The temperature had dropped sharply, and everyone was wearing long sleeves and pants, Fang Zhenyue included.
As he left the police station with Jiayi, he lightly patted the back of her head. In the moment he raised his arm, the perfectly smooth sleeve of his shirt outlined the lines of his arm.
His muscles were at rest, yet they undulated like waves, making one imagine the scale of their anger when aroused.
“How was it? Did you have fun talking? Were those old folks cooperative?” Fang Zhenyue asked, his hands back in his pockets and eyebrows raised.
“Hehe, pretty cooperative, I guess.” Jiayi was modest, but her eyes sparkled with cunning light, as if to say: Ask me more, give me a chance to boast! Quick, quick, quick!
Fang Zhenyue, quick-witted as always, saw right through her and laughed, responding good-naturedly:
“Was our little Eleven particularly impressive?”
“Excep-tionally good~” Jiayi nodded vigorously, her eyes curving up and her apple cheeks pushing up her eyelids, “Wow, Brother Yue, you should have seen them, they were so attentive! They stared at me as if I were issuing imperial edicts. As if they were hearing the most precious words, eagerly listening!”
“Hahaha…” Fang Zhenyue laughed heartily, his large hand patting her shoulder twice in succession.
Encouraged by his laughter, Jiayi trotted to keep up, tiptoed close to his ear, and whispered:
“Superintendent Huang listened the most attentively, like a primary school student engrossed in a story.”
“Haha!” Fang Zhenyue turned with a laugh, catching sight of the young policewoman’s black and white eyes, wide and unblinking, as she stood close enough to whisper. Her face, clear and creamy, was tinged with an excited pink glow.
Reading from her eyes the childish intent to amuse him, his heart, hardened in anticipation of the crime scene, softened. His smile transitioned from hearty to gentle:
“Our little Eleven is indeed the best, making those good boys thoroughly relish Teacher Yi’s lessons. Let’s go and fight evil, uplift the good, and save the world.”
“Mm!” Jiayi nodded vigorously, her smile revealing several white teeth. Following Fang Zhenyue into the parking lot, she stepped into the police car, her smile fading as she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and sat next to Lin Wangjiu.
Just as the police car door was about to close, another person suddenly ran out of the police station: Liu Jiaming, a fellow detective from Team B, who had been so engrossed in the lesson that he took a long time to snap out of it and remember himself!
He grabbed the door, leapt in, and sat down breathlessly:
“Madam said she’ll have a meeting with Sir Huang first. After we return from the scene, she will come to the B team office for a case discussion.”
Fang Zhenyue acknowledged with a nod, the door closed, the siren sounded, and the police car, carrying detectives, forensic scientists, and medical examiners, roared off into the autumn wind towards the Cheung Sha Wan docks.
…
Last night there was a severe storm, and many fishing boats hurried to shore before the storm hit, neatly arranged in the harbor were numerous but not very large old fishing boats.
The anchors of these boats dropped down, pulling together a group of small boats tied by ropes. Their sails gathered, they swayed with the waves but always curled up securely in the harbor, preventing them from being swept away by the waves.
In this era of Hong Kong, every club pursues a five-star standard, and every residence or storefront chases after glitter and opulence. People’s aesthetic preferences almost invariably lean towards a ‘rich and opulent’ style, where neon lights flicker everywhere, and everything shimmers in gold and glows in red. However, when Jiayi stepped down from the police car and looked towards the dock ahead, she found this scenery untouched by ‘wealth’.
In the deep autumn, the deeper blue of the sea became even more profound as it stretched further out. Perhaps due to the overnight fierce wind and rain, the sea split into two colors: the area near the bay turned lighter and murkier, likely because many algae were pushed to the shore by the waves, which also stirred up mud and sediment.
The rows of shanties built over the water at Changsha Bay Wharf were neither golden nor silver nor red.
The overcast evening made them appear all the more aged and desolate, finally reminding one that this international metropolis was once just a small fishing village.
A police cordon was set up on a tidal flat only reachable on foot. Many fishermen, braving the sea wind, watched the excitement while smoking cigarettes. Jiayi ran towards them with her team, but after only a few steps, her feet were covered in mud and sand.
The sand here was mixed with bits of shells, tiny sea stars, and others, creating a unique crunching sound underfoot. Occasionally stepping on a larger object was rather painful.
The wind carried a fishy scent and a certain stench, making everyone approach while wearing masks and gloves.
