Chapter 9 Self-help
When Chi Xia and Luo Xun left, they did not take the elevator, but walked up the stairs to the underground garage of the community.
“There are blind spots in the underground garage.”
This time, Luo Xun made a new discovery: "If you are petite and try to hide, you may not be discovered."
Chi Xia was thinking about something at the moment, and she responded to whatever Luo Xun said. Luo Xun didn't realize that the two of them walked around the garage, left Zhang Wen's community, and went to Lin Wei's home.
Lin Wei's house is much smaller than Zhang Wen's, and it is located in an old neighborhood. Its property management is even more backward than Zhang Wen's.
The only thing is that there are more surveillance videos at the entrance of Lin Wei’s community.
Just like Luo Xun said, Lin Wei's house also has many categories of cosmetics and clothing. This time, Chi Xia made a new discovery.
"Zhang Wen's living conditions are much better than Lin Wei's, so it's not easy to see, but Captain Luo, look."
Chi Xia selected some clothes and classified them, pointing to some standard commuter outfits.
"Lin Wei's daily attire is very ordinary, and it seems that she wears these clothes a lot. As for the others, Captain Luo, you can see that, right?"
"Um."
Luo Xun was surprised that they had overlooked this point before, and felt a little annoyed: "Then, Zhang Wen and Chen Li should be in the same situation."
Chi Xia hummed, and when he looked up he said "Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Luo Xun looked over.
Chi Xia looked through the bedroom door at a painting on the living room wall. She pointed and said, "Captain Luo, don't you think this painting looks a lot like the one in Zhang Wen's house?"
The painting in Zhang Wen's house popped up in Luo Xun's mind, and he walked out: "If you hadn't discussed the painting in Zhang Wen's house with me today, I would have thought it was just an ordinary decorative painting."
"Indeed, paintings of the same style are common in the market, often used as living room or bedroom decorations, and sometimes it is difficult to notice them."
Chi Xia said, and then looked at Luo Xun: "Captain Luo, what can you see this time?"
Luo Xun threw the question to her: " Tell me first, what did you see?"
Chi Xia was silent for a few seconds, and then spoke: "A person who is surrounded is enduring the accusations and abuses of the people around him."
Luo Xun laughed: "I wonder how can you, a girl, be so gloomy inside."
He walked forward and stood in front of the sofa. "In my opinion, the protagonist in the painting is resisting the siege. The stream of consciousness thing should not be made so scary, okay?"
"Thousands of people, thousands of faces."
Chi Xia smiled and said, "Could you please take the painting down?"
Luo Xun was a little curious, but didn't ask much. He shrugged, moved a stool over, and took down the painting.
"What do you want to check?"
Chi Xia carefully observed the painting, then turned it over. He seemed not to find what he wanted to see, and his brows were slightly furrowed.
"What are you looking for?" Luo Xun asked her.
Chi Xia didn't answer. He picked up the painting and looked at it closely. Finally, he found what he was looking for in an inconspicuous corner.
She smiled brightly and pointed to a corner of the frame: "Captain Luo, look here."
Luo Xun tilted his head and looked over: "Mr. D, is this... a signature? Or something else?"
Chi Xia took out a note from his pocket: "This is what I found on the back of the painting in Zhang Wen's house."
Luo Xun's face darkened and he took the note: "Why didn't you tell me when you found the clue?"
Chi Xia said sincerely: "I didn't know what it had to do with the case at the time. You were so tired, I was afraid to disturb you."
Luo Xun was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "Oh, you mean, I should thank you, right? "
Chi Xia shook his head decisively: "Captain Luo, investigating the case is more important."
Luo Xun gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and told himself not to get angry with a girl.
He went to look at the note, which was about five centimeters long and two centimeters wide, and there was also a Mr. D on it.
The name Mr. D on that painting was written in pencil at the bottom of the painting, and it was difficult to detect once it was covered with paint.
As for the note, it should have been cut by Zhang Wen from something like a package. For some reason, it was stuck on the back of the painting. Chi Xia took it off after discovering it.
Luo Xun took photos of the two paintings and the note and sent them to Lin Wenjue and others, asking them to look into the relationship between them.
Afterwards, finding no new clues, the two left and went to Chen Li's residence.
It was already dark, and Luo Xun didn't let Chi Xia drive anymore. He threw her two bags of bread and water and said coldly, "Eat. It's impossible to get off work early tonight."
Chi Xia was indeed a little hungry, so she tore open the package and started to eat the bread. Her first day in the task force was really fulfilling.
…
The body was discovered in the morning, so it was the first time for Luo Xun and his friends to come to Chen Li's house. Before entering, the two of them took corresponding measures to avoid any clues that would disrupt the scene.
Before entering the house, Luo Xun said again: "The murderer's method of killing Chen Li is different from the previous two. You must be more careful when checking her house. You may find something big."
"clear."
Chi Xia followed him in. The two of them stood at the door and took a look around the house. It was an old house with three bedrooms and a living room. There were pictures of Chen Li and her deceased parents hanging on the wall. The house was very clean.
"No pictures."
Luo Xun raised his eyebrows, tilted his shoulder and said to Chi Xia.
Chi Xia also felt a little strange. Could it be that they were going in the wrong direction?
"Let's see."
Luo Xun assigned tasks: "You go to the bedroom and bathroom, I'll do the rest. Call me immediately if you find anything."
"Okay." Chi Xia nodded.
Before leaving the door, Chi Xia took a look at the shoe cabinet at the door.
They were all Chen Li's shoes and slippers, which meant that her boyfriend should not come here often. Was it that he didn't come, or was it that Chen Li didn't want him to come over?
Chi Xia arrived at Chen Li's bedroom.
Before her parents passed away, she must have been a very happy girl, which can be seen from the photos everywhere and the stuffed toys in the house. But now, those new or old toys are all piled by Chen Li on the bay window of the bedroom, looking lonely and pitiful.
Chi Xia opened the closet to check, and as expected, the types of clothes she had were similar to Zhang Wen's.
A lot of makeup, some wigs, different styles of clothes, but in daily life there is a fixed dress...
Chi Xia stood there thinking, when would they wear those other styles of clothes?
Escape? Vent? Or is there any other purpose?
What is the other world like for these three seemingly quiet and well-behaved girls?
She checked the drawers but found nothing new, but found a clue on the simple bookshelf on the desk.
It was a book about psychology, titled "How to Save Yourself". When Chi Xia saw this book, he thought of the psychology books in Zhang Wen's house.
She picked up the book and just flipped through a few pages when a card fell out of it. Chi Xia thought it was a bookmark, but when she picked it up was about to put it in, she realized it was not. She took a closer look and found out it was an invitation card to a private collection.
Chi Xia read the invitation card and found that it was for an exhibition with the theme of "Drowning". The exhibition mainly featured some works from the owner's private collection, which took place half a year ago.
Chi Xia was about to put the bookmark back, but after thinking it over, she decided not to. She took the book and the bookmark, ready to discuss it with Luo Xun later.
For some reason, the three words "drowning person" reminded Chi Xia of the two paintings in Zhang Wen and Lin Wei's homes. If he had to draw a similar line between the three based on his strange intuition, Chi Xia felt that this invitation card could be used to calm the situation.
But what exactly is the connection?
