Our community has a well – equipped surveillance system, yet the whole family of our neighbor was bizarrely murdered.
The police exhausted all means and only found their heads in the refrigerator; apart from that, no fragments of the body were discovered, nor any traces left by the murderer…
1
Early in the morning, as I was feeding my daughter milk powder, I heard a commotion outside. Soon after, someone knocked on my door.
I opened the door and saw two policemen standing there. The anti – theft door of the neighbor’s house at 1603 next door was open, and many policemen were coming in and out. There were a lot of people gathered near the elevator corner, including property management staff and neighbors from the same building, all looking panicked.
“Is there something wrong?”
I asked nervously.
The middle – aged policeman pointed to the surveillance camera on my door lintel and said, “There’s a case we need your cooperation with. May I ask, is this surveillance camera working normally?”
“Sure, I’ll definitely cooperate. Here’s the backup of my home surveillance. Take a look.”
I quickly took out my phone and opened the playback function of the camera APP.
After the policeman next to him took the phone, the middle – aged policeman still stared closely at me and asked in a chatty way, “Is it convenient to come in and have a seat?”
I stepped back from the door to let him into the living room.
After entering the house, he glanced around and finally his eyes stopped on my daughter. “Your little girl is so beautiful. How old is she?”
“Eleven months.”
“She’ll be having the grabbing – week ceremony soon.” The middle – aged policeman played with my daughter for a while and then suddenly asked, “Are you the only one at home? Where’s her mother?””She got angry and went back to her parents’ home.”
The middle – aged policeman smiled upon hearing this. “It’s not good for young couples to quarrel. By the way, what do you do for a living? You’re not at work on a weekday.”
“I’m an online writer. I usually write articles and take care of the baby at home. I don’t need to go out to work.”
The middle – aged policeman immediately showed an envious expression. “What a good job. I also wanted to write novels when I was young, but I don’t have time because of this job. However, I like reading novels. What types do you write? What’s your pen name? I’ll check it out later.”
“I write all kinds of things. Recently, I mainly write suspense. My pen name is ‘Nine Heavens’.”
The policeman nodded as if taking note. After a while, he asked again, “How’s your relationship with your neighbors?”
I didn’t hide anything and told the truth. “Not good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have installed a camera at the door. That couple is well – known as being unreasonable in our community. They think they’re at a loss if they don’t get an advantage. I’m unlucky to have such neighbors.”
After complaining, I asked in return, “With all this commotion, did something happen to them?”
“The couple was killed.” After saying this, the middle – aged policeman looked me up and down. “How long has the camera at your door been installed?”
I said, “Almost a year. When my daughter had colic in February and cried at night, they banged on my door, saying she was disturbing them and forcing me to move out. I argued with them and got slapped a few times. I installed it after the police mediated.”
The middle – aged policeman pressed on, “Is that so? Did you have any more conflicts with them after that?”
I said angrily, “Of course! I called the police five or six times. But every time it was just mediation, and they continued to make trouble after that. Otherwise, my wife wouldn’t have been so angry and gone back to her parents’ home.”
The middle – aged policeman raised his eyebrows. “When was the last conflict? And what was the reason?”
I said impatiently, “I don’t remember. Are you suspecting me and interrogating me as a suspect?”
The middle – aged policeman smiled. “Don’t think too much. I’m just asking casually. Since you write criminal investigation novels, you should know that when we encounter a homicide case, we must conduct investigations and collect clues.”
“Then you’ve got the wrong person. Although I’m their neighbor, I haven’t talked to them for months. I usually go out when they’re not at home. I don’t know anything about their family. If you have nothing else, I’ll coax my daughter to sleep.”
Seeing that I was giving him the hint to leave, the middle – aged policeman wasn’t angry. He went out to tell his colleague who took my phone to make a backup, and then returned the phone to me.
At noon, after I fed my daughter and coax her to sleep, I quietly went out.
Outside, there were still many policemen busy at 1603. I found the neighbor at 1602 and asked in a low voice, “Brother Li, what’s going on? Our community was fine. How could there be a homicide?”
Brother Li is the gossip – monger in our community and has a great popularity. He had been watching the excitement all morning and knew more news than me. When he saw me asking, he immediately started chatting.
“Who knows who the old Du couple offended. Gee, the murderer was really cruel. I heard from the police that apart from finding the heads of the old Du couple in the refrigerator, they didn’t find anything else. I don’t know where the murderer hid the bodies of the old Du couple.”
I was puzzled. “That shouldn’t be right. Our community has full – coverage surveillance. There are surveillance cameras in the elevator, fire escape, and green belt. How could such a big body disappear out of thin air?”
Brother Li immediately lowered his voice and said mysteriously, “That’s why the murderer is so powerful. I heard from the property management that the police checked all the surveillance backups of the community, but they didn’t see anyone visiting the old Du’s house recently. Now the police suspect that it was a familiar person on our floor who committed the crime and dismembered the old Du couple and flushed them down the toilet. They’re going to pump the septic tank.”
After saying this, Brother Li suddenly slapped his thigh. “Look at my memory. They’ll definitely cut off the water when pumping the septic tank. I’ll go home and get some water for daily use first. Your baby is still young. You should also prepare some water. We don’t know how many days the water will be cut off.”
Seeing Brother Li rushing home in a hurry, I also turned around and walked towards my house.
Before I could enter the door, I was stopped by the middle – aged policeman from the morning. “Ge Yang, wait a minute.”
The middle – aged policeman called out my name directly. He should have already investigated my personal information.
I stood at the door and gave him a puzzled look.
The middle – aged policeman showed his ID and said with a smile, “I was in a hurry this morning and forgot to introduce myself. I’m Zhao Zhen from the criminal investigation team, the person in charge of this case.”
“Hello, Officer Zhao. Is there something?”
I said casually.
Zhao Zhen pointed to my living room. “Can I come in and talk?”
I blocked the door and said, “No. My daughter is taking a nap.”
“That’s right. Kids have light sleep. We won’t disturb her. Well, there are still a few questions I want to ask you.”
Zhao Zhen walked to my side, pointed the law enforcement recorder at me, and said, “Has the position of the camera at your home never been changed since it was installed?”
I said, “Didn’t I give you the backup? You can tell at a glance whether it has been moved or not.”
Zhao Zhen said, “I’ve seen it. But there are only records of the last seven days. The records before seven days have been overwritten.”
