A serial murder case occurred in Yinhai City.
The murderer’s modus operandi was very sophisticated.
He didn’t leave any evidence.
However, he placed a pair of conspicuous white gloves beside each victim.
Therefore, this case was called the “White Gloves Murder Case”.
The captain of the criminal police invited me, who was dismissed by him three years ago, back to the police station in order to solve the case as soon as possible.
But what he didn’t know was that all of this was related to me.
1
Guo Liming, the captain of the city’s criminal police, returned to the crime scene of the first victim again. What was different from before was that this time he brought me, an unknown little consultant.
Three years ago, he personally took away my identity as a consultant and drove me out of the police station. Three years later, under the huge pressure he was bearing, he personally came to my door and invited me back.
At my strong request, we carried out a crime scene reconstruction and brought a pair of white gloves exactly the same as those at the crime scene.
The victim’s position was on the bed, and the white gloves were placed on the bedside table on the left. They were very clean and obviously hadn’t been used.
The murderer deliberately placed them here, and there were no fingerprints left on them.
I studied it for a while at the door. This villa was the private residence of the deceased Wu Yinhua. The location was secluded, and hardly anyone knew about it except for a few of his trusted confidants.
There were usually only a housekeeper and a nanny in the villa, both of whom were relatives from his hometown and were trustworthy.
According to the recorded confessions, the nanny and the housekeeper happened to return to their hometown on the day of the crime, and the people in their hometown were willing to testify for them. The surveillance cameras in the small supermarket in their hometown just captured their faces.
Seeing that I didn’t speak, Guo Liming waved his hand with the white gloves in front of me and said, “Lao Zhang, why do you think the murderer left a pair of white gloves at the crime scene?”
I said, “Isn’t it simple? Why did you wave your hand with the white gloves in front of me just now?”
2
Guo Liming said, “To get your attention!”
I said, “That’s right! To attract attention! The murderer has the same intention.”
He became serious. “Lao Zhang, that doesn’t make sense! So far, we haven’t found any effective clues. If it weren’t for this strange pair of white gloves, we might have determined that the victim died of natural causes.”
But then he frowned. “However, even with this pair of white gloves, we can still only tentatively consider him to have died of natural causes for now, and the possibility of homicide is being ruled out.”
I smiled and walked to the bed where the body was placed. The white gloves on the bedside table looked out of place here.
These were professional gloves, which were only used by investigators at the crime scene to avoid destroying evidence.
The position and angle at which these gloves were placed undoubtedly demonstrated the murderer’s confidence in his modus operandi.
He believed that no one would be able to solve this case. These gloves were to prove to the police that he had done it flawlessly and cleanly.
I said, “If I’m not mistaken, there will be a second identical case, and there will still be a pair of the same white gloves at the crime scene.”
Obviously, Guo Liming couldn’t accept my inference. He refuted, “Lao Zhang, your speculation is too bold. The murderer couldn’t take such a huge risk to commit a second crime.”
The glaring white gloves looked both clean and dirty in the alternating light and dark. Something shady had cast a dark shadow on its pure white color that could never be washed clean.
“Liming, go and lie on the bed.”
“Me?” The captain of the criminal police widened his eyes. “Lao Zhang, don’t joke. This is a crime scene. Aren’t you setting me up?”
I said, “If you want to solve the case, just listen to me.”
3
For caution’s sake, Guo Liming laid a very thin plastic film on the bed. In this way, although there would be marks on the bed, his fingerprints or grease wouldn’t be left behind.
I teased him a little. “Captain, you’re quite good at destroying evidence.”
Guo Liming felt very uncomfortable lying on the bed where someone had died. He said, “Lao Zhang, don’t make fun of me. I feel a chill on my back lying here.”
I closed the door, and the light in the room became much dimmer.
There was an expensive desk in the middle of the room. I sat in front of the desk with my hands crossed in a contemplating posture. In front of me at a 45-degree angle to the right was Guo Liming’s anxious head.
“Lao Guo, close your eyes and imagine that you are a corpse now.”
The captain’s face turned green and then yellow. Finally, under the pressure of solving the case, he gritted his teeth and pretended to be a newly deceased corpse.
Now, I sat upright on the chair and was certain that the murderer had sat like this at that time:
The gloves on the bedside table were shining with just the right luster in the alternating light and dark. My thumb was leisurely drawing comfortable circles in the palm of my hand, and the corners of my mouth unconsciously lifted to a satisfied arc. The body lying on the bed was so quiet, quiet without breathing, quiet without a tomorrow, forever dead, quiet.
A sense of pleasure from getting revenge rose from the bottom of my heart.
The expression on my face became very ferocious:
Finally! I’ve killed him!
Unconsciously, I walked to the bed, leaned over and stared at my masterpiece, and the smile on my lips expanded to a crazy angle.
Kill! Kill! Kill! I want to kill more!
I was holding a knife in my hand and was almost about to stab the body on the bed.
4
“Lao Zhang, don’t scare me!” Guo Liming bounced up from the bed. He shouted, “What’s in your hand?”
I shook my hand, and the keychain in my hand made a tinkling metal sound. I said, “Of course it’s a key! Do you think I really took a knife to stab you, the captain of the criminal police, to death?”
Guo Liming wiped the sweat off his forehead and took a breath as if still in shock. He said, “You scared me to death! Do you know that? Why did you come so close to me? Why didn’t you stay sitting on the chair and walked over here?”
