Nie Xiaoman's eyes flickered a few times, and he asked, "The dog is kept in your nephew's room?" ”

Lady Xie said: "Yes." It was a puppy, and Han Fei loved it. ”

"Won't it run out?"

"No, it won't. It never goes out. Unless Han Fei takes it out. ”

Nie Xiaoman's brows furrowed, and he continued his inquiry.

Xiaoman asked, "Since the dog was raised by himself, why did he bark when he came in?" ”

She replied, "There is a reason for this." I have a spring lock on the front door of my house. Every time he came back late at night, he used his own key, and the old mother of Lishui did not wait for his door. So when he returned, as soon as the dog heard the door knocking, he barked inside. ”

"So, whenever he comes back from outside, you always have to wake up the dog. Isn't it? ”

"Not necessarily. Sometimes I sleep soundly, sometimes he takes the dog out, then I won't wake up either. ”

Nie Xiaoman nodded: "Hey, how will it be in the future?" ”

Lady Xie said: "After I woke up, I talked to him a few words. ”

"What did you talk about?"

"Just the usual Q&A. I asked, 'Who'? And he said, 'It's me.'" Auntie, did you sleep? When I heard Hanfei's voice, I replied, 'I am asleep.' Han Fei, you bolt the iron door. He answered, and I fell back asleep. ”

Nie Xiaoman said: "Did you hear a dog barking or other sounds after that?" ”

The woman hesitated for a moment, shook her head, and said, "After that, I slept soundly and didn't hear anything. But Lishui's mother said she seemed to have heard the dog bark twice. ”

Nie Xiaoman's eyes shifted to the angle of the old woman standing behind the housewife. Jing Mo also turned his head to look at her. She was in her fifties and sixties, with gray hair, a thin forehead, small eyes, and a seemingly honest countenance. She saw Xiao Man staring at her, and suddenly looked frightened.

Nie Xiaoman asked gently, "You don't have to be afraid, have you really heard a dog bark twice?" Now you don't have to panic, just tell us what you know. ”

The old mother swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva and replied with a Lishui accent: "Yes." Master, once Young Master Liu came back, I obviously heard it, because Xiao Huang screamed very loudly. But the second barking was different from the first one, as if it stopped after only one barking, so I didn't care about it at the time. ”

Nie Xiaoman suddenly muttered to himself, "Well, this is very important. …… You said it very well, although the dog only barked once, but you heard it, didn't you? ”

"Yes. I heard that. ”

"Before and after, I called twice. Right? ”

"Yes."

"So do you remember how much time was there between these two barks?"

The old mother was stunned for a while, and then she said, "This-this-master, I heard it in a daze, and I can't remember the time." ”

Nie Xiaoman furrowed his eyebrows again: "Then have you heard any other sounds?" For example, the sound of someone arguing and fighting, or the sound of the door opening? ”

"Nope. But—"

"But what?"

"I- I still seem to hear the sound of tap water coming open in the back. At that time, I turned over, and I also heard it in my ignorance, whether it was true or not, I dare not say. ”

Nie Xiaoman nodded and stopped. Feng Zizhou took advantage of the time to interject again.

Feng Zizhou said: "That may be true. Since the murderer has washed his bloody hands after the fact, of course he has to release water. Moreover, the water outside the window and the icy blood in the basin are proof. ”

Nie Xiaoman nodded again to affirm Feng Zizhou's opinion, and then changed the topic.

"So, isn't your bedroom just downstairs?"

"Yes, under the stairs."

"If there's a loud noise, of course you have to wake up. Isn't it? ”

"Hmm. But when I'm asleep, I don't necessarily hear casual conversations, or the sound of doors opening and closing. ”

"So you really didn't hear any loud noises?"

"Nope."

Nie Xiaoman touched his chin and said to himself: "It's so strange that such a powerful bloody case will not make a loud noise!" ”

Feng Zizhou said: "If the murderer's movements are fast enough, he will choke the other party's throat at once, and there may not be a sound." ”

But Nie Xiaoman ignored it, and seemed to think about a new question in contemplation. Feng Zizhou interjected again, and he said: "Mother, this murder case was discovered by you alone, and you should tell this adult more carefully." ”

The old woman swallowed another swallow of saliva before she said, "This morning, Ah Si went out to buy vegetables. I made some water and went to the young master's room to get the basin as usual. Unexpectedly, the door of this room was hidden and unlocked, and the oil lamp was still on in the room. As soon as I pushed the door in, I saw the scary look - ouch! Scare the hell out of me! ”

Her voice choked and her body trembled.

Nie Xiaoman said: "You don't have to be afraid, keep talking calmly." How was he then? ”

The old woman stopped, held the back of her mistress's chair, and then said in a trembling voice: "He—he was lying stiff on the floor, his face covered in blood!" …… Hey, what a miserable death! ”

The old woman simply grabbed the back of the chair with both hands. Her eyes looked at the floor of the chamber, her bloodied lips quivering as if the corpse were still lying on the floor. Nie Xiaoman didn't speak for the time being. Feng Zizhou seemed impatient, but it was inconvenient to interject.

She pointed to a chair with her fingers as if sympathetically, and she said, "Don't be afraid, it's okay, there are adults here, you sit down and say." ”

The old woman shook her head, still standing on the back of her chair.

Nie Xiaoman asked slowly, "Are you feeling better, how will you be in the future?" Have you ever moved anything in this room? ”

The old mother shook her head again and again and said, "No." I'm so scared that my soul is not on my body, where do I dare to touch anything? I hurried out and went upstairs to tell the young lady. When the young woman came down to see it, she was scared or something. She told me to go out and call the police. I walked to the gate and saw that there was no latch at the front door. ”

"Where's the spring lock on the door?"

"The spring lock is also open, and the door opens as soon as it is opened."

"So where did you get in and out at first? Did you go through the back door? ”

The old mother replied, "Yes." Earlier, I used to take out the garbage and soak in the water through the back door. Ah Si also went through the back door. ”

Feng Zizhou raised his hand to Nie Xiaoman and said, "I have already examined the spring lock on the door, and there is no vision of prying. But it's a plain cheap spring lock, and it's not hard to get the same key. ”

The interrogation was suspended at this point.

Jing Mo already had an outline of what happened last night and what he discovered in the morning. Nie Xiaoman lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and then asked the landlady what to do in the future. It is said that after the case was discovered, she asked her neighbors to report to the government, and sent a male servant, Ah Si, to Qianju Street to inform her husband Xie Jiaqiang.