Meng Zhao took the stairs up to the second floor and headed toward the criminal investigation office.
Police officers hurried back and forth, and on the bench in the corridor sat a middle-aged man about forty or fifty years old. He was slightly hunched, staring blankly at the white wall opposite him.
"Go back and organize the case materials. We'll review the clues together at the meeting later," Meng Zhao said quietly to Cheng Yun.
Cheng Yun accepted the task and returned to the office. Meng Zhao approached the man. "Are you… Zhou Yan's father?"
The man came back to his senses, first looking up at Meng Zhao, then quickly standing. "Yes, I am… And you are?"
"I'm Meng Zhao, the detective in charge of this case." Meng Zhao shook his hand.
"Officer Meng," the man asked eagerly upon learning his identity, "Have you found the killer?"
"We're still investigating. If we have results, someone will notify you immediately."
"Please, I'm counting on you. Zhou Yan was such an unfortunate child," the man sighed. "His father passed away early. A few years ago, his mother took him to live with me, but good days didn't last long. She also fell ill and passed away."
"Before she passed, Mom asked me to take good care of Zhou Yan. This kid's personality and character were impeccable; how could something like this happen…" he said, sighing heavily.
"The incident has already happened; please accept my condolences," Meng Zhao said, noticing the deep sorrow on the man's face. He felt a bit heavy-hearted but quickly gathered himself and cut to the chase. "Could you please help recall if Zhou Yan had any conflicts with others recently? Or did you notice anything unusual about him?"
The man shook his head. "It's been a while since I last saw Zhou Yan. The last time I saw him, he seemed quite happy. He said he had moved into a bigger place. I guess it's partly my fault; my daughter recently had a baby, and I've been busy helping her take care of the child, so I haven't been in much contact with him…"
"You have a daughter yourself?" Meng Zhao seized the point. "The siblings grew up together, so I assume they had a good relationship?"
"Yes, they got along well. When she heard about Zhou Yan's accident, she insisted on coming here but was persuaded by her in-laws to stay put since she's still in postpartum confinement and can't be exposed to wind."
Meng Zhao nodded. "Alright, please think carefully and see if you can recall any clues. We'll need to take a formal statement from you later. I have another meeting to attend…"
Before he finished, the man hurriedly said, "You focus on your work; the case is more important…" He reached out and grasped Meng Zhao's arm. "Officer Meng, please make sure you catch the killer."
"We definitely will," Meng Zhao assured him.
*
Ten minutes later, in the city bureau's conference room, Meng Zhao listened to others report on the case while organizing the materials in his hands. "How's Li Jin's side? Has the victim's family agreed to the autopsy?"
Li Jin nodded. "They agreed and just completed the procedures. Based on the rigor mortis, the preliminary estimate is that the victim died between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. last night, but the exact time will be narrowed down after the autopsy. From the fibers found on the strangulation marks, the murder weapon was likely this type of nylon binding rope," Li Jin displayed a common binding rope image on the screen and continued, "The victim struggled violently; fibers from the killer's clothing were found under the victim's nails, but no DNA was detected."
Meng Zhao nodded and then played a short video clip on the screen — a livestream of Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan looked in good spirits, chatting with fans: "Two million followers special… What do you want? Besides singing, I don't really do anything else… Cross-dressing to sing? Really? Forget it, that would be so cringe… You really want to see that? I have to think about it seriously…"
Meng Zhao paused the video and put down the laser pointer on the table. "Cheng Yun, based on the reports just now, please summarize the case."
Cheng Yun cleared her throat and said, "The video Officer Meng just played is from Zhou Yan's livestream about two weeks ago. At that time, Zhou Yan's Weibo followers were about to reach two million, so he was asking fans what kind of special they wanted."
"According to Zhou Yan's friends, he originally prepared an original song to give back to his fans, but the fans all said they wanted to see him cross-dress. Although Zhou Yan was reluctant, he considered making that segment a little surprise for the livestream."
