After taking the case file from Chief Cheng's hand, when I came out of the room, the celebration banquet had already ended.
The police had all gone home, the waiters were there tidying up a table of bowls and chopsticks, only Wang Dali was sprawled on the seat humming and hawing, apparently he had drunk quite a lot.
I found a chair to sit down and started studying the case file carefully!
This was the first case Chief Cheng had mentioned, which happened in the nearby Wiqu County three months ago. In the family of four who died, the husband was a general manager working in a very large multinational company, 36 years old, a young talent. The other three were his wife and children, of which the daughter was only one year old. The family was originally harmonious with a loving couple, but for some unknown reason, they had a fierce quarrel on an evening three months ago.
During this time, a colleague called, and the man hung up after saying a few rude words, but did not actually hang up the phone. The colleague was frightened, because the man came from an intellectual family and was usually very cultivated, and would never say swear words like "damn it".
Through the phone, the colleague heard the couple curse each other with extremely vicious language, the 10-year-old son kept screaming and throwing things, the daughter kept crying, the scene was terribly frightening!
According to his later account, the family was as if possessed by evil spirits at that time, with completely changed personalities. He couldn't hear the end, because the phone was stomped and broken during the shoving between the couple.
Neighbors also heard the commotion coming from their home. An old man knocked on their door twice, no one answered the first time, soon after the second knock it became quiet again, so the old man thought nothing was wrong and left. In fact, the whole family was already dead by that time...
The deaths happened like this - the son grabbed his sister's legs and slammed her to death on the floor, the wife smashed the son to death with a wine bottle, then the husband stabbed his wife to death with a knife, stabbing her three times, all at fatal points.
Finally the husband knelt among the bodies of his family and cut his own throat with the same knife!
The whole scene was completely enclosed, no outsider could have broken in. All the blood stains, fingerprints, and hair found on site belonged to this family.
The family had hired a nanny who had made dinner and left earlier that evening. The police initially focused their suspicion on this nanny. But during interrogation, the nanny desperately claimed she was innocent. The forensic doctor did not find any suspicious drugs on the bodies of the deceased. The police finally used a lie detector test, which the nanny passed, proving that she indeed had no suspicion of committing the crime.
Although the case file was written very normally, reading this text still sent chills down my spine. This case was just too weird and bizarre!
Huang Xiaotao suddenly patted me. Only then did I notice that she had been sitting next to me and reading the case file together. I hadn't noticed her presence at all.
"What do you think, Song Yang? Are you confident?" Huang Xiaotao asked.
"Do you want to hear the truth?" I smiled wryly.
"Of course!" Huang Xiaotao said.
"I have no confidence at all, I can even say I'm more and more confused the more I read it." I replied.
"Then why did you readily agree to take it on?" Huang Xiaotao stared at me with her almond eyes and said.
I laughed, "Having confidence and being sure of success are two different things. This case file was written by the police based on their own investigation. I think if I could go to the murder scene in person, maybe I could find some clues."
Huang Xiaotao sighed, "But this time you're going to Wiqu County alone. I don't know if the police there will cooperate with you?"
"Who said I'm going alone? You're coming with me." I said.
"Come on, the special investigation order Chief Cheng gave only has your name on it. Wiqu County has its own public security system. Chief Sun is so stingy, he's always complaining that I eat two bowls of rice per meal. How could he agree to let me take time off for this?" Huang Xiaotao complained indignantly.
Just then, a burly figure suddenly appeared behind Huang Xiaotao: "Who's gossiping about me behind my back!"
Huang Xiaotao was so frightened that she fell off her chair. She quickly stood respectfully to the side and said, "Chief, Song Yang and I were just discussing the case."
"Alright, stop putting on this act. I know very well what you guys call me behind my back. Sit down!" Chief Sun said, then sat in Huang Xiaotao's chair. Huang Xiaotao didn't go to get another chair, but continued standing to the side.
Chief Sun patted me and said, "Nephew, are you confident you can crack this case?"
"I'm 80% sure." I said after thinking about it.
"Just do your best, don't worry about my face. I trust you Song family folks’ capabilities..." Chief Sun said.
I asked, "Uncle Sun, how is auntie now?"
"Good, I heard she gave birth to a big fat boy."
"You heard?"
Chief Sun guffawed loudly: "I got divorced long ago. Us cops are destined to be lonely bachelors. Your grandfather had more foresight, he absolutely refused to let you become a cop no matter what!"
Then he added, "Nephew, if you need any help cracking this case, just speak up. I can't promise you everything you ask for, but whatever I can do, I will definitely help you."
"I want to bring a few people with me to Wiqu County." I said.
"Sure, go ahead." Chief Sun nodded.
"Huang Xiaotao, Wang Yuanchao..." I glanced at Wang Dali who was sleeping like a dead pig, "And my classmate here Wang Dali."
Huang Xiaotao looked slightly surprised. Chief Sun readily agreed, "Okay! You guys go investigate this case, all expenses paid by the department."
"Also, I plan to leave tonight!" I said.
"No need to rush, right? We can send a car to take you guys there tomorrow morning." Chief Sun said, puzzled.
"Chief Cheng said a similar case occurred 3 days ago. For a murder case, 3 days is already a long time. Every second of delay means less hope, so I want to leave tonight." At this point, I had made up my mind.
Chief Sun laughed and patted me on the back, "You're really eager, just like your grandfather. One whiff of a murder case and he's more eager than anyone else!"
I was amazed, "Didn't you always complain to me about how hard it was to ask for my grandfather's help, even harder than asking the gods?"
"That was for ordinary cases. For those particularly bizarre, mysterious murder cases, he wouldn't wait a second. He could drag me along to race to the scene of the crime. You two generations are so alike, like grandfather like grandson, huh!" Having said that, Chief Sun laughed again, then said, "Xiaotao, go get Wang Yuanchao over here. Bring Song Yang and this young classmate of his, leave immediately. When you guys come back after cracking the case, I, Chief Sun, will personally welcome you back triumphantly!"
Huang Xiaotao bowed respectfully, "Yes, Chief!"
Chief Sun left first. Soon, Wang Yuanchao came over. I thought he hadn't been drinking, but his breath reeked of alcohol as soon as he opened his mouth. It seemed he had drunk even more than Wang Dali. This guy can really hold his liquor!
Huang Xiaotao briefly explained the situation and told Wang Yuanchao to take the dead drunk Wang Dali outside. The task of driving fell to Huang Xiaotao.
When we went to get the car from the parking lot, she asked me, "Why did you specifically name Wang Yuanchao? Wang Yuanchao is quite capable, but he's a bit eccentric with a bad temper. You probably don't know about the incident three years ago where he broke the leg of a paramilitary officer, right?"
"Holy crap, this old guy has that kind of shady history?" My eyes widened in shock.
"What did you think? A guy in his thirties being demoted to a lowly cop, he should have been promoted to an officer long ago based on seniority. You can imagine what a nasty temper he has. To be honest, I was a bit reluctant when he was first shoved into the criminal police team. Captain Lin said we have to find something for him to do, otherwise he'll just drink and play hooky every day, no one can control him, no one dares to either." Having said that, Huang Xiaotao sighed.
"Afraid he'll beat you up if you provoke him?" I asked.
Huang Xiaotao glared at me, "Piss off!"
Of course what I valued was Wang Yuanchao's capabilities and combat ability. Having the guts to leap across buildings and capture criminals, not everyone has that courage. I felt Wang Yuanchao was definitely a buried treasure.