The Untouched Crime

by Zijin Chen

  “Let me put it this way. Who do you think would want to kill both you and Xu Tianding?”

  “Shit . . .” Zhang Bing walked Zhao through a few recent arguments. Zhao knew that there was almost no chance that one of the thug’s rivals would be a serial murderer, but he didn’t want to say that. An office assistant patiently wrote down all the details just in case.

  Soon, Zhao and Lin had finished with their questions and sent Zhang Bing on his way.

  “Lin, that piece of paper will probably turn out to be a cruel practical joke. But if the results suggest that the murderer placed it there, then I’m making you responsible for Zhang Bing and his family.”

  “No problem,” Lin said. “I think the paper was meant for Zhang Bing. His parents were relocated to Hangzhou after their building was demolished. Their main income comes from renting out their properties. According to reports, the father likes to gamble but otherwise he doesn’t get into trouble. The killer targeted Xu Tianding, who was a childhood friend of Zhang Bing, so it makes sense that Zhang Bing is the next target. But it’s better to play it safe. We’ll give them twenty-four-hour police protection; I’ll organize the shifts.”

  “Good,” Zhao said, satisfied. “We can’t afford to make any mistakes, especially when the killer has openly made a threat. We need to be on alert. And that piece of paper was discovered at three o’clock; do you think we can find anything on the neighborhood surveillance cameras?”

  “I’m not sure. There are two or three in the area, but they’re all in the parking lot. I’m not sure if that will be of any help.”

  “Then we’ll have to ask the neighbors. Try and see if anyone saw something.”

  Lin’s phone rang. When he hung up he sighed loudly and turned to Zhao. “I had strong suspicions that the last person to see Xu Tianding, a young woman named Zhu Huiru, was somehow connected to his death. I had someone following Zhu Huiru and her brother. The brother was in the restaurant, she was buying a cell phone, and her friend Guo Yu was at work. None of them could have put the paper in that door handle. Looks like I was barking up the wrong tree.”

  Zhao had never paid much attention to the Zhu siblings or Guo Yu. All three of them had alibis, and their fingerprints did not match the ones found on the scene. Considering their backgrounds and their means, especially the fact that there were tens of thousands of yuan at the crime scene, Zhao thought it was impossible that any of them were the killer.

  “That’s alright,” Zhao said, patting Lin’s shoulder. “I’ll let you handle things here. I’m going to the Hangzhou Evidence Lab to see what they can tell us.”

  Chapter 39

  After work, Professor Yan parked his car in Luo’s neighborhood. He pulled out a bag and stood by his car, watching his surroundings. Before long he spotted a man with a cross-body bag.

  They both smiled as Yan approached. He gave Luo Wen a strong handshake. “Luo! It’s been ages!”

  “Too long. How have you been?” Luo asked.

  “Can’t complain! I’m teaching at Zhejiang University. It’s a lot less stressful. How about yourself? I heard you’re in business. I bet you’ve got a nice, healthy bank account now?”

  “Not bad.” Luo smiled. “I just wanted a calmer life.”

  “Well, you still look like the same old Luo.”

  “Really? Why do you say that?”

  Yan pointed at his bag. “The first time we met you were wearing a bag just like that one. When I asked you about it, you said it was a habit from working in the bureau. It was handy for carrying tools. So you haven’t changed one iota.”

  “Huh, I never noticed.” Luo laughed. “I guess I must really be set in my ways.”

  “It’s a good thing you took to that mutt; otherwise I wouldn’t know you were here. When I resigned five years ago, I wanted to call, but you were still a forensic scientist. I didn’t want to have any connections with the police after the incident, you know. I didn’t know that you resigned too.”

  “But how did you find out that the police interviewed me?”

  “You know Zhao Tiemin? He invited me out and happened to mention you.”

  “I’ve heard of him. When I was still a forensic scientist in Ningbo, I think he was . . . the captain of the Hangzhou Criminal Investigation Division?”

