1 Private crisis management company

At the end of 2001, Zhang Chongbin ended his nearly two-year study life and returned from the United Kingdom. After a month's rest in his hometown in the northeast, he left home and went to the south, where he thought it would be easier to find an opportunity to test the academic theories he had studied. Zhang Chongbin's luck is good, through the introduction of headhunters, he was favored by the CEO of a listed group company in N City, and he became an executive directly. With his outstanding performance, he quickly won the trust and appreciation of the boss, but because of his distinctive personality and a dream that he has never let go, Zhang Chongbin resigned after a full year in that company. Instead of returning to his hometown, he opened a local company in the city of N, which was registered as Criss Crisis Management LLC.

The main business of the company is to provide two types of services to the society: civil and commercial affairs investigation and special maintenance. Objectively speaking, non-governmental management is not a simple matter in China at present. Although private organizations that engage in this kind of business have appeared in the international metropolis of Shanghai as early as 1992, due to the special sensitivity of this industry, the relevant government departments have been taking many measures to control the private organizations that carry out such business activities.

With the advent of the WTO era, the branches of the old powerhouses that carry out such business and have a good reputation have landed in China's major political, economic, and culturally developed regions, such as the Pinkerton Company and the Kroll Detective Agency in the United States, and the Roth International Company in the United Kingdom. However, it is difficult for local practitioners to meet internationally recognized industry standards, both in terms of professionalism and quantity, and the supporting legal norms and industry management systems for the state to guide and supervise this industry are not perfect. Therefore, according to industry insiders, in China, this industry is actually a "marginal industry" that plays the legal side. In this situation, it means that those engaged in this industry in China not only lack the necessary legal protection of their rights and interests, but also easily violate the legal "red line" due to a lack of common-sense professional skills. In other words, if you want to eat this bowl of rice well, you must have something extraordinary, not only to understand laws and regulations, but also to know how to be flexible according to different situations, and to be able to take unusual measures to protect yourself in special emergency situations.

The reason why Zhang Chongbin chose this time to open this company, of course, has his reasons and conditions, there is no diamond who takes this porcelain work, Zhang Chongbin has always been so confident in himself.

Qi Bing can serve as the captain of the special guard team in this company, it should be said that it is completely due to his extraordinary ability and love for this job. Qi Bing used to be a soldier in an armed police corps in the north, and he was a relatively legendary figure known to the heads of military regions, and his extraordinary military experience and many honors proved that he was definitely the elite of China's best soldiers. After retiring, he was hired by the boss of a foreign-funded enterprise as an assistant to the general manager with a high salary, and then came to the company at the invitation of Zhang Chongbin, responsible for the training of all the company's special security team members and leading the team to perform various important special health tasks.

After the establishment of the company, adhering to the business philosophy of "wisely resolving the risk of crisis, loyalty casting the sword of justice", it has created a work team that pays attention to standardization, integrity and efficiency, and in just five months, it has undertaken several influential special health service projects and high-end commercial investigation cases, especially the company's full personal security protection service for well-known performing arts stars from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland to perform in N city, which has become a hot spot for major local news media to chase the wind. The company's good development momentum once made Zhang Chongbin full of expectations for the future.

However, a sudden "SARS" caused the company's business volume to decline rapidly. When SARS was at its worst, the company was even more panicked. During this time, Chris unexpectedly received a special service project: an out-of-town real estate company wanted to hire a few special guards to take care of a villa on the outskirts of the city. In Zhang Chongbin's view, this kind of work of "protecting the family and nursing home" is simply overkill to find the company's special guard to do it. However, the other party has no objection to the service charge that is significantly higher than that of ordinary security companies, and readily agreed. At this time, there is money to be made, of course, there is no reason to refuse. For this project, Zhang Chongbin decided to let Qi Bing take Duan Tao, a member of the special security team, to complete it, which was supposed to give the good buddies who had nothing to do all day and were uncomfortable to take a vacation and rest.

Qi Bing: The place they are going to is Guiyang, Duan Tao has been a soldier in Guiyang in the past, and Qi Bing's professional level in special security is needless to say. Therefore, Zhang Chongbin was very relieved of their combination, and because he was in a hurry when he left, he did not do a routine security plan demonstration on this project with them.

2 An inscrutable motive for killing

At noon on June 4, Zhang Chongbin was dining with a customer in a hotel restaurant in N City, when he suddenly received a call from Duan Tao, a special security team member assigned by the company to perform escort duties:

"Mr. Zhang, captain he...... He's in an accident, so you'd better come over as soon as possible! ”

"What happened to Qi Bing?"

"I ...... I don't know, the police here took him away, I can't tell what is going on now, you better come here! ”

Duan Tao's tone on the phone made Zhang Chongbin's heart sink suddenly: "What happened over there?" These two have been out for less than three days! After finishing the meal in a hurry, Zhang Chongbin immediately rushed back to the company.

Back at the company, Zhang Chongbin found out the entrustment contract for the expatriate business project in the filing cabinet, and called the other party's contact according to the above contact number, but the phone was in a continuous call state, and no one answered. Zhang Chongbin immediately called Duan Tao again, and learned that Duan Tao had not been able to contact Director Huang, who had originally contacted him and Qi Bing, in Guiyang. After thinking for a while, Zhang Chongbin directly called the local public security department in Guiyang to confirm that Qi Bing had indeed been detained, but for what reason, the other party did not say much on the phone, but offered to let the company come as soon as possible to cooperate with the handling of the case. Without further ado, Zhang Chongbin immediately booked the earliest flight to Guiyang, prepared relevant items, and went straight to the airport.

