On the fourth morning, based on a tip-off from an informant, Fang Zhenyue caught the thief who had stolen the wallet of the deceased, Liu Dahong.
The detectives from the Major Crimes Team B had been stuck for several days and, filled with frustration, they all set out to bring the thief back to the police station.
“I just stole some cash, Sir, why such a big fuss?” The thief grumbled as he was escorted into the iron cage.
The money in the wallet had already been spent, and the wallet was found in the trash bin at the thief’s residence. By the time it arrived at the forensic department, many fingerprints were already on it.
Upon comparison with the existing fingerprint database at the police station, in addition to the fingerprints of the deceased Liu Dahong, there were three other prints that matched the thief and two other petty thieves.
However, upon questioning, aside from the thief who stole the wallet from Liu Dahong’s pocket, the other two had only found the wallet at the thief’s residence and checked it to see if there were any bills left.
Inside the wallet was only a receipt from a convenience store, a card, and a document—no photos and no new clues.
Sanfu felt a tightness in his chest and let out a deep sigh, looking up at the ceiling to calm his emotions before thanking his colleagues in the forensic department and turning back to the Major Crimes Team B.
Just as he returned to the office of Team B, he saw detectives from Team A hurrying out of their office.
“What’s the matter, Sir You?” Sanfu turned and asked.
“There’s been a double homicide at Fuk Oi Estate, a couple died at home. The caller claims the community is haunted. Bad luck, we just closed a case and now a new task comes up,” You Zhaohua said with a wave of his hand, clearly displeased.
Hearing the word “haunted,” Jiayi leapt up from her seat, bracing herself against the doorframe and confirming with the retreating figure of You Zhaohua: “Is it really haunted?”
“It’s haunted! Why are you so excited?” You Zhaohua turned back and made a ghost face at Jiayi, teasing, “Do you want to join Team A? We have urban legend and supernatural cases for you, exciting enough?”
Jiayi’s eyes darted around, and she quickly waved her hands saying, “I’m fine in Team B, Sir You, I wish you success on the spot!”
“Thanks for the good luck, pretty lady,” You Zhaohua waved and strutted off around the corner of the hallway.
Jiayi turned back, leaning against the door with a smirk.
Great, Sir You is off to help their Team B handle things.
The massacre at Fuk Oi Estate must be in Unit A on the fourth floor of Building 6. Surely, there couldn’t be more than one massacre happening in Fuk Oi Estate.
It must be Old Sir who reported the incident, she thought about secretly sending him some tonics later.
Uncle Jiu, who was comparing data and lab reports, looked up and twisted his neck, catching Jiayi smirking sneakily.
Recalling how the young woman had excitedly reacted to the word “haunted,” he immediately thought too much.
He had always found Jiayi a bit eerie, and now, it seemed, was she really somehow connected to ghosts and spirits?
“Why the look of good news? Get back to work,” Uncle Jiu chided as he massaged his shoulders.
Jiayi chuckled, walked over, took the documents from Uncle Jiu’s hands and placed them on the desk, then went behind him and playfully punched his shoulders.
Uncle Jiu cried out in pain from Jiayi’s vigorous massages, telling her not to stop.
After Jiayi finished massaging until her arms were sore, Uncle Jiu immediately pulled out two hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, wrapped them in a newspaper, and handed them to Jiayi, saying, “Young lady, here’s a red envelope for you.”
“Haha, no need, Uncle Jiu,” replied Jiayi cheerfully, as she turned and walked back to her seat with a light step.
This time, she was no longer impatient or pained by the thought of Uncle Jiu and the others doing hard labor.
Now, even reading lab results, looking at reports, and checking on the progress of cases felt more manageable. She was able to concentrate better, figuring out how to prioritize leads and meticulously unravel new directions from the lab results and other clues.
A little while later, Uncle Jiu poured her a cup of warm black tea.
Jiayi immediately took a sip and blissfully squinted her eyes. The cold wind blew outside, but she could sit inside a warm house, drinking the freshly brewed black tea from Uncle Jiu, feeling very content.
“Uncle Jiu seems to be much better from his cold,” Jiayi mentioned with a ‘thank you’, showing concern for Uncle Jiu’s health.
“Old age, you know. You guys are all fine, it’s just me catching the chill. But luckily, this old body hasn’t broken down completely. A couple of doses of medicine and a good night’s sleep, and I’m mostly recovered,” Uncle Jiu said, patting his chest, then sitting back down to continue reading documents.
Turning her head to glance outside, the leaves on the crooked trees were almost all fallen. Even in a place as far south as Hong Kong, the leaves fall, and deep autumn brings a chill.
It’s a pity that it doesn’t snow in winter here; otherwise, this city would surely have even more interesting and unique stories to tell.
Watching a leaf being blown by the wind, fluttering and dancing in the air, Jiayi quietly made a wish:
Please, Sir You, come back soon, and help Team B crack the case quickly!
…
…
You Zhaohua and his team hurried to the crime scene at Fuk Oi Estate, Building 6.