I returned to a normal expression, smoothed my eyebrows on both sides, and said, “Captain Guo, you’re the captain of the city’s criminal police. Do you have to be so scared? There are still police officers waiting for us in the car outside. We’re just reconstructing the crime scene. How can you not even have this basic professionalism?”
He said, “As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw you bending over like a murderer and staring at me. How could I not be scared? You were even holding a key like a knife and about to stab me! And that crazy smile on your face. I almost thought you were going to kill me again!”
I said, “I’m imitating the murderer’s action trajectory. Didn’t I ask you to play dead? Who told you to open your eyes?”
He argued, “If I didn’t open my eyes to take a look, what if you couldn’t control yourself and stabbed me to death? I’ve been a criminal police officer for so many years, and it’s the first time I’ve played a dead person.”
I was so angry that I laughed. I said, “If I wanted to stab you to death, I would have done it three years ago! Do you think I would wait until now?”
I forced myself to calm down and returned to the case itself. “Why do you think the murderer would want to kill you again?”
Once the topic turned to the case, Guo Liming’s professionalism was immediately reflected. He said firmly, “Intuition! If the murderer’s action trajectory is the same as what you imitated, then he must want to kill me again!”
I snapped my fingers and said, “That’s right! The murderer has a deep grudge against Wu Yinhua, and it’s a big grudge, either a feud over parents or a feud over a wife. So killing him once isn’t enough to relieve his hatred, and he wants to kill a second time.”
Guo Liming said, “Do you mean there will be a second victim?”
5
“Maybe more than that. It depends on how many relatives of the murderer Wu Yinhua has killed.”
He subconsciously denied my judgment. “That’s impossible. Wu Yinhua has always been clean and has never been involved in a homicide case.”
I said, “Not being involved in a homicide case doesn’t mean he’s clean. Check Wu Yinhua’s action trajectory in the past two years, where he has been and who he has had contact with.”
I added, “The murderer may not have had direct contact with him, but the murderer’s family must have had contact with him. Pay special attention to the elderly, married women and underage children.”
Guo Liming immediately showed a troubled expression. “Lao Zhang, the workload of checking the action trajectory for two years is too large. Moreover, Wu Yinhua is a major taxpayer in the local area and has great influence. It may not be easy to check.”
I said, “That’s exactly why you should check it, and check it in a big way. Check out all his obvious action trajectories without missing any. It can also be regarded as an explanation to the local entrepreneurs. Otherwise, who would dare to do business in Yinhai City?”
He thought for a while and said, “Lao Zhang, what you said makes sense. I’ll handle this immediately and try to find out a general idea within ten days.”
I nodded and carefully examined Wu Yinhua’s death room again to see if there were any details that I hadn’t noticed.
Guo Liming interrupted my thoughts. He said, “By the way, Lao Zhang! According to your inference, if there will be a second victim, do we need to protect Wu Yinhua’s family in advance?”
I said, “Captain, do you want to make a big fuss just because of one homicide case? Then are you going to consider asking the mayor to impose a city-wide curfew next?”
It could be seen that he was quite unhappy with what I said. I patted him on the shoulder and said, “Let’s see what the higher-ups think about this. This is related to the business environment of Yinhai City. We can’t do nothing, but we can’t overdo it either.”
After saying that, I looked back at the room again.
I confirmed that I hadn’t missed any details. Sometimes, the key to solving a case lies in a detail that seems neither too big nor too small. That’s why many murderers seem to have done things flawlessly but still can’t escape the law in the end.
Details are the key to success or failure.
6
On the way back to the police station, I couldn’t help but feel a myriad of emotions.
It’s been three years. We haven’t solved a case together for three years. During these three years, I’ve been missing the moments of solving cases with my own hands every moment.
The feeling of racking my brains to outwit the murderer across time and space had almost become everything to me in the past long period of time.
I even put my wife and children behind me. I even felt vaguely that the person sitting beside me and solving cases with me was closer to me than my wife and children.
Until three years ago, he took away my title as a consultant and kicked me out of the police station.
“Lao Zhang, I was in such a hurry before that I didn’t have time to ask you. How have you been in these three years?”
My thoughts were pulled back to reality. I felt a bitter taste in my mouth that I couldn’t describe. Finally, I just smiled and said, “Pretty good.”
“Have you had any financial difficulties in these years? Since you left, the bureau has explicitly prohibited the cancellation of consultants. If you have difficulties, I can apply for a bonus for assisting in solving cases for you, as compensation for your helping our police station solve cases.”
I smiled and asked him rhetorically, “What’s the matter, Captain? Are you planning to let me work for free this time?”
Guo Liming smiled a little awkwardly. “Look at what you said. I’m just discussing it with you. We can’t rehire you back in the form of a consultant anymore.”
I said, “Don’t worry, Captain. I’ve been living a good life in these three years. I finally have time to accompany my wife and children. I’m planning to have another child recently.”
Guo Liming’s face changed. He tentatively asked, “Lao Zhang, how’s the child… doing well?”
I smiled generously. “He’s much better than before! He didn’t listen to me at all before. Now as soon as I go to visit him in prison, he’ll come out to see me right away.”
“The daily routine and diet in there are quite healthy. That kid was too fat before and had fatty liver. Now he’s lost a lot of weight and his face looks much cleaner.”
“And he’s been rehabilitated quite successfully. He’s learned a lot of legal knowledge and knows what he should and shouldn’t do. When he gets out in a few years, I’m planning to use the money I’ve saved to open a small shop for him and let him live an honest life.”
