Detective L Episode 11 Recap
> Detective L Recap
Qin Xiaoman awoke suddenly to find Luo Fei sitting beside her, which startled her. Luo Fei informed her that Wang Jia De had injured an officer and stolen a pistol before escaping. They decided to return to the police station to understand the situation. At the station, Ye Chang Qing attempted to conceal his incompetence by fabricating a story about being ambushed from behind by Wang Jia De.
He claimed Wang Jia De had hit him, causing him to faint, and then made off with his pistol. However, Luo Fei quickly saw through the lie, noting Ye Chang Qing's physiological tells like dry mouth and darting eyes.
Luo Fei pointed out the inconsistencies in Ye Chang Qing's story, questioning why Wang Jia De, a stranger, would specifically seek to confess to him, why Ye Chang Qing accompanied the prisoner to the washroom personally, and most crucially, why his injury was on his face if he had been attacked from behind. Interrogated by Det Sup Savoy, Ye Chang Qing was forced to admit the truth.
He recounted how he had pressured Wang Jia De, accusing him of killing his wife, Zhao Qi Meng, after revealing she was an unregistered prostitute. He had even brandished his gun, threatening him with execution. Enraged, Wang Jia De grabbed the gun, vehemently declaring his and his wife's innocence, and fled the station.
Det Sup Savoy, frustrated by the mess and reprimanding Ye Chang Qing for his misconduct, ordered him to re-arrest Wang Jia De and retrieve the stolen pistol within twenty-four hours to make amends. He then assigned Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman to find the mysterious "Mrs. Li" who called Zhao Qi Meng, giving them a two-day deadline, while challenging Ye Chang Qing to solve the case in one day. Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman visited the telephone company.
They discovered that while outgoing calls were recorded for billing purposes, incoming calls were not. This made it impossible to trace the number of the "Mrs. Li" from past call records. Luo Fei devised a plan: he had a second phone installed at Wang Jia De's house. When the next call came in, Qin Xiaoman would impersonate Zhao Qi Meng to keep the caller on the line, while Luo Fei would notify the phone company to trace the incoming number.
Luo Fei explained that Wang Jia De's testimony indicated calls typically came in around 3 PM on Wednesdays and Fridays. As it was Friday, they expected a call. Qin Xiaoman found it challenging to adopt Zhao Qi Meng's supposedly soft and enchanting voice, but Luo Fei insisted, reminding her of Zhao Qi Meng's profession. At precisely 3 PM, the phone rang. Qin Xiaoman answered, imitating Zhao Qi Meng's voice.
The caller, "Mrs. Li," noted a change in voice, which Qin Xiaoman attributed to a cold. " Mrs. Li" instructed her to meet "Mr. Zhang" at the Little Hibiscus Hotel at 5:30 PM. Qin Xiaoman tried to delay the call, expressing her desire to quit the business because her husband was growing suspicious and she feared he might kill her. "
Mrs. Li" reassured her, reminding her of past struggles, but when she heard Luo Fei's voice in the background, she claimed someone was at her door and abruptly hung up. Luo Fei confirmed he had successfully traced the call. Armed with the address, Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman rushed to "Mrs. Li's" residence.
Inside, they found "Mrs. Li," whose real name was Qian Qi Yue, dead in her bed, murdered with the same method—a triangle knife cut to the right neck—as Zhao Qi Meng. The killer was still in the house and attempted to flee. Qin Xiaoman gave chase, pursuing the individual, who was dressed in a suit, into a nearby cinema.
Ye Chang Qing, having tracked Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman, arrived with his team and ordered the cinema to be sealed off, though he worried about the short time before the movie ended. In the dimly lit cinema, Luo Fei quickly identified the killer as a woman, despite her disguise.
He noted her running posture, the creases on her hair indicating she had worn a hat, the folds in her shirt suggesting she had just taken it out of her pants, and the visible sweat on her forehead and body. He found her discarded suit under her seat. The woman was revealed to be Sister Qi from 4th Road, a notorious figure.
Sister Qi vehemently denied the murder, stating she had only come to collect protection money from Qian Qi Yue and had fled in panic upon discovering the body and then the police. When Benjamin's autopsy report confirmed that both victims had fatal stab wounds to the right side of the neck, indicating a left-handed killer, Luo Fei immediately cleared Sister Qi.
He pointed out that Sister Qi only had two fingers on her left hand, making it impossible for her to wield a knife in such a manner. Furthermore, while there was blood on the soles of her shoes, there were no significant bloodstains on her clothing, which would have been unavoidable if she had committed such a bloody murder. With her name cleared, Sister Qi divulged that there was a third member of the unlicensed prostitute ring: Sun Qi Xue.
