Chapter 6

First thing next morning, Luo Wenzhou went back to the City Bureau to have a chat with Director Zhang, then headed over to the Flower Market District Sub-Bureau with Tao Ran. They had just parked their car when Lang Qiao, who had arrived earlier, came out to meet them.

Lang Qiao passed over two cups of coffee and quietly said, "Where have you been? They've arrested Ma Xiaowei. They identified him as a major suspect and stuffed him into a police car and brought him back here first thing this morning, with the online media following the car the whole way. They've just been dispersed."

Hearing this, Tao Ran was instantly alarmed. "What!"

Luo Wenzhou put a hand on his shoulder. "Was it according to procedure?"

Lang Qiao sighed and said almost inaudibly, "Captain Luo, with that Wang Hongliang keeping watch, that kind of slip is impossible."

"What's the evidence?" asked Luo Wenzhou heavily.

"The cell phone," said Lang Qiao quickly. "It's particularly fishy. The deceased He Zhongyi's phone was found on his roommate Ma Xiaowei—the official word is that the person in charge of the case at the sub-bureau received a report last night, saying Ma Xiaowei had been seen with a new phone that looked like the one the victim He Zhongyi had lost. The sub-bureau quickly dispatched people to summon Ma Xiaowei for questioning. They found the phone, and turned up both Ma Xiaowei and the victim's fingerprints on it."

Luo Wenzhou frowned.

Tao Ran got right to the heart of the matter. "Who reported it? How could the informer tell it was He Zhongyi's phone that Ma Xiaowei had?"

"Apparently the phone was a just released new model, and a very expensive brand. Very few people have them here. It seems that a relative gave it to He Zhongyi. Everyone saw when he first got it. It made a strong impression."

"Who reported it and why isn't important. Even if Wang Hongliang and his people went charging in and forcibly searched the place, they can always produce a trumped-up informer after the fact." Luo Wenzhou waved a hand. "The crux of the matter is the phone. Having the victim's phone doesn't mean that Ma Xiaowei is the murderer. It's not very compelling as evidence goes.—Did Ma Xiaowei also say something he shouldn't have? Did someone use force to extract a confession from him?"

"You've guessed it." Lang Qiao glanced around like a thief and only went on when she saw no one was around. "I don't think it went as far as using force. The whelp wanted to go to work early, so he lied about his age. I had someone look into it last night. His ID had been altered. He just turned sixteen. I figure he'll say anything if he's frightened. They asked him where the phone came from, he stalled for a while and then said he picked it up."

"He picked it up at the scene of the crime." Luo Wenzhou shook his head. "Did they also ask when he picked it up? Did he also say it was around a quarter past nine, when he heard the sound of arguing downstairs and went to investigate?"

Lang Qiao spread her hands.

At the time pointed out by the other witnesses' circumstantial evidence, he said he'd gone to the crime scene and "picked up" the phone.

Who was the murderer?

I didn't see.

Words failed Luo Wenzhou. He stroked his chin heavily. "I haven't seen such a candid 'murderer' in years."

Before Lang Qiao could respond, Wang Hongliang boisterously came over to them. "I went to a district safety and security assembly yesterday, so I was absent for a bit. I just got back and heard my subordinates say the suspect had already been caught? The City Bureau's young leaders are so dedicated to their work. Get a load of that efficiency!"

Luo Wenzhou's somewhat gloomy expression warmed forcibly. He gave Wang Hongliang an unassailable smile. "Wang-dage (13), you're pretending to be polite. In your heart I'm sure you're thinking we're snatching the credit away from you."

Wang Hongliang grinned hugely, his two big front teeth protruding toweringly from between his lips. "It's all in the service of the people. Where does credit come into it?"

These pompous words had just come out of his mouth when Lang Qiao butted in. "Director Wang, I think the chain of evidence still isn't complete? The murder weapon hasn't been found, and Ma Xiaowei hasn't confessed. There are still a lot of suspicious aspects here. Do you suppose there's any follow-up work you need our help with?"

Lang Qiao was a genuine article "big-eyed lamp"; she had undergone the personal appraisal of City Bureau's forensic expert Ceng Guangling—according to him, her eyes were even bigger than those of "Xiao Yanzi"(14) in the television drama. To guard against developing wrinkles around them, Lang Qiao didn't smile rashly. When special occasions called for a smile, she usually stiffened her eyes and only moved her mouth. Over time, she had developed a skillful false smile. While she was essentially a fool, this smile made her look lofty and elegant.

Ordinarily, when interrogating criminals, she could multitask, playing the strict parent and other such evil characters without any affectation.

Lang Qiao had used the word "help," but her tone of voice was so powerful she seemed to be telling someone off. At the same time, her flesh-crawlingly large eyes were fixed coldly on Wang Hongliang, utterly routing Director Wang's "in the service of the people" big front teeth and sending them back into his mouth like a turtle retreating into its shell.

With an altered expression, Wang Hongliang said, "Xiao Lang, what do you mean?"

"Hey, Xiao Qiao'r, how can you be so awkward?" Luo Wenzhou moved Lang Qiao behind him, chiding her, then looked loftily down upon Wang Hongliang. He offered a false friendly smile. "Director Wang, we didn't help at all before. If there's any use for us in the follow-up, go ahead and instruct us."

Wang Hongliang was full of misgivings but couldn't afford to openly quarrel with him, so he pretended not to understand any of this. He groaned, then turned and walked away.