I spread my hands. “There’s nothing I can do about that. I installed the camera just to prevent them from making trouble. I don’t need much memory. What exactly do you want to ask?”
As soon as I finished speaking, Zhao Zhen suddenly asked, “Do you know the password of the electronic lock of 1603?”
“…”
I rolled my eyes. “Officer Zhao, what are you thinking? Who would tell the password of their door to an outsider?”
Speaking of this, I suddenly realized. “You suspect me?”
Zhao Zhen didn’t answer but just stared at me, as if trying to see something from my face.
I said angrily, “Come on, have some logic, okay? I did have an unpleasant experience with that couple, but I definitely wouldn’t do something like killing and destroying the body! My daughter is still young. I don’t need to ruin my life for a little conflict.”
Zhao Zhen waved his hand. “Don’t be nervous. I’m just asking.”
“Is this just asking? You’re clearly suspecting me! That’s a heinous crime of murder and dismemberment. Do I have the guts?”
Being suspected, I got really angry.
Zhao Zhen said expressionlessly, “I don’t know if others have the guts, but you definitely do. I just investigated. You studied in a medical school in college and worked as a surgeon for several years. For an ordinary person, something as crazy as dismembering a body may be too scary, but for a surgeon, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“You… you…”
Seeing Zhao Zhen’s expression as if I was the murderer, I was so angry that I was shaking all over.
But soon I calmed down and retorted sarcastically, “You’ve investigated quite thoroughly. Yes, I was a doctor. I had many anatomy classes in college. But does being a doctor mean I have the guts to kill and dismember? And why do you suspect me? Do you have any evidence?”
Zhao Zhen pointed to the door of 1603 and said, “We’ve done an on – site investigation. The doors and windows are intact. There’s only one possibility…”
I interrupted and said, “Someone knew the password of their house and opened the door with the password, right? Because I installed a camera on the door, you suspect that I know the password, right? Come on, look at the position of the camera. My camera is installed on the south wall, and their front door faces north. You can’t see their electronic lock from any angle, okay?”
After saying this, I gritted my teeth and said again, “Officer Zhao, please do your homework better before asking questions next time. You just suspect that I killed and dismembered them and flushed their bodies into the septic tank, right? Then please check the water consumption of our two families first and see if there’s any problem.”
Zhao Zhen suddenly smiled. “You know a lot. You know to check the water consumption. Yes, we’ve already checked, and there’s no problem. That’s why I came to you.”
Before I could speak, Zhao Zhen patted me on the shoulder with a smile.
“Okay, don’t be angry. I believe you didn’t do it. But when something like this happens, and I’m in the criminal investigation field, I still have to follow the procedure.”
…
The sudden change in Zhao Zhen’s tone made me a little at a loss. I subconsciously asked, “If there’s no problem, why are you looking for me?”
Zhao Zhen said sheepishly, “I want to ask you for a favor.”
“A favor? What kind of favor?”
I was even more confused.
Zhao Zhen laughed awkwardly twice. “I roughly flipped through the novels you wrote this morning. They’re all about perfect crimes. They’re really wonderful.”
Before I could be polite, Zhao Zhen continued.
“To be honest with you, the case of your neighbor’s murder is very difficult. Besides the two heads, we can’t find any other body tissues at the scene. The floor, walls, and furniture are cleaned spotless. Even the surveillance system of your community, which you’re so proud of, I’ve checked it several times, but I haven’t found any suspicious figures. The murderer seems to have appeared out of thin air and disappeared again. So…”
Speaking of this, Zhao Zhen paused and looked at me with a half – smile.
“I see that you’ve written so many stories about perfect crimes. You should be quite familiar with the criminal’s modus operandi and psychological state. Consider it a favor I owe you. Help me analyze how the murderer entered the house and killed them, and how he destroyed the body and erased the traces.”
2
Although Zhao Zhen put on a serious look of asking for advice, I didn’t give him a good look at all.
I knew in my heart that he was testing me.
Because Brother Li said that in the morning, the police asked the property management for all the surveillance backups in the community, especially the surveillance of the elevator and the fire escape. They checked them several times and didn’t find anything abnormal. This means that the only ones who meet the conditions for committing the crime are the owners on our floor.
But our community has a standard two – elevator – four – apartment layout. The 1601 and 1602 on the east side and the 1603 and 1604 on our west side are separated by a corridor.
And because the corridor is open and can be photographed by the camera of Building 8 opposite, the only one who meets the conditions for committing the crime is me!
It’s not hard to see that all the talk about asking for help and analysis is just a way for Zhao Zhen to get me to talk.
Maybe in Zhao Zhen’s heart, he has already determined that I’m the murderer who killed the old Du couple, but he’s just being polite to me because he lacks direct evidence.
But he’s shrewd, and I’m not stupid either.
After all, this is a homicide case. Why should I get involved? If I say too much, even if I’m innocent, something may go wrong. If that happens, I won’t be able to clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River.
So, I declined euphemistically, “Sorry, Officer Zhao. I really want to help, but I can’t. As you can see, my daughter is still young, and I’m the only one at home. I not only have to take care of the baby but also do the laundry, cook, and earn money. I really don’t have the time.”
After saying this, I started nagging about how hard it is for a man to take care of a baby, thinking that Zhao Zhen would understand my difficulties.
However, I underestimated Zhao Zhen’s thick – skinnedness. He persisted, “It’s okay. Just consider it a chat. And we’ve already informed your wife, and she’s on her way back.”
“Why did you call my wife back? She’s timid. She usually doesn’t even dare to touch raw meat. She’ll scream when she sees a fish. Now that there’s a homicide case, asking her to come back is just adding to the trouble, isn’t it?”
I got anxious and took out my phone to call my wife.
Before the call was connected, Zhao Zhen snatched my phone and his expression became cold again. “What are you calling for? Do you have something to hide?”
I was about to refute when Zhao Zhen said coldly again, “There’s been a homicide case. Of course, we have to investigate. If it weren’t for your daughter being so young, I would have taken you to the police station long ago. Stay put. When your wife comes later, come with us.”
Since the words were out, I stopped pretending and simply gave up. “So you’ve decided that I’m the one? Do you have any evidence?”
Zhao Zhen shrugged. “No evidence, but we have plenty of time. I hope you remember that novels are just novels and not equal to reality. In reality, the way the police handle cases is different from what you write in your books.”
