left to check. The two opened the door and went out. An aunty saw them and hurried upstairs. Chen s.h.i.+ said, ”We're not bad people. We are police.”
”Oh, the police? What are you looking for? In the afternoon, you took the woman who lived there away. Did she commit a crime or something?”
”Do you know what her name is?”
”'The woman downstairs.'”
It seems that the aunty didn't even know the last name of the family. Chen s.h.i.+ asked again, ”I want to ask you something. On November 11th last year, did you see anything strange happen in this house?”
”Strange thing... I'll ask the neighbors for you!”
”Thank you so much.”
Soon, a group of neighbors came together, talking about how this woman was a psycho. She often cried when she was teaching her child saying that the father didn't want them anymore. And every time the man came, they would quarrel. They couldn't possibly understand how the couple could get along with each other.
After listening to a lot of trivial matters that weren't related to the case, a neighbor finally remembered something and said, ”I don't know what day that was, but one day when I was finished walking the dog and came back, the dog kept barking at the door non-stop. Then, I heard a 'chra chra' scratching sound from inside the door.”
”And then?”
”Then the woman came back and I said, 'Sister, there seems to be some noises coming out of your house.' She said that she bought two bamboo rats and was ready to kill them to eat them. She smiled and said that the two animals inside were scratching the door in the house. Then, I left.”
”Sorry, I want to ask you something alone.”
After bringing the neighbor to the stairwell downstairs, Chen s.h.i.+ asked, ”Did you not smell gas back then?”
”Nothing at all. What's wrong? Did she have a gas leak?”
”Wait a minute!”
Chen s.h.i.+ went and asked the neighbors all around and they all didn't smell the gas leak. He whispered to Peng Sijue, ”This is very strange. The gas company will add a smell to the gas. It stands to reason that people outside the door would be able to smell it. Her doors and windows in the house aren't completely enclosed either.”
Peng Sijue muttered, ”When we were checking just now, I found traces of glue on the edge of the window. Perhaps-”
”I see!” Chen s.h.i.+ smiled. This was the proof of murder.
He said to the neighbor again, ”Sorry, can you come back to the bureau with us later to cooperate with the investigation?”
”Huh? I have to go to the bureau? No, no. I have business at home.”
”How about this...” Chen s.h.i.+ took out three hundred yuan. ”This is a small reward for providing leads. A car will pick you up and drop you off to ensure you won't be delayed in your business.”
The neighbor smiled and was about to reach out and take it. Peng Sijue said sternly, ”Giving witnesses money is bribery. If the defendant's lawyer knows that you are doing this, you're turning valid evidence into invalid evidence!”
”It's just a bonus for providing clues!”
”It's a matter of principle!”
”I'm not a policeman.”