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墨書 Inktalez
"Bang," the lights in the morgue were turned on.
In the center of the morgue lay a male corpse covered with a white cloth.
Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan put on rubber gloves and white masks as they approached the body. Tao Ziwen lifted the white cloth covering the corpse, examining it while speaking to Wang Zhiyuan, who was holding a pen and paper behind him, "Note this down! The deceased is Zhu Dapeng, approximately 40 years old. The body is well-preserved, and the only fatal wound is located in the chest, which is a..."
A small round hole was found at the position of the heart on the right side of the male corpse's chest.
"It should be a long, narrow metal weapon that pierced the heart, causing death from excessive blood loss." Tao Ziwen seemed to have some doubts about his deduction, so his tone was slow. "Aside from the fatal wound, there are no signs of struggle or fighting on the deceased's body. Also, he was likely intoxicated at the time of death. Preliminary judgment suggests that it was a familiar person who suddenly attacked him without any defense. Wait..."
Tao Ziwen used his hand to scrape out a clump of black sticky substance from the wound on the male corpse. He twisted it in his fingers and sniffed it, frowning.
After leaving the morgue, Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan arrived at the crime scene—Zhu Dapeng's home.
Zhu Dapeng's wife, Zhu Fan, led Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan to the deceased's bedroom. The single bed in the bedroom was stained with large patches of blood, and there was a round hole pierced through both the bedding and the bed frame. Tao Ziwen then went to check the door lock and windows. There were signs of forced entry on the window. Tao Ziwen pushed open the window, revealing a wooden ladder outside.
Zhu Fan appeared somewhat anxious: "He always drank alcohol; he went out drinking the night before he died, and by the next morning I found that he had already..."
Zhu Fan choked up at this point, tears streaming down her face.
After examining the clues in the bedroom, Tao Ziwen suddenly asked, "Did you sleep apart that night?"
"Yes," Zhu Fan nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Does this have anything to do with the case?"
Wang Zhiyuan then asked, "Did your husband have any enemies?"
"I don't know!"
Zhu Fan raised her arm to wipe away her tears when Tao Ziwen suddenly noticed scars on her wrist. He grabbed Zhu Fan's wrist and rolled up her sleeve. Her arm was covered with numerous welts from beatings. Zhu Fan quickly pulled her arm back in panic.
"This... these are all from when he hit me after drinking. But I really didn't kill him!"
"I don't doubt you."
Tao Ziwen finished speaking and walked down the stairs.
The stairs showed signs of being bumped and had splatters of blood, which had been deliberately washed away. The victim's child, Zhu Peng, who was only in his teens, stood at the bottom of the stairs with a bandage wrapped around his arm. When he saw Zhu Fan, he called out, "Mom."
Zhu Fan's gaze was erratic: "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to stay at the hospital? Why are you being so disobedient?"
Zhu Fan hurried down the stairs and pulled Zhu Peng aside.
"What happened to the child's hand?" Tao Ziwen asked, interrupting Zhu Fan.
Zhu Fan stammered in response, "His hand... he called his dad for breakfast. When he saw his dad dead, he got scared coming down and fell! Officer, you don't suspect my son, do you?"
"I'm just asking casually."
Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan continued down the stairs. Wang Zhiyuan approached Zhu Peng and touched his arm, causing the child to grimace in pain.
Zhu Fan chuckled awkwardly: "The child's arm is broken."
Tao Ziwen bent down and patted Zhu Peng's shoulder: "Take care of your injury! We will definitely find the murderer who killed your dad!"
Zhu Peng looked at Wang Zhiyuan in fear, trying to hide behind Zhu Fan. Afterward, Tao Ziwen asked for the address of the bar where the victim had been drinking before and then left the victim's home.
On the way to the bar, Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan chatted as they walked along the street.
Wang Zhiyuan said, "Did you see the expressions on the wife and child's faces? Don't you have any doubts?"
"Of course I have doubts, but what evidence do we have?" Tao Ziwen sighed helplessly.
"Since we have doubts, why don't we bring her in for questioning at the police station?"
"Examine? How can we examine? We can't even find the murder weapon; we can't just arrest someone without any evidence, right?"