Hearing what I said, Guo Liming’s face looked much more normal. He deliberately agreed with me and said, “Good for you, Lao Zhang. I’m really happy for you as your old partner.”
He then said, “Lao Zhang, for the sake of our kid’s small shop, I’ll also do my part. I promise to apply for a bonus for you. It just takes a long time to go through the procedures. But don’t worry, Lao Zhang. As soon as the case is solved, I’ll immediately apply to the superiors.”
I shook my head and said, “Forget about the bonus. Let’s solve the case first. I have a hunch that this matter is not as simple as just a homicide case. Moreover, the murderer is obviously deliberately provoking you. It may be even more difficult to solve the case than we thought.”
Guo Liming smiled and said, “Oh, Lao Zhang, what’s wrong with you? Why are you so modest after three years? Is this still the fearless Consultant Zhang that I know?”
“Back then, when you solved cases, you were so brave. I was even afraid that you would take my job, so I had to be on guard against you. What’s the matter? After taking a three-year break, are you out of practice?”
The smile on the corner of my mouth inevitably showed a trace of sadness. The familiar bickering made me recall the old days. If only I hadn’t been dismissed by him personally…
“Captain, there’s a call from the bureau! Wu Yinhua’s nanny and housekeeper have absconded in fear of being punished!”
“What? Give me the phone!”
After hanging up the phone, Guo Liming’s face became very ugly. He tried his best to suppress his anger. “Lao Zhang, we may have made a huge mistake!”
7
We rushed non-stop to Wu Yinhua’s rural hometown. Police cordons were set up outside the houses of his family and the housekeeper.
Liu, the person in charge of the scene, had been waiting for a long time. As soon as he saw us, without even exchanging greetings, he introduced the situation at the scene.
“Captain Guo, the situation is urgent. Wu Yinhua’s home has obviously been ransacked. There are signs of a fight in the housekeeper’s home, and many bloodstains were left at the scene. It’s preliminarily estimated that it happened around 12 o’clock last night. Wu Yinhua’s off-road vehicle was driven away. The comrades from the Transportation Bureau didn’t find the license plate. It might be a vehicle with fake plates.
Guo Liming was very anxious. “It must be the housekeeper who drove the car. He has Wu Yinhua’s keys! Seal off the roads immediately! Don’t let them run out of Yinhai City!”
Secretary Liu said, “We’ve already informed the highway entrances to check the passing vehicles. If they’re still in Yinhai City, they definitely can’t escape.”
I walked into the house on my own. Wu Yinhua’s rural hometown was decorated very imposingly, much like a palace of a rural ‘local emperor’. The valuable ornaments inside had been moved away.
I casually picked up a broken porcelain vase. The patterns on it revealed a simple and grand air, looking like something from the Qing Dynasty. Of course, I didn’t forget to put on a pair of clean white gloves. In our line of work, the most taboo thing is to leave our fingerprints on physical evidence.
Guo Liming followed me. “Lao Zhang, why don’t you give some suggestions? What’s so interesting about this broken piece of porcelain?”
I played with the porcelain piece in my hand and said, “It’s too late. It’s 8 o’clock in the evening now. Twenty hours have passed since 12 o’clock last night. If they took the highway, they would have left Yinhai City at the latest five hours ago. If they were fast, they would have run out before 10 o’clock this morning.”
Guo Liming said, “Lao Zhang, Wu Yinhua’s nanny and housekeeper had a solid alibi. Why did they run?”
“Why else? They have something to hide. Having an alibi doesn’t mean they’re not the murderers.”
After a pause, I said, “Don’t you think it’s a bit too coincidental that they went back to their hometown the day before Wu Yinhua died?”
8
Guo Liming looked very remorseful. “I should have sent someone to keep an eye on them.”
I put down the porcelain piece in my hand and went to check other rooms. As expected, the valuable things in the rooms had all been emptied. The nanny and the housekeeper must have been plotting for a long time. They didn’t work for Wu Yinhua because of their friendship with him. Instead, they had been eyeing his property from the very beginning.
I turned around and found that the captain was still standing there, looking distressed. I went over and patted him on the shoulder. “Lao Guo, these two people are major suspects. They had long planned to rob Wu Yinhua’s property. Now that they had the chance, they took the things and ran away. And there was a conflict between them because of the uneven distribution of the spoils.”
Guo Liming came to his senses. “Lao Zhang, the nanny and the housekeeper are a couple. How could there be a conflict between them because of the uneven distribution of the spoils?”
I couldn’t help laughing. “I say, Lao Guo, it seems that you and your wife have a good relationship and don’t quarrel much.”
He thought for a moment and said, “We sometimes quarrel too.”
I said, “There are irreconcilable contradictions between many couples. These contradictions are usually well covered up, but they will break out at critical moments and form fatal differences. For example, for Wu Yinhua’s nanny and housekeeper, they usually didn’t have the chance to make a move. What would they do the first time they succeeded in making a move and got the things?”
Without thinking, Guo Liming said, “Of course, run!”
“Right! Run! And then? Where would they run to?”
Guo Liming had a sharp sense. “You mean – they had a disagreement about where to run?”
“Exactly! Not only a disagreement, but also a fatal one, which made them make an irreparable mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“The bloodstains on the ground!”
Guo Liming said, “You mean one of them attacked the other?”