  “That’s right. He’s still there now. He was directing the investigation of a murder in west Hangzhou and noticed someone named Luo Wen. When he checked the details, he realized it was you. That’s how I found you.” Yan smiled.

  Luo inwardly felt the need to be more alert, but it didn’t seem like Yan was testing him. He relaxed.

  “So you’re helping them investigate the case?” Luo asked.

  “Who, me? Goodness no! I don’t want any part of it. Besides, even if I wanted to help, do you think the police would even allow it after what happened?”

  “About that . . .” Luo lowered his voice. “I still don’t think you handled it the right way.”

  “I know,” Yan said, nodding. “I always knew you would disapprove. But I don’t regret what I did. Anyway, we shouldn’t dwell on the past. Let’s go up to your place so you can drop off your things.”

  “What things?”

  Yan opened a plastic bag so Luo could see inside. “I wanted to bring you something. But you don’t smoke and you don’t drink—even I enjoy a glass or two at home in the evening. Then I remembered that you just got a dog. I brought him some treats.”

  “Oh . . .” Luo blushed and looked down. “But I don’t have anything for you.”

  “Don’t be silly. I happened to drive past a pet shop and I thought of you, that’s all.”

  “Alright. We can go to my place, but I don’t normally entertain, so I’ll have to take you out to eat.”

  “Wow, you have an apartment in this neighborhood? That can’t be cheap.”

  “I got it for a pretty good price. Now the prices are thirty to forty percent higher; I don’t know exactly. A lot of agencies call me asking if I want to sell. It’s a pain.”

  “Did you pay for it all at once?” Yan smiled.

  He nodded humbly. He didn’t like showing off his wealth.

  When they entered Luo’s apartment, Yan stopped in his tracks, his mouth hanging open. “This is your apartment?” The property was worth at least two hundred thousand yuan. Yan estimated it was at least one thousand square feet. Yet it was poorly furnished. Internet cables were crossing the floor, and the little mutt was filthy. The dog followed them as they walked. Luo looked embarrassed. “I know it’s not very fancy.”

  “Not fancy?” Yan laughed. “I call this not even trying.”

  Luo scratched his head. “I’m not very good at things like decorating, but I live by myself, so I can keep it simple.”

  Yan sighed. Luo was a brilliant forensic scientist, but he was the kind of person who put all his energy into his work and didn’t really pay attention to the quality of his life.

  Yan noticed the family photo on his wall. He frowned. “Still haven’t found them yet?”

  Luo answered in a low voice, turning his back. “It’s been eight years. I’m starting to think . . . I might never find them.”

  The silence in the room was oppressive. Yan coughed and took out a dog bone. He threw it to the dog, who picked it up and trotted to a corner so he could chew on it in peace.

  “Look at him go! He must have strong teeth,” Yan said.

  “You really think of everything,” Luo said, a smile returning to his face. “I never thought to buy him some treats.”

  “How should I put this?” Yan paused, looking at the family photo again. “It’s been a long time now. Have you, uh, thought about remarrying?”

  “I like my life just the way it is,” Luo said, laughing.

  “Well, there are certainly a few catches at the university.”

  Luo cut him off. “You don’t need to be my matchmaker, Yan. I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I don’t need your help.”

  “You’r
e not going to live the rest of your life all alone, are you?” Yan said, frowning.

  “Why not? I enjoy the freedom.”

  “Stop fooling yourself.” Yan shook his head. “You were always more passionate about forensics than me. I think you resigned so you could start over in a new place.”

  Luo smiled but said nothing.

  “You’ve got yourself a dog to fill that hole in your heart. But you need to find another person to share your life with.”

  “No,” Luo sighed. “That’s not why I got the dog. My daughter had a dog just like this one here. When I saw this poor little puppy, I let my emotions get the better of me and decided to take him home.”

  They were silent again.

  Luo cleared his throat. “It’s almost dinner; how about we get something to eat? My treat.”

  They left Luo’s neighborhood and talked for over three hours at a nice local restaurant about anything but work. Luo realized that he hadn’t been this happy in a very long time.