"That's true!" Wang Yuanzhi said, puzzled, gesturing with his hands. "What kind of weapon could be so thin and so long?"
Tao Ziwen did not answer, as he was still unsure whether the fatal wound on the victim was caused by that thin, long, circular weapon.
Tao Ziwen and Wang Yuanzhi arrived at the tavern and walked directly to the counter. They informed the tavern owner that they were investigating the murder case of Zhu Dapeng and wanted to understand what happened on the night of Zhu Dapeng's death while he was drinking there. The tavern owner was quite straightforward: "Ask away; I will tell you everything I know."
Tao Ziwen asked, "Zhu Dapeng was drinking at your tavern before he died. Do you know approximately what time he went home?"
"He left at four in the morning," the tavern owner replied.
Wang Yuanzhi felt curious: "Four in the morning? Does your tavern operate all night?"
"No! But I am sure it was four in the morning! That night, all our customers had left, and Zhu Dapeng was the only one remaining. Zhu Dapeng is a scoundrel who often drinks all night here. When we tried to get him to leave, he would even hit people! We are in this business and can't afford to offend anyone, so we just put up with it."
"Did Zhu Dapeng have any enemies?"
"Zhu Dapeng is lazy and greedy; everyone on this street dislikes him. However, I really can't think of anyone who has a grudge against him or would want to kill him."
At that moment, a customer in the tavern spoke up: "How could there be none? I think everyone on this street wishes that bastard Zhu Dapeng would die sooner!"
Wang Yuanzhi quickly followed up, "Do you know who has the biggest grudge against Zhu Dapeng?"
The customer replied, "Isn't it obvious? It's Zhu Dapeng's wife! He constantly beats and scolds that mother and son; if she were a hot-tempered woman, Zhu Dapeng would have been dead several times over!"
Tao Ziwen pressed further, "Besides his wife, who else does Zhu Dapeng have a grudge against?"
The tavern owner thought for a moment and interjected, "I remember not long ago he had a few arguments with Lao Fan, who sells meat here. Lao Fan is Zhu Dapeng's brother-in-law and a decent man; he shouldn't be someone who would kill Zhu Dapeng."
"A decent man?" The customer scoffed. "Zhu Dapeng bullies those who are weak; he doesn't dare offend others but finds ways to bully you honest folks!"
The tavern owner lowered his head shyly.
"Where is Lao Fan's butcher shop?"
This was the question posed by Tao Ziwen to the tavern owner, but a customer answered first.
"Not far, just head east from here, it's only a few steps away!"
"Alright, thank you, good sir!" After that, Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan left the tavern and headed to the butcher shop.
The owner of the butcher shop was named Fan Ming. When he saw Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan arrive at the pork shop, he thought they were there to buy meat and greeted them enthusiastically: "Gentlemen, I just slaughtered some pigs yesterday; take a look at this meat..."
Wang Zhiyuan waved his hand and said, "We’re not here to buy meat!"
"Then what are you here for…?"
Wang Zhiyuan replied, "We are police officers, here to inquire about something."
Only then did Fan Ming retract his habitual enthusiasm and smile.
Tao Ziwen surveyed the butcher shop for a moment before asking Fan Ming, "Do you know that Zhu Dapeng was murdered the night before last?"
"I know!"
"I heard that you had some conflicts with Zhu Dapeng recently?"
"He often bought meat without paying. Because of this, we even got into a fight not long ago! What? You don't suspect that I killed Wang Dapeng, do you?"
Tao Ziwen took a fire poker from a hook near the stove in the butcher shop and examined it closely.
(Note: A fire poker is not the same as fire tongs. Fire tongs are shaped like pincers used for handling coal briquettes, while a fire poker is like an iron rod with a pointed end, convenient for clearing burning coal and lumps in a coal stove.)
Wang Zhiyuan saw the fire poker and casually remarked, "This poker is both thin and long, just like the kind of weapon we imagine!"
Fan Ming immediately looked a bit scared. "What weapon? I don't know what you're talking about! A fire poker like this is something every household with a stove has!"
"Is that so?"
Tao Ziwen asked, and Fan Ming clearly paused for a moment before confidently saying, "Of course! If you don't believe me, you can check with any household on this street!"
