Chapter 92: Lost Her: Blood Curse
Chapter 92
Perhaps due to the approaching New Year, the crime rate had recently plummeted, and the Special Crime Unit hadn't received a case in over half a month.
On this day, the bureau chief called Fang Rui and Captain Li from the neighboring Criminal Investigation Unit Two into his office, assigning them a special task with a grave tone.
The chief's expression was very serious: "I have a case for you two to investigate, but the investigation must be kept completely confidential from outsiders, understand? Not even our internal staff can know about it."
Captain Li frowned and asked, "Chief, has something happened to some big shot?"
Fang Rui thought this was unlikely, because if a VIP was involved, they would surely set up a special task force for the investigation. The fact that the chief hadn't asked Mu Mian to investigate with him proved there was no deceased victim. Seeing the chief still beating around the bush without getting to the point, it probably wasn't an urgent case either.
"Do you know Su Momo?" the chief asked.
Captain Li replied, "No... Is she some female leader?"
Fang Rui thought for a moment, there shouldn't be any such big shot in Jiangzhou City.
"She's not a leader, she's our city's big money-maker," the chief said, slapping a newspaper down in front of Fang Rui and Captain Li.
The newspaper headline read: Su Momo Boosts Jiangzhou City's Tourism Revenue by 1.7 Billion in Half a Month.
Fang Rui thought she must be some female entrepreneur. Only after carefully reading the news did he realize that Su Momo was a famous actress who had starred in many hit dramas. She had recently filmed a popular idol drama called "Secrets of the Deep Sea," which was a massive hit. The drama's real locations were shot in Jiangzhou City, consequently causing the city's tourism industry to explode, raking in countless profits.
"Our city is about to host a large-scale tourism festival, and the tourism bureau has invited Su Momo to shoot a promotional video. However, during the filming process, a cursed doll was suddenly discovered in her hotel room. Your task is to find out who placed that cursed doll there. Before finding that person, you also need to ensure her safety."
Su Momo was staying at the Jiangzhou International Hotel. This was the largest five-star hotel in Jiangzhou City, with excellent security measures and strong privacy, making it a favorite among many celebrities.
She originally stayed in suite 808 on the eighth floor, but after discovering the terrifying cursed doll, she was frightened and moved to suite 606.
The hotel manager first took Fang Rui and Captain Li to the eighth floor, explaining the situation: "Last night around 10 PM, Miss Su returned from work and was about to go to bed. When she lifted the blanket, she saw that horrifying doll, and the blanket was covered in blood."
Seeing the room number, Captain Li couldn't help but comment, "Su Momo seems very superstitious about numerology, look at this room number, how auspicious."
"Miss Su is actually very nice, she never acts like a diva and doesn't have many demands for her living conditions. It's her assistant who's troublesome, always having a bunch of requirements when booking hotels, insisting that room numbers must include 8 or 6, and can't have 1, 4, or 7. What right does a mere assistant have to act so high and mighty? Once, she even gave Miss Su attitude. Well, it's only because Miss Su is so kind that she wasn't fired..."
The hotel suite was very spacious, with three rooms and a kitchen. Su Momo stayed in the room with windows facing south. Her room had a large floor-to-ceiling window, and standing by it, one could see the blue ocean.
"After discovering the cursed doll, we immediately sealed off this room to preserve the scene as much as possible."
Fang Rui saw that the middle of the bed sheet had been dyed dark red with blood, and a blood-stained cotton doll lay on it.
The doll was about the size of a palm, not looking particularly scary. It had delicate features and smooth hair, wearing pretty clothes. At first glance, the doll looked very much like Su Momo.
It was covered in needle holes, with a red thread sewn into a scar on its hand. It looked exactly like a scar left after a wrist-cutting suicide attempt. On its chest, the name "Su Momo" was embroidered crookedly.
The doll seemed to have been soaked in blood, becoming stiff after drying, with a strong stench. However, the blood didn't look like human blood, appearing darker in color.
Fang Rui put on gloves and felt the doll. Besides the clumped cotton inside, there seemed to be something else. He put the doll in an evidence bag, planning to ask Mu Mian to help examine whether the blood on it was human.
Fang Rui also checked the doors and windows but found no signs of forced entry.
The room was carpeted with white plush, and no suspicious footprints were found on it.
Fang Rui and Captain Li then went to the sixth floor to take Su Momo's statement.
The door was opened by a very beautiful girl. Seeing her wearing the latest designer coat worth over a hundred thousand yuan, Captain Li almost thought she was Su Momo. But her face didn't quite match.
Seeing Fang Rui and his colleague, she frowned slightly, looking at them warily, "Who are you?"
Fang Rui and Captain Li showed their badges and explained why they were there.
Her expression remained impatient, "You can tell me whatever it is. Momo isn't available to see visitors."
"Yaying, I called them here," Su Momo said from inside. "Please let them in."
Fang Rui and Captain Li entered the room to see Su Momo half-lying on the sofa. She was wearing thick, fluffy pajamas, no makeup, with her hair casually tied up. Her looks could only be described as pretty in a girl-next-door way, not stunning, and not even as beautiful as the girl who had opened the door.
She was watching TV with her legs crossed, holding a large bag of chips, not looking at all like someone who had just experienced a fright.
"Hello, officers. I'm Su Momo," she said, pointing to the beautiful girl. "This is my assistant, Liu Yaying."
Captain Li thought that if their identities were swapped, it would look more reasonable. Obviously, Liu Yaying's attire and appearance were more like a celebrity's, while Su Momo looked more like a small-time assistant.
"Officers, please, you must help me catch the person who cursed me!" Su Momo excitedly threw the chip bag onto the coffee table, rubbing her fingers to get rid of the chip crumbs stuck to them.
"Of all the curses they could choose, they cursed me to commit suicide by cutting my wrists. Me, Su Momo, with my money and career, how could I possibly commit suicide! So you must help me find that person. I want to ask the one who cursed me, why be so vicious!"
Fang Rui asked, "When you were staying in 808, besides the hotel staff, who else had a keycard to your room?"
"Myself, Yaying, and my life assistant Qi Fang, the three of us all had keycards," Su Momo said, then added after thinking, "They're both my own people, they couldn't possibly do such a thing. I suspect that one of the hotel staff is my anti-fan, and they took advantage of their work to sneak into my room and deliberately place this doll to upset me."
"Did you stay in that room the night before last?"
Su Momo nodded, "Yes, I stayed in that room the night before last, but I didn't notice anything unusual."
There was a surveillance camera in the hallway outside room 808, facing directly at the room door. Fang Rui retrieved the surveillance video from the day of the incident.
That morning around 7:30, Su Momo, assistant Liu Yaying, and life assistant Qi Fang all left the hotel suite together. At 10:43 PM, Su Momo and Qi Fang returned to the hotel. Shortly after, Qi Fang ran out of the suite screaming, then the hotel manager appeared in the surveillance footage.
Due to Su Momo's special status, her room was not cleaned by hotel staff, but by her life assistant Qi Fang.
In other words, that day, apart from the three of them, no outsiders had entered the room.