(2) Hiding

The follow-up work on a murder case was tedious but not mentally challenging, and there was no pressure.

Shen Wanwan had expected a few relaxing days, but she was called up early again.

The bad news was that her exercise plan was put on hold once more. The good news was that running around every day was really making her body stronger day by day.

At present, Qi Xia’s case hadn’t been fully resolved, and there was a new case.

Shen Wanwan went straight to the scene.

A large fire had broken out in a certain alley in the southern part of the city last night, burning several homes.

The fire hadn’t been large for the households that were affected, and there were no casualties, but the house where the fire started was almost reduced to rubble.

By the time Shen Wanwan arrived, Cui Luo and the others had also started to show up.

Shen Wanwan asked about the situation.

Cui Luo pushed Zou Guodong forward. “Ask him, he knows the most.”

Zou Guodong brushed off Cui Luo’s hand. “Don’t say that, I’ve just worked on related cases before. I’m not really familiar with the deceased.”

The deceased was Zhang Yingming, a man in his forties. Several gang leaders in Xuzhou City were close with him, calling him brother. He was often involved in petty crimes and had been a regular at the station.

In recent years, he had developed a gambling habit and would spend any money he had on gambling, even when his home was stripped bare and he refused to turn back.

“In addition to Zhang Yingming, there is another deceased. Local residents say the second deceased is Zhang Yingming’s neighbor, Fang Qinghua, a woman in her fifties.”

Cui Luo asked, “Was it arson?”

“We’re still not sure, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.”

With the cause of the fire yet to be determined, they had called all the team members over to the scene.

Shen Wanwan asked, “The deceased didn’t die from asphyxiation?”

“Yes, Zhang Yingming’s skull was hit, but Fang Qinghua’s body was intact, no external injuries. Could it be that Fang Qinghua killed Zhang Yingming, then set the fire herself to cover it up?”

As the group discussed, Tao Jiang, wearing gloves, walked out.

The gloves used for the scene inspection were white, but after Tao Jiang had made a round of the area, the gloves had turned dark.

Zou Guodong asked, “Captain Tao, how is it inside?”

“The forensics team just finished inspecting the scene, and the coroner will take the two bodies back for autopsy. We haven’t been able to contact their relatives yet.”

The fire had caused a great stir last night, and although it was still early, there was already a crowd gathered outside the police cordon.

The alley was narrow, and the crowd had gathered tightly. Those with sharp ears heard Tao Jiang’s words and rushed to speak up: “They don’t have any relatives.”

Tao Jiang waved at them, “Come inside to talk.”

The person then squeezed through the police cordon and came inside. “Zhang Yingming was never married, and he cut ties with his parents a long time ago. He doesn’t have any relatives and spends all his time hanging out with shady people. As for Aunt Fang, she’s also alone. She’s a very kind person and has always been good to us, even to Zhang Yingming. We’ve all told her to stay away from him, but she never listens and even often brings him food.”

Shen Wanwan asked, “So Zhang Yingming has no relatives, but what about Aunt Fang?”

“They say her husband and children are all dead. She moved here alone, she’s had a hard life.”

“When did she move here?”

“She came in the ’80s, I think around 1980? It’s been over ten years now.”

“Did Zhang Yingming always live here?”

“He moved here later, two years after Aunt Fang. They’ve been neighbors for over ten years. Sigh, I had a feeling that Zhang Yingming would die a bad death, but I never expected he’d drag Aunt Fang down with him!”

Zhang Yingming and Fang Qinghua died in the same place, with Zhang Yingming having been struck on the back of the head. Fang Qinghua couldn’t shake off the suspicion.

But the neighbors seemed to think Fang Qinghua had been dragged into this. Tao Jiang found it a bit strange. “Why do you think Aunt Fang was dragged into this?”

A neighbor spoke up, “Aunt Fang is really a good person. She’s always willing to help anyone in need, whether it’s watching kids, buying things, or lending money when someone is in trouble. She’s helped everyone. Even Zhang Yingming, Aunt Fang would sometimes clean his house or bring him meals. I don’t think even his own mother would do that. Aunt Fang doesn’t make enemies, so it must be Zhang Yingming who offended someone, and that person set the fire, causing Aunt Fang to suffer.”

