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墨書 Inktalez
Wang Qianduo, despite not having much money, lived in a high-end area in the center of Dongxing City. The security in the area was vigilant; upon seeing us enter, a guard approached to inquire about our purpose. He was a young man, probably around eighteen or nineteen years old. I showed him my Police Badge and told him I was on a confidential mission, and surprisingly, he believed me without any suspicion.
Fortunately, when we arrived at Wang Qianduo's home, it was not like the previous two times. Wang Qianduo stood before us, and this time the murderer had not gotten to her first. However, upon seeing us, her previously smiling face quickly turned somber.
It was clear that Wang Qianduo did not welcome our arrival, and her earlier cheerful demeanor suggested she was waiting for someone else to come.
Wang Qianduo shot me a glance and said, "Oh, it's you two. What brings you here? Did you gather everyone?"
I looked at Wang Qianduo; she was wearing only a nightgown but had makeup on her face. After a moment of thought, it seemed she was waiting for someone to take her out. I couldn't help but wonder if she had hooked up with some wealthy patron at the Royal Garden Hotel.
As I stepped inside, I noticed that both the furniture and decor were quite upscale. Judging by the quality of her nightgown, it was evident that Wang Qianduo spent quite a bit on herself. She appeared to be the type who enjoyed the finer things in life.
Seeing me enter, Wang Qianduo displayed an irritated expression. She sat down on the sofa and casually picked up a carton of milk, opening it as she said, "You two actually came all the way to my house. Didn't we clarify everything at the hotel? Do you really think I would kill someone over a few tens of thousands? Seven years ago, my family was poor, but think about it—killing Lu Zhiqiu wouldn't get me any money either. Why would I do that? Besides, that happened back in my junior year; if I really wanted to kill someone, I would have done it long ago."
Zhao Mingkun seemed to find Wang Qianduo very unlikable and retorted, "Some people would kill for just a few bucks; besides, we're talking about tens of thousands from eight years ago. That amount could be several years' worth of income for a family. And I've heard that your relationship with Lu Zhiqiu wasn't exactly good, right?"
As he spoke, I watched Wang Qianduo's facial expressions closely, hoping to glean something from her micro-expressions.
Wang Qianduo frowned and replied quickly, "Yes, my relationship with her isn't great. She's like a white lotus flower surrounded by all those filthy men. But in reality? She's just a green tea bitch—pretending to be innocent and fooling who exactly?"
"Then why did you dare to invest with her?" I asked with a smile. "You seem to keep business and personal matters separate."
Wang Qianduo snorted coldly and said, "It was because she seemed good back then. But what happened? I lost all my money; she managed to pay some back each month! But then she acted like she was completely exhausted to get those men’s sympathy. Who knows if she pocketed the money herself and pretended otherwise? What infuriates me is Yang Licheng—he doesn't even want her to pay him back! It's maddening."
Yang Licheng had also invested with Lu Zhiqiu and had been scammed as well. If Yang Licheng didn't demand repayment from Lu Zhiqiu, then he likely wouldn't be inclined to commit murder. However, it couldn't be ruled out that he might make some illegal demands that Lu Zhiqiu rejected.
Looking at Wang Qianduo's demeanor, there was no sign of fear or concern; she seemed completely unafraid of any potential revenge from Lu Zhiqiu. It appeared that her earlier display of fear at the hotel was merely an act to get a man to escort her home.
I spoke up: "You were interning at that construction site back then; do you know anything about what happened that night?"
When I asked this question, it was clear she flinched slightly—an obvious subconscious attempt to avoid the topic.
"You'd better tell the truth," I said sternly. "To be honest with you, Luo Ding is dead. You're a smart woman; you know what that means. The murderer won't sit down politely like we are now; unless we clarify what happened seven years ago, they won't let this go easily. Do you think your excuses will work on the murderer?"
Hearing my words, Wang Qianduo raised her voice, speaking harshly, "Oh, are you implying that I’m going to die soon? Let me tell you, I didn’t kill anyone. Even if Lu Zhiqiu's ghost came back, I wouldn’t be afraid!"
When someone suddenly raises their voice, many people can be intimidated by such a display. However, in reality, when a person raises their volume and shows an aggressive or angry demeanor, it often indicates a lack of confidence in what they are saying, prompting them to try to overpower others with their presence.
"What do you really know?" I asked. "Why don’t you come out? Just because you didn’t do it yourself doesn’t mean you’re not a murderer. You’re also from Dongxing University; do you know what it means to cover up a crime?"
Just as I was about to say more, I noticed something red in front of me. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a stack of hundred-yuan bills.
