Detective L Episode 15 Recap
> Detective L Recap
Luo Fei brought Qin Xiaoman to Huiqi Bank to reenact the diamond theft that occurred ten years prior. He explained that Charlie Jin, a comprador from Richard's Company, and Zhao Da Tong, the company's manager, had entered the bank that day. Charlie Jin carried an imported coded briefcase from the USA, which contained priceless diamonds. During the reenactment, Luo Fei assumed the role of Charlie Jin, while Qin Xiaoman played Zhao Da Tong.
Luo Fei demonstrated how Zhao Da Tong, being an inside accomplice, would have subtly influenced Charlie Jin, who was known to be superstitious, to choose safe number 168, which signifies "good luck." Luo Fei clarified that if Charlie Jin had not chosen the predetermined number, the plan would have been abandoned without any losses. They proceeded to the safe room, noting that the German Krupps Company safes were equipped with the most advanced anti-theft systems.
Luo Fei highlighted that while the safes were impenetrable from the outside, the inner steel plate, which allowed for password resets, was secured by only four easily removable screws. This was the only step that required the safe to be open, creating a critical vulnerability. Luo Fei detailed the elaborate plan: Wang Ji Fu, the bank’s director, would have provided the original safe key and password to Zheng Yuan, a security guard, the night before.
Zheng Yuan, leveraging his duty, would then allow Fang Li Bin, an engineer highly skilled in safe mechanisms, to enter the vault. Fang Li Bin would replace the original lock cylinder of safe 168 with a specially made fake one, which could be opened with the original password. Charlie Jin, unfamiliar with such advanced safes, would not have noticed the swap when he reset his personal code, effectively falling into their trap.
However, the portable diamond briefcase also had an advanced alarm system with mercury sensors, which would trigger a loud alert at the slightest vibration. Only the box's password could deactivate it after it sounded. This detail had always puzzled Luo Fei. The following morning, Wang Ji Fu discovered safe 168 empty. The bank was immediately locked down, and a thorough search by police yielded no diamonds, leading the case to become an unsolved mystery.
Luo Fei dismissed the idea of Charlie Jin accidentally revealing his password, as he was cautious and had gone straight home after depositing the diamonds, meeting no one until the theft was discovered. As Luo Fei was describing how the alarm system on the briefcase seemed to make the theft impossible, a bank staff member informed them that their allocated time was up.
Luo Fei had a sudden realization about the significance of "time" in the case and rushed back to the police station. Luo Fei urgently informed the Captain that Du Jin Bao was not the true arsonist, requesting a 27-day delay in his judicial transfer. The Captain was reluctant, citing immense public pressure and even a theatrical play already dramatizing Du Jin Bao’s execution.
Luo Fei argued against sacrificing an innocent person to public opinion and vehemently asserted his deductions were based on inference, not mere conjecture. Although still skeptical, the Captain agreed to try and delay Du Jin Bao's case, but Luo Fei would only reiterate that "time is key" when pressed for more details. Twenty-seven days later, Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman were staking out the Huiqi Bank vault when Huo Wen Si arrived and accessed safe number 167.
Huo Wen Si feigned surprise at their presence, suggesting they were there to store items, but Luo Fei stated they were there for him. Huo Wen Si tried to deflect, suggesting they speak at his clinic, but Luo Fei insisted their conversation was urgent and had already arranged with the bank manager for their presence.
Luo Fei questioned Huo Wen Si about the decade-old diamond theft, which Huo Wen Si claimed to know nothing about, stating he was in Austria at the time. Luo Fei then revealed his breakthrough: the alarm on the diamond briefcase was battery-powered, and the battery had a lifespan of exactly ten years. He had confirmed this by calling the American manufacturer.
He then played a recording of Huo Wen Si's voice, seemingly from a past phone call, also inquiring about the "Donnine safe" battery life and confirming it was "ten years, right?" Luo Fei explained that the diamonds had never actually left the vault. Instead, Charlie Jin had been tricked into depositing them into safe 167, not 168, due to the number plates being swapped. A skilled person could switch these plates in under ten minutes.
Luo Fei deduced that the four conspirators had rented safe 167, swapped the plates before Charlie Jin’s arrival, making it appear as 168, and the fake lock cylinder prepared by Fang Li Bin was for the actual safe 168. To prevent discovery, Zhao Da Tong had scheduled Charlie Jin's deposit right before closing hours. After Charlie Jin left, Wang Ji Fu halted all further safe transactions.
Later that night, Zhao Da Tong, Wang Ji Fu, Fang Li Bin, and Zheng Yuan returned to the vault, restored the original number plates, and reinstalled the original lock cylinder on safe 168. To maintain their pact over ten years, the safe’s password was divided into three parts, known by Zhao Da Tong, Fang Li Bin, and Zheng Yuan, with Wang Ji Fu holding the key.
The next morning, Wang Ji Fu simply opened the (real) empty safe 168 and triggered the alarm, making everyone believe the diamonds were stolen, while the priceless gems remained in the adjacent safe 167. The conspirators then dispersed, changing jobs and residences, planning to reunite in ten years to retrieve the briefcase, whose alarm battery would by then be depleted.
Luo Fei had verified with the current bank manager that safe 167 had an anonymous, ten-year lease expiring that very day, with a unique clause prohibiting access for the entire decade. Luo Fei then confronted Huo Wen Si about possessing the key to safe 167, which Huo Wen Si vaguely claimed to have rented through an intermediary. Luo Fei, maintaining a composed demeanor, laid out his full deduction.
