by Zijin Chen
Guo Yu and Luo couldn’t help but sneak a look at the man as soon as they heard Fulai say “officer.”
“I’ll have some noodles with shredded pork,” Lin said. He started looking for a table before suddenly remembering something. He wanted to try his luck, and he pulled out the paring knife that his team had given him earlier. “Excuse me, have you seen this knife before?”
Fulai looked down at the paring knife, suddenly alert. “It’s just an ordinary kitchen knife. Does . . . does . . . the knife have something to do with the case?”
“Yes. Have you seen it anywhere?” Lin asked, looking closely at Fulai.
Luo held back a smile. If Fulai got the replaced paring knife from the kitchen, then Huiru would be in the clear.
Luo specifically bought a new knife for Huiru after the accident, whereas the murder weapon showed signs of use. An expert like Lin would see the difference immediately. It would be perfect for Fulai to hand over the knife, because he was not connected to the case.
Fulai’s answer was so unexpected that Luo was stunned. “No, I’ve never seen it before.”
Lin stared hard at the cook. Finally he smiled politely and sat down at the table next to Luo and Guo Yu.
Just as Luo was puzzling over Fulai’s answer, Huiru returned. Lin immediately pulled her aside and said, “Ms. Zhu, have you ever seen a knife like this?”
Huiru deliberately acted as if she didn’t understand the point of the question. “Does this have something to do with the case? It’s just a paring knife.”
“Yes, it does. The killer used a paring knife to stab the victim. We need to know where it came from,” Lin said, not taking his eyes off Huiru.
“OK . . . looks like a very normal knife to me,” she said, peering at it. “I think my brother bought one that looks similar. It’s usually in the cutlery drawer; let me check.”
Luo pressed his lips together tightly.
Huiru turned and opened the drawer. She moved a few things around and quickly found the replacement knife.
Luo sighed inwardly. Huiru and her brother had conflicting answers. That spelled trouble.
Lin examined Huiru’s knife briefly. The edge looked brand new. It could not be the murder weapon. Still, it was strange that Ms. Zhu and her brother had inconsistent answers. He looked a little more closely at the knife and said, “It looks like this knife has never been used before.”
“We bought it to peel fruit, but we just put it away and forgot about it,” Huiru answered.
“When did you buy this?”
“Um . . . a month or two ago, I think. My brother bought it; I’ll ask him. Fulai, come here a minute! When did we get this knife?”
Luo cringed. Huiru just said that her brother bought the knife, but then why would he say that he had never seen it before?
Fulai came over, coughing awkwardly. “Where is this knife from?” he asked.
“It’s our knife, from that drawer over there,” Huiru said.
“Oh, right,” Fulai said quickly. “I bought it in the supermarket across the street, about two months ago. But I haven’t touched it since, so I totally forgot.”
“Ah.” Lin’s smile seemed to have some underlying meaning. He returned the knife to Huiru and sat back down.
Chapter 31
Luo heard a knock and opened the door to a jittery Huiru. “Come in,” he said.
Huiru stared at her feet. She didn’t even sit down.
Luo poured her a glass of water. “What happened today? What was your brother thinking?”
“I, um . . . I asked him myself, after the police officer left. My brother thought—thinks—I killed that thug,” Huiru stuttered.
“Why would he think that?” Luo asked, frowning.
“He said that he put the pieces together when I came home really late after taking the paring knife from the drawer. I didn’t know that he saw me take it. Then the police came looking for me . . . so he thought it was me. He lied to help me cover it up, which is how . . . how everything went wrong. I’m really sorry, this is all my fault. This is all my fault!” She sobbed.
Luo pressed his lips together and paced back and forth. “That officer was very experienced; I could tell by the way he interrogated you.”
Huiru choked as she said, “That same officer came by earlier today. I think he . . . he thinks I did it.”
“Oh?” Luo stopped pacing and looked at her. “What did he say earlier?”
She described everything that happened.
“I’m positive you answered all those questions correctly,” Luo said. “Maybe . . . do you think you might have looked nervous?”
“A little, yeah.”
“If he were more professional, he would stop bothering you. They must have checked the surveillance cameras by now and know that you have a solid alibi. The autopsy would show that you wouldn’t have enough time to have committed the crime,” Luo said, thinking it through. “Hmm. He must have a gut feeling about you. It was probably something about your expression. If he actually had something to incriminate you, he would already have an arrest warrant. Don’t worry, it will be fine.”
“Do you really think so?” Huiru asked, wiping her eyes.
“If he examines the evidence, he has no reason to suspect you. It’s a shame that you and your brother gave different responses, though. I’m afraid the police will come back now.”
“It’s all my fault, how I dragged you into this. I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry you didn’t tell your brother that you killed someone? The more people who know the truth, the riskier everything becomes.” He smiled to try to make her feel better. “If anyone is at fault, it’s me. I didn’t anticipate what your brother would do.”
“Don’t talk like that,” she said.