Seeing Zhao Zhen’s confident look, I didn’t bother to waste words. I left a sentence, “Then I’ll wait,” and turned around and entered the house.
In the bedroom, I kissed my sleeping daughter again and again. It was not until my wife came back that I reluctantly put her down.
“Yang Yang…”
My wife was about to speak. I glanced at the two female policemen following her, walked quickly forward, and hugged her tightly.
“It’s okay. It’s just a routine interrogation. I’m sorry to trouble you these two days while I’m away. Feed our daughter milk powder every six hours, 150 milliliters each time. When adding complementary foods in the middle, don’t overfeed her to avoid indigestion…”
I babbled about the precautions for taking care of my daughter until Zhao Zhen pulled me away. My wife was already sobbing.
Seeing this, I said angrily, “What are you crying for? I’m going to cooperate with the investigation, not to be executed. How old are you? You just know how to cry when something happens! What else can you do besides crying?”
Yelled at by me, my wife cried even louder, and even my sleeping daughter was woken up and started crying.
For a moment, the house was filled with ear – piercing crying.
I walked up to Zhao Zhen impatiently and said angrily, “Is this what you want? Just you wait. After this is over, I’ll definitely file a complaint against you.”
Zhao Zhen didn’t say anything. He just waved his hand expressionlessly and asked his colleagues behind him to take me back to the interrogation room of the criminal investigation team.
This was the first time in my life to enter the police station, and I was sitting in the suspect’s seat. I wasn’t scared but rather felt curious about everything.
However, as time passed, I waited for several hours, but Zhao Zhen didn’t come back, and no policeman came to take my statement.
Soon, my patience was worn out.
Because it was so damn boring.
I was locked in a small room of less than ten square meters. The indoor light was dim, and not even a light was turned on. I wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom either.
Especially, the air – conditioner was running at the lowest temperature as if it didn’t cost money. The iron chair I was sitting on was icy cold. I couldn’t lie down or lean back. It was extremely uncomfortable.
Losing my patience, I became restless and started shouting:
“Zhao Zhen, come out! You called me here to cooperate with the investigation, but what does it mean that you don’t show up?”
“Don’t think I don’t know the law. Even if I’m a suspect, you can’t mistreat me! The ‘Criminal Procedure Law’ states that when summoning or detaining a criminal suspect, the diet and necessary rest time of the criminal suspect should be guaranteed.”
“…”
As the light in the interrogation room grew darker, I became more and more agitated. But my shouts didn’t attract anyone’s attention, as if they had forgotten about me.
After about eight or nine hours, still no one came to take my statement. I was the only one in the entire interrogation room.
What made me the most angry was that – I couldn’t hold it in anymore and wet my pants after not being able to go to the bathroom for eight or nine hours! For an adult, wetting one’s pants is really embarrassing.
But no matter how much I shouted, cursed, kicked, and made noise, no one came in.
At this moment, I finally deeply understood the meaning of Zhao Zhen’s words. He really had the time to waste with me, and he had countless legitimate reasons to explain why he was doing so. He was right. Novels are novels, and actual operations are different. The way the police handle cases in reality is completely different from novels! And I had no way to deal with it! To argue based on reason, I needed to see someone first! But what about me now? Besides sitting in wet pants and cursing, what else could I do?
After a few more hours, I was too tired and hungry from shouting. The hunger in my stomach, combined with the fatigue of taking care of the baby day and night, made me lose my energy. I wanted to sleep but couldn’t. I wanted to stand up, but I couldn’t either. Finally, I could only assume an awkward position, resting my arms on the interrogation chair and tilting my head on my left shoulder, trying to take a nap.
Just as I was dozing off, the door of the interrogation room opened. Zhao Zhen walked in with an apologetic look on his face and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. There were so many things to investigate that I kept you waiting for so long.Eh, what’s that smell?”
Zhao Zhen covered his nose, glanced at my pants, and immediately scolded the police officer following him, “What are you doing? How could you not let him go to the bathroom?”
The young police officer looked wronged. “Brother Zhao, I’m also busy. I was busy pumping the septic tank in the afternoon. When did I have time to come back and take care of him?”
Zhao Zhen said angrily, “You can’t keep him locked up all the time. Hurry, bring a pair of pants.”
After that, Zhao Zhen said to me, “You must be hungry. What do you want to eat? We offer a meal – ordering service here.”
Seeing their act of playing along like actors, I became even angrier:
“Stop pretending. Is this interesting? Isn’t it just the old trick of fatigue interrogation? Big deal.”
Exposed by me, Zhao Zhen wasn’t embarrassed. Instead, he sat down with a smile, and the police officer who was going to get me pants didn’t leave either.
Zhao Zhen cleared his throat and said indifferently, “Young man, don’t be so aggressive. We were really busy and forgot that you were still in the interrogation room. This is an oversight in our work. If you feel that you’ve been treated unfairly, you’re welcome to file a complaint at any time.”
“Cut.”
I disdainfully curled my lips. I knew in my heart that he was blocking my mouth in advance. Even if I went out and filed a complaint on the grounds of being mistreated, they would use being busy as an excuse, and it would end up being nothing.
So, it was unnecessary to wrangle with him over this trivial matter.
So I asked, “When can I leave? If I remember correctly, the law stipulates that the maximum time for summoning shall not exceed 24 hours.”
Zhao Zhen nodded. “That’s right, it can’t exceed 24 hours. Well, I just finished my work and came to you without even sleeping. Let’s be straightforward. Regarding the murder of Du Zhizhong’s family, do you admit it yourself, or do I need to help you recall?”
“Wait a minute.” I interrupted Zhao Zhen’s words and shouted angrily, “What do you mean by me admitting it myself? What? Do you have evidence to prove that I killed Du Zhizhong’s family? You’re a police officer. Don’t talk nonsense without evidence. Don’t think I don’t know the law. Even if you’re a police officer, without evidence, it’s slander. Believe it or not, I’ll sue you for libel.”
Before Zhao Zhen could speak, I launched another round of verbal attacks:
“Officer Zhao, don’t think you’re so great just because you’re in the criminal investigation department. Legally speaking, even if you have evidence to prove that I killed someone, as long as the court hasn’t made a judgment, I’m just a suspect. Please don’t talk to me in such a conclusive tone.”
“And, do you have any evidence?”
