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"Ah Huang, what's your take on this case?" Dai Liu casually turned his head to look at me. Ah Huang? It felt like he was calling a dog. I shot him a slightly displeased glance. Dai Liu, however, was the star of the entire criminal police team; many major cases had been solved by him. Although he was only seven or eight years older than me, he was already the Vice Captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit and was rumored to be the next team leader. Yet, he seemed a bit scatterbrained, and I found it hard to believe that this was the star detective; he appeared far from competent, composed, or shrewd.
"Liu Team!" I gathered my thoughts. To leave a good impression on Dai Liu, I spoke carefully. "From what I've seen at the scene, it aligns quite well with what Xiao Ye said. His wife died in their bed, stabbed in the chest. From the expression on the deceased's face, it looks like she was stabbed while asleep and then woke up in shock. But I think we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. We should take the following steps: First, we need an autopsy and fingerprint report to check for fingerprints and determine the time of death and what the victim had eaten; second, we should investigate the couple's social relationships and daily behavior, including the situation with this Sister-in-law—get a full picture of the family to see if there are any suspicious points; third, we need to verify Xiao Ye's statements against his current medical records and investigate his treatment process and doctors." I glanced at Dai Liu again. "That's about it."
Dai Liu smiled slightly. "Not bad. You can take a colleague with you to handle that. Just report back to me once you've gathered all the information by tomorrow morning. Alright, you can go now." Without giving me a chance to say anything more, Dai Liu turned back to flip through the notebook he had brought back from the victim's home.
What else could I do? I had no choice but to take Dai Liu's words as orders, find a colleague, and start working on these verification tasks separately. The process was tedious and the smell in the autopsy room was unbearable, but I focused on finding Dr. Lingyun at First Hospital. When I first saw him, his appearance matched his profession perfectly—about 5'9", with delicate features and a scholarly demeanor enhanced by gold-rimmed glasses; he was the epitome of an academic.
After hearing my purpose for visiting, he looked visibly surprised. "How could this happen? I am indeed Xiao Ye's psychologist. He has somnambulism and was referred to me for treatment about a year ago. I've reviewed his previous medical records and conducted relevant analyses to develop a treatment plan. There were times during this past year when he improved and didn't come to see me, but recently he returned for a follow-up appointment because his wife mentioned that during his sleepwalking episodes he would wander around with a knife in their room, showing dangerous tendencies. I've just treated him twice."
After recording all this information, I curiously asked Dr. Lingyun, "Can you briefly explain why people experience sleepwalking?"
"Oh, sure!" Dr. Lingyun perked up at the mention of professional matters. "A long time ago, there was a psychologist named Freud who specialized in psychoanalysis. He proposed that the subconscious is an instinct that exists in opposition to rationality—it's a part of human nature that seeks satisfaction and happiness in life. Although this subconscious is invisible and intangible, it unconsciously controls human speech and actions. However, reality can be harsh; people often struggle to reconcile their reality with their subconscious desires. The sleepwalking behavior of sleepwalkers often represents deep-seated thoughts they have; they may act out their inner dissatisfaction through their sleepwalking."
"Can sleepwalking lead to murder? And will they remember it upon waking?"
"Theoretically, yes; as for whether they remember or not varies—some patients completely forget while others wake up thinking it was just a dream."
I nodded thoughtfully and made copies of Xiao Ye's treatment records before bidding farewell to Dr. Lingyun and returning to the station.
I spent three consecutive days at the station analyzing various investigation reports and organizing my findings in preparation for the big examination on the fourth day; after all, this was my first case working under Dai Liu, and I wanted to do my best. After an all-nighter, I arrived early at Dai Liu's office on the fourth morning.
"Liu Team!"
"Come in and have a seat," Dai Liu said casually as always.
"I'd like to report on the investigation findings."
"Oh, fine, you."
"Report on the first point: The autopsy report is out. The deceased died around three in the early morning, with a single stab wound to the heart causing cardiac failure. No other external or internal injuries were found, nor were there any signs of poisoning. The crime scene investigation revealed that the murder weapon was an ordinary chef's knife, and the fingerprints on it indeed belong to Xiao Ye; his fingerprints were the only ones found. There were no signs of forced entry at the scene, and aside from the couple, no third-party fingerprints were discovered. Given that this is a high-end area with surveillance cameras installed, after reviewing the neighborhood footage, we can basically rule out the possibility of an outsider breaking in. The deceased had only some undigested food remnants in their stomach, and no special drugs have been identified so far. Lastly, there was semen found in the deceased's vagina, which has been confirmed to be Xiao Ye's. A cup in Xiao Ye's study contained traces of sleeping pills, but at a low concentration; strangely, the cup had fingerprints but no lip prints."
