After the case was closed, I naturally took a good two days off. That day, Wang Dali rushed excitedly back to the dormitory, holding up a newspaper and shouting, "Yang, look, we made it into the news!"
"Let me see!"
I took it and read it. The report was really laughable. The case was simplified into a university student who, frustrated over losing his chance at a graduate program, took revenge by murdering two classmates. Not a word was mentioned about the cursed piano, probably because the police thought that part was too bizarre and inexplicable to disclose to the media.
The report did mention Huang Xiaotao, and me too, though I was portrayed as a 'helpful student surnamed Song.' The rest was just slapped together nonsense, rambling on about how contemporary university students have weak psychological resilience, and what a huge blow it is for families to lose their children.
"What kind of rubbish is this?" I said.
"I know, right? They didn't even mention me once. How infuriating!" Wang Dali said indignantly. "Oh right, you must have over 100,000 followers on Weibo now, huh?"
"No, I deleted it. Who has the time to answer all those silly questions every day?" I replied.
"Damn, why didn't you take advantage of that prime opportunity to get famous? If you became an internet celebrity, I could ride your coattails. Wouldn't that be great?" Wang Dali sighed.
I didn't dare become any kind of celebrity. My ancestors lost their heads for standing out too much. Keeping a low profile is my motto in life.
Just then, Huang Xiaotao called and told me to go to the police station. When I asked if the reward money had arrived, she hemmed and hawed, then said, "Let's talk about the reward in a couple days. Here's the thing - Forensic Doctor Qin wants to sue you."
"What?" I almost cursed out loud. That old crook was too shameless. I hadn't even settled accounts with him yet, but he made the first move to sue me!
The nerve of him to bite back when he was useless at solving cases himself!
"What did I do? What's he accusing me of?" I asked.
"You'll understand when you get here. Please come quickly. He's making a scene in front of Lin Captain. If you don't come, the police cars will probably be rolling onto campus soon..." Huang Xiaotao said anxiously.
"Alright, I'll be right there!" I agreed.
Wang Dali asked what had happened. I told him, "I'm going to the police station. I'll be back soon."
"Can I come with you?" Wang Dali asked.
"No need."
I got dressed and went out the school gate, caught a taxi to the station. Huang Xiaotao was waiting at the door. Today she was wearing a police uniform, looking exceptionally heroic and valiant. She gave me a wry smile and said, "Song Yang, sorry to drag you into this mess."
"It's not your fault. Let's go see what that old crook is up to," I said.
We went to an office, and from inside we could hear Forensic Doctor Qin's loud voice. He sounded very agitated: "Captain Lin, if Huang Xiaotao hadn't secretly schemed with that kid, could I with my credentials have failed to solve such a simple case? It's preposterous. You need to discipline her severely!"
I thought, what kind of ridiculous logic is this? Experience doesn't equal ability.
"Alright, alright, Old Qin, don't get yourself worked up. I'll ask them clearly when they get here." Another voice placated. That was probably the Captain Lin that Huang Xiaotao mentioned.
Huang Xiaotao knocked on the door a few times. Captain Lin said "Come in." We entered, and Huang Xiaotao saluted and said, "Captain Lin, I've brought Song Yang."
Forensic Doctor Qin was holding a cigarette, sitting cross-legged on a sofa. Seeing me come in, he snorted heavily through his nostrils.
Captain Lin looked around forty-something, very sturdy, and resembled the actor You Yong somewhat. He looked me up and down and said, "You're Song Yang?"
"Yes I am," I nodded.
"Quite young. To crack a case like this in less than 24 hours, you must have police in your family?" Captain Lin asked.
"My family has been commoners for generations. I just have an interest in this. I read some books on it when I was little," I answered modestly.
"Heroes emerge from the young since ancient times. Impressive, impressive!" Captain Lin said approvingly.
Forensic Doctor Qin suddenly crushed his cigarette viciously into the ashtray and stood up cursing, "Captain Lin, how can you praise him like that? This brat was rude and disrespected corpses, obstructing our investigation at every turn."
Captain Lin smiled. "Old Qin, he only helped examine the bodies. That's not disrespecting corpses. Besides, who catches criminals without ruffling some feathers?"
