Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Upon our arrival, we discovered that the person who reported the incident was from the same village as Zheng Yunyun. If anyone had leaked information about the case, the only possibility would be that we couldn't silence this villager. Although the scenario I imagined was purely speculative, the fact that they belonged to the same village made it highly suspicious.
The Special Investigation Team, along with Yuzelin, quickly mobilized and headed to Zhengjia Village to investigate further. The drive took about an hour and a half. During the journey, I called the local police station to ask them to locate Wang Fugui, the person who reported the Roland Case, and wait for us to conduct our investigation.
The local police agreed and informed us that they were currently going door-to-door to gather information, checking if there was only one eyewitness. They mentioned that without more concrete leads from us, they wouldn't be able to have a proper meal until the afternoon.
We traveled in silence until we arrived at Zhengjia Village.
At the entrance of Zhengjia Village, the village chief was already waiting for us. In such a small village, a murder case was a significant event, especially since it involved one of their own villagers. Now that someone had taken control of Wang Fugui, the village chief suspected we might consider him the killer, which frightened him greatly.
"Leaders, Wang Fugui doesn't look like a murderer at all! He has a wife and children; how could he do something like this?" the village chief said.
However, his words sparked a thought in my mind. If everyone kept quiet, then the person who reported the incident might very well be capable of imitating a killer. After all, he was the first one to see the body; how long he observed it was still unclear.
I replied, "We never said Wang Fugui is the killer; we're just here to ask some questions. Please don't overthink it. Where does Wang Fugui live?"
The village chief led us to Wang Fugui's home. By this time, officers from the police station were already inside his house. Upon our arrival, we exchanged brief pleasantries. Looking around, it was an ordinary household with old posters and New Year paintings on the walls, a bit worn around the edges. In the yard, a clumsy dog wagged its tail at us but remained silent.
At that moment, Wang Fugui and his wife were sitting on their bed, looking somewhat tense as they regarded us. The yard was already crowded with people; it seemed like nearly everyone from the village had come out of curiosity. The Chinese habit of enjoying lively gatherings was deeply ingrained. We couldn't send everyone away, so we closed the door to speak privately.
"Leaders, we haven't done anything wrong! Why are so many of you here at our home?" Wang Fugui's wife, a plump farmer woman, looked anxious and fearful as she faced such a crowd.
"The body of Roland was discovered by you; you saw it in the greenhouse!" I asked Wang Fugui.
Wang Fugui appeared stunned and stammered for quite some time before calming down: "That's right; that's our contracted greenhouse. That night I was worried about leaks ruining our seedlings inside, so I went to check. But when I opened the door, I saw a naked girl lying there at an odd angle."
"I was terrified and quickly called the police!" Wang Fugui continued. "I already explained everything at the police station; I didn't kill anyone! I don't even kill chickens; everyone in the village knows that!"
"Yes, Wang Fugui is just that kind of person!" chimed in the village chief beside him.
"Well, let me ask you this: when you returned to the village, did you tell the villagers about what happened?" I continued to inquire.
Wang Fugui suddenly flushed, his fingers nervously fidgeting with each other. The expression on his face clearly indicated that he had indeed spoken about it. Sure enough, Wang Fugui said, "When I came back, everyone in the village asked me how I ended up in the police station and if I had committed a crime. I'm just an ordinary citizen; how could I dare to commit a crime? So, I recounted everything that happened in the greenhouse."
"At that time, many people were indeed present. I didn't know that talking about it was illegal!" Wang Fugui said anxiously.
It seemed that upon returning, Wang Fugui had shared the details of Roland Case with everyone. If that was the case, our speculation became quite reasonable. After Wang Fugui revealed the details of Roland Case to the crowd, one of the listeners decided to imitate the murder.
He knew that Zheng Yunyun rode her bicycle back and forth between the village and the restaurant every day, so he deliberately waited along the road. The audacity of this Killer to assault Zheng Yunyun on the road and kill her indicated that he was aware there were hardly any people around at noon.
Thus, this Killer must be someone from the village.
With this thought in mind, I quietly told the police officer at the station, "Immediately investigate who is currently not in the village and their reasons for being away. Check if anyone has left mysteriously without leaving any message."
If the Killer took the bicycle with him, he definitely wouldn't be in the village; otherwise, it would be too easy to expose himself. This meant that the Killer had left. However, since the village was small, it would be possible to find out who had left even through a thorough investigation, which was entirely different from investigating a case in a big city.
The police officer nodded and promptly went to carry out my instructions.