There is a saying that "the ground is not three feet flat, and the sky is not sunny for three days", which is Guiyang.

Sure enough, when he arrived in Guiyang at night, Zhang Chongbin got off the plane and came in a drizzle. Duan Tao and one of his comrades-in-arms were already waiting at the airport, picked up Zhang Chongbin, and drove straight to a military guest house in the northern suburbs of Baiyun District, Guiyang City.

Along the way, Zhang Chongbin and Duan Tao didn't say a few words, and the atmosphere was dull and depressing. When he arrived at the station, after Duan Tao asked his comrades to leave first, he walked up to Mr. Zhang, lowered his head, his shoulders trembled slightly, and when he slowly raised his head, his eyes were already red, and he said in a snort: "It's all my fault, I don't know how the captain is now." Suddenly, he said loudly again: "Mr. Zhang, captain, he must have been wronged!" ”

Zhang Chongbin looked at Duan Tao with a serious face, and said in a low voice: "You control my emotions for me, and tell me in detail all the situations that happened when you and Captain Qi came here." ”

After Duan Tao took a deep breath, he began to talk about how he and the captain arrived in Guiyang, first went to the real estate company to meet the contact director, Director Huang, and learned that the villa they were going to care for was in the northern suburbs of the city. After the villa was built, someone lived there for a while, but soon the man moved out. After that, the villa was renovated, and the company hired a female housekeeper to eat and live in the villa, and just a few days ago, the female worker did not say hello to anyone in their company, and even left without even asking for a salary. According to Director Huang, the main reason for letting them come here this time was to catch the thief, because the family who moved away before and the female worker who suddenly left recently have reported that the room on the upper floor of this villa often makes some strange noises in the middle of the night, and when I go to check it during the day, I can't see anything unusual. Director Huang suspected that there might be a thief or some animal from the mountain sneaking into the house in the middle of the night, but these speculations have not been confirmed. However, if this problem is not solved, the villa will not be able to be sold to the outside world. Therefore, Director Huang asked them to stay for a few days to see if there was any situation like those "nervous" people said, and if they found a thief who came to make trouble, it was best to take it on the spot.

Hearing Duan Tao say this, Zhang Chongbin suddenly remembered that before leaving, Qi Bing had told him to take care of the villa this time, probably because this building looks more eye-catching in the local area, and showing wealth in such a poor area will inevitably make people with thieves and thieves worry about it. Qi Bing's analysis, Zhang Chongbin listened to it at the time, but in his opinion, if he really met a thief, then this thief can be regarded as a big shovel in the coal yard - unlucky! Because with Qi Bing's skills, it will not be too much of a problem to deal with several strong men at the same time. Therefore, Zhang Chongbin and Qi Bing both skipped this conversation with a joke at the time, and they both thought that compared with the high-risk projects they had carried out before, this escort work was simply a "piece of cake" and nothing. But now, from Duan Tao's slightly shaking shoulders and trying his best to maintain a calm tone, Zhang Chongbin realized that he had obviously underestimated the risks of this mission.

Duan Tao continued: "On the first day, day and night, everything was normal, and the captain and I did not hear the strange movements of the rumors, let alone see any thieves. The next day, a few former comrades-in-arms knew that I was coming to Guiyang, so they asked me to go out for a gathering in the evening, and the captain said that it was rare to come here, and it was normal for people to meet old comrades-in-arms and approved. I went out around 5:30 p.m., but who would have thought...... Ahem, if I knew that the captain would have an accident alone, I wouldn't have gone out if I was killed! Duan Tao clenched his fists.

"And then, when did you come back?" Zhang Chongbin lit a cigarette, trying to restrain his dissatisfaction as much as possible. Because according to the company's regulations, when going out to perform special health tasks, special health personnel are not allowed to contact local acquaintances casually, especially in this period when "SARS" is rampant, and individual team members are not allowed to leave the team to go out in style. However, this time it was Qi Bing, the captain of the company's special guard team, who broke the rules.

Duan Tao continued: "That night, my comrades-in-arms drank together to catch up, and I wanted to go back when it was almost midnight, but these comrades-in-arms just didn't let me leave early, and they also used the phone to help me ask the captain for leave, and the captain agreed at that time. In this way, our comrades-in-arms continued to drink again, and I was also dizzy with excitement that night, and I don't know how much wine I drank. Later, I woke up with urine, only to find that I had somehow slept in this guest house. When I rushed back, it was about 5 o'clock in the morning, and when I entered the house, I saw the captain sitting alone on the sofa in the living room, with wounds and blood stains on his face and hands! Speaking of this, Duan Tao's eyes widened, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down, "I asked the captain what was wrong with him, was the thief breaking in?" The captain told me not to move around, to protect the scene, and to wait for the police to come. It didn't take long for the police car and ambulance to come, and a few policemen entered the house and took pictures around, and the captain and I were taken into a police car. Afterward...... I, I saw through the car window that they were carrying a woman down from the second floor! ”

"What? Woman! What kind of woman?! Zhang Chongbin was surprised.

"Yes! It was a woman of twenty-five or sixteen, and it didn't seem like she was alive. Duan Tao's tone was also full of incomprehension.

"How do you see that?" Zhang Chongbin asked with a twisted eyebrow.

