Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I noticed that in Director Li's tea canister, there was still a third of the tea left, identical to Old Qin's. Stepping out of the office, Li Bo handed me a report. I glanced at it and found it was an integration of testimonies from Old Qin's neighbors, with all the fluff and useless information removed.
After carefully examining a few pages, I realized that Yang Xiaojuan's intuition seemed to be prophetic. I handed the testimonies to Li Bo, who flipped through them briefly. His brow furrowed slightly, and I knew he had also spotted the issues. Li Bo remarked, "Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin don't seem to think much of Old Qin!"
I nodded; this was evident during our earlier investigation at the scene. Uncle Qin's home was sparsely furnished, and his possessions combined were worth even less than Wu Meiqin's mobile phone. Old Qin was a peaceful man who never argued with anyone and had no enemies. Focusing on the couple, Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin, was the most basic line of inquiry at this point. Just then, Li Bo's team of Criminal Police Officers completed the investigation I had assigned to them.
One matter concerned the Toy Bear, and the other was Old Qin's medical examination.
A toy identical to the one in Old Qin's home was handed to me. I squeezed it all over; it was just an ordinary plush toy that could be found in any store. Although this seemed like a minor detail, it could indirectly confirm that Old Qin's cause of death was suspicious.
Old Qin's medical records indicated that he had suffered from cardiopulmonary issues for a long time; he had become a walking pharmacy, spending more on medication each month than he earned. However, relatively speaking, it wasn't much—at most just a few hundred extra each month.
I pointed to the medical records and said, "Perhaps this is the problem."
Li Bo took the records, glanced at them, and understood my point but shook his head in disagreement. "A few hundred extra each month? Would Qin Xiao and his wife kill someone over that? I don't quite agree with that."
Having been an archive manager for over a year, I had seen nearly eight thousand cases. The couple’s fantasy of five million leading to violent disputes was nothing unusual. In a major murder robbery case in another city, criminals killed five people only to end up with a mere one hundred twenty-three yuan. A vendor smashed an elderly man's head with a scale weight over a fifty-cent dispute. In many places, there were dozens competing for a cleaner job that paid five hundred yuan a month...
I pondered for a moment and looked into the eyes of the toy bear as I said, "In that case, let some people continue investigating around Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin while others look into different leads..."
Though I mentioned other leads, there really weren't any; this case wasn't complicated—we just couldn't believe that Old Qin had committed suicide.
"I have a doubt," I said after a moment of contemplation. "I wonder if you've noticed it."
Li Bo shook his head.
"Old Qin took medication every day, but there were none in his room or at home—not even on him!" I looked at Li Bo, who appeared puzzled. "So where did his medication go?"
Li Bo shuddered slightly at my words before responding, "Are you saying that someone has hidden Old Qin's medicine? If that's the case... then the prime suspects would be Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin!"
I nodded and said, "It seems we need to investigate further..."
Li Bo drove while I sat in the passenger seat, and no one spoke. At this moment, Yang Xiaojuan should have already boarded the train to the capital. It was likely that we would find it difficult to meet again. Looking out at the flowing traffic, I couldn't help but reflect on life; it often felt like a series of disappointments, with obstacles appearing one after another.
When we arrived at the old neighborhood, we noticed that the police from the substation were also present, and we introduced ourselves. We soon discovered two officers holding a frail man, about five feet tall, whose head was covered, obscuring his face. I asked, "What happened here?"
An older police officer replied, "Peeping Tom. This guy has been missing for a while, but today we finally caught him!"
"Peeping Tom?" I shook my head in exasperation.
The older officer continued, "That's right. This guy often sneaks into that half-built abandoned site, sets up a telescope, and spies on residents. He's young but not learning anything good!" As he spoke, the older officer gave Peeping Tom a shove and said, "Let's go..."
I stepped aside as several officers nodded to me before preparing to leave. After they had moved a short distance away, I suddenly thought of something and called out, "Wait! I have some questions for him..."
Inside the substation.
Peeping Tom looked somewhat handsome; if he were just a bit taller, he could have been quite a dashing young man. He protested, "I'm not Peeping Tom; I was just looking at the stars!" The older officer scoffed, "Looking at stars? That's quite artistic of you! But where did those women's underwear in your bag come from? I'll tell you straight—many people have reported you. If you don't tell the truth, you might end up in jail without knowing why."
The older officer's intimidation tactics seemed to frighten this young man enough. Seizing the opportunity, I added, "There's been an order from above; you've walked right into trouble. Let's not beat around the bush—you're looking at at least five years in prison..." The older officer appeared puzzled but remained silent.
