Sweeping Mouse Ridge – Chapter Six : 1

Seven days after Zhou Liping’s arrest, the municipal police bureau held a “midterm meeting.”

According to relevant provisions of the country’s criminal law, even for major suspects in extremely serious criminal cases, the maximum detention period was only fourteen days, after which they must either be released or formally arrested… Of course, after fourteen days, the public security organizations could request the People’s Procuratorate to extend the detention period to thirty-seven days, but they must provide very conclusive evidence.

In the country today, with the continuous strengthening of the rule of law, all judicial institutions were highly responsible, and requests to extend the detention period would face strict review by the People’s Procuratorate. The public security organizations also find this troublesome, so they all hope to “get it done” within fourteen days. Therefore, the period from the arrest of the suspect to the seventh day was considered the “midterm.” If, by this time, the investigation had not made a major breakthrough, and no irrefutable evidence could “cling to justice” against the criminal, then the public security organizations would hold an internal meeting to summarize, review, and adjust the investigation methods, approaches, and directions—this was called a “midterm meeting.”

This was why the “midterm meeting” of the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case was the largest and highest-level meeting in recent years. Besides a host of investigating officers, including Du Jianping, Lei Rong, Lin Fengchong, Chu Tianying, Chai Yongjin, and Sun Kang, the city police chief, Xu Ruilong, was also present. This created immense pressure, and before the meeting even started, Du Jianping had already emptied his enamel mug of tea.

The opening gong was struck by Xu Ruilong, who succinctly stated, “At today’s meeting, comrades, please speak freely and express your opinions, but you must all provide concrete evidence to support your views. Let’s begin!”

The police officers involved in the case quickly split into two factions. One faction, led by Chai Yongjin, advocated for the guilt of Zhou Liping; the other faction, led by Lin Fengchong, believed that the evidence currently available was insufficient to prove Zhou Liping was the true culprit.

The former repeatedly showed video footage from the Qingshikou East Lane traffic light on the projector screen, emphasizing Zhou Liping’s past conviction for serial murders ten years ago, as if everyone else in the meeting room had forgotten it.

The latter not only pointed out no major flaws in Zhou Liping’s testimony but also focused on the question of how he could have disposed of and burned the body and arrived at Xingyu Road in just half an hour, repeatedly stressing that he lacked sufficient criminal evidence.

The two sides argued fiercely, and the scene of dozens of smokers puffing away in the meeting room seemed to simulate the heated debate, causing Lei Rong to cough incessantly.

Xu Ruilong frowned and tapped the table with his finger: “Hey, there’s a woman sitting here. Could you all put out your cigarettes for a bit?”

Like other offices, smoking was prohibited indoors at the Municipal Bureau, but the detectives, working day and night on cases, were so exhausted that they’d often fall asleep at their desks if they did not take a puff during discussions. So the leaders usually turned a blind eye, but this time, the boss really glared at them, and everyone stubbed out their cigarettes.

“Lei Rong,” Xu Ruilong said, “They are making a huge fuss here. What do you think of this case?”

Lei Rong smoothed her short hair at her temples, opened the folder in front of her, looked down at it for a moment, and then slowly said, “The autopsy results have been sent to Director Du and the other officers. There are no new findings so far.”

Xu Ruilong said, “We know all that. I just want to ask you, do you think Zhou Liping’s the real culprit?”

The entire room of officers stared expectantly at Lei Rong: firstly, Lei Rong held immense prestige within the police force; though only in her early thirties, her professional competence commanded the respect of even the more experienced detectives in their forties and fifties; secondly, she was renowned for her high emotional intelligence, never offending anyone with her words or actions. Therefore, everyone was eager to see how she would avoid a binary answer when faced with Xu Ruilong’s question.

Without hesitation, Lei Rong said, “The serial murder case from ten years ago only found Zhou Liping responsible for one case, and it has no connection to the current Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case. As for whether it’s possible to dispose of the body, burn it, and get to Xingyu Road in half an hour, we can only say that the method has not been discovered yet, and it cannot be used as an alibi for Zhou Liping. Both sides have argued for a long time, each with their own viewpoint, but neither has done what Director Xu said—supporting their viewpoint with ‘real evidence.'”

Xu Ruilong nodded repeatedly. The officers in the room were stunned. Chu Tianying could not help but nudge Lin Fengchong next to him: “Dude, stick close to Director Lei; I think she’ll at least become a minister someday.”

He was caught whispering in her ear by Xu Ruilong: “Tianying, what were you saying to Lin Fengchong? No side meetings during the main meeting. Bring your issues up on the table.”

Chu Tianying quickly stood up and said, “Reporting to the Director, I told Fengchong that although we did not find any valuable evidence in that black Spyder, we made a new discovery that deserves our attention.”