I said firmly, “It’s not just an attack. One of them wanted to kill the other!”
9
We came to the housekeeper’s house. The gate was a typical green-painted iron gate in the countryside, rusty on it. Many places in the house were dusty. It seemed that they had long been tired of the simple and plain life in the countryside and were ready to go outside to live a carefree life, unaware that some things were destined to come at a price.
The scene had been sorted out by the comrades from the bureau, and the bloodstains had been marked.
Guo Liming said, “Lao Zhang, what’s your opinion?”
I said, “There aren’t many bloodstains. There are three obvious ones. The person should have been injured on the back or legs. The amount of bleeding was small, and there was no drag mark, which means the person who was attacked didn’t die. It should be that the attacker missed. The murderer was going to hit the person on the head from behind, but unexpectedly missed and only hit the back. Then, not reconciled, he chased after and cut the person on the leg with a knife, but still didn’t hit the vital part. The person who was attacked survived by a fluke and escaped.”
I added, “Was any weapon found at the scene?”
“No weapon was found.”
I nodded. “As I expected, the murderer is the housekeeper, and the weapon is in the ditch beside his escape route.”
“Lao Zhang, do you mean that Wu Yinhua was also killed by him?”
I smiled slightly. “Currently, the housekeeper is the most suspicious. He has both the motive for the crime and is the person who knows Wu Yinhua’s living habits best. At the same time, he fled not long after the incident.”
Guo Liming said, “But he had a solid alibi.”
I said, “An alibi can be fabricated. With actual evidence plus fabricated human evidence, the effect of passing off fish eyes as pearls can be achieved.”
“You mean the surveillance in the hometown supermarket is real, but the confessions of the villagers who testified for them are false?”
I said, “They’re all real.”
Captain Guo was dumbfounded. “Lao Zhang, just listen to what you said. What do you mean by that?”
10
I said, “Don’t be impatient. Let me ask you, when was the supermarket’s surveillance camera filmed them?”
“At 8 o’clock in the morning and 11 o’clock at noon on the day when Wu Yinhua died. During this period of time, it can be determined that they were indeed in the village. According to our investigation, several villagers were guests at their home.”
I then asked, “How long does it take to drive from their hometown to Wu Yinhua’s villa?”
“It takes two hours for a one-way trip, and at least four hours for a round trip.”
I nodded. “What were they doing during the other time?”
“According to the recorded confessions, from 2 o’clock in the afternoon until 11 o’clock at night, they were playing cards at the neighbor’s house.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange? Can they play cards for such a long time?”
Guo Liming said, “I was suspicious at that time too. But all the people who played cards with them were willing to testify for them. It’s impossible that so many people would take the risk of giving false testimony for them at the same time.”
I said, “Is it possible that what they said is true? In their impression, the housekeeper and the nanny were indeed playing cards with them all the time.”
Guo Liming quickly caught the implication in my words. “Impression? You mean…”
I said, “What if the housekeeper went out during one of the times? And at this time, the nanny, who is his wife, was still at the card table. As long as he came back after a while, it would create the illusion that both of them were present at the same time. In fact, he had already driven back and killed Wu Yinhua without anyone noticing.”
Guo Liming refuted me. “But the surveillance cameras in Wu Yinhua’s villa didn’t capture anyone entering or leaving on that day.”
I smiled slightly and said softly, “Secret passage.”
“What? There’s a secret passage in Wu Yinhua’s villa? Lao Zhang, why didn’t you say so earlier?”
I said, “I just deduced this point.”
“Then I’ll send someone to check it immediately!”
I stopped him. “Don’t be impatient. There’s something more important.”
Guo Liming couldn’t wait. “Unless we can catch the person directly, I can’t think of anything more important than this clue.”
“You’re right!”
11
I said word by word, “The nanny is nearby.”
Guo Liming was shocked and stuttered subconsciously. “L-Lao Zhang, don’t lie to me. Didn’t she run away?”
I said, “It’s not certain until tomorrow, but she can’t run away tonight.”
We immediately launched a search of the nearby villages, focusing on the nanny’s relatives.
Sure enough, before 12 o’clock at night, we found the nanny who had already fainted due to bleeding and lack of oxygen in the cellar of a farmer’s house in the neighboring village.
The farmer was so scared that he was about to kneel down on the spot, saying repeatedly that this matter had nothing to do with him. As a result, we found a large bag of valuable artworks in his house, and some parts of them were stained with the nanny’s blood.
They were really people who cared more about money than their lives.
I and Guo Liming looked at each other, and the meaning in our eyes was self-evident:
The nanny fled to the farmer’s house with this bag of artworks. The farmer was her cousin. Unexpectedly, he took a fancy to this bag of valuable but of unknown origin treasures. So the farmer tricked the nanny into the cellar and took the things away while taking the opportunity.
The nanny in the cellar would die due to excessive blood loss and lack of oxygen. He only needed to dig a deeper pit in the cellar, bury her body in it, and fill the cellar, and this matter would be done without anyone knowing.
The nanny was sent to the hospital for rescue, and the farmer’s family was taken to the police station for interrogation. If the situation was true, the farmer might be sentenced for the crime of intentional homicide.
On the way back, Guo Liming asked me, “Lao Zhang, how did you determine that the nanny was nearby?”
I said, “It’s simple. You don’t need me to say that at the latest by tomorrow morning, you’ll find that there must be bloodstains left by her wounds on the ground. It’s just that you can’t see clearly because of the darkness. Keep searching for a while and the truth will naturally come out.”
