Chapter 13 Chapter 12 Investigating the Magician and Nana

Xia Zicheng and Zhong Mingyue were very puzzled that they could not get any news about Nana from the magician and his assistant.However, I accidentally heard that the accent of the magician and Nana seemed to be the same. When I opened Nana's file, I found that she and the magician were from the same hometown.In the end they knew each other clearly, but pretended not to know each other; or was it just a coincidence.If they knew each other, there was a good chance that the magician was an accomplice and murderer of Mi Lip.At present, there is only this clue for them to investigate.They also found it strange that if the magician knew Nana, the magician's subordinates must have met Nana, but according to the investigation of his colleagues, there was no doubt about it.

On the morning of the third day after questioning the magician, they found him again.He wasn't in the apartment at the time, because he was busy with the magic show that was coming soon, and was discussing with his subordinates. The magician told them the name of the "Snow Edge" cafe, which is located near the shopping mall on Lumo Road.Police cars can be reached directly. Xueyuan Cafe is about 100 meters away from the shopping plaza, and they found it easily. They opened the door and went in, glanced inside, and found that the cafe was not too big, with only one bar and six or seven tables, and the decoration was relatively elegant, making it a good place for young people to fall in love.The business is not very light, there are three tables surrounded by customers.The magician was sitting by the window, lowering his head and whispering to the three men.

When the middle-aged boss at the bar saw the guests coming in, he quickly greeted him with a signature smile.They nodded in silence and walked directly to the magician. The magician looked at them, his smiling expression suddenly became gloomy, and he whispered: "They are coming!" He stood up and waved to them pretending to be calm. "You are all together, so we don't have to bother to make another trip." Sitting down in the empty seat, Zhong Mingyue half-jokingly said. "The two captains, why don't you come here?" the magician said while watching them.

"Oh, we can do it ourselves!" Xia Zicheng felt really sorry for asking them questions without drinking coffee.This kind of place is not noble, but he can still handle it. "What do you need?" Xia Zicheng glanced at Zhong Mingyue. Zhong Mingyue didn't want it at first, but when Xia Zicheng asked, it must be a treat for him, so he waved to the boss without politeness: "Have a cup of coffee, no sugar." The boss nodded silently. Xia Zicheng also ordered a cup of coffee, but asked for sugar. "Sorry to disturb you again." Xia Zicheng glanced at the faces of the four people, and finally his eyes stayed on the magician.

"Helping the criminal police understand the case is the responsibility of our citizens. Although in this society, many people don't want to get into trouble." The magician stirred the spoon in the cup and said lightly. "Very good!" Xia Zicheng glanced at Zhong Mingyue, swallowed, and said, "Let's start. The girl in the photo I showed you earlier is called Nana, and she is the editor-in-chief of "Wolf City" magazine, but It should be the editor-in-chief now. We don't care about her identity, I believe that what you see in the photo is a peerless and beautiful girl, and female stars are nothing more than that."

"Yeah! What a beautiful girl." The other three echoed in low voices. The magician frowned and nodded silently. "According to our criminal police's inquiry, none of you saw this girl appearing at the magic show that night, but someone saw her appearing there. Of course, it's normal for you to perform on stage and not see the people in the audience clearly." Xia Zi Cheng deliberately disclosed this information to them, and watched their reaction. "Oh, really?" the magician was slightly surprised. The other three also showed surprised expressions. "Can you tell us something, what happened to her, and how is she related to us?" one of the thin men said.

"She is currently a murder suspect." "Oh, how could it be? Would such a beautiful girl do such a thing?" The man who was still thin was surprised. "We don't really believe it, but she is indeed suspected. In addition, in order to remove your suspicion, I want to know what happened to you on the night of the 7th." "You don't suspect us, do you?" The four of them almost opened their eyes wide in shock. Seeing their reaction, Xia Zi glanced at Zhong Mingyue.Zhong Mingyue then smiled and said: "Before the case is clear, everyone is suspected. We just want to know what happened that night. Who will tell you?"

The four of them looked at each other, and the magician suddenly said, "Let me do it." "Very good!" The two detectives nodded in agreement. "On the night of the 7th." The magician hesitated for a moment, as if lost in thought, "It was already twelve o'clock in the middle of the night after the magic show, and then the four of us cleaned up, and it was about one o'clock before we finished packing, and then we went straight back to the apartment until dawn." "Can anyone prove it?" "what do you mean?" "Has anyone seen you together during this time?"