"How can you compare them? He's not police, he's an outsider. Captain Lin, how can you take the side of an outsider?" Forensic Doctor Qin spat as he talked.
"I side with reason, not personal ties. I don't think this is anything worth suing over. Let's leave it at this," Captain Lin said with a wave of his hand.
"Wait! There's something I must say!" Forensic Doctor Qin suddenly looked at me ominously, "This brat is suspected of illegally obtaining and destroying evidence!"
I was stunned. Where did this come from?
Captain Lin's expression changed. Examining me, he asked, "Is this true?"
"Yes. There was a critical piece of evidence in this case that he took privately and still hasn't handed over, leading the task force down the wrong path and wasting huge amounts of effort." Forensic Doctor Qin said smugly.
"What critical evidence? Speak clearly!" I couldn't help but ask.
"The murderer had a flyer tucked in his book. His roommate said it was taken by you. Isn't that right?" Forensic Doctor Qin interrogated aggressively.
Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged surprised looks. So that was the "critical evidence" he spoke of?
After checking out the cosmetic surgery clinic, the flyer had been stuffed somewhere by Huang Xiaotao. But even without that flyer, we could have learned about that lead through other means. This Forensic Doctor Qin really was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Captain Lin said in puzzlement, "Is that flyer very important?"
"Extremely important. You could say it's the key to cracking this case. Otherwise, how could an outsider get ahead of our entire task force? Captain Lin, doesn't this strike you as suspicious?" Forensic Doctor Qin said, spraying spittle as he talked.
This old guy really knew how to shirk responsibility for his own incompetence. But with his superior present, I also shouldn't be too confrontational, so I said, "Forensic Doctor Qin, that flyer had nothing on it. Even if you didn't find it, you could have asked the murderer's roommate. How is that critical evidence?"
"You destroyed it, so how would I know what was written on it?" At this point, Forensic Doctor Qin was simply being unreasonable.
"What could possibly have been written on it? The murderer's diary of his killings?" I laughed.
"Who's to say for sure? Since you've done this kind of thing already, who knows if you're hiding other evidence too?" Forensic Doctor Qin said.
"Rest assured, the leads we had were fewer than yours, not more," I stated.
"That's just your one-sided claim!" Forensic Doctor Qin continued his aggressive interrogation.
I gave a cold laugh. "Are you saying that the two of us are better than your whole task force? If that's the case, it's no wonder you couldn't crack the case."
Forensic Doctor Qin's face turned red. After a long pause he spat out, "You...you're spewing blood from your mouth!"
I seized the opportunity to attack, "Forensic Doctor Qin, I'm respecting you as an elder, which is why I've been so polite. But with you repeatedly reneging like this, doesn't it reflect too poorly?"
Forensic Doctor Qin glared at me. "Boy, I was a forensic doctor before you were even born. How dare you argue with me!"
I gave cold laugh after laugh. "Yes, it seems like all these years as a forensic doctor have been wasted on you."
Forensic Doctor Qin was so angry his mustache bristled as he yelled, "You, you, you...say that again!"
Captain Lin appeased, "Alright, that's enough. I understand. That flyer wasn't anything important either. Old Qin, you're getting on in years, how can you not have more composure? Let's take a step back and make allowances for each other!"
"We'll see about that!" Forensic Doctor Qin snorted and turned to leave.
Just then, a phone call came in. Lin Captain picked up the phone, said a few simple words, and glanced at me, "Speak of the devil, he's right here. Talk to him yourself."
Then he handed me the phone, "Song Yang, it's for you!"
A thunderous voice came through from the other end, "Nephew, I just read the case report. This case was really cracked by you. You're trying to keep a low profile huh? Why didn't you give me a heads up? Are you afraid I'd shanghai you into working for me?"
It turned out to be Officer Sun. I laughed and said, "Uncle Sun, I got involved by accident."
Officer Sun guffawed loudly, "Listen to you trying to downplay this. You accidentally cracked such a big case. You've really got your grandfather's flair back in the day. When are you coming over? It's been three years right? We've got to drink and catch up properly."
Forensic Doctor Qin had been looking at me puzzledly all this while. I deliberately said, "Oh yes, I heard you're the Superintendent now. Congratulations!"
"Su...Superintendent Sun!" Forensic Doctor Qin was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.