gentry

Chapter 48 Interesting Opponent
At the entrance of an alley on Nanjing Road that was blackened by thick smoke, the cordon was still pulled, and the staff of the firefighting association were still sorting out the ruins of Zheng's house that was on fire, and the surrounding area was filled with the smell of coke.Although it has been three days since the fire, there are still many spectators around the cordon.

As soon as Luo Fei got out of the rickshaw, he took out a handkerchief and tightly covered his nose.Xiaoman just wanted to sarcastically say a few words to him, when she saw that Luo Fei was holding the handkerchief she gave him, her eyes lit up slightly.

When the two walked into the ruins of Zheng's house, Xiaoman looked at the charred black broken walls and plaster all over the floor, and was really surprised: "It's all burned down like this, what else can we find out?"

"Don't jump to conclusions lightly." Luo Fei said in a muffled voice while covering his nose.

Afterwards, Luo Fei tied a handkerchief to his face, put on the gloves handed over by the fireman, and knelt down to brush the ashes off the ground.Xiaoman immediately saw a piece of unburnt floor exposed under the dust.

"This is where the corpse is." Luo Fei pointed to Xiaoman, "The moisture in the corpse blocked the fire, so this is the only intact floor."

Immediately afterwards, Luo Fei lifted the handkerchief to reveal his nose, and took a deep breath.

"The smell of barbecue."

"You" Xiaoman stared dumbfounded.

"To be precise, it is an aromatic compound produced by human body fat after being heated. It penetrates into the wooden floor and is preserved. Come and smell it." Luo Fei stretched out his hand and beckoned Xiaoman to squat down.

"Me?" Xiaoman looked at Luo Fei hesitantly.

"If you want to be a good detective, you have to overcome psychological and physical barriers, hurry up!" Luo Fei urged.

Reluctantly, Xiaoman squatted down slowly, leaned forward to the floor with her eyes closed, sniffed lightly, then suddenly opened her eyes, sniffed hard again, and immediately turned her head and said to Luo Fei: "Not only is there a smell of barbecue , and the smell of wine!"

"The nose is still easy to use." Luo Fei nodded, and then took out a piece of deformed arc-shaped glass from the nearby ruins, "This is a wine bottle melted by high temperature."

"It seems to be vodka." Luo Fei sniffed it again, and then pulled out more broken glass and pointed it to Xiao Man, "Here...and Detective Qin here, do you see anything?"

Xiaoman frowned and thought for a while, then began to reason: "The deceased was an alcoholic. He was smoking while drinking. After drinking, he knocked over the bottle. The cigarette butt accidentally fell on the ground and ignited the spirits on the ground. It caused tragedy."

Luo Fei shook his head: "Wrong! If the deceased accidentally knocked over the wine bottle, why are there so many melted glass residues?"

"He drank a lot of wine and broke a lot of wine bottles, isn't it okay?" Xiaoman asked back.

Luo Fei walked to the open-air corner and pointed to a large pile of broken glass in the corner: "You see, this should be the location of the wine cabinet."

As Luo Fei said, he casually picked up a scorched wooden stick beside him and pulled the shards of glass: "There's red wine, whiskey, ah, and three-star brandy, but why did he pick vodka to smash so much wine?"

"Because the alcohol content is high!" Xiaoman suddenly realized, stood up suddenly and said.

Luo Fei nodded, went to the window again, and looked carefully.Xiaoman followed Luo Fei's line of sight and saw two windows, one was open and the other was closed tightly, both of which had been scorched and deformed.

At this time, Luo Fei looked back at the door again, and then motioned for Xiaoman to go over.After Xiaoman walked over, Luo Fei slowly turned behind her, and said softly, "Don't you want to aspire to be an excellent police detective? Take a good look at these two windows, and tell me what's wrong?"

Xiaoman quietly felt Luo Fei's exhalation, and rubbed the handkerchief rhythmically on her cheek with her breathing, feeling a little distracted for a while.Xiaoman blinked vigorously, gathered herself together, and then began to observe carefully: "Um, this open window is on the upper air vent, so it is basically not burned. It is obliquely facing the door, forming air convection with the door. fueled the fire." Xiaoman then pointed to the rusty hinges, "A lot of dust has accumulated on the window frame, and the hinges have long been rusted to death, indicating that they have not been opened for a long time, and the other one is facing the door. , if you turn it on after the fire, the smoke will be discovered earlier." Xiaoman said, turning her head cautiously.

