Chapter 879: An Indisputable Murder?

Mary Wei asked, “Why are you asking about these things? Oh, I think I understand now. Although it sounds a bit unbelievable, it must be that Tao Yueyue liked Liang Zuoming…” The little girl hesitated, “No, no, that can’t be true!”

For a moment, Lin Dongxue thought the girl had guessed the truth, but Mary Wei continued, “How could Tao Yueyue like someone as rotten as Liang Zuoming?”

“What? What did you say?” Lin Dongxue was surprised.

“Think about it. If Tao Yueyue didn’t like him, why would she worry about his safety that day? That’s why she was so upset after Liang Zuoming was hit by the car and didn’t come to school. It’s like in those TV dramas where two people are at odds but slowly develop feelings for each other. It must be like that!” The little girl was absolutely convinced. Faced with this logic, Lin Dongxue could only smile wryly.

Lin Dongxue didn’t think it necessary to meet with Yueyue’s teacher and decided to leave. Xiao Li called the office to inquire about the autopsy progress, then shook his head at Lin Dongxue, “The autopsy might take a while. Zhou Xiao killed a bunch of people in the villa, and Captain Peng is overwhelmed.”

“We have no choice but to wait. We’re used to Captain Peng quickly giving us the autopsy results. Now I realize he always made an effort to prioritize our team’s cases, pushing aside other tasks to help us.”

“Yes, Captain Peng is a great person,” Xiao Li sighed. “By the way, this morning, Captain Peng autopsied Lie Guoxiao’s body. I overheard the task force discussing it. They mentioned that Lie Guoxiao had defensive wounds and Zhou Xiao’s DNA on him. They might have fought, and it seemed quite fierce… Am I being too harsh calling him Lie Guoxiao? After all, he is your…”

“No, it’s fine. I never considered him family.”

“It’s extreme to say, but sometimes ‘father’ can mean ‘hero,’ and sometimes it can mean ‘enemy.'”

“That’s true.”

“But whether he’s a hero or an enemy, being killed leaves a daughter feeling unsettled…” Xiao Li sighed, thinking of her recently cremated father.

“You’re right!” Lin Dongxue also felt a connection. She had thought about seeing Lie Guoxiao one last time, but finding Tao Yueyue was more important. Considering their limited manpower, they couldn’t afford distractions.

Shaking off these thoughts, Lin Dongxue said, “Let’s check the scene!”

“Okay!” Xiao Li readily agreed.

The road where the accident happened was busy with traffic. Even if there was evidence, looking for it on the street was dangerous. Lin Dongxue thought it better to come back at night.

But since they were already there, they couldn’t leave empty-handed. Lin Dongxue looked around. The area was an intersection with many traffic cameras. To view those recordings, they’d need to go to the traffic bureau, which was currently crowded with officers chasing Zhou Xiao.

She searched for private surveillance cameras and found one on the exterior wall of a building.

The second floor of the building housed a Japanese restaurant, which was empty at the moment. Lin Dongxue entered and asked the owner to check the surveillance footage. Seeing the police, the owner was initially nervous, but he relaxed when he realized they were investigating the child’s accident from a few days ago.

A chef passing by said, “I know that kid. Every afternoon, I chop cabbage by the window and see him riding a bike without mudguards, weaving through traffic recklessly, even grabbing car mirrors. I bet the boss he’d get hit by a car sooner or later. Didn’t I call it?… Boss, you owe me a hundred bucks!”

The owner frantically waved his hands, “What are you talking about? There’s no such bet!”

The two argued over the bet, and Lin Dongxue interrupted, “Was there anything unusual that day?”

“Unusual?” The chef scratched his head and arranged cigarettes on the table, “Well, the unusual thing is that the kid was on this side of the road but got hit by a bus coming from the other side. Who would suddenly turn left on the road unless they were suicidal!”

The owner said, “If he hadn’t been hit by the oncoming car, the accident wouldn’t have been so serious. It must have been a large vehicle blocking the view, and he crossed over without seeing the oncoming car. Head-on collisions often happen that way.”

“No, no, there was no large vehicle on the road at that time. I clearly remember.”

“Were you chopping vegetables or watching the road?”

The two began arguing over this detail. Lin Dongxue didn’t want to intervene and started watching the surveillance footage with Xiao Li.

In the footage, Liang Zuoming was riding his bike from the east at 5:23 PM. About ten meters from the intersection, he suddenly turned left and was hit head-on by a bus. He was thrown about half a meter, and then the bike and his body were dragged a short distance under the bus. The rear wheel clearly ran over him, causing the bus to jolt up and down as it hit his body.

The driver had been braking since the collision, but it was too late. Other cars also stopped, and people started gathering, forming a circle around the accident.

“That’s brutal!” Xiao Li shook his head.

“The angle isn’t great,” Lin Dongxue said. The view was obstructed by a bus stop and a large advertisement board, blocking the moment of the accident.

As they continued watching, Lin Dongxue saw Tao Yueyue running over. She stopped at the edge of the crowd, covering her mouth in shock.

This scene pained Lin Dongxue. She kept thinking, “Stupid kid, why did you do this? There’s never a justification for murder!”

“Let’s watch it again!” Xiao Li suggested, rewinding the video.

After watching five or six times, Xiao Li said, “I find it odd. The kid had no reason to turn left here. How did he suddenly fall to the left side of the road? If the bike’s wheel got stuck, he would fall forward, right?” Xiao Li mimicked the bike tipping forward.

“When riding or driving, you constantly adjust your direction. The sudden fall suggests an abrupt force,” Lin Dongxue admitted reluctantly, “The most likely cause is the ‘murder hook’ Yueyue made.”

“Yeah, but what does this ‘murder hook’ look like? The diary didn’t detail it.”

“It must be a simple yet effective device,” Lin Dongxue pondered.

Chen Shi called, asking about their progress. Lin Dongxue said, “Not much. We just left Yueyue’s school and are reviewing the surveillance around the scene.”

“If you’re not too busy, come to me. I might have found some evidence!”