Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 260 Local Criminal Investigation Department Mobilized
3:00 AM, commercial building, rooftop

In order to hear Yingying's phone ringing at the scene, Chen Shu repeatedly dialed her phone number while searching for it.

After the connection was lost once, when you called back, an electronic voice on the phone said, "Hello, the number you dialed is currently busy."

This notification doesn't necessarily mean that Yingying's phone has actually received a call from someone else. It could also be that two or more other external calls are coming into Yingying's phone at the same time, and the later calls will trigger this voice notification.

It must be her parents or classmates calling looking for Yingying. Chen Shu didn't think much of it, locked his phone, and began to search for other clues at the scene.

Looking at the various beer bottles, liquor bottles, and used condoms on the ground, Chen Shu suddenly recalled seeing Yingying's friend Chen Rou on the second floor of the bar earlier, and how she bought a bottle of liquor from the bar before leaving.

Are you sure you won't bring it here to drink some more?

Perhaps Chen Rou got Yingying drunk and then pushed her off the roof.
Chen Shu was startled by his own sudden, unconventional thought. Chen Rou and Yingying were college classmates and roommates; how could they possibly commit murder?

He shook his head, seriously considering another plausible point of doubt.

But why did the ex-boyfriend run to the rooftop?
Could it be that love turned to hate, leading to the murder?
The timing was perfect!
Chen Shu took out his phone and took pictures of every place on the ground where there were wine bottles. He walked along the path of the pictures to the parapet wall on the roof.

Parapet walls, also known as eaves walls, are low walls surrounding the roof of a building. They are a way to connect the roof to the exterior walls, serving as railings on the roof or a measure to enhance the building's appearance. They can prevent people from falling and also help waterproof the roof.

The parapet wall of this commercial building is said to be a protective wall, but its thickness of more than one meter makes it look more like a small open-air platform, and the corner of the wall is piled with the most wine bottles.

Clearly, most of the people who go up to the roof to drink are sitting up here.

With a flashlight sweep across the platform, Chen Shu spotted two high heels that seemed out of place with their surroundings.

Jumping off a building after taking off one's shoes?

Chen Shu continued taking photos, then took the two women's shoes and put them in a plastic bag.

In cases of jumping from buildings, a crucial point in distinguishing between suicide and homicide is whether the person committing suicide has taken off their shoes.

Not only do people jump off buildings, but many who jump into rivers also take off their shoes. Many people feel that taking off their shoes before committing suicide is a ritualistic act, symbolizing a decision to enter another world. The most likely explanation is that this is actually a custom created by the media. People see it so often on television and in novels, and then imitate it, naturally turning it into a subconscious "suicide custom."

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the murderer disguised himself by taking off his shoes at the scene.

"Jingle Bell!"

The phone call that rang suddenly in the middle of the night interrupted Chen Shu's thoughts.

Looking up, I saw Chen Chuan's phone number, which was being searched on the other end.

A moment later, Chen Chuan rushed over with the phone, covered the receiver with his hand, and whispered, "It's a call from the local police. They want us to come downstairs immediately. They said Fatty and Yingying's ex-boyfriend got into a fight, and it was pretty serious!"

The camera pans back.

After Zhu Chaoran and Chen Shu parted ways in the elevator lobby on the first floor of the commercial building, Zhu Chaoran, following Chen Shu's instructions, took her ex-boyfriend to Yingying's landing point.

When her ex-boyfriend saw Yingying's body lying on the ground, he collapsed to the ground.

There were no hysterical shouts, no resolute and decisive rescue efforts. He just sat slumped on the ground, pointing at the corpse. He turned to Zhu Chaoran, who was standing to the side, and stammered for a long time but couldn't say a word.

She crossed her arms and scoffed at her ex-boyfriend's performance, but in her heart she was convinced that he was the murderer. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that Yingying had just fallen from the roof and this guy was swaggering out of the building's elevator?

He didn't think deeply about why, if his ex-boyfriend was a prime suspect, even just a little, Chen Shu, known for his caution, wouldn't take measures to control him instead of simply having Zhu Chaoran take him to see the body.

Zhu Chaoran was too lazy to answer the other party's question, but Yu Guangzhong couldn't help but see the motionless female corpse lying on the ground, and a sudden sadness welled up in his heart.

In his mind, Yingying, with her cardigan, pencil skirt, and high heels, was more than just a nightclub babe. Zhu Chaoran, who had followed Chen Chuan, a rich second-generation from Dongzhou, had frequented many nightclubs and seen countless beautiful women.