At this moment, the village chief said, "I also inquired about whether Fugui reported to the police; that's not illegal, right? Many people in the village know about this matter. After Zheng Yunyun died, I noticed that the method of killing was exactly like in the previous case. Doesn't that imply that the Killer is actually the same person who killed the last victim? How could it possibly be Wang Fugui?"
I didn't want to explain too much to this village chief since there were still many things we hadn't investigated thoroughly. We couldn't disclose any information. I simply replied, "The problem is that the Killer from the previous case has already been caught; he's currently in an interrogation room at Police Department. He's right under our noses, so we can rule him out."
Upon hearing my words, the village chief seemed at a loss for words.
I continued, "This case has a similar method of killing as the previous one; however, since the Killer has been apprehended, it means someone else has imitated his method of murder. This person must know how the last victim died; that's something everyone can understand, right?"
The village chief nodded slowly and murmured, "That..."
I pressed on, "Based on our investigation so far, besides us police officers, Wang Fugui is the only one who knows about it. And when Wang Fugui returned home, he told many people in the village about what happened. This means that the murderer must be someone from your village. As for who it is and why they brutally killed Zheng Yunyun—that's what we need to investigate."
I said with a serious tone, "So, regarding this matter, anyone who has heard Wang Fugui discuss the case is a suspect. Village Chief, have you noticed anyone in your village acting unusually, or someone who should have returned to the village but hasn't? I hope you can assist in the investigation."
I knew that most people in Zhengjia Village had the surname Zheng, and they were generally very united. It was understandable for the Village Chief to protect his own, so I deliberately intensified my tone: "The severity of this case is quite serious, and its nature is extremely malicious. If there are any clues, you should speak up as soon as possible."
I raised my voice intentionally for those inside the house to hear, as well as those outside.
After a moment of silence, someone in the yard shouted, "Isn't Wang Xiaobao missing? He went out this morning saying he wanted to play and hasn't come back yet." The voice sounded youthful, like that of a teenager.
Upon hearing this, Wang Fugui's Wife scolded, "Hey, Zhang's Aunt, can you control your child? Stop spreading nonsense!"
I sensed there might be a clue and immediately opened the door to the house. "Who just spoke? Which child? Don't be afraid; just say what you saw."
At that moment, a boy around thirteen or fourteen stepped forward. Seeing so many people around him made him a bit timid as he said, "It was me."
"What happened?" I asked.
The boy replied, "This morning, I went to find Wang Xiaobao to play. He mysteriously told me he had something big to do and said I was just a kid and should go play by myself. It's ridiculous; we're both Fourteen Years Old, so who's the kid here? I got annoyed and ignored him."
"I told him, what big thing could you possibly have?" the boy continued. "Wang Xiaobao said it was something only adults could do. I laughed it off and didn't pay him any mind; he always likes to brag. So I went to play with other classmates instead. Now Wang Xiaobao hasn't come back; usually, he would have been pestering us to go together..."
"Go where?" I asked.
"To the internet café," the boy said awkwardly.
"What!" The boy's mother exploded in anger. "You dare go to an internet café? Just wait until I get my hands on you!"
Wang Fugui's Wife shouted as well: "My Wang Xiaobao said he was going to a classmate's house in the city and wouldn't be back until tonight! How can your Er Dan talk like that? Stop making things up."
The noise escalated with everyone talking over each other. I clapped my hands loudly and then addressed everyone: "We still need to investigate further before concluding who the Killer is. Since Wang Xiaobao isn't at his classmate's house, does anyone know his phone number? Let's give them a call."
"He didn't say!" Wang Fugui's wife exclaimed.
"Do you know what your classmate's name is? Let's call the teacher; they should have the parents' phone numbers," I continued.
"His name is Time Surpass," Wang Fugui's wife replied.
We immediately called to verify where this Wang Xiaobao had gone, whether he was at a classmate's house or had run away. If Killer really was Wang Xiaobao, it would mean another case of a minor committing murder, something none of us wanted to see. Half an hour later, we managed to get through to Time Surpass's parent's phone.
"Hello, I'm Wang Xiaobao's parent. I wanted to ask if my child went over to play with yours?" I picked up the phone and put it on speaker.
There was a brief pause on the other end before they responded, "Oh, you're Wang Xiaobao's parent? Your child hasn't come here; I'm at home with my child right now. By the way, did Wang Xiaobao mention coming over?"
"No, he didn't!" Time Surpass answered.
Comment 0 Comment Count