How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 310 - 312: The Little Ace Detective_1

Li Qiao moved out of the master bedroom and finally had a good night’s sleep.

The next day at work, Xun Dong teased her about having dark circles, and Ma Ling explained the situation on behalf of Li Qiao.

"Such a thing happened?" Xun Dong took on the matter: "Leave it to me."

Li Qiao: "She operates in the dark, I in the light, and besides, it’s not illegal for her to make ghostly screams in her own house, how will you resolve it?"

"It’s quite simple," Xun Dong said, appearing confident of success.

"Alright, I’ll wait for the good news."

During lunch break, Li Qiao lay down on the desk for a nap and continued to look through the files after waking up.

It was a robbery case from their county, where an old man collecting recyclables was attacked by a masked thief and had his wallet stolen from his trouser pocket.

The wallet contained one hundred and twenty yuan in cash, which was the old man’s earnings from the recycling station over half a year. Since the old man did not get a clear look at the thief’s face, the police were unable to lock down the criminal, putting the case into a stalemate.

Li Qiao then reviewed the detailed investigation notes of the case.

The head of the recycling factory said: It’s unexpected that such a thing would happen right after settling the accounts.

The old man’s friends said: The old man is kindly and has no enemies.

Those who knew the old man had settled accounts were also checked one by one, and all had alibis.

"Any findings?" Ma Ling leaned over to ask.

Li Qiao: "No, are we now involved in cases that do not entail loss of life?"

"Yes, many colleagues next door have been sent out for training, and we’re short-staffed. Why else do you think they called you back?" said Ma Ling. At first, Director Xun did not agree due to concerns it might affect Li Qiao’s studies, but after probing with a letter and receiving a definite reply, Li Qiao was then arranged to join the workforce.

Li Qiao gave a grunt and meticulously read through the case progress again, saying, "This case is quite strange. Suppose I’m the thief; I don’t know the old man, but how could I know which trouser pocket his wallet is in? Look at the old man’s statement, the thief started by throwing a punch at him, then took the wallet from his left trouser pocket and ran. It seems fine at first glance, but upon reflection, it’s odd. I’ve never paid attention to which pocket my partner puts money in, and I still have to check both sides when I need money. Do you know which pocket your parents keep their money in?"

An average person wouldn’t notice such a thing, right?

Unless they had planned to steal the money all along.

It must be someone from his own household, or why else would they be so familiar with the old man’s habits?

Ma Ling: "Now that you ask, I really have no idea."

Li Qiao: "We can observe where Director Xun keeps his wallet, and let’s not hide this from him."

"Agreed."

As they were discussing this, Director Xun entered from outside: "Li Qiao, your neighbor has confessed. She just wanted to scare you and promises not to do it again."

Li Qiao was surprised, "You’re quite efficient. How did she confess?"

"I went to her partner’s factory, and her partner was easy to talk to. He admitted straight away and said he had scolded her but she didn’t listen. Then I threatened to bring her in for disturbing the peace after being reported by someone, and she, fearing the police, confessed immediately and assured that she would not re-offend."

Li Qiao felt relieved. "She knows what’s good for her!" She glanced at his trouser pocket.

Xun Dong quickly perceived the direction of her gaze, thinking she was looking at the middle of his leg, and wrapped his white lab coat around himself: "What are you looking at so randomly?"

Li Qiao denied: "I wasn’t looking at anything."

Xun Dong’s expression was unnatural: "There are over a dozen cases waiting to be investigated. Let’s hurry up." He returned to his office.

....

It took Li Qiao and Ma Ling three days to find out where Xun Dong kept his wallet, which was in the inner left pocket of his white lab coat during working hours.

But after work, he would transfer his wallet to his trouser pocket, and specifically, the right one.

Ma Ling said: "We’re with Director Xun every day, and we never knew where his wallet was. It took us several days of deliberate observation to figure it out. Therefore, I infer that the robber is definitely a family member."