Tao Ziwen put the fire poker back in its place. "Don't worry, I believe you are not the murderer!"
Fan Ming relaxed slightly.
Tao Ziwen continued, "However, I would like to ask, besides the people on this street, who else has Zhu Dapeng had conflicts with?"
Fan Ming scratched his head. "I wouldn't know! We are all in the same business, dealing with neighbors on this street; those I know are just the neighbors here."
"Lao Fan, if you think of any valuable clues, I hope you can come to the police station to find me. My name is Tao Ziwen."
"Absolutely! Definitely!"
The honest Fan Ming nodded and bowed as he saw Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan out of his pork shop.
Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan walked down the street.
Wang Zhiyuan said, "Ziwen, I think the owner of that pork shop is the most suspicious!"
"Why's that?"
"When I mentioned that the fire poker could be a murder weapon, his expression was clearly off."
"Have you forgotten about Zhu Dapeng's wife and child? They seem to be even more afraid of us, right?"
"Yes. But how can the owner of the pork shop be the same as them?"
"Why not? These people are used to being bullied by thugs and police, so it's normal for them to be cautious everywhere!"
Hearing this, Tao Ziwen couldn't help but sigh, while Wang Zhiyuan indignantly replied, "Hey, other police may bully them, but we haven't! So why should that owner be afraid of us?"
Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan continued their conversation as they walked forward.
After a tiring day of visits, the mystery surrounding Zhu Dapeng's murder seemed no closer to being solved.
After work, while Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan were having tea at a roadside tea house, Wang Zhiyuan complained again, "Brother Ziwen, after all these visits, have you noticed that everyone on this street hates Zhu Dapeng to the core? They’ve long been wishing for his death. What did Zhu Dapeng achieve in his life? If it were me, I would say Zhu Dapeng deserved to be killed!"
Tao Ziwen knew this was Wang Zhiyuan venting his frustrations, so he advised, "Brother Wang, we can't think like that. As police officers, it's our responsibility to bring the murderer of Zhu Dapeng to justice!"
"Everyone on this street has a motive to kill Zhu Dapeng, but who actually did it?"
Tao Ziwen analyzed based on today's investigation results: "Zhu Dapeng's bed is one meter high, and the weapon used to kill Wang Dapeng must also be at least one meter long. From this point of view, the murderer must be tall and strong enough to lift an iron rod and strike Zhu Dapeng right in the heart, piercing through a five-centimeter thick pine bed board. Other than that, we can't determine anything else."
"If you can't think of anything else, then stop trying!" Wang Zhiyuan called out to the tea house owner, "Boss, check please!"
The owner quickly walked over.
At that moment, Captain Wang Junpeng approached with a team of officers in pursuit. When he saw Tao Ziwen and Wang Zhiyuan, he deliberately stopped and walked over to greet them: "Oh look, isn't this Detective Tao Ziwen? So what's up? Have you cracked the case? I'm off to catch 'Thorned Rose' right now!"
Tao Ziwen didn't back down: "Captain Wang, I have some leads on my case. If catching your 'Thorned Rose' was that easy, he would have been caught by now! Think about it—someone with such skills can't just be caught by chasing them down!"
"You... you..." Wang Junpeng suddenly found himself at a loss for words. "I don't believe you! You just talk big; if we really fought it out, you definitely wouldn't win against me!"
Tao Ziwen replied, "You're only good at fighting!"
Wang Junpeng was furious and decided not to argue with Tao Ziwen any longer. He simply signaled his subordinates to run off into the distance.
Wang Zhiyuan, who had just settled accounts with his boss, walked over to Tao Ziwen and said, "Brother Ziwen, Wang Junpeng is just a simple-minded brute. I bet he will return empty-handed again today!"
Tao Ziwen smiled silently and shook his head.
"Brother Ziwen, should we follow him and see what the 'Thorned Rose' really looks like?"
"You can go if you want! It's late, and I should head home!" With that, Tao Ziwen left the teahouse.
"If you're not going, why should I?" Wang Zhiyuan followed behind Tao Ziwen as they both walked in the opposite direction of Wang Junpeng.
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