"The woman didn't make any sound from the time she was carried out of the house to the time she was put in the car and pulled away, and when they carried the woman to the ambulance, I saw that the woman had a large patch of blood on her skin!"

"On the skin? Isn't that woman wearing clothes?! ”

"I wore clothes, but I wore less of them this season, and when I carried the woman, her back and thighs were exposed. When I got to the police station, they separated me from the captain, I don't know what happened to the captain, I was interrogated by two police officers anyway. Because my comrades-in-arms could prove that I was not there at the time, they let me out when it was almost noon. I went to look for the captain, but they wouldn't let me, and when I came out, I passed by the room where the captain was, and through the window, I saw that the captain was handcuffed! ”

"You called me that as soon as you came out, didn't you?"

"Yes, Mr. Zhang. I was worried about the captain, and I didn't understand what was going on and what to do, so I reported back to you as soon as I came out. ”

From Duan Tao's description of the whole situation, Zhang Chongbin realized that Qi Bing was in a big trouble this time, after all, human life was at stake. Not only that, if this matter is not handled well, Qi Bing will not only be imprisoned, but even he himself is likely to be involved in legal responsibility. Thinking of this, Zhang Chongbin's whole body began to get hot, and the cigarette butts in his hands that had burned to the roots were vigorously extinguished by him with his thumb and index finger...... When he raised his head and saw Duan Tao standing beside him anxious, Zhang Chongbin took another deep breath, and he warned himself in his heart: At this time, he must be calm and show the courage to deal with the most complex cases to face this black crisis. He must do everything he can to save Qi Bing and save himself! After calming down, after some thought, Zhang Chongbin decided to start from several aspects at the same time, and strive to obtain effective clues and evidence in the shortest possible time.

However, there was a puzzle that puzzled him - that is, the woman who did not look like a living person.

"Who is this woman? Why did she die in this villa? What did Qi Bing do that night? What is Qi Bing's initiative to call the police? Could it be that you turned yourself in?! Something so big, why didn't he call me first? ......" Zhang Chongbin was eating the instant noodles soaked in hot water brought by Duan Tao, while silently thinking about these questions that puzzled him.

After eating noodles, Zhang Chongbin beckoned Duan Tao to take a taxi, and the two went to the villa on the outskirts of the city together.

On a rainy night, the mansion is isolated and quiet in the col away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and its overall structure is square, with a triangular roof, which looks out of place with some of the simple and dilapidated temporary buildings in the surrounding area. The unlit doors and windows were scattered into a huge black weeping "face", which was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.

Zhang Chongbin and Duan Tao circled around the villa a few times, took some photos from several angles, and then returned to the lodging, washed up briefly, and went to rest.

It was midnight, and Zhang Chongbin, who had been unable to figure out the cause of the case, had to sit up, lean back against the wall, and light a cigarette. In the dark room, with the light of light from time to time, wisps of light smoke continued to fly and rise in front of him. At this moment, Zhang Chongbin began to look back on many past events with Qi Bing when he was a child and the reunion of the two brothers after a long absence......

3 Brotherhood

"The hands are two doors, and they all rely on their legs to beat people." Zhang Chongbin shouted as he used his long flexible and powerful legs to kick Qi Bing's body continuously...... When I was young, among a group of children of the same age who grew up in the army headquarters, Zhang Chongbin and Qi Bing were the best partners to play with. In the mid-80s, after watching "Shaolin Temple" starring Jet Li, the two brothers suddenly became crazy obsessed with martial arts, getting up early and going out late all day to press their legs, punch and kick sandbags. The so-called "South fist and north legs, one inch long and one inch strong", Zhang Chongbin is relatively tall and prefers leg techniques, when practicing with Qi Bing, this is a sentence he often hangs on his lips.

Although Qi Bing is not very tall, his movements are very flexible, he practices with his fists and feet, and his shots are characterized by being fast and ruthless. Usually, although the two brothers do not really use their black hands when they practice, they often compete in secret, and they make ruthless moves, so they always see bruises and bruises on their bodies, as the so-called "to learn to beat people, first learn to be beaten", they believed this at that time.

After feeling a little bit of skill, Zhang Chongbin and Qi Bing began to feel a little uncomfortable, and they found an excuse to "meet friends with martial arts" when they had nothing to do, and the two of them have always been united like brothers in foreign wars, so for a period of time, they are famous among the surrounding children and schools, of course, it is not a good name, but they can fight, and every time they see the frightened eyes of others, it is a great honor for them.

Later, Zhang Chongbin left his hometown after graduating from junior high school and went to study in a school in the south, and Qi Bing stayed in his hometown until he graduated from high school and went to the army to serve as a soldier. In this way, the trajectory of fate that two people have been seemingly tied together for a long time began to fork. After Zhang Chongbin graduated and worked, because he was not satisfied with the status quo, he studied and then worked, and the working environment and salary were also continuously improved.

But Qi Bing's military career is not simple. Although the two were separated, they kept in touch, and Zhang Chongbin often heard news from Qi Bing that made him envious. Qi Bing was indeed good, and soon after he went to the armed police force, he was sent to the west to carry out the urgent task of quelling a riot. Regarding that experience, Qi Bing gritted his teeth every time he talked to Zhang Chongbin: "At the beginning, it was really a, and you just can't open it with a gun in hand!" As a result, under this unequal armed confrontation, some thugs openly and rampantly shot and killed the officers and soldiers of the troops, and the situation of the Qi soldiers was very dangerous for a time. Later, the relevant departments at higher levels determined that the nature of the incident was a premeditated and organized armed riot, and the military lifted the ban on shooting, and Qi soldiers personally killed three thugs in that riot, one of whom Qi soldiers took the other party's saber and bloody blade to relieve their hatred.

