(a)

"Morning, Forensic Doctor Zhang!" Zhao Gang came to the forensic office early in the morning and greeted Forensic Doctor Zhang.

"Morning, Brother Zhao! As soon as I came in on the front foot, you followed on the back foot, and I seriously suspect that you are following me. As soon as Forensic Doctor Zhang arrived at the office and sat down, Zhao Gang pushed the door in.

"There's no point in tracking you, when you get off work, it's okay to follow you home and go to your house to eat!"

"Do you still need to track your meal? When your case is solved, I will invite you to drink and celebrate your achievements. Forensic Doctor Zhang said with a smile.

"That's a good feeling, I can remember what you said!"

"No problem, I said." Forensic Doctor Zhang patted his chest and said.

"Okay, I'll remember the treat for you. Let's get down to business first, what about the corpse? ”

"The headless female corpse, about twenty-four or five years old. Judging by the temperature and humidity of the freezer, as well as the condition of the deceased's skin, the time of death is about a month. The corpse did not have a head, but there were obvious signs of external compression in the neck, edema in the lungs, and congestion and spotting in some internal organs. It was preliminarily judged to be death by asphyxiation. In addition, we extracted skin tissue from the fingernails of the deceased that did not belong to her. ”

"You mean the dead were strangled to death?"

"Possibly."

"Can the time of death be more precise?"

"The corpse has been frozen for a long time, and it is difficult to infer the exact time of death."

"The time when the body was found was January 10th, so the time of death should be around December 10th? Is that right? Zhao Gang asked.

"There will be deviations."

"How much is the deviation?"

"In my experience, a week or so."

"Are there any special features of the corpse?" Zhao Gang asked again.

"There was a red heart-shaped birthmark on the back of the deceased's waist, which should be helpful in identifying the deceased."

"Anything else you've found?"

"The murderer disposed of the body after the murder, and the surface of the body was clean. No useful clues have been found for the time being. ”

"Okay, I know, forensic doctor Zhang for my hard work, thank you! Then I'll go first. Zhao Gang thanked Forensic Doctor Zhang, he took two steps and turned back, "If there is anything new, you must remember to inform me!" ”

"Don't worry! That's not going to give it away! ”

Zhao Gang came out of the forensic office and went straight back to the office. As soon as he sat down at his desk, Qin Tian pushed the door and came in.

"Morning, Brother Zhao!" Qin Tian came to the office early in the morning, but just now he realized that Zhao Gang came earlier than him.

"You're early, too." Zhao Gang looked at Qin Tian, who had just entered the door, and said, "Now there are fewer and fewer diligent young people like you!" ”

"Don't praise me, how can I compare with you, I went to the forensic office early in the morning, I just saw you come out of the forensic office." Qin Tian also sat down at his desk, "The forensic doctor, have you found anything?" ”

"Here's the autopsy report, take it and take a good look at it!" Zhao Gang said and handed Qin Tian a test report.

Qin Tian took the report and read it carefully. While watching, I talked to myself. "Death by mechanical asphyxiation. The time of death is about a month. There is a red heart-shaped birthmark on the lower back. ……”

"Why are you here so early?" Zhao Gang looked at the empty office, Qin Tian did come early.

"Aren't you earlier than me? It's not the same as you, for the sake of yesterday's case, I want to discuss it with you, you, advise me. Qin Tian said to Zhao Gang with a smile.

"What do you instruct?" Zhao Gang looked up at Qin Tian.

"Of course it's a case! For now, Anne's confession is basically consistent with the landlord's confession. Qin Tian said seriously.

"I know that. So what's next? Zhao Gang looked at Qin Tian and asked again.

"I guess it's to confirm the identity of the deceased. We don't know anything about her at the moment, except that her name is Xiaomei. Qin Tian said.

"The corpse doesn't even have a head, how do you conclude that it's Xiaomei? What about the evidence? Zhao Gang asked.

"It's not Xiaomei, then who else can there be?"

"So, we need to be sure, to determine whether the deceased is Xiaomei or not." Zhao Gang asked again, "Have you checked the missing persons?" ”

"Checked. We have checked the city's missing persons reports for the past six months, and none of them are consistent with this case. Qin Tian said, "Could it be that she has been missing for so long, and no one around her has found out?" ”

"Who will find out? A girl who lives alone. If she wasn't from this city, then she probably didn't have any relatives or friends here, and it was normal for her to disappear and no one found her. She doesn't have a regular job, and the average person who will notice her presence. Zhao Gang said.

"Hey, I've been dead for so long to be discovered. The living are gone, and no one knows. Qin Tian sighed.

Zhao Gang asked again: "Have you asked the Physical Evidence Section?" Is there anything that proves your identity? ”

Qin Tian said, "I've asked." Nothing. Mobile phones, wallets, ID cards, everything that can prove identity, all were taken away, and there was nothing. ”

"Where's the fingerprint?" Zhao Gang asked again.

"Fingerprints, hair, not even a bit of skin tissue. Apparently, the murderer cleaned the scene. All traces have been cleaned up. There were not even fingerprints of the deceased in the house. The only fingerprints collected at the scene belonged to the landlord. ”

"It's not surprising. After all, it was the landlord who found the body when he went to collect the house. Zhao Gang said.

"This Xiaomei, it's really strange, she doesn't even have a real identity, and she even has to leave a fake number for her phone number. Now dead, I don't even have anything to prove my identity. Qin Tian said.

"That phone number Anne gave me yesterday? Checked? ”

"I've checked, it's indeed an empty number."

