Zhou Tong Detective Series

Chapter 3 Zhou Tong Detective Series I: Death Tarot Cards (3)
The house is obviously old, and there is still a damp smell of soot in the dark corridor, which shows that the people who live here are not well-off, and they still use coal for cooking.Everyone in the building seemed to have moved away, Zhou Tong didn't feel any popularity, and couldn't hear anything except his cautious footsteps.

Zhou Tong finally climbed to the third floor, where Wang Hong's home is.But there were two families on the third floor, and there were no house numbers on the two opposite doors. Zhou Tong looked at it for a long time, but he couldn't determine which house Wang Hong was in.After hesitating for a moment, I finally decided to knock on the door on the left first, because on this door hung a certificate of "Five Good Families" issued by the local neighborhood committee, which was particularly eye-catching.A student with excellent character and academics must have a happy family, Zhou Tong thought so.

Zhou Tong reached out to knock on the door, but found that the door was not closed, only heard a "creak", and the door was slowly pushed open.The owner of the room has obviously moved away. There is an old wooden table in the small room. On the right side of it is an empty wardrobe that has been stripped of paint, and on the left is a large bed without bedding. Iron bed.The side of the iron bed was separated by curtains, Zhou Tong walked over, opened it, and found a foldable wire bed behind the curtains, with a small desk beside the bed.

Zhou Tong stepped forward to open the desk drawer and found a photo inside. He picked it up and saw that the person in the photo was Wang Hong, and the background seemed to be a counter of a bar.

"Which bar is this?" Zhou Tong said to himself while holding the photo.

Just when Zhou Tong was about to put the photo in his arms, he suddenly felt a hand patting his shoulder.Zhou Tong turned his head in a natural reaction, and suddenly saw an old woman with a dry figure and a gray cloth, but her face could not be seen standing quietly behind him.

"Ah!" Zhou Tong screamed instinctively, his whole body hurriedly retreated, and he fell unsteadily on the wire bed, and Wang Hong's photo slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

"Who are you?" Seeing Zhou Tong's exaggerated reaction, the old woman couldn't help asking.

Zhou Tong fell down in shock, and from the bottom to the top, he could see clearly the wrinkled black face of the old woman through the dim light.

"So it's not a ghost." Zhou Tong touched his chest, and then regained his breath.

"You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about? What are you doing here furtively?" The old lady got angry when she heard Zhou Tong's inexplicable answer.

"Old man, standing behind me like this will scare people to death!" Zhou Tong got up from the wire bed in embarrassment, straightened his clothes before continuing: "I am a good friend of Wang Hong, and I am here to visit her today. parents."

"They moved away a month ago..." When the old woman was speaking, she suddenly saw the photo that had fallen on the floor, and bent down to pick it up. "This child is so pitiful. Is there anything he can't think of to commit suicide? I don't know her Her parents hurt her so much, alas, young people nowadays..."

"Old man, do you know where her parents moved to?" Zhou Tong interrupted the old woman and asked.

"I don't know much about this..." The old woman thought for a while before she said: "The government originally demolished this place and allocated us a resettlement house, but they didn't want it. They took the money and left. Alas, it may be because of this child...so I left the sad place..."

Zhou Tong saw that people went to the empty building, and it seemed that there was nothing to do, so he said to the old woman: "Old man, can you give me the photo in your hand, I want to keep it as a souvenir."

The old lady looked at Zhou Tong with strange eyes, and then said with a smile: "This is not my property either. Since they have stayed here, you can take it." After finishing speaking, the old woman handed the photo to Zhou Tong. sun about to rise.

"Grandma, are you the only one left in the whole building?" Zhou Tong took the photo and asked curiously.

"Well, my old lady has been used to living here all her life, and she doesn't want to go anywhere!" The old lady's expression looked stubborn and determined.

"But here..." Zhou Tong pointed around, trying to persuade her, but seeing the old woman's staring eyes, she retracted her words, "Then... I'll go first..."

"Hmm... Be careful when you go downstairs, the stairs are slippery." The old lady seemed to have something to say, but she still politely said goodbye to Zhou Tong.

Zhou Tong nodded, said a few polite words, and left downstairs.All he can think about now is the photo he got, because the date on the photo and the photo in Yan Yongjie's file were taken on the same day, the day before her "suicide".However, the shooting time is different. This one was taken at 22:45 that night, while the other one was taken at 9:30 in the morning.Were the two photos taken by the same person for Wang Hong?The photo in the file was taken by Wang Hong at school, but where is this one?Where did Wang Hong go the day before her suicide?Who are you with?Many questions were suddenly placed in front of Zhou Tong.

"The truth is hidden in many trivial details..." Zhou Tong muttered silently, it was a sentence written in his father's diary.

When Zhou Tong returned home, he found that Yan Yongjie hadn't come back yet. He took out the photo in his arms with peace of mind, and sat at the desk to think carefully.Suddenly, like Columbus discovering the New World, he jumped up excitedly from his chair and took out a magnifying glass from the bookcase next to him.

