"Preliminary suspicion is that she took an overdose of sleeping pills in the bathtub and drowned after sinking into unconsciousness. Additionally, her father mentioned that she had expressed suicidal intentions multiple times due to her failure in the college entrance examination."

Upon hearing this, Liao Xingyu couldn't help but say, "Then doesn't this just sound like a regular suicide incident? What else is there to investigate?"

"The problem lies here. After the incident, the girl's father believes she committed suicide, but her mother thinks her daughter was cheerful and couldn't possibly have taken her own life, insisting that the girl was murdered."

"After receiving her request, the local police immediately began an investigation. Through interviews with the girl's classmates and teachers, everyone said they never heard of her having suicidal intentions."

"Moreover, the day before the incident, the girl had made plans with two close female friends to go shopping the next day."

Everyone heard this and also noticed the problem.

A person intending to commit suicide, how could they still have the mood to make plans with friends to go shopping?

"What about the sleeping pills? These are prescription drugs; if purchased, there should be a record, right?"

"We've checked, and there's no record."

"Through understanding, neither the girl nor her family had any need to take sleeping pills, making it even less likely for them to have purchased them. Therefore, the sleeping pills found in the girl's stomach appeared out of nowhere."

"Then did anyone investigate at the county hospital to see who recently bought sleeping pills?"

"We've also checked, and the police visited each of these people, but eventually ruled out their suspicions."

"This is odd. Where could a high school girl have gotten so many sleeping pills?"

"That's right; the county's criminal investigation team found this suspicious, but after a month of investigation with no significant leads, they had no choice but to ask us for help."

After a brief discussion about the case, it was almost lunchtime.

Everyone quickly ate lunch, and Zhao Donglai led a team and group four to Baiyang County.

Baiyang County is not far from the city, just a half-hour drive.

Knowing they were coming, the captain of the criminal investigation team, Zhou Dabao, led several key members downstairs to personally welcome them.

"Captain Zhao and colleagues, you must be tired from the journey. Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedules to help. On behalf of the entire county criminal investigation team, I express my gratitude."

"Captain Zhou, you're too kind."

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone briefly introduced each other.

Zhao Donglai, Liao Xingyu, and others are veterans, naturally.

Even if they don't normally work in the same location, they meet several times a year, and they're familiar enough with each other to engage in some customary exchanges.

But Luo Fei, the rising star in the police world, is now quite famous.

"It's truly an honor for our police team to have Luo Fei joining us this time."

"Even Director Zheng personally praised you as the pride of our police force, which shows how outstanding you are. We should all learn from you this time."

"Captain Zhou, you're too generous. I don't deserve it."

"Luo Fei, you're too modest..."

After more pleasantries, Zhao Dabao suggested, "Captain Zhao, how about we head upstairs to rest for a bit and then discuss the case?"

"No need, Captain Zhou. Let's head straight to Zheng Yue's house. You can tell us more about the case on the way."

Zhao Donglai directly declined Zhou Dabao's offer, insisting on going to the crime scene first.

Not opposing, he immediately called for a car to take them to Red River Town.

"The deceased's name was Zheng Yue, who had just turned eighteen this year and was the only child in her family. Her family lived in the town of Red River. Her parents ran a small supermarket there with good business."

"Her father also occasionally drove and delivered goods for others, living a relatively wealthy life in town. Both parents cherished Zheng Yue deeply."

On the way, Zhou Dabao briefly introduced Zheng Yue's basic situation.

Luo Fei listened while reviewing the police report and the incident records regarding this case.

Then he discovered a problem.

"Captain Zhou, I see the report time is at ten o'clock in the morning on July 1st, with the dispatch time at eleven fifteen. Does that mean you didn't see the original crime scene?"

"That's correct, we received the report afterwards."

"According to Zheng Yue's parents' recollection, Zheng Yue's mother was at their family's supermarket all day while her father, Zheng Kai, was out delivering goods, leaving Zheng Yue alone at home."

"Around six in the afternoon, after Zheng Kai finished his delivery and returned home, he knocked on the door but got no response, thinking his daughter had gone out to play, he opened the door himself. Upon entering, he heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom."

"Expecting it was his daughter bathing, he returned to his room... About half an hour later, when he went out again, he still heard water running, so he knocked on the bathroom door to remind his daughter to conserve water."

"Calling several times with no response, he worried something might be wrong and broke open the bathroom door, only to find the bathtub filling with water, but no sign of Zheng Yue."

"Not until he entered to turn off the water did he find Zheng Yue collapsed in the bathtub, water having already covered her mouth and nose."

"Since Zheng Kai had heard expressions of suicidal intent from his daughter before, he thought she had committed suicide, so he didn't report it to the police, but immediately called for an ambulance and drove Zheng Yue to the town hospital."

"Upon arrival at the hospital, the doctor said Zheng Yue had been dead for a long time. Zheng Kai, heartbroken, notified his wife and later contacted the funeral home."

"He initially planned to cremate his daughter the next day, allowing her to rest in peace, but his wife, Wang Yu, couldn't accept it, firmly opposed cremation and reported it to the police."

"After our response, forensic examination of Zheng Yue's body revealed no significant injuries. An autopsy found a large quantity of pulverized sleeping pills dissolved in water within her stomach."

"Later, we found a glass of unfinished water in her room, indeed containing sleeping pill components. Additionally, checks of her mouth, nose, trachea, and lungs showed signs of drowning but with little evidence of struggle."

"Therefore, we speculate she likely took the sleeping pills before turning on the bathtub faucet, and then after falling unconscious, was drowned by the filling water."

After hearing this, Luo Fei immediately spoke up, "There's a question: she's an adult. If someone wants to take sleeping pills, they can swallow a handful directly. Why would they crush them to dissolve in water?"

This immediately reminded everyone.

"Yeah, why didn't I think of that?" Zhou Dabao looked enlightened, giving Luo Fei a thumbs-up, "You truly are remarkable, Luo Fei..."

Before he could finish, Luo Fei interrupted.

"Captain Zhou, have you investigated Zheng Yue's father? What kind of person is he?"

It's not that he wanted to assume the worst, but there's something that struck him as off about Zheng Kai.

Ordinarily, parents facing the sudden loss of a child would be grief-stricken and in disbelief.

Just like Wang Yu, but Zheng Kai's reaction seemed curious.

Not to question whether the daughter's alleged suicidal thoughts were true or false.

But he accepted his daughter's death too readily, even preparing for cremation the next day.

This gives the impression of being in a hurry to destroy evidence.

Zhou Dabao understood his thought process, immediately saying, "We did investigate when we initially suspected her father."

"But after investigation, Zheng Kai had no motive nor opportunity to commit the crime."

"According to forensic examination, Zheng Yue's time of death is estimated around four o'clock in the afternoon, at which time Zheng Kai was still out delivering goods."

"Moreover, Zheng Kai and Wang Yu had good marital relations, handing over all earned money without any misconduct outside, and showed tremendous love for Zheng Yue, their only daughter."

"Whether neighbors, classmates, or teachers, all reported that, compared to her mother Wang Yu, Zheng Yue seemed to trust and rely more on her father, which even Wang Yu confirmed."

This answer indeed differed from Luo Fei's expectations.

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