"Not surprising. Judging from Anne's description, Xiaomei is mostly engaged in dishonorable industries, and it is normal not to let people know her true identity. Zhao Gang thought for a moment and asked again, "Has the monitoring been checked?" ”

"Not yet, I don't know where to start. We hadn't even seen what the dead looked like. I'm going to check it out again today. ”

"Well, let my colleagues take a closer look, and according to the characteristics described by Anne yesterday, focus on the monitoring of those who leave the community between five and seven o'clock in the afternoon and those who enter the community after one o'clock in the morning. This shouldn't be difficult. ”

"Brother Zhao, that Anne ...... yesterday" Qin Tian seemed to have questions.

"What's wrong?"

"Is the information she gives us true? I see when you asked her yesterday what the deceased looked like, she seemed to be thinking for a while. ”

"You see that, too?"

"Hmm. It's too obvious. It shouldn't take that long for the average person to recall a person's appearance. Moreover, she is clearly evasive. I feel like she's thinking more about whether or not to tell the truth. Qin Tian analyzed.

"Yes, my eyesight has improved. She was really struggling, struggling with whether to tell the truth. ”

"Why? Is there any reason why she shouldn't tell the truth? ”

"Well, it's not clear. In short, there must be some kind of concern. Zhao Gang fell into thought.

"Or ...... Is she the murderer of Xiaomei? So you want to deliberately hide it? Qin Tian had this bold idea.

"It's too arbitrary to speculate that she is the murderer based on this alone." Zhao Gang thought for a while, and then said, "Let's check the monitoring according to her description first." ”

"What if she gives us the wrong information? If Xiaomei really killed her, it is entirely possible that she will mislead us by giving us the wrong description. Qin Tian said.

"Rest assured, her description must be correct." Zhao Gang is sure.

"Why?" Qin Tian was very skeptical.

"If she really was the murderer, then she must have known that the body was headless, and she must have known that we didn't know what the deceased looked like, so that she could mislead us to a certain extent by giving us the wrong information. However, she knew that this was not a wise thing to do, so she would not do it. Zhao Gang said.

"Why?"

"Because there is surveillance in the community, there are neighbors upstairs and downstairs, it is useless for her to provide a wrong description of her appearance alone, we only need to visit the neighbors with surveillance video, and someone must be able to recognize Xiaomei, once it is confirmed that Xiaomei's real appearance is inconsistent with her description, then we will know that she is lying, but it will deepen the suspicion of her, so there is no need for her to do this."

"What if she did? Even if we confirm that she lied, she can find a reason to excuse herself, and she can justify that it is because she can't remember Xiaomei's appearance after a long time. After all, yesterday she emphasized many times that she saw Xiaomei very few times and was not impressed. Qin Tian felt that his analysis also made sense.

"Who else knows that the body is headless, except for the landlord and the police?" Zhao Gang asked Qin Tian.

"And ......," Qin Tian thought for a moment, "then only the murderer himself." ”

"Not bad. You think, if she wasn't the murderer, from a normal person's point of view, she only knew that we found the body, and wouldn't think about the question of whether we knew what the deceased looked like. Then, when we ask her what the deceased looked like, she only needs to describe it truthfully, is it necessary to lie to us? Zhao Gang paused and said, "If you deliberately conceal the appearance of the deceased, it is easy for the police to suspect whether she is the murderer." After all, only the murderer knew that the body was headless. In other words, only the killer knows that the police do not know what the deceased looked like. Once the police analyze this aspect, it will only lock her suspicion. ”

Zhao Gang looked at Qin Tian and said seriously: "If her hesitation at that time was thinking about all this I just analyzed, then she is a very terrifying person. ”

"If she is really a murderer, then this mind is too meticulous." Qin Tian felt a tingling in his back.

"It is a master to be able to clean up the crime scene so cleanly, to be able to figure out people's minds so delicately, and to be able to sort out complex ideas in a short period of time without overflowing words." Zhao Gang looked at Qin Tian with a terrifying look on his face.

"So, from the murderer's point of view, or from the perspective of ordinary people, there is no need for her to lie to us." Qin Tian said.

"At least, on the issue now, yes." Zhao Gang said.

"Okay, I'll arrange to check the surveillance right away." Qin Tian said and walked out of the door of the office.

Soon, Qin Tian made a discovery.

"Brother Zhao, I found it. As you said, according to Anne's description, we found a similar woman in the surveillance at the gate of the complex, and the time of entry and exit and the dress matched. Qin Tian reported to Zhao Gang.

"Have you visited the community?"

"Visited. We went to the unit building where they lived to investigate, and the neighbor opposite them recognized the woman and confirmed that the woman lived opposite them, that is, room 302 where the crime occurred. On the opposite side are two retired elderly people at home, they spend more time at home, and they see Xiaomei going in and out more often, and they recognize it very clearly. ”

"Anything else you found?"

The two old men's depiction of Xiaomei is roughly the same as Anne's. From their recollection, they hadn't seen Xiaomei in and out for a long time, and the time was about a month, so they always thought that the house opposite was empty. They said that there were two girls who lived here before, and one of them should have a boyfriend because they often saw men coming in and out. Later, for a while, I only saw Xiaomei coming in and out, and then later, I didn't see anyone coming in or out. ”

"You mean, they often see a man coming in and out?"

"Yes, it should be Anne's boyfriend. However, Anne had said that her boyfriend rarely went to her. However, the neighbors described it clearly more than Anne had said. It seems that Anne has something to hide in this matter. Qin Tian said.

"Did Anne hide it or did someone hide it?" Zhao Gang asked.

"What do you mean?" Qin Tian asked.