“There’s a camera on my door. It clearly records what I do when I go in and out every day. Why do you think it was me who killed Du Zhizhong’s family?”
“Let’s take a step back. Even if I’m the murderer, where are the bodies of Du Zhizhong and his wife?”
“Yes, there are real – life cases in reality – killing and dismembering the body and flushing it into the septic tank. But how much water does that require? Is there any problem with the water consumption of our two families?”
“And didn’t you pump the septic tank? Did you detect any body tissues?”
“Even if it’s killing and dismembering the body, what about the bones?”
“Human bones can’t be flushed down, right? Especially the patella and tibia. Cutting such hard bones must make some noise. Have you asked the neighbors upstairs and downstairs? Have they heard the sound of cutting bones recently?”
The more I said, the more excited I became. In the end, I even roared, “If you suspect me of killing and dismembering the body, please show me the evidence! Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to bluff me. I didn’t do it. No matter what you say, I won’t admit it!”
I hadn’t had a drop of water for more than ten hours. I was already cold and hungry. Now, with my blood rushing to my head and roaring like this, I suddenly felt a dizzying sense of hypoxia in my brain.
But Zhao Zhen on the opposite side still had that annoying expression and said calmly, “As expected of someone who writes suspense novels. This logic is really something. You’ve considered all aspects quite comprehensively. Yes, we’ve investigated all the things you just mentioned. You haven’t had any abnormal behavior recently, and the neighbors upstairs and downstairs haven’t heard the sound of cutting bones.”
I was about to speak when Zhao Zhen’s face suddenly changed. He stood up, stared at me with his eyes that seemed to be able to see through people’s hearts, and said in a condescending manner, “I’ve read the novels you wrote. You pursue perfect crimes. Many modus operandi are indeed flawless under certain circumstances. But don’t forget, novels are just novels! There’s no such thing as a perfect crime in reality.”
After saying that, Zhao Zhen directly threw a printed report in front of me:
“Forgot to tell you. Times have changed. The development of technology is beyond your imagination. Even if the heads are frozen in the refrigerator, the approximate time of death can still be determined.”
I glanced at the report issued by the forensic doctor and snorted, “What do you mean?”
Seeing this, Zhao Zhen clapped his hands. “Amazing. Sometimes I have to admire you online writers. Your psychological quality is really strong. Have you simulated various scenarios in your mind because you write too many crime novels, so you can remain calm even when evidence is presented?”
“Cut the crap! If you have something to say, say it. If you have evidence, arrest me.”
I didn’t want to waste words and directly retorted.
Zhao Zhen pointed to the time of death on the report, then took a bunch of printed photos from the materials in front of the young police officer, and said with a sneer on his face, “Your methods are quite sophisticated. Killing and dismembering the body more than ten days in advance, then freezing the heads in the refrigerator, and then taking advantage of the daily trip to throw out the garbage to throw out the body bit by bit. However, if you think you can get away with it, you’re just dreaming!”
As he spoke, Zhao Zhen threw those photos in front of me.
Dozens of photos showed the interior of the elevator captured by the camera, including the time I took the elevator every day and the things I was carrying.
It seemed that Zhao Zhen really hadn’t been idle today and had investigated me quite thoroughly.
But if he thought he could bluff me with just this, he was dreaming.
Seeing Zhao Zhen’s confident look, I laughed. Because this was exactly what I was waiting for – from the moment he took out the photos, he had already lost!
“Wonderful, really wonderful! Officer Zhao, it’s a pity you don’t write novels. Hahaha… You can come up with such a wonderful plot. You really have the talent to be a suspense writer.”
I laughed so hard that I was bending forward and backward, slapping the chair with my hands, making a clanging sound.
Perhaps irritated by my words, Zhao Zhen’s face turned livid, and the young police officer even slapped the table and stood up, shouting, “Ge Yang, watch your mouth. This is an interrogation. It’s not your turn to act wildly.”
I sneered, “Act wildly? How is it acting wildly? I’ve been complimenting Officer Zhao, haven’t I?”
Before Zhao Zhen could speak, I preempted him, “Officer Zhao, you’re a police officer. In terms of criminal investigation skills, I’m not as good as you. But when it comes to logical reasoning, I really haven’t convinced anyone. There are too many loopholes in your reasoning just now! Really, with what you just said, as long as someone has read suspense novels for a few years, they can find flaws.”
Zhao Zhen was breathing heavily, as if trying to suppress his anger.
I wasn’t afraid to have a showdown with him and said frankly, “First of all, you said that I killed and dismembered the body more than ten days in advance, and then took the opportunity to throw out the body while going downstairs to throw out the garbage every day. Don’t you think this is ridiculous?”
“That’s a body! Where could I throw it? In the trash can? Wouldn’t the sanitation workers who clean the garbage in the community call the police if they found it?”
“The most important thing is – if I really killed and dismembered the body, since I had the ability to throw away most of the body, why did I still leave two heads in the refrigerator? Why didn’t I throw them all away?”
“Also, you said that I killed them more than ten days in advance. If Du Zhizhong and his wife had been dead for more than ten days, why didn’t their relatives, friends, or colleagues at the company notice? Why didn’t they call the police earlier or later, but only today?”
I kept mocking the logical errors in Zhao Zhen’s words, and finally even pointed at the so – called photo evidence and laughed mercilessly.
“Eyes are a good thing, but unfortunately, you don’t seem to use them well! Please take a good look. The garbage bags I use to throw out the garbage are transparent. Can’t you see what’s inside? Even if you can’t see with your eyes, you always know the address of the garbage disposal station, right? Go and check! Don’t tell me you haven’t checked yet. If you don’t even have this common sense, it would be embarrassing.”
My words were full of sarcasm, leaving Zhao Zhen speechless. Seeing that he didn’t speak, I provoked him again, “Cut, criminal investigation! I thought it was something really great. It seems that without technical means, you’re nothing.”
As soon as these words came out, Zhao Zhen’s face turned livid, and the young police officer next to him was so angry that he directly slapped the table and threatened to turn off the camera and beat me.
But his intimidating behavior was quickly stopped by Zhao Zhen.
What I didn’t expect even more was that Zhao Zhen took a few deep breaths, calmed down his emotions, and then actually put on a big smile and opened the handcuffs for me:
“Ah, I knew you guys who write suspense novels have a good brain. You don’t even need to go to the scene to analyze things pretty well.”
