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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 94: The Mystery of the Alley (Part Nine)
After walking a distance, Qin Jian suddenly stopped and asked, "What should we do next?"
"You’re the boss; it’s up to you."
Qin Jian smirked, resting his chin on his hand as if admiring a piece of easily obtainable art. His gaze was wicked, clearly up to no good. I snapped, "What bad idea are you thinking of now?"
"Haha, only Ma Qi understands me."
"Sorry, I don’t know. I need to get home quickly."
"No way, you have to come with me to the funeral home."
Knowing full well that Qin Jian's idea was terrible, I couldn't help but protest, "No way, I’m not going." With that, I took off running ahead. Qin Jian chased after me; it was ridiculous for two grown men to be acting like this, drawing the attention of many passersby.
Qin Jian was the first to realize how funny yet embarrassing the situation was. He quickly stopped and called out in a low voice, "Ma Qi, we need to talk business." His authoritative tone forced me to halt reluctantly. He continued, "How about we go to the funeral home for a deep experience?"
"No need for that. Just get an arrest warrant; Zheng Kai is definitely the one who killed Bao Hui." I knew exactly what Qin Jian meant by a "deep experience." It involved lying down with the dead, letting go of all worries, and achieving a state of tranquility as if entering a secluded space to personally reflect on the deceased's life.
"On what basis? I don’t have solid evidence. Show me what you’ve got," Qin Jian pressed, extending his hand toward me.
"Go ahead; can’t you find it yourself?" I walked toward the car. An elderly man with graying hair was standing by the vehicle, looking around with a faded canvas bag slung over his shoulder. When he saw me, he immediately demanded ten dollars. Frustrated, I replied, "Is this parking spot yours?"
The old man nodded confidently, "It’s mine, but it can be shared. I just charge a small fee for the spot."
Qin Jian approached me after overhearing my conversation with the old man and asked, "What’s going on?"
"Boss, you’ve occupied someone’s shared parking space; please pay for your arrogance."
Qin Jian's expression brightened. "Car space sharing, this is really innovative. I must support it." He confidently pulled out a ten-yuan bill and generously handed it to the old man, then called for someone to develop the idea.
The old man took the money but refused to develop it.
He rummaged through his bag but didn’t pull anything out. With a dry smile, his wrinkled face squinting at Qin Jian, he said, "This is our private parking space; I didn’t issue any tickets."
Why was Qin Jian making such a fuss? It was just ten yuan! Not issuing tickets wasn’t a big deal, right? Besides, in today’s society, where can you park for free?
"Let’s go, Qin Jian. Don’t blame me if we waste time."
"Alright, alright, let’s go!" Qin Jian was impatient to hear the bald old man's explanation and waved his hand, intending to leave.
Just then, the persistent Fatty emerged. He could walk just fine, but fearing we would leave, he ran after us, his belly and face jiggling with each step. He looked like a wrinkled Shar Pei rolling on the ground as he approached. I sighed heavily and pretended to doze off, completely ignoring him.
"Qin, I’ve already told Brother Qi the key evidence, so this time you won’t waste much effort solving the case." Wasn’t that just nonsense? If it were a simple case, would it even come to Qin Jian and me?
However, since I was pretending not to see him and was still dozing off, I continued to feign sleep.
"What evidence? Can you repeat that?"
Fatty casually mentioned something only a clueless person like Qin Jian would believe.
"The deceased Bao Hui was quite promiscuous and flirted with men everywhere. On the night she died, a tall handsome man was flirting with her; she even gifted him a large bag of expensive fruit. You can follow this lead—just find that tall handsome man, and you’ll definitely crack the case."
Qin Jian listened nonchalantly as he took out a cigarette box and shook one out for Fatty. Fatty grinned widely, delighted as he lit it up and even offered to light one for Qin Jian. Then Qin Jian asked casually, "What about the motive for murder?"
"Motive for murder? Well, I think I heard someone say Bao Hui had taken out a life insurance policy; that tall handsome man is likely the beneficiary."
Qin Jian did not smoke, rejecting the chubby man's offer to light up. He pinched the cigarette between his fingers, squeezing and rolling it back and forth. By the time the chubby man finished speaking, the cigarette had crumbled into bits, scattering onto the ground.
"Where did you hear that?"
Even I couldn't bear Qin Jian's gaze. The chubby man felt increasingly uneasy, daring not to meet Qin Jian's eyes. He deliberately looked away, scratching his head and blushing. After a long pause that seemed pointless, he chuckled awkwardly and added, "I'm the direct disciple of my grandfather; I can calculate things without anyone telling me. I figured it out myself."
"Alright, let's leave it at that! We have things to do, so we'll take our leave first."
I thought the chubby man was really something else. If he took what he heard from Auntie seriously, then he was already defeated.
What kind of person was Qin Jian? How could he be swayed by Fatty's few words? The only reason he was willing to talk was because of my connection to Ma Qi. I remained silent, leaning back in my chair. I heard Qin Jian say, "This Fatty is not a problem! If it weren't for you, I'd really want to slap him."
I glanced at the sullen-faced Qin Jian and replied irritably, "No problem at all; he's full of potential."
"Hey! Don't get too proud; I know exactly what you're made of. A second-rate loser with no redeeming qualities—I've encountered both."
"Are you running a fever? Go take some medicine; did I provoke you?" I shot back angrily. Damn it, running around like this without accomplishing anything, and now I had to return to the funeral home to spend time with the dead.
"Pfft, tsk tsk, not bad. I thought you were asleep; sigh!" Qin Jian sighed dramatically with an expression of disillusionment. Focusing on driving was the way to go.
The funeral home looked the same as always; those who needed to go were going, and those who needed to come were arriving in droves. Each visit here weighed heavily on my heart; I hated witnessing death, and one day in the future, I would also become part of this place.
Bao Hui's body remained stiff, hands resting straight by her side. She hadn't undergone any special beautification and still bore the appearance she had at the moment of death. Her eyes were slightly vacant, half-open and half-closed in a somewhat frightening manner. Aside from her clothes and hair, her fingernails and toenails matched her skin in color—white.
The time of death was nearing four o'clock. If she hadn't been frozen, post-mortem lividity would have appeared by now. The pattern of lividity depended on the deceased's constitution; some had small spots while others were covered all over.
"People are only truly real at the moment of death; while alive, everyone wears a mask," I murmured without looking at Qin Jian.
"A movie starring Wu Ma."
"Oh, right. I remember now; that movie was good. I watched it twice." I looked at Bao Hui's body and continued with my thoughts, "She must have suffered a lot while she was alive. Death might not be a good thing; otherwise, the curve of her lips looks like she's smiling."
"No, to me, it looks more like sarcasm."
"Well, I guess I'm just ignorant and don't understand that even the dead can be sarcastic."
The door opened, and someone walked in—it was Han Lan.
"You two whispering here is disrespectful to the deceased."
Qin Jian and I exchanged glances, each wearing a face of dismay. Then I saw Han Lan push an empty Coroner's Van and asked, "Which one of you needs this?"
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