In the army, Qi Bing's good foundation laid by strengthening his body and practicing martial arts in the past has played a role, and the environment of the army has made him like a fish in water, and his own understanding is good; coupled with the almost crazy fierce training, Qi Bing's kung fu is becoming more and more sophisticated, and his performance in various items of military training is also very good, and his shooting and driving skills are the benchmark of the entire military region. Later, after being selected by the superior organization, Qi Bing became a "Zhongnanhai bodyguard", specializing in personal escorts for important national leaders when they went out. When Qi Bing was about to leave the army, he was honored to represent the Chinese police in an "International Police Fighting Competition", and in the hand-to-hand combat event, he defeated foreign players to win honor for the country.

"Alas! Once so familiar, trusting, and admirable good buddy, will he become a ...... after many years of absence" Zhang Chongbin extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand, this is absolutely impossible! Zhang Chongbin clearly remembered that after Qi Bing knew that he had opened this company, he faced his invitation to join, and said excitedly that this was exactly what he had been looking for after leaving the army, and this was a real man's career!

"He, like me, came together for the dreams he had when he was younger. Qi Bing was able to gain the trust of the leaders at all levels of the army in the past and become the personal bodyguard of the leader, which in itself is the best proof of excellent quality! Thinking of this, Zhang Chongbin's mood was much lighter, and he lay down again...... So, could this woman be a thief who often comes to the villa in the middle of the night to make trouble? Qi Bing's good skills can be injured, could it be that this woman also has some extraordinary martial arts, and finally forced Qi Bing to kill him? But is it possible?! All this, it seems that only by seeing Qi Bing can we solve the doubts, maybe in a few days, Qi Bing clarifies the facts, and we can meet again......" Zhang Chongbin tried his best to think about the good.

4. Suspects with special identities

"Chongbin, I'm here!"

"Qi Bing, what are you going to do?!" Zhang Chongbin shouted in surprise. In front of a group of ragged people who were marching, a haggard man greeted Zhang Chongbin, and that person was Qi Bing.

"There's an urgent mission, I have to go, don't forget to write to me!" Qi Bing waved his hand and replied loudly.

"Where the hell are you going? Where is the letter sent? Looking at the Qi soldiers who were gradually moving away, Zhang Chongbin shouted anxiously...... opened his eyes suddenly, and Zhang Chongbin realized that it was a dream. Getting up and sitting on the bed, he couldn't come back to his senses for a while...... After a moment of silence, Zhang Chongbin quickly got out of bed and opened the curtains, and a bright light shone in front of him, a rare good weather.

After Zhang Chongbin hurried up to wash up, he called Duan Tao and said, "I'll go to the public security in the morning to learn about Qi Bing's situation, and you can find a way to find Director Huang, and if you can't find him, find me the person in charge of this company, and then contact me immediately." Also, you'd better check with your comrades to see if there are any people who are familiar with the situation of this company and find out. ”

Duan Tao nodded vigorously and replied, "Understood!" Mr. Zhang. With that, he turned and left the room.

Zhang Chongbin walked out of the guest house and took a taxi to a detention center in Guiyang City, and after reporting his home at the gate, a doorman took him into a small conference room in the building. There were two men in civilian clothes sitting in the conference room, the young man first got up and showed Zhang Chongbin his police officer card, and then introduced that the person sitting next to him was Captain Liu of the criminal police team.

Captain Liu was about forty years old, not tall, but his eyes were deep and sharp, and he looked Zhang Chongbin up and down......

Zhang Chongbin nodded, took out his ID card and handed it to the young officer Ma, and said, "I am Zhang Chongbin, the person in charge of the Qi Bing unit. I came here today for two main purposes: one is to understand the specific situation of Qi Bing's case, and the other is to actively cooperate with you to clarify the matter as soon as possible, I want to ......" Before the words were finished, Captain Liu interrupted: "The nature of Qi Bing's crime is very serious, you came just in time, I want to know what your unit does?" ”

"Crisis Management." Zhang Chongbin replied.

"Microcomputer management? Is it a computer? Officer Ma interjected.

"It is a dangerous crisis, an opportunity opportunity, and crisis management is also called risk control in the industry." Zhang Chongbin explained.

"Why do I think there are some problems with the business run by your unit, do you have legal procedures?" Captain Liu questioned.

"This is a copy of the company's business license." Zhang Chongbin took out the documents from the bag he was carrying and put them in front of Captain Liu, "Please don't question the legitimacy of the company, this doesn't seem to have much to do with this case, I want to ...... it."

"What did Qi Bing do before?" Captain Liu once again stole Zhang Chongbin's words.

"Didn't he tell you?!" Zhang Chongbin asked in surprise.

"How can you hire a violent person like him? Do you know what he used to do? Is there a criminal record?! Officer Ma, who was making a note on the side, raised his head and suddenly asked Zhang Chongbin a loud question.

