As time ticked by, Jiang Cong was completely immersed in his own world, oblivious to everything around him.
Chen Er, Sheng Qingqiu, and the pinhole camera found in Zhang Lu's home—these images flashed through Jiang Cong's mind like a carousel, playing on and on.
Sheng Qingqiu came from a well - off family. Her clothes and bags were all limited - edition items from famous brands.
The murderer was about twenty years old, with a relatively well - developed sense of money.
However, from the on - site investigation, there were no signs that Sheng Qingqiu's bag had been rummaged through.
Apparently, the murderer wasn't after money.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to kill Sheng Qingqiu directly. If he had any greed at all, he would surely have kidnapped her to extort money from her father.
Jiang Cong shifted his position. His gaze pierced through the water cup on the table and landed directly on the stack of documents.
If it was for lust, there was a condom in Sheng Qingqiu's bag. A normal man, faced with a woman as beautiful as Sheng Qingqiu, would surely have some amorous thoughts.
But after further examination by the forensic doctor, there were no signs that the body had been violated.
Jiang Cong closed his eyes, re - imagining the scene of Sheng Qingqiu's death.
Sheng Qingqiu was clearly in a relaxed state, believing that the person coming to her meant no harm. Or perhaps she thought the murderer posed no threat to her.
If it wasn't for money or lust, then it was hatred.
Jiang Cong opened his eyes again and stared intently at the photos of Sheng Qingqiu and Zhang Lu.
The murderer was able to design such a perfect crime, which proved that it was premeditated. His dissatisfaction or hatred towards Sheng Qingqiu had been building up to a certain extent.
And this online - dating meeting was the opportunity to strike.
As a sophomore in high school, Sheng Qingqiu usually interacted most with her schoolmates.
But what role did Zhang Lu play in this case?
Why did the murderer single out Zhang Lu as a scapegoat?
Was it just because Zhang Lu liked Sheng Qingqiu and was rejected when he confessed his love?
These series of questions lingered in Jiang Cong's mind, and his eyebrows gradually knitted into a frown.
Yang Heng had been closely observing the facial expressions of Jiang Cong, the so - called genius criminal psychologist.
Seeing Jiang Cong with his knitted brows and a tightened jaw, Yang Heng's heart sank.
It seemed that this seemingly simple murder case was actually quite tricky.
"Yang Heng," Jiang Cong's voice sounded a bit hoarse. "Tell the relevant members of the investigation team who are still working overtime outside to come to my office in ten minutes."
"Yes!" Hearing Jiang Cong's order, Yang Heng didn't hesitate for a second and turned to walk outside.
Due to the slow progress of the case, the members of the investigation team had been studying various relevant doubts day and night.
Some of them hadn't had a good time with their families for a long time.
Everyone had dark circles under their eyes to varying degrees, looking a bit exhausted.
But the police uniforms on their bodies became their driving force to forge ahead.
The people's police serve the people. They sincerely hoped that every criminal would be brought to justice and that the victims would get their due justice.
"Come and have a cup of tea," Xiao Lin placed a cup of mint tea on Qin An's desk and said softly to Qin An, who had been sitting in front of the computer for two days and two nights.
Qin An gave a polite smile. "Thank you."
The sweet mint tea soothed some of the worries, and the fragrance of the tea diluted the solemn atmosphere.
Just as Xiao Lin was about to say something else, Yang Heng rushed to the center of the group and announced loudly, "Hurry up! Get your spirits up! Professor Jiang is going to have a meeting!"
The group members acted quickly. They picked up their notebooks and relevant materials, tidied up their appearance briefly, and then headed towards Jiang Cong's office.
Jiang Cong's office wasn't very big.
The chief of police, Wang, had once proposed to allocate a bigger office for Jiang Cong.
But Jiang Cong declined politely. To some extent, he was like an outsider suddenly transferred here. If he made too much of a fuss, he was afraid that some people might think he was overstepping his bounds.
Jiang Cong never liked troubles.
So he nipped the source of trouble in the bud.
"Just sit anywhere. The place is small. Don't mind," Jiang Cong said as he saw the group members looking a bit restrained. Then he walked over and sat down on the chair in front of the table.
Jiang Cong was wearing a pair of gold - rimmed glasses today, looking even more elegant. The cold glint reflected from the lenses constantly demonstrated this man's wisdom.
Qin An took a seat first without any hesitation.
Seeing this, the others also found their own places to sit and sat upright.
"I suggest investigating anyone who has ever had a conflict with Zhang Lu, no matter how big or small. It can all be used as a reference for the case," Jiang Cong rolled up his shirt sleeves to his elbows, revealing his strong arms.
"Okay, but according to our previous investigation, Zhang Lu is a kind - hearted person with a good reputation among teachers and students. I'm afraid we won't find much," Qin An analyzed. His wheat - colored skin glowed under the light.
Xiao Lin stared at Qin An intently while he was speaking, her eyes full of admiration and love.
Jiang Cong got up from his swivel chair, walked to the tea table, and paced back and forth.
"Still investigate. We can't just make a hasty conclusion about Zhang Lu based on simple speculation," Jiang Cong chose his words carefully and still gave the order to investigate.
Jiang Cong then issued some more instructions. The members of the investigation team took on their respective tasks and plunged into the new investigation.
The next day.
Yang Heng and Qin An went to the school. Since they had been to the school to find Chen Er last time, they quickly found their way to the classroom where Zhang Lu was studying.
"Ms. Mo, hello. We are the investigators from the city police station. We need your cooperation now," Yang Heng showed his police ID and said to Mo Li, who had just finished her class.
Mo Li had been a teacher for more than thirty years and had seen a lot. Apart from being a bit surprised when she first saw Yang Heng and the others, she quickly regained her composure.
She adjusted her glasses and showed great willingness to cooperate. "Okay."
Yang Heng and Qin An weren't wearing their police uniforms today, so they didn't attract too much attention.
As Zhang Lu's class teacher, Mo Li was the first person to be investigated.
Then, with Mo Li's help, the students in Zhang Lu's class took turns to enter Mo Li's office and were carefully questioned by Qin An.
Yang Heng took notes beside them.
Jiang Cong was looking through the records of Qin An's conversations with the students who had interacted with Zhang Lu.
The common message conveyed by these records was that Zhang Lu was very kind.
Thus, the lead of looking for Zhang Lu's enemies came to a dead end.
Jiang Cong vaguely felt that there was something unknown hidden behind Zhang Lu's seemingly kind appearance.