Yunzhou City, Ximei Art Gallery.
"It's too sudden," Zhang Qile's assistant, Xiao Qi, said sadly. "Ms. Zhang has an art exhibition next month! And she even invited a lot of foreign guests … "
Xiao Qi was a conservative girl who dressed like a woman.
"Does Zhang Qile live in the gallery?" Miao Ying asked her assistant as she looked at the paintings in the gallery.
"Yes!" Xiao Qi answered quickly. "Ms. Zhang likes to be free, so she designed a small apartment for herself on the second floor of the gallery. It's not big, but it's very modern. I … I can show you …"
"Then …" Miao Ying asked again, "When did you find out that Zhang Qile had disappeared?"
"It was … about a week ago?" Xiao Qi recalled. "About seven or eight days ago. I called her, but she didn't pick up. Her phone was switched off!"
"Oh …"
Miao Ying calculated the date. It was about two or three days before the incident, which was consistent with the time of disappearance that the police had.
Perhaps, after kidnapping Zhang Qile, the murderer didn't kill her immediately, but kept her captive for a day or two.
"Ms. Zhang used to do this all the time …" Xiao Qi said. "She was having dinner together tonight, and the next day she would be in Vienna …
So, when her phone was switched off, I didn't worry too much. I just thought she was on the plane … "
"Xiao Qi …" Miao Ying looked around and whispered, "We are here today to find out the truth and catch the murderer who killed Ms. Zhang. Do you understand?"
"This …" Xiao Qi was stunned. She bit her lip and nodded.
Miao Ying's eyes were sharp as she said, "So, you have to tell us everything you know about Zhang Qile. You can't keep anything from us!"
"I … I know." Xiao Qi nodded quickly. "I've been to the police station twice. I … I didn't dare to hide anything. I told you everything I know! "
"Among all her male friends, which one does Zhang Qile like the most?" Miao Ying asked.
"This … This is hard to say!" Xiao Qi's forehead was sweating. "I … I'm just Ms. Zhang's assistant. I never ask about her private life, and she won't tell me either …"
"I'm talking about my feelings!" Miao Ying asked, "Which one do you think Teacher Zhang likes the most?"
"Hmm … Zhang Chun, and … and Liu Xilin. These two seem to be doing well, right?" Little Qi said, "Both of them are second-generation heirs. One is unmarried and the other is single. I feel that Teacher Zhang likes both of them. Once, I saw Zhang Chun spending the night with Teacher Zhang at the art gallery …"
Oh …
Miao Ying had already looked through the information. Zhang Chun and Liu Xilin were indeed famous rich kids in the area. They were also the ones who had invested the most in Zhang Qile's gallery.
"Then …" Miao Ying asked again, "Have you heard about the rumors going around? For example, who has your Teacher Zhang hurt before? Or, who did you do something bad to? "
"This …" Little Qi was put in a spot.
"It's okay, you can say whatever you want to say," Miao Ying advised. "We will keep your secret!"
"This …" Xiao Qi hesitated for a moment, then said, "I think, since you've asked so many people, you should know, right?
"Teacher Zhang is a very casual person, and is quite open to relationships …"
"Of course, there are many rumors about her, but Teacher Zhang never cares about it."
"She, yes … She really values money and advocates money above all else. Sometimes, she's a little stingy, and her relationship with her family is very strained …"
"But, she's actually quite a nice person. She takes good care of us workers, and she never loses her temper …"
"I don't think she's trying to cheat her male friends. It's all consensual, so … she shouldn't have offended anyone, right?"
"Really?" Miao Ying asked again, "Are those men really that generous? Have they never been jealous or quarreled with Zhang Qile? "
"Quarreled … Huh …" Xiao Qi paused for a long time, then murmured, "At the end of last year, there was indeed a man who quarreled with Teacher Zhang. At that time, the art gallery was still being renovated, and Teacher Zhang was living in Xin Shan.
"Once, I went to her house with Teacher Zhang to get something, and I saw that Teacher Zhang's face was swollen. I asked her what happened, but she didn't tell me …"
"Later, I found out that she was beaten by a man. The man was a real estate developer, and he used to be very rich. He had a good memory with Teacher Zhang, and he had invested a lot of money in Teacher Zhang!"
"But, later, he got into a financial crisis. He probably wanted to borrow some money from Teacher Zhang, but Teacher Zhang didn't lend it to him, so he was beaten up!"
"Oh?"
At Miao Ying's signal, Wu Xiumin quickly wrote down the information in her notebook.
"What's the man's name?" Miao Ying asked.
"I don't know," Xiao Qi said. "But, I can help you ask. My former colleagues know better!"
"Okay …" Miao Ying nodded, then looked at the paintings on the wall.
These paintings were all realistic oil paintings. Although she didn't dare to compliment Zhang Qile's character, she had to admit that these paintings were indeed of high quality.
This showed that Zhang Qile had a certain level of attainment in painting.
"Is there any surveillance cameras in the gallery?" Miao Ying asked.
"Yes," Xiao Qi said quickly. "The police have already copied the surveillance cameras! The main entrance, inside the gallery, they are all there … "
"Yes," a local police officer behind Miao Ying said. "We have carefully checked the surveillance cameras and found that Zhang Qile didn't return to the gallery before the incident. She must have been kidnapped from somewhere else!"
"Teacher Zhang's car was parked in the parking lot behind," Xiao Qi added. "Did she go somewhere else?"
"The gallery is facing the street," Miao Ying said. "The parking lot is the public parking lot behind the street. After parking, Zhang Qile had to return to the gallery through the alley next to it!
If I were the murderer, I would choose to start from the alley! "
"Then …" Ran Tao thought for a moment, then volunteered. "Should I check the parking lot? See when she parked her car in the parking lot? "
"But …" Miao Ying guessed. "After catching her, she would have to be kidnapped, so she would need other means of transportation. The street outside the gallery is all under surveillance, so …"
"She could only return to the parking lot?" Ran Tao was confused.
"Or …" Wu Xiumin suddenly had an idea. "Countless experiences have taught us that sometimes a tricycle can be a more covert means of transportation, so …"
"We have to check all the surveillance cameras around," Miao Ying said. "We also have to track Zhang Qile's car to see when she went to the parking lot and where she went before that."
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