"Pink Lover..." With the help of a magnifying glass, Zhou Tong finally saw a row of small characters behind Wang Hong on the photo.

"Pink Lover, this bar is not cheap." Zhou Tong stuck out his tongue subconsciously. He still remembered that his cousin once took him to play.Zhou Tong touched his pocket, and his heart turned cold. It seems that there is still half a month of living expenses left to make it through tonight.

Chapter 2
With a yell and a muffled groan, the figures of the two finally separated.Yan Yongjie's face was pale, both arms were scratched by the long sword, bleeding profusely.And the man in black was also punched by Yan Yongjie in the lower abdomen, spewing out a mouthful of blood, which stained the black face scarf red.

"Zhong-guo-secret-zong-quan!" The man in black said every word with a stiff voice.

The night in the city seems to come very fast, and the dreamy and blurred lights make the whole city full of temptation.

Zhou Tong finished eating a bowl of instant noodles, three bananas, two oranges, and a bag of French fries, but Yan Yongjie hadn't come back yet, and he began to miss her, at least the dishes she made.He ate while sitting in front of the TV, watching sensational soap operas until the clock struck ten o'clock in the evening.

"If this continues, I will become a fat pupil." Zhou Tong turned off the TV, then stood up from the sofa, looking at the messy desktop, he couldn't help feeling a little headache, "Okay, I should move around and experience the wonderful Live the night!"

Zhou Tong didn't ride that "BMW" bicycle this time, who would go to a high-end bar in that way, and he occasionally has scruples about such a face problem.Within ten minutes, a taxi took him to Pink Lover.

Pink Lover is indeed an amazing bar in this city, which can be confirmed just by looking at the two rows of welcoming beauties standing at its entrance.

Zhou Tong walked in very gracefully with a smiling face.

The music in the bar was deafening, scattered on several small stages in the venue, coquettish dancers performed seductive pole shows, and the men and women in the audience also twisted their bodies crazily along with the music.

"Hello, sir, is the table set yet?" a beautiful waitress called Zhou Tong's ear.

"No!" Zhou Tong lost no time in turning his head and kissed the soft and fragrant ear of the waitress.

The waitress didn't have much reaction to Zhou Tong's frivolous behavior, she seemed a little accustomed to it, she led Zhou Tong to a corner table swiftly.

"Sir, can I sit here?"

Zhou Tong smiled and nodded.

"What would you like to drink?"

"Chivas Regal." Zhou Tong put on the appearance of a rich young master.

The waitress looked around Zhou Tong, confirmed that he was the only one coming, and continued to ask, "Do you need someone to accompany you?"

Zhou Tong still smiled, put his arm around the waitress' waist, and nodded calmly.

The waitress slid out of Zhou Tong's arm very professionally, said: "Please wait a moment." Then she turned and left with a smile.

After a while, a young girl in a sexy dress came over with the wine that Zhou Tong wanted.

"Hi, handsome guy, do you want to mix green tea or black tea?" The girl raised Chivas Regal and shook it in front of Zhou Tong's eyes.

Zhou Tong hugged the girl very skillfully, and said close to her face, "Beauty can drink whatever she wants."

"Your mouth is really sweet." The girl skillfully mixed the wine and toasted Zhou Tong.

Zhou Tong drank the wine in one gulp, and then asked, "What's the name for a beautiful woman?"

"You can call me Jiajia." After the girl finished speaking, she poured a glass of wine for herself and Zhou Tong, "What about you?"

"Me? My name is Handsome." Zhou Tong teased casually, and picked up the wine glass and returned to Jia Jia for a glass of wine.

In such a place, everyone knows very well that no matter what is said, the chance of telling the truth is close to zero.

"What do you want to play, fist guessing or dice?" Jiajia picked up the dice with one hand, and made a fist with the other to make two gestures.

"Dice." Zhou Tong showed a treacherous smile.

The girl's movement of rolling the dice was very skillful and graceful, while Zhou Tong seemed a lot clumsy, but fortunately, the game is not about whose movements are more beautiful, but who is more treacherous.On this point, Zhou Tong did not lose to anyone.

The outcome was soon decided, Zhou Tong won more than he lost, and Jia Jia drank most of the bottle of wine. Her blushing face and blurred eyes clearly showed that she was a bit overwhelmed.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Zhou Tong decided to get down to business.

"Jia Jia, how long have you been here?"

"Here? Hehe... It's been almost a year... Let's come again..." Jiajia finished speaking casually, and picked up the dice again.

Zhou Tong opened his mouth wide, pretending to be surprised, and said, "Impossible, I come here often, why haven't I seen you before?"

Jiajia put down the dice in her hand, stretched out two fingers, and pinched Zhou Tong's nose, "Liar, you definitely don't come here often, otherwise I will definitely remember you!"

"I won't lie to you, I used to come here with a friend." Zhou Tong dodged back and escaped his nose from her hand.

Jia Jia looked at Zhou Tong carefully again under the psychedelic lights, finally shook her head, and said drunkenly, "I haven't seen it before..."

"Then have you met my friend?" Zhou Tong took out Wang Hong's photo and handed it to Jiajia.