Then Zhao Mingkun spoke up, "We won’t waste time with you. What did you know seven years ago? Spill everything you know. We’re all women here; I can tell you’ve been short on cash lately, haven’t you? What do you say?"
Wang Qianduo’s expression changed as she snapped back, "Are you insulting me?"
Zhao Mingkun extended her other hand and pulled out a hundred-yuan bill. "Why not? Since you didn’t kill anyone, what’s there to fear?"
At this point, Wang Qianduo fell silent. She glanced at Zhao Mingkun and then at the more than a thousand yuan in her hand.
Zhao Mingkun didn’t give Wang Qianduo any time to think. As she began to pull back two hundred-yuan bills from her hand, she added, "Do you think I’ll take them back one by one? If you want it, fine. If not, just hope that the murderer doesn’t set their sights on you."
With that, Zhao Mingkun was about to reclaim all the money when Wang Qianduo suddenly grabbed her hand and took the bills from her grasp. She then said, "On that night seven years ago, I went out to vomit and saw Liang Mei sneaking around behind the construction site."
"Liang Mei?" I asked.
Wang Qianduo nodded and replied, "Yes, that’s right—Liang Mei. We had all drunk quite a bit that night. When I went out to vomit, I saw Liang Mei sneaking off toward the construction site. At that time, I didn’t know Lu Zhiqiu was also at the site behind."
Zhao Mingkun and I exchanged glances, feeling that this matter had become more complicated. What was Liang Mei doing at the construction site in the middle of the night? Was she going to meet Lu Zhiqiu? Did Wang Yikai encounter Liang Mei on the way? Who was there first?
Thinking about this, I asked, "Do you remember what time it was? What time did this happen?"
Wang Qianduo pondered for a moment before saying, "I forgot the exact time; it must have been late at night. It’s been too long; I really can’t recall clearly. But I remember later on when I casually mentioned that night to Liang Mei and asked if she had gone out; she suddenly looked at me with a very cold gaze."
Wang Qianduo's expression became somewhat unnatural as she rubbed her arm and said, "Liang Mei is usually the type of girl who doesn’t talk much and is quite gentle. But her gaze was icy and filled with resentment. Just because I casually asked her about it, she reacted like that."
"Do you think something happened with Liang Mei?" Wang Qianduo placed the milk carton on the tea table. "At that time, there were only three party membership slots available in our class: Liang Mei, Zhang Xue, and Zhao Pingjuan—plus Lu Zhiqiu—making four in total. With only three slots available, one person would definitely be left out. After Lu Zhiqiu died, all three of them ended up joining."
Wang Qianduo glanced at her watch and said, "Whether you believe it or not, that's all I know. I may not like Lu Zhiqiu, but I wouldn't dare to kill anyone. Besides, even if Liang Mei is the one doing the killing, it has nothing to do with me. I'm not close to Liang Mei, and we're not even in the same circle. Why would she come to kill me?"
I shook my head and replied, "It seems you still don't understand the current situation. It's not the Murderer from back then coming to kill; someone is out for revenge against Lu Zhiqiu! They don't know who the Murderer is, so they might just kill everyone who was interning back then. Your security in this area is decent; remember not to open the door for just anyone in the future!"
Wang Qianduo looked at her phone and suddenly exclaimed, "Is it already this late?"
As she walked toward her bedroom, she continued, "Alright, it's getting late. You all should leave quickly; I have some things to take care of later. I've told you everything I can. The reason I didn't say anything before was that I didn't want to stir up trouble. Plus, I don't want this matter spreading from your mouths. You wouldn't want that either since you're getting paid for this, right?"
I shrugged and glanced at Zhao Mingkun before we left.
On the way, I said to Zhao Mingkun, "There's something strange. Why doesn't the Murderer ask someone what happened back then? Just killing like this—who could be so cruel? Even killing thirteen chickens in succession isn't something a normal person could do."
Zhao Mingkun replied, "I guess it's because it's more convenient."
"Convenient?" I asked.
Zhao Mingkun nodded and explained, "Exactly. For the Murderer, killing is much faster than investigating. This way, they can eliminate everyone before any of them realize how serious things have gotten. Investigating takes too long."
While Zhao Mingkun had a point, if revenge was the goal, they should at least understand who they were targeting for revenge. This indiscriminate killing seemed too hasty. Or perhaps there was a pressing reason for the Murderer to kill quickly? Could it be that Lu Xiangyang feared that staying away too long would raise suspicions among others and thus wanted to kill swiftly?
I hopped onto Zhao Mingkun's motorcycle as he said, "Let's go; the next target is Wang Yikai. But does this mean Wang Qianduo is off the hook?"
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