winter past

Zhao You took out the paper bag containing the photos and said, "Do you still remember Lao Chen from Qingshui Garden? The roll of film in his camera flashed to you in the middle of the night..."

Xiao Man remembered: "Is that the roll of film you said earlier that you might have captured me?"

Zhao You took out the photos in the bag, the first one was a black and smeared photo, at first glance, it could only be seen that a building and a tree in front of the building were photographed.Xiao Man leaned against Zhao You, and the two looked at the photo vigorously, trying to find the outline of the person in the photo, but it was all in vain.

Xiao Man asked, "Just this one?"

Zhao You flipped back, and the next photo changed the scene directly. It was a group photo indoors. A dozen or so old people stood in two rows in a room that looked like a classroom. Among them stood a man holding hands. Together, the smiling middle-aged man in front of him.There are many calligraphy works on the wall behind them, including a copy of "Lanting Collection Preface" and a long post of "Di Zi Gui" in regular script.The old people also smiled and looked at the camera.Zhao You saw Lao Chen in the photo, and he was standing in the middle of the second row.He also saw two other familiar faces.

He pointed to a pair of elderly men and women standing next to each other in the first row of the photo, and said, "Old Jiang from Building 5, 304, and his wife."

"you sure?"

"Yes, I found their bodies."

Zhao You spread out the stack of photos in his hand on the table. Except for the first one, which was a blurry scene in the dark night, all the photos on this roll of film were taken in classrooms with similar layouts. , the people who appeared in the photo were all old people, some seemed to be taking a calligraphy class, some seemed to be taking a flower arrangement class, some seemed to be learning potted gardening, and there were a few teachers who looked like they were all in their 30s.

Xiaoman's gaze fell back to the group photo where Lao Chen and Lao Jiang's husband and wife both appeared on the scene: "Old Chen knows Lao Jiang and his wife?"

Zhao You said: "The photo should have been taken at the University for the Elderly."

Xiaoman said: "The one in the middle is their teacher, right? Both the teacher and the students are in the photo, who took the photo?"

Zhao You pointed to the reflection of a glass window in the corner of the group photo, and said, "Is it a mop?"

Xiaoman immediately looked closer, and the glass reflection really looked like a mop, and there seemed to be a person holding a camera standing beside the mop.He said: "Is there a reflection of someone else? The mop... Could it be the school cleaner?"

When "cleaner" was mentioned, Xiaoman and Zhao You looked at each other, Xiaoman swallowed: "The film is still there, Xiaojing wonders if he can restore the appearance of the person who took the photo."

At this time, the takeaway was ready, so Zhao You temporarily called an errand to help deliver the takeaway to Wuyuan Road, and then went to Qingshui Garden with Xiaoman.They found Lao Chen directly. When Lao Chen saw the two of them, he smiled like a spring breeze and led them into the house. He went into the kitchen and took out two sets of bowls and chopsticks.He was having dinner, porridge, scrambled eggs with chives, pickled cucumbers, fermented bean curd.He said: "Add a dish? Or order dumplings?"

The porridge pot was placed on the dining table, and he made a gesture to scoop the porridge for Zhao You and Xiao Man.Zhao You said, "Just eat like this."

Old Chen nodded with a smile: "It's been a long time since you've been here, isn't my sister very busy recently?"

Zhao You immediately answered and said, "Busy, too busy, let me and my little sister come and see you."

"Okay, okay..." Lao Chen put down the porridge bowl with a smile, pointed to the kitchen and asked, "Gaoyou salted duck eggs, do you want to eat?"

Zhao You responded again and again, and Lao Chen entered the kitchen again.Xiao Man was not in the mood to eat porridge and salted duck eggs, so he stretched his neck and anxiously asked Lao Chen: "Do you know Lao Jiang and his wife who live in Building 5, 304?"

"What?"

Zhao You took out the group photo, put it on the table, tapped the table and said, "The film you asked me to develop for you last time, is this a group photo of your calligraphy class?"

Old Chen came out with two salted duck eggs, stared at the photo from a distance, didn't move or speak for a while, his cloudy old eyes were empty.Zhao You took the salted duck egg in his hand, peeled the shell and said, "The one in the middle is your teacher, right?"

Xiao Man asked, "Do you want glasses?"

Old Chen looked up at Zhao You and Xiaoman, smiled, pointed to the photo and said, "Yes, it's calligraphy class, Teacher Ju." He pointed to himself in the photo, and then pointed down the aisle: "Wang Xizhi, right?" , I’m here too, it’s hanging in the study, I’ll show it to you.”

