investigative chronicle

Chapter 74 The crime scene
"Shall we talk to Yu Na's father again?" Ji Si'an asked, looking at the two who had temporarily stopped arguing not far away.

"Forget it, even if we stop arguing, he will definitely not talk to us now. Let's go to the scene of the crime." Luo Li pulled Ji Si'an and walked out of the community.

If the Temple of the City God is the soul of the City God, then Qin Yunhe is the root of the City God.The Qin Canal has been the main waterway for Chenghuang since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The convenience of official business exchanges and cargo transportation has brought economic prosperity to the people of Chenghuang.

With the development of the times, although the transportation function of the Qin Canal has withdrawn from the stage of history, the government has built a ring park around it, and this ancient water system has attracted a large number of tourists and has been revitalized again.

"There are so many people in Qin Yunhe every day, there should be witnesses." Ji Si'an said looking at the canal where people were coming and going.

"The place where the incident happened is much more remote than here, and you will understand when you get there." Luo Li, a native of the city, obviously knows much better than Ji Si'an.

As the sky darkened, there were more and more vegetation in the distance, and the dense shadows almost blocked the path.Ji Si'an looked at his feet carefully, for fear that some creatures would appear if he was not paying attention.

Luo Li took out a trekking pole from her bag and handed it to Ji Si'an. "Apart from snakes, you don't have to be afraid of anything else."

"And snakes?" Ji Si'an swallowed, she was afraid of snakes since she was a child.

Perhaps seeing Ji Si'an's nervousness, Luo Li comforted, "Just in case."

When they groped and came to the vicinity of the incident, it was completely dark.The antique-style palace lantern is a blemish.The dim yellow light flickered among the ink-stained trees like fireflies, basically doing nothing.

If it weren't for the sounds of people and cars coming from the shore from time to time, Ji Si'an would have mistakenly thought that he had walked into the deserted forest.

"The trees here are so dense, even if there is a camera, you can't see anything." Luo Li looked around and complained.

Ji Si'an was frightened by the wild cats jumping out of the grass, so he didn't even bother to answer.

"What the hell is Yu Na doing in this place at night?" Ji Si'an began to doubt her.

"It was the anniversary of her mother's death, so she came here to burn paper." Luo Li replied.

"How do you know?" Ji Si'an turned his head, and the light of the phone also turned around, which almost dazzled Luo Li's eyes.

Luo Li hurriedly covered her eyes with her hands, and waited for Ji Si'an to lower her phone before saying, "I found the mark on her calendar at her house, so I guessed it."

"No wonder she made an appointment to meet here yesterday... But how dare her stepmother come..."

When Ji Si'an lamented the boldness of others, the people on the side of the road were also talking about them.

"She's doing it for her daughter... Speaking of which, should we also go to the nightclub to check..." Luo Li was interrupted by Ji Si'an in the middle of her sentence.

"I don't go to nightclubs. Besides, just the two of us, they won't tell us anything..."

"Here we are. Did you see the cordon? It's there." Luo Li's flashlight swept across, and the cordon glowed bright yellow at night, which was very conspicuous.

This is a small platform of more than 10 square meters. The whole platform is made of dark brown wooden strips, surrounded by wooden fences less than 1 meter in symbolic form.Next to it are two thick willow trees, whose luxuriant branches and leaves hang over the entire river and completely cover the platform.If they hadn't come from the small road, they wouldn't have discovered this place at all, it was simply an excellent place to commit crimes.

"It's very popular during the day because of its beautiful scenery. It's just that it's a bit remote at night, but it's not like no one comes here. For example, if you're a young couple on a date or something, you only pick this kind of place." Luo seemed to know what Ji Si'an was thinking. Li explained.

"Will Yu Na talk to her stepmother here?" Ji Si'an bent down and touched the wooden floor.

"This is where her stepmother fell into the river. Yu Na said she met her stepmother on it." Luo Li pointed to the top of the platform.

Ji Si'an used a trekking pole to part the grass, and carefully walked around the cordon to the stone steps by the light of the flashlight.

The stone steps lead to the small road above after several twists and turns.It was not too late at this time, the laughing crowd passed by in twos and threes on the small road.It may be that the surrounding residents took a walk here after dinner.

"There are still traces of paper ashes here. Yu Na probably burned the paper here." Luo Li squatted on the ground, and the light of the flashlight hit the ground, and a group of pale black traces could be seen faintly.

"Now I'm a little bit convinced that the murderer wasn't her. But I still don't understand why the stepmother went to the small platform." Ji Si'an followed the stone steps and shone the flashlight deep into the dense forest.

"I found the clue so quickly, tell me quickly." Luo Li got up and came to her side.

"Have you ever seen Yu Na wearing sneakers?" Ji Si'an suddenly asked without thinking.

Luo Li thought about it carefully and shook her head, "No. She doesn't seem to have sneakers."

"It's because of this that I guessed that the murderer is not her." Ji Si'an spread out her hands, and a few pieces of sawdust lay quietly in her palms.

"What is this?" Luo Li was still a little puzzled.

"This is on the small platform below. It has been in disrepair for a long time and the wood at the bottom has rotted. Not to mention that shoes with roots will leave marks on it, and it is easy to sprain your feet."

"Yu Na wore a pair of black high heels yesterday. If she really wanted to kill someone, it's unlikely she would do it here." Ji Si'an said.

Luo Li nodded: "Who is going to kill someone and still wear a skirt and high heels?"

Ji Si'an's next words poured cold water on Luo Li. "It's certainly not impossible to kill someone with passion or cause someone's death by accident."

"Then we have to change our defense angle. But I have a hunch that Yu Na didn't do it. If it was her, the police would definitely find out when they inspected the scene." Luo Li believed in Yu Na.

Ji Si'an turned around, there were no cameras nearby, and the platform could not be seen from the small road, so it seemed unlikely that there were any witnesses.

"I know what you're looking for. Come with me, I'm familiar with this place." Luo Li took the lead and walked ahead.

Ji Si'an silently followed Luo Li, and the two walked along the small road to a wooden bridge one after the other.Stepping on the creaking bridge deck, they came to the other side of the river.

"Going down from here is the passage along the river on the other side." Luo Li led Ji Si'an to a small road.

It was getting darker and darker, and the winding stone road led to the deep bushes.While Ji Si'an was still hesitating, Luo Li had already walked down first.

"Don't be afraid, it's very lively down here."

Ji Si'an bit the bullet and followed Luo Li. After turning around a few rocks, the melodious sound of the flute came from a distance, followed by the children's playfulness gradually became clear.These sounds like sounds of nature tore through the suffocating darkness, instantly reassuring her.

"Don't be nervous, it's still early, and many people will be walking by the river." Luo Li noticed Ji Si'an's uneasiness.

"What are we doing here?" Ji Si'an asked.

"Follow me, and you'll understand when you get there." Luo Li was still playing riddles.

Ji Si'an followed Luo Li on the trail by the river, and the moon gradually climbed up the treetops, quite a bit of the artistic conception of "the bright moon shines among the pines".If there is spring water flowing over the nearby rocks, it will correspond to the next sentence of the poem, "clear spring stones flow up".

Ji Si'an was still thinking wildly, but Luo Li stopped in front.

"That's right there." Luo Li pointed to the hidden stone platform behind the bushes.

(End of this chapter)