Grocery Store No.514

On October 28, 3020, in the meeting room of the Criminal Investigation Team, everyone gathered one after another and sat down to sort out information.

Jiang Chengyan walked in with his notebook, glanced at the crowd, and said, “When everyone is gathered, let’s start meeting. Whoever speaks first.”

Everyone looked at each other and Liu Ran took the lead, “ then let me speak first. Yesterday, with the cooperation of relevant departments, we retrieved Jiang Changping’s communication record along with his credit card usage record and found that his last call was to a person named Jiang Cheng. The call was made at 3:45 pm on 22nd October and lasted for five minutes. Then the very last activity was a text message to Li Qiuran at 10 Am on 23rd October.”

“Guangmei District? The distance between there and Xinmin District, where the body was dumped is not close. One in the west and the other in the east.”

Jiang Chengyan pondered for a while, “did you check what he bought?”

Liu Ran shook his head, “not yet.”

“The next task for you and Wang Bin is to implement the information you have found. What did Jiang Changping buy in Aiduoduo? Why did he appear in Guangmei District? Also, find the real estate information that is registered under his name, whether there is any property he has in Guangmei District or Xinmin District. And for Jiang Cheng, confirm his identity then find out what they’re talking about on the last call.”

Liu Ran and Wang Bin looked at each other before answering, “yes, captain.”

Then Jiang Chengyang looked at Li Tong, “Li Tong, how about the surveillance video?”

“Captain, I think there’s an error. The time of death of the deceased was between  10:00 pm and 11:00 pm on October 22. Meanwhile, the body was found on 24 October which has been separated by two days. The garbage disposal company cleared the garbage every two days and the previous cleaning time was early morning on 22nd October 2022 which means if they dump the body on 23 October the body would have been transported back to the garbage disposal plant at five o’clock in the morning of the 24th.  However, the body was found on the evening of the 24th, indicating that the killer dumped the body at least after the garbage truck cleared the garbage on the 24th. So, we only need to obtain the surveillance video of the night of the 24th for investigation. “

Jiang Chengyang smiled and said, “Ok. Li Tong, you’ve made a lot of progress. Your disclosure has cut a lot of our workload.”

Li Tong smiled shyly and said, “It’s because Captain taught me well, otherwise I wouldn’t have made any progress.”

“Stop flattering. Tell me your investigation.”

“Because of the weather and the light problem,  we have checked all the clear license plates that we can see. There are no suspicious plates were found.”

Jiang Chengyan frowned slightly and said, “Then how many cars with visible license plates?”

“There are three. One is silver-gray JD, one is black DZ, and one is white XFL. They all passed the body dumping site on the evening of the 24th.”

“And where are they going?”

“Silver-grey JD is from east to west, black DZ and white XFL are from west to east.”

“Li Tong and Zhang Liang, your next task is to follow the directions of these three cars and try to find them.”

“Yes, captain.”

“Guo Hai, Sun Miao, what have you discovered?”

Guo Hai glanced at Sun Miao and said, “let me say it. Yesterday, we went to Changping gallery to learn about the situation. According to the clerk in the store, Jiang Changping and Li Qiuran have a good relationship. Every time, they are always in pairs. Jiang Changping almost gives Li Qiuran what she wants. Li Qiuran also considerate and gentle to Jiang Changping. It can be said that they are a model of modern couples.”

Yao Min then said, “if it’s really like what the clerk said, it shows that Jiang Changping pretends very well. Li Qiuran probably doesn’t know that he is gay.”

“No…” Liu Ran frowned and said, “Jiang Changping said he was going on a business trip on the 20th and was killed on the 22nd. He didn’t call his home once for two days, nor send a message. If it really is like what the clerk said, I mean if they have such a good relationship for two days without seeing each other it’s impossible for them not to get in touch.”

“Is it possible that they contacted in other ways? For example, social accounts such as VX, □□1, etc.” Yao Min suggested another possibility.

Seeing Liu Ran’s silence, Jiang Chenyan said with a smile, “Since you found a question, then go to find the answer, the communication record has been checked. For VX and □□1, pay attention to it too, there might be unexpected discoveries. This task will be handed over to Guo Hai With Sun Miao. Because Li Qiuran is currently one of our suspects, we must find out their real husband and wife relationship.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“That’s it for today’s task, is there anything else you don’t understand?”

Seeing the crowd shake their heads, Jiang Chengyan then said, ” In this case, today’s meeting is dismissed, and take your position.”

After everyone left one after another, Yao Min asked aloud, “Captain, what about me?”

“Today you come with me, we’ll go to Jiang Changping’s house to take a look.”

“Okay,” Yao Min answered with a smile.

Outside the gate of Heping District, Jiang Chengyan parked the car, and the two got out of the car one after another and walked towards Building 5, where Jiang Changping’s house was located. Arriving at the door of Room 2001, Jiang Chengyan stepped forward, knocked on the door, and soon after heard an answer, “Who is it?”