“But why were you so sure? What if she rented a car and ran away?”
I said, “She didn’t dare. A middle-aged woman in the countryside, around fifty years old, is especially cautious about money. Besides, she was injured and needed to rest. Otherwise, she might faint on the road accidentally. She could only temporarily seek refuge with her trusted relatives nearby. She just didn’t expect that while she was robbing others’ money, others were also eyeing her money, and their means were even more vicious.”
We both fell into silence. There are too many visible and invisible filth in this world. When will we be able to catch them all if we catch one or two at a time?
Now, whether the nanny can wake up from the coma has become the key to solving the case, and many people are anxiously waiting for this news.
12
It was already two o’clock in the morning when I returned to my rental house. The hospital was still trying its best to rescue her, but I really couldn’t hold on anymore.
When people reach middle age, too many things have consumed my energy. When solving cases, I rack my brains, and at night, I can hardly keep my eyes open.
Two o’clock in the morning was already my limit. As soon as I lay on the bed, I almost fell asleep immediately. But I woke up quickly. Years of habit made me take off the white gloves on my hands and put them on the bedside table beside me.
Some things can’t be worn all the time. There will always be a time to take them off. No one’s hands are absolutely clean. There will always be times when they get dirty accidentally.
This is the secret of my solving cases.
When I woke up, it was already twelve o’clock at noon. I took a look at my mobile phone. Sure enough, there were several missed calls, all from Guo Liming. It seemed that there was new progress in the case.
I didn’t rush to call him back. Instead, I tidied myself up. I still needed to shave my beard. Maybe in the next few days, the media would take pictures of my slightly chubby face and post them online. In case I might remarry in the future, I still had to pay attention to my image.
I took out two unopened pairs of white gloves from the cabinet and put them in my pocket. In our line of work, we can lack anything, but gloves are indispensable.
Fingerprints are very important evidence for solving cases. If we accidentally leave our fingerprints at the scene and it happens that we are found to have had certain dealings with the victim, that would be a big trouble. Moreover, if there are two enemies staring at us and we are framed as an accomplice, it would be really a great injustice.
Three years ago, I accidentally left my fingerprints at the scene. Coincidentally, the deceased had a grudge against me before his death, which led to my being caught by others and being framed as a criminal suspect. Finally, Guo Liming took away my position as a consultant in order to clear his own suspicion.
At that time, there was a big change in my family. My son went to prison, and my wife wanted to divorce me. I was in a very bad mood and had a big quarrel with Guo Liming because of this matter. In the end, we parted on bad terms.
I touched my face in the mirror and tidied my clothes.
This time I helped him solve the case, not to take back anything, nor to prove anything. There was something that I should have finished three years ago.
13
I didn’t go to the police station first. Instead, I went to the hospital first. I had an old friend, and I had to see her off for the last time.
After coming out of the hospital, I had a simple lunch. When I arrived at the police station, it was already three o’clock in the afternoon.
Guo Liming complained as soon as he saw me. “Lao Zhang, why are you so late?”
I said, “I’m already so old. Unlike when I was young, I can’t hold on anymore.”
“All right, all right, hurry up,” he handed me a stack of materials. “These are the confessions recorded in the morning. Take a look quickly.”
“Did the nanny confess?”
“She confessed, but…” He looked reluctant to say it. “You’d better read it first.”
I read the confessions from beginning to end to make sure there were no omissions.
I said, “Lao Guo, did you interrogate her in person?”
Guo Liming nodded helplessly. “Yes, I interrogated her in person. Considering the patient’s condition, the hospital only gave me twenty minutes.”
I said, “Her confession seems airtight.”
Guo Liming punched the table angrily. “Lao Zhang! To tell you the truth! When interrogating her, she firmly denied having anything to do with Wu Yinhua’s death. At first, she didn’t even admit that the things were stolen by her. She only admitted that she was ‘temporarily taking care of’ the things for Wu Yinhua’s family after I showed her the evidence and would return them immediately after the matter was over.”
“She also said that as Wu Yinhua’s nanny, she had the responsibility to take good care of the things in his family and ensure that there would be no economic losses in Wu Yinhua’s family.”
“As for the murder, she didn’t admit a word and cried bitterly, saying that she was a real blood relative of Wu Yinhua and would never harm him no matter what. Finally, the hospital was worried about her safety and terminated the interrogation in advance.
I nodded to show that I understood and said, “If she insists on not admitting it, we can only hope to catch the housekeeper now and make a breakthrough from him.”
Guo Liming showed a bitter smile and said, “I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
I said, “Let’s hear the good news first. We need some encouragement.”
He said, “The good news is that the secret passage in Wu Yinhua’s villa has been found. The exit is at the bottom of an abandoned well, and the ruts of the off-road vehicle and the footprints of the housekeeper were found around the wellhead, which match the time when Wu Yinhua died.”
I asked, “What’s the bad news?”
“The bad news is that the housekeeper has been found.”
I asked him back, “Isn’t that a good thing?”
His expression was very heavy. “It’s a corpse.”
14
I was shocked. “What? You said he’s dead?”
Guo Liming said, “We received the news this afternoon. Wu Yinhua’s housekeeper, Wu Baobao, died in a car accident on the highway at two o’clock in the morning due to fatigue driving.”
I immediately asked, “Were there any clues in his car?”
At this time, Guo Liming’s expression changed and became terribly gloomy. “Lao Zhang, there are two clues.”
