boyutpedia Chapter 74 Murder in the Alley
Chapter 74 Murder in the Alley
The next day, Luo Qiu left home early.
The strange changes to his pocket watch yesterday struck him as odd; something red had dripped onto the dial, but the watch cover hadn't broken, which didn't seem like a good sign.
So, with a hint of curiosity, he left the house twenty minutes earlier than usual, and then, as if taking a leisurely stroll, headed towards the place he had passed by yesterday.
At seven in the morning, there were hardly any pedestrians on Bellevue Street.
Although there are many apartments around, most people who live here go to work after 8:30 am, so the peak time for people to be here is generally from 7:30 am.
In fact, not many shops on the street were actually open for business.
Approaching that alley, at a glance, a general store and two clothing stores were both closed.
The nearby bakery was open, and a warm aroma wafted out from the half-open door, carrying the enticing scents of wheat, butter, and a hint of caramel. However, its glass display case was overflowing with bread, but it seemed no one was buying anything…
Luo Qiu paused for a moment. He remembered clearly that this bakery had been in business for over ten years and still had many regular customers.
Even at seven o'clock in the morning, some of the bread here should have been bought by those housewives, so it's impossible for it to be this full.
Thinking of this, Luo Qiu turned around and walked towards the bakery.
……
Pushing open the glass door of the bakery, the brass bell hanging on the door frame jingled once.
It was much warmer inside the store than outside. Behind the counter, a woman in her forties stood idly, sorting through the change in the cash register.
"Good morning, ma'am," Luo Qiu greeted him. "I'd like two scones and one buttered bagel."
Before she finished speaking, the woman had already neatly wrapped the bread in oil paper and handed it over: "Five Langke."
Luo Qiu paid the money, took the paper package, and instead of leaving immediately, took out a scone and took a bite.
Then, he nodded and said:
"The craftsmanship is excellent, the inside is very soft... Business seems a bit slow today?"
The woman paused for a moment as she was storing her change.
"Today was terrible."
"By now, at least half of these breads should have been sold, but those guys from the Investigation Bureau wasted almost an hour of my time. Now I don't know what to do with the rest of the bread..."
"Wait, ma'am, you mentioned the Investigation Bureau." Luo Qiu perked up his ears. When he heard the other party mention the Investigation Bureau, he knew he was about to gain something.
Sure enough, after Luo Qiu inquired, the woman opposite him sighed, shook her head, and said:
"It's just behind here, not far from here, there's a dead person, and the body is lying by the roadside."
"Of course, this shouldn't have anything to do with me, but I don't know who it was, but they called the investigation bureau at four in the morning. When the agents came over, I happened to be baking bread in the shop at the time, so they pulled me aside to take notes..."
……
With Wu Langke pointing the way, Luo Qiu left the store, munching on a scone as she walked toward the crime scene.
According to the woman, the place where the deceased lay was also a small alley, and the area was cordoned off with several detectives on guard.
According to the Bureau of Investigation's procedures, a crime of this scale would be considered either a murder or a gruesome death.
Luo Qiu had a vague feeling that it was related to the person from yesterday.
However, despite constantly checking the pocket watch in his pocket, it still didn't react when he approached the blockade line.
At that moment, an agent quickly arrived.
"Sir, you are...?"
"Detective Luo Qiu, Criminal Investigation Division, Operations Department, Investigation Bureau. This is my identification."
Luo Qiu held up the bread in one hand and took out his ID from his pocket with the other.
Then, while the other party was checking, he began to observe his surroundings.
The alley where the murder occurred is a narrow passage sandwiched between two rows of houses.
Typical townhouses in Chongqing are three-story buildings with yellow brick walls. Each house has a few stone steps in front of its door, and next to the steps is usually a small courtyard, surrounded by cast iron railings with spikes.
Although the residences here aren't particularly luxurious, and most are shared rentals, those who live here are at least small business owners like the bakery owner. Therefore, thieves frequently frequent this area at night.
But the deceased doesn't seem to be a thief?
Looking behind the detective, he couldn't see any details because the body was covered by a cloth.
But it's obvious that if the other party was killed at gunpoint while stealing, then the investigators wouldn't need the bakery owner to make a record.
If they can do that, it seems the corpse is in some trouble.
Luo Qiu took another bite of bread. Just then, the detective in front of him finished checking his identification, returned it, and said respectfully:
"Detective Luo Qiu, here's your identification. You're here for this case..."
"Oh, my apartment is nearby. I heard about the murder while I was buying bread, so I came to check it out... According to procedure, who is supposed to take over this case?"
"It's Agent Clyde. The agent on the night shift said he'll be here in fifteen minutes, along with other patrol agents. Then we can go home... Agent Luo Qiu, since your apartment is nearby, would you like to take a look at this case first?"
"No rush." Luo Qiu waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "I know Clyde too. Since he said he'll be there in fifteen minutes, he'll probably be there in about ten minutes. I'll go in with him then."
At this point, Luo Qiu turned his head and looked around. He saw a public phone booth less than 20 meters away, and he was no longer in a hurry.
If it's still early before work starts and the phone booth isn't far away, he can check the situation first before deciding whether to get involved in the case. If he decides to participate, he can go and make a call.
So, while eating his bread, he asked:
"Can you explain what's going on inside? You even took notes from the surrounding shop owners. Isn't that theft?"
"Mr. Luo Qiu, I can't judge the specifics either." The agent, when asked, gave an awkward smile, but then began to explain:
"We received orders to come over at 4:20 a.m. The person who reported the incident was a neighbor who couldn't sleep at night and heard noises outside. Initially, she thought a burglar was about to break in, so she called the police. But when we arrived, what we saw..."
"The man was probably in his early twenties. He was dressed in cheap clothes and didn't look wealthy. However, no knives or similar weapons were found on him. He had been stabbed in the back, and the detectives suspect that someone followed him, killed him, and robbed him..."
"I don't know what kind of person would follow someone to rob them at four in the morning."
"I see, that's definitely not normal."
……