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墨書 Inktalez
In the surveillance footage from the shop on the street, a figure can be seen sitting in the minibus—this person is Wang Guihua. The last recording comes from the final shop on this street, showing that until the minibus drove out of the area, Wang Guihua was the only person inside. Beyond that point lies a long road leading down to Niulan Mountain, where there are no cameras, resulting in two hours of blank footage.
We cannot ascertain whether Wang Guihua conversed with Li Tang during the ride or what her mindset was while on the bus. The timing aligns, and it has become a certainty that Wang Guihua is the killer. The Second Team has reported that Wang Guihua has been apprehended and is currently on her way back.
Wang Guihua openly confessed to the fact that she killed someone. That night, after leaving the police station, she boarded the minibus driven by Li Tang. At that time, it was just her and Li Tang in the vehicle. After a struggle with her thoughts, Wang Guihua killed Li Tang. On the bus, she said to him, "I'm sorry."
Everyone in the department breathed a sigh of relief. The deadline given by higher-ups had already passed two days ago; tomorrow would be the final day. If they could not solve the case by then, the director would call in the Special Investigation Team to take over. The murder of driver Li Tang occurred at night without any witnesses, and citizens knew little about it. However, after so many days of gossip regarding the Niulan Mountain murder and body disposal case, various sensational versions had emerged.
Wang Guihua had not yet been brought back by the Second Team's detectives; instead, Zhang Fushun and Wang Guihua's child, Zhang Dongcheng, returned first. Zhang Dongcheng was tall and thin, looking quite refined with a pair of black-rimmed glasses. He carried a backpack slung over one shoulder, from which a book peeked out—its cover worn and tattered from frequent handling—revealing part of its title: "Notes of XXXX."
Zhang Dongcheng appeared somewhat listless, his eyes red and swollen as if he had just been crying. We found it difficult to speak; how could we tell him that his father had been murdered and that his mother was the killer? Captain Shi called Zhang Dongcheng into his office alone; none of us knew what he said to him inside. I turned to Yang Xiaojuan beside me and said, "If it were me, I would break down."
Yang Xiaojuan glanced at me and replied in a mature tone, "He won't. You see? Although it's clear he has cried before us, he shows no sign of weakness or sorrow here; his heart might be as strong as a rock."
But even rocks have their softer sides.
In the afternoon, Wang Guihua was brought back by detectives from the Second Team; she had been intercepted on the highway by Captain Lu. That night, she did not return home after killing driver Li Tang. Instead, she walked for an hour before taking a taxi with her limited money to buy a ticket for the farthest destination from Yuzhou City in an attempt to flee.
The forensic team compared fabric scraps found at the scene with clothing from Wang Guihua's home. A piece torn from the victim matched one of her garments, and blood detected on it belonged to Zhang Fushun. The physical evidence and witness testimonies aligned perfectly with motive and time of death. I never would have imagined that Wang Guihua—the seemingly simple villager—could commit such a crime.
Captain Shi asked, "Since you have already confessed, tell us what happened."
Wang Guihua displayed a somewhat numb smile as she looked at Captain Shi before finally saying, "On July 4th, he came back from work to give me money. That night he drank alcohol and started hitting me while saying hurtful things. After some time, he said he wanted a divorce and told me to get lost..."
"He could hit me," Wang Guihua said with a tragic smile spreading across her face. "But he couldn't divorce me. I had been with him for decades; how could he do this? So I hit him back—actually, he couldn't overpower me. I didn't use much strength; he just fell down. I thought he was dead and dragged him into the pigpen."
"Then I went back inside and stared blankly." Wang Guihua continued: "Afterward, I heard his cries. I immediately ran outside and saw... saw our old sow biting his head; its teeth were clamped onto his ear while he struggled but couldn't stand up. I wanted him dead; using a fruit knife from home, I stabbed him seven times... When he died, he clutched my clothes tightly—just like in those TV dramas."
"I live not far from that dry well. After he died, I threw his body into the well overnight and covered it with some large stones..."
What Wang Guihua described matched perfectly with the crime scene, and all the details aligned. Captain Shi asked, "Where is the murder weapon?"
Upon hearing Captain Shi's question, Wang Guihua lowered her head in silence. After a long pause, she finally spoke, "I saw it on television and knew that the murder weapon couldn't be left behind. So the next morning, I got into Master Li Tang's car. While sitting in the car, I threw the fruit knife out of the window. Unfortunately, I was alone at that moment, and Master Li saw me do it. Although he didn't know what I threw away, I knew that if you investigated him, he would definitely mention this..."
