Insights Chapter 22:  Investigation

Chapter 22:  Investigation

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The watermelon was almost finished, and Shen Junci returned to the topic of work. He had checked the work group in the morning, “Will the family come to identify the body later?”

“Yes, around one o’clock. Actually, the identity is almost confirmed; it’s mainly a formality,” Gu Yanchen paused and added, “Also, observe the family’s reactions.”

Gu Yanchen had encountered many families – some grieving, others silently mourning. If there were hidden truths in the case, the police could often detect them from the family’s attitudes. Their emotions could reveal concealed truths that even the best acting couldn’t hide.

As the time approached, Qi Yi’an stayed to continue writing the autopsy report, while Shen Junci and Gu Yanchen went downstairs to wait for the family to identify the body.

Shen Junci looked into the courtyard, pointing at a figure, “Is that her?”

Gu Yanchen looked in the direction he pointed and saw a woman in black approaching. She was carrying a black umbrella and walking through the yard. Her hair was neatly styled, and every strand seemed meticulous. The woman wore a long black dress resembling what a nun might wear, enveloping her skin. Strangely, despite the hot weather, she seemed almost unaffected by sweat.

Approaching, Gu Yanchen noticed some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, indicating good maintenance. Especially her figure, even a twenty-year-old girl would find it rare. He said, “Are you Tang Lu?”

The woman nodded, “A police officer said I should come to the medical examiner’s office to confirm the corpse…”

Shen Junci led her inside, with Gu Yanchen observing her expression. Tang Lu walked straight, closing her black umbrella as she followed them without showing any emotion. In the morgue on the ground floor, Shen Junci had her register. Tang Lu carefully wrote her name and ID number. Then Shen Junci walked to the cold storage, opening the cabinet. A blast of cold air emerged from the cabinet. First visible were a pair of withered feet.

“Wait a moment.” Tang Lu suddenly called out, biting her lip. Her gaze fell on the birthmark on the corpse’s foot.

Shen Junci stopped; the mortuary compartment revealed only up to the woman’s thighs.

Tang Lu’s body began to tremble. She covered her mouth, trembling as she said, “It’s my daughter.”

Shen Junci asked, “Do you need further confirmation?”

“No need. It’s my daughter. I recognize her…” Tang Lu restrained herself, “She has a birthmark on her foot.”

Shen Junci gently closed the cabinet.

Gu Yanchen stood aside, watching. Tang Lu started crying, and Shen Junci asked her to sit down, bringing her tissues. After a while, Tang Lu raised her head and asked Shen Junci, “How did she end up like this?”

Shen Junci told the truth, “She has been dead for more than a year, and the preservation of the corpse is quite good.”

After crying for a while, Tang Lu stopped, then asked again, “Can I ask, how did you discover her?”

Before Shen Junci could answer, Gu Yanchen spoke, “The police received a report.” He turned to Tang Lu, “Can you tell me what happened the day she left home?”

Tang Lu covered her forehead with one hand, “That day… we had a big argument. She packed a suitcase and left.”

Gu Yanchen asked, “Why did you argue?”

Tang Lu wiped away tears, “My daughter’s rebellious phase came a bit late. Since she became an adult, we constantly argued. That time, it was mainly because of her boyfriend… After my husband passed away, I raised two daughters alone. I never expected that my daughter would choose such a man…”

“We are also looking for her boyfriend. Do you know his name?”

Tang Lu shook her head, “I only know that he graduated from high school, has no house or car, and an unstable job. He worked at a hair salon for a while, then got fired, and later seemed to have found a job at a car wash. He has been detained for fighting, but I don’t know why my daughter chose such an unskilled, unstable man.”

Gu Yanchen added, “We just called and informed Xu Ziyue.”

Tang Lu said, “She has classes in the afternoon, and she’s still a young girl. She said she wanted to come together, but I didn’t let her. Just watching her father die is enough. Now, letting her see her sister like this…”

She didn’t finish her words, but everyone understood the meaning. Watching her sister, who had grown up with her since childhood, die and turn into a mummy was too cruel.

Gu Yanchen continued to ask her, “Who do you think might have killed Xu Yapei?”

Tang Lu twisted the tissue in her hand, “I don’t know, maybe she encountered a bad person… maybe it’s her boyfriend. I always thought he was suspicious. I advised them to break up, but Yapei didn’t listen to me…”

After she wiped away her tears, Gu Yanchen asked her again, “You mentioned that Xu Yapei ran away from home, so you didn’t investigate your daughter’s whereabouts. Is there any evidence to support your statement?”

