Although there is less than a year left to turn sixty, Fang Lei's current state is no different from retirement.

Since the beginning of the year, except for normal rest on holidays, he has been working from 9 to 5 almost every day, at two o'clock at work and at home, completing his daily work tasks, and even when he goes to work, he just reads the newspaper and drinks tea, which is not at all like the appearance and style of a criminal policeman.

He accepted this with both hands. After all, he's old.

He has always stubbornly believed that the old man should be like the old man when he does what kind of thing people do at what age, and there is no need to compete with the body. He often sneers at the kind of old guys who like to pretend to be young when they are obviously old, and he is even more disgusted with nonsense such as "as long as you have a young mentality, you can be young forever".

As for whether he is unwilling to his profession, he has a little, but it can also be ignored.

In fact, in his more than 30 years of criminal police career, Fang Lei has never been particularly top-notch in the police force.

His personality is not outstanding enough, his investigation ability is acceptable, but he has not reached the top level, although he often participates in the detection of some major cases, but it is nothing more than doing some basic preliminary investigation and research work, the value is of course indelible, but it is not important to the extent that it is indispensable, and the main credit for solving the case is often someone else's.

He's always been like an inconspicuous character in the corner of the task force conference room in those detective dramas, and only when the glamorous detectives find the clues and tell the truth, and everyone applauds in unison, will the camera rush over his not-so-handsome face.

In this regard, when he was young, he was often indignant, complaining that he was not reused by the leadership, and used wine to drown his sorrows.

But as time went on, he came to realize his biggest problem: not fighting hard enough.

He is a native of the rich Jiangnan S City, and his grandfather's generation opened a grocery store in the old city, although he is not very rich, but his life is quite passable.

When he was in his twenties, his mother, who had experienced the major changes of the times, took precautions and arranged for him to work at the police station, which was a good public office in the 80s.

In the early 90s, the local public security system was restructured, and a criminal police team was set up specifically responsible for criminal investigation.

In the mid-90s, when crime was rampant in the city, he did a few homicides and won some medals in his thirties, but that became the peak of his career.

At the age of thirty-three, the birth of his eldest daughter became a turning point in his life.

The beautiful family life has become something on his mind every day when he goes to work, and the big head photo of his cute daughter is stuffed in his wallet, always reminding him to be careful in everything and never get hurt or die in order to catch criminals.

A year later, another daughter came to earth. He was completely defeated by what he thought was his family responsibility. He became a man with worries and lost the possibility of becoming a hero forever.

So then, he went through the twenty years of criminal police years so peacefully.

Looking back on my life, although I have not made any great achievements, nor have I made fatal mistakes, it is not fair to say that I have done nothing, and it is a bit too much to boast of merit.

Moderation has become synonymous with his self-evaluation.

He even imagined that maybe on the day of his retirement, the leader would give him sixteen big words - conscientious, discreet, diligent, and without regrets.

In other words, he was clearly aware that he, like most people in the world, was just an ordinary person who had spent his relatively ordinary life.

Right now, this ordinary old detective sits in the corner of the conference room, with a pair of reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, concentrating on a Western cookbook. He went in to buy this recipe after work last Friday when he passed by the bookstore.

After his wife left him due to illness last year, he lived alone most of the time. The two daughters have long been married, the husbands are ordinary working-class people, and each family has a daughter, living an ordinary and simple life.

In the past, when my wife was alive, they would occasionally come back to talk to their mother, but since she died, their daughters rarely came.

He's the kind of old man who is a little boring in front of his daughter and granddaughter.

The biggest problem in a person's life is the problem of eating, but fortunately he has never been very demanding in this regard.

Breakfast was naturally solved at the roadside stalls, and at noon, he would make a little more meal in the unit canteen, eat half of it, and save the rest for the evening to eat.

This not only saves you the pain of cooking, but also does not have to work hard to clean up (at most one lunch box), killing two birds with one stone and saving trouble.

On weekends or holidays, my daughter occasionally comes to the house to cook a meal for him, or calls him over to eat it when it is ready at home, but this is not the case.

