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墨書 Inktalez
In the first story, the Murderer killed two White-collar workers, who were not far apart in age. In the second story, the Murderer killed a family of three, with a significant age difference among them. In the Third Story, the Murderer killed three individuals of varying ages who lived in the same neighborhood.
We had been trying to find connections among these victims but had not uncovered any substantial links. We focused too much on sociological aspects without considering other factors. Regardless of gender, age, or interpersonal relationships, these were all tangible elements.
However, the Zodiac aspect was more abstract. We had never collected data on the victims' Zodiac signs and had not paid attention to what their signs were. It now seemed likely that these victims had different Zodiac signs. With this thought in mind, I immediately sent a text to Mary, asking her to look into the victims' Zodiac information.
Meanwhile, I continued my conversation with the elderly woman. "Grandma, do you really not know who took those bowls in the end? You know our identity; you should understand that we wouldn't come to your house without reason. This concerns many lives. Can you think carefully about who took those bowls?"
The old woman pondered for a moment before replying, "I truly forgot. I did draw those bowls myself, but I can't remember who they were sold to or given to in the end. As one gets older, memory declines significantly. I don't quite understand why someone would care so much about these bowls; if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known."
She waved her hand dismissively and then added, "But I do remember that this was the last time I drew them. Not long after that, my father fell seriously ill and passed away within a week. After his death, the family sold the factory and divided the money to live their own lives. When the factory closed, there were still quite a few unsold bowls left; they were all given away."
I nodded; it didn't seem appropriate to press an elderly person about events from over a decade ago. However, we hadn't come empty-handed; we had indeed gained an important clue. If the Murderer was killing according to the Twelve Zodiac Signs, then eight people had already died, leaving four more to go...
At that moment, Mary sent me the information. When I quickly counted, there were actually Nine People. I slapped my forehead; I had completely forgotten about the Adult Store Owner who had turned into bones by now. But when I looked closer, I was surprised to find that these Nine People indeed had different Zodiac signs.
The two White-collar workers belonged to the Rooster and Sheep signs respectively; in the family of three, the father was a Dragon, the mother was a Horse, and the daughter was an Ox. The Adult Store Owner was a Rabbit; Old Wang was a Rat; the widow across the street was a Snake; and that chattering child was a Tiger.
Suddenly it dawned on me: perhaps for every person who died, the Murderer would discard their corresponding bowl. When disposing of it in the sewer, the Murderer intended to throw away the Rat's bowl but encountered us instead; that's why they didn't discard all of them.
This meant three more people would die: one belonging to the Pig sign, one to the Dog sign, and one to the Chicken sign.
Among these three Zodiacs, I belonged to the Dog sign, Guan Zengbin belonged to the Pig sign, and Gu Chen belonged to the Chicken sign. This felt too coincidental and sent chills down my spine.
I pointed at these victims' Zodiacs and said, "See? These people's Zodiacs are all different."
Gu Chen and Guan Zengbin leaned over to take a look while Grandma curiously glanced over as well.
Gu Chen spoke up, "We have Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, and Monkey covered; we're just missing Chicken, Dog, and Pig now. However, this doesn't make it easy to find the Murderer since Zodiac signs cycle every twelve years and there's quite a range in ages. The Murderer has a wide selection of targets. Moreover, based on your deduction that the Murderer kills those who know their secret—could this just be coincidence?"
I furrowed my brow; according to my reasoning, the Murderer's choices weren't random at all. But if they were only killing based on Zodiac signs without any other motive involved—that would be considered random killing—just using their own set of operational criteria for murder.
So, could this be a coincidence, or is the Murderer doing this intentionally?
Moreover, what do the English words left at each of the three crime scenes tell us?
"By the way, Grandma," I said, "if you think of anything in the future, just give us a call."
Grandma nodded and suddenly said, "Wait a minute, I just remembered that someone like you came by yesterday too. You see, when you get old, your memory isn't what it used to be. Why do I feel like everything I've experienced in this life is so familiar? Just a moment."
The three of us exchanged glances, unsure of what Grandma meant.