Zhao Zhen smiled apologetically and helped me up.
“Brother Ge, it’s all a misunderstanding. I said those things just now because I had no choice. This case is too serious, and the higher – ups are pressing hard. I really had no other way but togoad you to see your level. As the old saying goes, it’s better togoad a general than to invite him. Now it seems that mymethod of goading is not bad.”
Another change of face.
The contrast before and after was like two different people. His acting skills can be called perfect. If I didn’t know Zhao Zhen’s true purpose, I might have believed it.
Although Zhao Zhen said it was a method of goading, I’m not stupid.
It’s just that he hasn’t found evidence yet. If he really finds the slightest clue, he will definitely not let me go.
But I’m in the interrogation room now, and it’s not worth getting into a feud with him. Otherwise, I’ll suffer.
So, I pretended that I wanted to change my pants and asked him when I could go home.
Zhao Zhen said, “What’s the rush? We should compensate you for your dirty pants. Xiao Wang, go get a pair of pants for Brother Ge to change.”
The young police officer left in a hurry, and Zhao Zhen pulled me towards his office.
After I changed my pants, Zhao Zhen still wouldn’t let me go. He insisted on inviting me to dinner, saying that he wanted to have a good chat with me.
In the early morning, the canteen of the criminal investigation team was already closed. Zhao Zhen asked that police officer to go out and buy some food and bring it to the office.
I was really hungry. As soon as the food was delivered, I couldn’t wait to start eating.
After eating a few bites, Zhao Zhen started rambling again. He said he wanted me to help him analyze how the murderer entered the house without breaking the doors and windows and how he destroyed the body and erased the traces, but his eyes were always fixed on me, observing my facial expressions.
I directly put down my chopsticks and said, “What? Still trying to get me to talk?”
Zhao Zhen laughed awkwardly, “You’re overthinking again, aren’t you? What getting you to talk? I really admire your talent and want you to give me some ideas. Let’s work together to solve the case.”
“Make it up, keep making it up!”
I stared intently at Zhao Zhen. When our eyes met, I clearly sensed the vigilance and suspicion in Zhao Zhen’s eyes.
I just underestimated the thickness of Zhao Zhen’s skin.
Mocked by me, Zhao Zhen still laughed foolishly, “Seriously, after knowing your pen name this morning, I read the stories you wrote. They’re really good. By the way, in one of your stories, the real culprit of a series of accidental cases misled the police by pretending to simulate the crime in front of the police, using the information gap. Why don’t you try to simulate the murderer who killed Du Zhizhong and help me analyze how he disposed of the body?”
Well, he really is a persistent person.
Although I knew that the more I said, the more mistakes I might make, but judging from Zhao Zhen’s attitude, if I didn’t say something, he definitely wouldn’t let me go easily.
After understanding the situation, I simply lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said, “Psychological simulation also needs to be based on facts. I don’t even know the basic situation. What can I analyze?”
Seeing that I softened, Zhao Zhen quickly said, “It’s easy. I’ll just tell you the general situation of the case. The situation is similar to what you heard. We received the police call at around six o’clock in the morning.”
“Who called the police?”
I asked.
Zhao Zhen said, “The property management of your community.”
“Hmm?” Hearing that it was the property management, I was taken aback and asked in confusion, “Why did the property management call the police? Did you ask the reason?”
Zhao Zhen said, “The property management said that the Du Zhizhong family has been in arrears with property management fees for years. They went to their door from time to time to ask for the money. Before, everything was okay. Although the Du Zhizhong couple didn’t pay the money, they still opened the door. But recently, there was no response when they knocked on the door. They thought the family had moved. As a result, the property management manager checked the surveillance and found that the Du Zhizhong family hadn’t come out since they went home two weeks ago. Afraid that something might have happened to them, they called the police.”
“Is that so? Then go on.”
I flicked the ash and motioned for Zhao Zhen to continue.
Zhao Zhen said, “At first, the local police station went there. After breaking the door, they found no one in the house. While looking around, they accidentally found the heads in the refrigerator and then notified our criminal investigation team to go over. You should have heard what happened next. We used all kinds of technical means, but apart from the heads of the couple, we didn’t find anything else.”
I asked, “Not even the slightest trace? Fingerprints, footprints, blood residues, signs of a struggle…”
Zhao Zhen shook his head. “No. The scene was cleaned very clean.”
Hearing this, I was puzzled. “That shouldn’t be right. Normally, killing and dismembering a body would cause a lot of bleeding. If it gets on the floor, sofa, or wall, even if it’s cleaned very clean, you should be able to detect it through technical means, right?”
Zhao Zhen sighed. “This is what I’m most puzzled about. We’ve tried all kinds of methods, but found nothing. I’m really curious. How did the murderer kill them? And how did he dismember the bodies? The modus operandi was so clean. It’s as if that wasn’t the first crime scene at all.”
After saying that, Zhao Zhen stared into my eyes again. “And the surveillance in your community is really comprehensive. From the entrance to the green belt, to the elevator and the fire escape, it’s almost all – round and without blind spots. But we just didn’t see the murderer! So, where did this murderer come from?”
3
Zhao Zhen spoke with great enthusiasm, but there was an air of inducing a confession in his words. And his eyes were fixed on me from beginning to end, as if he wanted to see through me.
I have to say that the eyes of an old criminal investigator are sharp, and his mind is extremely perceptive. He must have suspected me from the start.
Just as he said – the surveillance in our community is very comprehensive. If we have to talk about blind spots, it’s the corner from the elevator to the anti – theft door.
And the 1603 where the murder happened is adjacent to my 1604. The public passage between our two houses is the only surveillance blind spot.
After all, no one wants the property management to install a camera at their own door to monitor their every move.
It’s precisely this blind spot that led to the lack of surveillance, and at the same time, it made me, who lives in 1604, the most likely suspect.
Because Zhao Zhen said that they checked all the surveillance footage of the elevator, fire escape, and other places that can lead to 1603, and there was no abnormal situation recently.
So he suspected me and took me as the main target of the investigation.
But I just wanted to laugh.
Yes, his investigation process is correct, but he made a common – sense mistake – being eager for credit and alerting the enemy prematurely.
As a criminal investigator, without any evidence or clues, trying to find clues through inducing confessions and bluffing is just a joke.
After listening to Zhao Zhen’s account of the clues they had, I extinguished the cigarette butt and closed my eyes.
