last case

Xie Jibai felt that he didn't need to be brave in front of Tang Xin, so he stopped his hands very readily, then found a chair, wiped it clean repeatedly and sat down, watching Tang Xin busy to and fro, a bit like a landlord Same.

The room was really stinky, especially when it turned over, it was even more stinky.Xie Jibai felt that he was about to be fainted by the smoke, and he couldn't take it anymore, so he opened the door so that he could get some ventilation.

Tang Xin was covered in sweat, and his shirt was wet.I have to say that this house is really hot, and the most important thing is that it is stuffy, which makes people very uncomfortable.

Xie Jibai said, "How is it?"

"I found a wallet," Tang Xin said, holding up the things in his hand, "but it should be a wallet that has not been used for a long time. There are only a few bank cards, a few coins, a train ticket, and nothing else in it."

Tang Xin put the wallet on the table, then continued to search, and said, "There are still a few books that have not been returned here, borrowed from the library."

"Library?" Xie Jibai said, "Where is the library?"

Tang Xin said, "Let me see."

Tang Xin took a closer look, and it turned out to be the library in City C.After Peng Xuebai left from City C, he took a few books with him. Inside the book was a library card with the names of the books written on it, and the return time of the books, but obviously, Peng Xuebai did not He went back to City C again, so he didn't return the book at all.

"But it seems that one book is missing." Tang Xin said: "There are only four books here, and there are five books in total on the library card, and one book is missing...Cihai?"

Tang Xin was talking when there were footsteps going upstairs outside.Xie Jibai turned his head to look outside the door, and saw that the corridor light on the fifth floor was on, and someone came up from downstairs.

Xie Jibai stood up, and soon saw an elderly lady walking up with a bag of vegetables.

The old lady should be a resident on the sixth floor, and her body is still strong. After climbing the sixth floor, she is only a little out of breath, and she seems to be quite relaxed.

The old lady was surprised when she saw that the door next door was open. She probably hadn't seen that door open for a long time.

She came up and sized up Xie Ji Bai who was standing at the door several times. Seeing that Xie Ji Bai was upright and did not look like a bad person, she said, "Young man, are you new here?"

Xie Jibai shook his head, showed her his ID, and said, "We are here to investigate the case, and we want to ask you for some information."

The old lady didn't expect Xie Jibai to be a police detective, so she was a little surprised.She lived in the room next to Peng Xuebai, and when she opened the door, she put all the vegetables she bought into the room, and then turned back to talk to Xie Jibai.

The old lady has lived here for more than 40 years. She has grown up children and grandchildren. They all live in other places. She occasionally comes back to visit on weekends. She usually lives alone.

Xie Jibai immediately showed Peng Xuebo's photo to the old lady, and asked, "Excuse me, does this person live in the room next door?"

The old lady's eyesight was not good, she put on her glasses and took a closer look, and said, "It's him, he lives next door, but I haven't seen him for a long time, has he moved away?"

The old lady said that because the house is lived alone, the lighting is not good, and it is on the top floor, it is not easy to rent this house. When she lived here, she changed tenants every three to five days.Later, the house was suddenly sold, and it was this man who lived in it.

The old lady lived alone, and she seemed amiable. When the man first arrived, the old lady even went to say hello to him. The man was not very friendly, with a cold face and a very vigilant look.

But later, the man lived for a long time, and everyone's relationship became better. Only then did the old lady know that the man's surname was Peng. I don't know where he came from. Anyway, he lives here alone and has no serious job. , usually just go to the convenience store to do odd jobs.

Xie Jibai immediately wrote down what the old lady said about the convenience store, and waited a while before asking about the situation.

The old lady also told them that the man surnamed Peng did not go home for reunions during the holidays, but lived here forever, as if he had no relatives or friends.

The old lady's children would come to visit every now and then, but the neighbors were always quiet, and there was no one visiting.

The old lady said: "Then one day, I saw him running out in a hurry, and I didn't know what to do. I haven't seen him since then. I think he may have moved away."

At that time, Peng Xuebo did not move away, but died suddenly, so it was impossible to come back.

Afterwards, no one lived in this room. None of Peng Xuebai's neighbors knew his name and phone number. It didn't mean that Peng Xuebai died nearby. In the end, no one found Peng Xuebai's address, and the house was empty. Come down, no one has been here.

The old lady didn't know much about Peng Xuebo, so she told Tang Xin everything she knew about Xie Jibai.When Peng Xuebo lived here, he had no contact with others at all, and he didn't do anything special, just like an inconspicuous person.

After understanding the situation, Tang Xin went back to the house and continued to "scavenge the trash". He searched the whole house, but found nothing important, and he was exhausted.

Tang Xin searched for everything, took off his gloves and threw them aside, trying to wash his hands, but there was no water or hand sanitizer in the bathroom.

