In the backstage lounge of the Seoul Arts Center's Friendship Hall Theater, Kim Yoon-ho took Shin Dong-hae together and interrogated the members of the Wwasan Art Troupe one by one.

"Miss Li Shengmei, what is your relationship with Jiang Zheyu?" Kim Yoon-ho asked, and Shin Dong-hae recorded it on the side.

"It's my ex-husband." Li Shengmei's real age is 42 years old, but her appearance is very well maintained, she looks like she is in her 30s, and her voice is very clean.

"Do you still have contact with Jiang Zheyu?"

"No, we didn't have children, and after the divorce, we didn't keep in touch anymore."

"Has he taken the initiative to find you recently?"

"Nope."

"Have you ever received a strange package lately?"

“…… No. Recently, there have been a lot of performances, and there is no online shopping, and no one else has mailed me anything. What do you ask this question for? Li Shengmei was a little sensitive to this question, explained a lot, and finally asked a rhetorical question.

A flash of light flashed in Kim Yunho's eyes, and he explained simply:

"Kang Zhewoo is suspected of a homicide and is currently under investigation. Because he has a conflict with you, it is suspected that he may also be a target for murder. He may send you some dangerous goods by mail. ”

Li Shengmei was a little flustered, and a look of fear spread all over her cheeks: "Really... Yes? Did he really kill someone? I ......"

"Ahem."

Her husband, the performer of the marionette, and the male number one actor of the Heshan Art Troupe, Yoo Dong-in, spoke up and interrupted Lee Sung-mi.

He pulled Li Shengmei behind him and took the initiative to speak: "Shengmei has no contradiction with that person, it was all many years ago, if he wants to retaliate, he doesn't have to wait until now." So, please don't take such words. Scare my lady. ”

Liu Dongren is completely like a good husband, caring and loving his wife.

But Kim Yun-ho could see from Yoo Dong-in's subtle movements and expression that his behavior. is deliberately interrupting Li Shengmei's answer, deliberately hiding something.

Kim Yun-ho said tentatively: "Mr. Yoo Dong-in." Have you ever received a strange package recently? ”

Liu Dongren didn't think about it, and vetoed: "No, there are no strange packages at all." I think you have thought too much, that person has no reason to murder Shengmei, and it is impossible to murder Shengmei. If nothing else, we're out. ”

After speaking, Liu Dongren pulled Li Shengmei and left together.

"I'm sorry, but I've had a lot of performance tasks lately. He was a little grumpy. Lee Sung-mi turned her head and said apologetically to Kim Yoon-ho.

"Bang."

After the door was vigorously closed by Liu Dongren, Shin Donghae leaned into Kim Yunhao's ear and said sneakily: "Boss, I feel that there is something wrong with that Liu Dongren." ”

Kim Yun-ho leaned back to the back of the seat and asked tentatively, "Tell me, what's wrong." ”

Shin Donghae knew that Kim Yunhao was examining him, so he thought about it and replied seriously:

"Just now you were asking Li Shengmei if she had received a strange package, but when Li Shengmei wanted to answer, Liu Dongren suddenly interjected and answered.

I always felt that he was doing it on purpose. It seems that he doesn't want Li Shengmei to say it. ”

Kim Yunho nodded and concluded, "This is the first and the second. When asked if he had ever received a strange package, he immediately denied it, forcibly changed the subject, and finally left angrily.

Is there a feeling that his performance just now is like a stage performance, full of the style of a stage play. ”

Shen Donghai nodded vigorously: "Yes, it's like acting." ”

Jin Yunhao smiled confidently and ordered: "Go back and check the situation of Liu Dongren's recent acceptance of packages." Do your research and don't stare at the regular mailing channels. If you guessed it right. Liu Dongren must have received a special package recently. ”

He was so sure that it wasn't just by feeling. There is a scientific basis. When he was observing Liu Dongren speaking just now, he found that Liu Dongren had a lying expression.

"Okay, I'll make a note of it." Shin Donghae recorded this work in his notebook and replied.

………

After that, Kim Yun-ho and Shin Dong-hae interrogated the other members of the art troupe one by one, and learned from these people that Yoo Dong-in and his wife did not have anything to do with Kang Zhe-woo, but sometimes they would meet by chance, and they would meet from time to time.

"Because, most of the puppets in our art troupe are made by Jiang Zheyu. To be honest, Kang Cheol-woo's level of puppet-making, there is nothing to say, and the whole of Korea is unsurpassed.

Sometimes Jiang Zheyu will come to deliver puppets, or come to repair and maintain puppets, and he will also meet Liu Dongren and Li Shengmei. A prop master recounted.

"Have they ever had a conflict or a quarrel?" Kim Yoon-ho asked.

"There have been a few times when Kang was stubborn, a stubborn conservative who didn't accept a change in the form of puppet performances. Because of this, he had quarrels with both the head of the regiment and Liu Dongren. He quit the troupe for this reason. The prop master said.

"Do you mean to show the 'Puppet Murders' play tomorrow afternoon?" Kim Yun-ho asked curiously.