After a long while, I opened my eyes and lit another cigarette.
“Judging from the current situation, it seems that I’m the murderer, and only I have the conditions and time to commit the crime. Coupled with my conflicts with the Du Zhizhong couple, I even have a motive for the crime.”
After saying that, I blew out a smoke ring and waited with interest for Zhao Zhen to speak.
Zhao Zhen chuckled. “Look at what you’re saying. Why are you analyzing yourself as the murderer? Well, let’s skip the conditions, time, and motive for the crime. Just help me analyze how the murderer killed them and how he destroyed the body.”
“Hehe.” I forced a smile. “What? Are you going to convict me as soon as you find the body tissues?”
Zhao Zhen smiled but didn’t say anything.
I didn’t want to waste time with him. I flicked the ash and stood up.
“Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s stop talking nonsense. I’m just an ordinary person. I can’t figure out how the murderer killed and destroyed the body. But you’re right about one thing. 1603 might not be the first crime scene. After all, you’ve used all your methods but still haven’t found any results. And according to your logic, I’m the most suspected, but you have no evidence. Why don’t you let me go back, and you can slowly look for clues. Whenever you find the clues, you can come and arrest me at any time.”
After saying that, I walked straight out.
This time, Zhao Zhen didn’t stop me but watched me leave.
After leaving the criminal investigation compound, I took a taxi. When I got home, it was already past five o’clock in the morning.
The moment I opened the door, I saw my wife sitting on the sofa in the living room, holding our daughter. When she saw me come in, she was first delighted, then she used her eyes to signal that our daughter was asleep and asked me to be quiet.
I changed my shoes and tiptoed to the sofa, took my daughter from her, and looked at her sleeping face, feeling a thousand emotions.
After adoring her for a while, I put my daughter on the bed in the bedroom and then turned back to the living room.
Without the interruption of our daughter, my wife immediately threw herself into my arms and said with tears streaming down her face, “I was so scared. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”
“Silly girl, it’s not a big deal. What are you afraid of?”
I gently stroked my wife’s hair and asked softly, “After I left, did the police ask you anything?”
My wife wiped her tears. “They asked a lot of questions. And there were people rummaging around the house with some instruments. I don’t know what they were doing.”
“Is that so?”
I was taken aback. Zhao Zhen was really fast. He really arranged for people to inspect my house.
But it seemed that he didn’t find any useful clues, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to come out.
At the moment, I hugged my wife and asked her what she said to the police.
As I expected, my wife had been back at her parents’ home for more than two months and didn’t know anything, so the police naturally couldn’t ask anything.
I comforted my wife for a while, then asked her to go into the room to accompany our daughter to sleep, and said I would call her when breakfast was ready.
But my wife didn’t want to. She said she wanted to stay with me.
Seeing this, I simply held her and sat on the sofa. When I was about to cook, my wife suddenly asked, “Did you kill the old Du couple?”
“…”
I scolded her gently. “Don’t talk nonsense. Don’t you know what kind of person your husband is?”
“But the police said…”
My wife didn’t finish her words before I interrupted her.
“Just listen to what the police say. Don’t take it seriously. They just want to get credit and wrongly accuse people. If I were the murderer, would they let me come back?”
My wife wanted to say something else, but I directly pushed her into the bathroom.
“Go wash up first. We’ll have breakfast later. By the way, did you bring the medicine back? Don’t forget to take it.”
Under my repeated urging, my wife reluctantly washed up and took the medicine.
After breakfast, our daughter woke up. After feeding her, my wife and I helped our daughter learn to walk.
It had been two months. Since the last time Du Zhizhong and his wife blocked the door and shouted, which made my wife’s depression flare up and she almost dropped our daughter by accident, she had to go back to her parents’ home to recuperate. Our family of three hadn’t been reunited for two whole months.
Although there were still policemen coming in and out of 1603 from time to time outside the door, it didn’t affect my mood at the moment.
In the living room, my wife was beautiful, my daughter was cute, and the happy scene made me feel relaxed and happy. I was once again glad about my decision at that time.
In the following few days, I was immersed in the happy life of having a loving wife and a lovely child. Every day, besides taking care of the baby and doing housework, I tried different ways to cook delicious food for my wife and daughter.
During this period, Zhao Zhen came to see me several times, but I was tight – lipped. No matter what he asked, I said I didn’t know. When he pushed me too hard, I just gave up and asked him to show the evidence.
As time passed, Zhao Zhen was at a loss about me. Every visit ended in vain. The unwillingness and frustration in his eyes became more and more obvious, but I remained calm and didn’t show any flaws.
More than a month passed quietly. The case of the murder of Du Zhizhong and his wife gradually changed from the focus of discussion among the community residents to an old story that was only mentioned occasionally. The intensity of the police investigation also weakened. There were no longer so many policemen frequently appearing in front of the door of 1603, and the crime scene that had been repeatedly inspected gradually returned to its former tranquility.
However, just as the tension in my heart was about to relax, Zhao Zhen, whom I hadn’t seen for a long time, suddenly came to my door again.
This time, his face looked very ugly. He stared at me for a long time before slowly saying, “We’ve found new clues.”
“Oh? Then congratulations.”
I raised my eyebrows, showing no emotion on my face, and told my wife to take our daughter downstairs to play.
After my wife and daughter left, Zhao Zhen said, “Don’t take it lightly. This time, the clue we found is crucial.”
As he spoke, he took out a photo from his bag and threw it on the coffee table.
“Look at it yourself, and then explain it to me.”
The photo was of a white wall. On the white wall, there were several areas the size of a fingernail where the wall – putty was blackened and had ragged edges.
I just glanced at it and understood what the so – called crucial clue was.
Sure enough, he still found it.
But so what if he found it? I still had countless reasons to explain.
After all, our community has been occupied for several years. Who can guarantee that the wall outside their door is as smooth as new?
But to avoid unnecessary trouble, I still chose to play dumb first and asked with a puzzled look, “It’s just a wall. How can it be a clue? Do you suspect that the murderer walled up the bodies of Du Zhizhong and his wife?”
Hearing this, Zhao Zhen’s face turned livid. “Still pretending! Do you know where the wall in this photo is?”
I shook my head, indicating that I didn’t know.