"That's right." Luo Fei patted Xiaoman on the shoulder, "But when the fire broke out, this window happened to be open, which created a favorable ventilation condition for the fire."

"Did the murderer open it on purpose?" Xiaoman guessed.

"The arsonist is very smart. He didn't want to be found out that he set the fire on purpose, so he didn't bring conventional combustion aids such as gasoline and kerosene to the scene, but used local materials." Luo Fei pointed to the open window, "Then he only opened the window that was conducive to ventilation, and he knew that the other door facing the door would be found with smoke after opening. He set fires in three different places for three weeks in a row. As an outsider, Not being found suspicious, this person must be cunning and inconspicuous, like a cold-blooded chameleon who can easily hide in the crowd."

After Luo Fei finished speaking, he suddenly laughed in a muffled voice, and the handkerchief in front of his mouth and nose was blown up, which was very funny.

"Finally met a decent opponent."

Xiaoman snickered and curled her lips aside.

At this time, a small wooden beam on the roof fell beside Xiao Man, and a burst of black ash fell from Xiao Man's head immediately.Luo Fei walked over, took off the handkerchief on his face, and wiped off the dust on Xiao Man's face.Xiaoman froze in place immediately.

"This is what happens when you laugh at me." Luo Fei said as he put the black handkerchief into his pocket, "Wipe it for you, at least it won't scare the witnesses. Let's go, we still have a lot to do."

Subsequently, Luo Fei and Xiaoman questioned the witnesses present that day in the name of the police station.

In the afternoon, the two went to the other two fire sites and several surrounding alleys for investigation.Looking at the materials that were gradually being plastered on the wall, Luo Fei frowned tightly, looking a little anxious.

The next morning, in Javert's office, Luo Fei was flipping through the report book and writing something on the paper.

Javert looked at Luo Fei, who was busy, and felt that his head was getting bigger several times, and knocked on the table impatiently: "137. There are so many people reporting the crime in one day, and everyone said that it is important to catch the arsonist." Clue, can you explain what's going on?"

"Oh, I put up a small advertisement in the newspaper. Those who provide clues to the serial arson case in the police station will be rewarded if they are confirmed." Luo Fei said without raising his head.

"You and I just finished the press conference to refute the rumors, and you blatantly spread rumors in the newspapers in such a reckless manner, and even used the name of the police station?" Javert pointed at Luo Fei and said angrily.

Luo Fei shook his head leisurely: "First, I didn't spread rumors, the serial arsonist did exist; second, I didn't impersonate, you gave me such a righteous name for the police station to investigate."

"How did I know you would put a reward in the newspaper?" Javert asked angrily.

Luo Fei finally raised his head and looked at Javert: "Third, I admit that this is a last resort. If you had let me intervene earlier, I wouldn't be so passive now, and today is Sunday. Besides doing this, Do you have a better way?"

After hearing this, Javert sighed and lowered his head.

Luo Fei pointed to the phone on the table: "I have already called the fire department. If there is a fire alarm tonight, please call me immediately. I will rush to the fire scene as quickly as possible to collect first-hand evidence."

Javert anxiously raised his hand and looked at his watch, sighed: "It will be dark in a few hours, what else do you plan to do besides waiting here?"

Luo Fei handed the paper sheet he had just written to Javert: "Among the 137 clues, there are a few clues that are quite valuable. Although there is little hope, I suggest you send someone to investigate."

Javert waved his hands in disappointment and shook his head: "I have no one left."

At this time, Xiaoman broke in suddenly out of breath, picked up the teacup on the coffee table and drank it in big gulps.

"Luo Fei, you are here, Inspector Sha." Xiaoman put down his teacup and let out a sigh of relief.

"How is the investigation?" Luo Fei hastily poured another glass of water for Xiaoman.

Xiaoman took the water glass and drank it down again, then wiped his mouth, took out a notebook from his bag and handed it to Luo Fei: "According to what you said, all businesses and residents within a radius of 200 meters from the scene of the fire, as well as those from the hospital I have questioned all 21 injured people."

Luo Fei took the notebook, and handed the slip in his hand to Xiaoman: "There are ten more, you can check it out."

"Okay." Xiaoman took the paper sheet, looked at it and walked out quickly.

Javert showed a very puzzled expression on the side, "Why do I think your words are more effective than mine?"

Luo Fei smiled and said nothing.

(End of this chapter)