The body was wrapped in a nylon bag and washed ashore by the waves, severely decomposed to the bone, clearly having been in the sea for a long time. There were no footprints to collect at the scene, and any fingerprints that might have been on the bag and bones were already destroyed.
“The bag was torn, probably after repeatedly colliding with the shanties, it was scratched open by a nail,” Chen Guangyao stood up and looked towards the distant shanties, where many nails were used to secure the wooden frames beneath them.
He went over and looked around, not finding any torn pieces of the nylon bag, but even if there were, they would be useless for the case, so he returned.
“There’s not much to investigate at the scene, the fishermen reported it immediately after finding it, and no one dared to approach until we arrived; no one has touched it,” Chen Guangyao sighed and turned to speak to the forensic officer, Xu Junhao.
“Mm,” Xu Junhao pulled the nylon rope, took a brief look inside, and then nodded to his subordinates to lift the body.
When the body was settled in the car, the detectives had already gathered statements from the nearby fishermen. Everyone had come in a hurry and left in a hurry.
“The killer must be someone with a car,” said Fang Zhenyue on the way back in the police car.
“Yes, to transport such a large bag to the harbor without being noticed would be difficult unless it was done in a car with the body in the trunk,” Fu frowned in agreement.
“If it were a local fisherman, they likely wouldn’t dispose of the body near their own home,” Lin Wangjiu also made a preliminary deduction.
“Yes,” Fang Zhenyue nodded, “Now we have too few clues; let’s go back and review the reports from the forensic science and medical examiner’s departments.”
“Mm, we will conduct some tests on the nylon bag and the contents inside,” Chen Guangyao nodded.
“…” Xu Junhao looked at the small coffin used for transporting the body in the police car. Even after leaving the beach, seawater was still seeping out of the nylon bag—all the details pointed to the difficulties in autopsy and testing.
Although the skeletonized body did not smell and did not require an in-depth autopsy, for the sake of solving the case, he would rather endure the stench and the horrific decomposition, as it usually meant more clues and information.
If bodies could speak, then a skeletonized body could only say but a few words.
…
In the quiet, stifling forensic room, only the voice of the forensic officer Xu Junhao occasionally broke the frozen silence:
“Approximately thirty years old, around 175 cm tall male. The skull, thorax, and other areas show no wounds; there’s a very slight sharp instrument mark on the anterior side of the neck bone, but it’s hard to determine its specific origin. If it wasn’t caused by friction with some sharp object when washing ashore, one could speculate that the killer used a sharp instrument to slit the victim’s throat, causing death… The cut had to be very deep, severing the trachea, esophagus, larynx, and thyroid cartilage to reach the spine.”
“No special skeletal injuries, very few elements that could indicate identity.”
“The victim’s physique was probably quite robust. Killing him, especially killing him face-to-face, would not have been easy…”
“Time of death is estimated between one to three months ago.”
“I will conduct a more in-depth examination, but Sir Fang should also refer more to the forensic department’s report about the victim’s watch and other items.”
Xu Junhao glanced at the detective guarding his autopsy room and sighed helplessly.
“It’s tough,” Fang Zhenyue nodded at him and then led the detective away.
The forensic department’s report would still take some time, so they had to return to the office.
Each person either sat or stood in their corner, and a rare silence prevailed. Under the oppressive atmosphere, no one spoke.
There were too few clues, and though they wanted to painstakingly search for the truth, they couldn’t even find the initial thread.
Jiayi also sat at her desk, staring silently at a piece of paper spread out in front of her.
But she wasn’t worried or anxious; she was digesting the mental flow induction she had experienced earlier and calming her emotions.
Sir Xu said the victim was physically strong, and it would not have been easy to kill him.
But if he was slightly intoxicated and lost in lust without any guard up, then it was a different story.
…
The woman straddling the victim was as disheveled as he was. At the height of passion, she reached to touch the victim’s short hair, but her hand accidentally pressed against the pillow.
When she pressed down with her palm, a knife handle emerged from the fluffy pillow.
Her movements suddenly slowed, and her face, flushed with red, appeared even more striking as her eyes showed a hint of bizarre madness.
She kept her palm on the knife handle for a while longer, then, as if waking from a deep dream, she opened her eyes wide in shock and violently pulled out the dagger from beneath the pillow, slashing fiercely at the victim’s neck.
The victim was deep in intoxication, reveling in a rare climax of life when the excruciating pain struck. His throat was slit, and his face still bore a smile.