"According to the description of the neighbor across the street that you said, the man came in and out more often. Anne told us before that Wang Kai did not have the key to her house, and every time Wang Kai wanted to go, they would make an appointment in advance. However, the neighbors often see the man entering and leaving alone, right? Zhao Gang asked.

"That's right. Do you mean that Anne's boyfriend may not have known when Anne went? Qin Tian asked.

"I don't know, if Anne is hiding something, then she might be worried about something. If her boyfriend is hiding from her, then her boyfriend is hiding a secret that Anne doesn't know. ”

"You mean, Anne's boyfriend may have a leg with Xiaomei?" Qin Tian asked tentatively.

"Can't be sure. Anne said that her boyfriend didn't have the key, so she should trust her boyfriend more. If her boyfriend is really dating Xiaomei behind her back, then she may not know it. Of course," Zhao Gang continued, "it is not ruled out that she knew about it, but she did not say it." ”

"There's another question that's weird." Qin Tian said.

"What's the problem?" Zhao Gang asked.

"When I checked the surveillance, I found that the last time Xiaomei appeared in the surveillance was on the night of December 13th. She went out from the neighborhood. Since then, it has not been seen again. Qin Tian said.

"You mean, Xiaomei 13 left the community and never came back?" Zhao Gang asked suspiciously.

"I looked at the surveillance after that, and she didn't show up again." Qin Tian said.

"So, is it possible that the corpse is not Xiaomei? And Xiaomei is missing? Zhao Gang also began to wonder.

"Could it be that Xiaomei is the murderer? Was she who killed the deceased and then absconded in fear of the crime? The time of Xiaomei's disappearance is the thirteenth, which is very close to the time of death of the deceased as inferred by the medical examiner. Qin Tian said.

"There's this possibility. Now, we have to find a way to find Xiaomei. Zhao Gang said.

Qin Tian said: "Anne said that Xiaomei usually goes out late and returns early. According to the time she said, Xiaomei usually doesn't go home until after 1 a.m. At that time, she was coming back and had to take a taxi. Unless someone drives her in a private car. However, everyone is drunk, how can anyone still drive. Unfortunately, the surveillance at the entrance of the community could not capture the road conditions, and we could not determine whether Xiaomei took a taxi to get off at the entrance of the community. ”

"Is there any monitoring of the road at the entrance of the community?"

"Nope. It was just a small alley. ”

"What about the surroundings?"

"There are several alleys around, the light is not good at night, and most of the houses on both sides are dilapidated and waiting to be demolished, and there are no surveillance."

"How many intersections lead to that alley?"

"Accessible in all directions. There are four main roads that can turn into that alley. ”

"Then go check the surveillance of these four intersections. Combined with the monitoring at the entrance of the community, at the time when Xiaomei got off the bus, she looked for a taxi that turned into the alley from the intersection. This shouldn't be difficult. ”

"Okay, I'll check it out right away."

Soon, Qin Tian returned to the office.

"Brother Zhao, there is progress. We locked a few taxis that turned in from the intersection according to the time when Xiaomei entered the community, and then checked the monitoring along the way, locked the routes of these taxis, and we found a KTV called 'fate', Xiaomei almost every time at the door of this KTV. ”

"It seems that this KTV called 'fate' should be where Xiaomei goes to work." Zhao Gang looked at Qin Tian, "Take the previous video and take a trip at night!" ”

(b)

Zhao Gang and Qin Tian came to this KTV called "Fate", which is richly decorated and full of nightlife.

"It's a nice place, it's a high-end place at first glance. If it's not for investigating the case, it must be a pleasure to come here for leisure! Qin Tian said to him loudly in Zhao Gang's ear.

"Let's enjoy it when you solve the case!" Zhao Gang responded loudly.

The two walked down the luxurious corridor, where unbridled laughter and noisy singing could be heard from the boxes on both sides, where people released their emotions.

They walked towards the beautifully decorated desk in the center of the hall.

"Hello and welcome!" Before they could get to the service desk, the enthusiastic little sister began to greet them.

"Hello." The two of them came to the front desk, "I'll look for your manager." ”

"Do you have an appointment?"

Zhao Gang took out the police * card and lit up in front of the little girl at the front desk. "We're police officers, and we're looking for some information from your manager."

Hearing that it was the police, the little sister at the front desk was stunned for a moment, she didn't seem to react, and Zhao Gang said again: "We just want to find your manager, please help us pass it through." ”

"Alright then, you two, wait a minute."

After a while, the manager appeared.

"Hello, I'm the manager here, my surname is Cao." The person who came was a beautiful professional woman with a smile on her face.

"Hello, Manager Cao, we are police officers and want to find out something about you."

"What do you two want to know?" Manager Cao asked with a smile.

Zhao Gang took out the picture of Xiaomei captured in the surveillance, handed it to the manager, and said, "Excuse me, do you know this girl?" ”

Manager Cao looked at the video, shook his head, and said, "I don't know." We have so many guests coming and going here every day that it's impossible to know all of them. ”

"She's not an ordinary guest, she should be working here with you."

Manager Cao looked at it again. "No, she's not our employee."

"She's probably not your regular employee. In layman's terms, it should be here to accompany the wine. Zhao Gang said very directly.

"Officer, we're in the right place." The manager said with a smile.

"Don't worry, we're not here to check this. We just wanted to know a little bit about this girl. Zhao Gang understood what the manager meant.

The manager thought for a moment and said, "Okay then." ”

She turned to the front desk girl next to her and asked, "Have you seen this person?" ”

"This ......" The little girl at the front desk looked at the police, and then at Manager Cao, as if she wanted to stop talking.

