My Roommate Is a Detective Episode 3 Recap
> My Roommate Is a Detective Recap
Bai Youning visited Wu Tianpeng, President of Donghai Power, to inquire further about the tram case. She pressed him about his company's past disagreements with Huakang Tram, to which Wu responded that business involves both cooperation and competition. He admitted that Donghai Power had previously charged Huakang Tram higher electricity rates, a move he claimed was fully legal and approved by the Municipal Council.
Wu also confirmed his past intention to acquire the then-struggling Huakang Tram, seeing it as a win-win, but negotiations had failed. Now that the tram company was in trouble, Lu Yao provocatively suggested Wu acquire it, which Wu dismissed as a trap. Later, upon returning to the Concession Police Station, Lu Yao noticed patrol officers carrying an unidentified body found by the Suzhou River.
Detecting a familiar scent on the deceased, Lu Yao insisted on an immediate autopsy, overriding the officers' plans for quick cremation. The autopsy revealed the victim, Mao San, had suffered a severe head injury, a cut face, abnormally high sodium and potassium levels in his blood, undigested food, and signs of having been bound at his hands and feet. Qiao Chusheng recognized Mao San as a notorious gambler and womanizer who often robbed night shift female workers.
Lu Yao suspected Mao San had witnessed something related to the tram case and was silenced. Qiao Chusheng then led Lu Yao to Mao San's accomplice, who admitted lending a stolen bicycle to Mao San. On the bicycle's tire, Lu Yao detected the scent of "Chamber bitter" and noted irregular bluestone particles in the mud, leading him to deduce a connection to a bluestone mine in Sheshan, where explosions likely occurred.
Driven by his desire to solve the case quickly and prompt Bai Youning to move out, Lu Yao urged an immediate investigation. Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng spent the night searching near the mine, convinced Mao San had been there. They soon discovered an abandoned warehouse concealing the missing tram. As they entered, hoping to find the missing female workers, they were ambushed by masked assailants.
One attacker lunged at Qiao Chusheng with a knife, but Lu Yao instinctively pulled him aside, saving his life. Lu Yao then retreated into a tent while Qiao Chusheng single-handedly subdued all the attackers. Emerging from his hiding spot, Lu Yao received Qiao Chusheng's gratitude for the rescue, though Lu Yao playfully claimed it was merely an instinct to protect his wallet. Qiao Chusheng, amused, promised to repay the favor. Qiao Chusheng summoned his officers to thoroughly search the area.
They located all the missing female workers in the back of the mountain, and Qiao Chusheng dispatched Adou to escort them back for statements. With the immediate task done, Lu Yao promptly called Bai Youning, demanding she move out as per their agreement. However, Bai Youning refused, asserting she would only leave once the true mastermind was caught. Suspecting Wu Tianpeng, Qiao Chusheng, along with Lu Yao and Bai Youning, confronted the Donghai Power president.
Wu denied any involvement, prompting Lu Yao to meticulously reconstruct the crime. He explained that Donghai Power, under the pretense of circuit repairs, had installed a temporary cable at a fork in the road. On the night of the incident, Wu's men secretly laid out dry ice and smoke cakes and a temporary cork track. The tram's power was then cut, allowing it to coast onto the cork track by inertia.
Smoke cakes were lit, female workers screamed and were subdued, and hot water poured on the dry ice created a dense fog, causing the ground around the rails to crack due to rapid temperature change. Under this artificial fog, the tram was manually switched onto the cork track, connected to the temporary cable, and silently moved away. It was later disassembled elsewhere and reassembled at the mine.
Lu Yao further accused Wu of planting fake dinosaur footprints to frame George, a British man fascinated by fossils, but pointed out that the old blood on the fossils didn't match the timeline of the crime. Bai Youning questioned Wu's elaborate motive. Qiao Chusheng explained that Wu aimed to cause panic, drive down Huakang Tram's stock, and then acquire it cheaply, unaware that Huakang had already secured insurance, thus foiling his financial scheme.
Bai Youning then linked this to previous incidents, asserting that the three-year-old electric shock accident, the involvement of relevant lawyers and media, and the recent family protests were all orchestrated by Wu. Lu Yao, recalling his two visits to Wu's office, highlighted changes to the furniture, curtains, and an ashtray, noting a strong cleaning agent smell. He then explained that Mao San, while waiting to rob night shift workers, stumbled upon the tram hijacking and gained a sulfur smell.
Mao San later attempted to blackmail Wu at his office, leading to his death. Lu Yao accused Wu of killing Mao San in that very room by striking him with a cigar ashtray, necessitating the room's cleanup. Wu denied it, demanding proof. Lu Yao presented the evidence: cigar tobacco found in Mao San's head wound matched the "Dannemann Royal" brand, which Lu Yao asserted was exclusive to Wu in Shanghai. Qiao Chusheng promptly ordered Wu Tianpeng's arrest.