The neighbor’s words made the people outside the cordon start gossiping.

It was mostly about how terrible Zhang Yingming was and how pitiful Aunt Fang was.

Tao Jiang proceeded to ask about Zhang Yingming’s enemies, and that only got people talking more. “He had a lot of enemies. Nobody in our alley liked him! He was very overbearing. A few years ago, we didn’t know what kind of person he was, so we even lent him money. But he never paid us back! He would often bully us. Once, I asked my kid to buy soy sauce because we ran out, and he just grabbed it from my kid’s hands. He scared my kid so much that he wouldn’t leave the house for a week!”

“And he attracted a lot of thugs. This alley hasn’t been peaceful in years. Those people often bullied us.”

“Also, Zhang Yingming would always make trouble for Old Zhao’s daughter. She’s just a little girl, and he kept pestering her. Poor thing!”

There were countless accusations against Zhang Yingming, and Shen Wanwan made sure to remember them all.

Tao Jiang signaled to Cui Luo to go in and take a look. “Everyone who’s here should go in and check, but be careful not to disturb the scene.”

Cui Luo winked and gave Shen Wanwan a sly smile.

She led Shen Wanwan and the newly arrived Xiang Dong to Zhang Yingming’s house.

Zhang Yingming’s house was the source of the fire and had been the most severely damaged. Parts of the house had collapsed, and the walls were all scorched black. The doorframe had been damaged halfway and was now crooked, leaning against the wall.

The yard was filled with a mess of things, most of which were covered in thick black soot.

The fire had occurred in the middle of the night, and the fire department had already inspected the scene. There was no danger of a secondary collapse. The bodies had been removed, and when they transported the two to the hospital for emergency treatment, they discovered the injury on Zhang Yingming’s head, which led to the notification of the criminal police.

Since the fire had occurred first, no one initially thought it was a criminal case, and the scene had been somewhat damaged.

The firefighters could only point out the locations where the two bodies had fallen: Zhang Yingming was found on the sofa, and Fang Qinghua was found in front of the window.

The house wasn’t large. Upon entering, there was the kitchen, with a small bedroom on the left and a slightly larger living room on the right. The living room had a double bed, and modern housing still didn’t have clear distinctions between living rooms and bedrooms.

Shen Wanwan noticed that there were no signs of a fire in the kitchen, but there were dishes on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

It was all home-cooked food—stir-fried shredded potatoes and eggplant stewed with meat.

Cui Luo crouched in front of the coffee table, observing for a moment before saying, “It doesn’t look like the food was cooked in a restaurant. I remember someone just said that Fang Qinghua often brings food to Zhang Yingming?”

Shen Wanwan walked over to the cabinet opposite the sofa. From the position, it seemed there used to be a TV here, but now it was completely empty.

There were no valuable appliances in the room, the most valuable thing was probably the sofa.

Shen Wanwan said, “If Fang Qinghua came to bring Zhang Yingming food, looking at Zhang Yingming’s position, he should have still been alive when Fang Qinghua came. But now both of them are dead in this room, so Fang Qinghua is a major suspect.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

Xiang Dong, who was wearing a white shirt today, was very particular about his appearance. He always dressed neatly whenever he came to the station. But a white shirt in a fire scene was not ideal, and Xiang Dong kept brushing off the dust that had settled on his shirt. Once he finished, he continued, “Fang Qinghua has been taking care of Zhang Yingming for many years. Zhang Yingming was willing to let her into his house and eat the food she made, so their relationship must have been quite good. For no reason, why would Fang Qinghua kill someone?”

Fang Qinghua and Zhang Yingming had known each other for many years and had always been close. They didn’t have any business dealings or conflicts, so it really didn’t make sense.

Cui Luo speculated, “Maybe after Fang Qinghua brought the food, she left. Later, she noticed the fire and tried to save Zhang Yingming, but she couldn’t save him and ended up dying as well.”

