Escape From the Library

【Death of a Lawyer-16】

Yue Xingwen and Jiang Pingce took a taxi to Qin Shiyin's home in the suburbs according to the address given by Ke Shaobin.

The residential buildings in Xiushui Garden Community are all 7-story stair rooms without elevators. The paint on the outside of the buildings has faded, and it looks a bit old.The area of ​​the community is small, with only 5 buildings in total. The residents have lived here for a long time, and the neighbors know each other, which is also convenient for Yue Xingwen and Jiang Pingce to visit and investigate.

When the two came to the community, they saw many uncles and aunts sitting in the gazebo chatting.

Yue Xingwen and Jiang Pingce walked over side by side. Jiang Pingce took out his police officer's card and asked a 70-year-old grandmother, "Hi, old man, we are investigating a case. Excuse me, do you know Qin Shiyin from Household 4, Unit 2, Building 601?" ?"

When the grandparents saw the police certificate, they were full of curiosity, and discussed privately: "What happened?" "Why did the police come to our community?"

The old lady who was questioned said seriously: "Of course I know Xiaoyin, she is very pretty, but she doesn't like to talk, and I rarely see her going out at ordinary times. I only see her a few times when I go to and from work, and she will also talk to us. Just say hello."

An old grandfather next to him said: "She seems to be a teacher, right? This child is really promising. Her mother died early, and her father brought her up. She went out to work at a young age to help her father lighten the burden. Especially sensible."

Jiang Pingce took out his notebook and asked while recording, "How did her mother die?"

A middle-aged man said: "A car accident. One night, her mother was hit by someone while crossing the road. This seems to have happened ten years ago? I remember that Xiaoyin was still in junior high school."

Yue Xingwen asked: "Is she and her father the only ones in her family now?"

The grandmother said: "She also has an older brother who works in other places and only comes back to visit during the Chinese New Year. Xiaoyin, on the other hand, returned home after graduating from university. I heard that she is working as a music teacher in a training center. We don't know anything else. .”

From the conversation between her grandparents, she learned that Qin Shiyin's mother died young in a car accident, and her father and elder brother were still at home.

It has been a week since she resigned from the training center of Xinghe Building. Sister Lan asked her colleagues in the building that she had never been to Xinghe Building since she resigned, and she was not photographed in the surveillance that day. She should not have been there when the incident happened.

So, what about her father and brother?

Qin Shiyin was not at the scene, maybe her family members vented their anger on her and killed Lawyer Zhou?

Yue Xingwen and Jiang Pingce decided to go to Qin Shiyin's house in person.

The two came to the door of Room 4, Unit 2, Building 601, and knocked on the door.

After a while, a girl came to the door, looked out through the cat's eyes, and asked softly, "Who is it?"

Yue Xingwen spoke softly: "Ms. Qin, we are policemen from the Qingtang District Criminal Police Brigade. I want to ask you to investigate something. Can you open the door?" Jiang Pingce immediately showed her the police officer's card: "Here's my police ID."

Qin Shiyin froze for a moment, opened the door, and asked in confusion, "Police? What are you looking for?"

Yue Xingwen asked: "Can I come in and have a chat?"

Qin Shiyin was silent for a moment, then nodded, let the two of them enter the room, and poured water for them.

The girl's face was pale, and her hair was simply tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and when she handed Yue Xingwen water, some scars were faintly exposed on her wrist, as if she had been cut by a knife.

Hearing from the doctor that she has recently self-harmed, it seems that the girl's depression is already very serious.

Yue Xingwen looked around calmly, the room was clean and simple, three bedrooms and one living room, she and her brother each had one room, the master bedroom should be her father's residence.According to the descriptions of the neighbors, her brother was working out of town and only returned home during the Chinese New Year; her father was working outside, and she was the only one at home at this time.

There is a framed photo on the TV cabinet, and the photo is a family portrait of a family of four.Qin Shiyin looked very similar to her mother when she was young. Her mother was wearing a cheongsam and had a very temperament. Qin Shiyin should be fourteen or fifteen years old at the time.

This should have been a happy family, but unfortunately her mother died in a car accident ten years ago, and Qin Shiyin was bullied five years ago. The psychological trauma left by the family is difficult to heal.

