Scene 095

"What happened?"
"There’s been a theft at the Qianhao Hotel by Golden Sands Beach."
"Who made the call?"
"Chief Song from the Golden Sands Beach Police Station. The hotel manager went to their station to report it. Inspector Sun Jianyi is already at the scene," Zeng Ping replied.
"So what does Chief Song want—are they asking for our assistance in the investigation?"
"Two rooms at the hotel were burgled. One of them belongs to Tang Yu and Xiang Hongbo. He was worried it might interfere with our case, so he called ahead to give us a heads-up," Zeng Ping explained.
"Tang Yu and Xiang Hongbo’s room getting robbed at a time like this? That’s a bit too much of a coincidence," Li Hui muttered.
"Chief Zheng, should Li Hui and I head over to take a look?" Han Bin suggested.
"Old Zeng, you take the team. If the theft is related to the female corpse case, take over and handle them together," Zheng Kaixuan instructed.
"Understood."
…
Inside a fast-moving SUV, Li Hui was driving, Han Bin sat in the front passenger seat, and Zeng Ping was in the back.
"If He Shirui really fell into the sea from the yacht, do you think Luo Xinghua could be the murderer?" Li Hui asked.
"It’s a strong possibility. Most people rent yachts for a daytime outing, but Luo Xinghua chose to rent one at night. Either the nighttime rate is cheaper, or he had something else in mind," Han Bin analyzed.
"What else could he be thinking?" Li Hui winked.
"You know exactly what I mean," Han Bin said with disdain.
"According to your logic, there should have been only He Shirui and Luo Xinghua on the yacht. They wouldn’t have invited someone else along as a third wheel. That would mean He Shirui’s death has nothing to do with Xiang Hongbo and Tang Yu. So why would they provide a false alibi for him?" Zeng Ping countered.
"Could it be the three of them conspired together to kill He Shirui?" Li Hui speculated.
"And what would their motive be?"
"The biggest problem right now is that we have no evidence. Everything we’re doing is based on speculation," Zeng Ping said.
"Then we need a breakthrough."
"What kind of breakthrough?"
"Who was impersonating He Shirui at the bar that night?" Han Bin asked.
"I think it was probably Tang Yu," Li Hui replied.
"I also think Tang Yu is the prime suspect. What we need to do now is find evidence to prove it. As long as we can show it was Tang Yu pretending to be He Shirui that night, we’ll be able to trace He Shirui’s phone. That would mean Tang Yu is involved in this case," Han Bin said.
Li Hui shook his head. "The bartender, Jiang Anyang, only remembers the fingernails. He can’t recall Tang Yu’s face at all. We can’t convict her just because the nail polish matches, can we?"

"Our misidentification of Tang Yu as He Shirui wasn’t because of the nails," Han Bin said, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and handing one to Zeng Ping. He continued, "The person who impersonated He Shirui that night wore the same blue sleeveless dress. Since He Shirui drowned that day, it means the impersonator wasn’t wearing her clothes. Most likely, the two of them owned the same dress."
Zeng Ping lit his cigarette and took a drag. "Hmm, that’s a good lead for our investigation."
"And the hat," Li Hui added.
"Han Bin, mention this in the group chat. Have Tian Li and Zhao Ming start the investigation from this angle," Zeng Ping instructed.
"Understood."
…
Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at the Qianhao Hotel.
As soon as they walked into the lobby, the receptionist recognized Han Bin and hurried over. "Officer Han, you’re here."
"Where are the officers from the station?"
"They’re inspecting the rooms that were burgled. I’ll take you over," the receptionist offered warmly.
Han Bin nodded, knowing the hotel didn’t want police lingering in the lobby and alarming the guests.
Once the four of them reached the floor where Tang Yu and Xiang Hongbo were staying, they saw two rooms cordoned off with police tape, several officers from the local station standing in the corridor.
"Inspector Sun," Zeng Ping greeted.
"Captain Zeng, you made good time," Sun Jianyi said, coming over to shake his hand.
"Where are the victims?"
"The guest from room 405 has returned. The guest from 406 is on their way back."
Tang Yu and Xiang Hongbo were staying in room 406.
"Was there much stolen?" Zeng Ping asked.
"From room 405, a watch, some jewelry, and over a thousand yuan in cash were stolen. We haven’t confirmed what’s missing from 406 yet," Inspector Sun replied.
"Who reported the theft?"
"The hotel cleaning staff found both room doors open while cleaning. The locks showed signs of being forced. She reported it to the hotel manager," Sun explained.
"Inspector Sun, may we take a look at room 406?" Han Bin asked.
"Of course."
"Thank you." Han Bin put on shoe covers and entered the room.
Soon after, Zeng Ping and Li Hui joined him.

Li Hui looked around. "Tsk tsk, this room is a mess."
"This doesn’t look like a thief’s rummaging," Han Bin said. "It looks more like they just didn’t tidy up."
"How can you tell?"
"There’s a used condom by your foot," Han Bin pointed out. "If they were cleaning, that would have been the first thing to go. If they didn’t even bother with something that personal, do you think they’d tidy up anything else?"
"Ugh," Li Hui recoiled, jumping aside as if he’d stepped on a landmine. For a bachelor, nothing could be more off-putting.
"You learned that from a book?"
"You won’t find that in any book. Pure experience," Han Bin replied offhandedly.
Li Hui stood there, stunned, as if he’d been dealt a massive blow.
He’d never even had a girlfriend.
"Enough fooling around. Get to work," Zeng Ping scolded.
Inside the room was a small anteroom with a mirror, sink, wardrobe, and safe. At the far end, the bathroom was on the left, the toilet on the right.
Zeng Ping looked closely and focused on the safe. "The safe’s been forced open. This was the work of a pro."
Han Bin walked over to the wardrobe, found it open, and took a few photos with his phone. Then he carefully checked each piece of women’s clothing.
"Captain Zeng, we’ve thoroughly searched the room but didn’t find anything useful. It’s probably more effective to check the surveillance footage," Sun Jianyi said nearby.
Han Bin smiled. The hotel’s corridors, lobby, and entrances all had security cameras—he and Zeng Ping both knew that well. They just wanted an excuse to examine Tang Yu and Xiang Hongbo’s room.
"Did the cameras catch any suspects?" Zeng Ping asked, playing along.
"We identified two suspects: one was the lookout, the other committed the theft," Sun Jianyi said, showing them surveillance screenshots on his phone.
The first image showed a tall man wearing a white baseball cap, head down, his face obscured. Only his general build could be seen. He wore a blue T-shirt and jeans.
The second image showed a man in a black cap, tight T-shirt, toothpick dangling from his mouth, and sunglasses.
Li Hui glanced at the photos and shook his head. "Don’t know them."
Han Bin frowned slightly. The second image was of Chen San.