"A week before the incident, Zhou Yan went to Yancheng to attend an online music awards ceremony. He stayed there for a week. Two days before leaving, he ordered a red dress, a pair of high heels, a wig, and a set of makeup online. The delivery arrived three days later. Zhou Yan wasn't home then, so the courier left the packages in the water meter box outside the door."
"So the dress Zhou Yan was wearing when he died, the high heels, and the makeup on his face — eyeshadow and lipstick — were all items he ordered online himself. These items haven't been found in nearby trash bins yet."
"On the night of the incident, Zhou Yan got off the high-speed train at 7:10 p.m. and arranged to meet friends at a restaurant near the crime scene. He drank a little alcohol, not enough to get drunk but staggered a bit. According to his friends, Zhou Yan refused to drink much because he had something to do after dinner, so he didn't dare drink too much. But no one at the table knew what he was up to or if he really had something. Since he was a bit tipsy, Zhou Yan left early, saying he wanted to walk around to sober up."
…
After the meeting, Meng Zhao went to Zhou Qiyang to request surveillance footage near the crime scene. Although the camera's position and quality were poor, it could still serve as a reference.
"Brother Zhao, this case is tough, right?" Zhou Qiyang leaned back in his chair. "There are so many clues, and they're all over the place. It's giving me a headache."
"Yeah," Meng Zhao dragged the video progress bar. "I'm getting a headache too."
"Do you think Zhou Yan was killed because he livestreamed too late every day and disturbed the neighbors? This kind of thing has happened before. If you run into someone with a bit of an antisocial personality, even a tiny annoyance could lead to murder. Also, in the same building, stealing a package is easy, right?"
"Then why do you think the killer put makeup on the corpse?" Meng Zhao stared at the footage and asked.
"To mess with the fans' minds. Letting you listen to him sing every day, look at this — it's all because of you that he died. Brother Zhao, do you think what I said makes sense?"
"I think…" Meng Zhao stopped mid-sentence and paused the surveillance footage.
He zoomed in on the person appearing on the screen — Lu Shichen was at the crime scene that night?
"What's wrong?" Zhou Qiyang noticed Meng Zhao's expression and looked at the footage. "Is there something suspicious about this person?"
"9:17 p.m…" Meng Zhao glanced at the time displayed in the lower right corner of the footage and pressed play again.
The video continued. Lu Shichen walked through the arched entrance in front of the old building and disappeared from the camera's view. Meng Zhao rewound the footage; eleven minutes later, Lu Shichen reappeared, walking out from inside the archway.
"Eleven minutes…" Zhou Qiyang muttered beside him. "Strangling someone, then dragging the body to a hidden spot — if the killer was an experienced professional, it could be done. But didn't we analyze from the strangulation marks that the killer was an amateur? That's a bit contradictory…"
"Download this clip and send it to me," Meng Zhao said.
At that moment, Ren Bin appeared at the door and tapped twice. "Officer Meng, Zhou Yan's phone was found in a trash bin near Huating Street."
Meng Zhao stood up and took the phone from Ren Bin. He tried to unlock Zhou Yan's iPad password on the phone's screen through the evidence bag — it unlocked.
He opened the call log, which showed that between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the 13th, the phone received a call from an unknown number lasting nine seconds.
"Check this call record," Meng Zhao tapped the number with his fingertip and said to Ren Bin.
Ren Bin nodded and noted down the number.
At 3 p.m., the forensic and evidence departments released their results.
Li Jin narrowed Zhou Yan's time of death to within half an hour before or after 9:30 p.m. on the 13th, meaning the death likely occurred between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.
The evidence department concluded that the hair found on the victim matched the DNA of the dog hair later handed over, with a 99.99% similarity — confirming that the dog hair on Zhou Yan belonged to Lu Shichen's dog.
Meng Zhao sat in the evidence department's office, looking at Sun Youting's computer screen, frowning slightly.