Luo Fei concluded that Sun Qi Xue was either the true killer or the next potential victim. Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman went to Sun Qi Xue's home. Qin Xiaoman had previously learned that Sun Qi Xue was well-regarded, and her husband, Zheng Song, was a respected school teacher, making her doubt the unlicensed prostitute claim. When they arrived, Sun Qi Xue appeared agitated upon hearing the names Zhao Qi Meng and Qian Qi Yue, denying any knowledge of them.
Her husband, Zheng Song, then entered, explaining that he suffered from severe lung disease and that Sun Qi Xue worked diligently as a private tutor to support their family, often returning home late. Qin Xiaoman felt conflicted about revealing the truth, not wanting to destroy the couple's relationship. Luo Fei, seeing their plight, offered a pretext.
He claimed to have a nephew in need of a tutor and suggested meeting Sun Qi Xue outside to discuss the matter further, so as not to disturb Zheng Song. Meeting privately, Sun Qi Xue tearfully recounted the tragic history of the three women. She revealed that she, Zhao Qi Meng (whom Madam Qi had named Qi Meng), and Qian Qi Yue (named Qi Yue by Madam Qi) were orphans who grew up together in a Suzhou orphanage.
At the age of sixteen, a woman named Madam Qi adopted them, but instead of providing a home, she brought them to a brothel called Man Ting Fang, forcing them into prostitution. Madam Qi also named Sun Qi Xue as Qi Xue. Despite becoming popular due to their beauty and youth, they endured constant abuse and exploitation, becoming "top cards" at Man Ting Fang. Eventually, they could no longer bear the suffering.
They wrote suicide notes and attempted to drown themselves in the Wei Qing River but were rescued by kind fishermen who then helped them reach Shanghai. In Shanghai, they started new lives, taking on various jobs like babysitting and factory work, and eventually found love. They changed their names and kept their past a secret from their new partners, claiming they had come to Shanghai as refugees. However, their newfound happiness was short-lived.
Qi Yue's partner left her, Qi Meng's husband became an abusive drunk, and Sun Qi Xue's husband, Zheng Song, contracted severe lung disease. Driven by financial hardship, they were forced to secretly return to their old profession. Qi Yue, who lived alone, became the contact person, arranging clients and assigning tasks to Qi Meng and Qi Xue, using aliases like "Mrs. Li" (a mahjong friend) and "student's parent" to disguise their activities.
Sun Qi Xue explained that Qi Meng was tragically murdered in a small hotel room while waiting for a client, a "Mr. Wang." She added that the real Mr. Wang, her client, arrived too late, and the murderer must have known the room number and followed Qi Meng. Qin Xiaoman then showed Sun Qi Xue photographs of Zhao Qi Meng and Qian Qi Yue's bodies, noting that their faces had been severely disfigured post-mortem.
Upon seeing the photos, Sun Qi Xue immediately identified Madam Qi as the killer. She recalled an incident at Man Ting Fang where Madam Qi had brutally scarred the face of another girl named Begonia who had tried to run away with a student, issuing a chilling warning that the same fate awaited any of them who dared to defy her.
Sun Qi Xue believed that if Madam Qi knew they were alive, she would "definitely give us a hard time." Luo Fei then concluded that Sun Qi Xue herself was the next target. He assured her that they would provide police protection for her family but Sun Qi Xue pleaded with them to keep her past a secret from her husband.
After she left, Luo Fei confirmed she couldn't be the murderer as she was right-handed, while the killer was left-handed. Meanwhile, Ye Chang Qing and his team located Wang Jia De, who was found drinking alone. Still reeling from the news of his wife's secret life, Wang Jia De was agitated and attacked a man, believing him to be a "shameless customer." Ye Chang Qing swiftly arrested him, retrieving his stolen pistol.
Convinced that he had captured the true murderer, Ye Chang Qing celebrated his success with his officers, drinking heavily. Upon learning that two of his officers, Ah Bin and Ah Hao, were guarding Sun Qi Xue's house at Luo Fei's request, he scoffed, believing Sun Qi Xue was no longer in danger since the "real culprit" was caught. He ordered the officers to return to the station.
Unaware of Ye Chang Qing's premature celebration, Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman boarded a train to Suzhou, determined to find Madam Qi and the now-defunct Man Ting Fang brothel from Sun Qi Xue's account. They arrived at the former brothel, now dark and deserted. Inside, they found several suicide notes which indicated there were "sisters four," not three, revealing that Sun Qi Xue had concealed the existence of a fourth person.
Luo Fei then immediately called Sun Qi Xue, requesting her to come to the police station for further questioning as she had not told them the entire truth about their past.