Li Qiao and Ma Ling shared the same view and immediately reported this perspective.

Xun Dong touched his forehead and laughed. These past few days, he had distinctly felt them looking at him more often and thought his charm had bewitched them, but they were actually eyeing his wallet. "Not bad, quite logical. I will inform the superiors of our finding right away."

Xun Dong provided the clue, and the other side was responsible for the investigation.

On Saturday, the team caught the boarding uncle’s own nephew and found a masked balaclava under the mat of his bed, which brought the case to a clear conclusion.

Li Qiao was praised once again, and the uncle’s daughter-in-law brought two pounds of cucumbers to the team to express her gratitude.

Li Qiao, munching on the cucumbers, found them exceptionally sweet.

Ma Ling said, "I get to eat cucumbers thanks to your influence."

Li Qiao laughed, "You deserve some credit too."

"Still, you’re the impressive one." Ma Ling truly admired her; she had reviewed the case files many times and had not noticed any clues.

The case here had been solved, and another case was also making progress.

The situation was this: An employee at a local guesthouse, tidying up early in the morning, discovered a guest in a double room lying in a pool of blood, with all the cash and valuables he had carried, along with his roommate, vanished without a trace.

The only thing left at the scene was a letter of introduction.

They found the person with the address from the letter of introduction, but he was not the murderer.

In other words, the murderer had used someone else’s identity to commit the crime.

Based on the guesthouse employee’s description of the murderer’s appearance, they had learned what the murderer looked like, and that he spoke with a southern accent. However, finding one person in the vast sea of humanity is no easy task.

Li Qiao acquired a map of the transportation routes from the transport department and analyzed that the suspect must have headed north, as the county had many stations with transport heading north, making ticket purchases convenient.

Plus, the north was full of mountains, making it easy to hide.

She suggested to the team to inquire about similar cases in the northern counties.

The next day, news came from a northern county town three hundred kilometers away, where a recent case had occurred with a modus operandi similar to that of their county’s case.

People from both sides immediately organized a meeting to discuss.

The team included Director Xun and Li Qiao, and there was an exchange of information.

Director Xun said, "Li Qiao, have you discovered anything?"

"There’s one thing I really don’t understand: the murderer was able to easily get letters of introduction in two different places, using two different identities. Even if he bought them, he would have to find a seller, right? Normally, craftsmen who can do such things wouldn’t expose themselves, especially not to outsiders with a different accent."

It was a revelation that hit everyone like a wake-up call.

The suspect could very well be capable of making counterfeit seals himself.

Someone said, "But making fake seals requires craftsmanship too."

Li Qiao: "It’s not difficult. I could do it myself after just a few months of contact."

Everyone: "...."

"I think we can narrow the scope to skilled craftsmen who are capable of engraving and speak with a southern accent. Southern accents are very diverse. Even within the same township, the accent can differ from east to west of a river. That’s how it is with our southern classmates at school; people from the same place don’t always speak in the same way," said Li Qiao.

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly sought out the guesthouse employee.

They also brought in a group of people from the south with different accents to repeat what the murderer had said when he entered the guesthouse for the employee to identify.

The employee pointed at one person and said, "It’s almost this kind of nasal accent."

After confirming the accent, they narrowed down the possible city where the suspect might be from.

Based on the characteristics of skilled craftsmen, they quickly zeroed in on a suspect’s identity.

He was a young man from Rice Grain Township in South Feng County named Chou You, who had inherited his family’s engraving skills, but he had already disappeared without a trace.

And during the investigation, new cases occurred, also in the northern counties.

Everyone convened a meeting to discuss the murderer’s next possible move.

When it was Li Qiao’s turn to speak, she said, "If I were the murderer, besides committing crimes along the way, I’d probably seek out relatives in the north. Being a stranger in an unfamiliar place draws attention. Staying with relatives is different; you can say you’re visiting family. Plus, having relatives in a foreign place makes everything more convenient. Why don’t we check if he has any relatives in the northern area?"