“First, the surveillance showed that Wu Baobao’s head suddenly hit the steering wheel during driving, which led to the vehicle losing control. So the cause of death was identified as fatigue driving.”
“Second, a pair of white gloves exactly the same as those at the scene of Wu Yinhua’s death were found in the glove compartment on the front passenger side of the car, and there were no fingerprints left on them.”
At this, I could no longer remain calm. “White gloves? Are you sure they were in his car?”
He nodded at me, with uncontrollable anger in his eyes. “Lao Zhang, it seems we’ve been played! That pair of white gloves was placed in the glove compartment on the front passenger side of the off-road vehicle. Obviously, someone put them there in advance.”
The second victim appeared in an unexpected way.
The most likely criminal suspect died on the highway. Those white gloves seemed like a cold joke, gently taking away his life.
We could do nothing about it.
“Lao Zhang, I just don’t understand. At the beginning, we didn’t have any evidence except for a pair of inexplicable white gloves.”
“Why is it that just when we’ve just got a little evidence to prove that Wu Baobao was related to this case, he just died, and only a pair of damn white gloves is left again!”
“What’s the grudge between us and the white gloves?”
Out of caution, I corrected him. “It’s not us, it’s Wu Yinhua.”
Guo Liming said, “What’s the grudge between this white glove and Wu Yinhua? Why didn’t even his housekeeper let go? Two hours after Wu Baobao’s death, Wu Yinhua’s family applied to our police station for protection.”
I asked him, “Why didn’t they go abroad?”
Guo Liming said, “Someone sent a letter to Wu Yinhua’s family after his death, which said: ‘Don’t try to run.'”
I asked him, “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
“I just received this news too.”
I stood up and paced back and forth anxiously in the office.
Guo Liming complained, “Lao Zhang, don’t keep walking around like that. It’s annoying to watch.”
I asked him anxiously, “What’s the situation with the nanny?”
He said, “Don’t worry. We’ve arranged for people to watch her 24 hours a day.”
I said, “No! Let’s go and check it out in person. We must ensure her safety.”
“Lao Zhang, what’s there to check? There’s surveillance in the hospital, and our people won’t leave even a step.”
I said, “The nanny is in danger. The next victim is very likely to be her!”
15
Guo Liming and I rushed to the hospital in a hurry and came to the nanny’s intensive care unit.
She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and all the vital signs on the instruments were normal.
I looked up at the surveillance in the room. The surveillance was in the center of the ceiling and hardly left any blind spots.
I carefully checked the corners of the room to make sure there were no omissions.
Guo Liming asked me, “Lao Zhang, is it necessary for us to be so careful?”
I gave him a definite answer. “Yes!”
“Why, Lao Zhang? Can you tell me the reason?”
I said, “I’ll tell you when we get back to the bureau.”
I gave him a look, implying that it was inconvenient to talk here.
Before leaving, I specifically asked the nurse to disinfect the room. The patient’s physical condition was very poor, and we should prevent the bacteria we brought from affecting her recovery.
On the way back to the police station, Guo Liming couldn’t help asking me, “Lao Zhang, there are only the two of us in the car. Can you tell me now?”
I said, “I understand why Wu Yinhua’s nanny and housekeeper ran away after his death.”
“Why?”
“Because of that letter! ‘Don’t try to run!'”
Guo Liming said, “What can these three words explain?”
I said very firmly, “These three words were not written to Wu Yinhua’s family at all!”
He lowered his head and thought for a while. “You mean…”
“That’s right! These three words were written to the nanny and the housekeeper from the very beginning!”
Guo Liming raised his head. “That’s why they ran! Because they had something to hide!”
I agreed. “Yes! They must know why the murderer killed Wu Yinhua!”
Guo Liming suddenly asked the driver to turn around. “Let’s go back to the hospital immediately! I’ll watch over her in person. When the nanny wakes up, I’ll interrogate her right away.”
When we rushed back to the hospital, suddenly the news of the nanny’s death came…
16
“What? Say it again!”
Guo Liming was furious and rushed into the emergency room.
I followed behind and saw the nanny’s body on the hospital bed.
“How did she die? Tell me how she died!”
The police guards were at a loss in the face of the interrogation of the captain of the criminal police.
I immediately asked, “Did anyone go in? Were the identities of the doctors verified?”
“Except for the doctors, no one went in. The identities of the doctors have been verified one by one.”
After saying that, the police guards looked at us two rather embarrassedly. “And then there’s you two…”
Guo Liming’s eyes seemed to be spitting fire. “Are you saying that we killed her?”
“Captain, that’s not what I mean.”
Guo Liming said, “Go and get the surveillance video for me immediately. I want to watch it myself.”
“Captain, there’s one more thing.”
“Say it!”
“We found this under the nanny’s hospital bed.” After saying that, he took out a pair of white gloves in an evidence bag.
At the sight of the white gloves, Guo Liming could no longer control his emotions. He shouted angrily, “Where are the people! Where are the people! Arrest everyone who entered and left this room! I’ll interrogate them one by one!”
17
The next night, Guo Liming and I were sitting in his office.
We had watched the surveillance in the ward and the confessions of the medical staff many times, but we just couldn’t find any flaws.
Everyone in this case was related to this matter, but they seemed to have nothing to do with the nanny’s death.
Guo Liming was so worried that his hair was almost turning white.