Tang Lu hesitated, lifted her head, “Evidence? It’s been so long, how can I prove it?”

Gu Yanchen said, “Your daughter has been missing for a year. Even if you knew that she and her boyfriend went out, you didn’t look for her during this year, nor did you report it to the police. I still find this situation somewhat unbelievable.”

These two questions were asked with a slightly harsh tone, without much consideration for Tang Lu’s feelings. It was a kind of probing.

“I called her, but her phone was always turned off,” Tang Lu lowered her head. “I thought she changed her number. I always believed that she would yield, that she couldn’t live on her own for long and would come back to beg me. I held my breath, unwilling to lower my head first. But I didn’t expect that she would just disappear like this, with no news, and end up dead outside…” At this point, the woman took a deep breath, stabilized her emotions, and raised her head again. “Do you need me to sign anything else?”

Shen Junci said, “To verify the results, I need to extract your DNA for comparison.” 

The City Bureau was strict, and to prevent mistaken identity, they needed conclusive results. He had brought the DNA test kit and took a sample from Tang Lu’s buccal mucosa. Then Shen Junci took out a consent form, and Tang Lu signed her name at the end.

With the procedures completed, Tang Lu asked, “Officer, what do I need to do next? How can I retrieve my daughter’s belongings and the corpse?”

Gu Yanchen replied, “After our investigation is complete, we will notify you to claim them.”

Tang Lu said, “I hope you can find the murderer of my daughter as soon as possible.”

After Tang Lu left the mortuary, disappearing again under her umbrella, Gu Yanchen turned to Shen Junci and asked, “Did you notice anything?”

Shen Junci compared the two signatures Tang Lu had made—one before the identification and the other after claiming the corpse. The two signatures were almost identical, neat, and graceful.

Shen Junci whispered, “Her emotions are too stable.”

As a single mother witnessing her dependent relative turn into a mummy, her reaction was too rational. Although she shed tears and trembled, she quickly regained her composure. Even when crying with a tissue in hand, her back remained straight, always paying attention to her posture.

Gu Yanchen said, “She asked how we found her, not where we found Xu Yapei, and she didn’t inquire about the detailed cause of death.”

These questions were slightly harsh, and he didn’t consider Tang Lu’s feelings too much, but it was a way of testing.

“She’s too intentionally calm,” Shen Junci said.

Having dealt with some relatives, he knew that in the face of a great shock, sometimes rationality could turn into a hardened shell, wrapping around oneself. People often pretended in front of the police, not wanting to show weakness. But in the quiet night, thinking of their deceased loved ones, their true emotions would surface.

Shen Junci continued, muttering to himself, “But if she is the murderer, a rational and dignified mother, why would she kill her own daughter? Just because her daughter was rebellious and had a boyfriend she didn’t like?”

This seemed illogical.

Gu Yanchen said, “I want to check Tang Lu’s home and meet Xu Yapei’s sister.”

Shen Junci asked, “Will Deputy Director Dong approve?” Then he expressed some concern, “We don’t have enough evidence now…”

Searches and arrests meant treating the other person as a suspect, and each step required approval from superiors. Even if the prosecutor approved it, detaining someone without further evidence for more than 12 hours was not ideal for the investigation.

Gu Yanchen said, “We have to try.”

After handling Tang Lu’s affairs, Gu Yanchen returned to the Special Criminal Division.

Gu Yanchen knew that summoning Tang Lu was against the rules, and his move had a hidden purpose. Submitting the application served as a disclaimer. If it turned out that Tang Lu was the murderer and the arrest wasn’t made in time, the blame would fall on the leadership’s misjudgment, not the Special Criminal Division.

Confirming Xu Yapei’s identity, finding her former boyfriend wasn’t difficult. The detective team obtained information from Xu Yapei’s social media accounts, quickly identifying several accounts that were likely her boyfriend’s and eventually locating a person named Gao Xuan.

Bai Meng started calling Gao Xuan. The first call went like, “Hello, is this Gao Xuan?”

Using her usual tone when talking to colleagues, her voice sounded a bit rough. The person on the other end hung up.

Bai Meng stared at the hung-up phone for a few seconds, then picked up the phone again after a minute. This time, she used a gentle and soft female voice, “Hello, is this Gao Xuan?”

The other person’s attitude immediately became more polite, “Yes, speaking. What’s the matter?”

Bai Meng continued, “This is the Penang City Bureau. Do you know a woman named Xu Yapei?”

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, “What’s going on?”