Zhao Zhen directly pulled me out of the door and pointed at the wall on the north side of my anti – theft door, shouting, “Come on, explain to me why there are traces of tape sticking here? Don’t use the excuse of pasting Spring Festival couplets during the New Year or outsiders pasting small advertisements. We’ve inspected it. The tape marks were formed less than a month ago.”
As Zhao Zhen spoke, he pointed to the position near the corner above the north wall. His sharp eyes emitted a piercing light that was hard to look directly at, as if any lie would be exposed in front of these eyes.
I took a deep breath and tried to make my voice sound more natural and calm.
“Officer Zhao, I really don’t know how these tape marks came about. I can guarantee that our family hasn’t pasted any tape recently. If you don’t believe me, I can’t do anything about it.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Zhao Zhen got angry. “You really are a tough nut to crack, Ge Yang! Fine, then I’ll talk to you in detail. Come on, look at this.”
Zhao Zhen pointed to the camera on the south wall of my door, and then to the combination lock on Du Zhizhong’s anti – theft door.
Under my cold gaze, Zhao Zhen sneered.
“What? Do I still need to explain it to you in detail? You pasted a mirror – like sticker or something on the wall opposite the camera to peek at the combination of Du Zhizhong’s electronic lock. Once you got the password, you quickly tore off the sticker without leaving any traces. The method is quite clever.”
Zhao Zhen was very certain, and there was a kind of “I’ve seen through you” confidence in his eyes.
Seeing that I didn’t refute, he became even more aggressive and said, “If I’m not wrong, you should have known the password of Du Zhizhong’s house a long time ago. You’ve been waiting for an opportunity, right?”
Zhao Zhen’s voice was full of accusations and provocations, as if trying to force me to admit his guess.
However, I remained silent and just listened quietly to Zhao Zhen’s reasoning, listening to him describe how I opened the door with the password in the middle of the night, entered the house to kill, and then dismembered the body…
Until Zhao Zhen finished speaking, I clapped my hands with a sarcastic look on my face. “Wonderful, really wonderful. Listening to you, I almost thought I was the murderer.”
“Aren’t you?” Zhao Zhen sneered.
I shrugged my shoulders, then raised three fingers.
“The story is wonderful, but the logic is all wrong. I’ll just ask three questions. If you can answer them, I’ll go with you right away and let you wrong me however you want.”
Before Zhao Zhen could speak, I quickly said, “First, you said that I pasted a reflective sticker or something on the corner opposite the camera to peek at the password of their anti – theft door. Do you have any evidence? Find me a sticker, a mirror, or anything with my fingerprints on it, and I’ll admit it!”
Zhao Zhen was so angry that he couldn’t speak.
I sneered. “You dare to say something without evidence? Are you really in the criminal investigation field? Don’t you know the difference between clues and evidence? Even ambiguous evidence will eventually be dealt with as innocent due to reasonable doubt in court.”
After the retort, I said again, “Second, according to your analysis just now, I should have entered the house to kill in the middle of the night. Then please tell me why you didn’t find any bloodstains or signs of a fight in Du Zhizhong’s house?”
“Come on, this is a murder. There must be quite a commotion. Were they just so obedient and let me do it?”
“The most important thing is, where’s the blood?”
“Cutting off the head, how much blood would spurt out? Just as you said, technology has advanced. Even if it’s cleaned very clean, technical means can detect blood residues on the wall, sofa, and fabric that have been there for years. If I really entered the house to kill in the middle of the night, why didn’t you detect even the slightest trace?”
“Didn’t you suspect that their house wasn’t the first crime scene before and even sent people to check my house?”
Zhao Zhen still couldn’t answer my second question, and his face was extremely gloomy.
So, I said disdainfully, “The last question, where are the bodies?”
“The two of them together, even without the heads, weigh more than two hundred pounds. Do you have no concept of two hundred pounds? If not, go to the wet market and see how big a piece of two – hundred – pound meat is. What ability do I have to make them disappear out of thin air?”
With these three questions, each hitting Zhao Zhen’s sore spot.
Seeing that Zhao Zhen couldn’t answer any of them, I said proudly, “Didn’t you investigate me? You should know what I did every day a month before the murder was discovered. And you’ve also searched my house. Did you find any evidence? I’ll say it again. If you have evidence, feel free to come and arrest me. If not, please don’t bother me in the future.”
After saying the last sentence, I directly left Zhao Zhen and walked towards the elevator.
When I reached the elevator entrance, I deliberately waved at Zhao Zhen in a provocative manner and pointed to the camera in the elevator lobby, saying, “Officer Zhao, you’re right. Technology has indeed advanced. Surveillance is a good thing. With this camera as evidence, you’ll never be able to pin the crime of murder on me for the rest of your life.”
When the elevator door opened, I laughed triumphantly, “Hahaha, criminal investigation! I thought it was something really amazing.”
Just as I was about to step into the elevator, I heard Zhao Zhen’s extremely angry roar from behind:
“Ge Yang, you wait for me! I will definitely find evidence of your crime! If a month is not enough, I’ll use a year! If a year doesn’t work, I’ll use ten years! In this lifetime, I’ll keep an eye on you! I’ll make you restless! I’ll make you tremble with fear! You can’t escape legal sanctions!”
4
Zhao Zhen’s voice was full of determination and resolution, like a fierce cheetah locking onto its prey, vowing not to give up until it achieves its goal. Although I remained calm on the surface, a chill ran down my spine.
I knew that from this moment on, the real battle between me and Zhao Zhen had just begun.
But was I afraid?
No!
I wasn’t afraid at all.
Because I was well aware of my methods – as long as I didn’t admit it on my own initiative, no one could find evidence of my crime.
After all, so much time had passed. Their body tissues should have long since disappeared.
After going downstairs, I saw my wife playing with our daughter on the slide in the community. The corners of my mouth turned up, and a long – lost sense of happiness welled up.
Yes, I killed Du Zhizhong and his wife. From the first time they came to my door to make trouble and slapped me in front of my wife and child, I had the thought of killing them.
But at that time, my daughter was still young, and my wife kept persuading me to be patient. Besides, I hadn’t come up with a perfect way to commit the crime, so I endured it.
