This new duo of bill-payers walked together into the crime scene, where they found a young man with a flattop and glasses enthusiastically giving Tao Ran and Lang Qiao a primer on the case. Tall and acne-ridden, the young man held himself ramrod straight, which conspired with his thin frame to make him look like a humanoid coffin. He spoke at a terrifying speed.
“This is Xiao Haiyang, or Xiao-Xiao as we call him. He’s new,” Wang Hongliang explained, pointing at the young man. “He was a star student—got the top grade on our written exam. Xiao-Xiao, this is Sergeant Luo from the municipal bureau.”
Xiao Haiyang puffed out his chest and lifted his chin as if Wang Hongliang had barked “ten-hut!” He nodded stiffly at Luo Wenzhou, his jaw tight, with no trace of a smile. “Sergeant Luo,” he greeted the man laconically.
“Take it easy,” Luo Wenzhou said with a wave. “Please continue.”
This seemed to flip a switch inside the taciturn Xiao Haiyang. A deluge of words instantly poured from his lips, drowning everyone in front of him. Each syllable barreled out after the last with preternatural speed; no one with less than a college-level understanding of Mandarin Chinese could possibly have followed him. “The deceased lacks injuries consistent with struggle, but there are signs of blunt force trauma to the back of his head, so our preliminary conclusion is that he was struck unconscious from behind, strangled with a soft strip of cloth until he died, and then had his valuables stolen and that paper placed on his forehead. If the deceased suffocated while unconscious, there wouldn’t have been any signs of struggle. As for the cord or cloth that strangled him, as well as the blunt object that struck his head, we haven’t yet found them, nor any conclusive evidence demonstrating that this was in fact where the crime took place. Report concluded!”
As soon as Xiao Haiyang finished his final sentence, Wang Hongliang turned green. “Are you implying something you don’t have evidence to back up? If the murder didn’t take place here, then where did it happen? You’re saying this body was dumped? Why would they dump it here? What would be the point? Don’t run your mouth and confuse everyone with your random guesses, Xiao Haiyang!”
Xiao Haiyang stared at him, confused. “I’m just saying it’s a possibility—”
Wang Hongliang was on the verge of another outburst when Luo Wenzhou reached out to stop him. “Kids always get ideas when they’re new to the job. Don’t worry. Let him talk,” he said, lifting his gaze to survey their surroundings.
Huashi’s West Side gave off a gloomy, gray feeling. Overhead, heavy electric wires crisscrossed chaotically, dividing Yancheng’s rare sunny sky into jagged shards and bearing down on the people below. It was incredibly oppressive. “Ask around. Maybe someone heard or saw something,” Luo Wenzhou continued. “I do think your broad direction is accurate, Director Wang. Let’s not jump to extreme scenarios just yet. We’ll investigate under the assumption that the perpetrator was familiar to the victim. What do you think, Laoge?”
Wang Hongliang found his new brother’s way of speaking and handling matters highly satisfactory, and the quick agreement they reached saved much time on communication. Next would come endless inspections and questionings, all menial work for low-level district bureau officers, unconnected to “technical expertise.” The primary task for Luo Wenzhou’s team of three was now to return to the district bureau office, sit, and drink tea while checking on the work periodically until Wang Hongliang slipped up.
At that point, Tao Ran said quietly to Luo Wenzhou, “You go ahead. I want to check out this area with the others.”
Tao Ran’s name was gentle,5 like a girl’s. His facial features were similarly elegant, and his temper pleasant; he’d never lost it with anyone before. Despite being among such coarse colleagues, he never cursed like they did. He was well-mannered with friends and foes alike. But Luo Wenzhou knew Tao Ran: He had a seriousness and stubbornness that seemed to belong to a different time. He didn’t care about politics at all—after all, if the sky fell, Luo Wenzhou would be there to take care of it—but when it came to cases, he pursued any suspicions he held to the very end, regardless of whether he was responsible for doing so.
Luo Wenzhou hummed for a moment. “The deceased was struck unconscious from behind and lost the ability to move. He likely didn’t even see his attacker. So, if this really was a robbery, the suspect wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of strangling him. That makes the likelihood of a personal motive strong. Wang Hongliang’s basic deductions make sense. But what’s wrong?”
The victim’s body, which had already been bagged, was being carried away by the forensics team. Tao Ran followed them with his eyes. “The shoes,” he said softly. “Look. This place is filthy—no one cleans it up. One stray step would cover your shoe in mud. But when I opened the body bag and checked, the kid’s shoes were perfectly clean.”
Luo Wenzhou raised an eyebrow.
“Of course, it could also just be that he lives in the area and knows it well enough to avoid dirty spots,” said Tao Ran. “But I think Little Four-Eyes from the district bureau is right: We can’t take for granted that this is where the crime began. The paper stuck on the victim’s face is strange too. Wenzhou, if this case turns out not to be straightforward, I think Director Wang will rush through it to get it over with instead of investigating properly.”
“You think?” Luo Wenzhou sighed. “Yes, he’s obviously trying to do that.”
So long as he had a general idea of who the suspect might’ve been, Wang Hongliang could promptly issue an official announcement declaring that the case was likely motivated by personal grudges, not a terrifying “steal-and-strangle gang” like the online rumors said. Without that hook, the public would forget all about the crime within a few days. Once everything was over, they could even say, “The Huashi District Bureau made an extraordinary contribution to the municipal organization of the Whatever Summit.”
As for the case, they’d just send out a few low-level detectives who would take their time investigating. If they found the perpetrator, they would apprehend them; if not, the bureau would just suppress, suppress, suppress—possibly to the point of designating it a cold case and closing it.
That was how Wang Hongliang did things—which was why Director General Zhang was targeting him specifically.
“Whatever the reason, this boy came all the way to our city and died away from home,” said Tao Ran. “We owe it to him to come up with an explanation.” Luo Wenzhou turned his head and held Tao Ran’s gaze for a couple of seconds.
“I’m just going to take a look for my own peace of mind,” Tao Ran added quickly. “I promise I won’t cause any issues.”
Luo Wenzhou laughed. “Even when you have, I’ve cleaned up after you all these years. But you’ve never offered me your body as compensation.”
Tao Ran snorted, unconcerned. “Oh, shut up,” he chuckled.
As he started to walk off, Luo Wenzhou stopped him. “Wait. Was it Fei Du who sent you flowers this morning?”
“Who else has that much free time?” Tao Ran answered indifferently, and continued to leave.
Luo Wenzhou stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced down at his own feet as if searching for the right words. “Fei Du isn’t someone you should get too close with… You know what I mean?”
Tao Ran’s steps paused. His delicate, slender figure made him look easy to bully, which was why he always wore his uniform both in the office and out in the field. The morning sun shone over the low, mossy walls, softly gilding his silhouette. “I do,” he told Luo Wenzhou, growing solemn. “But I’ve been watching him for the last seven years. I understand him.”
Luo Wenzhou remained silent.
“He can be a little wild sometimes, but he isn’t who you think he is.” At this point, Tao Ran’s tone abruptly changed. “You know, I wonder who was so shy about giving him presents that he had to do it anonymously. Who was it who worked so hard to get a gaming console from abroad, then told me to—”
“Fuck off,” Luo Wenzhou interrupted expressionlessly. “Shut up and go do your job!”