Xie Jibai looked at him, frowned, and said seriously: "Why don't you borrow some water from the old man nearby to wash your hands."

This is the only way, Tang Xin said: "Why do I feel that Xiaobai dislikes me a little bit."

Xie Jibai said, "It's not an illusion."

Tang Xin: "..." It's so straightforward.

Tang Xin went to the old lady next door to wash his hands. The old lady was very enthusiastic and said that they could rest here for a while. It was tiring to see Tang Xin sweating profusely.

But Tang Xin and Xie Jibai still had other places to go, so they didn't stay longer.

The other residents on the sixth floor have not lived here for a long time, and they have never met Peng Xuebo, so it is really of no help to them.

The two left Tongzilou and went to a convenience store about two stops away.The old lady said that Peng Xuebai had worked here. She walked here once and saw Peng Xuebai working here.

The two went to the convenience store and continued to inquire about Peng Xuebo.

Peng Xuebo has been dead for several years, and there are very few people who remember him. The person on duty at the convenience store is a college student, and he has never seen Peng Xuebai at all.

On the contrary, the old man who cleaned the convenience store had a little impression of Peng Xuebai.

The old man said that there was indeed such a person who worked here, but it was a long time ago, and he suddenly disappeared and never came back.

The old man said that Peng Xuebo was mysterious and not talkative, but he seemed very knowledgeable.

College students would come to work in the convenience store during the winter and summer vacations. He once saw Peng Xuebo giving a lecture to a college student.

Xie Jibai was taken aback, and asked Tang Xin, "What does Peng Xuebo specialize in?"

Tang Xin thought for a while and said, "It seems to be physics, but it also studies psychology."

"Physics, psychology..." Xie Ji Bai couldn't help repeating.

"What's wrong?" Tang Xin asked.

Xie Jibai said: "Give me your phone, and I'll take a look at the photos you took at Peng Xuebai's house just now."

Although Peng Xuebai's house is called a garbage dump, and the bugs and mice are disgusting everywhere, but these may be evidence, so Tang Xin took pictures while digging out the garbage, and took a lot of photos and saved them in his mobile phone.

Xie Jibai immediately called out a photo, which was a few books and a library card.

There are five books in total, four of which are about condensed matter physics. Although Xie Jibai can't understand it, the book cover can still be read clearly.

And another one...

Xie Jibai said, "Did you borrow a copy of Ci Hai?"

The combination of four books on physical correlation numbers and one book of Ci Hai is really strange.

Just now because of the old lady's appearance, Xie Jibai didn't notice these things, but now he suddenly remembered.

Tang Xin also felt a little strange, and said, "Peng Xuebo borrowed Cihai? What did he use it for?"

Xie Jibai said, "Maybe it's just a cover-up."

The most characteristic of Cihai, it seems that many people can find it at a glance, that is thick, very thick.If you add a few photos in Cihai, it may be easier to hide than in other books, and it is not easy to be found.

Xie Jibai said: "The question now is where is that book of Cihai? Why is it missing? Could it be that someone took it away first?"

Tang Xin said: "I'll call the boss first and ask them to go to that library to check."

Xie Jibai nodded.

Chen Wanting received the call and immediately went to the library with Su Banyu.

A little girl took them to Ci Hai. Reference books are rarely borrowed by people, especially this kind of heavy reference books. No one would borrow them once a year.

They went up to the fourth floor. On the topmost floor, the innermost row of bookshelves were lined with very thick dictionaries.

Chen Wanting told the little girl ISBN, and the little girl looked for the Ci Hai for them, and found it quickly.

However, Chen Wanting took a look at it and said, "No, it's definitely not this book."

Ci Hai is too new, so I turned it back and found that there is a date on it, it is the new version of Ci Hai this year, it cannot be the copy that Peng Xuebo borrowed back then.

The little girl said, "Are you looking for old books?"

Chen Wanting nodded.

The library will update the books regularly, and the books that are too damaged will be repurchased, and the old books will be stored in the warehouse, and the warehouse will be dealt with when it is full.

The little girl took them to the warehouse. There were a lot of books piled up here. There were so many books that they had to find them manually.

Fortunately, what they were looking for was a very thick Ci Hai, so at a glance, most of them can be distinguished from the thickness.

Su Banyu and Chen Wanting hurriedly started looking through those thick books, one by one.

"Is this the book?" Su Banyu said suddenly.

Chen Wanting went over immediately, and saw Su Banyu put a very thick book on the table, covered with dust.

Cihai is too thick, and it is difficult to turn it over. It seems that it should be about the same as the time.

Chen Wanting opened Cihai, flipping through it rapidly.

"There is something inside." Su Banyu said suddenly.

Chen Wanting quickly turned it back again, he was a little dumbfounded, there was indeed something inside.

A hole was cut out in the middle of a dozen or so pages of Cihai, which seemed to be cut with a small knife, forming a groove, and many photos were placed inside.