"It's okay, just tell the truth." Manager Cao said to her.

"Before, I saw it a lot, but she hasn't been here for a long time."

"yes, I see. Go and call the maître d'être. Manager Cao said to the little sister at the front desk.

After the little girl at the front desk left, Manager Cao said to Zhao Gang again: "I don't know this girl." I don't usually care about that. The foreman is in charge of these things. What do you want to know, you can ask her when she comes. ”

"Okay, understood, thank you." Zhao Gang knew that the 'these things' that the manager was referring to should be the things of the escort girl.

After a while, the foreman came.

"This is the foreman in charge, you can ask her if you want to know anything." Manager Cao said to Zhao Gang.

Manager Cao turned his head to the foreman again and said, "These two are policemen, and they want to know something." What you know, just answer it truthfully, don't worry. ”

"Okay." Then the beautiful girl looked at the two policemen, "Hello officer, what do you want to know?" Her tone was gentle.

"Do you know this girl?"

The foreman looked at the video carefully and said, "It's not very clear, but I can still recognize it." She did work with us for a while. ”

"What's her name?"

"We all call her Xiaomei."

"How long has she not been here?

"It's been a while, but I don't remember it very well."

"She didn't come, do you know where she went?" Zhao Gang asked.

"I don't know. In this business, there is a lot of mobility, and some girls not only work with us, but also work in other places. Usually they come if they want to, and they don't come if they don't want to, and they are very free. If we don't come for a long time, we won't pay attention. ”

"Do you have any information about her?"

"We don't usually ask them to leave information, and they don't want people to know their true information. We usually just register a name and phone number. ”

"Can you give us her number?"

"Yes, please wait a minute."

After a while, the foreman returned, and when he came back, he had a small notebook in his hand. As soon as she flipped it open, it was filled with dense names and phone numbers. It took her a long time to find Mei's name.

"I'm sorry, because the flow of people is too big, and there are a lot of registrations." She pointed to a name in a small notebook and said, "This, the name is Xiaomei, and behind it is her phone number." ”

Qin Tian made a note of the call. But when he compared, it was exactly the same as the previous number, which was the empty number.

"It's the same number from before, it's empty." Qin Tian said to Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang asked again: "Do you have a girl here who has a good relationship with her?" ”

"I don't know if the relationship is good or not, and I rarely ask them about it. I can call you a few girls, they all know Xiaomei, you can ask them. ”

"Okay, thanks."

After a while, the foreman called the three girls over.

"Do you all know this girl?" Zhao Gang took out the video as usual.

"I know them all, it's Xiaomei." One of the girls, An An, said.

"Do you have her contact information? Phone number or something? Zhao Gang asked.

"I didn't."

"Neither do I."

"Nope."

All three shook their heads.

"None of you?" Zhao Gang was disappointed.

An An said: "Xiaomei's personality is very cold, she usually doesn't play with us, and rarely talks to us. She will only be more welcoming to her guests when she is with them. Usually when the guests leave, she goes home and rarely communicates with us. She doesn't have a good temper, and people don't like to talk to her. ”

"You say, she's not in a good temper? Why? ”

An An continued:

"Shortly after she came here, something happened. Once, when everyone was playing in private, they joked with each other about who was beautiful or something.

Then a girl asked Xiaomei, 'Xiaomei, why are you so beautiful?' You look at your nose, so high, and your eyes, so big, they look like they've been trimmed.' As she spoke, she was going to touch Xiaomei's face.

Xiaomei was very angry at the time and yelled at her, 'What are you doing?' He pushed her away.

And then the girl was not to be outdone, and said, 'You're insane, what's wrong with a joke, you're reacting so much.' Could it be that your face is really made up? And she laughed right there.

Then Xiaomei picked up a glass of red wine on the table, poured it directly on the girl's face, and said, 'You're the fucking one!' ’。

At that time, the girl was stunned, and the others present were also confused by this scene.

Before everyone could react, Xiaomei had already slammed the door and left.

Since then, everyone knows that she has a bad temper, can't make jokes, and doesn't talk to her much. ”

Another girl named Xiuxiu also said: "I also know about this, I heard from other girls the next day." Hey, if I were her, I wouldn't be so angry with others. Originally, I had plastic surgery, but I don't know how to keep a low profile! ”

"What do you say? You mean, did she really have a makeover? An An and another girl named Xixi were surprised.

"You don't know, do you? I also found out after that incident. No wonder she reacted so much when the girl was about to touch her face. However, after all, this is someone else's private matter, and besides, she and I have no grievances, so there is no need to talk about these strengths and weaknesses to attract hatred. So I found out later and didn't say it. Xiuxiu said.

When Zhao Gang heard this, he asked Xiuxiu: "Are you sure she has had plastic surgery?" How do you know? ”

Xiuxiu said, "I'm sure. Once, we arrived early and there was no one yet, so we sat in the drink area over there and played on our phones. Later, she didn't know what to do, the person was gone, the bag was still on the stool, and the phone was still on the table. At this time, her mobile phone rang, and I thought the name of the caller ID was 'Hospital', so I took my phone and called her name everywhere, but no one answered. Later, the call came again, and I wondered if there was something important to look for her since it was from the hospital, and I couldn't find her at that time, so I thought about helping her answer it first, and then tell her when she came back. ”

Zhao Gang asked, "It's a call from the plastic surgery hospital, right?" ”

"Yes. When I picked up the phone, I was told that I had plastic surgery at their hospital a year ago, and asked me how the results of the surgery were now, and I was not satisfied. They also asked me if I could go back and take a comparison photo of the first anniversary of the surgery at a convenient time, so that they could keep it on file. ”

"Did you tell her?" Zhao Gang asked.