Shen Wanwan put on her gloves and began looking for clues.

Actually, the forensics team and Tao Jiang’s team had already been in, so there wouldn’t be many clues left. Tao Jiang had specifically asked Cui Luo to bring Shen Wanwan and Xiang Dong in for a quick tour to help them familiarize themselves with their roles.

Shen Wanwan understood this but still diligently did the work she needed to do.

She walked around the living room. Although she didn’t find any new clues, she noticed that something seemed to be missing.

“Did the killer take the murder weapon?”

Cui Luo pointed toward the small bedroom. “I just heard Old Zou shout that the weapon seems to be over there.”

Shen Wanwan walked toward the small bedroom.

The small bedroom only had a single bed, and the floor was piled with worthless junk that Zhang Yingming had apparently been using as a storage space.

The single bed was near the window, and the murder weapon was on the bed. It was an iron rod, one end thick and the other thin, with the thick end covered in bloodstains.

The murder weapon hadn’t been taken yet, which was likely something Tao Jiang had specifically instructed.

But why didn’t the killer take the weapon? And why did they leave it in the uninhabited small bedroom?

If it was too inconvenient to take, they could have just left it in the living room.

On the way back to the living room, Shen Wanwan noticed a brick had been thrown into the gap next to the water tank in the kitchen.

The brick hadn’t gathered any dust, so it seemed to have been placed there recently. Shen Wanwan collected it into an evidence bag.

Since some time had passed since the incident, when Shen Wanwan and the others returned to the station in the police car, the autopsy report had already been completed.

“Zhang Yingming, male, 41 years old, his body was found in a defensive position. There were no traces of smoke or soot in the trachea, and no signs of heat-induced respiratory syndrome. His blood did not contain HbCO, so it’s confirmed that he died after the fire. The fatal injury was to the occipital bone, caused by a blunt instrument. The shape and diameter of the wound match the iron rod found at the crime scene, confirming the iron rod as the murder weapon.”

“Fang Qinghua, female, 50 years old, her body also showed signs of a defensive position. There was soot and ash in the trachea, and the mucous membranes of the throat, trachea, and bronchi were congested, swollen, and necrotic, forming a grayish-white pseudomembrane, all signs of heat-induced respiratory syndrome. It’s confirmed that she died from the fire.”

Xiang Dong, being a detective with little knowledge of forensic medicine, subconsciously asked, “What does heat-induced respiratory syndrome mean?”

Shen Wanwan, who was closest to Xiang Dong, explained, “Most people who die in a fire suffocate from the high-temperature smoke entering their airways. This causes the reactions the coroner just mentioned, leading to swelling in the throat, which causes suffocation. This is how we confirm whether someone was burned alive before dying.”

Cui Luo praised, “You’ve only just arrived and already know so much, not bad.”

Shen Wanwan humbly replied, “I’ve only seen similar concepts before. It’s all from books. In real situations, things are often more complicated. I still have to work hard to learn more.”

Xiang Dong silently put down the pen in his hand.

He looked at the notebook, filled with dense notes, and then at Shen Wanwan, who was casually folding her arms. The gap in his feelings grew stronger.

Ever since he came to the city police station, it seemed like every time someone was praised, it was Shen Wanwan, while he always ended up playing the fool.

Xiang Dong racked his brain and pulled out a little bit of forensic knowledge. “I remember… under high-temperature conditions, the skull can also change, similar to the situation where the head suffers a heavy blow. That’s not wrong, right?”

Everyone looked at him, and this time, they really seemed to be looking at a fool.

Even though Xiang Dong had a thick skin, he felt embarrassed with everyone staring at him.

He pretended to be casual as he picked up his fountain pen, and as soon as his finger touched the pen, it spun rapidly for several circles. “I also saw it in a book.”

The coroner smiled and said, “The new recruits this year are really eager to study forensic science, that’s great. I’m happy about it. You’re much better than Old Zou and the others, they don’t know a thing, all they do is push and push.”

Xiang Dong felt a little better and sat up straighter.

