Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 170

Chapter 170: The Red Silk · La Soie Rouge

“It should be these.”

The person in charge of the school history museum placed the thick photo album on the table. The cover said “International Exchange Office.”

“Old He, you can take your time looking. We won’t disturb you.”

The person in charge left the key in the archives and turned to leave the room.

Shen Qinwen did not remember any Zhao Kang at all, let alone being able to distinguish him from so many blurry group photos. Only He Rongping had this ability.

She put on her reading glasses and slowly opened the first page, her fingers moving on the photo.

Qin Luo was afraid that the light was too dim and that Old He would not be able to recognize him, so she turned on her phone’s flashlight and held it slightly above her head to provide some extra light.

This had lasted for half an hour.

Qin Luo’s phone was already hot when He Rongping pointed to the photo album. “I’ve found one.”

In the photo, it was a standard reception room from the nineties, with a red carpet, a soft sofa, and a few large teacups on the table. The important leaders were shaking hands, and behind them was a long banner that said, “Foreign Expert Meeting.”

“It’s him.”

He Rongping’s fingertip landed on a tall and thin figure. “Zhao Kang.”

The man was wearing wide-rimmed glasses and was standing on the right side of the second row. He stood in the crowd with an indifferent expression, his smile unnatural. Besides that, he was no different from the other professors.

“He’s Chinese,” Shen Yiyi said.
“At that time, it was easier for Chinese to participate in projects,” Old He explained.
“Okay.”

After she had said “okay,” the room fell silent.

Qin Luo peeked at Shen Yiyi’s profile. She saw her staring at the photo with a blank expression.

A blurry photo where you couldn’t even see the outline clearly, it really didn’t bring back any memories. Qin Luo moved her phone’s light closer. “Can you look for others?”

“And this one.”

In every photo, Zhao Kang was in a suit and tie. His expression was always indifferent, like a glass separated by a reflective mirror.

Shen Yiyi was silent in He Lao’s identification. She looked at the glasses again and again, but she did not say anything.

Strange.

This did not match the posture of the shadow that was always with her, and it was a world of difference from the image of the criminal she had stabbed in her dream. She was like she was looking at a stranger, like every passenger who had brushed past her in the sea of life. She looked up, her gaze wandering between the photo and Qin Luo, and in the end, she only said, “I’m going to the restroom.”

The empty school building at night was terrifying.
The faucet was on, and the restroom without the lights on was the highest form of terror.

“Are you just washing your hands, or…”

Qin Luo was holding a flashlight, trying to increase her courage with the faint light. “Or is it psychological…”

From the way Shen Yiyi was frantically washing her hands, it should be that she was psychologically uneasy and annoyed. Qin Luo stopped at that, not wanting to put pressure on the other.

“Just now, Teacher He found some more group photos. Shall we go back and take another look?”

Shen Yiyi finally turned off the faucet, her hands held in front of her chest, the light and shadow flickering in her eyes.

“I can’t recognize him.”
Her tone was calm, as if she were exhausted.
“I thought I would be excited.”

Shen Yiyi had thought that she would be excited, that she would be like in a revenge novel, and would instantly recover all her memories, and would scream and identify the killer. Then the truth would rush out along the cracks of time, and her hatred could perfectly stop in the spring of this year.

But…

The thirty-five-year-old her and the nine-year-old her sitting on the bench at the police station were no different, still blank.

Qin Luo reached out to put her hand on her shoulder, but her movement hesitated before she touched her. “We’re looking for the connection between Zhao Kang and the sculpture. Who asked you to recall the case?”

In the end, she touched Shen Yiyi’s head, and her frozen ears. “No one is forcing you to remember.”

“I’m so cold.”

Qin Luo shook the arm that had been holding the flashlight high. “My arm is also very sore.”

Shen Yiyi withdrew those guilty words, took the phone from Qin Luo’s hand, and held it up for her. Then she interlocked her fingers with Qin Luo’s frozen red hand.

“Let’s go.”

When they came back, the desk in the archives was already covered with many photos, including a group photo of the printing factory, a group photo of the office, a group photo of the team, and a group photo of the project team.

“How come there’s no farewell group photo?”

Shen Yiyi arranged the group photos in chronological order. There were a total of five, with dates from October 1995 to March 1997. “When did Zhao Kang leave the school?”

“I remember it was at the end of June.”
“He left in June?”
“June was the end of the semester when his visiting scholar work ended.”

Shen Yiyi got to the point. “Then when did his work visa for the school end?”
He Rongping shook her head. “I’m not sure about that.”

Just as the two were talking, Qin Luo, who had been observing the group photo, couldn’t help but slam the table. “This pair of shoes.”

“This pair of shoes!”

Qin Luo shone her flashlight on it, gently blew away the dust on the photo paper, and pushed the photo paper to the center of the table, pointing to the bottom right corner, the pair of leather shoes hidden under the printing press.

It was a pair of wingtip derbies.
It was a stark contrast to the workers’ cloth shoes and old leather shoes in the group photo. That pair of derby shoes. The toe was slightly pointed, which was obviously different from the round-toed, flat-soled leather shoes that were popular in China in the nineties. Qin Luo had seen the shoe prints left at the crime scene in the materials. She couldn’t forget the photo of the pattern with bloodstains on the entryway mat.

“It’s an old-fashioned derby!”

Shen Yiyi bent down, her whole back pressed against the table, her fingers tracing the shoe.

Although the photo was yellowed, the brightness of the leather of the shoes, the dark shadow that was pressed out by the light, from a visual point of view, it was not easy to look away once you had stared at it.

“Let’s go to the criminal investigation team.”