“Lao Zhang, here’s the action trajectory of Wu Yinhua that was just found out. Take a look first. I’m really exhausted today.”
It had been a day since the nanny’s death. From then until now, every medical staff member, even the police guards at the door, had been interrogated by him in person.
I took the materials and soon found something wrong.
It showed that the parents of a little girl often went to Wu Yinhua’s company to make trouble, holding a box of ashes and saying that Wu Yinhua had killed their child.
Just a year ago, these parents suddenly disappeared without a trace.
I said firmly, “Lao Guo, the murderer has been found.”
“What did you say?” He jumped up from his chair.
I pointed it out to him. “A couple and their little daughter.”
He snatched the materials and read them carefully, then looked up at me in disbelief. “Lao Zhang, are you serious? There are only three people in this family, and now they’ve all disappeared. How could they be the murderer?”
I shook my head a little helplessly. “What I mean is that the murderer who made this family of three disappear has been found, and that’s Wu Yinhua.”
Guo Liming’s gaze was very complicated. He said, “Lao Zhang, we don’t have any evidence at all. Even if their disappearance is really related to Wu Yinhua, how can you prove it? Besides, he’s already dead.”
I nodded and looked out of the window. Tears slid down the corners of my eyes.
I said, “I’m the one who killed them.”
18
Guo Liming immediately became serious. “Lao Zhang, make it clear!”
I wiped away my tears. “Three years ago, it was reported in the news that Wu Yinhua had raped a young girl, but this matter was quickly suppressed.”
“Half a month later, the parents of the little girl came to me and asked me to investigate their daughter’s whereabouts. Soon after the news was reported, their daughter disappeared without a trace. After the case was filed, the progress was very slow.”
“They were desperate and came to me, offering 200,000 yuan and begging me to help them find their daughter.”
“To be honest, I was also in a difficult position with this kind of case. But after all, I’m also a parent, so I had to agree to them.”
“I carefully investigated the little girl’s travel trajectory and found that the only abnormal place was Wu Yinhua’s villa that was exposed in the news. She had no reason to go to that place.”
“I investigated near the villa and wanted to find out if there were the little girl’s footprints, but there wasn’t a single footprint.”
“But by coincidence, I found the exit of the secret passage in the villa. There was a hairpin of the little girl in the puddle at the bottom of the exit well.”
“I took the hairpin back, and the parents of the little girl cried and said that it was the hairpin that their daughter usually wore on her head.”
“As a result, they let the news leak out. They took the hairpin to Wu Yinhua’s company to ask him to compensate them for their daughter.”
“The next day, I received a death threat.”
“Considering that I was a consultant in the bureau, he didn’t dare to do anything to me, so I boldly continued the investigation.”
“I found that Wu Yinhua’s housekeeper had secretly contacted human smugglers. They had met several times, all in a van.”
“I followed this van and found a smuggling den.”
“I disguised myself as a stowaway and lied that I wanted to do business with them. Guess what they said?”
I smiled sadly. “They said that they didn’t do business with living people.”
“I asked them about a little girl, which aroused their vigilance. They secretly told Wu Yinhua about this news.”
“On the third day, my son raped and killed his little girlfriend in a KTV.”
“At that time, I had already prepared the formalities for going abroad. I was confident that I could find the little girl abroad, even if it was just a corpse.”
“But my son was sent to prison, my wife wanted to divorce me, and you dismissed me from the police station.”
“I really didn’t expect that when I needed help the most, you would betray me.”
At this time, Guo Liming had already become vigilant and put his hand on the gun at his waist.
“Lao Zhang, calm down. This is the police station.”
There was a terrifying smile on my face as I walked towards him step by step. “What’s the matter, Captain? Are you afraid that I’ll kill you too?”
19
The chair in the interrogation room was hard and cold. Sitting on it gave a sense of alienation as if one was about to lose everything.
Guo Liming was sitting opposite me, with the unique majesty and firmness that he had when interrogating prisoners.
“Criminal, state your criminal process and clearly explain how you killed Wu Yinhua and his nanny and housekeeper.”
I didn’t deny it. I just smiled. “Do you have evidence?”
Guo Liming said, “We found a large number of unopened white gloves in your residence. After identification, they are exactly the same as the gloves at the crime scenes of the deaths of the three of them.”
I said, “I’m a professional detective. It’s normal to have some white gloves at home. It’s just a coincidence that they are the same as the gloves at the crime scenes.”
Guo Liming said, “No one else has a motive for killing except you.”
I said, “Having a motive for killing doesn’t mean that I will kill. There are many people who have grudges against me and have motives for killing me, but the only one who dared to retaliate against me didn’t choose to kill me, but ruined my son and his girlfriend instead.”
Guo Liming said righteously, “Your son committed a crime! There is both human and physical evidence. What else can you argue about?”
I said, “I know. You’re referring to the surveillance in the KTV private room. The surveillance showed that my son forcibly had sex with his girlfriend against her will and was very brutal, which eventually led to the death of his girlfriend.”
“Do you know what else to say!”
“I also know that my son took a large dose of veterinary aphrodisiac, which made him lose his mind like a beast!”
“They ordered two cases of beer in total. My son drank one case by himself. But at the crime scene, the beer bottles that had been drunk disappeared without a trace. Guess what? All the empty bottles were taken to the kitchen and washed clean inside and out.”
“You talk to me about evidence. The most important evidence was blatantly destroyed. How dare you still tell me that there is both human and physical evidence?”
