Chapter 1: The Nightmare Begins 4

  Zhang Tong's gaze fell on the lily flowers arranged in a vase on the tea table, and his heart skipped a beat. For twenty years now, every year on this day, his mother would receive such a strange letter.

  And there was a strange bouquet of lilies. What does this mean? Is there some unspeakable secret hidden within? At home, except for my mother, no one else held any hope for my sister's survival anymore.

  Fantasy, but every year on this day, the anniversary of her sister's disappearance, her mother would become emotionally agitated upon receiving this strange letter and flower.

  Zhang Tong quickly put away the letter, picked up the phone beside the tea table, and dialed a number. After the call was connected, she thought for a moment and said, "Old Uncle, it's Xiao Tong, Mom is sick again, can you come over?"

  "Take a look."

  After getting a positive response, Zhang Tong hung up the phone, helped her mother take off her shoes, gently moved her feet to the sofa, and then brought a quilt from the bedroom to cover her.

  On her mother's body.

  More than ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. The visitor was none other than Zhang Tong's uncle from the same neighborhood. He walked in with a look of anxiety on his face.

  Zhang Tong made a gesture and whispered, "Uncle, Mom is asleep, be quieter!"

  The old uncle nodded.

  As she walked into the living room and sat down beside her mother on the sofa, looking at her sleeping face with tears still streaked at the corners of her eyes, Zhang Tong's heart felt a pang of sadness. Twenty years ago, after her younger sister had mysteriously disappeared, followed by her father's sudden death

  The double blow of the murder was almost too much for her mother's spirit to bear. If it hadn't been for her uncle, a doctor, who had taken good care of her over the years, Zhang Tong knew that her mother might have already left this world.

  Finished.

  "When did she fall ill?" asked Lao Jiu while examining her.

  "I don't know. When I came back after nine o'clock, she was hiding in the wardrobe of the bedroom, trembling." Zhang Tong felt his throat a bit dry.

  The old uncle thought for a moment and then asked: "It's been more than half a year since she last fell ill, has she had any unusual symptoms normally?"

  "No, it's normal, and I've been taking my medication on time."

  "Little Tong, you must be careful not to provoke your mother again. Her nerves are already very fragile and if this happens a few more times, she'll have to be hospitalized!"

  ”

  "No! I don't want her to be hospitalized!" Zhang Tong blurted out.

  The old uncle stood up, with a helpless expression: "Then why don't you move house? It's been so many years, and you're still living in this old house. It's easy to make her think of the past."

  Zhang Tong helplessly shook his head: "I also have no way, I've persuaded her many times, but mom always says that my sister will come back, if she moves away, my sister won't be able to find her way home."

  After hearing this, Old Uncle couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "Tomorrow you come to our hospital and find me, I'll prescribe some medicine for you."

  "Alright, thank you Uncle!"

  After seeing off Old Uncle, Zhang Tong closed the door and slumped to the floor in exhaustion. Looking at her mother who was still sleeping soundly in front of her, Zhang Tong felt a kind of indescribable melancholy in her heart.

  Outside the window, it was already a quiet night, and the lights in the neighborhood were extinguished one by one. The night was deep, but Zhang Tong didn't feel sleepy at all. She brought a blanket and pillow from her room and quietly laid them out beside the sofa on the floor.

  On the quilt, the lights were turned off, and she lay down, beside her came the sound of her mother's even breathing. Zhang Tong, however, could only lie with a heavy heart, staring blankly at the pitch-black night sky outside the window.

  "Yanan, I need your help!"

  "Come on, must we be so formal with each other!"

  Zhang Tong handed Wang Yanan a plastic bag containing the letter and a withered lily: "Help me investigate! The letter has my fingerprints and those of my mother. Anything else that can be investigated, please do so."

  How much is how much."

  Wang Yanan was taken aback: "Xiao Tong, received again?" She shook the plastic bag in her hand, "I remember that last year and the year before were exactly the same things? The dates are also only a few days apart"

  "What's going on, tell me about it and see if I can help you think of a solution! You can't handle it alone!"