“What’s done is done. What we need to focus on now is how to handle the situation. Soon, when the police discover that the case—” He stopped and changed his wording. “In the end, I’m sure that the police will take you off of the list of suspects. You didn’t say anything wrong, but in the future, make sure that you pay attention to your tone of voice and facial expressions. You could try practicing saying the answers somewhere where you brother won’t overhear. As long as your statement is bulletproof, they won’t be able to do anything. But I think I’ll need to play a few more cards in my hand so I can get you out of this situation.”
“What are you going to do?” Huiru asked. Her eyes widened.
“The less you know, the better,” Luo said. He stroked his chin, muttering under his breath, “I could go to his apartment tomorrow and have a good look around. Guo Yu would be at work, so it’s just Huiru that I have to worry about.” He looked up and said, “What do you normally do in the daytime? I mean outside of restaurant hours.”
“I usually get up late. Then I help my brother buy fresh vegetables or clean up the restaurant and get ready for the lunchtime customers. In the afternoon I usually take a nap, or sometimes I go window shopping and walk around. That’s all.”
“Do you go to the movies?”
“Not anymore,” she said, shaking her head. “I used to go when I was little; we had a theater in my hometown. But then it went out of business.”
“I don’t go anymore either,” he said, turning to look at the dog and smiling bitterly. “I think it’s been eight or nine years now.”
“Why not?” Considering his income and all the free time he seemed to have, she assumed he went all the time.
Luo coughed. “I was thinking about telling you to go to the movies on your own or with your brother on Friday. But if you suddenly go now it will seem out of the ordinary. Hmm. Can I see your phone, please?”
She handed him her phone.
“This is the phone you use when people call to order deliveries, right? Do you have another one?”
She pulled out another, this one decorated with sparkling stars.
“How much did this cost you?” Luo said, turning it over.
“About twelve hun
dred. Why do you ask?” She looked confused.
Luo took some cash out of his bag with one hand and threw the phone forcefully with the other.
“Ah!” Huiru was shocked. She quickly picked up her phone.
Luo handed her the money, “This is two thousand; go and get a new phone on Friday. Remember to tell your brother that you dropped your phone and broke it. Around 1:00 p.m. go to one of the stores in downtown Hangzhou and get a new phone. Don’t tell your brother about the money; he’ll just worry. Go to a place that sells a lot of phones—the bigger the better. If you can, ask one of your friends to come with you. Spend plenty of time shopping and don’t come back until you have to start work again.”
“But . . . why?”
“It’s better if you don’t know,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
Huiru didn’t want to take his money. “I can’t take this; you have helped Guo Yu and me so much already. If you want me to get a new phone, I’ll buy one with my own money.”
He pushed the money back in her hands—his decision was final. “Take it. I have no use for it.”
“Why . . . why . . . are you helping us like this?” she asked with trepidation.
Luo smiled broadly. “I just want you to have a bright future. For my part, well . . . it might be atonement for things that I have done. I’m very sorry that I can’t tell you more about myself, but I promise that I am just trying to help. When this is all over, I hope that you forget me completely.” He was sincere.
She didn’t know what he meant by that, but she knew that he wasn’t a bad person. If he had wanted to take advantage of her, he would have done so already.
Chapter 32
Captain Zhao rushed down the hall of criminal investigator offices. Investigator Yang looked up when he entered. “Wow, you came back fast.”
“Of course I did! As soon as you told me you caught the pervert, I came as quickly as I could.” He headed towards the interview rooms. “What room is he in?”
“Number 2.”
“Has he confessed yet?”
“His lips are sealed. He keeps saying that he doesn’t know why we arrested him.”
Zhao stopped in his tracks. “We got him in here and he won’t admit to a thing? Are you sure we got the right man?”
“Absolutely.” Yang had a smile on his face. “We found a knife and a hat in the trunk of his car. We’re contacting some of the victims to ID him.”
“How did you get him so quickly?”
“We found a stretch of road with two surveillance cameras. He walked by but never came back. A while later, a BMW drove off in the other direction, so we thought it could be his car. We searched his license plate number and got his address.” Yang leaned back, looking pleased.
“Well done, Yang,” Zhao said, nodding in approval.
“But there’s one other thing that I should tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“The guy’s wife is here. She claims that we got the wrong man and brought two television reporters with her. She says we have no right to arrest him without giving a reason. She wants answers.”
“Oh . . .” Zhao frowned. He hated when the media got mixed up in their work. Then a smile spread across his face. “You said he won’t talk, huh?”
“That’s right. He claims he doesn’t know why we arrested him. He looks guilty, though.”
Zhao chuckled. “You tell his wife that we’ll bring her husband out in just a moment.”
Yang handed the pervert’s file to Zhao before leaving. The man’s name was Jiang Dehui. He was forty-one and from Hangzhou. His expensive car and his address indicated that he was rich.
Zhao walked briskly into the interview room. The guards greeted him. Zhao nodded and pulled up a stool. “You’re Jiang Dehui? The one who has been sexually assaulting women for the past few months, is that right?”
Jiang shook his head vigorously. “No! Absolutely not! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So you didn’t do it?” Zhao said, a smile creeping up.
“I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t possibly do a thing like that!”