The struggle came too late; the woman had already pulled over the pillowcase, covered the blade, and pressed down the dagger with force as if it were a guillotine.
Her wine-red hair shone even more vividly under the light, matching the fresh blood spurting from the victim, as if it too were flowing.
The pillowcase and bedding soaked up the blood, and it wasn’t long before the victim stopped moving.
For a long time after, the woman remained as still as a statue, maintaining her position atop the man, putting all her weight on the dagger.
Until her limbs numbed, and she felt the once warm torso beneath her cool down, she suddenly let go.
Not knowing how, her palm was also cut. She covered her wound, threw away the dagger, and collapsed onto the bed, stunned. After a few moments, she curled up, buried her face in the bedding, and burst into tears…
Reflecting on it again, Jiayi was still overwhelmed by the suddenness of the slaughter and the suffocating emotional outburst of the murderer, causing her to bow her head and breathe deeply.
After catching her breath, she faced the paper again. Unlike when she first acquired her abilities and was clueless, Jiayi was now beginning to ask herself questions internally, learning the logical approach to investigations from Sir Fang and the others, and guiding herself in the search for clues.
Who was that man? What were his features?
And who was the woman? What were her features?
What is their relationship?
They seem so close, why would there be a murder?
Was the knife placed under the pillow beforehand? Did the woman plan the murder in advance?
What are the characteristics of the room? Is there a window? Are there any landmarks outside the window that could help locate where the murder took place?
Soon, Jiayi’s attention falls on the watch worn by the victim, and the tall building outside the window where the crime occurred.
The man’s watch has been taken away by the forensic department. Following this item, some clues should be found.
The crime scene window overlooks Fule Building on Mong Kok Road. The room is located on the south side of Mong Kok Road, likely in the Fuan or Glory community.
In the mental imagery, Jiayi couldn’t see clearly outside the window and could only get rough location information.
And then…
Frowning, she tries hard to recall those images and sounds, her sweet face taking on the solemnity typical of detective Fang Zhenyue’s investigations.
Fang Zhenyue is pinching a map, checking near the beach where the body was found, when the phone suddenly rings. After answering, he only speaks two sentences before hanging up.
“Call from forensic science. They’ve sampled the stones and bag from the nylon bag, along with the seaweed and other materials on the body. Gary, you and chemist Diane go to the nearby beach and harbor to see if you can find the source of these materials.” If they can be located, that would likely be where the killer dumped the body.
“Yes, sir.” Gary immediately stands up. He’s been aimlessly anxious all morning, ready to burst, needing to find some clues and do something. He practically jumps up to run outside.
“Also, Gary, go to Sister Yin’s place to get a map. I’ve studied it, and the killer wouldn’t dump the body on the beach; it would have to be from a high point into a deep bay. So, look more at the nearby ports and docks. Even if there is security at the wholesale market at night, they won’t watch outside the market too closely; you can go there and look around. The south side is the marine police base; the killer definitely wouldn’t dare to go there at night. You can also check the more remote ports to the north and south. We suspect the killer has a vehicle, so the search area should be extended. Understand?”
“Understood, Brother Yue.” Gary’s expression is serious, and he nods before striding out of the office.
Fang Zhenyue then goes to the whiteboard, writes down the word “watch,” and turns to the others:
“The brand on the victim’s watch dial is in Simplified Chinese, which has been confirmed by forensic science. This type of watch is likely only sold in the mainland. Jiaming, go to madam and ask her to contact the mainland to assist in the investigation, to track down this watch and look into the missing persons who have come to Hong Kong in the last three months.”
“Yes.” Liu Jiaming also leaves the office.
“Eleven, contact the People’s Immigration Bureau, look up the list of people who have entered in the last six months but have no departure records returning to the mainland.” Fang Zhenyue names another task.
“Yes, Brother Yue,” Jiayi immediately picked up a pen and paper, ready to find the number and make the call.
“Uncle Jiu, you and Sanfu go take a walk along the coastline. Start from where the body was found and radiate south and north. Ask the local residents if they’ve seen anyone driving up in the past three months, carrying big bags around, or looking for large rocks—anyone suspicious.”
Fang Zhenyue dispatched the last two people, then turned back to face the whiteboard again.
After writing down a few characters, he closed his eyes, his brows furrowed as if his hair were knotted.
He needed to thoroughly explore every clue they could gather.
He had to think harder, not to miss any doubts: What else? What else…