Chapter 4 The Informant

  "You used your own son's corpse as a substitute for Hou Junyan."

  "Correct."

  "So, according to you, the matter should have been over by now. Yet, why did such a brutal murder case occur three years later today? Two innocent lives were lost. Aren't you doctors? How could you become demons who kill without blinking?"

  After listening to Zhao Yun's scolding, Ding Rong slightly shook his head and said helplessly: "In these three years, my brother has been living a life that is almost isolated from the world. He rarely goes out, and usually only I go to visit him. He spends all day in his own world. In that world, his wife and the unborn child are still alive and well. I didn't notice that his emotions had undergone a terrifying change in silence.

  "When he was sober, he didn't forget the incident of his sister-in-law being harmed at all, including the car owner's name. He had already deeply engraved them in his mind. Although he rarely went out, he had been quietly paying attention to every move of the Wang family, the car owner's household. He even hired a private investigator online, who regularly reported back to him. Unexpectedly, the car owner's daughter actually came here to study."

  "He told you about the plan."

  "Yes. He only trusts me in this world." Ding Xiang quietly tucked a strand of hair that had fallen back behind her ear.

  "So how did you guys actually do it."

  Her family's financial situation wasn't very good, and because of the car accident, they lost an important source of income. So, the girl was eager to find a relatively stable tutoring job. Based on the private investigator's information, I knew she would go to the Xinhua Bookstore entrance on weekends to look for tutoring opportunities. That's where I found her and gave her a cell phone, saying it was for easy contact. Then we became friends.

  "That was May 13th, the same day my sister-in-law and nephew were killed three years ago. Everything was ready. I called her and asked her to come over for dinner and help with the kids' homework. I told her I'd pick her up afterwards. She agreed happily, completely unaware that because of a mistake our father had made in the past, she would soon lose her life. After picking her up from the alley, I took her to the villa on the outskirts of town. What happened next, you already know."

  "Why are you treating her like this? It's too cruel."

  "In these three years, my brother has never given up on the hope of finding his own hands again, and it's getting stronger and stronger. His career is also his life. So..."

  "So you can bear to treat the dead like this." Wang Yan couldn't believe her ears. Killing someone and still having such a righteous reason.

  "She was already dead before being dismembered. She didn't suffer any pain when she died." Maybe that's why there is no guilt on Ding Rong's face.

  Zhao Yun held back Wang Ya Nan: "You're in charge of disposing of the body."

  "Yes. My brother was also present at that time. After I left, he called the police to report it, fearing you wouldn't notice the package."

  "What about the second victim? Why did you kill her? She had nothing to do with your car accident."

  "She had passed through the suburban villa area, saw my brother, and recognized him. She stared at him without letting go. All I can say is that she appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time." As he said this, Ding Rong's face showed a disdainful expression. "Plus, didn't you guys say on TV that the case was about to be solved?"

  She didn't continue speaking, instead, she looked at Wang Yan and Zhao Yun with a provocative gaze: "I think your IQ is also average. If it weren't for my brother's insistence on leaving that photo, would you have thought that the two cases were related?"

  Wang Yan did not utter a word. She took over two enlarged photos. They were close-ups of the micro-bloodstains collected on the handlebars. There was also a test report. All of which were handed over to Ding Rong. Then calmly said: "You still left a flaw. Although there is no fingerprint on the entire car. We found you based on this bloodstain."

  As she flipped through the DNA test report, Ding Rong's face turned red and white alternately. She gritted her teeth tightly.

  "If it weren't for me having to rush back for surgery and return the car, we wouldn't be in such a hurry."

  Wang Yanan felt inexplicably angry and sneered, "Director Ding, don't you think it's ridiculous? On one hand, you're helping your brother commit murder, while on the other hand, you're rushing back to perform surgery, walking between taking lives and saving them. What's the point of this?"

  Ding Rong didn't say anything.

  It was late at night. The light in Wang Yan's office was still on. She stared blankly at the computer screen in front of her, which kept flickering. Suddenly, she felt empty inside.

  "It's still not gone." It was Zhang Tong's voice.

  Wang Yanan raised her head and smiled wearily.

  "I heard it's been settled."

  "Yes. But at the last moment, the murderer committed suicide."

  "I think he actually died three years ago. At least his heart did."

  Wang Ya Nan nodded: "I think so too. The woman he loves and his career, these two things are considered to be the most important in a man's life. If both were gone at once... then what's the point of this man living? Xiao Tong, you often face death, what do you think about death? Will you smile when facing death?" Wang Ya Nan saw Hou Jun Yan's smile at the corner of his mouth before he died, and she didn't see any fear in his eyes.

  Here is the translation:

  "Whenever I'm feeling down, I come to the dissection room and face those lifeless bodies in the cold storage. They're like my friends. I sit quietly for a while, listening to them tell me their thoughts in an icy, silent language. Of course, they're already dead."

  Zhang Tong put down her bag and walked to the window, gazing out at the dimly lit streets outside. She muttered to herself, "Death isn't actually that scary. To a large extent, I think it should be a kind of liberation. My father left me and my mother like that back then."