I continued, "Moreover, I suspect you're connected to a recent case involving an old man who jumped off a building..."
Before I could finish my sentence, the young man turned pale with fear and exclaimed, "That has nothing to do with me! I..."
After listening to the young man's account, everyone furrowed their brows in concern.
That night, Peeping Tom, as usual, climbed over the abandoned construction site and made his way to the unfinished high-rise. He set up his telescope, greedily hoping to find a resident who had forgotten to close their curtains, satisfying his base and twisted desires.
Around one o'clock, Peeping Tom, feeling frustrated by his lack of success, was about to leave when he noticed a light turn on in an apartment across the street. The room had no curtains. An elderly man stood up, clutching his chest as if struggling to breathe. Disappointment washed over him; instead of the beautiful woman he had imagined, an old man was all that appeared.
Moments later, the door opened and two people entered—a man and a woman. He watched them with keen interest as if he were observing a silent film. He could see the three individuals in the room; they seemed to be arguing. The woman was facing the old man, speaking animatedly about something while the man stood silently behind her.
After some time of heated exchange, the elderly man clumsily stepped onto a table, causing a small teddy bear to fall off. He climbed onto the windowsill and struggled to open the window. After coughing for a while, it seemed he uttered a final statement before the previously silent man spoke up as well. Then, without warning, the old man jumped from the windowsill. Peeping Tom was startled and ran away in fright, forgetting his telescope in the process.
Just when he thought everything had settled down and he could retrieve his telescope, he was caught on the spot by officers from Substation. It turned out that the significant breakthrough we received came from a voyeuristic thief. Li Bo said, "I'll arrange for a retrial of Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin."
I nodded in agreement. Seeing this unfold, Peeping Tom cautiously asked me, "Can I get my sentence reduced...?"
The matter concerning Peeping Tom was handed over to colleagues at Substation while Li Bo went ahead with the application for a retrial for Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin.
The next day was Saturday.
The Qin couple arrived at the police station to give their statements. Faced with our evidence, they initially denied everything but eventually admitted under our "pressure" that they had indeed argued with Old Qin that night. However, none of them expected Old Qin would jump over such a trivial matter. They explained, "When my dad climbed up to the window, we kept urging him to come down, but he wouldn’t listen and insisted on jumping..."
Peeping Tom had only seen what happened inside the room but hadn’t heard any of their conversations. This meant that regardless of what Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin claimed, there would be no way to verify it. Whether they had persuaded Old Qin to come down or encouraged him to jump remained unknown.
At this point, the case fell into another deadlock.
It is important to note that "innocent until proven guilty" means that inciting someone to commit suicide is entirely different from trying to prevent it. Without substantial evidence, we couldn't take any action against Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin. Wu Meiqin tilted her head and said, "We admit we didn’t call the police right away, but we didn’t kill him; he jumped on his own!"
“Do you really not know whether Old Qin died immediately? Turning a blind eye to someone in need is also a crime, do you understand?” I asked coldly. This is a form of criminal negligence, which requires three objective conditions to be met for a conviction. These conditions can be negotiated; simply put, it could be a crime or it might not be.
Qin Xiao replied, “I consulted with my lawyer. We can discuss this in court; I won’t answer you now!”
Seeing the indifferent expressions on Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin's faces, I couldn't help but stand up and curse, “Are you two even human?” As I spoke, I wanted to step forward and throw punches at their faces, one for each of them. Li Bo hurriedly stopped me and said, “Master, you should go out and calm down…”
Realizing I had lost my composure, I gritted my teeth. Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin remained cold and unfeeling, their eyes like those of lifeless corpses. Just as I stepped outside, I heard a young detective say, “I wanted to learn some investigation techniques, but instead got assigned to pick up kids. Sigh…”
I approached him and asked, “What’s going on?”
The Junior Detective said, “Isn’t it Saturday? Qin Xiao’s son is on break, and since no one is here to pick him up, with their consent, I was assigned to do it…”
“I’ll go,” I said, patting the Junior Detective on the shoulder. “You should learn well.” The Junior Detective immediately saluted me and dashed away. As I drove, my mind was occupied with Old Qin's case. It was almost certain that Qin Xiao and Wu Meiqin had “forced” Old Qin to his death, but there was no substantial evidence to move forward.
I couldn’t help but think again of Old Qin—kind-hearted yet boastful—who had always been optimistic throughout his life. It was hard to believe that he ultimately couldn’t see things through. Life’s troubles boil down to three words: unable to see clearly, unable to let go, unable to move on. But we are all mere mortals; who among us can truly attain enlightenment?
Comment 0 Comment Count