by Zijin Chen
“How to tell the lie is just a question of technique; I can take care of that. What is important is whether you would dare do it in the first place. If you don’t want to, or if you are certain that you would panic when they spoke to you, then just forget this conversation and go and turn yourselves in. I don’t want to go through all this effort without being successful, because that would mean that you will get a longer sentence and I’ll be implicated. We would all go to jail.
Guo Yu and Huiru fell silent. Again, Huiru was the first to speak up. “I’ll do it,” she said. Her voice was firm. She looked to Guo Yu.
Guo Yu gritted his teeth. “I’ll do it.”
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes,” the two of them said in unison. If their plans went awry, they would just spend a few more years in jail than they would if they turned themselves in now.
“OK.” Luo said, looking at his watch. “Four minutes have passed, and fortunately no one has walked by in that time. We need to hurry and alter the crime scene. Please follow every instruction I give you.”
Chapter 15
Luo asked them both their names, and then took a pair of black latex gloves out of his bag. He carefully put them on, then said, “I’ll drag the body over to the trees so that it is not discovered too quickly.”
“Should I help you carry it?” Guo Yu asked.
“No, that will cause problems,” Luo said. “There is already a lot of blood here, so it would be impossible to make the police believe that the crime occurred anywhere else. If two people carry the body, we won’t leave any drag marks on the ground. Then the police will make note of that and have reason to believe that there were at least two people involved. If I drag it myself and deliberately leave drag marks, at least we will make them believe that one person committed the crime alone.”
Guo Yu and Huiru nodded. Guo Yu was really starting to believe that this person was far more adept at this task than either himself or Huiru.
“Guo Yu, find a rock and turn the earth so that anyone walking by does not notice the blood on the ground,” Luo said.
“Why do we need to do that? The police will find the blood, won’t they?” Guo Yu said.
“If you know too many of the details, then it will be harder for you to face the police in the interrogation room. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you why.”
“What should I do?” Huiru asked.
“You still have blood on your hands. Don’t touch anything and go wash your hands in the canal water,” Luo answered.
“What about my clothes?” The blood on Huiru’s purple collared shirt wasn’t too obvious at night, but anyone who came close would certainly see it.
“Don’t worry about that now. I’ll tell you what to do in a minute. We can’t waste any more time.”
As Luo bent down to pick up the body and pull it towards the tree, Guo Yu became worried.
“If you . . . if you take the body like that, won’t there be footprints?”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it,” Luo answered.
They made every second count. Huiru ran back to Luo, who was squatting between the trees, and said, “I washed my hands.”
Luo carefully pulled out a phone from the victim’s pocket. He kept looking at the phone as he spoke.
“I remember seeing a takeout box on the grass somewhere. Bring it here, please, as well as the bag used to carry the beer and one empty beer can. Be careful that nobody sees you on the grass—if you see someone, then just wait.
Huiru hurried to follow his instructions. She retrieved the fried rice, still untouched, and then picked up the bag of beer. She took the empty beer can, tossed it into the bag, and ran back to the trees. It was so dark that she tripped and fell in her haste. The beer cans rolled out of the bag, and Huiru started to pick them up.
“Don’t pick them up!” Luo said sharply.
When she stopped it was already too late—she had touched several cans.
“It’s fine,” Luo said. “Your fingerprints will be on all the cans that you touched, but I’ll wipe them clean. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t remember which ones I touched,” Huiru said.
“Then I’ll wipe all of them.”
One can of beer rolled out of sight behind the trees.
Guo Yu came over. “I’m done.”
Luo stopped playing with the phone and stood up. He walked towards the ground where the stabbing took place and saw that the blood was more or less hidden. “Give me that paring knife.”
Huiru handed it to him.
“Ten minutes have passed since the accident occurred. You don’t have much time, so I’m going to wait to explain some things. Which way did you walk to get here? The road that passes by the noodle shop?
“Yes,” they both said.
“There’s a surveillance camera at the intersection of that street. I’m not sure if it would have picked you up when you came over, but we should prepare for the worst. We’ll assume that the camera recorded you coming over. If you avoid the camera on the way back, it will look suspicious, so you need to take the same route that you took on the way here. Guo Yu, you’re going to have to carry Huiru home on your back; that way nobody can see the blood on her front. If anyone asks, say that her leg is hurt. And we’ll have to make it real because the police will probably ask questions. Huiru, are you ready? I’m going to hurt your leg.”
“Do you have to hurt her?” Guo Yu sounded alarmed.
Huiru braced herself. “It’s OK. I can take it.”
“Excuse me for this.” Luo picked up a rock and scratched it across her knee so that it left a mark. Her knee started bleeding immediately. Then he rapped her ankle with the same rock. Huiru stifled a cry of pain.
Luo handed the rock back to Guo Yu. “When you walk to the edge of the grass, make sure to put this rock in a place where it would be easy to trip. I don’t care who asks you, you have to say that she fell down wherever you put that rock. OK, Guo Yu, carry Huiru on your back now. Make sure to walk back the way you came. Oh and Huiru, when you go home you should avoid your brother. You need to change your clothes without him noticing; we don’t want him to become complicit. Naturally he would worry, but we also need to remember that every additional person who knows about the crime adds an element of risk. Can you do that?”