  "It's okay, I'm used to it," Zhang Tong paused and said, "Thank you for your kindness, you don't have to ask me so many questions, I won't say anything, just consider it a favor for our many years of friendship."

  "I'm busy, but I won't forget about you!" said Zhang Tong, standing up and grabbing her bag. "I'll head back to the office now, Ya Nan, give me a call when there's an update."

  "Good!" Wang Yan nodded. Watching Zhang Tong's figure disappear at the door, Wang Yan subconsciously furrowed her brow. If she hadn't remembered wrong, last year and the year before were also on this day...

  Zhang Tong found herself. She casually picked up the plastic bag on the table and didn't open it, but carefully examined it. The envelope was exactly the same, even the variety of lily flowers was the same. Wang Yanan didn't

  Just by looking at the letter, you can already guess what's inside. Between the lines, Wang Yanan had a bad premonition that this letter and the back of the lily flower definitely hid an earth-shattering secret, and Zhang Tong was

  This secret was so stubbornly guarded that even she, who had a very good relationship with her, was ruthlessly shut out. Wang Yan felt anxious and worried about her good friend Zhang Tong, thinking...

  Helpless, he stood up and walked straight into the adjacent Technical Crime Scene Investigation Room with a plastic bag containing evidence.

  The news of the discovery of the deceased's skull was spread in the late afternoon, just before getting off work. The location was under a viewing platform at Tianzi Temple in Tianchang City. Tianzi Temple is located in the bustling downtown area of Tianchang City.

  Anyone who comes to Tianchang City for tourism, the Temple of Heaven is a must-visit place. It can be said that the flow of people here has never stopped at any time of day. However, at this moment, the entire street in front of the Temple of Heaven was cordoned off by police

  The blue and white warning tape had sealed off the area, and curious onlookers could only gather outside the tape, standing on tiptoes and anxiously watching every move inside.

  When Zhang Tong's forensic vehicle appeared at the entrance of Tianzi Temple Street, the onlookers' emotions became somewhat excited. The black body marked with the two eye-catching big characters "Forensic" passed through the police cordon and drove straight to Tianzi

  The temple stopped in front of it. Zhang Tong brought Pan Jian down from the car quickly, opened the rear door and started preparing the toolbox.

  "Look, the forensic doctor is here..."

  "What a waste for such a beautiful girl to be doing this job!"

  "The forensic doctor has arrived, it seems there really is a dead person!"

  "This female forensic doctor is still so young!"

  Upon hearing these discussions, Pan Jian couldn't help but whisper: "Zhang Fa Yi, they're discussing you!"

  Zhang Tong shrugged and smiled slightly: "Let them gossip, I'm used to it anyway." Then she straightened her face and urged, "Hurry up, don't dawdle."

  "The scene is not waiting for anyone!"

  Pan Jian pursed his lips and carried the heavy toolbox, following Zhang Tong's hurried figure towards the entrance of the Tianzi Temple.

  In the distance, Wang Yanan was crouched beside the viewing platform, her back to the outside, carefully observing something. Beside her stood Wang Yanan's partner Zhao Yun, a kind-faced young man who was inquiring...

  Asking a police officer in uniform on patrol.

  "Yan, where's the body?" Zhang Tong walked closer and put down his toolbox on the grass.

  Wang Yan stood up, silently extending her right hand wearing a glove, pointing to a square snakeskin bag less than half a meter away from her. It was brand new, with red and blue stripes, looking puffy on the outside.

  Period.

  Zhang Tong took a few steps forward, lowered her head and crawled under the decorative wooden railing of the viewing platform. After a while, she stuck her head out again: "Did the person who discovered the body move anything inside?"

  "It should have been, it was discovered by the patrol police of the jurisdictional police station. When he saw that something was wrong inside, he immediately notified the dispatcher." As she spoke, Wang Yan's chin tilted to one side, "He"

  "Still over there?" Zhao Yun asked him. "What's wrong? Is something missing inside?"

  Zhang Tong shook his head and turned to Pan Jian, instructing him: "Help me pull it out, I think what we're looking for is inside!"

