SFTD -Chapter 235 Dead End

The female manager, seeing the cold, oppressive gaze of him, began to tremble uncontrollably. The killing intent radiating from him made the entire room feel suffocating. She quickly answered: “He—he’ll be here soon. He said he’s coming right away!”

As her voice fell, a sound came from the revolving door.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

Sure enough, a man pushed the door open and rushed in. His hurried steps made his identity obvious even before anyone confirmed it.

Officer Hu narrowed his eyes, staring at the young man for a long moment before shifting his gaze away, though a trace of suspicion lingered.

The man walked in, glanced around at the police filling the room, and paused at the chaotic scene. Then he headed straight for the bar, where the female manager stood. He asked sternly:

“What’s going on?”

The manager glanced at the officers beside her and didn’t dare speak loudly. Instead, she looked toward Team Leader Huang. He withdrew his probing gaze.

“You the owner of this shop?” Huang asked.

“Yes, I am. I want to know why there are so many police here?”

Huang’s expression turned serious.

“Because there’s been a murder in your shop. Now answer my questions. Name and identity.”

The man froze, then looked toward man in a bloodstained suit.

Only then did he notice—this man in a black formal suit had a white shirt soaked in blood, with drops still falling from his sleeve.

“My name is Shao Zongmao,” he said, handing over his ID.

“Is this shop rented or purchased?” Huang continued.

Shao Zongmao took out his phone, opened his photo album, and showed several documents.

“I’ve been renting it for five years. It was renovated again after the Spring Festival. Recently I was negotiating to buy it from the landlord. Here’s the purchase agreement—I’ve already paid half. Once he returns from abroad, we’ll finalize the transfer.”

Huang returned the phone after reviewing it, narrowing his eyes.

Some of the officers present didn’t recognize Shao Zongmao, but Huang immediately remembered who he was.

He was the second son of Shao Guohui, executive vice president of Dongjian Group.

Someone like that actually renting a shop?

Huang glanced at him again.

“Oh? The son of Shao Guohui still needs to rent a place? I remember you invested in some real estate company, didn’t you?”

Shao shrugged.

“My father has money, not me. I built this shop myself. It’s been profitable.”

Zhou Hai searched his memory and suddenly remembered—the wall-hidden corpse case during New Year’s was at the Sofia Hotel, also under Dongjian Group. And that Shao Guohui seemed to have connections with Director Liu Da.

Now his son running a bridal shop here… it was truly strange.

Zhou Hai stepped forward.

“Do you know this place has a back door?”

Shao Zongmao looked surprised.

“A back door? I didn’t know there was one. How could there be a back door?”

Xu Biao played a video on his tablet. It showed the changing room—and behind a hidden wall covered in wallpaper, a concealed door appeared. Beyond it was a security door leading directly to a residential property area.

Shao Zongmao immediately shook his head.

“I don’t know anything about this! When I took over in 2009, there was no such door. I handed everything over to a design company.”

“Which design company?” Huang pressed.

Shao thought for a moment.

“A friend recommended them. They’re not based in this city. The company is called Jinchan Design. That’s all I know.”

Xu Biao quickly searched on his computer and found a company in Jinzhou named Jinchan Design, complete with contact details.

“Call them,” Huang ordered.

Xu Biao dialed immediately. The call connected.

“Hello, Jinchan Design.”

“This is the East South City Criminal Police Team. We’re investigating a case. Did you take on a bridal shop renovation project called ‘Paris Time’ in 2009? Who was the designer in charge?”

At the other end, the staff checked and responded: “Please wait… I’ve found the designer.”

A man then came on the line: “I’m Liu Tianming, the designer for Paris Time Bridal Shop. How can I help?”

“We want to confirm—did you personally go to the site?”

“Yes, I followed the project on-site the entire time.”

Xu Biao asked urgently: “Did you keep the original design drawings? Was there a back door leading to the residential corridor?”

Liu Tianming paused.

“Let me check the original CAD files…”

After a few minutes, he said: “I’ve found them and converted them to JPG. Send me your email, I’ll forward them. I checked—there was no back door.”

Soon, Xu Biao received the email and opened the drawings. He flipped through them one by one.

The overall structure matched the current building, but there was no hidden door anywhere.

Shao Zongmao also looked.

“This is the original design. There’s no back door.”

Silence fell.

Zhou Hai stared at the drawings.

If there was no back door on the blueprint…

Then how did the killer know about it?

How did they get inside the shop?

How did they obtain the key to the back exit?

His eyes narrowed sharply.

“The landlord. The only one left is the landlord.”

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Shao Zongmao.

He looked helpless.

“Don’t look at me like that. I contacted him after New Year’s. He thought for a long time before remembering the property. The purchase was being handled through a lawyer. You already saw the agreement—it was signed by legal proxy.”

Suddenly, Zhou Hai grabbed Shao Zongmao’s arm and shoved his phone in front of him.

“Cut the nonsense. Call the landlord now.”

Seeing the blood-soaked figure in front of him, Shao Zongmao swallowed his words and immediately dialed the number.

After a while, someone answered—a young woman speaking slightly broken Chinese.

“Hello?”

Shao Zongmao froze.

“Is this Mr. Bi Jianrui’s phone?”

“Yes. Are you a friend from China? My uncle Bi Jianrui passed away last week. Today is his funeral.”

Shao Zongmao’s eyes widened.

“Dead? But I already paid half the property price. I was waiting for him to return from the U.S. to finalize the transfer!”

“The lawyer will handle everything,” the woman replied calmly. “It’s stated in his will. Please contact the lawyer who previously handled the agreement.”

The call ended.

Shao Zongmao lowered his phone and looked at everyone in shock.

The others were equally stunned.

Zhou Hai felt his mind go slightly blank.

Dead.

The landlord was dead.

So now… they had fallen into a dead end again.