  They walked back to Luo’s place after dinner. Just as they were about to part, Yan said, “Zhejiang University is just around the corner. We should meet up more often. Are you very busy these days?”

  “No, I’m almost never in the office,” Luo said. “We should definitely do this again.”

  “That’s surprising. What is this new job anyway?”

  “You know that I have a bunch of patents, including some on micromeasurement. I lend them to the company, but they don’t require much work on my part. As for the titles, the company thought it would be convenient to give them to me so I could sign off on any new projects they might have.”

  “That sounds really nice,” Yan said, nodding. “Teaching at the school is not quite so liberating—they control what course materials I use and so on.”

  They finally reached the entrance to Luo’s neighborhood. “Thank you again for the dog treats.”

  “Don’t be so polite, Luo!” Yan said, chuckling. “You paid for dinner, remember?”

  “I know you enjoy a glass of wine in the evenings, but I don’t have a taste for it. I just remembered that a client gave me a bottle of Château Lafite. I’m not sure if it’s real, but perhaps you can test its authenticity.” Luo laughed. “It’s in my car; I’ll get it for you.”

  “Oh, a Lafite! That’s very generous of you,” Yan said.

  Yan followed Luo to the parking lot, and they stopped in front of an Audi Q7. The car automatically unlocked upon recognizing Luo’s key in his pocket. As Luo carefully took the wine out of the trunk, he turned to see Yan speechless.

  “So is it a real Lafite?” Luo asked.

  “I think so, but I can’t really tell myself.” Yan turned the bottle in his hands as if it were his baby. When he was finished admiring the bottle, he looked up. “I thought you couldn’t drive. Did you finally take lessons?”

  “Yep. When I was still in Ningbo, I didn’t have the time. But when I resigned I didn’t have that excuse anymore,” Luo explained.

  “I see. Is it a company car?”

  “No, it’s mine.”

  “That probably cost you over a million. When did you get it?”

  “Um . . . almost three years ago now. Just after I moved to Hangzhou.”

  “Look at you, buying such an expensive car. I’ll trade you my car for your car any day,” Yan said teasingly.

  “Don’t say that,” Luo said, laughing. “You’re a teacher. If your students saw this car, they would be less interested in cultivating their minds. I can have a nice car because I’m not working as a professor or a police officer.”

  “Looks like you’ve changed, Luo. You never showed off your wealth in the past. But now you’ve got a flashy car . . . Was it hard to get used to it?”

  Luo’s smile was strained. “Actually I still don’t like driving. I often take public transportation to work because it’s more convenient.”

  Yan’s expression changed ever so slightly as he considered Luo’s comment. “If you don’t drive this car to work, then what did you buy it for?”

  “You know, when I go out, or go window shopping. It’s, uh . . . kind of nice,” Luo answered calmly, not noticing the wrinkle between Yan’s eyebrows.

  “It’s for the status, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Luo flashed a genuine smile.

  “So do you go shopping alone or—”

  Luo gave him a look that shut him up. “I don’t have friends in Hangzhou. I go out by myself.”

  Yan laughed it off and nodded, but he felt very sad for his friend. He said a quick good-bye and walked to his car with slow, thoughtful steps.

  Chapter 40

  It was nine o’clock, but Zhao was still in his office working.

  “We got the results from the threatening note,” Chen said, handing Zhao the report as he spoke. “The paper, ink, and printer are all consistent with the ones the killer used in the previous murders. The paper was well preserved because it was found indoors soon after it was placed there. We used an identification device imported from the United States to detect faint fingerprints on the paper.” He looked at Zhao for his reaction.

  “Based on the fingerprints, we can eliminate Zhang Bing and his father as suspects,” he continued. “These match the fingerprints in the previous murder cases. We were hoping to test some sweat from the paper, but the sample was insufficient.”

  Zhao propped his head on his hand. “Our killer is getting bolder. He has killed two people in just a few days. Now he’s left a note announcing who he plans to kill next. Or is this some kind of stunt to mislead us?”