"Continue."
"The social relationship investigation has been completed. Xiao Ye and his wife, Sister-in-law, had no financial disputes or other complicated interpersonal relationships outside of their home; they were just normal businessman, a stay-at-home socialite, and a simple student. The neighboring households noted that this family rarely interacted with others; even neighbors seldom spoke to them. Visitors were extremely rare—almost nonexistent."
"Oh?" came an indifferent response.
"I also contacted Lingyun Doctor; he is indeed Xiao Ye's attending physician. Here is a copy of his medical records. I didn't find anything unusual; Xiao Ye was still receiving treatment before the incident." I thought for a moment and added, "Lingyun Doctor has no connections or social ties with this couple."
"So what is your conclusion?"
"It seems that Xiao Ye is not lying; this might be an accident."
"I looked at his wife's diary; the entries align closely with yours."
Could we conclude this as a case of sleepwalking murder? I thought to myself when Dai Liu interjected again.
"Ah Huang, go verify three more questions: First, try to find out where the knife came from. In his testimony, Xiao Ye stated that he had hidden all the knives in the house; so where did the weapon used during his sleepwalking come from? Did you ask Miao about it? Second, although a stab wound to the heart is fatal, as long as the knife isn't withdrawn immediately, the victim shouldn't die instantly; there should have been some struggle. This is common knowledge, yet the victim seemed to have died without any struggle—don't you find that strange? Thirdly, did Sister-in-law know about her brother-in-law's sleepwalking before? If these points aren't clarified, I believe we can't jump to conclusions too early." After finishing his remarks, Dai Liu ignored me again and turned back to look at Xiao Ye's medical records. Feeling awkward, I closed my notebook and left.
Due to Qi Miao's parents passing away early and having no relatives at home, Miao had taken leave and was staying at a hotel waiting for news about the case. I found her easily. She looked much more haggard than before; perhaps such experiences are hard for a simple girl to bear. After informing her of my purpose for visiting, I directly asked if she knew about her brother-in-law's sleepwalking condition. She actually had no idea when she first moved in because she always locked her door at night and was unaware of her brother-in-law's sleepwalking habits. It wasn't until later that her sister and brother-in-law told her about it. Eventually, when they started wandering around with knives at night, it became dangerous enough for Miao to lock her door tightly every night; she became even more afraid to come out at night. Little did she expect that something would still happen.
I frowned after hearing this. Given that there was Xiao Ye's semen found in his wife's autopsy report, it was clear that the couple had intimate relations that night. After their time together, did they sleep side by side or apart? If they slept apart, why did Qi warn her sister to lock the door but not do so herself? I continued to ask, "Miao, did you see any knives at home before the incident?" Miao lowered her head and thought for a moment. "There shouldn't be any outside. We only have a nail clipper and a peeler at home; it seems like all the other knives were taken outside by my brother-in-law. However, just before the incident, I saw my sister secretly bring back a Chef's Knife because it was inconvenient to cook sometimes. She usually hid it and used it when cooking. I didn't expect something like this to happen." Miao's eyes turned red again. Looking at her delicate face, I thought about how pitiful she was; whether it was an accident or not, she had lost two family members in an instant.
"Miao, does anyone in your family take sleeping pills at night?" "I wouldn't know about that. I don't take them, and I haven't heard my sister or brother-in-law mention it either." Miao still wore a worried expression. Her innocent demeanor made me feel an urge to protect her.
As soon as I returned to the station, I found out that Xiao Ye's parents had come to cause a scene, bringing reporters with them. They claimed that Xiao Ye had mental and psychological issues, waving around his medical records for the reporters to photograph. They demanded that the police close the case as an accident and release Xiao Ye for treatment. From what his father shouted, he seemed to be a representative from the county council, likely trying to pressure the station.
However, I didn't see Dai Liu anywhere. He couldn't possibly be unaware of such a significant event; he was probably hiding away. The staff handling these matters should be quite experienced. I decided to call Dai Liu directly. After listening to my report, he immediately instructed me to investigate the landline and mobile call records of the family of three. It was undeniable that Dai Liu was thorough in his considerations. The call records revealed some perplexing details with many suspicious points. Over the past month or two, Xiao Ye's most frequent calls were with Miao, followed by his wife Aki, with a few scattered calls to Ling Yun. In Aki's call records, her most frequent contact was with Ling Yun, then Xiao Ye, and lastly Miao. Meanwhile, Miao's most frequent calls were with Xiao Ye, followed by Aki, and surprisingly a few were with Ling Yun!
(To be continued!)
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