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墨書 Inktalez
When we heard this story, we had already arrived at the entrance of Dormitory Building 12 at Lanjing University. The entire building had been sealed off, and the students inside were being relocated to other accommodations. Although the dormitory was closed, it did not dampen the students' enthusiasm; a large crowd had gathered outside, both men and women, their voices creating a cacophony. Media representatives had also rushed to the scene, with cameras and microphones everywhere, as a host was reporting live.
The area within two meters of the entrance was cordoned off with police tape, and the door was locked, preventing us from seeing what was happening inside. As we approached, the door opened slightly, allowing us to squeeze through the crowd and enter Dormitory Building 12.
University officials and city leaders met with us in the sealed building. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, we could clearly see the hope and trust reflected in the eyes of the university leaders. The local police substation had conducted a preliminary investigation and was handing over their findings to Mary.
The story I just mentioned came from Captain Li of the Criminal Investigation Team. This morning, the Lanjing City Substation received a report from Lanjing University about a homicide that occurred in Room 324 of Dormitory Building 12. A female student named Zhao Kaifang was found dead in her wardrobe.
The first person to discover the body was the Dormitory Supervisor. According to regulations, dormitories are inspected every two weeks primarily to check for unauthorized electrical appliances to prevent fires. During an inspection of Zhao Kaifang's wardrobe, they found a body in a crouched position inside.
After identification by fellow dormitory residents, it was confirmed that the deceased was indeed Zhao Kaifang.
At the same time, the Dormitory Supervisor immediately reported to emergency services and notified the university administration. Although efforts were made to keep this news under wraps, it quickly spread among students; soon nearly everyone knew about it. Some even called media outlets, prompting coverage of the incident. This explained the throngs of people we saw when we arrived at Lanjing University’s Dormitory Building 12.
We sought out the Dormitory Supervisor who discovered the body to inquire about the details of what happened.
According to protocol, there are four Dormitory Supervisors for each dormitory building. The two who inspected Room 324 were women aged 42 and 54. It was the older Supervisor who opened Zhao Kaifang's wardrobe. She told us, "At that time, Zhao Kaifang was not in her dormitory; her wardrobe was locked. We thought she might be trying to avoid inspection since many students hide away during checks."
The younger Supervisor nodded in agreement: "That's right; they often stash unauthorized appliances in someone else's wardrobe when they try to evade inspections. After so many years as Supervisors, we've seen all sorts of tricks." They then attempted to call Zhao Kaifang’s phone, but it was turned off. According to her roommate, Zhao Kaifang hadn’t returned to her dorm for over a week.
"That’s how it was," said the older Supervisor, glancing at the three girls standing nearby. "We assumed she was just trying to avoid inspection; after all, dorm locks aren’t very secure—often one key can open several locks. So we used a key to open Zhao Kaifang's wardrobe and discovered her body inside. Many of us witnessed this; it’s not our fault."
The younger Supervisor nodded vigorously, eager to distance herself from any blame.
I pursed my lips and refrained from commenting on the situation.
At that moment, Juan Juan walked over to me and whispered, "We should take a look at the body."
I nodded and led the Special Investigation Team upstairs, with Captain Li following us while the others waited downstairs. It was best to minimize the number of people at the crime scene to avoid leaving behind a lot of non-criminal traces. We climbed the stairs to the third floor, where we found that all the dormitory doors were tightly locked. The slanting rays of sunlight streaming in from both ends of the corridor created a mix of light and shadow, giving it a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
This time, we were not called by the Police Department to investigate; rather, we happened to be attending a conference in Blue Capital when the Substation reported to the Police Department, and we took over this case. The door to Room 324 was not locked; the padlock was merely resting on top. After putting on gloves and shoe covers, I removed the padlock, pushed open the door, and did not rush inside but stood at the entrance to observe.
Overall, this dormitory was not very large. In each corner stood a wardrobe about 1.7 meters tall, next to which was a small table with a bed above it, following an "upper bed, lower desk" layout. Zhao Kaifang's wardrobe was on the east side near the balcony. A wardrobe of 1.7 meters would easily accommodate an adult male, let alone a girl.
The floor was very clean, indicating that it was a tidy girls' dormitory—far superior to boys' dormitories. On the table was an open laptop and some books spread out, suggesting that three girls had left in a hurry.