“Yeah. I’ll call my brother and tell him that I fell so I need to go home and change,” she said.
“Great. Guo Yu, after you take Huiru home, you need to go straight to the twenty-four-hour convenience store near your neighborhood. Buy some antibiotic ointment and some bandages, and remember to chat with the sales assistant so he or she remembers that you were there.”
“That—that’s it?” Guo Yu looked alarmed.
“No, of course not. I still have to take care of a few things, but you should go home for now. Do you both live close to the noodle shop?”
“Yes,” they said in unison.
“I’ll come get you at 2:00 a.m. and take you to my house so we can discuss how to deal with the investigation. Make sure not to wake anyone on your way out. Can you do that?”
They gave their addresses to Luo. They both still doubted that it would work, but when they saw the confidence in Luo’s eyes, they relaxed. He seemed trustworthy, and that made them feel at ease.
After Guo Yu and Huiru left, Luo chewed his lip and surveyed the crime scene. He was confident that he could remove all the evidence, but those two were young and inexperienced. They could easily give something away in an interrogation. If that happened, his own plans that he had worked on for years would never come to fruition.
He was really going out of his way to help these two strangers. Was it worth it?
Luo felt like it was his fault that they landed in this mess, but he wasn’t sure why. Maybe he had committed too many crimes and he wanted to do something good for once.
It wasn’t worth debating now. He promised to help, so he would do his best. He just wanted to give them back thei
r futures.
Chapter 16
At two in the morning, Luo picked up Guo Yu, then Huiru in his Audi SUV. He took a route back to his apartment that avoided any surveillance cameras.
“This is an Audi Q7, isn’t it? You must have paid a fortune for it,” Guo Yu said, admiring the interior. He was astonished that someone with so much money would agree to help them.
Luo just grunted.
“You’re loaded.” Talking about money made Guo Yu feel inadequate.
Luo smiled out of politeness. He never attached any importance to material things. He didn’t care what car he drove or where he lived. When he was still a forensic scientist, he had a high-ranking title and was considered highly qualified. That entitled him to a salary that was much higher than the average police officer, among other perks. Still, he lived a very simple life and never spent lavishly. Three years ago, after he had resigned from the bureau, he finally learned how to drive and bought himself a car.
Before long, they drove through a neighborhood known for its luxury condominiums. Luo parked in the underground garage. “When we get out of the car, I want you to stay right behind me. There are a lot of cameras in this parking garage. I’m going to take the elevator and you will take the stairs. I’m afraid you’ll have to climb seven flights. I know it’s extremely unlikely that they will check the elevator camera, but if somehow that came to light, we would have no way of explaining why we met here in the middle of the night.”
“How do you know where all the surveillance cameras in Hangzhou are?” Guo Yu asked.
“It’s an occupational hazard,” Luo said, laughing halfheartedly.
Guo Yu and Huiru were beginning to understand that Luo was much more enigmatic than they had realized. But they had no doubt that he could protect them from getting caught, and they did exactly as they were told.
When Guo Yu and Huiru arrived at the seventh floor, Luo had already opened his front door, and he motioned them inside.
The apartment was large and clearly expensive, but the decorations were minimal, even ugly. The floor was covered in cheap white tiles, and the walls were painted white. There was not a single work of art, and cables snaked across the floor, making the place look messy. His sofas had cheap upholstery. The dark window shades were pulled down, blocking out any view of the city. The door to his bedroom was open, revealing a single blanket and two pillows on the bed. The bedroom had no television or other furniture. The living room had a television and a computer.
Guo Yu looked around. “Did you just buy this place?” he asked curiously.
“No, I’ve had it for a few years now.”
“Then, um, why don’t you decorate it?”
“This is it,” Luo said awkwardly.
Neither Guo Yu or Huiru knew what to say. His apartment was even more spartan than their tiny apartments.
Luo scratched his head and smiled. “I’m not much of an interior decorator, but I live by myself, so I don’t mind.”
Huiru quickly spotted the only decoration hanging on the walls. It was a small photograph in a simple frame. The man in the picture looked like Luo, only about ten years younger. It looked like a family photo, with a man, a woman, and a young child. Huiru looked at the photo. “This is your wife and daughter, isn’t it? Why aren’t they here?” she asked.
As soon as the question left her lips, she regretted it, because she could see the bed in the master bedroom was made for one, and all the other rooms were completely empty, making it highly unlikely that his wife and child lived here. Whether or not they were divorced, the way she asked the question made it sound like she was prying.
Luo’s expression clouded for a moment. “My wife and child went missing several years ago. They still haven’t been found.” He turned his back, exhaled, and continued. “Let me get you something to drink. We have some very important things to discuss tonight.”
He walked to the kitchen, and suddenly the two of them heard Luo cry out, “Oh no!” Guo Yu and Huiru ran over.
Luo was at his wits’ end. “Why? Why does this dog poop all over the floor?”
The little mutt hunched in a corner, looking nervously at the three of them. Little brown packages were strewn about the kitchen.
