This girl was Song Yiren's assistant. I could tell from her micro-expressions that everything was normal.
At this point, Xie Chuchu found the mobile phone on the deceased. However, it was password-protected. He Xin quickly unlocked it on the spot, and we saw a lot of messages appear inside. There was also one that Song Yiren received just before she died: "I'm here, don't go down yet!"
These few words confirmed why Song Yiren hadn't gone downstairs at the time.
This phone number was not saved, and Song Yiren hadn't even recorded it. It seemed to be a stranger. But why did she listen to the other party's words?
Perhaps she knew who it was but deleted the number for some reason.
In this situation, the sender was very likely Song Yiren's former lover, a persistent pursuer, or even an enemy.
I couldn't confirm this yet. The nature of the case was becoming more serious. It started with just assault, and then gradually escalated to deaths, two of them, and both were actresses playing the female lead.
The person who interacted most with the female lead was He Qiming. Xiao Yuande had already spoken with him, but his answers were always normal, and his emotions were very calm.
This guy seemed to be even more cautious in front of others, so questioning him wouldn't be effective.
To reveal his facade, we had to continue gathering evidence. Even if he wasn't involved in this case, his suspicion always remained.
I asked Liu Yuning to investigate Song Yiren's relationship with He Qiming. Then, we took the bodies back. The scene investigation was also concluded. Since many people had been here before, there weren't many useful pieces of evidence to find. The marks on the windowsill were obvious, easier to discover than last time. If it was the same perpetrator, shouldn't they have been more cautious with their previous experience?
This time it shouldn't be He Qiming, but it's possible he hired someone.
Back at the police station, Song Yiren's family soon arrived. Upon learning that she died because of filming "The Grand Judge of the Southern Song Dynasty," Song Yiren's parents became very agitated. They demanded compensation from the production crew.
I asked Gao Mingqiang and others to calm them down, then instructed Xie Chuchu to perform the autopsy. Liu Yuning and I went to a former agency where Song Yiren used to work. A person in charge named Liang Jianshu told us, "Song Yiren was originally contracted with us, but she was poached later. However, we never saw her interact with He Qiming. At that time, He Qiming was still at the company she was currently in."
"Did Song Yiren have any enemies?" I asked.
"Here, her status was very low, and she was always bullied. A director wanted her to go for a casting couch, but she refused. Nowadays, if your background is not good enough, you have to do this to get ahead, right? Relying on talent! That's completely nonsense!"
"I don't want to hear this. How was your relationship with Song Yiren?" I said impatiently.
"Mine? It was average. To be honest, because she was very attractive, I had thought about that before, you know. But she just didn't agree. Later, when she left, I even sarcastically said that someone as honest as you can only play minor roles your whole life. Who knew that she became famous just a few years after leaving? At that time, I thought, had she finally figured it out and used the method I suggested?"
"Is that how it has to be in the entertainment industry? I remember Song Yiren had very few scandals. She became famous through her talent!" Liu Yuning retorted angrily.
Liang Jianshu shook his head, "Then I don't know. Anyway, I don't understand how Song Yiren died. Think about it, if she was truly pure and chaste, how could she have been murdered? She must have offended someone!"
Although Liang Jianshu's words were a bit sharp and mean, they weren't entirely unreasonable. Liu Yuning, who was about to continue speaking, was pulled back by me.
We walked out of the company. Liu Yuning said indignantly, "What Liang Jianshu said was too nasty."
"Get used to it. People in the entertainment industry are mostly like this. We should investigate the people who had the most contact with Song Yiren recently, especially those she had conflicts with."
"I've had Xiao Yuande and Xiahou follow up on this. The entire company will be investigated."
"I hope Director Yan doesn't continue filming. Honestly, this guy is completely blinded by profit."
"What if he still wants to continue filming?"
"Then I'm definitely not going. Let him handle it himself!"
"How can that be? You're a police officer now!"
As we were chatting and driving back to the station, Liu Yuning's phone rang. She put it on speakerphone, and Xiahou's voice came from it: "Captain Liu, we've investigated. Song Yiren's assistant has a problem. They've been arguing frequently lately. The employees even saw Assistant Liu push Song Yiren once, but she didn't fire her."
"Hmm? That's strange. An assistant dares to lay hands on the celebrity herself? Interesting. Did you bring this person in?"
"Yes, we're waiting for you!"
Back at the police station, Liu Jingtian, Song Yiren's assistant, was already waiting in the interrogation room.
Although she wasn't handcuffed, Liu Jingtian looked quite nervous.
I sat down and said to her, "According to our investigation, you had significant conflicts with Song Yiren. What was the reason for this?"
"I... I don't want to say!"
"You should know what this place is, right? Don't you understand the eight characters behind me?"
"Officer He, I know you're a good person, but some things, if exposed, will do no good to anyone!"
"Oh? It sounds like you know some earth-shattering secret."
"That's right, my relationship with Song Yiren was indeed not good, but do you know why?"
I didn't answer, waiting for her to continue.
"Because... because I was the one who introduced Song Yiren to Director Yan back then. I never expected this guy to become famous overnight, while I could only remain an assistant. Director Yan was really doing it on purpose, making me her subordinate. Wasn't that deliberately trying to humiliate me?"
"So, you're the one who killed her?" Liu Yuning pressed.
"No! I didn't kill anyone. I admit I had conflicts with Song Yiren, and I even hit her, but I would never do something like that. Even if I wanted to, I didn't act!"
"You want to? You really wished she were dead!" I emphasized.
Liu Jingtian shook her head vigorously, "Wanting and acting are two different things. The law doesn't stipulate that one should be held responsible for wanting to kill someone!"
"I know. Now I'm going to ask you a serious question, and you must answer truthfully. Do you understand? Absolutely no lying!" I looked directly into Liu Jingtian's eyes.
"Okay, ask away, Officer He!"
"Did Song Yiren and He Qiming know each other from before?"