“OK, OK,” Zhao said breezily. “Your wife is outside. She says that you’ve been wrongfully accused. Looks like she brought a few reporters with her. How about I take you out there and we wait for the victims to come to the station? We’ll let them confirm whether or not you were the one to assault them. If they say it wasn’t you, I’ll apologize to the television reporters and let you go.”
When Jiang heard the word “reporters,” his face went white as a sheet. He started to tremble.
Zhao smiled. “How about it?”
Jiang slumped in his chair. “Could you, uh . . . could you tell my wife to go home?”
Zhao shrugged. “Your wife came here of her own volition; we don’t have the right to tell her to go anywhere. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”
“I—I—”
“Are you ready to come clean?” Zhao leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “If you cooperate, we can protect your privacy. I’m guessing that your wife has no idea what you’ve done, otherwise she wouldn’t be making such a fuss. Is that right?”
Jiang turned bright red. “. . . Please don’t tell them what I’ve done. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Very good,” Zhao said. He turned to the guard next to him. “Give him his phone and let him call his wife.
Jiang held the phone, and took a deep breath. He called his wife and told her that he was involved in a tax-fraud case and would have to stay at the police station for the next few days and that she should go home.
When Jiang finished his call, Zhao turned to the guards. “Bring me his statement as soon as you finish.”
Chapter 33
Soon after Zhao arrived in his office, Yang entered. “The reporters are gone. They left with the wife.”
Zhao smiled. He actually wished the reporters could have stayed. The string of sexual assaults had made headlines for several months, taking the city by storm. It would have been nice to announce that they caught the guy. Then again, the case was still extremely sensitive. It was better this way.
“Two of the victims have already confirmed that he was their assailant,” Yang said. “I don’t know why he suddenly was willing to confess.”
Zhao knew, but he didn’t explain this to Yang. It was partly thanks to Jiang’s wife. She brought all those reporters, causing her husband to worry that if he was on television for even a minute he wouldn’t be able to show his face in public ever again. The only thing bothering him now was that he didn’t know who the serial killer was.
Yan Liang, the professor, had very quickly come to the conclusion that Jiang was not the killer, given how careless he was. Zhao was uneasy. He had wanted Jiang to be the killer, because that would mean he was nearing the end of the murder investigation.
Before long, an officer returned from the interview room. “He admitted to all of the assaults, but . . . he says he didn’t kill Sun Hongyun.”
Zhao pursed his lips. “Did you get his fingerprints?”
“Of course. They don’t match the ones on the murder weapon.”
Zhao took the interview report and pored over the text.
On the night of the murder, Jiang Dehui entertained some clients until eleven o’clock. Then he drove to Wenyi West Road. He got out of his car and waited for an unaccompanied woman to come along. Sometime later the victim walked towards him. He grabbed her and dragged her onto the grass to assault her, threatening her with a knife. He zipped up his slacks after he came and was about to threaten her again when he saw a man standing behind a copse of trees, facing him. He was only twenty or thirty yards away, but it was dark, so he couldn’t see the man’s face clearly. Even so, Jiang was quite certain that he saw him wearing a cross-body bag. He also thought he saw something in his hands. When Jiang realized that the man was approaching, he knew that the man had witnessed the assault. He panicked and fled.
Somethin
g clicked. Zhao went back to the victim’s statement, confirming that she said Jiang had run off, looking nervous. Whereas in all the other assaults, Jiang threatened the women one last time before leaving. Jiang had run away because he saw the killer walking towards him.
Jiang saw the man, but he did not witness the actual murder. The woman didn’t see the murderer, suggesting that the killer hid or he went in a different direction. Either way, the killer didn’t follow Jiang.
Zhao whistled. Jiang had been extremely lucky that night—if the killer had gotten any closer, he might have offed him.
According to the statement, the killer was wearing a cross-body bag. It wasn’t much to go on.
There wasn’t anyone on the surveillance cameras wearing one. They had already interviewed and eliminated everyone who walked by with any kind of bag. And Zhao couldn’t be sure that the killer always walked around wearing one.
Ultimately it seemed that Jiang’s case did not have a very strong connection to the murder. Jiang admitted to threatening the woman and defecating in the elevator. He claimed that he was dealing with a lot of stress at work and needed a thrill. He knew that it was risky, which was why he never committed rape or forced the women to give him the hand job. He simply masturbated in their presence, never thinking it would be considered sexual assault. It was clear that Jiang was mentally disturbed, but Zhao couldn’t think about scheduling the team psychiatrist just then. He had a splitting headache.
Chapter 34
A police car slowly pulled up to the corner across from Chongqing Noodles. It was dusk.
Lin was about to get out when young Li pointed at a young man entering the restaurant. “Hey, isn’t that Guo Yu going in?”
“That’s Guo Yu, huh?” Lin watched the skinny man with glasses, recognizing him as one of the customers from the day before when he asked about the paring knife. “Does Guo Yu come here every day?” he asked thoughtfully.
“I’m not sure, but if he has a crush on Huiru, he probably comes often.”
“Perfect. While we’re here we can get his fingerprints too.” The two of them stepped out of the car and headed across the street.