The coroner’s tone shifted, and he continued, “But even though such phenomena can happen, the manifestations of the body are still slightly different. Moreover, the iron rod is curved, and the occipital bone has corresponding depressions, so we can confirm that the iron rod was the murder weapon.”

Zou Guodong chuckled a few times.

Xiang Dong suddenly understood why everyone had been looking at him earlier.

The evidence already matched perfectly, and they had even found the murder weapon. Even if what he said was possible, it was enough to rule it out. His question had been a foolish one.

At this moment, Xiang Dong felt deflated again.

After the coroner finished his report, Tao Jiang stood up to speak, “From the current investigation, it appears Zhang Yingming had many enemies, while Fang Qinghua, on the other hand, had none. Fang Qinghua’s social relationships were relatively simple. Let’s first go over her background.”

“Fang Qinghua was from Daliang Village, Lucheng. Her husband passed away in 1980, and she had no other relatives. She came to Xuzhou alone to settle. When she first arrived in Xuzhou, she made a living by washing clothes and selling buttons. Later, through a neighbor’s introduction, she worked at a restaurant and has been working there ever since. According to the neighbors, Fang Qinghua was the ‘good person’ in the alley. Everyone treated her well, which is why they introduced her to a job. Even Zhang Yingming treated her courteously, and the two got along well. If Zhang Yingming had a conflict with a neighbor, the neighbor would ask Fang Qinghua to help speak on their behalf, and usually, the problem would be resolved.”

Cui Luo sighed, “It seems that Fang Qinghua was really dragged into this. What a good person she was, and she died because of this.”

“Zhang Yingming had too many enemies. He didn’t have a legitimate job, and last year he was arrested for theft. The amount was small, and he was released soon after. I’ve already sent people to find Brother Rong, who had more contact with him. He’s involved with people from that side, so we’ll have to ask them who he had conflicts with.”

Cui Luo looked at Zou Guodong. “Old Zou, the Brother Lang you brought back to the station yesterday, I remember his older brother is Brother Rong.”

“It’s him. Brother Rong’s been acting suspicious lately. I think he’s trying to smuggle some banned goods, so I wanted to warn him. He kept making excuses not to come over, so I had to call Xiao Lang over first. In the end, Brother Rong didn’t come, and another person came to send me off. But we’ve arranged to meet today.”

Shen Wanwan had just started working and wasn’t familiar with the thugs roaming around Xuzhou, so Tao Jiang specifically asked her and Xiang Dong to go meet Brother Rong.

Brother Rong’s full name was Liu Fanrong, 35 years old, and one of the regulars at the police station.

He was somewhat well-known in Xuzhou, and whenever there was a fight, he was almost always involved.

As for the people he was connected to, they were at an even higher level.

Tao Jiang worried that the two newcomers might be bullied, so he made sure Zou Guodong would accompany them. There was no thug in Xuzhou who didn’t know Zou Guodong.

When Zou Guodong found Brother Rong, he was singing at the Golden Sands Club.

The Golden Sands Club had a complex background, and Brother Rong and his crew often came here.

As soon as Zou Guodong entered, he attracted some curious glances. He smiled and pushed a few people aside, walking over to sit next to Brother Rong, putting his arm around his shoulder. “Brother Rong, you haven’t had time for a while, huh?”

Brother Rong only then noticed Zou Guodong. After a shiver, he forced a stiff smile. “Brother Zou, what brings you here? Didn’t we agree I’d come meet you today?”

Zou Guodong smiled and said, “Now you’ve got a higher status, I can’t get you to come, so I had to come to you.”

Brother Rong turned off the music and put down the microphone, nodding and bowing to Zou Guodong. “What are you saying, Brother? I’ve really been busy these past few days. If you need something, just say it, and if I can help, I’ll definitely do so.”

Zou Guodong glanced at Brother Rong’s lackeys, and Brother Rong immediately sent them away.

Only then did Zou Guodong speak, “What’s keeping you busy lately? Planning to enter a new field?”