I've seen my share of people and situations, but none of the pretty girls in the atmosphere-setting groups or the female college students seeking thrills on weekends have ever acted as recklessly as her...

Zhu Chaoran closed his eyes, and the scene of being stopped outside by the bar security guards that night because he was ugly and old reappeared in his mind, making him feel utterly disappointed.

At that moment, the girl, whom he had never met before, came over, took off her hat and sunglasses, and put them on his head. Then, she pulled him into the bar without a second thought. She didn't say much along the way, but her actions spoke volumes about her trust.

In that instant, Zhu Chaoran even thought of names for their future child.

At this moment, he suddenly understood a little about the feelings of those Bronze Warriors in "Saint Seiya" who were willing to give up their lives to protect Athena.

She's a goddess.

Zhu Chaoran sighed, suddenly losing interest in keeping an eye on the soft-looking man, regardless of whether he was a criminal suspect or whether he would run away.

He took off his black coat, walked to Yingying's side, knelt down, and covered her head and body, giving a helpless, bitter smile.
"Yingying, you lent me your hat and sunglasses earlier, so here's a coat for you. We're even now. Rest in peace, and we'll drink together again in our next life."

Just then, a cell phone rang from behind.

"I love you walking alone in a dark alley."

"I love the way you don't kneel down."

"I love you and have faced despair."

"I refuse to cry."

Zhu Chaoran suddenly looked up. Because he had tried dialing the phone after exchanging phone numbers with Yingying at the bar, he was very sure that it was Yingying's ringtone!

He turned and lunged at his ex-boyfriend, grabbing him by the back of the neck and reaching directly into the inside pocket of the man's blazer with his right hand.

Over the past year, Zhu Chaoran has honed his skills in both body searches and rummaging through trash cans to a very high level. According to Chen Shu, based on these two skills alone, he certainly has the air of an investigator.

In a flash, she pulled two phones from the other person's clothes. One was a Huawei, probably her ex-boyfriend's, and the other, which was ringing, was Yingying's phone. The pink jacket covering the phone, like the little cardigan that had fallen to the ground, was extremely conspicuous.

Why is Yingying's phone on her ex-boyfriend?

Zhu Chaoran was stunned on the spot. Reason told him to think it over carefully, and past experience also advised him to report the situation to Brother Shu.

However, in reality, Zhu Chaoran's anger caused him to abandon any further thought.

Zhu Chaoran, who usually stood behind Chen Shu or Xiao Qiang, suddenly felt a surge of emotions upon seeing the object, and the pent-up feelings from the previous night burst forth. She rained down her fists, as big as casserole dishes, on her ex-boyfriend.

"I'll f*** your mother!" "Ah!"

……

Chen Shu instructed Chen Chuan to guard the iron gate leading to the top floor and prevent anyone from entering. He himself hurriedly ran downstairs to find Zhu Chaoran, carrying the women's high heels he had found on the platform.

This fat guy may look tall and big, but he's never actually been in a fight!

Her hands were fair and delicate; one look and you could tell she was pampered. There were no calluses or even a single scar.

When on missions, he usually follows closely behind other officers, demonstrating a very high level of awareness of danger.

I will definitely not make a move unless it is 100% safe.

How could someone as cautious as him possibly get into a fight?

He was still in a foreign land, and he was the only one there.

With his cowardly little courage.

"Impossible," Chen Shu muttered quickly to himself.

The elevator reached the first floor and opened. Chen Shu stepped out and jogged away, not even greeting the security guards from the commercial building he encountered. He was a little nervous about Zhu Chaoran.

He felt that the fat man might suffer a loss.

When Chen Shu arrived at the scene, Zhu Chaoran and her ex-boyfriend had already finished their fight and were sitting far apart on the steps by the roadside.

A young trainee police officer with two stripes on his shoulder was standing in front of Zhu Chaoran, talking and taking notes while holding something that looked like an A4 folder. Zhu Chaoran tilted his head and looked to the side of the road, ignoring him.

"Hello, comrade. I'm his friend. What's the situation?" Chen Shu approached and asked politely.

Liang Zhegang raised his eyelids slightly and asked lazily, "Did you call the police?"

Having both been police officers before, Chen Shu knew this was a formality, and to expedite the process, he immediately agreed: "Yes, yes, I called the police."

Two-Fold Bars yawned and said with disdain, "What are you drinking for in the middle of the night? You're going to kill people! And fight! This is outrageous!"