Lang Qiao put her hands on her waist and shot a look at Wang Hongliang's retreating figure. "I've heard the reports on him would fill up a shoebox. How can he still be so cocky?"

Luo Wenzhou put a cigarette in his mouth and shot her a look. "Aren't you afraid that if we don't manage to get him dismissed this time, he'll make things uncomfortable for you in the future?"

"Ha!" Lang Qiao rolled her eyes. "Big deal. I'll quit and get by on my looks."

"A young woman shouldn't be so shameless." The smile on Luo Wenzhou's face crumbled away. He went on, "This Ma Xiaowei may be the murderer, or he may just be stupid. I personally incline towards the latter, because if I'd killed someone, I'd definitely have thought of a plausible story. Even if I just said I was 'at home watching TV and didn't hear anything,' it would still be better than telling ghost stories to the police. Up to now, the crime scene hasn't turned up a single trace of the murderer. This person is bold but cautious, cool and ruthless. He's clearly taken precautions against being discovered. I don't believe he can be this mentally deficient."

"I also think it isn't him." In a few words, Tao Ran repeated what Fei Du had said in the car the night before. "So it seems we should still be looking into He Zhongyi's personal relationships. For example, who actually gave him that phone? Perhaps we can ask the person who lent him the shoes."

Luo Wenzhou listened and gave a "wow," then hesitantly said, "You're saying his shoes were borrowed? That notion is kind of…"

"It isn't my notion."

First Luo Wenzhou froze. Then, as if his and Tao Ran's hearts were beating in unison, he instantly understood the implication behind his words. His brow swiftly creased. "Fei Du? I told you it's best not to get him involved in these things."

"I know. Yesterday was an accident." Tao Ran briefly cut this topic short and asked, "What do you think of that line of thought?"

"Pretty good. We'll try looking into those shoes," Luo Wenzhou pronounced. "Tao Ran, continue following up on the case. Lang Qiao, keep an eye on the team questioning Ma Xiaowei. There's still a lot of suspicious points about him. I think he knows something else. Besides that, take some precautions against Wang Hongliang and company's little maneuvers. I'll go oversee Fatty Wang for you. If you need anything, call me any time.—Let's go, beautiful people. Today we're working overtime without overtime pay."

Lang Qiao had accumulated a mountain of curiosity in her heart. When Luo Wenzhou had gone, she trotted after Tao Ran. "Deputy Tao, just who was that guy yesterday? Why did Chief Luo say not to let him touch the case?"

"Of course it's not right for him to touch it," said Tao Ran. "He isn't a cop."

Lang Qiao didn't let him off. "Then why did the chief agree so quickly after hearing it was his idea? Is he Detective Conan?"

Tao Ran sighed and turned to look at her. Lang Qiao forced her already very potent eyes open even wider and flashed her gaze at him.

"Blinking gives you wrinkles," said Tao Ran.

Lang Qiao quickly used her fingers to prop up the corners of her eyes and her forehead.

Tao Ran paused, then simply said, "In a case Wenzhou and I once handled, Fei Du was…the one who reported it. This was seven years ago."

Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran had just graduated then. They were callow youths, unsteady in their work. Especially Luo Wenzhou. He was the child of a government official and had been very arrogant when he was young, insubordinate and displeased with everything. He thought he was overflowing with talent, Number One in the world—Number Two being an English fellow named Sherlock Holmes.

He didn't think he was going to work every day, he thought he was going out to save the galaxy. His handling of affairs was highly unreliable. When he was just starting out on low-level field assignments, if he was sent out to reconcile a community dispute, he could easily reconcile it into a battle.

That afternoon, there was a band of robbers roaming around who needed to be caught. All over, police reacted. The City Bureau, every sub-bureau, and even the local police stations sent people over. Only the youthful Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran, who had been judged by their elders as likely to do more harm than good, were left on duty.

"110 (15) got in contact and said a child had called in a case in their jurisdiction. He'd gone home from school for the weekend and found his mother's corpse at home. That child was Fei Du. He was in middle school then (16)."

Lang Qiao froze.

"Later, the investigation showed that his mother had killed herself. Wenzhou went to tell him in person, but he didn't believe it… Since then they haven't quite gotten along." While he spoke, Tao Ran had already reached the sub-bureau's gate. "You must have been able to tell that his family is fairly well-off. His father was a standard businessman, away for work all the time. When his wife died, it was several days before he came back. Fei Du wasn't very sociable when he was little. He went through several housekeepers, and none of them stayed. He was usually alone in that big house where his mother died. That was the first proper case that had passed through our hands. It had a special significance. We couldn't let it go. I felt bad whenever I thought of that child having no one to mind him, so during the New Year and other holidays I would take him in for a few days. He had a fair amount of contact with us during that period. As time went on, we found out the child had a special talent."

"For what?" said Lang Qiao.

Tao Ran paused, then quietly said, "Crime."

Lang Qiao immediately noticed that the word he'd used had been "crime," and not "deduction" or "investigation" or something. But before she could question him further, Tao Ran had already brought the conversation to a halt. He waved at her and hurriedly walked away.

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Author's Note:

(13) Dage (大哥) literally means eldest brother and is used as a friendly term of address for older males.

(14) Character from the 90s drama "My Fair Princess," played by actress Vicki Zhao, who does indeed have dramatically large eyes.

(15) China's emergency services number for the police.

(16) For reference, in China, middle school refers to grades 7 through 12, divided into junior middle school (7-9) and senior middle school (10-12).