âYouâve found yet another murder case?â Inspector Leeâs tone on the other end of the phone was puzzled to say the least.
âFour years ago, a female student by the name of Zhang Ya jumped out of the building, but there is more to her death than suicide!â Chen Ge said firmly.
âWait a minute, let me go look at the files first. If the victimâs family had asked for an autopsy, we should have the record of it somewhere.â Inspector Lee didnât hang up as he turned on the lights of the records room to search for the files. He finally found something five minutes later. âWait, why does Western Jiujiangâs Private Academy sound so familiar? Xiao Chen, get out of that school now!â
âIâm already heading for the gate, whatâs wrong?â
âThat school is just weird; I canât explain it to you in just a few sentences, but I can give you a number. Six people committed suicide within the span of two weeks at that school, and their deaths were all very weird.â
The sound of paper flipping could be heard through the phone as Inspector Lee looked through the files.
âThat sounds about right! That number fits what Iâm thinking.â The school gate was within Chen Geâs viewâhe could exit the place soon.
âFits what youâre thinking? What exactly is happening over there?â
âDonât mind that, check whether the name of the first suicide victim is Zhang Ya or not.â Chen Ge was in a hurry to confirm his suspicion.
Inspector Lee double-checked the records before replying. âIndeed, the name is Zhang Ya, but she did die from a fall. It is a suicide because the mortician did not find any other wounds on her body. On the day of the discovery, the police did visit the crime scene for investigation. The girl fell from the fourth floorâs dance studio; the window she fell from was undamaged, and the soundproof foam around it wasnât showed no signs of cleaning. So, from this, we confirmed Zhang Ya jumped out of the building without outside influence.â
âWithout outside influence? Inspector Lee, have you considered that she was forced to do so? If she didnât jump, she would have been raped!â Chen Ge relayed the scenes he had seen in the mirror.
âWe considered that as well, and there are testimonies from Zhang Yaâs roommates in the records. All five girls said that they didnât know anything. Zhang Ya jumped off the building after their class was over, so Zhang Ya was inside the studio alone. According to their testimonies, Zhang Ya had always suffered from high stress, was prone to solitude, and was perhaps even mentally unstable. To confirm their testimonies, the police at the time even verified their accounts with the girls from the class, and everyone agreed.â
âZhang Ya is definitely not the person they described; they all banded together to frame her!â Zhang Ya was feeling indignant on Zhang Yaâs behalf. He did not expect that the whole class would gang up on Zhang Ya; the girl didnât even do anything wrong.
âWhat kind of person Zhang Ya was, you and I will never know, but the evidence doesnât lie.â Inspector Lee didnât understand why Chen Ge was so agitated. âIn any case, get out of that school as soon as you can. Weâre sending our men to come fetch you.â
âThey were all lying! Take a closer look at Zhang Yaâs time of death, it should be before the class was over! They lied on the time of death, so those five girls were accomplices!â The volume of Chen Geâs voice inadvertently increased.
âThatâs where youâre wrong. Zhang Yaâs time of death was between 6 pm and 8 pm. Those five girls left school at around 5.30 pm, their usual time of departure.â Inspector Lee didnât know how happened to Chen Ge at the school, so he stood from an outsiderâs perspective to analyze the situation.
âImpossible!â
âIt is indeed possible. The mortician conducted a detailed analysis based on livor mortis and rigor mortis. Zhang Yaâs time of death is indeed between 6 pm and 8 pm. The cause of death was a broken spine. Other than that, there were wounds to her skull, calcaneus, and hipbone, all common injuries suffered by suicide victims that died from falling.â
Chen Ge had no way to retort. He stopped where he was. âIf Zhang Ya did jump off the building before the five girls left, this means that she didnât die instantly after the fall. However, due to the broken bones that incapacitated her body, she could only lie in a pool of her own blood as she waited for death to come, tortured by pain and heartache until she truly died around 6 to 8 pm.â
âYour hypothetical scenario is possible, but you have forgotten one thing. If the girl still had a breath in her after she fell off the building, why wouldnât the five girls who were there save her? Even if they had their own reasons not to save her, other people at the school would have discovered her.â
âIt was a holiday, and the school was deserted other than the six of them who were at school to practice for the upcoming state-wide competition. Their teacher had already left beforehand, and even if there were guards or someone of the sort, isnât it possible that they were sent away by people with ill intentions?â Chen Ge posed a differing opinion.
âIâm not going to argue that with you; after all, it is a moot point arguing whether Zhang Ya died from suicide or murder. You believe those five girls were the real murderers in Zhang Yaâs death and collaborated with each other to provide false testimony, but two weeks after that, these five girls died one after another. The real murderers you assumed are now dead, so how are we supposed to investigate this case?â Inspector Lee was more worried about Chen Geâs safety.
âInspector Lee, I never said that these five girls are the murderers; they are merely accomplices! The real murderer who caused Zhang Yaâs death is a fatty that is 1.8 meters tall with a slouched back!â
âThatâs quite a detailed description, mind telling me how you came to that conclusion? Four years ago, the security at Western Jiujiangâs Private Academy hadnât been completed yet, and all the witnesses are now dead. But youâre telling me thereâs a real murderer on the run⌠how do you expect me to believe you?â
Inspector Lee had worked overtime for the past few days already thanks to the Ping An Apartmentsâ case. It was why he was still at the station even at 2 am. Lethargy could be heard laced in his words.
Chen Ge could discern the suspicion in Inspector Leeâs voice. âWe can start by investigating the people who are related to Western Jiujiangâs Private Academy from four years ago; we have to find this person! He was at the crime scene!â
âChen Ge, starting a police investigation is not a game. Do you know how difficult it is to reopen a case that was closed four years ago? Even if you can convince me, itâll be pointless if you cannot convince my superiors. What we need is actual proofânot suspicion, not speculation.â
âEverything that Iâve said is the truth.â
âThat is according to you.â Inspector Lee had started rearranging the files to put them back where they were. âDo you mind telling me why you are suddenly so interested in this case? You donât give me the impression of a young man who is filled with a sense of justice.â
Why am I so insistent? Chen Ge was startled by this sudden question from Inspector Lee. He was reminded of the aid that Zhang Ya had lent him when he was trapped inside the wooden hut as well as the chilling loneliness coming from his back when Zhang Ya was standing behind him inside the dance studio.
âItâs nothing. In the current circumstances, the only person who can help her and come to her aid is me.â Chen Ge looked at the black phone.
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âI still donât understand what youâre saying.â Inspector Lee continued after a long pause. âBut holding up justice is the job of law enforcement. Since youâve brought up the suspicion, after the case on Ping An Apartments is wrapped up, Iâll personally help you look into this.â
âThank you, Uncle San Bao!â Chen Ge sighed in relief. âCapturing the real murderer, I suppose is giving Zhang Ya some kind of release. With regards to this godforsaken place, I really donât want to return again.â
He hung up the phone and turned to look at Western Jiujiangâs Private Academy one last time.
To his shock, Red Specter Zhang Ya was just standing behind him!
There were about three meters between them. Fresh blood dripping on her school uniform, Zhang Ya looked at Chen Ge with her head tilted. This time, she didnât move closer, and her expression was a bit weird.