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墨書 Inktalez
I received the address from Officer Luo. It was located in the city center. Although it was still early, I decided to head over right away. It had been a long time since I had strolled around the city center, and I felt a bit restless.
However, shopping alone always lacked excitement. In the end, I arrived early at the company of the person Officer Luo mentioned. He said this person was likely to be important, so I felt a bit of anticipation to see who this individual was.
When I reached the building, I realized I didn’t even know the person's name, so I didn’t go up. Instead, I waited downstairs for Officer Luo to arrive. Just as I was feeling bored, I suddenly spotted someone familiar coming out of the building. However, for some reason, I couldn’t recall who it was. One thing I was sure of was that I had definitely seen this person before.
Officer Luo arrived close to three o'clock, and he came alone. After all, having too many people like me around would complicate things.
The police were efficient in their work, but we still had to wait for the person we were supposed to meet. The company’s manager arranged for us to wait in the reception area, assuring us that he would be here shortly.
We patiently waited for nearly half an hour without any sign of him. I was fine with it, but Officer Luo began to lose his patience. He stood up and said, "Let’s go. What is this? We should just say hello and leave; I don’t have time to wait for someone whose arrival is uncertain."
I nodded and followed Officer Luo out of the reception room. Since the manager was in a meeting, we could only greet the front desk staff. Just as we reached the front desk, the manager came out.
Seeing us about to leave, he politely tried to keep us there for a moment longer and promised to call Officer Luo as soon as the person returned. Just then, the elevator by the entrance opened, and a man in his thirties stepped out carrying a suitcase, looking as if he had just returned from a business trip.
"Xiao Zhou! You’re finally back! Don’t rush off; these two officers have been waiting for you," the manager quickly approached him.
The man named Xiao Zhou was not very tall but appeared quite capable. However, his looks seemed slightly untrustworthy; he looked more cunning than honest. After hearing what the manager said, he hurriedly placed his suitcase at the front desk and said, "Officers, let me grab a glass of water first. Please wait for me in the reception area; I'll be right over."
Officer Luo squinted at him and nodded before saying, "Alright, we’ll wait for you. Don’t think too much; we’re just here to understand a situation." After speaking, Officer Luo headed back toward the reception area while I followed behind and overheard the manager telling Xiao Zhou, "Xiao Zhou, Mr. Sun has been looking for you too; however, he left early due to other commitments. Once you’re done with them, make sure to give him a call."
I muttered under my breath, "No wonder I didn’t see that other person waiting for him; turns out he left this afternoon."
Officer Luo turned back and asked, "Are you talking about that person I mentioned who was also waiting for him?"
I nodded and followed Officer Luo into the reception room.
I said, "Yes, that person waited all morning. Do you think he left because we arrived?"
Officer Luo reacted quickly; just as he stepped into the reception room, he pulled back his foot and turned to walk toward the front desk.
Xiao Zhou had just finished drinking water. As he picked up the landline phone at the front desk to make a call, he saw Officer Luo and me. He said, "Please wait a moment; I need to call my family to let them know I'm safe."
Officer Luo, with a stern expression, replied, "Xiao Zhou, there's no need to rush. We are also pressed for time and just want to ask you a few questions before we leave. It won't take long." He slowly took the receiver from Xiao Zhou's hand and placed it back on the phone.
Xiao Zhou's expression stiffened, and he awkwardly said, "Alright then, let's go to the reception room." The person in charge nearby looked puzzled, unsure of what we were doing.
Once we entered the reception room and settled down, Officer Luo crossed his legs and asked, "You know Wang Kun, right?"
Xiao Zhou nodded and replied, "Yes, what about him?"
"He killed someone. We're investigating his contacts before the murder, so we came to ask you about it," Officer Luo continued.
Xiao Zhou exclaimed in surprise, "What? He killed someone? But I just met him not long ago; we're not very close."
"Why are you so nervous? We're not saying you were involved in anything. However, we found out that you visited his home the night before he committed the murder. Is that correct?" Officer Luo asked.
Xiao Zhou slowly sat back down, rubbing his forehead as he thought for a moment before saying, "Yes, but I only went there to drink with him; I didn't encourage him to kill anyone."
Xiao Zhou seemed a bit contradictory. He appeared shocked upon hearing about Wang Kun's crime but then admitted to visiting him for drinks the night before the murder. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have known that Wang Kun had strangled Shao Xiaohuai that day.
I thought about this, and I was sure Officer Luo had come to the same conclusion. He simply asked with curiosity, "So you really went to see Wang Kun for drinks the night before he committed murder?"
"Uh... because... because I only went to his house once, and it was just for drinks," Xiao Zhou began to speak incoherently.
Seeing Xiao Zhou's reaction, I began to suspect that something was off about him. However, this was something Officer Luo should investigate, and his logical reasoning was likely stronger than mine.
Officer Luo slammed his hand on the table and said, "You're lying. You've been there four or five times in the past month. You don't even live in that neighborhood. Do you have other friends there?"
The sudden bang startled me, and Xiao Zhou jumped up from his chair in an exaggerated manner. He looked nervously at Officer Luo, unsure of how to defend himself.
I looked at Officer Luo with a bit of exasperation; his temper flared up quickly, but at least it had a good intimidating effect.