The girl didn't seem to like making eye contact with people. She lowered her head, stared at the ground, sat there stiffly, and asked in a low voice, "Officer, what are you looking for? Why did you come to my house?"

Jiang Pingce asked, "Where were you from ten o'clock to twelve o'clock the night before yesterday?"

The girl thought about it carefully: "The day before yesterday? Was it the day it rained?"

"That's right. Did you go out that night when it rained heavily?"

Qin Shiyin shook her head: "No. I have been resting at home since I resigned and returned home. I haven't left the community this week. I usually buy vegetables in the community supermarket to cook when I come back."

Jiang Pingce asked, "Why did you resign?"

Qin Shiyin bit her lip and replied in a low voice, "Because I haven't been feeling well recently."

Patients with depression should not be too stimulated. Yue Xingwen considered his words and said with gentle eyes: "Don't be afraid, we just came to you to learn something. Do you know lawyer Zhou Ziyang?"

Qin Shiyin's whole body froze, and her face was even paler than before. She was silent for a long time before she nodded: "I know."

"Then do you know that he works at Minghui Law Firm on the 40th floor of Xinghe Building?"

Qin Shiyin was stunned, and looked up at Yue Xingwen: "What do you mean? He works in Xinghe Building?"

Jiang Pingce and Yue Xingwen looked at each other, and the girl looked surprised, as if she didn't know anything.Or, her acting skills are top-notch, and all of this is just pretending?

Jiang Pingce said solemnly: "He works at Minghui Law Firm on the 40th floor of Xinghe Building. You work at the Children's Training Center on the 27th floor of Xinghe Building. You both work in the same office building. Have you seen him recently?"

Qin Shiyin shook her head without hesitation: "I haven't seen it before. The working hours of our training center are different from those of other units, because the children have to go to school and only have time to learn talents at night. We start classes at 7 pm from Monday to Friday. .On weekends from 10am to 10pm, I rarely meet other people in the office.”

This kind of working time does stagger the peak commuting period of other units.

However, law firms do not have a strict clock-in system at work, and some lawyers may not even go to the law firm when they are busy with a case, and sort out materials at home.There is no need to ask for leave when there is a court session or having dinner with a client.Minghui Law Firm is a "partnership" method, and the boss does not interfere with the lawyers' freedom.

So, does Qin Shiyin know that Zhou Ziyang works in the law firm on the 40th floor?Have you ever seen Zhou Ziyang in the building?

Now that Zhou Ziyang was dead, Qin Shiyin insisted that he didn't know, and that there was no proof of his death.

Yue Xingwen followed up and asked, "You went to work in Xinghe Building, did you find the job yourself, or was someone introduced you?"

Qin Shiyin said: "I applied for the job myself. Originally, my dad wanted me to take the teacher qualification certificate and go to a regular middle school as a music teacher, but I felt that it was too tiring to go to school as a teacher and go to work on time every day. Relatively speaking, the time of the training center It is more free and the income is higher. So, I found a children's training center to teach vocal music to children."

Although the girl in front of her was pale, she spoke clearly and her voice was soft and pleasant, and she didn't look like she had a guilty conscience.Jiang Pingce frowned, wrote down the information she said in his notebook, and asked, "Do you know Liu Lan?"

Qin Shiyin looked calm: "I don't know. Who is Liu Lan?"

Yue Xingwen then asked: "Where does your father work and what kind of job does he do, can you tell me?"

"My dad has been running a taxi outside for several years."

"Your brother, you work in Anming City, right?" Jiang Pingce looked at her and said, "Have you contacted me recently?"

"My brother is an accountant. Recently, their company was liquidated at the end of the month. He is very busy every day and hasn't contacted me for a week. He only goes home to see me and my dad during the holidays."

Yue Xingwen and Jiang Pingce looked at each other, stood up, and said politely: "Thank you for your cooperation, if necessary, we will contact you again."

Qin Shiyin got up to send them out, and when she was almost at the door, she suddenly asked: "Officer, can I ask why you are looking for me? Who happened?"

Jiang Pingce looked back at her and said in a low voice, "Zhou Ziyang is dead."