"This... When we left Optics Valley, it seemed that a security guard saw it. As for returning to the apartment, it was already late at night, and no one saw it except the security guard registering our car back. I don't think anyone can prove it so late. .” Zhong Mingyue silently recorded it in his notebook.Regarding this clue provided by the magician, he speculated that it was of little use. "When is the time to return to the apartment?" Xia Zicheng thinks this is the most important point. "Let's go back to the apartment at about two o'clock." The magician glanced at the other three people.

The other three nodded silently. "This is weird." Xia Zicheng thought to himself, if the other party returned to the apartment at two o'clock, there would be no possibility of throwing the body there. Xia Zicheng felt that there were no more questions to ask, so he glanced at Zhong Mingyue.Zhong Mingyue nodded in understanding. "Okay, let's stop here today, maybe one day I will find you again, and everything will be troublesome." Xia Zicheng stood up, his eyes still lingering on them. "You're welcome!" the magician smiled. Zhong Mingyue picked up the bill and wanted to turn around, but was unexpectedly snatched away by the magician.

"Why do you have to deal with this matter?" "That's really embarrassing." Zhong Mingyue nodded gratefully, and then walked out of the cafe with Xia Zicheng. "If I had known they would pay the bill, I wouldn't have ordered coffee." Zhong Mingyue patted Xia Zicheng on the shoulder and said with a smile. "Yeah, it's rare for someone to treat you." Xia Zicheng also expressed regret. After coming out of the cafe, they went directly to Milan Street in Optics Valley, and asked which security guard saw the four magicians leave that night on the 7th.It just so happened that the security guard on duty that night was at work. According to his recollection, he did see the four of them leave around one o'clock that night, but he was a little puzzled. Originally, the magic tools they performed could be brought back the next day, but they were taken away that night.As for the magic tools, they are very complicated, and he has no right to check the large and small boxes. After getting this clue, Xia Zicheng deduced that the magician killed Mi Lip, or in other words, after the four people killed Mi Lip, they put her in the toolbox and waited until the performance was over before they put the deceased into the car, and then mysteriously pull away. They then went to the apartment where the three lived and questioned security.The security guard then took out the surveillance video of that night, and they did drive into the apartment at about two o'clock. "If that's the case, they all have alibi, that is to say, they are not suspects." Zhong Mingyue looked at Xia Zicheng with a worried face. "There is another possibility that the security guards and surveillance video didn't see the four of them coming back." Xia Zicheng analyzed with his brows furrowed. "You mean one of them wasn't in the car." "I thought so." "I hope I'm right." "In that case, they would have colluded in advance." "Probably." Of course, they couldn't let go of the apartment next door, but the result of the investigation was as expected. It was so late, everyone except the lunatic should be sleeping. It has been more than half a month since the case happened, and the suspect and murderer have basically been identified.In order to confirm the relationship between Nana and the magician, they decided to go to Xi'an.As for Li Tiaotiao's situation, it seemed that the murderous maniac deliberately frightened him, and the detective Chen Min and others who followed him mysteriously did not find any suspicious signs. If their reasoning is correct, the massacre may be the magician, or one of the sorcerer's minions. Before setting off, they contacted the criminal police in Xi'an, and it happened that the captain of the criminal police in Xi'an was Xia Zicheng's senior, named Su Jian.After they finished calling, an hour later, a piece of news came from Su Jian that surprised them. The direct flight from the ancient city of Hankou to Xi'an departs at 8:15 and arrives in Xi'an at 9:20. After getting off the plane at Xi'an Airport and walking out of the reception passage, I saw Senior Su Jian waving to them beside the police car.Xia Zicheng quickly walked over, shook hands with him, and introduced Zhong Mingyue.Standing beside Su Jian is a criminal police officer in police uniform, who is Su Jian's right-hand man. "It's been a long time!" Su Jian smiled, showing his white teeth. "Well, it's been a long time, from graduation to now." Xia Zicheng looked at the senior, and found that his tall figure had hardly changed, he still had bright eyes and white teeth, and he was the prince charming in the eyes of school girls. Xia Zicheng was a model student in the police academy at the time, so he had a good impression on Su Jian, so when he heard it was Xia Zicheng on the phone, he immediately remembered it. Zhong Mingyue quickly took out the cigarette case and handed it over to