Guo Liming was so angry that his face turned livid. “Even if your son didn’t intentionally kill, it was his negligent act that led to the death of the little girl. Do you admit it or not?”
My smile was my best weapon. “If there hadn’t been the aphrodisiac, my son wouldn’t have committed such an evil act.”
Guo Liming said, “Do you think the court will change the result just because of an ‘if’ when judging a case? Considering the special circumstances of the case, it was already a lenient sentence. What else are you dissatisfied with?”
I said, “Of course I’m dissatisfied. If your child was also framed like this by others, you wouldn’t be satisfied either.”
This sentence hit Guo Liming’s sore spot and left him speechless. He didn’t have children.
I continued, “Do you want to know what Wu Yinhua said before he died?”
Guo Liming’s body shook. “What did you say?”
My voice was slow and cruel. “He said he didn’t regret doing these things. He should have done it more cleanly. The nanny was responsible for luring the little girl to his villa, and the housekeeper was responsible for disposing of the little girl’s body after her death.”
“Over the years, Wu Yinhua had raped more than one young girl, but the only one he didn’t handle cleanly and left behind troubles was this one.”
“Two years ago, I dug out the little girl’s body abroad, burned it into ashes, and brought it back to China and handed it to her parents.”
“But guess what? In the end, these parents disappeared from this world along with that box of ashes.”
“This time, I didn’t get any evidence.”
20
Guo Liming said, “So you chose to take revenge privately? How exactly did you kill the three of them? Tell the truth!”
“Sir, I never said that I killed them.”
Guo Liming slapped the table. “You just said that Wu Yinhua told you before he died that he didn’t regret it.”
I said, “I just made that up. I’ve never even met this person.”
“You! Every word you said has been recorded. You can’t escape!”
I said, “Sir, if you’re willing to listen, I can tell you a story.”
Guo Liming said, “I only want the truth! Tell us your modus operandi!”
I said, “Let me tell a story about a detective.”
I went on talking on my own. “A few years ago, a private detective tracked down a case where a wealthy man raped and killed a young girl. The wealthy man was afraid that the detective would find out the truth, but because of the detective’s cooperative relationship with the police station, he didn’t dare to kill him, so he targeted his son instead.”
“The wealthy man sent his subordinates to set up a trap and used the detective’s son to fabricate a case of a high school student raping and killing someone to retaliate against and warn the detective.”
“However, the detective was stubborn. He finally found out the truth about the young girl’s death, but it was already too late. The evidence had been destroyed.”
“So the detective decided to get involved personally.”
“He used disguise skills to disguise himself as another person and became the wealthy man’s driver.”
“The driver was responsible for the procurement work of the villa. The detective injected an extract of a kind of mushroom into the procured food in advance. The toxicity would take effect a day later.”
“He quit his job as a driver and deliberately wore the shoes of the wealthy man’s subordinates on the day of the wealthy man’s death and drove the same type of off-road vehicle to leave traces at the exit of the secret passage.”
“After the incident happened, the detective lurked in the village and put two bottles of mineral water containing the mushroom extract in the wealthy man’s off-road vehicle. Once the toxicity took effect on the highway, it would create the illusion that his two subordinates died of fatigue driving.”
“But what he didn’t expect was that these two subordinates broke up because of a conflict of interests. The car accident only killed one of them, and the other one unexpectedly entered the protected intensive care unit by mistake.”
“He visited as an official and sprayed a small dose of the mushroom extract in his coat in advance. After entering the intensive care unit, he took off his coat, turned the lining of the coat inside out, and the venom just flowed into the patient’s nasal cavity along with the air flow from the air vent, while he himself wore a gas mask.”
“He knew that the patient’s physical condition was very poor and the toxicity would take effect in advance, so he found an excuse to visit with the captain of the criminal police again. Before leaving, he specifically asked the nurse to clean the intensive care unit with disinfectant, leaving no flaws.”
21
After listening, Guo Liming was silent for a long time. “What about the white gloves? How do you explain the white gloves in this case?”
I smiled and said, “Sir, my story is over. But I can analyze it from the perspective of the detective for you.”
“The murderer was once dismissed from the police station and held a grudge in his heart, so he deliberately placed a pair of conspicuous white gloves at the crime scene of each case.”
“The meaning of the white gloves is that it’s very clean and seamless.”
“Perhaps it was because he accidentally left his fingerprints at a crime scene during a certain case-solving, which left a obsession in his heart, and this obsession forced him to do such a thing.”
“The first pair of white gloves was placed in the wealthy man’s room by the murderer after he couldn’t struggle when he sneaked into the room through the secret passage.”
“The second pair of white gloves was placed in the off-road vehicle in advance by the murderer using the identity of the driver.”
“The third pair of white gloves was hidden under the bed by the murderer when he pretended to check the room while visiting with the captain of the criminal police.”
Guo Liming’s face turned livid. “How dare you use me to do such a thing!”
I said, “Sir, you’re wronging me. I’m just analyzing it for you. This has nothing to do with me.”
Guo Liming stood up. “You still don’t admit that you killed them?”
I said, “Do you have evidence?”
“We have your confession! The cameras have recorded everything. Don’t think you can fool us!”
I said, “Captain Guo, let’s meet in court.”
Half a year later, after serving the sentence for the crime of assaulting the police, I walked out of prison.
The serial murder case couldn’t be judged in the end due to insufficient evidence.
The murderer was still as clean as the pair of spotless white gloves.