Xiaoman got up and followed Old Chen, saying: "Who took this photo for you? Do you remember? Where is this elderly university?"

Zhao You asked in the restaurant, "Xiao Sun didn't come today?"

Old Chen said: "Are you looking for Xiaosun? He's in the building at the back, 5th floor, 502. Don't you have lunch now? We're going to eat."

He opened a door and turned on the light in the room. It was a room with many calligraphy works. In the center of the room was a long wooden table with paper, ink, brush and inkstone.Xiaoman turned his head and gave Zhao You a wink, and said, "Little sister brought something to Xiaosun, let's send it to him."

"Let's go after eating." Lao Chen greeted Xiao Man into the study, pointed at a copybook on the wall with his finger shaking, and said, "Look, in the ninth year of Yonghe, the age is Gui Chou..."

He put his hands behind his back, closed his eyes, and said: "I have a good memory, the following is the beginning of late spring..."

Xiao Man said: "Let's send the things there first." He was about to go out.

Old Chen turned a deaf ear to it, and continued to recite the "Preface to the Collection of Lanting" in a serious manner. Xiaoman caught a glimpse of four large characters written on the rice paper he put on the table: happy family.He entered the study room and asked Old Chen softly, "Your Family Joy is really good. I'll take it home and hang it at home."

Old Chen opened his eyes and looked at Xiaoman, the tiny corners of his eyes were densely piled up.He took Xiaoman's hand and patted it lightly, and said, "Next time, I'll find someone to frame it, and you and my little sister can get it together."

Xiaoman nodded.Old Chen said: "Dinner, let's eat first."

At this time, Zhao You said loudly outside: "I'll make another bowl!"

Xiaoman and Lao Chen also returned to the dining table, Zhao You had already eaten a salted duck egg, the pickled melons on the table were much less, and there was not much porridge left in the pot.Lao Chen scraped out all the porridge and gave it to Zhao You, who sat down and continued to eat the remaining half bowl of porridge in his own bowl.Xiaoman also sat down, ate some fermented bean curd and a bowl of porridge, and he and Zhao You helped Lao Chen clean up the dishes before they went to find Sun Zhengdao.

The Sun family opened the door for them by an old woman, who was having dinner at home, and the sweet and sour pork ribs were fragrant. Zhao You said that he came to see Sun Zhengdao, and Sun Zhengdao ran to the entrance with his job bowl, and looked at Zhao You.He touched his mouth, shook the bowl and chopsticks honestly and asked, "Xiao Zhao, why are you looking for me?"

The old woman stared at Sun Zhengdao: "Why is it neither big nor small?"

Zhao You looked at the old woman with a smile through the anti-theft door, and said, "I want to ask you something. I heard from your grandson that a stranger came to sell things at your house before, right? What time is it, do you know?" Remember what that man looked like?"

The old woman frowned and looked at Zhao You, then at Xiao Man next to him, her eyes were wary: "Who are you?"

Zhao You wanted to take out his ID card, but Sun Zhengdao yelled, "Oh! Grandma! He's a policeman! Just the case on the top floor!"

After hearing this, the old woman relaxed a little, brushed her temples together, and said, "Then come in and sit down, sit down and talk."

Zhao You and Xiaoman entered Sun's house, the old lady invited them to sit in the living room, and drove Sun Zhengdao to the dining room, got some tea and said, "I was not at home that day, our old man was."

The old lady came out of the kitchen with two cups of hot tea. When she passed the dining table, a man with gray hair and a man in his 60s sat there with his jaw straightened. He came to the living room, still glancing at the man from the corner of his eyes. He said: "It was April, when I went to Yinyin's house, you played cards with Uncle and the others at home."

Sun Zhengdao sat at the dining table, his mouth was full of oil, and his cheeks were puffed up: "It's just playing cards, educational! You don't gamble!"

"Sit well!" The old woman looked at Sun Zhengdao, and when her voice was raised, she had already walked up to Zhao You and Xiaoman. She turned around and smiled at them: "Children are hard to manage... Mom and Dad Not always around, naughty, we can't control it..."

As soon as the old woman finished speaking, Sun Zhengdao ran into the living room with his feet loose, and sat down between Zhao You and Xiao Man, squeezing the two of them, looking left at Xiao Man, right at Zhao You, hugged Raised his arm: "Tell me, why do you want to find me?"

The old woman blushed, got up and dragged Sun Zhengdao: "Have you finished your meal? Go eat your meal! My lord is talking, what are you messing with, go, go."