Xiuxiu seemed to have a slightly embarrassed expression, but she still told the truth. "I didn't tell her. When I hung up the phone, I was going to tell her. But I suddenly remembered what we just said, and I knew that Xiaomei minded people saying that she had plastic surgery, and she definitely didn't want people to know. If she knew that I answered her phone and accidentally learned about her plastic surgery, then I don't know what kind of attitude she would have used towards me. Thinking of this, I deleted the two call records as if nothing had happened. ”

Xiuxiu looked at everyone embarrassedly: "I know it's wrong, but I don't want to get into trouble." Let a sleeping dog lie. Later, I always felt very weak-hearted, I didn't know how to face her, and I didn't know if she would find out. But, after that day, I didn't see her coming. ”

"You mean, she hasn't been seen since that day, have you?" Zhao Gang asked.

"Well, anyway, I haven't seen her again."

"Has she ever been absent for so long before?"

"No, if you don't come, it's only occasionally for a day or two."

"Do you remember what day it was?" Zhao Gang said, "Think about it. ”

"Think about it...... Xiuxiu fell into thought, "it should be December 11th, because I remember that the next day was Double 12, and I was choosing things online and adding a shopping cart to buy something that I didn't buy on Double 11." I deliberately came early that day, thinking that I could go back early in the evening, and there would be a spike merchandise at twelve o'clock in the evening. ”

"Are you sure the plastic surgery hospital is talking about the cosmetic surgery that was done at their hospital a year ago?"

"Sure, I can't get this wrong. However, I don't know exactly when I did it. ”

"Okay, got it, thanks! Do you know where she is? Who else is in the family? ”

"She never talks to us about her private life. So, we don't know either. On one occasion, I overheard her speak in a dialect, like the accent of Gongcheng. I have a friend who is also from Gongcheng, and I often hear her speak in dialects, and they have a very heavy tongue curl. I once heard Xiaomei say something that sounded very much like my friend's accent. Of course, this is just my guess. ”

"It's okay, thank you." Zhao Gang said, "By the way, do you have a picture of her?" ”

An An seemed to remember something, she took out her mobile phone and flipped through it. "I have a picture here, but I didn't shoot her specifically, she just happened to be in the camera." An An said, flipped to the photo and showed it to Zhao Gang.

"Can you send me a photo?" Zhao Gang glanced at the photo and could see Xiaomei's full face. It's much clearer than in surveillance.

"Yes, I'll send it to you now."

After speaking, An An sent the photo to Zhao Gang.

"Comrade police officer, can I ask, what happened to Xiaomei?" An An asked.

"Xiaomei, she's missing."

"Missing? No wonder she hasn't been here for so long! ”

"Thank you for your cooperation this time! Then we'll go first. Zhao Gang stood up and said to the three girls.

"You're welcome!" The girls replied.

The two walked out of the KTV, and their ears suddenly became much quieter. Compared with the warm nightlife atmosphere just now, Zhao Gang still prefers this kind of tranquility.

"Today's harvest is quite big!" Qin Tian stretched his shoulders and looked in a good mood.

"I've finally got a valuable clue." Zhao Gang breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's go eat, talk while eating." ”

The two found a barbecue stand and asked for a few beers.

"The plastic surgery hospital, let's start investigating it tomorrow. Whether you can prove Xiaomei's identity depends here. Zhao Gang picked up a skewer of meat and ate it sizzlingly.

"Say, 'Why doesn't the corpse have a head?' If the deceased is Xiaomei, it can be said that the murderer is trying to cover up Xiaomei's plastic surgery. However, the deceased is not Xiaomei, why did the murderer take her head? Qin Tian asked.

"Can you be sure that the deceased is not Xiaomei? What about the evidence? ”

"Didn't she go out of the neighborhood in the surveillance?"

"But she's missing. We didn't find her. So, anything is possible. ”

"It seems that we still have to find out Xiaomei's identity first."

"I don't know if I'll find anything at the plastic surgery hospital tomorrow."

(c)

Zhao Gang and Qin Tian were sitting in the reception room of the 'Meimei' Plastic Surgery Hospital, drinking coffee while looking around at the photos of beautiful women with high noses and big eyes on the walls of the room.

"You say, why are these girls so bold as to use knives in their faces? It really hurts to think about it. Qin Tian said, gritting his teeth and making an expression of fear of pain.

"Because you're not a woman. So you won't understand. Zhao Gang said.

"Then you'll understand?" Qin Tian asked.

"I don't understand either. But I can understand that. After all, everyone has a love for beauty, especially in this era of looking at faces. ”

"The body is skinned, how can it be changed at will!" Qin Tian said.

"Sometimes, people have things that are more important than life."

"For example?"

"For example, other people's eyes."

"How can these things be more important than life?"

"Because we live in other people's eyes."

"Can't you just go without plastic surgery? Isn't it good to live in your own world? ”

"Sometimes, a facelift is the most straightforward and effective way to achieve certain goals."

"How?"

"For example, ugly women can't find a job, but beautiful women can. Ugly women can't find a boyfriend, beautiful women can. Ugly women can't find confidence, beautiful women can. Zhao Gang said calmly.

"By the way, when you asked the director to check the information just now, you said that the time was half a year before January 10 last year?" Qin Tian asked.

"yes. What's wrong? ”

"How do you know it's this time?"