"No..." Jiajia was about to wave her hand, but when she saw the person in the photo clearly, she felt as if she had been hit in the head. She froze on the spot, and her eyes that were half-closed also stared.

At this time, Yan Yongjie was also in the manager's room on the second floor of the "Pink Lovers" bar.

"Hello, Manager Mo! I'm an agent of the police station. I have a case that I hope you can help investigate." Yan Yongjie said straight to the point after entering.

After seeing Yan Yongjie's ID, the manager Mo stood up with a big smile on his face and said, "Please sit down! If you need anything, just say it. As long as it is within our capabilities, we will definitely cooperate with the police."

Yan Yongjie took out Hu Fangli's photo and asked, "Have you seen this woman?"

Manager Mo picked up Hu Fangli's photo and looked at it carefully, and then said with certainty: "Yes, she booked a box with us just last night. Because they spent more than 1 yuan here that night, So when I checked out, I personally went to the box to give them a discount and gave them a gift. I remember that she was the one who checked out."

"How many of them are there?"

"Hmm..." Manager Mo thought for a while and said, "There are seven of them, all of whom are girls, and they are all quite pretty." Speaking of this, Manager Mo laughed.

"Do you know what they did in the box?" Yan Yongjie continued to ask.

"I'm not sure about this, but I can help you find yesterday's waiter, maybe she knows better." Manager Mo picked up the phone after speaking, "I want Guo Ni to come to the manager's office."

Yan Yongjie did not expect that Manager Mo would cooperate with the investigation so much, and judging by his expression, he seemed to have no idea what happened to the girl in the photo.

"Officer Yan, may I ask, what happened?" Manager Mo asked curiously.

Yan Yongjie did not answer him right away, but picked up the photo on the table, held it up to Manager Mo again, and then slowly said: "This girl was found committing suicide in the suburbs this morning." Yan Yongjie said When he said "suicide", his tone became a little bit more serious, and he secretly observed the change of expression on Manager Mo's face.

Manager Mo immediately showed a surprised expression on his face, as if he didn't believe it. After a moment of silence, he said regretfully, "It's such a pity. Why did such a young and beautiful girl commit suicide?"

Yan Yongjie didn't answer his question, because she herself wanted to know the answer to this question.

At this moment, a waiter came to the door.

"Manager Mo." The waiter called softly.

"Oh, Xiao Guo, come here. This is Officer Yan. She has some questions to ask you." Manager Mo beckoned her to come in.

When Guo Ni heard that it was a policeman, the expression on her face immediately became a little nervous and restrained.

"Have you seen this girl?" Yan Yongjie showed her a photo of Hu Fangli.

After seeing the photo, Guo Ni nodded, and still said softly: "Yes, I was in charge of the box she was in last night."

"Then did you notice what they were doing in the box when you went in? Especially this girl." Yan Yongjie emphasized while pointing at Hu Fangli in the photo while talking.

Guo Ni thought for a while before answering: "I went in a few times and saw them singing, dancing, drinking, and then playing guessing games, dice and so on..."

"Did you notice anything special about them?"

"Something special?" Guo Ni tried hard to recall the fragments from last night, and suddenly remembered something, and said, "Ah, I remember one time when I was delivering wine to them, they were playing Tarot cards around the table."

"Are you sure they are playing tarot?"

"Well, it's not wrong. I've played it myself before, and I knew it was a Tarot card at a glance." Guo Ni said with certainty.

Yan Yongjie did not expect to find the clues about the Tarot cards so smoothly, and quickly took out the Tarot cards that Hu Fangli was holding in her hand before she died, and handed them to Guo Ni and asked, "Is it this kind of Tarot cards?"

Guo Ni carefully looked at both sides of the card, and then said with some hesitation: "I didn't look too carefully at the time, but judging from the size of this card and the pattern on the back, it should be the kind of tarot card they played last night. , it's just..." Guo Ni hesitated to speak when she said this.

"Just what?"

"It's just... I've never seen a card like this... a smiling Reaper... I've seen a lot of Tarot factions, but I've never seen a Reaper card like this." Guo Ni held the card in her hand. Tarot cards, said a little puzzled.

Yan Yongjie also knew very well that this tarot card was really different. She checked almost all manufacturers of tarot cards in the country, and none of them made a card that was identical to this kind of card.

"Is the tarot card they played last night still here?"

"No, they took it away when they left."

"Did you see any of them take the cards?"

"No, when I went in later, I didn't see any Tarot cards."

"When did they leave?"

"It's probably around two o'clock in the morning today." Manager Mo interrupted at this time, and Guo Ni nodded accordingly.

"Well, thank you for your cooperation!" Yan Yongjie knew that there was no need to ask any more questions.Tonight she has already had a huge harvest. Hu Fangli played Tarot cards in the box of this bar before she died, and it is very likely that the Tarot cards she played were the ones she held tightly in her hands after her death. The most important thing now is to find out the whereabouts of the tarot cards they played last night. Maybe along this clue, we can find out the reason for Hu Fangli's "suicide".

(End of this chapter)