"Miss Fei, please calm down. We've dispatched people to protect you, and the killer won't be able to harm you!" Liu Yuning said.
"You must protect me well. I don't want to die. I didn't do anything at the time. Even if Kang Xingqing said something unpleasant, it wouldn't warrant this. I think we must have encountered some pervert!"
"Miss Fei, you don't need to be overly nervous. As long as we're here, you'll be fine. What you need to do now is tell us about Kang Xingqing and that strange man! How much do you know about them?"
Fei Qitong didn't hesitate and said directly, "I'm not familiar with them, especially that strange man. I saw him for the first time, but the ink he splashed on our table was very strange, it was blue-purple. I've never seen such ink!"
"Then what's your relationship with Kang Xingqing?" I continued to ask.
"We're just business acquaintances. We don't see each other often, and strictly speaking, we're not familiar at all!"
As Fei Qitong answered, I couldn't help but observe her micro-expressions and found that she wasn't lying.
It wasn't that I wanted to suspect her, but at this moment, I couldn't completely rule out anyone involved.
After talking with us for a while, Fei Qitong calmed down. Captain Guo had sent quite a few criminal police officers to guard her, and she finally managed to calm down enough to eat and sleep.
Fei Qitong lived with her parents in their old family home. Upon learning about their daughter's situation, the elderly couple was also worried. If it weren't for the reassurance of some female police officers, they would have been restless with anxiety.
Liu Yuning and I were also in the apartment at the time. This place was likely newly purchased by Fei Qitong with her earnings. It was lavishly decorated and had three floors, enough for us to stay for a while. In the morning, we would only send one criminal police officer out to buy food, while the others remained on guard inside.
Two criminal police officers were stationed outside Fei Qitong's room, almost never leaving her side.
Even the area below the windows was guarded. I thought it would be impossible for the killer to get close to Fei Qitong. With some free time, I wanted to continue tracking down the male writer and that strange man.
While in the downstairs bathroom, I called He Xin to inquire about the situation. She told me that they had found the location of Yi Chengwen, the writer. This fellow was currently in talks with a publishing house in Gaogang City. It seemed he had just changed his phone number. He Xin found out that he had recently used his ID card to get a new phone card, and the old one had been canceled.
Liu Yuning and I went to find Yi Chengwen, while Captain Guo stayed in Hunan to keep an eye on Fei Qitong. With him on guard, we could rest assured.
When we returned to Gaogang City, Yi Chengwen had already left the publishing house. According to He Xin's information, he was currently at a hotel. We found the hotel and, after showing our police badges and stating our intention to investigate, the front desk quickly provided us with Yi Chengwen's information. He had booked a room, 802.
We went upstairs and knocked on the door. The sound of typing came from inside; the person seemed busy. For a moment, I didn't want to knock again until the typing stopped. A gentle voice came from inside, "Is that the police?"
The person actually knew the police were visiting!
I quickly replied, "Yes, Mr. Yi, we have some matters to consult with you!"
At that moment, I was still very polite. After a while, Yi Chengwen opened the door, holding a book tightly in his hand. He handed it to me and said, "Officer, you must read my work!"
"You can. Yi Chengwen, did you do all this?"
"Heh heh, that's not what I meant. I know what you're thinking, but I really wasn't at the scene. Don't you know that person is different from me?"
Of course, we knew. The suspect's height and weight seen on the surveillance footage were completely different from Yi Chengwen's, but a person's appearance could be disguised.
"According to regulations, I must take you back. Mr. Yi, would you be so kind as to accompany us?"
Because he was a refined individual, I didn't want to sound too harsh. Yi Chengwen was very cooperative and showed no intention of resisting. However, before leaving his room, he said, "No need for handcuffs, right?"
"Not at this moment," I said, exchanging a glance with Liu Yuning, signaling her not to act impulsively. We wouldn't move until they did.
At this point, provoking Yi Chengwen would only make him more vigilant, especially since we didn't have any concrete evidence yet.
However, we didn't leave Yi Chengwen's room immediately. I asked Liu Yuning to call another police officer to help escort Yi Chengwen to the car, while I searched his room. I collected hair and fingerprints, and even found his laptop still on.
I casually tapped a few keys. A chapter had just been completed and published. He was currently writing a work called "The Trail of Murder Cases." Although its click-through rate wasn't great, the reviews were decent. I opened his author backend and found that this person was very fond of writing crime novels.
His monthly income was only around ten thousand yuan, which was average for an author. His computer also contained some photos, but they were all taken during his solo travels. I didn't see any other people, let alone any victims. However, even if there were before, Yi Chengwen had probably deleted them, or they were not on this computer at all. Yi Chengwen wouldn't be so foolish. With the computer still on, his composure proved that this computer wouldn't contain any useful clues.
I went to the restroom again and found that this fellow hadn't flushed the toilet. Enduring the disgust, I collected a sample. I wondered if he did it on purpose? Otherwise, how could he be so careless? These things could be used to test DNA and other information.
For now, I decided to put it aside and go back first. Seeing me come downstairs, Liu Yuning gave me a look, and I nodded, signaling her to drive back.
In the car, Yi Chengwen said happily, "Officer He, you collected a lot of things in my room, hahaha!"
"Be serious. These are just routine police investigations. Don't be nervous!"
"How can I not be nervous? You'll be verifying my DNA, and what about illnesses, other information, etc.? Ah, I forgot, fingerprints too, right? Also, you'll check if I've taken any medication recently, oh ah hahaha!"
"I think you've read too many crime novels, Mr. Yi. Don't think you understand these things so well. Reality is far from novels!"
"Is that so? I know, sometimes reality is more exciting than fiction, right? Then Officer He, what do you think of the suspense novels I write? Did they scare you!" As he spoke, Yi Chengwen looked at me proudly.