"The time when the body was found was January 10 this year, when the house was just one year old, and Xiaomei had already completed plastic surgery when she rented this place, indicating that the plastic surgery time was before January 10 last year. And yesterday Xiuxiu said that the plastic surgery hospital called on December 11, saying that Xiaomei had surgery in their hospital a year ago, and asked her to go back to take a comparison photo of the first anniversary. That means that Xiaomei's plastic surgery time is likely to be around November or December of the previous year. To be on the safe side, I also expanded the time frame, so I said six months before January 10 last year. ”

"Well, that makes sense." Qin Tian nodded.

At this moment, the director of the plastic surgery department of the hospital walked into the reception room with a stack of materials.

"Two police officers, at your request, we have checked the information of patients who have undergone plastic surgery in our hospital in the six months before January 10 last year. We screened out young women between the ages of twenty and thirties. Because many women have come back for a review and have taken comparison photos after plastic surgery. Based on the photos you provided, we did not find any similar photographs among these people. The rest, there is no review, or no comparison photos taken, their information is here. ”

Zhao Gang looked at it, and there was information about ten people.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Can you help me check, on December 11th, who did you call to make a return visit?" ”

"This is fine, please wait a while." After the director finished speaking, he went out again.

The two continued to drink coffee on the sofa, and Qin Tian casually flipped through the information on the table, but didn't find anything special.

Soon, the director returned. She had a piece of paper in her hand with a printed call log.

"This is the call log of our customer service department on December 11th. Please take a look, both of you. The director said, handing the paper to them.

Qin Tian picked up the information on the table and the phone number on the call record and began to compare. Soon, he found an identical number.

"Brother Zhao, there is indeed one of the same." Qin Tian excitedly handed the information to Zhao Gang next to him, "Look, this, the name is Guo Qimei, 25 years old, and the phone number on the data is the same as the one on the call record." And it can be seen from the call record that this number has indeed been dialed twice, the first time it was not connected, and the second time it has a 30-second call time. This is in line with what the girl named Xiuxiu said. This person should be Xiaomei. It's just that...... This photo doesn't look like her at all now. Qin Tian looked at the photo of Xiaomei before plastic surgery posted on the information again, and said, "No wonder she is coming for plastic surgery." Too much has changed. ”

"Okay, make a copy of all the materials and take them back." Zhao Gang said.

"Director, do you still have any body tissue from when she underwent surgery? We wanted to do a DNA alignment. Zhao Gang turned his head and asked the director again.

"I'm really sorry, because it's been too long, and there are no reservations."

"Alright then, thanks!"

Zhao Gang thought that although he couldn't be sure that the corpse was Xiaomei, these materials were enough to prove that Guo Qimei was Xiaomei.

After returning to the police station, Qin Tian immediately began an investigation into this phone number.

"She has very few call logs, all of them are inconsequential numbers. However, we found a phone number belonging to Zigong, and she has more contact with this number. I've called to confirm that it's her mother. ”

"Okay, get ready, let's go to Zigong."

(iv)

In a small rural house in Zigong, they met Xiaomei's mother.

It was a low-slung bungalow with old-fashioned blue tiles on the roof. The exterior walls of the house are still the oldest mud walls, but the outermost layer of white plaster has been painted. Today, the ash has fallen off and the walls look mottled and tattered. It can be seen that this house is some years old.

Xiaomei's mother had just passed the age of fifty, but her hair was already half white, and her dark face was full of wrinkles, which were very deep, looking like deep ravines, revealing a vicissitudes that did not match her age. However, the old man's eyes were so kind and kind. As soon as she saw the two officers appear, she greeted them from a distance.

"You two have worked hard, you go into the house and sit, it's cold outside." She said to the two of them with a smile.

"Thank you, auntie."

Zhao Gang and Qin Tian were invited to the hall by the enthusiastic lady. She had already prepared two benches here. As soon as they entered the house, she greeted them warmly. At the moment, the poor old man did not know what kind of news these two men would bring her.

Zhao Gang looked around the room, there was almost no decent furniture in the room, only a square wooden table for eating, and a few wooden stools. A small, shabby table rests against the wall, on which an old black-and-white television sits along. The TV was already covered with dust, and it seemed that it should have broken down a long time ago. Zhao Gang thought, still living in such a house, what a poor family this must be!

"Auntie, are you Guo Qimei's mother?" Zhao Gang looked at the poor old man, not knowing how to continue the rest of the conversation.

"Yes, you all call her Qimei outside, but at home, I still like to call her Xiaomei."

"Look, do you know this person?" Zhao Gang took out the photo that An An sent to him in the KTV.

The old man squinted, looked at the beautiful woman above, and said, "I don't know." Who is this beautiful girl? ”

"What about this man?" Zhao Gang took out the photo they got in the plastic surgery hospital before Xiaomei's plastic surgery.

"This, this is Xiaomei!" When the old man saw Xiaomei's photo, he smiled lovingly.

"You see it clearly, are you sure?"

"What are these words, my own daughter, can I still not know them?" She said jokingly.

"Auntie, how long has it been since you saw Xiaomei?" Zhao Gang asked again.

The eldest lady lowered her head, sighed, and said, "Xiaomei, I haven't been home for more than a year." ”

"Do you know where she is?"

"I don't know, I just know that she works outside. During the Chinese New Year, I asked her to come back, but she didn't come back, saying that she wanted to work outside to earn money. ”

"Do you miss her?"

"I definitely want to, but Xiaomei is very filial, and she often calls me. Hey, it's all my fault, I've been in poor health, I can't even afford my own life, Xiaomei has no way to work to earn money, and I haven't even come back for the New Year. After speaking, the eldest lady sighed again, "Speaking of which, Xiaomei hasn't called me for a while." ”

"So, what about Xiaomei's father?"