Zhang Chongbin looked left and right at the two police officers in front of him, paused for a moment, and then said, "Captain Liu, I don't understand, are you asking me about the situation, or are you interrogating me?" I took the initiative to come over today to cooperate with your work, and if there is anything inappropriate, please make it clear. ”

"Mr. Zhang, you took the initiative to come over today to show that you are a citizen who understands the righteousness and the law, but your subordinates are disappointed, pretending to be confused and not admitting their guilt, and their attitude is stubborn." Captain Liu said calmly.

"Please tell me, what did Qi Bing do?" Zhang Chongbin asked solemnly.

"Intentional injury resulting in death, and the possibility of attempted rape cannot be ruled out." Officer Ma interjected.

"Impossible! Captain Liu, Officer Ma, this is absolutely impossible! Is there any hard evidence for this? Zhang Chongbin immediately asked back.

"Absolutely! It's useless for him not to be honest and confessed, and now he can be convicted with zero confession. Officer Ma said.

"Who is that woman who died?" Zhang Chongbin asked again.

"We're investigating." Officer Ma said.

"Qi Bing and the others are here, right, can I see him as the leader of the unit now? By the way, do his ideological work, if he really commits a crime, I will let him cooperate with you to take the initiative to explain the problem. ”

"Not at this time." Captain Liu replied, his tone unquestionable.

With his experience as a lawyer, Zhang Chongbin knew that at this time, the case was in the stage of filing and investigation, and Qi Bing had been taken compulsory measures - criminal detention. According to the provisions of the National Criminal Procedure Law, except for the lawyer, even the family members who could see Qi Bing at this time did not have the opportunity, so he did not continue to insist on his claims. However, the conversation with the two police officers just now cast a heavy shadow on his mood, Qi Bing's "stubbornness" He can completely imagine it, so many years of buddies, Qi Bing's self-esteem and strong personality he knows too well, but now his identity is a suspect in a serious criminal case, as a foreigner, his confrontational attitude, if he meets an interrogator who is not of high quality enough and has a short temper...... Thinking of this, Zhang Chongbin opened his mouth and said: "Captain Liu, Officer Ma, you just said that you have the evidence to convict Qi Bing, I think this still needs to be determined by the procuratorate, and finally the court will make a judgment before the final conviction." Out of the need to be responsible for my subordinates and to facilitate your fairness and efficiency in handling cases, I think it is necessary for me to answer the question you just asked—'What did Qi Bing do before?'"

"Okay, tell me about it." Captain Liu's tone softened.

Zhang Chongbin opened his bag and took out the resume of the lieutenant general Qi Bing, the certificate of Qi Bing's past commendation in the army, and the photos of winning awards in the international police competition, and then said to Captain Liu: "This is Qi Bing's past, and I am proud that my company can have such employees!" ”

Captain Liu was obviously a little surprised, he looked at the documents placed on the table one by one, and his brows gradually twisted into a "Sichuan" shape......

At this moment, Zhang Chongbin took out a box of cigarettes and asked Captain Liu and Officer Ma to light one by themselves when they saw that the other party did not accept it, and said: "Captain Liu, do you believe that such a once such an excellent soldier would do such a dirty thing?" The fact that he can take the initiative to call the police shows that he has a clear conscience, with the quality of Qi Bing, if he is arrested for committing something, he will not lie to the quibble; I still know him, and it's not his character to sit back and wait to be killed, and if he really wants to commit a crime, I'm afraid it won't be so simple to arrest him. ”

Regarding Zhang Chongbin's words, Captain Liu just listened quietly, and then looked out the window, as if thinking about something...... Officer Ma then continued: "The legal net is magnificent, negligent but not leaky." Anyone who sins can't escape! ”

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly dull and oppressive. Suddenly, a sound of mobile phone vibration came out, Zhang Chongbin took out his mobile phone and saw that it was a text message from Duan Tao: "Mr. Zhang, please come to BY Building quickly, the target has been discovered." ”

Zhang Chongbin put back his phone, stood up and said to Captain Liu: "I'm sorry, I still have some things to do, and I need to take a step first." Regarding this case, I implore the captain to handle it carefully, I personally think that this case will not be so simple, and I hope that I will not let go of the real criminal and wronged an innocent good person. I'm still here these days, if you need to ask me about the situation, please keep me informed, and I will definitely cooperate with your work. Also, I will hire a lawyer for Qi Bing, and then I will ask the captain to arrange for a lawyer to meet with Qi Bing. After speaking, Zhang Chongbin left some copies of his ID and business cards, signed the transcript handed by Officer Ma, and then walked out of the detention center and went straight to the BY Building.

5 Haunted Murder House

Sitting in the car, Zhang Chongbin quickly sorted out his thoughts: Looking at the current situation, Qi Bing will be detained in the detention center for a period of time, and the duration of this kind of criminal detention can be long or short, as short as a few days, and as long as 37 days. Moreover, from the tone of the other party's conversation, Zhang Chongbin realized that if he could not find favorable evidence to prove Qi Bing's innocence, the case would soon be submitted to the procuratorate for review by the public security organs, and Qi Bing would also be transferred from detention to approved arrest. In that case, Qi Bing's crisis situation will be more difficult to change, so the top priority is to understand the truth of the matter and find favorable evidence and witnesses as soon as possible.