them.The three of them each took out one and held it in their mouths, Zhong Mingyue took one back and took it, and Xing Jing beside Su Jian lit a fire for them. After some conversation, Su Jian's men drove the car, and Zhong Mingyue sat in the passenger seat and provided him with the address. Xia Zicheng and Su Jian sat in the back and chatted freely, mostly talking about their impressions of their student days in the police academy and their mutual admiration.Xia Zicheng knew that at that time there was a school belle named Lin Duoduo, who was very pure, and her relationship with Su Jian really envied many male and female students, including Xia Zicheng. "Is Captain Su married now?" Su Jian was stunned by Xia Zicheng's sudden question.He frowned slightly, as if lost in thought.Seeing him like this, Xia Zi has guessed his current situation. "After graduating from the police academy, I dated Lin Duoduo for three years, but because we finally talked about marriage, she chose someone else. One day, she suddenly told me that the person she really liked all this time was not I, but my classmate, is now in the same unit as her. The reason why I chose to be with me at the beginning was just because I was young and impulsive. Although I like her, I don’t want to keep a woman who doesn’t love me by my side. So I chose to give up." Xia Zicheng nodded silently, thinking that this kind of love story has been heard a lot, but he never expected it to happen to him. It takes about five hours to travel from Xi'an Airport to Fenghuang Town, the hometown of Nana and the magician.On the way, they stopped at a roadside restaurant and had a late lunch before setting off.The closer he got to the small town, the more Xia Zicheng wondered what it would be like to see their family members. Clothes of various colors hung on the gray, gloomy, damp balcony, and there were monotonous potted flowers, most of which were jasmine, under the balcony.Below is a narrow alley.Smoke from boiling water rose from inside.Fortunately, the snow has melted, but there is still a biting cold wind blowing from there. The four of Xia Zicheng walked inside according to the approximate location provided by the man at the intersection. "This is the house." Hearing Zhong Mingyue's voice, Xia Zicheng looked over, and his finger was on a raw pound house number in front of the door, which could be vaguely seen as No. 18, Fifth Lane. The doorbell rang for a while, and there were soft footsteps from inside. "Who is it?" A woman's hoarse voice came out. "Is it Wang Zijian's house?" Zhong Mingyue replied clearly. The door opened a small crack, and a woman with silver-white hair came out: "Who are you?" Zhong Mingyue took out the criminal police certificate, and turned to the page of the certificate: "We are the police." "Police?" The woman opened her eyes in shock, "What's the matter?" "Is this the home of the magician Wang Zijian?" "good." "Then you are his mother." "Please come in and talk." The woman opened the door. They followed the woman into the room and found that the room was rather dark and the lights were still on in broad daylight.A living room with a kitchen and bathroom. The woman beckoned them to sit down on a row of chairs, then turned around and poured tea over: "There's nothing to greet here." Xia Zicheng saw her with her head down, her silvery white hair receding slightly, her thin face, her eyes were cloudy when she raised her head, she looked about fifty-five years old. "May I ask what happened to Wang Zijian?" The woman looked timidly at the criminal police present. "At present we suspect that he is related to a murder case, but according to our investigation, he was just being used by others." Zhong Mingyue glanced at Xia Zicheng, saw him nodding, and said directly. "No way...Although this child has been gloomy and silent since he was a child, he probably won't kill people." The woman shivered and murmured to herself. "According to our investigation, Wang Zijian was not born in this family, was he?" "Oh...you know this too." The woman raised her head and stared at Zhong Mingyue in surprise. "This is our job, of course we will investigate clearly in advance." "Yes, I am actually Jian's adoptive mother. Because his parents passed away very early and he had no relatives, I was a friend of Jian's mother. I saw that he could not survive alone, so I adopted him, not to mention that I have no son. " "His parents passed away very early? How old was Jian at that time? Where did he live?" "It's sad to think about it," the woman suddenly lowered her head, her face twitching, "It was a good couple. , but due to misfortune, there was a car accident. I saw Jian’s thin, alone figure kneeling in front of the mourning hall, so I made up my mind to take him in. He was only thirteen years old. He was a very poor child. As for where he lived before, It has been demolished, and the address seems to be..." It may be that the memory is gradually recovering, and her words are quicker, and at the same time, her face is full of sadness. "At that time, Jian gave you the impression