Xiao Man smiled and said: "It's okay, that's right..." He looked at the old woman, and the old woman and the old man in the restaurant also appeared in the photos printed on Lao Chen's roll of film, and it seemed that they were the same. Calligraphy class.He was thinking about this, and was about to ask if the old woman had also taken a calligraphy class at the University for the Elderly, when Zhao You took out a photo and asked the old woman, "I said, why do you look so familiar?" Well, look, this photo is you and your lover, right?"

Sun Zhengdao snatched the photo first, and said loudly, "Grandma, it's you and grandpa!"

The old woman took the photo, looked at it and said, "Yes, yes, Lao Chen took the photo, right? He likes to go to school with a camera and take pictures for us. We went to the calligraphy class once, to try the class. "

The old man sitting in the restaurant said at this time: "Didn't the police come to ask you before, it was the one who came to sell products for the disabled. I just have arthritis. During the rainy season, I have to use crutches when I go out. Well, what kind of disabled am I!"

Sun Zhengdao said: "Grandpa said that man was wearing a hat and a mask!"

"Yes, he said he had a cold and was wearing a mask," said the old woman kindly.

"What about your height?" Zhao You got up and walked to the junction of the dining room and the living room, "Is it taller or shorter than me?"

The old man said: "It's about the same as you."

Xiaoman asked the old woman: "Look at these people in these photos, do you know them all?"

Zhao You cooperatively took out the rest of the photos and handed them over. The old woman looked at them one by one and said, "I know you, they all live in this community, Lao Chen, Lao Jiang and their couple, Lao Qin from 301, and Yi Yi's grandma, Xiaorao's grandpa..."

When she said this, the old man spoke again: "Lao Rao and the others also said that someone came to sell things."

At this moment, Sun Zhengdao arched Zhao You and gave him a wink.Zhao You said: "Oh, yes, I figured out the extra math problem you mentioned last time."

"Really? I don't believe it! Explain it to me." Sun Zhengdao pulled Zhao You up and pointed in the direction, "Go to my room and explain it to me."

Zhao You followed him into his room.A tent was set up in this room, and there was a small bed. On the bed was a puzzle of Mona Lisa's smile.There is a cardboard box on the bedside of the crib, and inside the cardboard box are some puzzle pieces.

As soon as the two entered, Sun Zhengdao closed the door, and quietly said to Zhao You: "In our community, not every family has been sold door-to-door. 80.00% of the elderly have reported this problem. The business of door-to-door sales There is more than one employee, there are men and women, and the company is called Zhu Nihao Auxiliary Medical Devices Company."

As he spoke, he took out a notebook with a black cover from under the pillow, which looked exactly the same as the one Zhao You carried with him.

Sun Zhengdao opened his notebook and said in a straightforward manner: "Building 101, 103..."

Zhao You was going to get it, and Sun Zhengdao said, "I also found out that all the students in the elderly university have been sold door-to-door!"

Zhao You thought for a while, then pulled out Cao Lv's ID photo in the cleaning company on his mobile phone, and asked him, "You sent Lao Chen to the elderly university, have you seen this person in school?"

Sun Zhengdao opened his mouth wide: "Is he a suspect?" He made a gesture of wiping his neck, "He killed the 604 people?"

Zhao You smiled, glanced at the jigsaw puzzle on the bed, picked up a jigsaw piece from the cardboard box, put it into the missing tree shadow behind the Mona Lisa, and closed it at once.Sun Zhengdao shouted: "Why are you like this! Putting together puzzles is to enjoy the kind of fun of finding! Don't mess with my puzzles! This is what my dad and I put together!"

He pushed Zhao You away from the bed, and opened his arms to protect his jigsaw puzzle.

Zhao You found a chair and sat down, picked up a dinosaur toy on the ground, and pulled the dinosaur's arm. Sun Zhengdao snatched the dinosaur, hugged it to his chest, and asked him angrily, "What are you doing?" Where did the photo come from? Who is this person?"

Zhao You clapped his hands on his knees, took out the printed black photo, and handed it to Sun Zhengdao: "Old Chen's film has been printed, the photo you took that night."

Sun Zhengdao grabbed the photo and looked at it, stomping his feet angrily: "This... nothing was photographed!"

"The negatives are still there, and our technical side should be able to restore them. It's a piece of cake." Zhao You dragged a chair and sat next to Sun Zhengdao, stretching out a finger to draw an outline on the photo, "Look, here is a A human silhouette, right?"