“Not at all, not at all, I don’t have that kind of courage. Just messing around with the brothers,” Brother Rong replied.

Zou Guodong asked, “So you’ve been hanging around with Zhang Yingming?”

Brother Rong’s lips twitched, and he forced a smile. “Brother, I don’t really understand what you mean.”

“Don’t play games with me. You went to Zhang Yingming’s house yesterday, right?”

Brother Rong reluctantly nodded, “He and I are just ordinary friends. I went over, had a meal together, and then left.”

“What time did you go?”

“Noon, during lunch.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Nothing special, just drinking and boasting.”

Zou Guodong gave Brother Rong a sidelong glance and smiled. “You didn’t talk about anything else?”

Brother Rong looked as if he was about to cry in panic. “My good brother, please don’t tease me. What happened to him? Did something happen to him, and now it’s in your hands?”

Zou Guodong casually replied, “He’s dead. He was murdered.”

“What?!” Brother Rong was shocked and stood up. “Brother Ming is dead?! Who did it? Who killed him? Tell me, and I’ll go avenge Brother Ming!”

Zou Guodong reminded him, “You’re acting a bit too much.”

Brother Rong’s dramatic outburst and righteous indignation were cut short by Zou Guodong’s words, and he awkwardly toned it down.

Innocently, he said, “Brother Zou, it wasn’t me. I don’t have the guts.”

“I heard you had an argument with Zhang Yingming yesterday at noon?”

“Just a little quarrel between friends, you know, I was interested in a woman of his. She’s someone he’s already been with and doesn’t want anymore. I wanted to take her, but he wasn’t happy about it. Isn’t that a bit of a problem with him?”

When speaking to the neighbors, they did mention that a man had argued with Zhang Yingming, but they couldn’t hear the details of the argument, so they could only rely on Brother Rong’s version of events.

Zou Guodong raised an eyebrow. “All this because of a woman?”

Brother Rong looked at him pitifully. “Yeah, just one woman.”

Zou Guodong sized him up for a moment and then asked, “Who does Zhang Yingming usually associate with? Who does he have grudges with?”

“Brother Zou, it’s hard to say. His temper is violent, and if you say something wrong, he’ll beat you up. He’s always fighting with his own people. None of us wants to talk to him much.”

“Has he done business with you guys?”

“Not really. He’s always been a lone wolf, doing things on his own without telling us anything. But it’s obvious he’s up to no good.”

Zou Guodong looked at Shen Wanwan. “What do you think?”

Shen Wanwan said, “It may sound like he’s someone people dislike, but if it’s just these little scuffles and there’s no other conflict of interests, it doesn’t seem to be enough to kill him over.”

Zou Guodong then asked, “Has anyone complained about him, or even said they wanted to kill him?”

“The brothers haven’t said anything like that, but…” Brother Rong gave a strange laugh. “That woman might want to kill him.”

“A woman?”

Brother Rong shrugged indifferently. “Yeah, the one I’m trying to sleep with, He Qing, the head waitress at the nightclub. Zhang Yingming owes her a lot of money, and now he doesn’t want to make up with her. I went after her, but Zhang Yingming wasn’t happy about it.”

When Shen Wanwan and the others left, Brother Rong’s lackeys remained in the club’s lobby.

Zou Guodong walked out with a cigarette in his mouth, scanning the faces of the lackeys. They nervously lowered their heads.

Zou Guodong stopped in front of a few of them and waved at one in the second row. “Come here.”

The lackey called over looked terrified.

He cautiously stepped over. “Brother Zou, I haven’t caused any trouble recently, have I?”

“What are you afraid of? We’re just talking,” Zou Guodong said. “Last time I came, I noticed you were pretty close with Liu Fanrong. You two have a good relationship?”

The lackey looked a little proud. “Brother Rong trusts me a lot.”

“Since he trusts you, he must have entrusted you with handling his matters, right?”

The lackey nodded.

Zou Guodong asked, “So, you handled the stuff with Zhang Yingming too?”

The lackey’s face changed.

Zou Guodong pressed on, “If you have something to say, just say it. I’m helping your Brother Rong. He already told me everything. What are you hiding?”

