I ran over to take a look. It turned out there was a five-story building across the street, with a gap of three meters between the two buildings. Baiye and Wang Yuanchao had actually leapt over with great agility!
At this moment, the two of them were maneuvering around the rooftop structures, chasing after each other like a game of cat and mouse.
A gap of three meters - if it were on flat ground I might be able to sprint across, but placed dozens of meters in the air, falling would mean getting smashed to pieces. This made my legs tremble a bit.
I definitely didn't dare to jump, so I took out my phone and called Huang Xiaotao: "Baiye escaped to the residential building across the street, Wang Yuanchao is also over there. Hurry up and close the net."
"Got it!" Huang Xiaotao answered swiftly.
I glanced at the director writhing on the ground holding his broken leg, and said, "Right, send a policeman over here. There's another injured accomplice here."
After hanging up, I walked over to the director. Hearing my footsteps, his first words were: "Was Xiaoye caught?"
I squatted down and said, "Soon, you father and son have reached the end of the road..."
He suddenly became agitated, grabbing my clothes tightly: "Please spare Xiaoye, those women were killed by me, all by me!"
The director was clutching me tightly. I broke out in a cold sweat, worried that he might have a dagger hidden in his sleeve, which would spell my demise. Just then Wang Dali ran over, holding up an ultraviolet flashlight to shine in the director's eyes: "Old man, let go of him, are you trying to assault a policeman?"
Blinded by the light, the director loosened his grip.
I instinctively distanced myself from him, and asked: "Why did you assist Baiye in killing those two innocent prostitutes?"
The director said: "A father will go to any means to fulfill his son's requests. After all, I never truly fulfilled my duties as a father."
"You are a religious man. Aren't you afraid of going to hell for doing this?" I scolded, exasperated.
The director said: "Moses commanded us in the Law to stone such prostitutes to death. Do you think I will go to hell?"
I was stunned for a moment. Wang Dali asked me: "What's this old guy talking about?"
I realized he was reciting verses from the Bible to refute me. Having read the Bible his whole life, he certainly knew it by heart. But I hadn't read it, only some Bible stories.
Still, I didn't think a religion that guided people to kindness would encourage killing prostitutes. He must be desperately trying to justify himself.
I said: "Mary Magdalene in the Bible was also a prostitute. She washed Jesus' feet with her repentant tears. After Jesus was crucified he immediately saved her. If your Lord looked down on them, why would he have saved Magdalene? True Christians are virtuous and great, not murderers like you."
The director stared at me wide-eyed, rendered speechless.
Just then, gunshots rang through the night sky from the opposite building. The director's body shook violently as he struggled to get up in a panic: "What's happened to my son, what have you done to my son?"
Wang Dali went to take a look, and came back saying: "Officer Wang caught him."
"He's alive?" The director urgently asked.
"Yes!" Wang Dali nodded.
The director finally let go of his mental burden with a long exhale as he lay back down.
After a while, an officer came to take the director away. Wang Dali said to me: "Song Yang, you're really something. Where did you get that example from earlier? Left the old guy dumbstruck."
"It was from the Bible! Mary Magdalene was a prostitute who showed Jesus kindness, so Jesus saved her." The latter part I had seen in the movie The Da Vinci Code.
"How do you know so much?" Wang Dali said admiringly.
"You play fewer games and read more books," I replied.
I suddenly remembered something and chased after the director as he was being helped down the stairs, limping badly: "Oh right, why did you smear eel blood at the crime scene to attract bats?"
The director looked utterly worn out now, as if he had aged ten years. In low spirits, he said: "I thought if I did that, you would assume a vampire was the culprit, and not investigate further..."
I was speechless for a moment. He had read the Bible his whole life, thinking ordinary people also believed its myths. But police were all atheists - be it vampire or devil, they would investigate to the end.
Before long we went downstairs. Huang Xiaotao patted my shoulder excitedly and said: "Song Yang, you've made another major contribution!"
"No no, this was all Officer Wang's doing," I humbly said.
Wang Yuanchao was leaning against a police car smoking. The wound on his forehead had scabbed over, his leather jacket was very dirty. I went to thank him, then asked: "Officer Wang, how did you know there was a building across the street?"
"I didn't know," he replied plainly.
I was stunned. He had taken such a gamble! If the criminal had jumped to his death instead, wouldn't his sacrifice have been in vain?
But then again, if Wang Yuanchao hadn't decisively leapt across at that moment, Baiye would certainly have escaped. I secretly marveled to myself - this Wang Yuanchao really is a daring fellow!
Huang Xiaotao said: "The case is closed now, leave the follow-up to the tech team! Let's take the suspects back for interrogation. I'll have Wang Yuanchao take you back to school."
"No need. Officer Wang worked so hard tonight, I don't want to trouble him further. I'll take a cab back with Dali," I declined with a wave.
"Be careful on the way then."
For several days after the case closed, Wang Dali scoured the news every day, but there were no media reports about the vampire case. Perhaps the police felt it was too bizarre and kept it classified. That day, Huang Xiaotao called us over, saying there would be a celebration dinner tonight and we must attend.
Wang Dali would never turn down a dinner invitation. We took a cab to a restaurant and were led to a large private room filled with members of the task force. As we entered, everyone burst into applause.
The high energy in the room embarrassed me. I nodded and smiled at everyone, then found a seat with Wang Dali.
As soon as we sat down, Xiao Zhou came over with a glass, already slightly drunk. His usual refined demeanor was gone; with a thick tongue he said: "Bro Song, the culprit wasn't a vampire after all, just an ordinary person. I was fixated on the wrong angle. Without you we definitely couldn't have cracked this case. I have nothing else to say except one heartfelt line - in my life I concede to no one, except you. Here, let me toast you!"
I declined: "Officer Zhou, you're too kind. I don't drink alcohol."
"No problem, drink a soft drink."
He grabbed a bottle and filled a cup to the brim with orange juice, clinking it against his own. Other officers also came to toast me in succession, but were warded off by Huang Xiaotao: "Go on, do the toasting later! I have something to say to Song Yang!"
The officers heckled her, turning Huang Xiaotao beet red as she stamped her foot and yelled: "I have proper things to say to him!"
"The chief has proper things to say to Song Yang," one tipsy officer mimicked in a shrill voice, inciting more teasing. Everyone was very relaxed tonight, recklessly cracking jokes without their usual police demeanor.
"You, you, you..." Huang Xiaotao turned red to her ears in anger: "I'll dock your bonus!"
Huang Xiaotao sat down beside me, still fuming: "Damned tactless idiots!"
She wore a white blouse tonight with ultra-short denim shorts, showcasing her fiery figure in the snug fabric. Her fair and shapely legs were completely exposed, and the low neckline revealed a tantalizing glimpse of snowy décolletage, with a busty bosom straining for release. Although Huang Xiaotao had a model's figure, she lacked their frail daintiness, with faintly visible toned muscles on her arms and abdomen, and especially sturdy thighs - exuding a healthy beauty unlike ordinary girls. I flushed seeing her and quickly lowered my head to sip my drink.
"Big sis Xiaotao, you look so gorgeous tonight!" Wang Dali said lasciviously.
"Haha, just wearing whatever, can't help it if I'm good looking," Huang Xiaotao said with a smug laugh.
She patted me and said, "Song Yang, yesterday Baiye confessed everything, it's almost exactly as you guessed, there's just one thing you didn't expect..."