Police tape surrounded the building, with a family annihilated in Apartment A on the 4th floor.
After receiving firsthand information from a uniformed officer, You Zhaohua headed straight for the elevator to go upstairs.
On the way, he saw the doorman being surrounded by seven or eight reporters, each holding a microphone, calling him “Uncle” and “Sir” with more affection than one’s own relatives, flattering him into a more animated and exaggerated recount of the reporting process.
You Zhaohua patted Tony on the shoulder, “Go get the old man back, find out exactly how he reported the incident. Jerry, you go with him, and also inquire about the victim’s family situation, social status, etc.”
“Yes, sir,” the two responded and immediately ran towards their assignment.
Approaching, they heard the doorman chatting away, his voice loud and confident like a young man’s.
“It’s really a ghost call! It’s Mrs. Fang from the family that was wiped out. She calls me every midnight at 12:00 AM asking for help, saying she’s almost rotting and feels terrible. She pleads with me to report it, asking me to request the police to seek justice for her. When I first received the call, I thought someone was playing a prank on me. But guess what, the next day at midnight, the same time, she called me again. As soon as I answered, she started crying faintly, crying so much that I felt chilled to the bone. She said she didn’t know who else to ask for help, so she had to rely on me, an elder she saw every day.”
“This morning, I went to knock on the door, but still, no one opened. It’s been several days now, but Mrs. Fang usually goes out to buy groceries every morning, and Mr. Fang usually goes out to look for work. But these past few days, they haven’t left the house at all, which seems very suspicious.”
“I immediately realized something was wrong and called the police right away. At first, the police didn’t believe me, saying I was getting senile.”
“Fortunately, later on, Grandma from Apartment B also came forward to testify, saying she saw a female ghost standing at the door, crying facing the door, with tears marks on the ground — so tragic.”
Tony approached, pushed aside the reporters, and brought the old butler inside the police cordon to solemnly and thoroughly record the entire reporting process.
It turned out that the old grandma from Apartment B also claimed to have seen the ghost. The military uniformed police who received the report still didn’t believe in ghosts, thinking it was just the couple living inside maybe taking a break back in their hometown because they couldn’t find jobs.
But the butler insisted adamantly that he hadn’t seen Mr. and Mrs. Fang leave, and emphasized that if they had left, they would have definitely said goodbye to him.
The military uniformed police, pressured by the butler and neighbors from Apartment B, fortunately, Apartment A and B’s balconies are connected. So, the police temporarily borrowed the balcony of Apartment B, held up a mirror toward the Fang’s home in Apartment A.
Later, in the mirror, they saw food attracting flies on a table in the small hall adjacent to the balcony, and a person faintly lying behind the table.
The military uniformed police then became alert, called back to their station to request permission, jumped into Apartment A, and immediately found two bodies. They then went around to the front door, opened it, and immediately sealed off the unit where the crime occurred.
After that, the major crime team A took over the case and arrived at the scene.
The only tricky part was, no matter how Tony interrogated the reporting butler about how he discovered that something had happened to Mr. and Mrs. Fang of Apartment A, even threatening him with ‘obstructing justice is a crime, punishable by up to 7 years in prison,’ the butler still stubbornly insisted it was Mrs. Fang’s ghost who had called him for help.
No matter how much they pressed, it was a ghost call!
No matter how they asked, it was always a ghost call!
No matter how many times they asked, in the end, it was always, ghost, call, indeed!!!
Tony, balding, exchanged a look with Jerry, both helpless, and finally asked the butler to sign the statement.
Turning around, the two then took the elevator upstairs to question another key figure involved in the reporting process, the grandma from Apartment 6B.
The grandma’s statement was largely consistent with that of the butler, and matched the description of the process after the arrival of the military uniformed police.
Only when asked why the grandma agreed to cooperate with the butler in reporting the incident and insisted on asking the military uniformed police to check on the safety of the Fang family in Apartment A did she exhibit the same ‘stubborn’ strangeness as the butler.
“It’s true, sir, why would I deceive the police!”
“Also, I was living peacefully in my house, and suddenly someone died next door, and there are ghosts. What good does that do me? I have no reason to lie to you.”
“I really saw Mrs. Fang’s ghost, standing at the door, constantly staring at her own front door, just like a lonely wandering spirit, dying unjustly, unable to return home. Later, I asked my husband to come and see, but Mrs. Fang’s ghost had disappeared, only leaving many tears at the doorstep. They wet the floor at the entrance, drop by drop, really big drops, it was so pitiful.”
“I just hope that you can solve the case soon, to avenge Mr. and Mrs. Fang, and catch the murderer. Otherwise, Mrs. Fang will always feel aggrieved. Her coming here to weep, nobody can stand it. Right, sir?”
“…” Tony.
“…” Jerry.
Looking at the two new testimonies they had received, the two detectives thought about Sir You’s temper and couldn’t help but swallow nervously, their heads tightening.
How are they supposed to show these to Sir You…