  As she spoke, she let out a bitter laugh, turned around, and faced Wang Ya Nan. "Isn't the old saying 'it's better to live than die'? Life only happens once, and no one wants to end their own life like that. But, Ya Nan, if my life became an empty shell like Hou Jun Yan's, maybe I'd choose death too. Because that would be a kind of liberation. In that sense, I can understand why Hou Jun Yan chose to take his own life."

  Watching Zhang Tong say this, the expression on his face seemed to be smiling but not quite smiling. Wang Ya Nan couldn't help but shiver. She hurriedly waved her hand: "Xiao Tong, don't scare me. When you have nothing, I'm still here for you. If you die, I'll have no friends left. Besides, when I get married, you'll be my bridesmaid." She continued to count on her fingers. "When I give birth, you'll be the godmother of my child. In the future, it will be god-grandma, god-wife..."

  "Don't count anymore, I'm not that old yet." Zhang Tong smiled and grabbed the bag on the chair. "Let's go eat some midnight snacks. There's a new night stall at the corner of the street. The people from the technical department who work the night shift said it tastes good and the price is reasonable."

  "Let's go." Wang Yan nodded in agreement, quickly shutting down her computer, grabbing her jacket and bag, and heading to the door. Suddenly, she remembered something and muttered to herself, "I still have an ending I haven't finished writing..." She made a move to turn back, but was stopped by Zhang Tong. "Hey, Yan, it's already settled. Take it easy tonight, don't be so hard on yourself. Rest up, Li won't blame you." As she spoke, she dragged Wang Yan out the door, muttering, "Besides, we two sisters rarely get to chat and catch up. I came to find you specifically because I have a lot to talk to you about. Just give me some face today..."

  Wang Yan looked at Zhang Tong, nodded helplessly, and smiled. Wang Yan was a woman with a strong competitive spirit. She could give up anything, including marriage, but she knew that she couldn't live without friends. What are "friends"? They are people who will never scold you no matter how arbitrary you are; they will call out "lose weight" while smiling and pulling you out to eat a big meal; they will hold your shoulders and let you cry when you're sad... Zhang Tong was such a person. Wang Yan knew that she could trust her like her own hands and feet, and reveal her inner world completely to her. However, Wang Yan was very puzzled because Zhang Tong never spoke about her own affairs. On the contrary, she kept them tightly wrapped up, like a deep and bottomless pool. Wang Yan wouldn't pry, but in her heart, she had never given up on this idea. At the same time, she also believed that it was just a matter of time. One day, Zhang Tong would tell her about her own affairs.

  The air above the cemetery was as cold as the ashes buried in the tomb. There was no sound of birds chirping around, only a lone cricket struggling to make a weak cry. The sky had long since lost its dazzling sunlight and had turned a dull gray. Distant rumbles of thunder could be heard faintly from afar. Soon, the afternoon thunderstorm would arrive.

  Zhang Tong reached out to touch the cold tombstone of her father. The granite surface scratched her fingertips, leaving a strange sense of sorrow. Tears gradually blurred her eyes. At the moment when her father resolutely took the most cruel step in his life and jumped off the building, he didn't know if he had thought about the wife who was dependent on him and another daughter who deeply loved him in this world.

  "Dad, I've come to see you. I miss you so much." Although it's been nearly twenty years since Father passed away, when Zhang Tong was still young, he still has memories of his deeply loved father that can never be erased in this lifetime. Zhang Tong sometimes also resents his father for leaving and taking all the happiness with him. From then on, Zhang Tong's life only had Mother's love, which was sometimes clear and sometimes vague.

  She imagined her father's smile when he was alive, but in her memory, she could only find his tearful eyes. Her sister had left, and her father's hair turned white overnight. When her dusty and exhausted father reappeared at the door three months later, Zhang Tong only saw strangeness and despair in his gaze. There was no longer any warmth for her in his eyes. He had exchanged his precious life for eternal peace of mind with the blood-stained land.

  But Zhang Tong soon didn't blame his father anymore. He loved his two daughters too much. Zhang Tong understood that his father had been searching for his sister in vain, and resolutely used death to make up for the tragedy caused by his own negligence.

  "I've brought you a gift," she murmured, reaching into her bag and pulling out a photo of herself and her mother. She gently slipped the picture into the small gap between the grave marker and the urn that held her father's ashes.

  "In this way, when you think of us, you won't feel lonely."

  The phone rang.

  "I'm Zhang Tong. What time... Where is it..." She glanced at her watch. "Protect the body well, I'll be there in 20 minutes."

  After hanging up the phone, Zhang Tong looked at her father's tombstone and let out a soft sigh. She hesitated for a moment before reaching out to gently touch the small portrait of her father. She whispered: "Don't worry, Dad. I won't bring shame to you."

  The sky had begun to drift with fine rain threads. Zhang Tong didn't look back and walked straight down the path, quickly walking towards the cemetery gate.

  Zhang Tong dislikes rainy days. Because rainy days not only make people feel bad, but also destroy the integrity of outdoor scenes, especially the degree of damage to surface evidence on corpses is unimaginable.