Xiao Tang arrived at the office half an hour early, hoping to give Xiao Wang, who was on duty, a little scare. But when he opened the office door, not only was Xiao Wang asleep on the desk, but Zou Shuyang was also reclining in his chair, with dark circles under his eyes.
Hearing the sound of the door, Zou Shuyang opened his eyes and, seeing who it was, mumbled, “Xiao Tang, you’re here.”
Xiao Tang glanced at the still-sleeping Xiao Wang and lowered his voice, “Captain Zou, did you not go home last night?”
Zou Shuyang stretched lazily and rubbed his face, looking a bit more awake. “Yeah, I found some new clues last night. I’m going to grab something to eat. When Captain He arrives, tell him not to go out on any fieldwork. I need to talk to him.”
Xiao Tang agreed with a few nods, and after Zou Shuyang left the office, he finally realized something. His eyes twinkled with curiosity—wasn’t it unusual for Captain Zou to want to talk to Captain He? The sun must be rising in the west today!
After freshening up and grabbing a quick bite in the cafeteria, Zou Shuyang returned to the office at exactly 8:30. Captain He was sitting casually on the sofa, waiting for him. Everyone else was at their desks, occasionally peeking over to check Captain He’s mood.
Zou Shuyang swept his gaze over Xiao Tang and the others, then grabbed the list he and Xiao Wang had compiled last night and rolled a whiteboard to the front of the room. He cleared his throat and began, “The day before yesterday’s fall case led us to investigate the murder of a high school teacher, right? Well, as we continued digging, we found that the teacher, Shen Tinglan, had been teaching a class where, over the past ten years, ten students have died under various accidental circumstances, and one person…”
He tapped the name “Ding Jing” written at the top of the board, with the marker. “Has gone missing.”
Zou Shuyang looked around and saw that no one showed signs of disbelief, which pleased him. “So, I now highly suspect that there is some connection between these three incidents.”
A pale, bespectacled female officer, who handled internal affairs, nodded. “There’s no way so many coincidences could all happen in the same class.”
Zou Shuyang snapped his fingers. “Well said, Sister Mei. I don’t believe in coincidences, especially not this many. So, we need to investigate all of them.”
He drew a long timeline at the bottom of the whiteboard. “Let’s put all the cases in order. On the evening of June 3, 2012, Shen Tinglan reported Ding Jing missing. On June 4, 2012, Shen Tinglan was found dead. After that, things were quiet for two years, until December 17, 2014, when one of Shen Tinglan’s students, a girl named Xu Yiran, returned to Jiangzhou for winter break and was found electrocuted in her bathtub…”
Xu Yiran’s death seemed to be the beginning, and in the following years, more of Shen Tinglan’s students died in various common ways.
Xiao Tang looked at the whiteboard, now densely filled with descriptions of death, and couldn’t help but mutter, “Shen Tinglan’s students really covered the full spectrum of accidental deaths, huh?”
There were all kinds of causes—fatal allergic reactions, alcohol poisoning, choking on vomit, drowning while swimming, slipping in the shower…
“All of these cases were ruled accidental,” Zou Shuyang said, leaning against the whiteboard and shaking out his stiff legs. “If I hadn’t seen that shadow when Cheng Hao jumped, Cheng Hao and Shen Jun’s deaths might have been labeled as accidental or suicides too, and no one would have questioned it.”
Xiao Wang, being young, felt a chill run down his spine. “This killer must be really clever, using so many different methods, and not leaving any traces of suspicion?”
“We’ll need to pull the case files,” Zou Shuyang said thoughtfully. “Xiao Tang and Xiao Wang, you two should call Shen Tinglan’s surviving students. I’ve already prepared a list of questions. Xiao Wang, make a copy for Xiao Tang.”
Xiao Wang immediately gave a thumbs-up in response.
“Sister Mei, can you contact the property management at Yunshang Community where Cheng Hao lived, as well as the nearby shops for their surveillance footage? Let’s check from four days ago until yesterday.”
Sister Mei nodded. “The footage from Yunshang Community’s property management came in yesterday. I’ll follow up on the road surveillance.”
“Lao Li and Xiao Zhao, you two head to the scene of Cheng Hao’s death and talk to the neighbors. See if anyone noticed any strangers recently.”
Lao Li and Xiao Zhao eagerly responded with a “got it.”
With everyone assigned their tasks, Zou Shuyang was left facing Captain He’s half-smiling expression.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, Sister Mei quickly found an excuse to clear the office.
After a long pause, Captain He removed his hand from his chin and cautiously asked, “Do you really think Shen Tinglan’s death is connected to his students?”
Zou Shuyang nodded. “I asked Mengyan last night. She said Shen Tinglan was a good person who got along well with his students. So that means…”
“There must have been some reason why Shen became a thorn in someone’s side, enough for them to hire someone to kill him.”
Zou Shuyang nodded again, pulling the whiteboard closer and sitting beside Captain He. “Look at Ding Jing. Her disappearance seems to be the starting point of all this. Could it be that Ding Jing’s disappearance is connected to her classmates? And Shen Tinglan, being a good teacher, found out something, which is why the person behind all this had him killed.”
Captain He naturally continued, “Or maybe he saw something, and the person behind it feared being exposed, so they took action.”