So why did they dodge Director Huang? What are they afraid of? In this case, they may be crucial witnesses who can help clarify some facts, they at least know the surrounding environment and some connections of this "murderous house", and are they instinctively shunning such "disasters" or are they hiding from other things? The female workers they had hired suddenly left the villa and did not even want their wages; Now, another woman has died suddenly in this villa...... Two women, the same villa, are these two women the same person? The car was speeding on the uneven road, Zhang Chongbin's thoughts kept flashing, and the sudden feeling made him feel a shock in his heart! Could this be a premeditated trap......

Arriving at the BY Building, as soon as he entered the front hall of the building, Duan Tao greeted him and said, "Mr. Zhang, I saw the surname Huang, on the third floor, he seemed to have changed offices, but he never left that room." ”

Hearing this, Zhang Chongbin took the lead and went upstairs without saying a word, and when he came to the door, Zhang Chongbin knocked on the door a few times. After a while, the door opened, and a middle-aged man with a little fat figure, puffy eyes, and seemed to have not slept well appeared in front of the door, he looked at Zhang Chongbin standing at the door in surprise, Duan Tao suddenly flashed out from behind Zhang Chongbin at this time, and said: "Director Huang, this is the general manager of our company, Mr. Zhang, who came to visit today." ”

"Oh, hello, hello, one...... I'm sorry, let's go another day, I have something to do and I'm going out soon. Director Huang, who came back to his senses, hurriedly replied, and then turned around to close the door.

Zhang Chongbin stepped forward and pushed open the closed door one by one, and then put his arm around Director Huang's shoulders and led him into the room together, Duan Tao followed and closed the door casually.

Director Huang didn't expect someone to come to this hand, shook his body a few times and wanted to shake off Zhang Chongbin's arm, turned his head and made a shouting appearance, but suddenly opened his mouth as if he was choked, and finally said in a trembling voice: "You guys...... Why do you do this? ”

Zhang Chongbin looked directly into his eyes and didn't make any extra explanations, until Director Huang lowered his gaze and said, "It's quite difficult to find you to understand the situation, my people are in such a big trouble for your business, you don't even have a word, and you still want to hide and disappear, what do you mean?!" ”

"No, I said I changed the time." Director Huang replied with an innocent look.

"Why didn't I answer my call? What are you hiding? Duan Tao said loudly with his eyes glaring beside him.

"You'd better sit down for me, and if you leave this house now, I'll have someone follow you, and my people will follow you wherever you go, even if it's to go to the bathroom. Or, you can bring your boss over now and you can leave. Also, don't speak in tongues with me, I don't understand. Director Huang was pressed on the sofa by Zhang Chongbin, and he was at a loss for a while, not knowing what to do, Zhang Chongbin asked again: "What are you going to do when you call my people to come over?" Is it just catching thieves? ”

"It's Le, who knows what a big trouble your people will cause!"

"Have you ever been to the Public Security Bureau?" Zhang Chongbin then asked.

"Ke Guo (Guizhou dialect), oh I've been."

"Then why didn't you tell them that the woman who died had been hired by you?!" Zhang Chongbin suddenly asked sharply.

Director Huang was stunned, the moment he reacted like this, Zhang Chongbin immediately realized that this had verified his intuition on the road just now, these two women were really the same person! This fat man is really unscrupulous.

"I'm telling you, perjury in such serious cases is subject to legal responsibility. Also, if my people suffer from something bad because of your company's problems, I'm not done with you. Zhang Chongbin stared at the other party's eyes and said.

At this time, Director Huang's originally stiff body suddenly slackened, looking at the uninvited guest in front of him, his eyes rolled back and forth, and a layer of white sweat gradually oozed from his forehead...... After a moment of silence, he swallowed a few times before he spoke. This time, as if to get out of the way, he began to tell what he knew in detail without asking questions.

It turned out that on the day of the incident, Mr. Mao, the legal representative of their company, was out on a business trip, and Director Huang, as the representative of the head of the villa, was summoned by the police for questioning early in the morning. When he learned that there had been a murder in the house, he was very scared and worried that he would get into unexplained trouble. Because, the female corpse with a pale face placed in the morgue, he recognized at a glance that it was the female worker who suddenly disappeared some time ago, and the person who was suspected by the police to be the murderer was also found by him, so he concealed the identity of the female worker, and only explained to the police that the person detained was invited by the company to take care of the villa.

And where the female worker went after leaving the company, and why she suddenly appeared in the villa, he couldn't tell. He suspected that the female worker ran back to his hometown to avoid the "SARS" here, and the female worker may have a spare key on her after leaving, so she was able to enter and exit the villa again when she came back this time. But what she wanted to do when she came to the villa this time, he couldn't say. However, for Zhang Chongbin's question about whether this female worker has received strong physical training, Director Huang denied it, in his opinion, this woman not only does not know any miracles, but also is relatively weak, and sometimes often nervous due to excessive tension, the reason is that she once proposed to Director Huang to leave the villa, even if it is to quit her job, because she always feels that the upstairs room at night is like someone walking, scared her to sleep well, and several times when she woke up and found that she didn't know how to lie on the floor, I felt unspeakably uncomfortable and nauseous.

Regarding the repeated reports that there are mysterious and strange sounds in this villa at night, Director Huang believes that on the one hand, it may be that such a large house is built in a relatively remote mountain col, and the people in the house have some kind of auditory hallucinations due to fear after dark, and feel that there are "ghosts", but in fact, this is to scare themselves; It is more likely to be some kind of physical influence caused by some special environment, such as the possibility of mountain winds, flowing water, small animals and birds coming down from the mountains that cannot be seen in ordinary cities; Of course, it is not excluded that there are thieves who come to look for trouble at night. As for the situation reported by the female worker, he thought that either the female worker was not honest in her sleep, or she made up excuses to leave the house.