At this point, Wang Guihua's tears fell like pearls from a broken string, but they were not like the wailing she had done by the well that day: "I am sorry to Master Li. He has been running this route for six or seven years; we all know each other... He is a good person... On the way back, I spent fifty cents to buy a skipping rope and waited for Master Li. In the car, he chatted with me about life while I killed him."
"I sat right behind him, holding that skipping rope. When he stopped the car, I tightened the rope around his neck and pulled back hard. He was like a puppet; in no time at all, he stopped breathing..."
Captain Lu from the Second Team said outside, "This is the skipping rope. It has already been identified and matches the marks on the victim's neck. I never expected Wang Guihua would carry this rope with her and not discard it..."
Hearing this made me frown. I thought to myself: Since Wang Guihua knew she shouldn't leave behind the murder weapon, why did she keep this skipping rope? Did she anticipate her arrest and give up on resisting? Wang Guihua continued to speak haltingly while Captain Lu had already dispatched someone to trace the route of the minibus to find the murder weapon Wang Guihua had discarded.
After listening to Wang Guihua's words, my heart felt tumultuous; I couldn't calm down for a long time. All that remained was endless weeping—silent tears flowed without a sound. Outside the police station, Zhang Dongcheng was also in tears. One was inside while the other was outside. When Zhang Dongcheng saw me come out, he immediately stopped sobbing and wiped his tears with his fingers. My heart ached; unable to think of any comforting words, I could only leave silently.
The next day, the missing murder weapon was found lying quietly on the grass by the roadside. After identification, it matched perfectly with the knife wounds on the victim's body; this knife was indeed used to kill Zhang Fushun. It still had dried blood on it and only bore Wang Guihua's fingerprints.
This case had gone back and forth for about a week, but now it was finally solved. Everyone's mood shifted as Deputy Director Li held another brief meeting—this time a celebration meeting. The director expressed his approval of the criminal investigation team's ability to solve cases quickly through Deputy Director Li.
During the gathering, Deputy Director Li said, "Haha! The director doesn't need to invite anyone from the Special Investigation Team; there's no need at all! I've said before that everyone under me has skills equivalent to those in the Special Investigation Team—three days is all it takes! They deserve recognition!" Everyone applauded except for me; I felt there was still something amiss.
Noticing my furrowed brow, Captain Shi asked, "What's wrong?"
I replied, "I just feel that this case isn't as simple as it seems. Wang Guihua doesn't look like a killer at all. Although everything seems clear overall, there are still several aspects I can't understand."
Upon hearing this, Captain Shi stopped clapping and said to me, "You're right; I also have a vague feeling that something is off but can't pinpoint what it is. Whether it's motive or timing of the crime, everything matches up for Wang Guihua. Moreover, there’s physical evidence and a confession from her—so what exactly feels wrong?"
I carefully organized my thoughts and then said, "There are a few things I can't figure out. Since Wang Guihua knows that the murder weapon cannot be left behind, she must also know that her clothes shouldn't be left either. The victim clearly tore off her hem, so why didn't she discard it? Furthermore, why did she not throw away that green jump rope? Although these are minor details and seemingly insignificant, still..."
At that moment, Captain Lu from the Second Team walked in and said, "Wang Guihua has signed." As he spoke, he placed the file on the table. I scrutinized Wang Guihua's handwriting, beads of sweat forming on my forehead. Deputy Director Li nodded and then said, "Since the case is solved, let's hand it over to the prosecution."
Captain Lu nodded and was about to leave.
I instinctively blurted out, "Wang Guihua is not the Killer! The real Killer is someone else!"
In an instant, everyone's gaze was fixed on me. Yang Xiaojuan tugged at me from behind and said, "What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?" Deputy Director Li looked at me with interest and then asked, "I've reviewed the case files; a wealth of physical evidence proves that Wang Guihua is indeed the murderer. The motive is clear, the timing matches, and the suspect has signed off. What makes you think Wang Guihua is not the Killer?"
"The young colleague sometimes likes to show off," Deputy Director Li continued. "But you need to understand that this isn't a time for jokes. However, I heard from Captain Shi that you've made significant contributions to this case. Keep up the good work; you just graduated not long ago, and your future is bright."
It seemed that this case had already become an established fact, but I noticed something in the handwriting. If Captain Lu hadn't placed the file on the table, perhaps this case would have been closed just like that. The handwriting of someone who writes with their right hand differs from that of someone who writes with their left hand. Upon closer inspection, I found that Wang Guihua's handwriting showed a concentration of pressure on the left side; the first character appeared smudged as if it had been brushed against something.
These two small details indicated that Wang Guihua writes with her left hand! She is left-handed!
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