Chapter 60: The Murder at the Hotel

The motorcycle sped down the highway, Du Long leaning forward, driving at breakneck speed. Shen Bingqing sat behind him, her left hand holding a toolbox, her right hand gripping the rear bar of the motorcycle. She kept her back straight, head up, and legs tightly clamped around the motorcycle, trying to maintain a distance from Du Long, but her posture was awkward.

Since Du Long only had one helmet, the strong wind blew directly onto Shen Bingqing's face, penetrating every part of her, causing her eyelashes to be blown into her eyes, making her extremely uncomfortable. Soon, tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto her earlobes, then were blown away by the wind.

Shen Bingqing felt truly helpless. She knew Du Long was messing with her, but she couldn't get angry. If it weren't for Du Long's reminder, she might have been buried in paperwork for a long time.

Fortunately, both of them were in police uniforms, so even if the traffic police saw them breaking the rules, they would let them off. They arrived smoothly at the crime scene, a place called Dàyáng Hotel.

The hotel was already under police control. Shen Bingqing showed her police ID to the local police officer responsible for maintaining order at the scene and said, "He is also part of our squad. He just reported today and hasn't received his new ID yet."

The officer nodded and let them in. The crime scene was on the third floor of the hotel. Du Long and Shen Bingqing took the elevator directly up. In the elevator, Du Long turned around and said to Shen Bingqing, "Sorry, I drove too fast."

Shen Bingqing's eyes were red, and she just grunted, not acknowledging Du Long.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Du Long walked out. The corridor on both sides had room numbers arranged in odd and even order. The crime scene was room 318, at the end of the corridor to the right of the elevator.

"Hey, be careful!" Meng Hao heard the elevator and poked his head out of the room, calling, "Don't step on the floor randomly. Put on shoe covers and gloves, and come help."

Shen Bingqing opened the toolbox and put on the shoe covers. Du Long hadn't received his toolbox yet, so he chuckled and said, "Do you have any spares? Can I have a set? I'll return them when I get my own."

Shen Bingqing silently threw a pair of shoe covers and gloves to Du Long. The two of them then walked towards room 318.

As soon as they entered the room, they saw Meng Hao and Liu Yong'an investigating the scene. The double room was covered in blood from the bathroom to the corridor and throughout the room. Du Long and the others had arrived late, and the body had already been taken away by the forensic team. However, just by looking at the bloodstains, one could tell the victim's tragic state and the brutality of the killer.

Meng Hao said to Du Long, "Du Long, help me collect evidence. I'll bag the evidence, and you'll label it for me."

Du Long squatted down and said, "Sure. Was the victim male or female? How many cuts did they have, given all the blood?"

Meng Hao picked up a fine strand of fiber with tweezers and placed it in an evidence bag. Du Long took the label, filled in the evidence number and name, and after Meng Hao confirmed it was correct, he attached it to the evidence bag and placed it in the evidence box.

Shen Bingqing was left on the side, standing awkwardly at the door. After a while, she calmed down and began to observe and search for clues from outside the door.

"It was a woman, with multiple stab wounds, about seventeen or eighteen cuts. From the distribution and shape of the bloodstains, it seems the victim was attacked while showering. The killer suddenly burst in and attacked her. She first escaped from the bathroom, trying to open the door to flee, but the killer blocked the door with his hand. She then fled into the room, possibly trying to call for help through the window. The killer pursued her and killed her between the two beds."

Meng Hao explained in detail, hoping Du Long would quickly get into the right mindset. However, Du Long misunderstood and chuckled, saying, "So the victim was naked?"

Meng Hao glanced at Shen Bingqing, who was examining the door lock, and said in a low voice, "Yes, she was quite young and beautiful, with a good figure..."

Du Long asked, "Do you know her background? Can you make an initial judgment on the nature of the case?"

Meng Hao shook his head and said, "The killer took the victim's handbag. We only know her name and ID number from the hotel registration. From the items she carried, it seems she wasn't a tourist in Yuming City. Moreover, her clothes were all designer brands, so she wasn't an ordinary worker. Captain Huang and the others are questioning the hotel staff. We initially suspect it might be a robbery-murder."

Du Long expressed doubt, "A robbery? Don't you think the killer was too brutal? A robbery-murder usually isn't this vicious."

Meng Hao said, "That's just an initial suspicion. What do you think it could be?"

Du Long looked around and said, "I think it could be a mix of a revenge killing and a robbery. Does the hotel have cameras?"

Meng Hao shook his head and said, "If it did, it would be simpler. If I were the owner, I'd install cameras everywhere. No one would dare to act recklessly. This is much more effective than a door god."

"Have you found anything?" Huang Jiehao's voice came. They had already finished questioning the hotel staff.

Meng Hao shook his head and said, "There are many clues, but none directly point to the culprit. Captain Huang, have you found anything?"

Huang Jiehao shook his head and said, "No. According to the staff, from last night until the discovery of the victim, no suspicious person was seen entering or leaving the hotel. The problem is that the victim's ID information is fake. We need to find out her real identity first."

Shen Bingqing suddenly said, "If the staff didn't lie, can we assume the killer wasn't an outsider? Perhaps he checked out after the incident?"

Huang Jiehao said, "I thought of that too. I asked the staff to provide a list of guests. Only two people checked out before the victim was discovered this morning, and their ID information was genuine. I've already asked Old Wei to investigate them. The killer might not have checked out, so we need to screen the remaining guests. Shen Bingqing, Du Long, you two come with me to question them."

Du Long and Shen Bingqing followed Huang Jiehao to the first floor. Huang Jiehao gave them a few instructions and then had the police officers bring the hotel guests to a corner of the lobby for detailed questioning.

When the hotel guests heard about the murder, they all wanted to check out and leave. However, they were stopped. When they learned that the police would question them and couldn't guarantee when they could leave, many became impatient.

A fat man in a suit loudly demanded, "What right do you have to detain us? This is a violation of the law, do you know that? You must consider the consequences of your actions!"