"Really? Why can't I see it?" Sun Zhengdao's nose was on the photo.

"Really, look, that's all." Zhao You drew the outline of the human figure seriously, "I can't even tell, aren't you the famous detective Conan in your community?"

Sun Zhengdao suddenly raised his head: "Who told you, what about Conan, Conan is unscientific! I want to be Sherlock Holmes!" He rolled his eyes flexibly, looked at Zhao You and said, "You guys in this photo If I can analyze and recover the appearance of that person, if what I photographed is a suspect, will the Public Security Bureau go to our school and give me a certificate of merit?"

"Hold a commendation meeting, your father, your mother, and your relatives, please come here, Little Sherlock Holmes of Qingshi." Zhao You said with a smile.

"I've seen this man." Sun Zhengdao said, "He sweeps the floor in the senior university."

"Cleaner?"

"Yeah, it seems to be some kind of volunteer... He can also repair computers, install software for their computer rooms, and backup things."

"Where is the University for the Elderly?"

"What time is it? They get off work at four o'clock."

Zhao You said: "Okay, then you wait for my news." He went out, outside, Xiaoman was already changing shoes in the hallway.The two said goodbye to the grandparent and grandson, and when they went downstairs, Zhao You said, "Cao Lv works as a cleaning volunteer at the University for the Elderly."

Xiao Man said: "The old couple in Building 5 301 went on a trip with their family before the Dragon Boat Festival. The man is also in the calligraphy class, and the woman is learning flower arrangement."

"Old Qin, right? They live in 301, Lao Jiang and his wife live in 304, there is a young couple in 302, and Lao He in 303, it is inconvenient for him to go out." Zhao You couldn't help sighing, "No wonder..."

"I asked, and I said that no one from 303 has ever been to a college for the elderly." Xiao Man stroked his chin, "So...he only kills people he knows? Or only people he knows well about their family's situation?"

He glanced at Zhao You: "I'm about to arrive at the school address, let's go."

The two rushed to the university for the elderly, and the school had long been closed. The guard knew the purpose of the two, and after confirming Zhao You's identity, he led them into the teaching building. Middle-aged woman.Along the way, Xiaoman found that there was only one surveillance camera at the entrance of the school.

The guard and the middle-aged woman introduced: "Mr. Xu, they are here to inquire about someone, the police."

Teacher Xu wiped his hands on the rag hanging on his waist, and said, "Looking for someone?"

Zhao You showed Cao Lv's photo and asked, "Is this person doing volunteer work here?"

Teacher Xu adjusted his glasses, and said, "Xiao Cao, Teacher Cao's son, adopted son, yes, yes, he came back to Qingshi this year, if you have nothing to do, come here to help us."

Xiao Man said, "Do you know his father?"

"That's right, Mr. Cao gave us a lot of money, and he donated a large sum of money to us when he passed away, a great benefactor."

"When did he start volunteering with you?"

"In March."

"Do you have an entry record?"

"This volunteer is not a regular employee either. Where can I find records for you... Why are you looking for Xiao Cao?" Teacher Xu looked at Zhao You and asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Zhao You smiled and said, "Have you not seen him for a while?"

"It's been a while. I haven't seen him for more than a week. Will something happen to him?"

Zhao You said: "It's like this, we now suspect that he may have some relationship with a pyramid scheme..."

Teacher Xu panicked and said, "Huh? He was dragged into a pyramid scheme? No way? I think Xiao Cao is usually quite clever, and he is a serious college graduate!" She blinked, "But , he has a very good temper, and his ears are soft, maybe a friend says a few words, and he..."

Xiaoman asked, "How long do you keep the monitoring records here?" He comforted Mr. Xu, "Don't worry too much, it's just a preliminary investigation stage, if he is pulled in by someone to engage in pyramid schemes, then he is also a victim , we want to confirm his recent activities so that we can find out how he came into contact with that MLM organization."

"How can someone in our university engage in pyramid schemes? They are all old people who are idle at home and have nothing to do..." Teacher Xu said, "I don't know about the monitoring. You can come and ask our director tomorrow."

"Then he usually makes friends, has a girlfriend, has friends come to school to look for him... Has he mentioned any financial difficulties to you recently?" Xiaoman said.

"Xiao Cao is usually popular here, right?" Zhao You said.