Qin Shiyin's eyes widened instantly, and she covered her mouth with her hand, swallowing back the scream that came out of her mouth.

Yue Xingwen carefully observed her face, the girl's shocked expression didn't seem to be faked, and there was no obvious joy in her eyes when she heard the death of the lawyer who had slandered her in court.

After leaving the community, Yue Xingwen frowned thoughtfully: "Does she really not know? When Liu Lan was mentioned just now, she behaved as if she heard a strange name."

Jiang Pingce said: "She doesn't know Liu Lan, maybe it's because Liu Lan didn't use her real name when approaching her."

Yue Xingwen thought for a while, and agreed: "It makes sense. Liu Lan knew that Qin Shiyin was the victim of that case back then, so she used an alias to approach her? After all, once Qin Shiyin finds out that Liu Lan is Zhou Ziyang's wife, she will definitely treat her Liu Lan felt extremely repulsive. If she used a fake name, Qin Shiyin wouldn't be on guard."

Jiang Pingce said: "Both of them are depressed patients, and they can easily become friends by talking to each other."

However, they have no evidence in their hands, and all this is speculation.

Yue Xingwen sorted out his thoughts and said, "Qin Shiyin's father and elder brother also need to continue to investigate."

There was something odd about this case.

On the day of the incident, Chen Yueqin and Qi Zhao, who were at the scene, have now been ruled out of suspicion. Neither Chen Yueqin, who went back to sleep at 23:15, nor Qi Zhao, who was hiding in the office playing games, did not appear in the surveillance. On the roof.

However, the most suspected people, such as Liu Lan and Qin Shiyin, have never been to the Xinghe Building.

On the surface, it looked like Zhou Ziyang had climbed up to the rooftop by himself and fell down.How did the murderer act?What exactly are they ignoring?

Yue Xingwen always felt that everyone seemed to have missed a very important clue.

After returning to Zhang Xiaonian's residence, Jiang Pingce asked Ke Shaobin to check Qin Shiyin's family members, and soon found her brother, mother and father. Surprisingly, Qin Shiyin's brother's surname is not Qin.

"There are four members of their family. The father's name is Zhao Jianming, the elder brother's name is Zhao Jiarui, the mother Qin Xiumei, and the daughter Qin Shiyin." Ke Shaobin adjusted his glasses and said seriously: "The husband and wife have two children. The son takes the father's surname and the daughter takes the mother's surname. It’s quite common at home.”

It is indeed not uncommon for two children to take their parents' surnames.Yue Xingwen read these names carefully, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he suddenly said, "Qin Xiumei, where did I see this name before? Sister Lan, check the past case records."

Lan Yarong immediately took Ke Shaobin's laptop and searched in the computer database. Soon, she found a case record ten years ago: "Ten years ago, Zhou Ziyang represented a traffic accident case. The deceased It's Qin Xiumei."

Everyone was shocked when they heard the news.

Ke Shaobin excitedly said: "Look, who is the driver who killed Qin Xiumei?!"

Lan Yarong said with a complicated expression, "It's... Zhang Ronghua."

Everyone: "..."

Lan Yarong said: "When we searched yesterday, we only looked for the information of clients represented by Lawyer Zhou, and we missed Zhang Ronghua. In fact, in this traffic accident case ten years ago, Lawyer Zhou was Qin Xiumei's lawyer, and Zhang Ronghua was the attorney. defendant."

Hearing this, Jiang Pingce's face became more and more indifferent, he frowned and said: "Ten years ago, Zhou Ziyang was not long after graduating, and the lawyer's fees he received were not so expensive, Qin Xiumei's family just came to him and asked him to help with the lawsuit. However, the defendant, Zhang Ronghua, is a rich second generation, and he probably bribed Lawyer Zhou in private... How will this case be judged in the end?"

Lan Yarong said: "Zhang Ronghua paid a sum of money, the plaintiff withdrew the lawsuit and settled out of court."

Yue Xingwen carefully stroked the logic, and concluded: "In other words, among the rich second generations, Zhang Ronghua was the first to know Lawyer Zhou. As early as ten years ago, when he drove over and killed Qin Xiumei, he Did you secretly bribe the other party's lawyer to persuade the plaintiff to withdraw the lawsuit?"