Even without any knowledge of DNA molecular structures, he could tell the two images were extremely similar.
"Where did this dog hair come from later?" Sun Youting came up behind Meng Zhao and handed him the test results.
"From the dog of the resident living downstairs from Zhou Yan," Meng Zhao said.
"Wow, what a coincidence! Hurry and check that person's alibi for that night. If none, we can apply for an arrest warrant and get Director Xu a promotion and raise."
Meng Zhao frowned even more, remaining noncommittal.
Back in his office with the evidence results, Meng Zhao called a few people over to investigate what Zhou Yan's roommate Qin Xiaobai and housekeeper Zhao Yunhua were doing between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the night of the incident.
"We need solid proof. If there's surveillance, bring back the footage," Meng Zhao glanced at his phone's time. "You have at most an hour and a half. Go quickly."
As soon as he finished speaking, the assigned people responded and quickly left the office.
Meng Zhao began scrolling through Zhou Yan's phone, checking messages and WeChat. Zhou Yan mostly chatted with friends, sharing his experiences attending the awards ceremony recently, with no valuable clues.
A few minutes later, Ren Bin returned with the call information.
Meng Zhao took the slip with the caller's information. When he saw the name "Lu Shichen," his expression grew serious.
Lu Shichen, again Lu Shichen. If all this were coincidence, then these coincidences were happening far too often.
Moreover, during the conversation with Lu Shichen this morning, Lu Shichen showed no sign of any connection with Zhou Yan.
"The call content is very strange. Although it was connected, Zhou Yan didn't say anything on his end," Ren Bin began playing the call recording. The noise was loud, sounding like fabric rubbing, with no human voice besides that. "The call was ended by the other side," Ren Bin added.
"Take the call recording for a voice analysis," Meng Zhao said, "see if any other sounds can be detected. Also, check on Zhou Yan's stepfather's situation, see if his daughter and son-in-law have any alibis during the time of the incident."
After Ren Bin left, Meng Zhao took the call record and sat at his computer, entering the name "Lu Shichen" into the internal system.
The system quickly retrieved Lu Shichen's profile page. The data showed that Lu Shichen completed both his bachelor's and master's degrees at Harvard University. Before returning to China, he worked at the New York headquarters of a multinational financial institution. He returned to China five months ago and is now working as an external consultant for a large domestic financial institution.
No wonder he has so much free time to indulge in daytime debauchery, Meng Zhao thought.
No wonder when he politely said, "You're doing well abroad," Lu Shichen showed no hint of modesty. Indeed, he was doing quite well…
However, with Lu Shichen's intelligence, if he really wanted to kill someone, he would probably do it more covertly, right?
But then again, it's hard to say… Meng Zhao realized he was making some preconceived assumptions and quickly stopped himself.
"Cheng Yun." He raised his voice and called her over.
Cheng Yun was scrolling through Zhou Yan's social media, trying to find useful clues. Hearing Meng Zhao call her, she stood up and walked over to his desk. "Brother Zhao, what do you need?"
She was sharp-eyed and immediately noticed the photo of Lu Shichen on Meng Zhao's computer screen, letting out a curse: "Damn, who's this? So handsome!"
Meng Zhao glanced at her.
Cheng Yun covered her mouth and quickly added, "Almost comparable to you, Brother Zhao."
Her eyes scanned downward, and another curse followed: "Damn, his resume is also so impressive!"
Meng Zhao tapped his fingers twice on the desk. "Alright, hurry up and summon this guy."
"Huh?"
"What 'huh'? Go now."
Cheng Yun took the order, noted down Lu Shichen's number from the profile page, and went to call him.
Meng Zhao closed Lu Shichen's profile page and stared thoughtfully at the forensic results in his hand. Would a single dog hair as evidence be too ambiguous? From the surveillance this morning, Lu Shichen did pass near the crime scene while walking his dog, but unlike the passersby, he didn't stop to watch.