Director Huang's description of the whole incident, in Zhang Chongbin's view, is basically honest, and he believes that Director Huang's explanation of the "haunting" at night in the murderous house is also more objective and rational. Because on weekdays, Zhang Chongbin has always been dismissive of the various so-called ghost incidents that people tell when they chat, no matter how shocked and unpredictable they are when they describe them, and even swear that they have seen it with their own eyes. This should have something to do with the education he received from childhood.

Zhang Chongbin's father used to be a political cadre in the army, as an old party member, he only believed in Ma Enlemao, and taught Zhang Chongbin since he was a child: This world is a material world, there are no demons and monsters at all, there are no gods in this world, and only people in nature are the spirits of all things with wisdom.

Under the influence of such an environment, Zhang Chongbin has been a bold and reckless child since he was a child, he dares to do what others dare not do, and he dares to say what others dare not say, he often laughs at those superstitious and timid people, and he believes that "man will conquer the sky", and also believes that "nothing can be taken away after death". Therefore, when Director Huang narrated, Zhang Chongbin never paid too much attention to the strange things about the house, let alone thought about the unbelievable, but was very concerned about the description of Director Huang being called by the police to identify the body. When Director Huang mentioned that there were no obvious wounds and blood stains on the female corpse, he was very surprised, because Duan Tao had said that he had seen a large area of blood on the woman's body with his own eyes, could it be that the corpse had been cleaned so quickly? It's unlikely! Director Huang was also called early in the morning, and when she saw the female corpse, she was still wearing the same clothes as Duan Tao's description.

Zhang Chongbin's brows were furrowed, and the situation described by Director Huang was not only surprising to him, but also crucial. Because, whether there are blood stains on the female corpse is an important clue that can explain how the woman died, from which the murderer's method and even motive for killing can be determined, and these factors will also affect the judge's final conviction and sentencing in the future, so to speak, this issue will also determine Qi Bing's final fate.

Therefore, Zhang Chongbin interrupted Director Huang several times and reminded him to carefully recall every detail he saw. Director Huang always affirmed that there were indeed no large blood stains on the clothes of the female corpse, and there were not even blood spots, and he also argued that the clothes of the female corpse were light-colored, and if there were blood stains, it would be very conspicuous.

Duan Tao, who was standing on the side, explained to Mr. Zhang that he didn't deliberately pay attention to whether there were blood stains on the woman's clothes at that time, the weather was not very good that morning, and it was through the car window, but he did see that the woman's back and legs were exposed in the air when she was lifted up.

Herein lies the contradiction! Think about it, how can a person who bleed heavily from a certain part of his body not get contaminated with his clothes? Could it be that the corpse will be dropped and replaced? Or did someone change the corpse into the same style of clean clothes early in the morning? At the same time as these thoughts flashed, Zhang Chongbin quickly made a judgment: it is impossible for the corpse to be dropped, and it is unreasonable to change the clothes of the corpse, it must be that one of the two of them has deviated in observation or memory! Generally speaking, even professionals often make significant errors in observation when people are nervous, as the famous West German Göttingen Psychological Conference Test confirms. It's just that from the determined expressions of the two, Zhang Chongbin couldn't be sure who would have the problem for a while. According to Duan Tao, when he returned to his room early that morning, he saw Qi Bing with bloody wounds on his face and arms. If Qi Bing is all injured, then it is too normal for the other party to have some blood. However, when Director Huang identified the female corpse, he observed it directly at close range, and the female corpse did not appear to have obvious injuries. The more you know, not only did the original mystery not be solved, but it added to the more incomprehensible confusion, and now, even the woman's death seemed a little bizarre.

At the moment when Director Huang and Duan Tao were arguing, Zhang Chongbin lit a cigarette by himself, and at this moment he remembered that in the morning, Officer Ma mentioned that Qi Bing was suspected of intentional injury and death, and the police already had the evidence, which made him suddenly turn around, "Fantasy alone can't solve the problem, what is needed now is that someone can directly see Qi Bing and let Qi Bing personally tell what happened that night." Thinking of this, Zhang Chongbin said to Director Huang: "That's all for today. Then beckoned Duan Tao to evacuate together.

When I got out of Director Huang's room, it was already noon. Zhang Chongbin and Duan Tao came to the private room of a restaurant on the street, and while eating, Duan Tao offered to find his comrades-in-arms to see if anyone could talk to the police here, so that the captain could get some "care". Zhang Chongbin acquiesced to Duan Tao's proposal, and decided to entrust a lawyer himself, striving to let the lawyer meet with Qi Bing as soon as possible.

6 Corpse Spot Doubts

Using the laptop he carried with him and inquiring through wireless Internet access, Zhang Chongbin quickly locked on lawyer Song Ke of TXJ Law Firm. Mr. Song is a senior partner of the firm and one of the top 10 lawyers in the area, specializing in defending criminal cases.

Coming to TXJ Law Firm, Mr. Song received Zhang Chongbin in an enclosed conference room. Zhang Chongbin bluntly stated his intentions, and made it clear that the lawyer's fee is not a problem, as long as he can meet Qi Bing in the shortest possible time and understand the situation that needs to be mastered.