It was 3:30 a.m., and Chen Shu understood the other party's difficulties.

"Brother, I'm a police officer from Donghai. We're all on the same side. I'm also from the police station. I was on duty all night a few days ago, and I'm here to recuperate. I'm so sorry to have troubled you in the middle of the night."

Chen Shubi, sharing the same empathy as other police officers working at the police station and also on duty and staying up late, tried to get closer to the other person.

"Oh, buddy, you're a cop too? Oh, you guys are here for recuperation."

When Liang Zhegang heard that the other person was also a policeman, and that he, like him, worked night shifts at a local police station every day, his tone softened considerably.

"This guy was just fighting with that guy with glasses. Wow, no wonder he's from the police force, he beat the guy with glasses until he was screaming in pain. By the way, he said that the woman who jumped off the building was killed by the guy with glasses? What exactly happened here?"

Just as Chen Shu was about to explain, the other party suddenly raised his hand to stop him.

"Dude, go explain to those two squatting next to the body. They're from the Criminal Investigation Department, here specifically to conduct crime scene investigations. If you need anything, talk to them."

Chen Shu looked in the direction the two folding bars were pointing and saw two men in black civilian clothes touching and looking around Yingying's body. There were also two large tool boxes next to them.

Chen Shu turned back and smiled meaningfully at the two broken bars, indicating that he understood what Chen Shu meant: no matter what, this incident should be considered a serious criminal case.

He took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and stuffed it into Zhu Chaoran's hand: "You'll have to listen to this brother's instructions later. If you have to back down, then back down. We're after substance, not face. Our top priority right now is solving Yingying's case. Do you understand?"

Zhu Chaoran glanced at Yingying's lifeless body, covered by his black coat, and nodded with tears in his eyes.

After settling Zhu Chao in, Chen Shu took the plastic bag containing the women's high heels and went to the vicinity of where the body had fallen, squatting down next to the older, taller criminal police officer.

"You're from the East China Sea? Judging from your accent, you must be from Dongzhou."

The detective was quite informal; upon seeing someone approaching, he greeted them first. From his tone, it seemed he was paying attention to the surroundings.

Chen Shu glanced at the man and saw that the middle-aged man was using a tape measure to measure the distance between the corpse and the wall. At first glance, the man seemed like a brute, but upon closer inspection, one would find that he had bright, calm eyes and a deep, reserved demeanor.

After measuring a piece of data, the other party wrote it in a notebook placed to the side with their signature, and then made corrections on it.

After the middle-aged man finished his task and paused for a moment, Chen Shu quickly handed him a pack of Liqun cigarettes and replied with a smile, "My name is Chen Shu, and I'm from Dongzhou. Brother, have you been to Dongzhou before?"

The middle-aged man chuckled and took the cigarette: "I've been there. For us criminal police officers, who didn't travel all over the country on 'publicly funded trips' when we were young? I've been to Dongzhou a few times. What impressed me most was your local dialect; it was so hard to understand."

Chen Shu lit the fire and said, "Thank you for your hard work, old comrade. By the way, what's your name, brother?"

The middle-aged man took a drag of his cigarette, then pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit it for Chen Shu: "I'm a few years older than you, just call me Brother Ming. By the way, which system are you in in Dongzhou? Are you also in the Criminal Investigation Department?"

Chen Shu lit a cigarette with his hands clasped around his neck and said, "Brother Ming, I'm from the police station."

Ming nodded and then remained silent.

The two squatted by the roadside, with a corpse covered in a black cloth not far away. They finished their cigarettes in a few quick moments, one after the other.

Ming patted his clothes and stood up. He glanced at Chen Shu, who was squatting beside him, still smoking without changing his expression, and a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes.

"Chen Shu, please ask whatever questions you have."

Chen Shu chuckled, threw away the cigarette in his mouth, and stood up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ming Ge.

"Ming-ge, these are the women's high heels found on the rooftop. They belong to this woman. I'll send you a picture in a bit if you want. Hmm, in your opinion, did she commit suicide or was she murdered?"

Chen Shu had never worked in major criminal cases or on evidence, but even if he hadn't done it himself, he'd seen things happen. He'd watched from a distance as Ming Ge worked around the corpse for a long time; he should have found something.

Ming hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to reply, a young man came around from behind the building and interrupted him with a loud greeting.

"Master, we've reviewed the surveillance footage. There should only be this woman on the roof."

(End of this chapter)