Chapter 72 - Extremely Quick Train 5 – Death of Li Zhemin (1/2)
Chapter 72: Extremely Quick Train 5 – Death of Li Zhemin
Once they discovered that Li Zhemin was dead, the other three old men in the same room immediately started to scream.
The shrill screams alarmed the other pa.s.sengers in the same carriage and the remaining eight elderly people of the tour group ran over.
The old lady who had dinner with Li Zhemin yesterday nervously touched his body. “Old Li, wake up, wake up!” The other two old ladies next to her wondered, “What’s going on?” “What’s wrong with Old Li?” “Oh my G.o.d, he isn’t waking up for so long. Surely he isn’t dead?”
Hearing the word ‘dead’, the elderly people were shocked and whispered to each other. Some even took a step forward and removed the quilt of the deceased to check the situation.
Yu Hanjiang stated, “Everyone, please go outside and don’t move the body!”
The train attendant’s face was extremely serious and his voice was as frightening as thunder. Yu Hanjiang’s sharp eyes swept through the crowd and they automatically took a step back with white faces. They left Room 2 and created a path for Yu Hanjiang.
Yu Hanjiang strode into Room 2 and quickly swept a glance over the scene of the crime.
The coats and caps of the four people in the tour group were hung from the hangers of the top and bottom bunks. The three beds 2B, 2C and 2D were slightly messy because the old people just got up. However, Li Zhemin’s 2A bed was extraordinarily neat.
Yu Hanjiang removed the quilt. Li Zhemin had changed into a set of plaid pyjamas and the clothes were neat. He obviously hadn’t fought with people nor were there any signs of struggle. He had been killed in his sleep and even at the moment of death, Li Zhemin was smiling like he was dreaming, his face extraordinarily quiet.
Most people over 60 years old slept very lightly and it was easy for them to wake up. There were some who found it hard to sleep in the middle of the night.
Room 2 had four elderly people and once one of them was awake, the risk of the murderer being found was very high. Apparently, the murderer knew these old people’s habits very known and confirmed that everyone fell asleep before moving.
It was reasonable to infer that it was easier for the three people staying in the same room as Li Zhemin to commit a crime. It was because they could always observe whether other and Li Zhemin was sleeping to ensure they wouldn’t be found.
Still, they couldn’t completely exclude the possibility of the elderly people in Rooms 1 and 3 from committing the crime. After all, they were colleagues for many years. They knew each other very well and often travelled together. They would be aware of who had insomnia, who was sleeping and who was snoring.
The tour guide Qin s.h.i.+yue was was.h.i.+ng up. She heard the cries from inside the carriage, hurriedly washed her face with a towel, put it back in her was.h.i.+ng bag and quickly ran back.
She saw that the door of Room 2 was surrounded by a group of people and nervously asked a familiar old lady, “Zhang Yi, what’s going on?” The old lady pointed to Room 2 and explained, “Old Li seems to be dead…”
Qin s.h.i.+yue’s expression changed and she quickly walked past. She found that the crew member of the 6th carriage was checking the situation of the deceased.
She came to the door and the other person just looked up.
His eyes were cold and sharp enough to pierce the bottom of people’s hearts. Qin s.h.i.+yue was startled by his cold eyes and took a deep breath to adjust her mood before asking in a quivering voice, “U-Uncle Li is really dead? What is going on here?”
The people around her shook their heads. “I don’t know.”
The bald old man suddenly said, “Is it a heart attack? I remember that Old Li was at risk of a heart attack!”
An old man next to him echoed. “Yes, Old Li has high blood pressure and had a heart disease for many years. His bed was originally on the upper bunk but he was worried his disease would strike in the middle of the night and he specifically changed beds with me.”
Another old man said, “He took his medicine on time every day and had surgery on his heart previously. It was said he got a stent!”
The three men who mentioned the heart disease were the old men who lived in Li Zhemin’s room.
Yu Hanjiang ignored their wild guesses and whispered, “Little Qin, can I trouble you to go to the 4th carriage and call the attendant there to come.”
Qin s.h.i.+yue nodded with a pale face and quickly headed to the 4th carriage.
Once she arrived at the 4th carriage, she came across Xiao Lou who was heading to this side. Qin s.h.i.+yue hurriedly wondered, “h.e.l.lo, are you the attendant of the 4th carriage? The attendant of the 6th carriage asked you to come over!”
Xiao Lou nodded politely and strode to the 6th carriage.
The 6th carriage had so much activity in the early morning. There might be the dining carriage between them but Xiao Lou still heard the screams. The pa.s.sengers of the 4th carriage also looked over curiously.
It must be a problem with Group Leader Yu’s carriage. Xiao Lou had immediately headed there only to encounter the guide.
Xiao Lou asked as he walked, “What’s going on?”
Qin s.h.i.+yue’s face was as white as paper. “Our group… there was an old man who suddenly died. My G.o.d, there was such a big accident. I’ll definitely be fired by the travel agency when I go back!”
Xiao Lou whispered words of comfort. “Don’t worry, if it is murder then the responsibility isn’t with you. The travel agency will probably reconsider so I hope you can cooperate with our investigation.”
Qin s.h.i.+yue’s eyes bulged with disbelief. “M-Murder? Didn’t Uncle Li have a heart attack?”
Seeing this girl’s expression, Xiao Lou couldn’t help feeling sympathy. She was a just graduated university student who travelled with a group of elderly people. She was cautious the entire way and took due diligence, only for someone to suddenly die. This wasn’t an ordinary blow for her and perhaps she would be punished when she went back.
Xiao Lou told her, “It isn’t possible to draw any conclusions yet. Wait until we check before we can determine the cause of death. Little Qin, you should first sort out the information of the tour group, including the form they filled in when they signed up for the travel agency. We’ll find you later.”
Qin s.h.i.+yue looked complicated. “G-Good…”
Xiao Lou soon arrived at the 6th carriage and found a group of old people looking panicked around Room 2.
The family of four in Room 4 also heard the movements and popped out their heads. The three year old child who inhaled the raisin yesterday asked, “Mum, what’s wrong? Why are the grandparents there? Is there anything interesting? I want to see it too!”
The woman had heard the surrounding comments about a dead person and her expression changed. She immediately carried the child back. “No, don’t go out. Let’s stay in the room and watch cartoons, okay?”
In Room 5, a pa.s.senger had got off yesterday and Mo Jiaran changed over to sleep there.
The noise outside had woken her up and her anger was very serious. She opened the door with a dark expression and loudly called out, “What are you doing in the early morning that doesn’t let people sleep? Can’t you keep down the noise?”
An old lady told her, “Girl, someone died in Room 2…”
Mo Jiaran’s face suddenly paled and she tried to run to the 4th carriage like a frightened cat. Xiao Lou stopped her. “No one is allowed to leave.”
Mo Jiaran pointed to Room 2 in a trembling manner. “My G.o.d, there is a dead person over there! I don’t want to stay in the 6th carriage…”
Xiao Lou opened the door of Room 5 and smiled. “Go back in.”
Mo Jiaran’s face was white and she refused to cooperate.
Xiao Lou told her, “Don’t be afraid. It will be safer in your room.”
The faces of the other people became a big ugly at Xiao Lou’s words and Mo Jiaran reluctantly returned to her room.
Xiao Lou turned around and locked the door of the connecting carriages.
Yu Hanjiang heard his voice and tacitly called out from Room 2. “Carriage 6th is temporarily closed. Everyone, please return to your rooms. We need to investigate every pa.s.senger. Thank you for your cooperation.”