After a hearty conversation, Mr. Song learned that Zhang Chongbin had also been a colleague before, and immediately expressed his willingness to undertake this entrustment. When the two discussed strategies together, Lawyer Song was also surprised by the contradiction of the blood stains on the female corpse. However, he put forward a point of view that both made sense and did not make sense, which made Zhang Chongbin feel very excited.

Lawyer Song's point of view is that the red color on the female corpse may not be bloodstains, but corpse spots! However, after putting forward this point, Lawyer Song kept shaking his head and muttering to himself: "It's incredible, this is too unbelievable." ”

Lawyer Song then explained that his years of experience in handling criminal cases made him more sensitive to the way people die, and that the appearance of corpse spots was actually a unique scar of human blood due to the continuous accumulation of the skin surface of the corpse facing down due to the principle of gravity. The appearance of corpse spots has a certain time pattern, and it is divided into three stages in forensic science: the first stage is also known as the fall period, which is common in 2~4 hours after death, and the corpse spots in this period are small pieces or stripes, and the color is purple-red. The second stage is the diffusion period, generally more than 12 hours after death, the color of the corpse spots deepens, mostly in the shape of dark purple-red large patches, and then the original corpse spots of the corpse can not completely disappear; The third stage is the infiltration stage, this stage of the corpse spot is a continuation of the spread period, usually appears about 24 hours after death, and lasts for a long time until the corpse decomposes, this stage of the corpse spot has been fixed, with acupressure and turning the corpse, the corpse spot will not fade and shift the position. In addition, the color of the corpse spots is also related to the temperature, whether it is poisoning, whether it is drowning, and other environmental and cause of death. In short, through the study and analysis of corpse spots, people can judge the time and manner of the deceased's death and whether the deceased was moved after death, and these factors will become an important basis for the characterization of the case.

Although Zhang Chongbin also knew that this kind of thing would appear on the skin after death, Lawyer Song obviously studied the phenomenon of corpse spots more deeply. After listening to Lawyer Song's explanation, Zhang Chongbin's short-term excitement was shrouded by a feeling of becoming more and more confused. Because the inference of the corpse spots can explain the contradiction that Duan Tao saw "red blood stains" on the skin of the woman's body, but Director Huang did not find blood stains on the clothes of the female corpse; However, there is a fatal problem with this inference, that is, it cannot explain the contradiction in the time of the death of the female corpse. According to Lawyer Song's professional explanation of corpse spots, if the large red patches on the skin of the back and thighs of the female corpse are corpse spots, then this kind of corpse spots with a large area and no dissipation after moving back and forth should belong to the second stage (diffusion period) of corpse spots. If analyzed according to this fact, the woman's death time was at least 12 hours or more.

But the problem is that Duan Tao went out at half past five in the evening and returned at less than six o'clock in the morning the next day, during which he also talked to Qi Bing on the phone, and Duan Tao's comrades-in-arms also helped him intercede with Qi Bing on the phone and asked for leave, which was close to 12 o'clock in the middle of the night at that time.

Moreover, according to the analysis of the situation reported by Duan Tao to Zhang Chongbin afterwards, Qi Bing's tone on the phone at that time was normal. Taking a step back, even if Qi Bing heard the call from Duan Tao's comrade-in-arms in the middle of the night, the "incident" had already happened (because of his good psychological quality, so no one heard anything abnormal from the phone), but the whole period of time from Duan Tao leaving the house to returning to the house in the early morning was only 12 hours, could it be that Duan Tao had just stepped out of the door and there was a homicide in the house? If this fact is true, it is really the most important thing in the world!

However, if you continue to think about it along this line of reasoning, it is even more surprising and can be said to be a more absurd conclusion: Qi Bing actually had a hand-to-hand fight with a female corpse that night!

Neither Zhang Chongbin nor Lawyer Song can accept such a conference result, and the theory of "corpse spots" is still puzzling.

However, what makes Zhang Chongbin feel gratified is that Mr. Song has a tacit understanding with him in the mentality of dealing with this difficult case, as an excellent legal worker, it is not enough to be proficient in the provisions of the laws and regulations of various departments, and the spirit of challenge without fear and retreat from difficult cases is the more important quality. It can be seen that this case has aroused Lawyer Song's enthusiasm, he looked at Zhang Chongbin confidently and said: "Mr. Zhang, your subordinate is an extraordinary figure, and this case also makes me a little excited, I don't dare to say that Qi Bing will be acquitted in the end, but I should be able to handle the affairs you entrusted." Here, I still have some connections that can play a role, I think I can meet Qi Bing tomorrow, and I'll explain the situation to you when I come back. ”

Zhang Chongbin said: "That's good, if Qi Bing can be acquitted with your help in the end, I will be grateful." However, I have a small suggestion, please use this pen to make a record when you meet Qi Bing. As he spoke, Zhang Chongbin took out a short, thick black old-fashioned fountain pen from his coat pocket and handed it to Lawyer Song.

After Lawyer Song took it, he took it in his hand and measured it back and forth, showing a little puzzled, Zhang Chongbin said with a smile: "Don't worry, this is not a bugging, let alone a time bomb, this pen was given to Qi Bing by the head of a unit, Qi Bing used to be his personal bodyguard, and later Qi Bing gave it to me as a gift." You take this pen and go, Qi Bing will know at a glance that you are the person I trust and are here to help him, so that he will be more cooperative with your work. ”

"Oh, that's great." Lawyer Song carefully put the pen in his bag.