Initially, Zhao Yu had only thought briefly about the key and lock, but he had not expected that he would actually realize a very important clue about relating to it.
"The person was quite young, but looked very ugly." Upon Zhao Yu's request, Liu Pengfei started to carefully recall the appearance of the person who duplicated his keys. "He was very tall, almost 6'2". He walked with an obvious limp, and it left a deep impression!"
His leg was crippled? Zhao Yu clearly remembered that in the report, the police had suspected that the real murderer had some sort of disability in his right leg based on the impression of his footprints! Also, judging from the footprints and strangle marks, the real murderer was a very tall man with long fingers. Everything matched Liu Pengfei's description! Could it be…
"Do you know him?" Zhao Yu quickly asked.
"Officer, am I a fool?" Liu Pengfei felt despondent. "I duplicated the keys to kill someone. Would I have gone to someone I knew?"
"Then...when you had the keys duplicated, was there anyone else around? Think carefully. Did you ever leave in the midst of duplicating the keys?" Zhao Yu asked again.
"This...I really can't remember!" Liu Pengfei did not understand what Zhao Yu meant and answered anxiously, "I was so nervous then, I really can't remember!"
"At what time did you get the keys duplicated?"
"Mmm...probably three or four days before deciding to let Lin Meifeng strike," Liu Pengfei recalled. "After the keys were duplicated, I even brought Lin Meifeng to the various points and discussed the details with her! After that, I gave the keys to her!"
"The both of you...knew beforehand…" Zhao Yu asked as he pondered.
"Yes. We already knew that it would pour that night!" Liu Pengfei answered first. "I've already said that many times!"
Tsk tsk...Zhao Yu went into deep thought. A man who made keys? Crippled? And very tall? Could it be...Jian Wenli's real murderer was him!? Zhao Yu had previously suspected that the real murderer was not someone who was an experienced robber, but a newbie. Could the man who duplicated the keys be the newbie robber?
At that point, Zhao Yu felt that he could had gotten to the crucial point of this case. He did not wait for Liu Pengfei to be taken away, and quickly called Miao Ying.
After Miao Ying received the news, she was also extremely shocked! The clue that Zhao Yu had found was extremely important! She immediately decided to start investigating the man who had duplicated the keys; however, Miao Ying was very curious. Although she was shocked, she could not help but ask over the phone, "Zhao Yu, how exactly did you manage to realize that?"
Seeing Miao Ying's desperation, Zhao Yu started to be cheeky again and boasted shamelessly, "This is heaven's secret, and it must not be revealed! Captain Miao, have you forgotten that I have deities helping me? I…" Before Zhao Yu could finish, the other party hung up.
Although Zhao Yu made light of it, his mind was constantly thinking of this matter, even while eating. He did not know if the man who had duplicated the keys was an important suspect. Was the clue that he had found correct? Thinking of this, he started to think of Lin Meifeng again, and that time he had watched her affectionately attend to her child under the rays of the morning sun! He was unsure if the clue he had found would save her!
Just as Zhao Yu was feeling worried and uneasy, his phone finally rang. Zhao Yu saw that it was from Miao Ying and quickly left his seat to answer.
"Zhao Yu, we checked!" Miao Ying got straight to the point. "The man who duplicated the keys has something very wrong with him!" Zhao Yu could hear that the usually calm Captain Miao's voice was trembling and was unusually emotional.
"Oh?" Zhao Yu was even more excited and urged her, "Tell me quick!"
"This man's name is Mi Aijun from Moyang Xiaochenzhuang." Miao Ying said quickly, "He had an accident while working at a shoe factory when he was younger, and his right foot got cut off by a machine! After the factory closed down, he duplicated keys as a living for a few years. That was when Liu Pengfei looked for him! The strange thing was, three days after Jian Wenli was killed, Mi Aijun stopped working! According to his relatives, he went someplace else to work, and he had left in a great hurry!"
Oh...Zhao Yu understood that this was probably because Mi Aijun had been afraid that he would be found out, and went someplace to hide.
"We've thoroughly checked his background. Mi Aijun's maternal grandmother's house was in Sanlitun—the same village as Jian Wenli! Also, Mi Aijun grew up in his grandmother's house, so he definitely knew Jian Wenli! His two cousins even worked at Jian Wenli's family's garment factory!"
"Oh...Mi Aijun knew about Jian Wenli's family background, and that her family was rich, so…" Zhao Yu went with the flow and asked, "Does he have any criminal record?"
"No!"
That made even more sense! Zhao Yu clenched his fist in excitement and thought to himself, "Although this fella duplicated keys for a living, but he was a layman in committing theft!"
"Liu Pengfei did not know him," Miao Ying said, "but it was highly possible that he knew Liu Pengfei! Therefore, it was very likely that he had tampered with the keys while duplicating them!"
"Yes!" Zhao Yu agreed. "He was aware that the keys he was duplicating belonged to Jian Wenli, who was rich! Therefore, he secretly duplicated another set with the intention of robbing them!"
"No matter what, this man is highly suspicious!" Miao Ying continued, "We've already confirmed that Mi Aijun is currently working at a factory in Jianglin province. We've already applied for a warrant of arrest. We'll be taking the two o'clock flight over to arrest him!"
"Great! Wish you a safe journey and great success! Catch this fella quick!" Zhao Yu quickly gave his blessings.
"Mmm…" Usually the other party would have hung up at this point,however, Miao Ying was still on the phone, and it was obvious that she wanted to say something else to Zhao Yu but stopped herself. Zhao Yu understood that Miao Ying was still curious as to how he had realized the significance of the lock and key.
As Zhao Yu had previously said many boastful and shameless words, Miao Ying thought that he was just a flashy guy without any substance. She had not thought that he could actually find an important clue, thus she was a little unwilling to accept this based on his subjective perception.
"Kekeke…" Zhao Yu laughed evilly and said, "What's up, Captain Miao? Are you thinking about where to treat me for dinner after the case is solved? Don't worry, I'm easily satisfied, just a small hotel will do…"
"Huh!" Miao Ying cut him off angrily and said, "Don't even think about it!" After this, she hung up again.
"Wahaha…" Not knowing why, but Zhao Yu felt extremely pleased seeing Miao Ying get angry; however, at the same time, Miao Ying's heroic posture and charming way appeared before his eyes, giving him endless good thoughts…
Now that there was some development to Jian Wenli's case, Zhao Yu could finally ease the burden in his mind. After returning to the dining table, he returned to his normal arrogant self, chatting jovially and talking nonsensical stuff with his colleagues.
As of now, the first issue had been settled, and he was left with only the second issue! After the group had almost finished eating, Zhao Yu suddenly asked, "Well...everyone, there's something that I need your help with. Does anyone know any expert in antique cash? I have some good stuff to sell!"