"Speaking of which, Xiaomei is also a poor child. Her father fell ill and died when she was four years old. Since then, it has been our mother and daughter who have relied on each other. ”

"Then it must be very difficult for you to pull Xiaomei up alone!"

"Actually, the most difficult thing is Xiaomei, I always feel that I am dragging her down. My health has always been bad, and the burden of the family has basically fallen on Xiaomei's shoulders. If Xiaomei's father was still there, she wouldn't have suffered so much. ”

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Hey, I was diagnosed with uremia before, and I had a kidney transplant in August last year, and now, I am still slowly recovering, but it is much better than before."

When Zhao Gang and Qin Tian heard the news, they both showed strong shock.

Zhao Gang looked around the room again, he couldn't connect such family conditions with the cost of a kidney transplant.

"Auntie, I'm sorry, my next question may be very direct, forgive me for taking the liberty of it."

"Do you want to ask, where do we get so much money for surgery?"

Zhao Gang nodded.

"Actually, after I found out about the disease, I said that it was incurable. I'm an old woman who has lived all my life, and if I die, forget it. But Xiaomei disagreed, and she insisted that I take my treatment and medicine on time, at that time, taking medicine and dialysis every month was a huge expense. These are all borne by Xiaomei alone. I don't want to drag her down, I don't want her to work so hard for me. There were a few times when I didn't go to the treatment on time. After Xiaomei knew, she called me, every time, she cried very sadly on the phone, she said that she only had one relative, she had no father when she was a child, and now she doesn't want to have no mother anymore. If I were gone, how lonely Xiaomei would be in the world! I couldn't let go of her, and I couldn't bear it, let alone her, so I still treated her according to what she said. ”

"It's also a lot of money. In addition to these expenses, does Xiaomei have any savings? Where do you get the money for the surgery? ”

"Then, all of a sudden, one day, she happily called me and said we had money. She said that she had made a lot of money by talking about a big deal, and with the money, she could let me have a kidney transplant. Luckily, I had the right kidney* after a month, so I underwent a kidney transplant. ”

"When did you have the surgery?"

"On August 18 last year, I still remember that Xiaomei said that this number is very auspicious, and it must be a good day."

"When did Xiaomei call you and say that you were rich?"

"It was about a month before the operation, and the doctor said that I was in good shape, and I only waited a month to have a suitable kidney*."

"But you just said that Xiaomei hasn't come back for more than a year, and when you had surgery, didn't she come back either?"

"No, she said she was too busy at work to come back. If you come back from leave, you may lose your job. She said that there is still a lot of money to spend after the operation, and she will continue to earn money. So, during that time, it was her aunt who took care of me in the hospital, and she just sent the money back. Later, she called me some more one after another, and I saved them all for her. I thought she was doing a good job, so I didn't rush her back. ”

"How much did she pay you?"

"When I had the operation, I hit 200,000. Later, another 20,000 were hit. ”

"Do you know what kind of work Xiaomei does?"

"I don't know. But she said that it was very good, I was not tired from work, and I earned a lot of money, so I should not worry about it, just take good care of my body. ”

"Yes, you have to take care!" Zhao Gang wanted to say something, but he didn't say it.

The eldest lady seemed to see Zhao Gang's desire to speak and stopped, and asked: "By the way, comrade police, you have asked me so much, is it Xiaomei, what happened to her?" ”

Zhao Gang thought that no matter what, he had to confirm whether the deceased was Guo Qimei.

"Auntie, you have to be mentally prepared."

"Xiaomei, she...... Did something really happen? The eldest lady's voice began to tremble.

"Xiaomei, she's missing. We found a female corpse in her rented house, but the body did not have a head and we could not confirm it. We are here this time, just to need you to help us confirm whether she is Xiaomei or not. ”

When the eldest lady heard this, she collapsed directly to the ground.

Zhao Gang and Qin Tian hurriedly helped the eldest lady up.

"Auntie, don't be too upset. We haven't decided for sure if she's Xiaomei or not. ”

"No...... How could it be Xiaomei! You must be mistaken...... My Xiaomei is so well-behaved and so filial, how could she be killed! The eldest lady kept shaking her head.

"Auntie, is there a red birthmark on Xiaomei's lower back?" Zhao Gang asked.

"Birthmarks?" The eldest lady thought for a while, "No." When Xiaomei was born, her whole body was white and clean, and there were no birthmarks! ”

"Are you sure?" Zhao Gang was suddenly stunned.

"Xiaomei is my biological daughter, does she have a birthmark on her, can I still not know?" The eldest lady thought about it again and said, "Xiaomei's skin is white and pure, but unfortunately, she has left a scar on her calf, which has always made her feel inferior." ”

"You mean, Xiaomei has a scar on her calf? What kind of scarring? Zhao Gang asked again.

"Since Xiaomei's father died, I have been alone, a father and a mother, working and taking care of her. So, every time I went to work, I took her with me and she was playing by herself. Once, when I was working, she was climbing a tree next to her, and she accidentally fell from the tree, and her calf was cut by a branch, a long and deep wound, and more than 20 stitches were required. At that time, the medical conditions were not good, and there was a clear scar on the place where she had stitches. Because of this incident, I especially regret that I didn't take good care of her. ”

Xiaomei's mother's words surprised Zhao Gang and Qin Tianda.

"Auntie, you wait for me, I'll make a call." After Zhao Gang finished speaking, he walked out of the house.

He came to the edge of the courtyard, took out his mobile phone, and called Forensic Doctor Zhang.

