Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I had to pretend to be Ah Huang's subordinate again. Following Ah Huang, I arrived at a district and got out of the car. Ah Huang said to me, "This is the area where the deceased was burned. Let's take a look at the scene; the reporter will be here shortly."
I was puzzled and asked, "What does the reporter need to do?"
Ah Huang smiled and replied, "Don't forget that the house still belongs to the deceased. After someone dies, as a mistress, they can't continue living there. First, she needs to come and move her things out. Second, since she chose to report this incident, we still need to investigate the scene, and she must cooperate with us."
"Oh! I see," I nodded and followed Ah Huang into the district.
The area was relatively quiet. The incident occurred on the seventh floor. We took the elevator up and arrived outside a door. The security door and main door were both open, indicating that police personnel were inside conducting investigations.
Ah Huang led me straight in. It was a two-bedroom apartment, not very large. Upon entering, there was a living room; to the left was a balcony, and the first room on the right was Ah Huang's study. I glanced around the living room; it seemed simply decorated with just a sofa, television, and table—nothing particularly special.
The study wasn't big either. There was a computer desk by the window, a sofa beside it, and a bookshelf against the wall. The sofa had an L-shape design suitable for lying down. At that moment, I noticed a charred human-shaped mark on the sofa. Thankfully, it wasn't upholstered in fabric; most of it had been burned away, exposing the stuffing inside. Two police officers wearing gloves were taking photos and collecting evidence. I didn't go in but stood at the doorway with Ah Huang. He pointed out simply, "This is the scene. Behind the computer desk is the window; the woman who reported the fire saw smoke coming from there before calling it in. By the time our team entered through the window, most of the body had already been burned."
I responded with an "oh." To be honest, I knew nothing about crime scene investigations and could only walk around in the room for a better look. As I took a couple of steps forward, I noticed that the bedroom door was ajar. I pushed it open slightly and was startled to see a woman sitting on Simmons Bed inside. She glared at me and said irritably, "You guys have made such a mess! Now I have to clean it up! I'm the one who reported this; you’re making me look like a murderer!"
Ah Huang heard her voice and walked over. Upon seeing her, he gently said to me, "This is the reporter; her name is Yueyue. She insists that the deceased was murdered."
I took a closer look at Yueyue; she appeared to be in her twenties and looked quite good—dressed fashionably but with heavy makeup. Ah Huang stepped inside and asked her, "So, have you packed everything up?"
Yueyue huffed and didn’t answer Ah Huang’s question but retorted instead, "Officer, how's your investigation going?"
Ah Huang replied calmly, "We still need to collect evidence and look for suspects."
"What else are you looking for?!" She suddenly stood up angrily. "Let me tell you—it’s obviously that Black-hearted Woman Yang Xuan who did this! She’s jealous of me—jealous of my husband loving me—so she ruined my life by murdering my husband!"
I felt somewhat confused as Ah Huang comforted her with a few words before turning back to me quietly saying, "Yang Xuan is the deceased's wife."
Ah Huang took out a notebook and spoke kindly to Yueyue, "Now think carefully if there's anything else you suspect or anything you haven't told us yet; please share it all now so I can note it down. This will help us gather evidence and speed up solving this case."
"Yang Xuan deserves to die!" The woman cursed fiercely as she sat on the bed and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her handbag, taking one out and lighting it up.
"Officer, what more evidence do you need? It's all so obvious! Hmph, Yang Xuan drove my husband's then-wife away and inserted herself into their lives. Now she can't stand it when someone else tries to do the same?! Well, she got into a position of power but couldn't have children. Watching her predecessor's child grow up only created more conflicts with my husband. Later, when my husband ignored her and fell in love with me, she became resentful and plotted against him!"
I couldn't help but interject, "I'm sorry, but you don't seem very sad."
Upon hearing my words, Yueyue suddenly threw her cigarette to the ground and stomped on it fiercely. "Sad? Hmph! Right now, all I feel is hate! She ruined my life, and I want her to suffer too!"
I felt confused by her outburst and decided to turn away to look elsewhere. Ah Huang was still busy taking notes.
After a quick look around, I noticed nothing particularly unusual. The furniture was simple, and the place was relatively clean with few signs of daily life. It seemed this was a rendezvous spot for the two; Yueyue likely didn't live here permanently.