Yesterday, Senior Sister Lan checked Lawyer Zhou's past cases and found that Lawyer Zhou had represented Zhang Ronghua in any case. The earliest date back to Shen Haibin's rape case five years ago. Everyone thought that Shen Haibin was the first to know Lawyer Zhou.

Unexpectedly, as early as ten years ago, Zhang Ronghua, as the "defendant", had an intersection with lawyer Zhou of the "plaintiff".At that time, Attorney Zhou was not that famous. Seeing money, he was quick to help Qin Xiumei's family in the lawsuit, but in fact he took money from the defendant Zhang Ronghua.

Lan Yarong's face was ugly, and she said: "A traffic accident that causes death can be sentenced to a maximum of 7 years in prison! But in this case, Zhang Ronghua was not sentenced, and the two parties settled out of court. It should be that lawyer Zhou hindered it. Qin Xiumei The family didn’t understand the law, so they were persuaded by lawyer Zhou, and they finally withdrew the lawsuit after getting some compensation.”

Ke Shaobin sighed and said: "Unexpectedly, after a few years, the little girl who lost her mother went to bars to make money when she grew up, and was raped by Zhang Ronghua's good friend Shen Haibin. Attorney Zhou introduced Shen Haibin?"

Yue Xingwen was very puzzled at the beginning. Shen Haibin is a rich second generation. He lives in Anming City. How could he be so familiar with Lawyer Zhou who works in Beishan City?Now it seems that Zhang Ronghua is actually the one who is most familiar with Lawyer Zhou.

Because that year, Zhang Ronghua drove a car late at night and killed Qin Shiyin's mother, Qin Xiumei. Qin Shiyin's father sought help from lawyer Zhou in Beishan City. By coincidence, Zhang Ronghua and lawyer Zhou hooked up!

Lawyer Zhou also met many rich people because of this, and then he helped Shen Haibin to represent the rape case.He became more and more acquainted with the so-called "upper circle", his income was getting higher and higher, and his reputation was getting bigger and bigger.

But he probably didn't expect that Qin Xiumei, who died under the wheel of rich second-generation Zhang Ronghua ten years ago, and Qin Shiyin, an innocent girl who was raped and insulted by Shen Haibin five years ago... were actually a mother and daughter.

He indirectly ruined the family, and Qin Shiyin suffered from severe depression as a result.

Yue Xingwen looked at his teammates and concluded: "Qin Shiyin's father and elder brother are the most motivated to commit the crime. Whoever knows Liu Lan among these two people may be the real murderer?"

At this moment, Jiang Pingce suddenly said: "We have neglected a very important person."

Everyone looked back at him.

I saw Jiang Pingce's expression was serious, and he said word by word: "Actually, on the night of the heavy rain, when Zhou Ziyang fell from the building, besides Chen Yueqin and Qi Zhao, there was another person at the scene of the Xinghe Building crime. .”

Yue Xingwen was stunned for a moment, and a picture suddenly flashed in his mind. He asked tentatively, "The security guard on duty?"

Jiang Pingce nodded: "That's right."

The security guards on night shift will always stay in Xinghe Building.

Moreover, the identity of the security guard is very similar to that of a passerby, so it is not easy to arouse the suspicion of the police.

Jiang Pingce said: "I remember that when Team Lin went to knock on the door, a middle-aged security guard came to open the door for us and took us to adjust the surveillance inside the building. Since he said that he had been sleeping, and he I didn’t know Lawyer Zhou, so Team Lin asked him to make a record and let him go back.”

Ke Shaobin's face changed, and he searched the personnel information of Xinghe Building on his laptop.He said in surprise: "The name of the security guard on duty that night is not Zhao Jianming, but, looking at his photo, does he look familiar?"

The middle-aged man in the photo looks very simple and honest, exactly the same as the man in the family photo taken by Yue Xingwen from Qin Shiyin's house.It's just that the family portrait was taken more than ten years ago. It has been too long, and his temples have turned gray, and he is not as young as in the photo.

He is Qin Shiyin's father.