All four beds were neatly made. I specifically checked Zhao Kaifang's bed, which was also perfectly arranged. At the head of her bed, a dry towel lay draped over it, indicating that it had not been used for quite some time. I stepped inside first and touched Zhao Kaifang's blanket; there was a fine layer of dust on it. If the blanket had been shaken regularly, it wouldn't have accumulated such dust. It seemed that the Dormitory Supervisor and her roommates were correct; Zhao Kaifang had likely not slept in this dormitory for a long time.
Knowing we were coming, Captain Li had not moved the body; it remained exactly as it was inside the wardrobe. Upon closer inspection, Zhao Kaifang appeared to be about 1.65 meters tall and was wearing high heels that added up to around 1.7 meters. She was in a semi-crouched position against the wardrobe, her clothing intact with signs of having been rolled up but no signs of tearing or ripping.
Around Zhao Kaifang's neck was a hard jump rope with a counter tightly wrapped three times around her neck. The face of the corpse showed signs of asphyxiation—dark purple from suffocation—with bulging eyes seemingly staring straight ahead, creating a terrifying sight. Blood spots appeared on her conjunctiva, and her hands were raised in front of her neck as if she had been pulling at the jump rope before dying.
Dezi and I lifted the body out of the wardrobe and laid it flat on the floor. Juan Juan took out her portable examination kit and began conducting a simple autopsy. "Strangulation is one of the most common forms of mechanical asphyxia," Juan Juan said. "It's actually quite easy to determine. The ligature marks show blood spots and clear signs of struggle. However, as these marks gradually fade away, it indicates that death has occurred some time ago. It's autumn now; temperatures are not high, so there is no significant odor from the body."
"Based on the degree of decomposition and livor mortis on her body, she has been dead for at least five days!" Juan Juan concluded with an astonishing revelation.
If Zhao Kaifang had indeed been dead for five days, then where had her body been during that time? Had it always been in this wardrobe or had it only recently been moved here? Common sense suggests that the latter is unlikely. The dormitory doors open and close at regular intervals; if a killer had moved the body, it would be too conspicuous and easily discovered. Unfortunately, due to security issues in girls' dormitories, even hallways lacked surveillance cameras, making it difficult to ascertain whether her body had only recently been placed in the wardrobe.
However, if it's the first possibility—that is simply unfathomable—it truly sends chills down one's spine. This means that three girls lived together with a corpse for an entire week. They ate here, studied here, played games here—all while Zhao Kaifang's body lay quietly in the wardrobe beside them.
Then comes the question: how could these three girls not have noticed that there was a corpse in their wardrobe? According to statements from the Dormitory Supervisor, roommates claimed that Zhao Kaifang hadn't returned to her dormitory for over a week—did they never think to call her? Zhao Kaifang had been dead for five days; how could her teachers not have noticed? These are all points of suspicion. I shook my head helplessly; it all seemed too incredible.
Moreover, there was no sign of a mobile phone on Zhao Kaifang's person—it's nearly impossible for college students nowadays to be without one—so her missing phone became an investigative lead. From what I could gather at present, these three girls were prime suspects; however, there remained another issue: in a four-person dormitory setting where one girl killed another, they would need to find an opportunity when only two were present while ensuring that no sounds reached outside—a task fraught with difficulty.
"Captain Li," Juan Juan said at that moment, "let's transport the body to the morgue for an autopsy."
Captain Li nodded and called over a few officers through the intercom to assist in moving the body.
"Currently, we have only found hard fragments of a jump rope under the victim's nails; nothing else has been discovered yet," Juan Juan turned to me and explained. "There are fingerprints on her clothing, but they are in reasonable places, likely left from previous contact with classmates. We won't know if there are any fingerprints on her body until we get to the morgue."
I nodded and signaled for Juan Juan to go with Captain Li's team to the morgue while the rest of us stayed behind to continue our investigation.
As they covered the body with a white sheet and carried it out, I looked through the glass of the balcony. The crowd gathered outside Building 12 had not dispersed; upon seeing the body being taken away, gasps erupted from them, and reporters immediately rushed in, bombarding them with questions.
I shook my head; human curiosity truly knows no bounds.
After walking around the dormitory, I found no additional evidence. Next, I needed to hear from the other three girls about their accounts. I told Captain Li, "Captain Li, please find me a detailed profile of Zhao Kaifang right away. We need to understand his character and his relationship with the three girls in the dormitory."
We arrived at the first floor dormitory where the Dormitory Supervisor was located. We quickly organized a space and called in each of the three girls one by one for questioning. During this process, we uncovered many intriguing details.
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