After the case was closed, Lu Yao prepared a special meal, considering it a farewell to Bai Youning. However, Bai Youning refused to move, citing her pre-paid year's rent and demanding six months' rent as compensation from Lu Yao, which he reluctantly agreed to. When Bai Qili, Bai Youning's father, learned she was still living with Lu Yao, he became furious, deeming the arrangement inappropriate.
Qiao Chusheng tried to reassure him, claiming Bai Youning was thriving and that Lu Yao, though greedy, was not interested in women, including Bai Youning. Bai Qili, however, found this hard to believe and, despite Qiao Chusheng's efforts to calm him, ordered his men to monitor them. He instructed them to kill Lu Yao on the spot if he dared to "make a move" on Youning, or if Youning made a move on him.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaowen was being beaten for stealing Mr. Jiu's jade ring. Qiao Chusheng intervened, swiftly incapacitating Zhao's captors. He then instructed Salim to formally charge Zhao Xiaowen with larceny at the police station. Shortly after, patrol officers reported a new homicide: Shen Dazhi, the Chief of Residency Administration Section in Shanghai Police Department's Zhabei Branch, had been killed.
Back at the apartment, Lu Yao, still determined to make Bai Youning leave, deliberately played his violin loudly, waking her from her sleep after an all-night writing session and provoking a heated argument. Qiao Chusheng, after a preliminary assessment of Shen Dazhi's crime scene, sought Lu Yao's help. Lu Yao initially declined, citing the complex political entanglements between the Concession Police Station and the Chinese's jurisdiction.
Qiao Chusheng revealed that the Zhabei Police Chief was a disciple of Mr. Bai, who was pressing for a quick resolution to protect his protege's career, having invested heavily in his promotion. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yao blackmailed Qiao Chusheng for his expensive watch as payment for his services, which Qiao Chusheng reluctantly conceded. Bai Youning followed them to the crime scene. Upon entering Shen Dazhi's office, Lu Yao was immediately captivated by a global limited edition gramophone.
Qiao Chusheng reminded Bai Youning that no photographs were to be taken before the case was solved. Despite his academic background in anatomy, Lu Yao visibly struggled and vomited at the sight of the blood, earning a scoff from Bai Youning.
Regaining his composure, Lu Yao noted that Shen Dazhi was found with a gun in hand and a bullet hole in the ceiling, yet his head was almost completely severed, indicating a precise cut by a master of the blade, like an executioner. Officers explained that Shen Dazhi had gained his promotion ten years prior by catching the serial killer in the "Executioner Serial murder" case, a man named Wang Yidao, who had famously vowed revenge from beyond the grave.
This fueled suspicions of supernatural retribution among the police. Lu Yao observed old case files from that ten-year-old murder case laid out on Shen Dazhi's desk. Lu Yao meticulously examined the room, concluding the gramophone was the most suspicious item due to its opulence contrasting with the office's otherwise poor decor, its rarity, and the victim's apparent lack of sophistication for listening to Brahms. He wanted to take it for further study, but Bai Youning accused him of personal gain.
Qiao Chusheng interjected, explaining that the gramophone was a gift from Mr. Bai to the Police Chief, who had lent it to Shen Dazhi temporarily. He promised Lu Yao the gramophone if he solved the case. Feigning tiredness and claiming "dyslexia" for lengthy documents, Lu Yao asked Bai Youning to recount the "Executioner Serial murder" case from the files. She detailed how Wang Yidao, an executioner unemployed after beheadings were replaced by firing squads in 1911, began killing.
On January 3rd, 1915, a drunken Wang Yidao killed a murderer who had escaped justice. During the manhunt, two more beheading murders occurred. He was finally caught on February 5th in front of Xiangmanlou Restaurant while disposing of his fourth victim, a teacher, by a temporary patrol officer, Chief Shen. Wang Yidao confessed and was executed.
Lu Yao pointed out that while the first three victims had criminal records and were beheaded with a large knife, the fourth victim was a teacher, killed impulsively with a small knife piercing his heart. He also noted irregularities in the narrative style of the fourth case's file, suggesting it might have been a frame-up or a forced confession due to external pressure.
Lu Yao then instructed Qiao Chusheng to find any surviving relatives or contacts of the murdered teacher, particularly those who had contact with him on the day of his death. He also pointed out that the paper of the case file on Shen Dazhi's desk was not the standard industrial paper used by the police station, suggesting the killer had deliberately placed a forged file there.
Later, back in Shen Dazhi's office, Lu Yao was listening to records when the Police Chief arrived. The Chief confirmed that Shen Dazhi, despite his past success with the Wang Yidao case, was generally incompetent at investigative work, having never solved a significant case since. Lu Yao then borrowed the Police Chief's Parker pen, promising to return it.