that apart from being thin, there was also..." Zhong Mingyue asked while writing down the address. "It may be that his parents passed away early, and his personality was gloomy and silent. He hardly talked to anyone, but it may be that I took him in and was his benefactor, so he treated me better. As for the child's Thinking, he never told others casually like other children, even me." The eyes of the silent Xia Zicheng and Zhong Mingyue met again, thinking that Wang Zijian was indeed suspected of murder.According to their criminal experience, people who are often gloomy and have complex expressions may murder people who are happy because they are not satisfied with reality.Such cases are not uncommon. "Later, how did he think of learning magic performance?" Zhong Mingyue still asked. "Becoming a famous magician has been his dream since he was a child, so after graduating from high school, he had no intention of staying in school, so he went to Taiwan to study magic performance, and only came back two years ago, but being a magician requires Not a celebrity, it is really difficult to get ahead, these years, he has only led a few assistants, living a life that is not satisfactory, or it can be said that he is not satisfied with the status quo." "It is true that not every magician can become famous, just like our criminal police, we have always been the object of no one's attention." "Oh, maybe." The woman thought for a while, and then said, "About Jian, I can only provide you with these clues, and I don't know the rest." Xia Zicheng, who was sitting next to him, had already carefully looked at everything in the room. Suddenly, he stared at the trash can diagonally opposite, and saw an eye-catching shopping bag on the trash can. The word "Department Store" immediately brightened the eyes. "Auntie, is Wang Zijian going home recently?" Regarding Xia Zicheng's sudden question, she immediately stared at Xia Zicheng in surprise, then rested her eyes on the shopping bag, and said with anxiety in her eyes: "Yes, he came back yesterday. Come back and visit." "Oh, really? But I heard that he will have a performance soon, can't he go home after the performance? Why did he go home suddenly?" Xia Zicheng didn't express his thoughts, but he felt very strange. "Oh, that's right," he said. Zhong Mingyue felt that there were no questions to ask, so she habitually glanced at Xia Zicheng, and saw him nodding in silence, as if saying, "The above topics can end here."He took out a notebook from his arms and handed over a beautiful photo of a girl: "Does Auntie know this girl?" The woman took the photo and looked carefully at the light.They sighed helplessly. "What a pretty girl, but I don't know her." Just as they expected. Seeing that there were no questions to ask, they said their farewells, and then went out from the woman's gloomy house and walked along the alley. Xia Zicheng raised his doubts just now, and the three of them also found it very strange, but it is normal for a son to come back to visit his mother, even though he is an adoptive mother. "But it's a bit strange. When I noticed that the shopping bag asked the question, her expression was obviously surprised. Why?" "You mean that she doesn't want to tell us that her adopted son has come back." Zhong Mingyue said. "maybe." "What should we do now?" Zhong Mingyue looked at Xia Zicheng as soon as he got into the police car. "I think we should investigate Nana's family first to see if her family members recognize Wang Zijian. After all, Wang Zijian has been away from his hometown for many years. Even if he finds someone who is familiar with Wang Zijian, it will be difficult." Su Jian, who has been silent all the time, made a suggestion.The three nodded silently. It looks like a smoky shabby house all around, located in the west end of the small town.The houses in this area were first built in the 1970s, and can be said to be the oldest houses in the city.There are only a few poor families living here, and those who have some money to live on may have moved out, and some who have feelings are unwilling to move out.But with the development of society, nostalgic people are only some old people. A group of three people followed the guidance of passers-by and stopped at the intersection of the west district.Xia Zicheng looked at his watch, and the time slowly moved towards five o'clock. Passers-by are bustling on the road, fruits and vegetables are placed on the side of the road, or some small commodities are lined up.Bicycle bells rang from all around, but cars were rare. As soon as the sensitive police car stopped, it immediately attracted everyone's suspicious eyes. They asked one of the middle-aged men according to the account address provided by Nana. After the man looked at the address carefully, he pointed to an alley in front very familiarly: "Go in from there, the fifth house on the left row is Yes. But at this time," he glanced at the old-fashioned watch, "she should be off work, but she may not be home yet, you can wait here." "Him?" Xia Zicheng stared at the muddy eyes of