I stepped outside and leaned against the doorframe waiting for Ah Huang. Before long, he emerged from inside and hurried toward the elevator. I quickly followed him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find the deceased's wife, Yang Xuan. I think we need to talk to her again."
As we walked, Ah Huang informed me that Yueyue was actually a college student. I was taken aback—what the hell! She looked much older than that; at first glance, I thought she was an older sister!
"Really!" Ah Huang seemed to notice my surprise. "She's a sophomore at our prestigious university. However, her family situation is quite poor; she's from the Xiangxi mountainous area. Her tuition and living expenses are all covered by the deceased. This place is where they met; she has a key but doesn't live here alone—she usually stays in the dormitory."
I replied, "If this really is a murder case, then it's unlikely Yueyue is the murderer. First of all, she relies on the deceased for her livelihood; harming him wouldn't benefit her at all. Secondly, if things continued as they were, there might be a relatively good outcome for her. Thirdly, even if she wanted to take action, she wouldn't choose a place where they secretly met—too risky! Fourthly, her decision to call the police indicates that she's aware of her own suspicion. By the way, where was she when it happened? Since she wasn't here, why was the deceased here?"
Ah Huang nodded in agreement. "I think along similar lines. They were together the night before the incident. According to her, the deceased took her out to set off fireworks and then returned to spend the night together. In the morning, she went to school for some errands and planned to come back to continue their weekend together."
"Oh! So everything aligns with what Yueyue said; that makes the deceased's wife highly suspicious!"
"Let's contact her first. The forensic team is still gathering evidence on-site; we haven't received any test results yet. We can't conclude it's murder based solely on her identification without evidence pointing directly at anyone."
I nodded in agreement.
As we headed downstairs, Ah Huang started up the police car while saying, "The deceased's wife, Yang Xuan, works as a teacher at a nearby university where she graduated and stayed on staff. We're going straight to her workplace; I've already made an appointment."
I nodded, feeling an inexplicable curiosity about Yang Xuan. What kind of person was she? First, she took someone else's husband, and then her own husband was taken away. It was quite complicated.
Before long, we arrived at the university's entrance. To avoid any misunderstandings, Ah Huang parked the car outside. After we got out and registered at the entrance, we headed straight to Yang Xuan's workplace.
Upon seeing Yang Xuan in person, I was quite surprised. She embodied the image of an intellectual woman, with long hair neatly pinned up and wearing glasses. Her fair skin suggested she was around thirty-five years old. Dressed appropriately for a teacher, she exuded an air of dignity and composure that did not match my preconceived notions of her. I could hardly imagine what her past romantic experiences might have been like.
As for her expression, in contrast to my surprise, Yang Xuan seemed unfazed by our arrival. There was no evident sadness on her face. After briefly greeting her colleagues, she led us to an office, poured us some tea, and sat down calmly, waiting for us to speak first.
Ah Huang took out his notebook as usual. "Ms. Yang, we express our condolences regarding your husband's death. We spoke on the phone yesterday, but many things were unclear over the call. We have some questions we would like to discuss with you."
Yang Xuan looked at Ah Huang, adjusted her glasses, and replied calmly, "My husband's death was an accident; unforeseen circumstances occurred that I could not prevent. However, Officer, is your investigation today because someone reported suspicions that it wasn't an accident but murder? Is it true that a girl named Yueyue claims I harmed my husband?"
Ah Huang felt a bit awkward; he didn't know how to respond. Fortunately, Yang Xuan didn't press further on that topic and continued speaking on her own. "I admit that my husband and I no longer have feelings for each other. We are just maintaining appearances for the sake of face. I know he has someone else outside our marriage, and I don't know where we stand anymore. But after all, we are legally married; no matter how foolish I may be, I wouldn't harm my own husband—there's no benefit in that for me."
"He has a son from his previous marriage. When we got married, he had a property agreement made; most of his assets are left to his son. His son is in high school now. Although we live together, he often doesn't come home. However, he is responsible for our household expenses, so Officer, having him alive is more beneficial for me—wouldn't you agree?" A faint bitter smile appeared at the corner of Yang Xuan's mouth.
(To be continued; more exciting developments tomorrow!)
Comment 0 Comment Count