Under Chai Yongjin’s persistent questioning, the Sweeping Mouse Ridge traffic police indeed found the black Spyder in the parking lot where illegally parked vehicles were impounded. Normally, the license plates of impounded vehicles were entered into the computer system, and the owner’s information was located before they were notified to claim the vehicle. However, due to the team’s recent focus on the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case investigation, this task was completely forgotten, leaving the car a complete “blind spot.”

This discovery caused a sensation throughout the police force, like finding gold in an abandoned mine. Especially since surveillance footage showed that no one had approached the car after it was towed to the parking lot, meaning it largely retained its “original state” after the incident.

The Special Task Force was initially thrilled, but the criminal case investigation revealed that, aside from traces of three children’s bodies lying in the trunk and a strong smell of alcohol in the cabin detected by the ethanol air detector, no new valuable evidence was found in the car. Most importantly, the steering wheel and door handles had been wiped with disinfectant wipes after the incident, leaving no suspicious fingerprints.

This further reduced Zhou Liping’s suspicion of being the murderer, because if he were the real killer, given his position as a driver and frequent use of the car, leaving fingerprints on the steering wheel and door handles would be normal, and there was no need for such meticulous cleaning under the tense circumstances of that night.

The police were very disappointed, so now, when Chu Tianying mentioned a new discovery, everyone’s attention turned to him.

Chu Tianying took out a transparent evidence bag and handed it to Xu Ruilong, saying, “Chief, this is a receipt we found at the lobby bar of the Hefeng Hotel. It shows that Xing Qisheng ate Australian veal salad, pan-fried foie gras, smoked salmon, and truffle risotto, and also drank a bowl of cream of mushroom soup.”

Xu Ruilong looked at the receipt through the evidence bag: “What does this prove? Is it not exactly the same as the stomach contents of Xing Qisheng that Lei Rong submitted in the autopsy report?”

“The key is that something that should have been there is missing from this receipt.”

“What’s it?”

“According to Zhou Liping’s statement, around 9 p.m. that evening, he received a call from Xing Qisheng, asking him to pick him up immediately from Tongyou Nursery because he was too drunk to drive himself. But here’s the problem: this receipt and the hotel security footage both prove that Xing Qisheng did not drink a drop of alcohol that night!”

In the meeting room, everyone’s face showed astonishment.

“It’s worth noting that when we found the Spyder in the traffic police compound, the doors had not been opened since the Sweeping Mouse Ridge Case. So, the moment we opened the door, there was a strong smell of alcohol. Our air ethanol detector showed it was from a very strong vodka called ‘Don Bass.'”

“Is it possible that Xing Qisheng drank it after leaving the Hefeng Hotel and returning to Tongyou Nursery?” an officer asked.

“That’s the interesting part,” said Chu Tianying. “After discovering the problem with this receipt, we immediately reported it to Director Lei. She told us that the autopsy results for Xing Qisheng showed no alcohol in his blood.”

“Then…” the officer hesitated, then said, “could it be the alcohol that Zhou Liping drank?”

“The surveillance video retrieved from the convenience store downstairs from Zhou Liping’s residence shows that Zhou Liping bought two cans of Yanjing beer on the night of the incident, but not vodka. Moreover, this ‘Don Bass’ is very expensive, almost impossible to find in China, and not something someone like Zhou Liping could afford. Later, we found this liquor in the display cabinet in the office of Tongyou Nursery Director. In other words, the alcohol definitely came from Xing Qisheng.”

The meeting room fell silent. Xu Ruilong pondered for a moment and said, “Tianying, what do you think this proves?”

Chu Tianying, known for his shrewdness and competence, answered concisely and clearly: “Three possibilities. First, Zhou Liping is lying. That night, Xing Qisheng asked him to pick him up at Tongyou Nursery, not because Xing Qisheng was drunk and unable to drive. The specific reason is unclear. When he got in the car, Xing Qisheng brought vodka. After Sweeping Mouse Ridge murdered him, Zhou Liping got into the car, poured the vodka on his clothes, and let it evaporate to create a false impression; the second… is still Zhou Liping lying. There might be a third person in the car. This person might have been drinking in the Director’s office at Tongyou Nursery, and then got into the Spa with Xing Qisheng. But who this person is, where they got off, and whether they are alive or dead are all unknown. The third possibility is that Xing Qisheng is lying. He deliberately tricked Zhou Liping into going to Tongyou Nursery, then poured vodka on his clothes, pretended to be drunk, and got Zhou Liping to take him to Sweeping Mouse Ridge—”

Xu Ruilong interrupted him, “Why would Xing Qisheng do that?”

Chu Tianying shook his head: “I do not know.”

The conference room fell silent.