On his way home after dinner at work last Friday, he suddenly had a serious question: where would he go to eat once he retired? You can't go to your daughter's house every day to eat, right? There is a little bit of retirement salary, but if you eat out every day, you can't afford it, and if you have something wrong with eating, it will be a big trouble.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was a big problem, and he happened to pass by the bookstore, so he lowered his head and walked in, wondering if he could buy a recipe and learn to cook by himself.

After not visiting a bookstore for many years, Fang Lei realized that there were so many books in this world, so many that people couldn't choose patiently.

Take the recipe area as an example, just a variety of cooking-related books occupy a full four-sided bookshelf, up and down I'm afraid there are more than 500 books, eight major cuisines plus a variety of home-cooked side dishes can make people pick and choose, this does not include Western food, Japanese food, Korean food, Nanyang cuisine and all kinds of bread and pastries!

Fang Lei squatted in front of the bookshelf for a while, almost didn't stand up, his eyes were dark and swaying, if it weren't for the old policeman's skills to hold the bookshelf, maybe something terrible would happen.

After slowing down for a while, he felt that it was not a way to pick it up like this, so he simply took two copies and went directly to the checkout.

When he got home, sat down and opened his shopping bag and pulled out the book, he realized that he had bought the wrong one.

The book about Chinese cuisine is not a recipe, but a collection of essays, written by Wang Zengqi, which only writes about Chinese food, and does not have specific practices.

The other is a recipe, and it is a color book, and the materials and methods are clearly written, but unfortunately it is all Western food, and most of it is still dim sum.

In any case, since you bought it, let's practice it first. While he was at home on the weekend, he went to the supermarket to buy some ingredients and began to try his hand at making a Western-style dessert called "soufflé".

The reason why he chose to take it first is because it seems to be simple and easy to use, and the other reason is that he once heard his wife, who is a history teacher, mention that once he was organized by his unit to travel to Macau, and ate a very authentic soufflé, and when he came back, he was full of praise, thinking that when he retired, he would take her to eat again.

But unfortunately, such a small wish did not come true.

After more than two hours of tossing, soufflé was out of the pot.

Fang Lei tasted it himself and spit it out, and emptied the rest into the trash.

It's no exaggeration to say that it feels like eating a very milky sponge. But he reassured himself that it was the first time after all, and that as long as he tried a few more times, he might succeed.

At this point, he looked at the recipe again, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong.

Directly in front of the conference table, Jiang Jian, the head of the criminal police, was holding a working meeting, a few days ago, there was a local homicide, the body of a young woman was found on Tianping Mountain, and the murderer is still at large.

But Fang Lei didn't listen attentively, because he knew that Jiang Jian would not arrange any work for him.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the conference room.

A police officer came in to report that he had just received a call from a 110 police center. There was a case of falling objects from a height in the Rose Garden community, and the criminal police needed to be sent here to take a look.

"Falling objects? How did you find our criminal police team? Jiang Jian took the opportunity to pick up the teacup and take a big sip of water, which was a break in the middle of a tense meeting. Wouldn't it be over if the police station sent someone to take a look? ”

"That's what I said. The other party said that the police station went to the police station and found that someone had been hit at the scene, which had escalated to the level of a criminal case. ”

"Oh. That's right. ”

Since March 1, 2021, high-altitude throwing objects have been included in the criminal law, known as the "crime of high-altitude throwing objects", and if the circumstances are serious, they shall bear the statutory liability of fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine.

However, judging from Jiang Jian's expression, this kind of small case could not arouse his interest at all.

"Is it bruised or killed?"

"It's hurt, it's said that the injury is very serious, and I've called 120 and sent it to the hospital for rescue."

"Did you catch the culprit?"

"Nope. Slipped. ”

Jiang Jian stopped talking, as if thinking about something.

"Team Jiang, what should I do? People are still waiting on the phone. ”

"Then tell them, and I'll send someone to take a look."

"Okay."

The officer went out. Jiang Jian drank tea while quietly scanning the room. In the end, his gaze stayed on Fang Lei's body.

"Old Fang!"