He revealed that a month prior, during a visit to Huo Wen Si's clinic, he and Qin Xiaoman had noticed a missing patient record number. Luo Fei suspected Huo Wen Si was hiding a specific name, like Zhao Da Tong. He theorized that Zhao Da Tong, seeking treatment for insomnia, had unknowingly revealed the diamond heist’s details and his segment of the password during hypnotherapy.
Luo Fei further explained that Huo Wen Si had used a drug called TSD, extracted from poisonous mushrooms. While small doses were calming, an overdose induced hallucinations and compromised psychological defenses. A month ago, Huo Wen Si had infiltrated Zhao Da Tong’s home, forced him to overdose on TSD to extract the password, then set the house ablaze to destroy evidence and divert attention, resulting in the deaths of ten people.
When Huo Wen Si tried to claim Du Jin Bao had confessed to the arson, Luo Fei dismissed it, stating Du Jin Bao was merely a scapegoat whose sleepwalking condition Huo Wen Si had exploited by intensifying his symptoms to ensure he was out of his house every Sunday night. Huo Wen Si himself had set the fires, then planted incriminating evidence in Du Jin Bao's home, leading Du Jin Bao to believe he was responsible upon waking.
Huo Wen Si had systematically eliminated Zhao Da Tong, Fang Li Bin, and Zheng Yuan using the same TSD overdose method to obtain each segment of the password and the key. His plan was to kill Wang Ji Fu, secure the final key, burn the evidence, and frame Du Jin Bao. However, Huo Wen Si made a critical error: he overlooked Wang Ji Fu's profession as a newspaper editor.
Wang Ji Fu, with access to raw news, discovered Zhao Da Tong's death in the first fire, causing him distress and fear that the safe would remain locked forever. Seeing Fang Li Bin's name in the second fire's casualties escalated his fear, making him believe Zheng Yuan was eliminating them to keep all the diamonds. He booby-trapped his home to capture Zheng Yuan. When Zheng Yuan's name appeared among the third fire's victims, Wang Ji Fu's panic turned into terror.
As a superstitious man, he concluded Charlie Jin's ghost was seeking revenge, leading him to cover his house with protective spells. His wife, witnessing his erratic behavior, reported him to the police, inadvertently drawing Luo Fei and Qin Xiaoman into the case and disrupting Huo Wen Si’s meticulous plan.
Luo Fei recounted how he and Qin Xiaoman had interrupted Huo Wen Si’s attempt to kill Wang Ji Fu, forcing Huo Wen Si to flee and leave behind an item (presumably a TSD vial) that led them to his clinic. Undeterred, Huo Wen Si concocted an alibi and provided misleading clues to buy time.
He then used the fabricated cinema fire as a diversion, intending to kill Wang Ji Fu, secure the key, burn the evidence, and frame Du Jin Bao. Qin Xiaoman had witnessed Wang Ji Fu in the fire, "laughing loudly," a tell-tale sign of TSD overdose. Huo Wen Si attempted to use his alibi of treating Ma Tian Li, a client with insomnia, every Sunday evening.
But Luo Fei had checked Ma Tian Li's home and found his clocks had no working mechanisms, confirming that Ma Tian Li, who required absolute silence, couldn't corroborate the exact time of the treatments, exposing Huo Wen Si's fabricated alibi. Qin Xiaoman then pushed Huo Wen Si aside, and she and Luo Fei opened safe 167, revealing Charlie Jin's diamond box inside.
With no further room for denial, Huo Wen Si attempted to flee but was apprehended by the Captain and his team, who had been lying in wait. In prison, Huo Wen Si requested to see Luo Fei. He expressed deep regret, admitting that his greed had blinded him and ruined their potential friendship. He promised to reflect on his actions while incarcerated. Luo Fei pressed him about inviting Qin Xiaoman to a non-existent dance.
Huo Wen Si confessed it was a deliberate ploy to "disturb" their investigation, specifically Luo Fei, as he was aware of Luo Fei’s feelings for Qin Xiaoman. He asked Luo Fei to apologize to Qin Xiaoman on his behalf. Luo Fei, however, sensed that Huo Wen Si was still concealing something. Later, Huo Wen Si was brutally beaten by other inmates. The Captain, now in a wheelchair, passed by, and Huo Wen Si stared at him with an intense gaze.
Qin Xiaoman playfully teased Luo Fei about Huo Wen Si’s assessment of his feelings for Qin Xiaoman, causing Luo Fei to become flustered. In a reflective letter, Luo Fei contemplated how personal choices define one's path, noting how some succumb to greed while others, driven by justice and faith, persevere through darkness. The narrative then transitioned to a new case where victims were found with smiles on their faces, having died from laughing and subsequent oxygen deprivation.
Post-mortem whipping marks were also noted. A star-shaped earring, previously mentioned by Luo Fei, was found in one victim's stomach, linking it to a five-year-old serial murder case. It was revealed that Ouyang Xun had previously disbanded the special task force for that case, and the murders had ceased, suggesting a "dirty deal" between him and the killer. Qin Xiaoman, having learned about hypnosis, attempted to hypnotize Luo Fei to try out her new skill, but Luo Fei, despite claiming no fear, humorously dodged her attempts.