the middle-aged man with puzzled eyes. "It's just a widow living there, named Xiao Rong, who works as a cleaner in a nearby supermarket. Did something happen to her?" The man leaned over and asked in a low voice, looking up at Xia Zicheng. "It's nothing, I just want to ask her about her daughter. What do you mean when you say she is a widow?" Xia Zicheng took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed him a cigarette, and lit it for him.He doesn't smoke himself. The man took a sharp breath, then took a deep breath, shook his head and sighed: "If you talk about her, she is really a poor woman. Her husband was a few years ago, no, it should be said to be her ex-husband... because I heard that she had divorced that man for a while, and then she was a woman. Passed away." "Ex-husband? Do you know how he died?" "I heard that her husband was addicted to gambling, that's why she filed for divorce. She moved here from a small town in the countryside about fifteen years ago. As for the cause of her husband's death, I heard that he was forced to commit suicide because he owed a whole lot of gambling debts." "Suicide? Owing huge gambling debts, suicide is also a normal phenomenon, but after they move here, will the ex-husband follow them?" The man looked around and saw many eyes looking at him, so he lowered his voice even more: "I've seen it a few times, she was so thin that I wondered if she was smoking that kind of thing. That woman was pitiful with a child, and she just Working as a small worker in a supermarket, it is very difficult to make ends meet, and her ex-husband would come to blackmail her every once in a while, it’s really not a thing.” The man dropped the cigarette on the ground and stamped it out with the sole of his foot. It seems that after a woman pays her salary, her ex-husband will appear. This kind of situation is not uncommon in China, and no one hates such a little boy.He didn't speak his mind. "Is that girl the one in the photo? Take a serious look." Xia Zicheng took out the photo and held it under his eyes. "The girl in the photo is so beautiful!" The man's eyes widened in surprise, flashing with fascination. This girl is really attractive!The corners of Xia Zicheng's mouth twitched, and his brows raised slightly. "She shouldn't be wrong about this. Even after more than ten years, if she appeared in front of my eyes, I would still be able to recognize her." The man looked at it carefully and nodded with certainty. "Can't go wrong?" "Won't." "very good." Xia Zicheng put the photo back into his pocket, and the man's eyes dimmed for a moment, returning to their original eyes. "What's the girl's name, do you know?" Xia Zicheng asked deliberately. If the answer is correct, there will be no mistakes. "Oh,...Na, by the way, her name is Nana, right?" The man frowned and said after a moment of thought. "True. But do you know this girl?" "After all, it has been a long time. As for her impression at that time, in addition to her natural beauty, I heard that she was also very good at reading, but maybe because she was born in such a family, her personality was relatively gloomy, and she was rarely seen smiling. This is also human It's only natural." He sighed softly as he spoke, seeming to sympathize with the mother and daughter. "Before Nana left the small town, who would her family associate with, such as this person?" Xia Zicheng handed him a photo of a man in his thirties. "Look carefully and see if you remember him. He was originally a young man." , this is what he looks like now." The man looked carefully, and the result was as Xia Zicheng expected, he shook his head: "I have never seen this person before." About fifteen minutes later, they saw Nana's mother in Nana's mother's house. The thin image was really unexpected.For the arrival of the criminal police, her stern expression became even more indifferent.Perhaps women with such misfortune as widows have such gloomy faces. I was not surprised to learn that the detective wanted her to confirm a photo of a man: "I don't know him, and I have no impression at all." For her answer, it was so surprising that the criminals all looked at each other in surprise. If she didn't know Wang Zijian, there was no need to ask Nana about her girlhood. It was already six o'clock in the evening when Nana's mother came out.They found a restaurant directly for dinner, and after each ordered their favorite food, their tense nerves gradually relaxed. "If Wang Zijian and Nana don't know each other, there may be no need to investigate the relationship between Nana and him." Zhong Mingyue said before picking up a piece of carp head with chopsticks and putting it in his mouth. "People from the same hometown, of course there are many people who don't know each other, but they both appeared in the ancient city at the same time, and they were connected to the same murder. In this case, it's a bit strange that they don't know each other." Xia Zicheng didn't look at Zhong Mingyue, his eyes were on the stage flashed on the pork belly. "That's true. If they didn't know each other