Jiang Chengyan looked at Yao Min, Yao Min understood the meaning,  and answered, “Ms. Li, it’s me, Yao Min.”

The door was opened, and Li Qiuran stood at the door with a haggard face. There was a forced smile on the corner of her mouth said, “Officer Yao, you are here.”

Yao Min pointed at Jiang Chengyan and said, “This is our captain, we’re here to learn about the situation.”

Li Qiuran nodded politely towards Jiang Chengyan and said, “Come in.”

Li Qiuran let the door open, and Jiang Chengyan and Yao Min entered one after another. Jiang Chengyan habitually checked the surrounding environment. The house is not small, with a total of 145 square meters, three rooms, and two halls. The decoration style is simple and elegant. There are also several oil paintings on the walls, which are signed by Jiang Changping.

“My husband painted these,” Li Qiuran said when noticing Jiang Chengyan’s eyes.

“Mr. Jiang is very talented.”

Although he didn’t know how to paint, but he can understand a good one.

“Yes, there are really not many people like him who have achieved such achievements at such a young age, it’s a pity…” Li Qiuran couldn’t help but reddened her eyes and said, “Sit down, I’ll go get you some tea. “

Yao Min just wanted to stop, but was interrupted by Jiang Chengyan, saying, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Li Qiuran shook her head, turned, and went to the kitchen.

Yao Min couldn’t help but whisper, “Captain, what do you mean?”

“She is emotionally unstable and needs to be calmed down. You are still a girl, can’t you see that?”

Yao Min pouted and whispered, “since I became a criminal police officer, I have long forgotten that I am a girl. Besides, when did you think I was a girl?”

Jang Chengyan laughed and scolded, “You little girl, you’re really smart-mouthed.”

“Captain, you are only five years older than me, don’t always talk to me with the tone of an elder, those who don’t know will think you are my uncle. Are you not afraid of getting old fast?”

Li Qiuran walked out with a tea try before Jiang Chengyang could speak. She put the tea on the table, poured a cup for both Jiang Chengyang and Yao Min, and paused a little before saying, “two officers, please have a tea.”

Jiang Chengyan said thank you, picked up his cup of tea and took a sip, and ask “Ms. Li, how is your relationship with Mr. Jiang as a couple?”

Li Qiuran was startled, obviously not expecting Jiang Chengyan’s question would be so direct. She pulled her loose hair behind her ears and said calmly, “I have been married to Changping for six years, and we have always had a good relationship. We hardly ever quarreled. He is a very careful and considerate man, and it’s great to marry him. It’s my luck.”

“How did you know each other?”

“My husband and I met at one of his art exhibitions. At first, I admired his talent, but later I was moved by his tenderness. I took the initiative to pursue him. After knowing each other for about half a year, he accepted me. Soon we got married, and then we had Hanhan.”

Jiang Chengyan looked at Li Qiuran, the corners of her eyes drooping slightly, unconsciously looking at the teacups on the table. She pursed his lip with a low tone. She obviously got caught in memories.

“When was the last time you saw Mr. Jiang?”

“The last time…” Li Qiuran’s eyes flashed with sadness, and She was silent for a while before saying, “The last time was on the morning of the 20th. During breakfast, he told me to go on a business trip and come back in about three days.”

“How was his mood that morning?”

“Mood?” Li Qiuran thought for a moment and said, “Very calm, nothing special.”

“What contact information do you usually use?”

“Mobile phone, he would call if something happened.”

“As far as we know, Mr. Jiang hasn’t contacted you since he left on the 20th, and you haven’t contacted him either. If you two are in a good relationship, how could there be no contact for two days?” Jiang Chengyan bluntly asked the question in his heart.

Li Qiuran said in reply, “I don’t think the officer is married yet.”

Jiang Chengyan was stunned, then said, “Yes, is that relevant to my question?”

“Love and marriage are two different things. When they fall in love, they have simple thoughts and warm emotions, and they want to stay together all the time. After marriage, their feelings slowly change, from love to family affection.  Especially after having children, there are more and more trivial things, and strong feelings become dull, not because of a lack of love but because the love gets deeper.  Between husband and wife, as long as they know where each other is, it is normal to have no contact for a day or two.”

Jiang Chengyan looked at Li Qiuran noncommittally and then asked, “Does Mr. Jiang travels a lot?”

“Well, he is a painter, and he often goes out to collect scenery2.”

“How often does he go out?”

“Every month. He goes out for a few days, and the time is usually kept within a week.  So, when he went out this time, I didn’t ask much.” Li Qiuran lowered her gaze, clenched her hands, and said regretfully, “If I knew it would be this kind of result, I would definitely not have let him go out.”

~~~

The word get censored in the raw. ↺To find some inspiration ↺