"Of course, the traditional puppet show, who else will watch it now. Nowadays, people are looking for novelty and excitement, and our head and lead actor Liu Dongren can come up with this kind of repertoire in order to meet the needs of the audience. Otherwise, without an audience, all of us would have to drink the northwest wind. ”

The prop master was very realistic, so he naturally stood on Liu Dongren's side.

This is a clash of ideas, and the contradiction is not big or small. But in the eyes of the stubborn Jiang Zheyu, it is likely to be a big contradiction.

Kim Yunho made a note of this in his heart, and then continued to ask: "You are in charge of the crew's props, can you take me to see your performance props and those puppets made by Kang Cheol-woo?" ”

The prop master thought about it and nodded happily, "It should be fine, but you can only watch, and you can't move around at will." Those things are very expensive, and they will be used in the performance tomorrow, so they can't go wrong. ”

In the end, after the prop master obtained the consent of the head of the group, he took Kim Yunho and Shin Donghae to the prop room together to watch the props.

Stage props, costumes, and a room full of props are dazzling. Shin Donghae, who was on the side, was in a daze, and he couldn't guess where Kim Yunhao would start investigating.

Kim Yoon-ho was not confused. He picked up an old puppet prop and asked the prop master, "Are these puppets what you need to perform?" ”

The prop master sighed: "These are old antiques, and we used to use them when we focused on performing puppet shows." But. Now these puppets have become decorations, and they are placed here for people to visit and take pictures. ”

Kim Yun-ho was surprised and asked, "Yoo Dong-in is not a puppeteer?" When he performs. What about the new puppets you use? ”

The prop master explained with a smile: "How can those precious things be placed here, they are all stored separately. ”

Kim Yun-ho watched for a while and asked, "Are these puppets all disposable?" If it's broken, it's back? ”

The prop master shook his head: "The puppet is very difficult to break, and it is made by Jiang Zheyu himself, and the quality is good." In addition, he will come regularly to maintain the puppets, and they will not break easily. ”

Jiang Zheyu regularly goes to the crew to maintain the puppets?

Kim Yoon-ho was thinking about this discovery, and the prop master suddenly thought of something. interrupted Kim Yoon-ho's thinking:

"Oh yes, I add to your last question. In fact, there is one part of the puppet that is very fragile and needs to be replaced frequently - and that is the puppet's thread.

When manipulating marionette performances, in order to hide the strings and make it difficult for the audience to discover, the strings are now very thin. Although the material level is much stronger than before, it is still not as durable as the thick thread of the past.

In order to ensure that the strings are foolproof during the performance, the strings are changed regularly every month. When the performance task is heavy, it has to be changed once a week. ”

Kim Yun-ho was very interested in this, "Excuse me." When was the last time Liu Dongren's puppet was replaced? ”

The prop master opened his mouth and replied: "I just changed, this morning, Jiang Zheyu came early in the morning." Didn't he tell you? ”

Kim Yun-ho shook his head, "Can you show me the thread that has been replaced?" ”

The prop master nodded, and pulled out the thread directly from the top of a large box: "Here you go, this is it." ”

There are thirty-two threads in this painting, each as thin as a hair, and extremely sharp.

"So sharp. Won't the puppeteer hurt his hands when performing? Kim Yunho tried hard, and when he accidentally got a bloody mark on his palm.

The prop master shook his head: "Hurt your hand." For puppeteers, it's like a daily routine, a performance down. It's strange if it doesn't hurt your hands. However, they are used to it, and there are corresponding measures to deal with it. For performances, it doesn't have much impact. ”

It seems that the profession of marionette also requires a lot of hard work, so it is no wonder that few people are willing to learn this skill.

"Can I take this replaced thread and this puppet used by Liu Dongren for his performance?" Kim Yoon-ho pleaded.

For the first request, the prop master smiled heartily:

"No problem, these discarded threads can't be used on stage again, they are all disposed of as waste, or sold cheaply to some small art troupes, and they are not worth a lot of money when they practice. If you like it, just take it. I can still call the shots on this little thing.

As for the puppet ...... starring Liu"

"I'll send it back tomorrow morning, and you can ask your commander." Kim Yoon-ho said.

The prop master reluctantly asked, "Well, okay." ”

――

After interrogating all the members of the Wwasan Art Troupe, Kim Yoon-ho and Shin Dong-hae left with a pair of strings and a puppet.

As soon as he returned to the car, Jin Yunhao opened his mouth and explained his work: "Take this string and puppet, and go to the National Science Institute overnight to do an appraisal to see if there is anything suspicious." ”

"Boss, are you saying that Jiang Zheyu is likely to use the replaced thread to murder Liu Dongren?" Shen Donghai asked with a glare.

"Well, that's possible."

"But hasn't Liu Dongren been rehearsing with this puppet, if there is really a problem with the thread, wouldn't Liu Dongren have had an accident a long time ago?"

"Yes, that's where I couldn't figure it out. Okay, you go to the National Academy of Sciences first, and after the results come out, go back to the unit to summarize the case together. ”

"Okay, I got it." (To be continued)

ps: Thank you to the moderator of the book review area: Poulter Yahi climbs the cloud hermit Lin Qiu security guard Zuo Yu for his hard work.

Special thanks to the book review area of 'Soft Girl' for replying to the publicity.