  “Why would he try to mislead us when we know so little about him in the first place?” Chen said, pursing his lips.

  “Good point,” Zhao said. “That would be taking an unnecessary risk. I guess he does intend to kill Zhang Bing.”

  “It’s very likely,” Chen said.

  “We have men from the West Hangzhou Bureau watching Zhang Bing and his family around the clock. The family understands the gravity of the situation, and they are willing to cooperate. In theory, we will catch the killer if he tries to attack. But I have no idea what he will do next.”

  “What about poison?”

  “Poison?”

  “What if the killer managed to put something toxic in their food?”

  “We have had cases like that before,” Zhao said, nodding. “I’m glad you thought of it. I’ll remind the guards to keep a lookout tomorrow morning.”

  “The report on the murder of Xu Tianding is very thorough, but I didn’t find any more leads that I would want to investigate.”

  “All we have are those fingerprints,” Zhao said after a long pause. “We can keep screening locals to see if we can find a match. Two people have died, and Zhang has received a credible threat. We have to do something! We’ll gather some officers and make sure to record every single fingerprint in the neighborhoods closest to the crime.”

  Zhao’s phone rang. It was Professor Yan. “I need to talk to you about the case.”

  Zhao was surprised, but he wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to speak to Yan. “Come on over. I’m in my office right now.”

  Yan arrived shortly after Chen had left. As soon as the door was closed, he sat down and leaned forward. “I want to help you with the case.”

  “But . . . last time . . .” Zhao said hesitantly.

  “We’ve been friends for many years,” Yan explained. “I just had dinner with Luo Wen and he inspired me to offer you some useful advice. If you want to hear it, of course.”

  “Alright,” Zhao said, smiling. “There’s just one thing.” He paused. “We need to keep this hush-hush. You’re not a police officer anymore, and I’m afraid if you were openly involved in the case . . .”

  “I know; I have a criminal record,” Yan said frankly.

  Zhao coughed in case anyone was listening at the door. “That’s not what I meant. Please don’t get me wrong.”

  “Fine. Whatever you w
ant to call it.”

  Zhao looked Yan up and down. “What happened? You met up with Luo Wen, and now you’re a completely different person?”

  Yan shrugged. “We, uh, just talked about a lot of previous cases and it rekindled my interest.”

  “Right.” Zhao nodded. “So what do you need?

  “I want a copy of the entire investigation, please,” Yan answered.

  “That will take you days to read.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I have time.”

  “I’ll have someone make copies tomorrow morning and deliver it to you myself.” Zhao smiled.

  Yan nodded. “Oh, by the way, did you say that all the victims were ex-convicts?”

  “Except for the last,” Zhao said. “He was just a thug. He was held at the police station a number of times, but he never actually went to prison. It’s odd; the last case was totally different from the previous five.”

  Yan frowned slightly before saying thank you and leaving.

  Meeting Luo Wen again after so many years had made Yan very happy. But now he was filled with a sense of foreboding.

  Chapter 41

  “Good morning, Lieutenant Lin.”

  Upon hearing the knock on the door, Lin raised his head. The man was in his fifties and wearing a delicate pair of glasses. Lin looked puzzled until realization dawned on him, and he smiled in surprise.

  He remembered their first meeting like it was yesterday. “I know that none of you are thrilled to be taking this class. Most police officers think that criminology is no better than criminal psychology or behavioral sciences and that it can provide answers only after a case is solved. It’s true that everyone in this room is good at collecting evidence at the scene, walking their beat, and checking surveillance videos. You have solved hundreds of cases by using these fundamental tactics. But criminology is about sitting at a desk and thinking. Some may even call it ‘armchair strategizing.’ I agree that you don’t need to use something as sophisticated as criminology to catch your usual criminal. Today I’m going to use real cases to prove to you that math is the father of all academic disciplines and that logical reasoning is the best weapon against the more talented criminals.”