Fang Lei slowly put down the recipe, took off his reading glasses, and looked at Jiang Jian.

"Huh?"

"That, you heard this just now, why don't you make a hard trip?"

Fang Lei looked at Jiang Jian, looked at the colleagues around him, and found that everyone was staring at him and the recipe in his hand. He smiled, closed the book, and stood up.

"Okay, you're the captain, it's up to you!"

"That's okay, just go and come back quickly."

After speaking, Jiang Jian stopped caring about him and continued to start the meeting. Everyone also turned their heads to the front, leaving the older criminal policeman behind.

Fang Lei stood in place for two seconds, then tucked the recipe under his armpit, picked up the sun hat on the table, turned around and exited the conference room.

The distance from the police station to the Rose Garden community was about three kilometers, but it took Fang Lei nearly half an hour. He didn't take a police car (he was sent out), nor did he take a taxi (he didn't like to wait for a bus in the scorching sun), but used his mobile phone to scan the code at the door of the police station and rented a shared bicycle, and rode it leisurely.

Unlike most elderly people, Fang Lei likes to ponder some electronic products, not only does he play with smartphones, but also Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu have also registered accounts without landing.

After his wife died, he also bought himself a set of switches, and played "Super Mario" for a while after work, until he felt bored, so he let it be dusty on the TV stand.

The sun is scorching. When he arrived at the gate of the rose garden community, his upper body was already soaked with sweat. Park the car, enter through the main entrance, and follow the address sent by 110 to find the front of Building 38.

Although nearly an hour has passed since the incident, there are still many residents watching the excitement at the scene. They hid in the shade of the trees, fanning their fans, waiting for new conversations to emerge.

After Fang Lei found the two policemen wearing short-sleeved police uniforms, explained his identity and showed his police ID, one of them, Officer Zhao Mingming, looked at him from top to bottom, showing an unhappy look.

"Officer Fang, are you coming alone?"

"That's right." At this time, Fang Lei had already seen the puddle of blood on the ground that had been evaporated by the high temperature and was close to drying, and felt that it was shaped like a peach heart, "How is the injured person?" ”

"It's not clear, it's been pulled to the hospital for rescue." Officer Zhao was still a little unhappy, "On this hot day, we have been waiting here for more than half an hour, why did you come?" ”

"There's too much going on in the Interpol team." Fang Lei wasn't interested in explaining too much to him, "What did he get smashed?" What about the murder weapon? ”

"Well, over there, see for yourself."

As he spoke, Officer Zhao flashed to the side, revealing a pile of yellow hair on the ground. Fang Lei took a closer look and found that it was actually a big yellow dog, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

"What's the situation? How is it a dead dog? ”

"I'm afraid the answer to this question can only be known if you catch the suspect who threw it down."

Fang Lei did not speak. To be honest, after being a criminal policeman for so many years, he has seen a lot of tragic crime scenes, and it is actually difficult for a dead dog to stir up much ripples in his heart. He calmly took a few steps back, looked up, and looked up at the building.

This is a typical tower, very high, and Fang Lei, who is standing downstairs, tilts his neck almost 180 degrees before he can barely see the edge of the roof on the roof.

The façade of the building is gray, and on the north side is a neat enclosed balcony with aluminum windows.

Suddenly, there was a sound of closing the window quickly, but it was a pity that standing in this position, I couldn't see how many floors it came from.

"What about the people at the property?"

"Here it is!"

With a sound of agreement, a short-haired woman in her forties, wearing a white shirt, short sleeves, and black trousers, stepped forward. She is not tall, plump, and has a capable temperament, and she looks like an experienced little leader.

"Hello Officer Fang, I am Wang Fang, the property manager of this community, and I am fortunate to meet you!"

She smiled at Fang Lei with a flattering face, and then reached out to shake his hand.

But Fang Lei didn't stretch out his hand.

After working as a criminal police officer for so many years, he is still very clear about those basic codes of conduct: never shake hands with anyone at the crime scene, even if the other party is the director of public security. However, her alertness caught his attention - only after observing from the side for a while, he heard his surname Fang.