This behavior fits Lu Shichen's personality. Meng Zhao remembered a high school midterm exam when the questions were difficult, and a girl in the class had a depressive episode and suddenly wanted to jump off the building. The whole class stopped writing, shocked, looking back, but Lu Shichen never looked up and handed in his paper early to leave the classroom.
Describing Lu Shichen's personality as "not liking to join the crowd" is an understatement; more accurately, he is extremely indifferent.
How exactly did that dog hair get on Zhou Yan's trouser leg? Suppose Lu Shichen's dog was shedding, and the hair was blown by the wind onto Zhou Yan—could that chance exist? Meng Zhao thought this was a bit absurd; it was too coincidental…
Regardless, he needed to summon Lu Shichen first and ask why he was at that old residential area near the crime scene that night.
"Brother Zhao, I called him. He said he'll be here in half an hour," Cheng Yun said, putting down the phone.
"Mm," Meng Zhao responded.
"His voice is pretty nice too," Cheng Yun leaned in to gossip. "Brother Zhao, I just saw he seems to have gone to the same high school as you. Don't you know him?"
"I do. Same class," Meng Zhao didn't try to avoid it. "But not close. It won't affect the investigation."
"Wow, what a coincidence…" Cheng Yun sighed, then asked, "Why summon him?"
"Because he…" Meng Zhao paused, "is a suspect."
Cheng Yun's lips parted slightly, surprised.
"When he arrives, you and Zhou Qiyang will focus on asking why he went to that residential area that night. For other questions, organize them yourself based on the information."
"Me? Ask?" Cheng Yun was nervous. "But I've never done this before."
"Then this is your practice," Meng Zhao gave her no chance to refuse.
Lu Shichen was a suspect, and the suspicion was somewhat strange, making it a good opportunity for a rookie like Cheng Yun to get some experience.
Since Meng Zhao became deputy captain, he had been responsible for mentoring interns, which was one reason Director Xu liked him. Although Meng Zhao had a bad temper, he genuinely helped interns improve their investigative and stress-handling abilities quickly.
Lu Shichen was punctual; half an hour later, he drove to the city bureau.
He arrived in a Porsche Panamera, wearing a thin black long coat. As soon as he got out, he attracted several glances.
The bureau wasn't short of rich second-generation heirs, but few were so high-profile.
Cheng Yun sat by the window, worrying about the upcoming interrogation. Tilting her head, she spotted a tall, handsome guy downstairs. Judging by the time and aura, it must be Lu Shichen.
Lu Shichen was walking toward the bureau building. Cheng Yun stood up perceptively and pointed outside to Meng Zhao. "Brother Zhao, Lu Shichen is here. I'll take him to the interrogation room first."
A few minutes later, Meng Zhao caught a glimpse of Lu Shichen's coat corner passing by the door.
Meng Zhao sat for a while longer before standing up. He was actually quite annoyed dealing with Lu Shichen. Lu Shichen seemed wrapped in a paper-thin, fake shell.
Meng Zhao took the case files and went to the surveillance room next to the interrogation room. He put on headphones and observed the inside through the two-way mirror.
The interrogation hadn't started yet. Cheng Yun was talking with Zhou Qiyang about something.
Lu Shichen turned his face toward the two-way mirror, looking in Meng Zhao's direction—though from inside the interrogation room, he shouldn't be able to see the surveillance room. Yet Meng Zhao inexplicably felt Lu Shichen could see him. He had the illusion they were making eye contact.
This feeling was strange, so he stared at Lu Shichen.
Suddenly, Lu Shichen slightly parted his lips and mouthed two words. Meng Zhao understood: "Stray dog."
Lu Shichen had angered him like this back in high school.
With a loud slap, Meng Zhao slammed the files on the desk. The staff member recording the video was startled and looked at him nervously.
Meng Zhao took off his headphones and threw them on the desk, then pushed open the door next door. "Xiao Zhou, come out. Let me ask this one."