Grandma began rummaging through a drawer for something while I stood beside her watching. I noticed that the drawer was filled with all sorts of items—various medicine boxes, screws, and other bits and pieces. Grandma's identification card was also on the table, so I took it out and glanced at it.
"Grandma, you're sixty-five this year?" I looked at the ID and said, "You seem to be in pretty good shape."
Grandma smiled and replied, "I suppose so."
I handed the ID back to her and said, "Make sure to keep this safe; don’t leave it lying around. If it gets scratched or damaged, it could cause problems later."
Grandma nodded and said, "That person from yesterday said the same thing."
"Which person?" I asked, puzzled.
Grandma pulled out a piece of paper with a phone number written on it. As I looked at the number, it felt incredibly familiar. I quickly took out my phone and entered the number. Just by entering the first few digits, a contact appeared on my phone. It was none other than Liu.
I realized that Liu had been here yesterday. This might be the important clue Liu was talking about—the Zodiac Murder Case—and all the victims were residents of Old Town District. Liu must have found his way here before us and likely discovered something that led him to believe he knew where the Murderer would strike next.
Now, Liu was probably lying in wait at the location he suspected the Murderer would target again.
So what had Liu uncovered?
Grandma handed me the note and said, "This person is also a police officer. They came by yesterday too and asked questions similar to yours. I'm getting old and my memory isn't great; I didn't realize until you left your number that it jogged my memory."
I nodded and asked, "Did he ask anything we didn't?"
The old man tossed his identification card into the drawer and sat on the bed. "Ah, it seems he did ask. He inquired quite a bit about our family situation. That fellow isn't like you; he asked in great detail, from when it was dark until eleven o'clock."
I nodded; this was indeed Liu's character. Liu was the type who, once he learned something, had to analyze every detail of it. In this regard, Liu was much stronger than I was. It was just that when he was still under Captain Shao, Liu never had the chance to show it.
Now, however, Liu seemed like a completely different person from before.
Liu had asked more about the old man's family situation, and perhaps that was why he could determine where the next story would unfold.
Thinking of this, I asked, "Does anyone in your family belong to the Dog, Chicken, or Pig zodiac signs?"
The old man pondered for a moment and replied, "Yes, I have an older brother who is a Chicken, and his wife is a Pig. Oh right, their son is also a Pig. I mentioned this to that police officer yesterday. It seems something serious has happened?"
The old man looked up at me.
I gazed back at him; his wrinkled face bore a pair of murky eyes that stared at me with a confused expression.
I sighed and said, "Yes, otherwise two groups of people wouldn't have come here in such a short time. By the way, Grandma, what about your family?"
The old man sighed again. "There are no other people; my wife and I have no children. We live alone."
"Don't your other relatives come to see you?" I asked again.
He shook his head and said, "My relationship with my brother isn't good. After our father died, we haven't been in touch."
"Not even once?" I looked into the old man's eyes.
He sighed heavily and said, "Not once; it's been a long time since anyone has visited my home."
"By the way, Grandma, give me your phone. I'll save my number directly into it so you can call me anytime," I said.
The old man waved his hand and said, "No, I don’t have any of those things. I live alone; what would I need them for? I forgot, I don’t have a phone. If you know him, just say hello to him for me."
I nodded and replied, "Then we'll be on our way. We'll come back to see you when we have time."
"Alright." The old lady followed us out.
I took one last glance at the photo that Guan Zengbin had placed on the table before turning to leave.
As we stepped out the door, Guan Zengbin spoke up, "It's really sad. Are all empty nesters like this?"
I tugged at my hair and slowly said, "This old lady has issues."
"What kind of issues?" Both Guan Zengbin and Gu Chen turned to look at me.
I explained, "Her memory seems fine. Didn't you notice? She was steering us towards the things she wanted to tell us."
"What do you mean?" Guan Zengbin frowned and punched me lightly, saying, "Are you falling back into your old habit of suspecting everyone again?"
"I saw a USB adapter in her drawer."
I looked at the two of them and continued, "How could an old lady who doesn’t even have a phone possess a USB adapter that most people don’t even use regularly?"
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