"How many floors and how many households are there in this building?" Fang Lei asked.

Maybe it was because an old man refused to shake hands politely, Manager Wang's face was a little unbearable, and his attitude was a lot colder.

"There are 31 floors in total, with a total of 58 households. One ladder and two households. ”

"58 households......" Fang Lei thought thoughtfully, "No, shouldn't the 31st floor be 62 households?" ”

"Oh, I forgot to mention that the 13th and 14th floors don't exist, and from the 12th floor up to the 15th floor, the developer didn't mark these two floors when they designed it."

"Why?"

"Taboo. 13 is a number that foreigners don't like, 14 is a number that Chinese don't like, and you want to die. ”

"That's right." Fang Lei nodded, and then asked coldly, "Then how high do you think this dog has to fall from to smash people down?" ”

"Huh? You ask me? I don't dare to talk nonsense. Manager Wang said embarrassedly.

"Tell me, it's fine."

"This, I think to smash people like this, at least it has to be more than ten floors."

"More than 10 floors...... Well, I think it's pretty much the same. Thank you for your answer. ”

After speaking, Fang Lei walked in front of the bloodstained stall, lowered his head, looked left and right, and made everyone present, including the two policemen, a little confused. After a while, Zhao Mingming really couldn't stand it, so he stepped forward.

"Officer Fang, ...... are you?"

"Don't talk."

As soon as the words fell, Fang Lei suddenly made a strange movement - he took a few steps forward, then squatted down, lay on the ground, and put his head close to the bloodstain.

After he was completely on his stomach, everyone finally understood what he was doing.

He was mimicking the appearance of the injured man who had been hit by a dog and had fallen.

The onlookers were almost amused by the scene in front of them, and some even burst out laughing. The other two policemen turned their faces aside, not wanting to see this embarrassing scene.

But Fang Lei doesn't seem to care about any of this at all.

He just lay on the ground, quietly feeling the temperature of the concrete floor after being illuminated by the scorching sun.

After a while, he rolled over and was on his back.

As far as he could see, tall buildings towered, looking half-tilted and crumbling. The sun was shining on his eyes, so he had to close his eyes to avoid the damage to his eyesight from direct sunlight, and finally, he sat up and slowly climbed up.

Two policemen hurriedly stepped forward to help.

"Officer Zhao?"

"You say."

"Have you investigated the information about the injured?"

The two policemen shook their heads at the same time.

"No, we asked the people around us and none of them knew who he was."

"It's normal, the way the community lives now, even if you live across from him, no one may know who he is. Searched? ”

"I searched for it, and all I had was a mobile phone, a wallet, and a key. The phone was put in his breast pocket, and this time it was thrown out, and the screen was shattered and black, so I put it in his pocket. ”

"What about the wallet? Is there any identifying information? ”

"No, nothing like ID other than some cash and bank cards. I also put him in his trouser pocket, thinking that he would be anxious when he woke up and was gone. ”

"Maybe he'll find out when he wakes up and asks himself. Is there anything special about that key? ”

"Nope. I asked the person in the property and said that it should be the key to the house of a certain household in the community. Because this community was delivered in hardcover, the doors were uniformly installed with the same brand of anti-theft doors, so the keys were the same. Therefore, it is basically determined that the injured live in this community. ”

"In that case, what about the property, and you don't know the injured either?"

"There are thousands of people in the community, how can we know them all, even if we have seen them, we may not remember them." The property manager argued to himself. Fang Lei knows that these people are afraid of getting into trouble, and more is better than less.

"But at least one thing is certain." Officer Zhao said.

"Oh?"

"He doesn't live in this building."

"Really? Why? ”

"You also simulated the position of the deceased lying down, he was hit head-to-east and face down, and according to the location of the fall, he had already walked through the gates of 38 buildings, so it can be seen that he did not live in this building."

Fang Lei thought about it and felt that what he said made sense.

"Is there a picture of him?"

"Yes." Officer Zhao took out his mobile phone and pulled up a photo from the album, "Before the injured person was sent to 120, I deliberately took a headshot of him. However, it looks a bit miserable. ”

Fang Lei took Officer Zhao's mobile phone and looked down at the photo on it.