Bai Meng said, “The police recently discovered that she…”

Before she could finish, Gao Xuan interrupted, “I don’t know anything about her.”

With a snap, the phone was hung up again. The charm offensive didn’t work. Bai Meng cursed under her breath, “Damn.”

She turned to Gu Yanchen, “Captain Gu, didn’t Deputy Director Dong fill out the form? Can’t we forcibly summon the family?”

Gu Yanchen shook his head, “Lu Ying, let’s go.”

.

Bai Meng quickly located Gao Xuan’s workplace, a medium-sized car repair shop in the southern part of the city, where Gao Xuan worked as a car washer. To be sure, she also checked Gao Xuan’s phone location and confirmed that he was there. Gu Yanchen, accompanied by Lu Ying, drove to the shop and finally arrived at Gao Xuan’s workplace around 5 PM.

Outside the repair shop, Lu Ying rolled down the car window, and Gu Yanchen caught a whiff of the smell of motor oil. Some workers were washing cars, and fine water droplets floated through the air.

Driving straight through, someone approached enthusiastically, asking, “Car wash or repair? If it’s a car wash, you might have to wait in line.”

Gu Yanchen immediately spotted the tall figure among the crowd wearing a mechanic’s uniform. Lu Ying leaned out of the window and called, “Gao Xuan!”

Gao Xuan wasn’t foolish. He immediately connected with the recent phone call, threw away the water hose, and rushed out. Gu Yanchen showed no mercy, opened the car door, and chased after him. Gao Xuan hadn’t run a few meters when Gu Yanchen elbowed him, knocking him down, and then pinned him against the wall.

The move was clean and efficient, leaving Gao Xuan, who was almost six feet tall, powerless to resist. The other workers, caught off guard, were dumbfounded, wondering which bigshot Gao Xuan had offended.

Gao Xuan started pleading, “Easy, Officer… I really didn’t do anything wrong.”

Lu Ying, standing nearby, said, “If you didn’t do anything wrong, why run?”

Gao Xuan replied, “It was just a reflex…”

Gu Yanchen pulled him up, “We’re from the Penang City Bureau, looking to understand your situation and ask some questions. Once we’re done, you can go.”

He was increasingly convinced that Gao Xuan was not the person they were looking for. If Gao Xuan had really killed Xu Yapei, he would have probably fled upon receiving the police’s call. He wouldn’t be waiting for them here. After securing Gao Xuan, Lu Ying went back to lock the car.

Gu Yanchen waved his police badge at the employees, “Police investigation, official business. We’re here to talk to Gao Xuan and ask some questions.”

A person who seemed to be in charge waved his hand, “Ask away; feel free.”

The employees dared not approach and stayed at a distance, working while watching, and whispering to each other. There were some tables and chairs near the repair shop for customers waiting for their cars to be washed. Gu Yanchen walked to the side, pulled out a chair, indicating for Gao Xuan to sit down. Lu Ying took out a recording pen to document the conversation.

With two police officers in front of him, Gao Xuan lost the arrogance he had when hanging up the police call. Sitting in the chair, rubbing his pants nervously, he began, “I’m not with Xu Yapei anymore; we broke up a long time ago. I really don’t know about her situation. Besides, that thing was quite heartbreaking, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Lu Ying said, “We’re here to inquire about the death of Xu Yapei.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Xuan widened his eyes, “Dead? You said Xu Yapei is dead?!”

Gu Yanchen observed his shocked expression.

After a moment, Gao Xuan asked, “When did it happen?”

Compared to Tang Lu earlier, the man in front of him seemed even more surprised and his reaction more reasonable. Gu Yanchen didn’t conceal any information about the case, saying, “Yesterday, we received a report and found the corpse of her in the northern part of the city.”

“How did she die?”

“The police suspect it’s a murder.”

“I always thought she was angry and blocked me…” Gao Xuan said, taking out his phone and opening the chat log with Xu Yapei, showing a series of humble greetings but no replies. Saying this, Gao Xuan’s eyes became red, “I called her many times, but her phone was always off.” 

Gu Yanchen glanced at the phone and told him, “She might have died last summer. We asked Xu Yapei’s mother, and she said she last saw Xu Yapei when she was about to elope with you. They had a quarrel, and you might be the last person to see Xu Yapei.”

Gao Xuan’s expression twisted, “Don’t listen to that woman’s nonsense. Xu Yapei never intended to elope with me. I haven’t seen her around last summer, and what she’s saying is probably to frame me or cover up some truth.” He paused and added, “Everyone in her family has some issues.”