However, the fact is that the more I endured, the angrier I got. My patience was mistaken by Du Zhizhong and his wife as weakness. They thought I was easy to bully and came to my door to make trouble every now and then. From the beginning of my daughter crying and disturbing them, to finally things like the doormat being dirty or me not taking their garbage downstairs when I went out, they kept escalating their trouble – making…
They constantly challenged my bottom line and gradually ignited my desire to kill. Until finally, when my daughter had just learned to crawl and was crawling around looking for toys, he came to my door to make trouble because the sound of my daughter playing with toys was too loud. He not only scared my daughter into crying hysterically but also triggered my wife’s postpartum depression, almost causing her to hurt our daughter. I couldn’t bear it anymore.
Who isn’t born and raised by their parents, growing up from a baby?
Which baby didn’t cry and make noise during infancy?
Just because they couldn’t have children, did they have the right to prevent their neighbors from raising children?
Such a bossy and rascally neighbor, why not kill them?
I spent a month designing the method of killing and at the same time sent my wife back to her parents’ home to recuperate. Just as Zhao Zhen guessed, I did paste something on the wall to peek at the password of Du Zhizhong’s house and entered the house to kill them at night. But the subsequent methods of my crime were completely different from what Zhao Zhen guessed.
As for cutting off the heads of Du Zhizhong and his wife and putting them in the refrigerator, I did it on purpose to clear my suspicion in some ways. Because I knew that our community had comprehensive surveillance. If it was just a simple case of breaking into the house and killing, even if I cleaned up the traces thoroughly, the police would still regard me as the primary suspect and keep summoning and interrogating me. I had to raise my daughter and didn’t have time to waste with them.
So, I deliberately left the heads of Du Zhizhong and his wife and destroyed their bodies. Only in this way could I send the wrong signal to the police in charge of the case. Although they would still suspect me, just based on the fact that the bodies disappeared strangely, I had sufficient evidence to prove my innocence. After all, I walked under the surveillance every day, and the garbage bags were transparent. It was impossible for me to transfer such a large body. And as long as they couldn’t find the bodies of Du Zhizhong and his wife, they couldn’t summon me repeatedly. At most, they would come to my house for investigation occasionally.
Now it seems that my decision at that time was wise. Even though Zhao Zhen firmly believed that I was the murderer, due to lack of relevant evidence, he couldn’t take any extreme measures against me…
Just when I was admiring myself, my wife suddenly walked over.
“The raincoat at home seems to be new. Although it’s the same style, I can tell it’s not the original one. Did you throw away the previous raincoat?”
I looked up and saw that my wife’s expression was tense. There was an indescribable emotion in her eyes, and her hands were tightly intertwined, as if she was trying her best to suppress the fluctuations in her heart. This made me instantly understand that she was deeply worried about my situation.
It seemed that… she had guessed it.
In fact, I had long known that she could guess. After all, she was my wife, intelligent and had read all my stories. So, it wasn’t strange that she could notice something from the little details in life.
I replied vaguely, “Yeah, I went out to buy groceries in the rain a while ago, and it got torn, so I threw it away and bought an identical one.”
“Are you sure it won’t be found?”
My wife looked at me nervously.
I nodded with a smile, “It should be okay. It was raining heavily, and there were so many people in the wet market. It’s normal for a vegetable vendor from out of town to pick it up. Maybe it’s in another city by now.”
My wife let out a sigh of relief and snuggled into my arms. She looked at our daughter by the slide in the distance with a worried expression and said in a low voice, “You’re so stupid. Our baby is still young. What would happen to me and our daughter if something happened to you?”
I gently patted my wife’s back and said with a smile, “It’s okay. It’s all over. As a man, it’s normal to do something stupid for his wife and children. At least we’re at peace now and don’t have to live by looking at others’ faces anymore.”
My wife didn’t say anything more but just hugged me tightly.
After a while, our daughter got tired from playing and babbled, calling for daddy, asking me to go and carry her. I immediately ran over, picked up the little girl who had just learned to walk, kissed her several times, and then took my wife upstairs.
After dinner, after I coaxed our daughter to sleep, I quietly walked to the kitchen and picked up the pressure cooker in the cabinet and wiped it.
When my wife came over, I told her, “Don’t use the pressure cooker anymore. Find a chance to buy a new one later.”
My wife didn’t ask too many questions but just nodded.
I thought for a while and then pointed to the moat opposite the community and said, “Don’t buy fish by the river recently. It’s not clean.”
Seeing my wife’s surprised look, I smiled, “Are you curious?”
My wife first nodded and then shook her head, “Don’t tell me. I’m afraid I can’t keep my mouth shut and that someone might trick me into saying something that could harm you.”
Hearing my wife say this, I was very happy. Having such a wife, what more could a man ask for? She was really a smart, beautiful woman who had me in her heart.
So, I deliberately teased her, “But you already know too much!”
My wife often read my stories and had a good logical thinking. She immediately retorted, “Cut, testing me? Without direct evidence, they can’t convict you. Even if they detect DNA on the fish, without finding the way of transportation, it’s useless. And after the pressure cooker is used repeatedly at a high temperature of several hundred degrees, nothing can be detected.”
Seeing that my wife answered fluently, I laughed.
She really had guessed it.
Although she deduced it with my hints, as she said, without direct evidence, they couldn’t convict me.
After all, who would have thought that I would break into the house at night, electrocute Du Zhizhong and his wife unconscious, strangle them to death, then put them in the refrigerator of their house to freeze one by one, and then dismember them on the raincoat?
There is an experiment showing that when a human body is frost – bitten at a low temperature and then poured with boiling water, the flesh and bones will separate quickly. And when the human body is frozen, very little blood will flow out due to freezing.
As a former surgeon, when the flesh and bones of the deceased separated, I could easily disassemble the whole body’s bones one by one without making too much noise. The pressure cooker could stew the bones and flesh into a soft pulp in a short time. I just needed to add some flour to knead them into various shapes. Then, when I went out to buy groceries and throw out the garbage, I could hide those dough balls with special seasonings on my body in small amounts and throw them into the river opposite. In this way, not only could the big black carp raised in the net cages in the river enjoy a delicious meal for a while, but I could also destroy the evidence and clear my suspicion.
It was just over two hundred pounds. It might sound like a lot, but when it came to feeding the fish, it wasn’t that much. After all, it was such a big river. The fishermen who were known as “the masters of baiting” would throw more than two hundred pounds of bait into the river every day just for fishing.
It’s just a pity for the fish in the river…
Before, I really liked buying fish. Although they were farmed, the fish growing in the natural river were still very delicious…
-End-