"Hey, Forensic Doctor Zhang, I, Zhao Gang. It's the headless female corpse in the rental house, are there any stitches on the calf of the corpse? ”

"Traces of stitches? No. Forensic doctor Zhang on the other end of the phone said.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course it's certain, don't you still believe in my professionalism? We don't ignore such obvious body features. On the surface of the corpse, there was nothing special about it, except for a red heart-shaped birthmark on the back of the waist. Forensic doctor Zhang on the other end of the phone said with certainty.

"Okay, I see, thanks!"

After speaking, Zhao Gang hung up the phone. Back in the house.

"Auntie, we have confirmed that there are no stitches on the calves of the corpse, so she is not Xiaomei." Zhao Gang said to the eldest mother.

The eldest mother breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I know, how can it be Xiaomei!" ”

"But, Auntie, Xiaomei, she is missing......" Zhao Gang said to Auntie again, "How long has it been since she contacted you?" ”

The eldest lady thought for a while and said, "It's been a long time, it should be, it's been a month, right?" ”

"Did you call her?"

"I don't usually call her, Xiaomei used to call back. She used to say that if I was okay, don't call her, she has to go to work. If anything happens, she'll call back. ”

"So, you don't know where she went?"

"I don't know, I just know that she works outside. What did you mean when you just said that Xiaomei is missing? The eldest lady asked worriedly.

"The house she rented had expired, but she didn't show up to move. So, we suspect that Xiaomei is missing. ”

"So, where did she go?" The eldest lady stood up anxiously.

"I don't know, we're looking for her whereabouts. And, in the house she rented, we found a female corpse. Before, we suspected that the deceased was Xiaomei, but now it seems that the body is not Xiaomei. ”

"Where's Xiaomei? What does that corpse have to do with her? The more the aunt talked, the more anxious she became.

"Everything is still waiting for our investigation. At the moment, we do not know Xiaomei's whereabouts. ”

"You must find Xiaomei, I can't lose her......" The eldest lady came to Zhao Gang, held her hand tightly and said.

"Don't worry, we'll do our best." Zhao Gang held his aunt and said, "You have to take care of your body!" Don't worry too much. ”

"How could I not be worried! I'm afraid that something will happen to Xiaomei, if something happens to her, how can I live! The eldest lady said, her voice began to choke.

"Don't worry, as soon as we hear from her, we will contact you immediately."

"Well, I'm sorry for you!" The eldest lady looked at Zhao Gang, her eyes full of expectation.

"Okay, auntie, if it's okay, we'll go first." As he spoke, Zhao Gang took out a business card from his arms and handed it to the eldest mother, "Auntie, this is my business card, it has my phone number on it, if you have anything, call me." ”

The eldest lady took the business card with both hands and replied in a loud voice: "Okay, I remember!" ”

"Then let's go, take care of yourself!"

Zhao Gang and Qin Tian walked out of the courtyard and stepped onto the country road.

Xiaomei's mother stood on the edge of the courtyard, leaning over, watching their departing backs.

At this time, the setting sun reflected the old lady's cheeks. The white hair on the sideburns shines brightly.

The sunset also reflected the pond in front of the yard.

The water in the pond was as bright as blood.

The two walked on the country road, there were flocks of ducks playing in the paddy fields on the side of the road, and the sound of "quack" was heard from time to time, and the rare warm winter sun was still warming the earth with the last residual heat. If it weren't for worrying about the case, such a harmonious and warm rural scene, the two really wanted to slow down and appreciate it slowly.

"Brother Zhao, according to the characteristics provided by the old lady, the deceased is really not Xiaomei, but someone else!" Qin Tian chatted about the case.

"Yes! Before, we always suspected that the deceased was Xiaomei. However, now it seems that it is not Xiaomei. Who is the deceased? Where did Xiaomei go again? It's getting more and more confusing. Brother Zhao sighed.

Anyway, Mei is missing, and another woman's body is found in the rental house. No matter how you look at it, Xiaomei is inseparable from this case. Qin Tian said.

"It's a pity that we can't find where Xiaomei is. And what does that female corpse have to do with her? Zhao Gang thought as he spoke.

"A big living person, just disappeared. Oh, poor old mother! Did you see the old lady's appearance just now, the white hair on her temples, the wrinkles on her forehead, and the worried eyes when she talked about Xiaomei, it was so pitiful! Qin Tian said as he thought back to the old lady's appearance.

"If, Xiaomei is just missing, it's okay. But what if she died? Zhao Gang looked at Qin Tian and asked.

"If Xiaomei died, the old lady would be lonely, and the white-haired person would send the black-haired person, how sad she would be!" Qin Tian really didn't want to imagine it.

"My husband died early, and I finally pulled my daughter so big, if it was really gone, how could she stand it!"

"yes, I just got a kidney transplant and I'm thinking about starting a new life. If at this time, my daughter is gone, and no one can stand it! ”

"Now, we can only pray. Hope Xiaomei is still alive. Zhao Gang said, "The most important thing at the moment is to solve the case as soon as possible." Find Xiaomei's whereabouts and figure out what happened to the female corpse. ”

"You're right. But then again, does Xiaomei really have such a high income as a wine escort? A kidney transplant isn't cheap! Qin Tian said.

According to her mother's recollection, Xiaomei suddenly called her one day and said that she had money, indicating that the money came very suddenly. Maybe it has something to do with her disappearance. Zhao Gang was thinking.

"Could it be that some guest gave it to her? After all, as escort girls, they can meet a lot of rich guests. ”

"Go check Xiaomei's account."

"Okay!"