"Now tell me, how did you persuade Wang Kun to commit murder?" Officer Luo said calmly, as if he had already concluded that Xiao Zhou had instigated Wang Kun to strangle Shao Xiaohuai.
Deep down, we all knew that Xiao Zhou had probably just torn down the talisman in Wang Kun's small room and had not actually incited him to kill. Officer Luo's questioning was merely adding more psychological pressure on Xiao Zhou.
I felt a bit sorry for Xiao Zhou, wondering what he would do next. Either he had little experience dealing with the police or he had done something illegal, leading to a natural fear of law enforcement.
"I... I really just went to drink with Wang Kun. You can ask him," Xiao Zhou said.
Officer Luo replied, "According to our investigation, besides the victim, you were the last person he contacted before the murder. After he killed that person, he went insane. From a certain perspective, you are the prime suspect in inciting him."
"What? He's gone crazy now?" Xiao Zhou asked in confusion. His two questions seemed sincere; it was hard to tell if he was lying.
"Well, confess honestly. Why did you instruct Wang Kun to kill Shao Xiaohuai?" Officer Luo continued to lead Xiao Zhou into a corner.
Xiao Zhou began to panic. He hurriedly said, "I didn't incite him to kill anyone! I really just went to his house to drink! Officer, you have to believe me!" Upon hearing that Wang Kun had gone insane, he started to fear for himself since Wang Kun could no longer testify for him.
However, just moments later, Xiao Zhou became increasingly composed. He said, "Officer, everything must be based on evidence. You can't just slander me. You say I incited Wang Kun to kill—what evidence do you have?"
"Haha, so you're denying that you instigated Wang Kun to murder? Then tell me what else you did at Wang Kun's house that night besides drinking," Officer Luo shifted away from discussing evidence and posed another question. He knew very well that there was no concrete evidence regarding such matters and that they wouldn't be able to gather any either.
Even though Officer Luo avoided the topic of evidence, Xiao Zhou clung tightly to the issue. He said, "I've said all I can say. I just went out for drinks. That night, he drank a lot, and I can hold my liquor better than he can. After I finished drinking, I left. You should be able to check when I left. I was gone; how could this possibly be related to me?"
Just as Officer Luo was about to speak, a phone call came in. He stood up and walked to the window to take the call. I glanced at Xiao Zhou; he seemed much more confident now, surely convinced that we had no evidence against him. But thinking it over, it made sense—if he had indeed incited something, he wouldn't bear any responsibility, especially since he hadn't done anything yet.
After finishing the call, Officer Luo returned to the sofa and said, "Xiao Zhou, we're only here because of suspicion. Since you say there's nothing to it, we can't do much without evidence. However, you have an obligation to cooperate with our work; I might come by anytime to gather more information." The tone of Officer Luo's words had shifted dramatically, as if everything he had just said was a joke.
Xiao Zhou nodded and then stood up, saying, "Sure, Officer. I just got back from a business trip and have a lot of things to handle, so I'll take my leave now."
Officer Luo and I stood up as well. Officer Luo said, "Alright then, sorry for the disturbance. We'll be on our way."
I followed Officer Luo out of the company feeling somewhat bewildered. In the elevator, I asked him, "It's pretty much confirmed that the person who tore the talisman is likely Xiao Zhou. Why are we leaving so suddenly?"
Officer Luo nodded and replied, "I know that too, but I don't have any evidence. There's something I need to take care of back at the station. By the way, can you tell if Xiao Zhou looks like someone from your industry?"
I shook my head and said, "I don't think so, and I'm sure he's not from your industry." Just as I finished speaking, the elevator stopped on the first floor.
Officer Luo slapped his forehead and grabbed me before I could step out. "Wait! Since he doesn't seem like someone from your industry, he shouldn't have torn that talisman. I think someone must have instructed him to do it."
I immediately understood what Officer Luo meant and said, "Do you think when he mentioned making a call earlier, he was calling that person who instructed him?"
Officer Luo nodded affirmatively and said, "It must be; otherwise he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to make that call. He claimed it was to check in with family, but I've looked into him—his family isn't even in Guangzhou. Plus, he's single; who would he be checking in on? He probably called that person because he saw us coming."
"That makes sense," I replied. "But he didn't even finish dialing before you interrupted him. If only you'd let him finish before stopping him—we could have traced that number back to whoever it is." I pressed the elevator button again; stuck between going in or out.
"Don't worry," Officer Luo said. "He's already on the line now. Let's make a quick turnaround."
"Okay." I pressed the button for Xiao Zhou's floor again as the elevator began its slow ascent...
As the elevator doors opened, there was only the receptionist at the front desk. Officer Luo approached her and asked, "Hello, did Xiao Zhou make a phone call here just now?"
The receptionist, knowing he was a police officer, replied without hesitation, "Yes, he made a call here a moment ago."
"What did you hear from the conversation?" Officer Luo inquired.
The receptionist hesitated to respond, as the content of the call was personal.
Officer Luo said sternly, "You have an obligation to cooperate with my work. If you refuse to speak, I will have to bring someone in to take your statement."
Hearing Officer Luo's words, the receptionist finally said, "He didn't even use a name; he just said 'uh-huh, okay, okay, we'll talk more tonight.'"
It was six o'clock; whether they would meet that evening was still uncertain.
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