Because the sunlight was too strong and the screen was reflective, he couldn't see anything clearly, so he had to walk under the shade of the tree.

When the residents of good deeds saw the old man and the criminal policeman coming, they did not shy away from it, and they all leaned forward to take a look. Fang Lei waved his hand and simply beckoned everyone to come and take a look.

On the screen of the mobile phone, a man's face was revealed: short hair, eyes closed, thin, white face with splashes of blood, and dust sticking to the blood, indeed looking dirty and miserable.

"Tell each other about him and see if anyone knows him."

Everyone took the mobile phone and passed it one by one. Unfortunately, everyone shook their heads after reading it, saying that they hadn't seen it. This made Fang Lei feel a little strange.

"It doesn't make sense. Have you read carefully? Do you want to watch it again? ”

Looking at it again, no one knows the mysterious injured man.

Fang Lei thought about it, took out his mobile phone, and transmitted the photo to his mobile phone through the "air transmission" function of the same brand mobile phone, and then returned Officer Zhao's mobile phone to him. Everyone was amazed by how well he knew how well he knew about smartphones.

"Officer Fang," Officer Zhao took his phone and said, "There is still something in the office at this time, and this case will be handed over to your criminal police team for handling, and we will withdraw first." ”

"Wait a minute."

Fang Lei didn't say a reason, he walked up to the dead dog again, squatted down, and checked its situation. After looking at it for a moment, he frowned.

"That, Manager Wang?"

"Eh, here, you call me."

"Have you seen this dog at your property?"

"Nope."

"You don't even look at it and say no?"

"I've looked at it several times before you came, but I really haven't seen it."

Fang Lei took out his mobile phone and took a photo of the dog, and then asked Manager Wang to take a photo as well.

"What about you, send a picture of this dog to your property staff's group and ask if anyone has seen it. Feel free to let me know when the results are available. ”

"Yes. Officer, don't you see if it's almost done? I still have ......."

"This is just the beginning, and the suspect hasn't been caught yet. Besides, there is such a serious accident, the injured do not know what the situation is, in case there are three long and two short, the person responsible must be found, right, even if there is no danger to life, someone has to pay for this medical treatment, right? Or, do you give a cushion first? ”

When Manager Wang heard this, he was so frightened that he hurriedly took a few steps back.

"Officer, you're kidding, we don't have any money in the property, many owners can't collect the property fees. Besides, there is a debtor and a debtor, what does it matter to our property? I see, I still have to find this suspect. But officer, if you don't like to hear something, it's not that hard to solve this case. The manager said.

"Oh? Let's talk about it. ”

"Look, now we can confirm that it was thrown down from this building and hit someone, then the suspect must be in this building, and according to the previous analysis, at least it is more than ten floors, from the thirty-first to the tenth floor, except for the 13th and 14th floors, there are a total of 19 floors, two households on each floor, that is, 19 times two, at most 38 households, as long as one household goes to investigate, it will not be long before the perpetrator can be caught."

"It makes sense, just do as you say. Let's go. ”

"Huh? Am I going to accompany me too? ”

"Nonsense, of course you have to accompany you as a property representative, otherwise you will bear the responsibility for this accident?"

Although Manager Wang looked unhappy, he still followed.

"And what about this dog?" The police officer asked.

"Let's put it away first, find something to cover it, it's best for you to send someone to stay and help me look at it, this is important evidence, no, the murder weapon."

After Fang Lei finished speaking, he was about to walk towards the door of the unit. At this time, Officer Zhao's mobile phone rang.

"Wait a minute, Officer Fang."

"What's wrong?"

Officer Zhao pointed to his phone.

"The hospital called."

"Is there any news of the injured?"

"Well, to be precise, you can't call the injured anymore." Officer Zhao sighed, "Ten minutes ago, the man who was hit by a big dog failed to rescue and unfortunately passed away. ”

"In other words, this is no longer just a high-altitude throwing object injury accident," Fang Lei licked his lips, "but escalated into an accidental homicide case." ”