Qin Luo was more direct than Shen Yiyi. She grabbed the photo and was about to go to the police station to report the case. “Didn’t they say that they needed a connection to approve the supplementary investigation request? Isn’t this an opportunity!”

***

Shen Yiyi did not choose to go directly to the criminal investigation team.

Although she would not be as clueless as she had been at nine, she did not want to be questioned by the criminal investigation team without one hundred percent evidence.

She did not like that feeling of helplessness.

So Shen Yiyi called Lu Shimao.

“Hmm?”
“Are you still on vacation?”
“No.”

Little Lu had a nasal voice and sneezed twice while she was speaking. “I’ve been transferred to a confidential mission, but I’m free now. What’s up?”

She had been busy looking for clues during the New Year and had not even sent a blessing to Little Lu. Now, after the holiday, she was asking for a favor. Shen Yiyi smiled wryly. “I do have something to trouble you with.”

“Hurry up and tell me.”

Shen Yiyi, who worked with corpse evidence, was not as professional as a trace evidence expert. “I want you to help me analyze a pair of shoes.”

“Send me the materials.” Lu Shimao got out of bed, and Shen Yiyi could hear the sound of her turning on her computer. “When do you need it?”

Shen Yiyi sent the materials to Lu Shimao. “As soon as possible.”

Lu Shimao clicked her mouse a couple of times, and then there was a pause.

She asked, “Is it your mother’s case?”
“Yes.”

Lu Shimao did not continue to ask. “Okay, I’ll help you take another look.”

“And.” Shen Yiyi sent another photo. “I found a photo today. I feel that the shoe shape is very similar. I don’t know if I can—”

“I’ll do my best.” Lu Shimao did not dare to make a promise to Shen Yiyi. “The materials are too old, and there’s a certain margin of error, but I’ll do my best to find a model to match.”

Shen Yiyi took a deep breath and finally smiled with relief. “Thanks.”

Lu Shimao began to input data into the computer software, and then she opened the restoration software and began to adjust the proportions. “Next time you come home, treat me to a meal.”

“No problem.”

Before she hung up, Shen Yiyi did not forget to remind the other. “Remember to take your medicine if you have a cold.”
“I know~”

***

Qin Luo had made two preparations. On one hand, she had found someone to investigate this Zhao Kang, and on the other, she was looking for this shoe shape at the same time.

Shen Yiyi had been looking for the shoe print pattern for many years. Not only had she looked for shoe mold factories and shoe wholesalers, but she had even occasionally browsed a shoe forum in the past. Until today, she had still found nothing. But now with the photo, the derby shoes that the suspected criminal had worn had a more concrete appearance. Qin Luo firmly believed that as long as they did not give up, the pair of shoes that had left a mark in the world would definitely be found by them.

Just three days later, in the afternoon, Shen Yiyi received a call from Little Lu.

“Sister Shen.”

Hearing her flying tone, Shen Yiyi guessed that Little Lu must have good news. “Hmm?”

“You’re so lucky.” Lu Shimao had been holding it in and trying to be serious, but when she got to this point, she suddenly giggled. “You met me.”

Hearing Lu Shimao’s suspense, Qin Luo was so anxious she was about to fly. “It’s a great fortune for Shen Yiyi to have met you. Hurry up and say it.”

“Let me tell you the result first.” Lu Shimao put away her smile and returned to the case. She sent over the shoe print identification summary. “The shoes match.”

“What matches?”

Qin Luo couldn’t believe it. She covered her mouth and took two steps back. “You found the shoes? Huh? What did they match?”

“It’s the shoes you asked me to check.” Lu Shimao was very rigorous when she talked about her profession. “Although I didn’t get the actual shoes, I have a friend…”

At this, Lu Shimao was a little guilty. She was not good at lying. She thought for a moment and then quickly retracted. “Alright, it’s Xue Tong.”

“You also know that these rich families…” At this, Little Lu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Alright, it’s not a rich family, it’s just that they—”

“Little Lu, get to the point,” Qin Luo reminded her.

Lu Shimao put away her smile. “She likes to wear some private custom brands, so I sent her the photo and asked her to identify the brand. Who knew that she really recognized it! Wow!!”

[The outer edge of the forefoot of the sole is shiny with small brass nails, and the fixed angle is asymmetrical. It’s basically a handmade custom-made model. And from the style, it’s a European shoe style.]
[This kind of sole will have a slight V-shaped diagonal groove to prevent slipping, forming a unique shoe print.]
[And most of the shoes have a burgundy sole.]
[You can ask Xue Si about the brand. I don’t wear men’s leather shoes – -]
[Forget it, I’ll ask for you. It’s Carette & Fils…]

Lu Shimao said, “I found the brand. I was originally thinking of checking the shoe diagrams and other materials, but I found that it’s really not sold to the public. I had no choice but to…”

She could only contact Xue Si and ask those rich kids who had bought Carette & Fils to help her take a picture of the sole. This had dragged on for several days.

“The sole craftsmanship now is very different from before, but the soles of handmade brands all have an exclusive craftsman’s label. The patterns are all hand-carved with a hook knife, and each pair is slightly different. And the brand’s hammer mark is… gone. It would be a little difficult to send it for identification.”

Shen Yiyi closed her eyes and already had a judgment.
She believed in the other’s professionalism. “Just judge by your experience.”

“But with the shoe materials, we can know the indentation of the arc line, and we can reconstruct the gait and the foot shape. This person is about 176cm tall, and his weight is probably only 130.”

“Damn it…”
Qin Luo couldn’t help but exclaim, “You’re amazing, Little Lu.”