when they were children or teenagers, then maybe they will know each other when they grow up." Zhong Mingyue spat out the fish skull and licked her mouth, "It's really delicious!" "The food here tastes really good!" Su Jian and another detective nodded in agreement. "Nana finished high school here all the time, and then went to Xi'an to study at university. As for Wang Zijian, he didn't go to university in Xi'an, but went to Taiwan after graduating from high school, so it is impossible for them to know each other during the period." "What about middle school?" Zhong Mingyue found out the notebook, and turned to Nana's and Wang Zijian's middle schools respectively, which were not registered in the same school.He looked at Xia Zicheng and shook his head. "How could this be?" Xia Zicheng was puzzled and muttered to himself in confusion. Su Jian and his subordinates didn't know much about the case, so they couldn't speak. They watched them silently, tapping the table with one hand boredly. Wang Zijian's adoptive mother watched TV absently and alone in the gloomy home. Since her husband died unexpectedly many years ago, she began to live such an unearthly life. Today's surprise visit by the criminal police took her by surprise.If the criminal police hadn't noticed shopping bags in the trash can, she wouldn't have been able to tell the news that her adopted son had returned.She was vaguely worried, whether the criminal police saw something. Worried, she decided to call her son.The telephone is on the table to the right of where she sits.While picking up the receiver, she looked through the phone book, her finger rested on one of the phone numbers, and pressed the number after confirmation.After a few rings, the other end answered. "Mom, what's the matter?" The other end was very happy to receive a call from my mother. "The police came today." "Oh, I see." The other side was stunned for a while, as if very disturbed, but it was also expected. Then, the mother told her son about the investigation by the criminal police, especially about the fabric bag.The son responded in a low voice, telling her to pay attention in the future, but whenever the police came to inquire, she would just do what he wanted.As an adoptive mother, she loves him very much. She doesn't know whether her son killed someone, but no matter what, she can't let others take him away.This is the responsibility of the mother, she thought. Two days ago, her son called back suddenly and said that he would go home in person. She was so happy that she almost stayed up all night.Since her son came back from studying in Taiwan, she never had the chance to meet him again, so longing to meet him has become her dream. It was already seven o'clock in the evening, when she heard the doorbell ringing, she was anxiously waiting in the room, and walked quickly to open the door, and it was her son who came back. "Mom." The son called softly, and then stepped in. "It's back!" She was so excited that she felt her hands trembling.After the son put down the things he was carrying on the stage in front of the TV, he looked at the house quietly for a while, as if he had returned to a warm home, and said with special emotion: "It's true that I haven't been back for a long time. Is mom okay?" He said He turned and looked at his mother. "It's okay, it's okay!" She suppressed her emotions, her voice choked with sobs. "Mom, sit down!" The son pulled her to sit on the opposite chair, "I came back this time because I have something to discuss with my mother." "Oh, tell me, tell me!" She murmured with trembling hands. "Does Mom still remember Nana?" He hesitated for a moment, still looking into his mother's deep eyes. "Nana? It's that beautiful girl, the girl you secretly dated in middle school," the mother suddenly laughed with a puzzled expression on her face, "Have you been dating her all the time?" "That's right." "That's really wonderful. She's such a beautiful girl. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her. I really hope she can be my daughter-in-law!" "I'll talk about it later, but I have something wrong with her now, maybe the police will come to ask you about me and her, but don't worry, mom, you just need to say that we don't know each other, you know?" "Something happened?" The mother's eyes widened in surprise, and she panicked when she mentioned the police. "It's not a very important thing. Mom, just remember that no matter how the police ask you, you always say that you have never seen me dating Nana. Of course, the police are very thieves, so when they ask questions, you have to be calm. It’s okay, you can’t show your feet and let them see the clues, I believe my mother can do this.” "Of course, of course." Mother whispered bewilderedly.She guessed that something serious happened to her son, or else she would ask the police to come forward. As my son expected, the police came to the door a day later. Of course, she prepared according to her son's wishes. Sure enough, the police left after asking nothing, but the shopping bag left by her son really surprised her.