Guo Yu and Huiru smiled at each other. Huiru found the paper towels and started to clean up the mess, while Guo Yu explained to Luo how puppies often didn’t know better when they pooped all over the house. He then told Luo how they could be trained to only go in certain locations.
Luo thanked them again and again. Once the two of them had cleaned up the mess, Luo seemed to return to his normal self. He led them into the living room to discuss more serious issues.
Chapter 17
“Where did you get that knife?” Luo asked Huiru.
“From the shop,” Huiru said haltingly. Thinking about the accident was still difficult.
“The knife looked relatively new,” he said calmly. “When and where did you buy it?”
Huiru tried to remember. “My brother got it at the store across the street from the noodle shop. I think we got it a month ago.”
“Do you have more knives like that one?”
“No, just the one. We bought it to peel fruit, but we haven’t used it very much.”
“Is the knife usually out on a counter or is it in a drawer?”
“In a drawer.”
“Does your brother use this knife often?”
“He hasn’t used it much at all, no.”
“Does your brother know that you took a knife when you left to deliver the takeout?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Does he know that the knife is in that drawer?”
“He should know, but I don’t think he pays much attention to that kind of thing.”
“Right.” Luo seemed satisfied. He asked both Guo Yu and Huiru to describe exactly what happened that night and then sat in silence, thinking. Finally he asked, “So that thug came to the noodle shop by himself and asked you to deliver takeout to him in the park by the river?”
Huiru nodded.
“Well, that means nobody else knew that you delivered the takeout to him, apart from the three of us and your brother.” He thought it over for a moment. “But we can’t depend on luck. Guo Yu, didn’t you say that you saw him eating street food with his friends late at night?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it’s possible that he told friends he was going after Huiru. In that case, Huiru, if the police start asking whether you saw him yesterday and you say no, it will look suspicious. If the police ask you, you have to be honest and tell them that you saw him.”
Huiru’s mouth fell open. “I have to tell them the truth?”
“That’s right. If the police come asking you questions, you have to tell them everything that happened exactly as it happened. The only thing that you leave out is the part where you killed him.” He looked at Guo Yu. “Guo Yu, do you like Huiru?”
Guo Yu blushed and looked down. He didn’t say anything. Before tonight, he had never expressed to anyone his feelings for Huiru. And now this man who was old enough to be his father was asking him so directly!
Luo chuckled. “That’s the perfect reaction. If the police ask you about Huiru, give them that. You know that you like her, but you’re bashful, so you can’t say it out loud.”
Huiru couldn’t help but laugh.
Luo’s tone grew more serious. “If you admit that you like her, that would be out of character. An experienced cop will speak to your friends and coworkers to learn about your personality. So remember, whatever you say, truth or lies, you need to keep the same expressions and behavior that you would normally have.”
They both nodded.
“I’m going to go over how you will explain what happened last night, in detail,” Luo said. “I’ll tell you what questions the police would ask and teach you how to respond to them. I’ll explain the words and tone of voice you should use. It may seem trivial, but things like your expression a
re extremely important. You have to get it right. I can tell that you’re both clever, which is good. People who are slow can’t be taught.”
The boy and the girl smiled. Huiru thought that maybe her brother was the kind of person who might never learn.
“So, last night at around ten, that thug came to the noodle shop. He wanted some fried rice to be delivered to the park by the river. Huiru, you weren’t thrilled by the idea, but you didn’t want to cause any trouble, so you went. Guo Yu, you were eating your noodles. You secretly have a crush on Huiru, so when you heard the way that guy was speaking to her, you were worried for her safety. After she left, you decided to go to the park and make sure she was OK. Then, Huiru, once you delivered the rice, the thug grabbed you and you struggled to get away. You fell down while struggling, and at this point, Guo Yu comes by on the path. That thug sees that someone is watching and hides over by the river. You scraped your knee badly and you twisted your ankle. It hurt so much that you couldn’t walk home. So, Guo Yu, you carried her home on your back and bought her some antibiotic ointment and some bandages at the convenience store.”
“That’s it?” Guo Yu asked incredulously.
“No, that’s just an outline. I’ll go through each step in a minute.” Luo smacked his head. “Oh, I almost forgot!”
He put on a pair of latex gloves and opened a messenger bag. He took out two stacks of hundred-yuan notes and two pairs of unused latex gloves. He noticed the confusion on Guo Yu’s and Huiru’s faces. “Combined, these two stacks are worth twenty-five thousand yuan. Now I need your help. Put on those gloves and fold the money into heart shapes. I don’t know how to do it, but I bet you learned in school. This is very important, but you can’t ask me why. Just do it, please, and wear gloves so that you don’t leave fingerprints on the bills.”
Guo Yu and Huiru exchanged looks.
“This is something we have to do to alter the crime scene,” Luo said. “Don’t ask. All you need to know is how to describe the part of the night where you have to lie and how to answer the questions that the cops might ask. Don’t ever ask cops about the details of the case. The body will probably be found in a few hours, and a lot of people are going to gossip about it. Be aware of what others are saying on the street, but don’t get involved. You might unintentionally give something away.”