The girl struggled to break free from my hand, but Yan Zhanpeng walked over and said, "Xie Xiaoyu, you are Da Luo's girlfriend, and you were the last person to contact him. It's normal for you to be here. Don't hide anything!"
"Director Yan, it really wasn't me. I didn't harm anyone!" Xie Xiaoyu said fearfully.
"If you didn't do it, why are you so nervous?" I retorted.
"I'm not afraid of you knowing my true identity and suspecting me. It's really just that!"
"Then when you saw Da Luo, what was he doing? Did you say anything to him?"
"He was about to start rehearsing when I met him on set. We just said a few casual words."
"What did you say?"
"Just encouraging words between lovers."
I looked at everyone. A photographer stepped forward and said, "That's right. I was nearby adjusting the lighting at the time and heard them talking."
"At that time, they weren't arguing?" I asked.
"No, their tone was very calm. Although I didn't hear very clearly, looking at their expressions, it should have been a simple conversation!" the photographer said.
I began to search the scene with tools like a shadowless reflector. Without cameras, I had to rely on eyewitnesses to determine where Da Luo had been or who he had contacted before his death.
I asked the police to question further. It turned out that besides his girlfriend and the photographer, there was also a person named Luo Bin who had contact with Da Luo. Luo Bin shared the same surname as Da Luo, and they had been good friends since college. Before the incident, Luo Bin and Da Luo were sitting on a sofa, chatting about life in the countryside. Luo Bin said that Da Luo seemed perfectly fine at the time and was even laughing and talking with him. He never thought something would happen to him.
I observed Luo Bin's reaction. On the surface, he seemed normal. But now that I had investigated everyone connected to Da Luo, if it wasn't him, was it someone from outside the crew who committed the crime?
Yan Zhanpeng quickly understood the situation and hurried to say, "Detective He, it seems it wasn't someone from our crew. I thought so last time, and it's the same situation this time. I believe you must be mistaken."
I had similar thoughts, but how could it be such a coincidence? Two times they went out to film, and something happened both times. Could the killer have been following the crew all along? But how would they have known the crew was coming here to film this time? Unless they were an insider!
I didn't voice my true thoughts, as I felt Yan Zhanpeng and the others wouldn't believe me. If I couldn't determine Da Luo's exact whereabouts before his death, I could only search manually, hoping to find some trace of him.
I went to Da Luo's resting place and found his luggage placed on a pile of straw. Luo Bin said, "We were sharing a room. This scene was supposed to be filmed for three days, but I didn't expect something to happen on the first day."
"Have you and Da Luo always had a good relationship?"
"Of course, we're brothers who used to share pants! Don't suspect me, I would never harm him. I can swear to you!"
"Uh, no need. I never said I suspected you!" I replied casually. As I rummaged through Da Luo's bedding, I accidentally found an atomizer under his pillow.
Picking it up, I saw the bottle seemed to contain some kind of medicine. There were a series of fingerprints on the bottle, which I carefully extracted with adhesive tape. I thought it looked like a pipe used for consuming drugs.
Although this method of drug use was uncommon, it wasn't unheard of. This device seemed to have been modified, and the fingerprints were likely Da Luo's.
Could it be that this wasn't a murder this time, but that Da Luo accidentally overdosed on drugs himself?
Luo Bin showed no surprise when he saw me find this. "Officer, I should have told you earlier that Da Luo liked to use this. Could this be the cause of his death?"
But he had been acting normally for a while then. If it were truly drug-induced death, it would have happened immediately. How could it have been delayed for so long? This clearly didn't add up.
The poison in Da Luo's body must have been tampered with to delay its effect. That's completely different from the toxicity of drug abuse. It seemed I would have to dissect the body to understand the truth.
I didn't answer Luo Bin. Until the autopsy, I considered everyone who had been in contact with Da Luo recently to be a suspect.
We took the body back. On the way, Yan Zhanpeng pulled me aside and said, "Detective He, can we still continue filming this drama?"
"No, not for now. Let's wait until we find the murderer of Da Luo!"
"Is that so? How long will that take?"
"It's hard to say, but it will be soon. I will definitely not let this killer escape the punishment of the law!" I deliberately emphasized my tone when I said this, gazed at the crew members, and then got into a forensic vehicle to leave.
Later, I asked people to investigate Luo Bin and Xie Xiaoyu, and I contacted Da Luo's relatives myself.
He Xin had already verified Da Luo's specific information. His name was Luo Dakang, a relatively decent historical drama actor from Yan Zhanpeng's company. According to our investigation, Luo Dakang was a righteous person who rarely got into conflicts with others. He had a good relationship with his girlfriend and frequently donated to impoverished areas, helping many newly emerging artists. He had trained quite a few excellent actors, and people in the industry considered Luo Dakang a very positive actor.
Looking at the information, He Xin couldn't help but sigh, "How could an actor like this be attacked? Who did it?"
"That's all superficial. Many entertainment companies, in order to build a good image for their contracted stars, do good deeds in their name to establish a positive public image. Because they are a community of interest, even if these artists make mistakes, they will try to help them escape punishment for the sake of profit. This Luo Dakang is definitely not as good as you imagine. If he were, he wouldn't be using drugs in private."
"That's right. Many people are blinded by appearances. Most of the news we see is just the tip of the iceberg of the entertainment industry. It's hard to uncover the shocking things that happen internally."
"Mm. He Xin has assigned me a task. I will send a message to everyone in the crew using Luo Dakang's identity. I want to see their reactions!"
"Uh, aren't you afraid they'll be scared to death by receiving a strange message?"
"Haha, I've got people watching them. If anyone acts abnormally, that person is likely problematic. Alright, I need to have a talk with the corpse now. I'll leave this to you!"