  Pan Jian quickly stepped forward, his gloved hands grasping the other two ends of the snakeskin bag, and together with Zhang Tong, they pulled it out of the viewing platform.

  This snakeskin bag is seventy-five centimeters high and about sixty centimeters wide, not too big, but very heavy. The outside can clearly show that it's stuffed with irregular things. Zhang Tong had already...

  The zipper of the bag was pulled up.

  "Xiao Tong, when will you deal with it?"

  "I'll go back to the office now, you come find me later."

  "Good!" With that, Wang Yanan turned around and walked towards Zhao Yun who was not far away.

  Zhang Tong took Pan Jian and pulled a toolbox, one in front of the other, carrying a snake skin bag onto the car.

  On his way back to the office, Pan Jian hummed a little tune while driving, with a self-satisfied expression on his face.

  "Zhang Tong furrowed his brow, 'What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?'"

  "Zhang Faye, don't you think it's much quieter around the ear roots today?"

  "What do you mean?"

  Pan Jian smiled slyly, "That Zhao reporter, didn't you want me to arrange some work for him? I guessed at the time that you wouldn't be willing for him to keep following us, getting in the way..."

  "I saw a dead person and cried out for dad and mom, so guess what I did with great kindness?"

  "Stop selling mysteries, speak up quickly! If you're too out of line, Director Li won't forgive me. A big reporter is a noble guest after all! We need to consider the image of our bureau!"

  "No way, Zhang Fa's medical skills are just like the 'family property' we eat at home, and the whole dissecting room is full of cleaning work! ...... " Pan Jian smiled slyly and said, "I'm finally liberated"

  Finished!

  Zhang Tong helplessly shook his head and turned to silently gaze out the window at the scenery passing by.

  Wang Yan looked at the cement floor under the viewing platform, and her heart couldn't help but feel extremely regretful. There wasn't even a footprint. The two scenes in front were also like this, it seemed that the murderer had chosen such a place to abandon the body early on.

  Everything has been taken into consideration.

  At this time, footsteps came from beside her, and she knew who was coming without turning her head. "Zhao Yun, what did that patrol policeman say?"

  "It was only when someone reported the case that they noticed, and at that time there were still people on the viewing platform. Every day at 2 pm, there are literary performances on the side of Tianzi Temple, and the crowd is very mixed!"

  "What about the recent camera? Have you found anything?"

  "There is no camera at this angle, only on the street outside the Tianzi Temple gate. However, the Tianzi Temple has five entrances and exits, which can be a bit difficult to find."

  Suddenly, something flashed through Wang Yan's mind. She turned her head abruptly and stared at Zhao Yun with a serious expression that startled him: "You just said someone reported the case, and then the patrol officer noticed it."

  "What's under the observation deck?"

  "Right!" Zhao Yun opened the notebook in his hand and turned to a relevant page, "It was reported by a middle-aged man in his 50s that something unknown was found below, possibly lost by someone."

  "Because under the entire viewing platform, apart from tourists' trash, there's nothing else. That bag was placed there all alone, and as soon as you lower your head, you can see it, very eye-catching!"

  Wang Yan frowned, thinking for a moment: "The cultural performance at the Temple of Heaven is the grand finale, and someone should be taking pictures with their mobile phone. With such a heavy bag, it's definitely not convenient to move around."

  You immediately call someone to collect the mobile phones of the people present at that time, as long as they have taken pictures of the scene at that time, and find out how many can be found. If not, I'll go on TV to make an announcement and mobilize everyone to cooperate.

  We!

  "I understand!" Zhao Yun stuffed his notebook back into his pocket and quickly turned around to leave.

  Wang Yanan turned around and looked at the desolate viewing platform again, letting out a long sigh. Just then, her phone rang.

  "I am Wang Yanan, who is it?"

  "I'm from the technical inspection team, Captain Wang. The test results for the letter and lily bouquet you sent over this morning are out. When would be convenient for you to come pick them up, or shall we have them delivered to your office?"

  ”