Zou Shuyang rubbed his chin, staring at the whiteboard in a daze. Captain He patted him on the back, saying, “Enough. Thinking about it now won’t do us any good. We need evidence. Let’s wait and see. Who knows, we might have to take a trip to Jiangzhou No. 4 High School.”
——
The warm late May sunshine bathed everything in its golden light. Lao Li and Xiao Zhao spent the entire morning canvassing the building where Cheng Hao had died, only to find that the information they gathered didn’t even fill a page.
Some people claimed not to know the young man who had jumped, while others complained about bad luck and slammed their doors in the officers’ faces. One elderly woman on the second floor had stared at them with a dark expression and, after learning why they were there, ominously said, “Young men, there are some things you shouldn’t dig too deeply into, or you might end up like that nosy neighbor next door, getting burned.”
Then she slammed her door with such force that a chunk of white paint fell off the frame.
After that, no matter how much Lao Li and Xiao Zhao knocked, no one answered, as if the old woman had been a figment of their imagination.
Dusting off their pride, the two had no choice but to step out of the building and sit under a tree for a while.
“Li-ge, this case is really strange. I feel like it doesn’t seem like something a human would do,” Xiao Zhao muttered, rubbing his arms and pointing to the goosebumps that had formed. “Look, that old lady just now gave me chills.”
Lao Li glanced at the sun, then looked up at the balcony from which Cheng Hao had jumped. “I felt it too. And look at these people’s statements. They’re odd.”
Xiao Zhao blinked at the notes in his notebook, puzzled. “Odd? Didn’t Captain Zou say that he suspected this wasn’t actually Cheng Hao’s home, that he had been lured here? So, it’s not strange that no one knew him.”
Lao Li shook his head. “It’s not just that.” He rubbed his nose. “My years of experience tell me that in an old neighborhood like this, the residents tend to know each other well, especially since there aren’t many people coming and going.”
Xiao Zhao nodded but then hesitated. “I think I get what you’re saying… but I also don’t? Li-ge, can you explain?”
Lao Li patiently responded, “In communities like this, there’s usually a strong sense of camaraderie. Neighbors generally know each other, even if just a little.”
“And… then what?”
Lao Li sighed in exasperation. “That means a place as clean and tidy as that apartment must have been regularly cleaned. Someone had to have noticed that, but none of the residents seem to know anything about it.”
“Really?” Xiao Zhao rubbed his arms again, mumbling, “Maybe it’s just because they’re old and didn’t pay attention?”
After resting for a while longer, the two were about to continue their investigation when Xiao Zhao’s eyes lit up. He hurried forward and stopped a bespectacled young man. “Dr. Yin? What a coincidence. You’re here too?”
The young man, dressed in a light green collared short-sleeve shirt, looked refined and a bit startled. He adjusted his glasses and asked, “Officer Zhao? Is there something you need me for?”
Noticing Lao Li’s curious gaze, Xiao Zhao introduced, “This is Yin Zhuo, Dr. Yin, the one who reported Shen Jun’s fall.”
Then, turning to Dr. Yin, he added, “This is my colleague, Li-ge.”
Yin Zhuo politely greeted Lao Li, “Hello, Officer Li.”
After the introductions, Xiao Zhao asked, “Do you live here, Dr. Yin?”
Yin Zhuo shook his head. “No, my grandpa lives here. I’m just bringing him lunch.”
It was only then that Lao Li and Xiao Zhao noticed the plastic bag in Yin Zhuo’s hand, which held a thermos.
Lao Li discreetly sized up Yin Zhuo and casually asked, “Dr. Yin, have you heard about the fall two days ago?”
Yin Zhuo sighed. “Yes, I know. The person fell while I was asleep inside. My grandpa told me about it later. We even argued over it. I wanted him to move, but he’s too attached to this place. There’s no elevator here, and it’s hard for him to get around. Plus, he feels bad whenever a neighbor passes away. But he refuses to leave because he doesn’t want to part with his chess buddies.”
Suddenly, spotting something, Yin Zhuo raised his voice, “Grandpa! How many times have I told you not to go downstairs alone? You’re getting older, and a fall could be serious.”
Apologetically nodding to the two officers, Yin Zhuo jogged over to help a hunched, white-haired elderly man.
The old man was familiar to them—he lived on the sixth floor, right below the apartment where Cheng Hao had jumped.
He was the one who had complained about how unlucky it was that two people had died in the building in just two days and had used a broom to chase Lao Li and Xiao Zhao out.
Seeing the old man now, gentle and full of affection, with eyes nearly closed into slits, felt almost jarring compared to his previous grumpy demeanor.
Listening to the old man and his grandson chatting as they walked upstairs, Lao Li and Xiao Zhao exchanged glances and shook their heads. It seemed that everyone had their match in life.
After finishing their fruitless canvassing, the two got into their rickety, noisy car and headed back. But as they approached the community gate, Xiao Zhao noticed Lao Li craning his neck to look outside.
“What is it, Li-ge?”
Lao Li, still staring out the window, murmured, “I think I just saw Captain Zou’s girlfriend.”
Xiao Zhao immediately hit the brakes and leaned over. “Where? Where? I’ve heard Captain Zou’s girlfriend is gorgeous, like a celebrity. I’ve been dying to see her.”
Lao Li rolled his eyes and pushed him back. “Never mind, I think I was mistaken.”
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