"It's not bad. He smiles at everyone. The old people like him very much. He has great strength. Usually, some old people have inconvenient legs and feet. He helps them to carry them up and down the stairs." Teacher Xu thought for a while Son, "No one has come to the school to look for him, and I haven't heard him talk about any financial difficulties. He is a medical representative, and his income is quite large, and he often goes to the hospital."

"Did he tell you that?" Xiao Man asked.

"Yes, every time he comes back, the smell of disinfectant on his body is quite strong. Isn't that what he does?"

Zhao You said: "He does a lot of part-time jobs, so we wonder if he has some financial difficulties. He can't stand the economic temptation of MLM organizations to help pull people to develop downlines or something."

Teacher Xu massaged his temples with a headache: "What a good young man, he must have been deceived. Let me tell you, Xiao Cao is very nice, really, very kind. He usually doesn't even want to trample an ant to death. We had an ant nest here a while ago, and the firefighters came and set fire to it, and he couldn’t bear to look at it, how could he cheat other people’s money.”

Zhao You said: "Don't worry, according to what we know now, the MLM organization used his ID card to rent a house. Of course, it may be that his ID card was stolen. The main reason is that we are now contacting If you don’t go to him, you can’t find him. We have gone to your place and Nanjing. I heard from his former colleagues in Nanjing that he had a car accident before, and his personality changed a little. Sometimes it is difficult to control his temper. , I once had a big conflict with my boss and was fired.”

"Huh? I haven't seen him before. He is very gentle."

Zhao You said: "Don't worry, we will definitely investigate clearly, and we will never arrest a good person by mistake. Please don't talk about it for the time being. If it is true that his ID card was stolen later, then rumors will spread." Go, he can't explain it, you say yes."

"Yes, yes, don't worry, I won't talk nonsense."

Xiaoman and Zhao You looked at each other, and they were all right. Don't pass Mr. Xu, and leave the university for the elderly.The surroundings were quiet, and the two were walking along the road. Xiao Man said, "That means he met these old people in March, went to their homes to find out the truth in April, and carried out the murder plan in May, not to mention being mentally ill. Most of the general injury cases are caused by the temporary emotional instability of the suspect. As for people with mental illness, such emotional instability is more common and difficult to control. The expression of incapacity. Is it really possible for a person with a split personality to stretch the front line of killing so long..."

Zhao You used his mobile phone to search for "Bi Ni Hao Auxiliary Medical Device Company", and there was indeed such a company, and there was also a contact number.He called, but no one answered. There was an address, and he wrote it down.He said, "Let's go to that medical device company tomorrow."

Xiaoman nodded, looked at the road, there was no empty taxi, it was evening, the night was low, there was a thick yellow line floating in the sky, the sun seemed to have not completely set.The cicadas kept singing, there was no cloud in the sky, the hot wind was blowing, the stars seemed to come out, the moon didn't know where to hide, and the hot wind also blew the fragrance of the camphor tree.The street lights turned on, and the short, small leaves looked like small flowers clustered on the branches.A battery car was speeding on the motorway, and almost collided with a turning car when it reached the intersection. It was all right, and the horns blared.The neon lights on the side of the street were all on, and there were dynamic dance music lingering in the air.The summer in Qingshi is as sweltering as ever, hot enough to make people feel dry, hot and angry, and noisy. At this time, the whole world seems to be full of noise, and what is happening in the whole world seems to be unimportant. At this time, People can only hear what the people around them are saying.

Zhao You asked Xiaoman: "What do you think of the paddock area?"

"It's good to be quiet in the middle of trouble."

"The greening is also good. There is a park with many oak trees. It should be beautiful in autumn."

"There's also a lake."

"One thousand and five months for one room and one living room."

"Is water and electricity included?"

"No buns. On Pearl Road, there is a Kaifeng Tangbao shop for breakfast. In the Kaiyuan Vegetable Market, there is a Luo Laoba Roasted Chicken. The chicken is roasted very well, but it is a bit salty."

"What's the average price for two bedrooms and one living room?"

"Two rooms?"

"Working from home."

"Then let's forget about renting a business apartment and living in a compound apartment. I work downstairs and live upstairs."

"Is that too expensive?"

"Then... usually you can sell bread to subsidize subsidies..."

"Sell bread?"

"The private detective who makes the best bread in Qingshi."

"You do it?"

"I do...?"

"You will?"

"I can learn."

"It's so hot..."

"Eat ice cream?"

Zhao You went into a grocery store and brought out two mung bean popsicles. He and Xiaoman stood by the road and ate. After a while, Xiaoman saw an empty car and waved his hand. The car stopped. He and Zhao You Yu got into the car.