The lackey reluctantly nodded. “It was me.”

Zou Guodong smiled brightly and put an arm around the lackey’s neck. “Really? Let’s go talk about it.”

Shen Wanwan and Xiang Dong were supposed to stay where they were and wait for Zou Guodong, but after thinking for a while, Shen Wanwan called over a few more people and asked them questions similar to what Zou Guodong had asked earlier. However, this time, she didn’t get anything useful.

Xiang Dong chuckled. “Brother Zou is the expert here. Why are you getting involved in the fun?”

Shen Wanwan explained, “I’m worried that the guy earlier might have really revealed something. I don’t want him to be taken in, but I also don’t want it to be bad for us in front of Brother Rong later.”

Xiang Dong raised his eyebrows and sneered. “So you’re still trying to help a thug?”

Shen Wanwan was about to explain when Zou Guodong returned after finishing his questioning. “What are you two discussing?”

Xiang Dong said, “She wants to cover for a thug. We’re criminal police officers, we need to recognize our responsibilities.”

Zou Guodong, however, wasn’t angry. He smiled and said, “That’s one way of putting it. If we can’t catch them, we need to leave ourselves an escape route. In the future, everything will be a clue. Wanwan’s thinking is quite thoughtful, deserves praise.”

Xiang Dong: “…”

How could a police officer let a small-time thug off the hook?!

Xiang Dong clicked his tongue and glanced at Shen Wanwan through the haze of smoke.

Shen Wanwan, however, seemed completely unconcerned with his hostility and continued to ask Zou Guodong, “Brother Zou, what did you find out?”

“This? We’ll talk about it when we get back.”

When Shen Wanwan and the others went to meet Brother Rong, the rest of the team wasn’t slacking off either. Tao Jiang had pulled out all of Zhang Yingming’s criminal records.

When the list came out, it was truly shocking. It was a whole column of offenses he had committed.

Fifteen thefts, two burglaries, and five fights.

Every time he got out, he promised never to commit another crime, but he had never truly repented.

“I’ve already asked all the neighbors around Zhang Yingming’s house. Yesterday, they only saw Liu Fanrong go to Zhang Yingming’s house. Another man named Zhou Jianguo has a grudge against Zhang Yingming. They are neighbors, and Zhou Jianguo once threatened to kill Zhang Yingming.”

“What’s the motive?”

“They say Zhang Yingming took about ten square meters of land from his family and refused to return it. They’ve been fighting over this for many years.”

Zou Guodong added, “I’ve also learned something here. There’s someone named He Qing, who has a romantic entanglement with Zhang Yingming. She works at a dance hall. Also, Liu Fanrong lied to us. He said he fought with Zhang Yingming because of He Qing, but actually, a few months ago, he and Zhang Yingming were partners in business. They opened a foot massage shop together, but Zhang Yingming developed a gambling addiction and withdrew all the money from their account and lost it. Now he’s refusing to pay back.”

Zhang Yingming has many enemies, and checking all of them takes time.

After a full day of interviews, the main suspects are Liu Fanrong, Zhou Jianguo, and He Qing.

Like Liu Fanrong, He Qing denied having any financial disputes with Zhang Yingming, insisting that they were just boyfriend and girlfriend and had recently broken up.

After a long day of work, Shen Wanwan returned home around 9 o’clock.

Lin Yuying had specifically saved dinner for her, and Shen Wanwan noticed the chicken leg from yesterday still in the bowl.

The original owner never knew what chicken legs tasted like.

Lin Yuying hadn’t gone to bed yet and was preparing to heat the food in the kitchen.

Shen Wanwan followed her in and said, “I can do it myself, no need to trouble yourself.”

“After a long day of hard work, you should at least have a warm meal when you get home,” Lin Yuying said, handing her the bowl with the chicken leg. “This is from Xiao Zhuo. He was especially obedient today, came home and just did his homework. He even said he wanted to ask you about the questions he didn’t understand… Wanwan, you’re not angry with Xiao Zhuo, are you?”