"Mr. Qiao Xiang is running around outside. It's almost time to come back now......"

Look at the watch, it's almost half past five. On the ceiling of the office with the screen as a cubicle, the fluorescent lamp is also on.

Tian Chunda said: "I want to meet Mr. Qiao Xiang's immediate boss. ”

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing, it's just to learn more about Mr. Qiao Xiang." Tian Chunda found another excuse to deceive people.

Coming out with the young man was a thin man about forty-five years old with a bald forehead.

"I'm Tang De, the head of the sales section. I heard that you are here for Mr. Qiao Xiang's family business. Please go this way. ”

He opened the heavy door next to him and invited Tian Chunda in. The young man cleverly turned on the switch on the wall with his hand, and four lamps illuminated the room.

"I'm sorry, the reception room is dirty......" Qiao Xiang's boss said with a smile at the criminal police. From his smile, he looks nice and cheerful.

"He usually comes back before five o'clock, but today he hasn't come back because he went a little farther. He has been in the sales department for three years and is considered an old employee. ”

He believed Tian Chunda's words, so he looked like he was bent on helping to say good things.

It was only at this time that Tian Chunda took out his police ID, told the real purpose of the visit, and sought the assistance of the section chief. The scrawny face of the sales section chief showed an expression that wandered between shock and unease, and he silently stared at the face of the criminal policeman.

"After all, this is a homicide case, and it was Qiao Xiang's ex-fiancée who was killed, and the deceased had abandoned Mr. Qiao Xiang, so it is possible for Qiao Xiang to hold a grudge. Therefore, we police want to know about his actions first. It's just that if Qiao Xiang has nothing to do with this incident, it won't be good for him if people spread any strange rumors, so I hope that the words you say now can be hidden in your heart. Just now I made an excuse to talk about marriage, and I also said it in consideration, so I'm sorry. ”

"I see. I will also act cautiously, so please rest assured. But I can't believe that Qiao Xiang would cause such a thing. When did it happen? ”

Section Chief Tang De looked full of questions about the words of the criminal police.

"The night of the eighth."

"It happened to be three weeks ago. But without speaking during the day, it would be difficult for me to know his whereabouts at night. In principle, the company leaves work at 5 o'clock, and I don't know what he did to kill time when he got home. ”

"No, it's not. The crime occurred on the night of the 8th, and if Mr. Qiao Xiang was a prisoner and he was going to kill someone at the crime scene in Kanazawa, at least it would have been impossible for him to go to work since the morning. ”

"That's just as well."

The section chief finally showed a look of understanding for what Tian Chunda said.

"Qiao Xiang often goes out to sell, so he is not there during the day. However, because he will definitely come back in the evening, whether he is absent or leaving early, you only need to look at the attendance book to know. ”

So the section chief got up and walked out, and soon brought the brown account book.

"Look, he went to work that day."

He opened the page of number eight and handed it to the detective. On the field of the day, the places where you go to work and get off work are clearly stamped with Qiao Xiang's seal. Not only on the 8th, but he was not absent for nearly a month.

However, Tian Chunda thought, even if there is a seal, it can't be used as evidence that Qiao Xiang came to work, right? Because it is possible that he first sent the seal to his colleague and asked the colleague to help stamp it.

"This kind of thing, logically speaking, there is also a thing, but the company also uses the attendance book as the benchmark to see the duty status, so it will not let the employees manipulate it casually."

A wry smile appeared on the section chief's thin face, and he said so tactfully, hoping to erase the doubts of the criminal police. But Tian Chunda could not easily believe unfounded negative opinions.

"It would be nice if anyone remembered that day, but it was three weeks ago. He himself is about to come back, so if he asks Qiao Xiang directly, he may have some impressions. ”

The section chief looked at the watch on his wrist, muttered how slow, and then moved his gaze to the open attendance book again, his face suddenly looked vibrant.

"Mr. Criminal Police, Qiao Xiang really came to the company that day."

"Huh?"

"Please take a look here, there is a Bi Xin in the three squares next to Qiao Xiang, right?"

"Yes."

"This man is in charge of sending it, and he has been on leave for almost two weeks since the nineth."

Bixin's field, as the section chief said, has always been blank. But what does this have to do with Qiao Xiang's alibi? Tian Chunda raised his head and waited for the other party's explanation.

"On that day, on the 8th, a fire broke out in a nearby farmhouse around 4 p.m. At that time, the young man who happened to be in the company ran to put out the fire; As a result, only the warehouse was completely burned down, and the damage was finally controlled, but Bi Xin fell from the ceiling and hit the roof beam, and was hospitalized due to bruises and burns. ”

"Hmm."

So he took a leave of absence for nearly half a month. At the time of the fire, Qiao Xiang, who occasionally ended his sales work early and returned to the company, also went to help put out the fire. So the fact that he's not in Kanazawa is clear. You can ask your colleague Bi Xin about this matter, and he has also been praised and rewarded by the fire chief, so I think about Qiao Xiang, you can be convinced by going to the fire brigade and asking. ”

"That's right, thank you for telling me this valuable news."

Tian Chunda replied with patience. This kind of thing that will be known once you investigate, and people in the position of section chief should not lie. Then that's the truth.

Among the two suspects, Qiao Xiang and Ke Runze, if Qiao Xiang's alibi is established like this, then the real prisoner is Ke Runze. Ke Runze asserted that she was working at night in the puppet studio. However, Tian Chunda thought that since Qiao Xiang was innocent, Ke Runze's alibi had to be thoroughly re-investigated. Those partners who made dolls together speculated that they should sympathize with Ke Runze, so they stood on the same front with her.

Tian Chunda first went to the hospital to visit Bi Xin, then visited the town's fire brigade to investigate Qiao Xiang's alibi, and then returned to Nanguang to visit Ke Runze again.

That night, after Tian Chunda got off the train at Nanguang Station, he called Lanzhuang. It was already past eight o'clock, and he would have liked to have things sorted out tonight if he could.

Ke Runze, who came to answer the phone, seemed to be a little angry at Tian Chunda's endless investigation, and soon her tone eased, as if she could understand the position of the criminal police, so she promised to meet in the café in front of the station in thirty minutes.

Tian Chun arrived at the café more than five minutes earlier than the agreed time. It's almost nine o'clock, and I don't know if it's because there are mostly residential areas for office workers, so at nine o'clock, there are no customers in the café.

As soon as Ke Runze opened the door, he saw Officer Tian Chunda sitting in the middle seat.

As soon as she finished ordering coffee, she sat back and looked at Tian Chunda coldly.

"Don't you believe what I say?"

Her tone was rather resentful. Tian Chunda, who was stared at by the beauty, quickly shook his head.

"That's what the job requires. Moreover, it is a human life. I hope you will take this into account and do your best to assist in the investigation. ”

"I know that." Ke Runze replied.

She added, "But I'm sorry you don't believe me." ”

"I want to believe you, too, but I want a third person's testimony. Only what you and your friends say is very credible for this murder. So, what happened to you in the puppet studio on the night of the 8th, if someone other than the production partner saw it, the problem was solved immediately. Can you remember anyone? ”

If this woman were a prisoner, she would not have been able to answer even if she had to come up with it. Tian Chunda thought so, staring at the other party with the eyes of a calm observer.

"It's unfortunate that there is no one."

"For example, the guy who delivered it from dinner once looked at your face......"

"This has never happened, although everyone orders the lunch box, but it is someone else who is in charge of contacting the fast food restaurant......"

She shook her head slightly. Her hair was covered in a red scarf, and the raindrops dripping on the cloth were shimmering from the ceiling light.