I Play Dungeons in the Police Station-Chapter 231 - 162: Luminol Reagent

The meeting room was already full of all the police officers from Canglin Public Security responsible for this case.

After several days of investigation, they reviewed all the details related to the case once more, especially the victim’s mistress, Chen Wei.

"According to the conditions provided by Team Leader Li, we conducted a survey of the village. There are fifteen villagers who meet the criteria and are taller than 1.75 meters, including the victim’s mistress, Chen Wei, which makes sixteen people in total.

Of these, fourteen people were excluded as they have no suspicion or no time to commit the crime.

Initially, Chen Wei was a suspect. We can’t fully trust his words. However, we haven’t found direct evidence of his crime yet—actually, we haven’t found any indirect evidence either. Reviewing their chat logs, there’s no major conflict between him and the victim; their relationship was stable, and the likelihood of him committing the murder seems low.

There was another suspect, Qiao Liangfu, but he is only 1.7 meters tall, not meeting the condition given by Li Xiang, so we temporarily eliminated our suspicion of him.

This time, a new person has caught our attention. His name is Qiao Baoshan, the son of Old Qiao. He is 34 years old, unemployed, likes to gamble, and often plays cards with Qiao Liangfu at Qin Qinglian’s small shop."

"Old Qiao’s son? Why wasn’t he noted in the earlier investigation?"

Seeing Li Xiang’s question, Ding Youqiang explained, "During our earlier investigation, he had an alibi and no time to commit the crime."

"Then why is he being listed now?"

"Because Old Qiao passed away. His alibi was provided by Old Qiao. Now that Old Qiao is deceased, there’s no one to provide it anymore."

When the police initially investigated Qiao Baoshan, Old Qiao provided his alibi. After Old Qiao’s death, they subconsciously overlooked him.

Now, upon Li Xiang’s request, they reevaluated the village residents, bringing his name up again.

Given Old Qiao’s connection to the case and his son fitting several conditions Li Xiang proposed, suspicion around him grew, thus bringing him back into the police’s focus.

Li Xiang nodded, understanding the situation, and continued to ask, "What’s this person’s financial situation like?"

"It’s the same as Qiao Liangfu’s—he doesn’t have much money, likes to gamble, and is heavily in debt but slightly better than Qiao Liangfu’s situation."

Ding Youqiang had done a thorough job in his preliminary work and was well-informed about Qiao Baoshan’s personal details, so he could answer any of Li Xiang’s questions.

"Currently, he is our prime suspect. I suspect that Old Qiao knew it was his son who killed Qin Qinglian, so he provided a false alibi for his son. However, he was torn about it, which is why he took the risk to attend Qin Qinglian’s vigil."

Li Xiang connected the dots together, proposing a very plausible hypothesis, which was also supported by the task force.

"That’s what I think; otherwise, there’s no reason for Old Qiao to insist on attending Qin Qinglian’s vigil. It could be out of guilt or perhaps redemption!"

"Make bold assumptions, but tread carefully with verification. Immediately initiate an investigation of Qiao Baoshan!"

After the meeting, the task force promptly arranged for officers to head to Old Qiao’s home for investigation. Ding Youqiang even applied for a search warrant to conduct a detailed search of Old Qiao’s home.

"Captain Ding, let me accompany you to Sanhe Village once more."

Li Xiang’s case was wrapping up, and his workload eased considerably.

And with Sanhe Village’s case reaching a critical stage, he also wanted to follow up and see what was really going on.

"That would be great."

Ding Youqiang was aware of Li Xiang’s real skills, and his involvement could definitely accelerate the process of solving the case. It was usually hard to get him involved, so it was an excellent opportunity since he proposed it himself.

Four police cars, one after another, drove to Sanhe Village, eventually stopping at the entrance to Old Qiao’s home.

The task force had already contacted Qiao Baoshan, so he was also at home, standing at the door with an elderly woman, waiting for the police to arrive.

Seeing Ding Youqiang get out of the car, he quickly pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, trying to slip it into Captain Ding’s pocket, "Captain Ding, have a smoke, have a smoke."

"What are you doing? Put it away; I don’t smoke."

Ding Youqiang blocked it with his hand, avoiding the cigarette as his face turned sour.

The provincial leaders were watching on site, and Qiao Baoshan’s action made him seem like he was regularly accepting benefits from villagers.

Seeing Captain Ding refuse, Qiao Baoshan was a bit at a loss, eventually putting the pack back in his pocket, "Captain Ding, this has nothing to do with me. I really went eel fishing with my dad that night. He could testify for me. Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean the statement we recorded before is invalid, right?"

"It’s not invalid, but this is a homicide case. Following the principle of solving homicides, we take it very seriously. We won’t wrong an innocent person, nor will we let a culprit go unpunished. Don’t worry, as long as you didn’t do it, cooperate with the investigation, and you’ll be fine."

"Of course, of course, I will definitely cooperate well."

Since getting out of the car, Li Xiang had been observing Qiao Baoshan’s every move. With increasing case-handling experience, he gained some insight into the psychology of criminals. Normal people can’t remain calm after committing murder—only a few ruthless killers can do so without batting an eye, and these aren’t even normal individuals, but psychopaths. Once they’ve committed a crime, it’s challenging for them to stop.