"Yes, Bro Yu, these were the results provided by the handwriting expert!" Hu Bin, who was from the forensic department, told Zhao Yu over the phone, "He has already taken into consideration the deceased's position, height, strength and so on. They are a hundred percent certain that the deceased left an ice radical, which is a Chinese character with two strokes that looks like two drops of water...
"Alright, I got it! Hu Bin, I am just casually investigating right now. So, please keep this to yourself and tell the handwriting expert to keep his mouth shut, too!" Zhao Yu exhorted.
"Don't worry, Bro Yu! I won't!" Hu Bin guaranteed.
Zhao Yu then exchanged a few more words with him casually before hanging up.
By this time, the sky had already turned dark. Zhao Yu sat in his Landrover, switched on the light in his car, and started jotting down notes in his notebook.
This time, it is really getting more complicated...
To his surprise, Zhao Yu saw that the surname of Lan Shuping's college mate was Guan. "Guan"(关) was just like "Lan" (兰), having an ice radical on the top of the character (丷). Hence, such a fact then redirected Zhao Yu's attention back to the college mate.
As "Guan" has an ice radical… Would this be only a coincidence? Or, could Guan Jun be the murderer?!
According to the information in the record, Guan Jun had also been in the same class as Feng Kuo, Lan Shuping, and Liu Jiao. Although he wasn't among their inner circle group, he did often spend time with them.
More importantly, Guan Jun was one of the crew members on the production team that had been filming in Qinshan back then. Hence, he occasionally would play a walk-on part in the film.
Besides, Guan Jun was also from Qinshan and lived in Feng Ling County. As he was close with Lan Shuping, when he was working on the production team, he stayed with Lan Shuping at his place.
Although Zhao Yu had no idea about the actual situation of this person, looking at it from the angle of his name having an ice radical, this person had now become very suspicious...
Sigh!
Bureau Chief Hong, Zhao Yu thought, I wonder how did the Bureau Chief close the case back then? There were so many other clues to be investigated. There were also so many people with names that have ice radicals! Yet, he had closed the case so quickly. Isn't this a little ridiculous?!
There was also another thing to consider. According to Hu Bin's explanation, the ice radical that was written with blood, its stroke most likely represented the top of the character instead of the side. In other words, the possibility of the blood stain pointing to Feng Kuo was very low!
On the contrary, in light of these considerations, "Lan" and "Guan" became much more suspicious. However, it still was unknown if the ice radical was actually referring to Lan Shuping or Guan Jun, or even someone else!
Mm…
Zhao Yu read Lan Shuping's previous testimony. On the record, he said that he had started drinking at Bean Restaurant at seven, before Guan Jun then came to join him at about half past nine. Then, they drank together until it was twelve.
It was said that Lan Shuping had too much to drink that night. So, when he left, Guan Jun almost had to carry him home.
In the past, the police asked Lan Shuping why he went to that particular restaurant to drink, as his own house was pretty far away from there. Plus, they asked about his reason for drinking alone.
Lan Shuping's reply regarding the drinking was that he was not in a good mood that day. Firstly, it was because of Liu Jiao and Feng Kuo. Secondly, it was because he was upset during the filming, as he was being excluded by the other actors.
The reason why he chose that specific restaurant was merely because it was very close to the filming location. Plus, he was low on cash that night, so he could only drown his sorrow with drinks from some cheaper restaurant.
Tsk tsk…
Zhao Yu looked at the information recorded in his notebook and started to think about possible inferences. Due to the emergence of Guan Jun as a possible new suspect, the first thing he thought about was trying to figure the how and why of Guan Jun's possibly being the one who killed Liu Jiao.
Was it because he held grudges against Liu Jiao or Feng Kuo?
Guan Jun got to the restaurant at about half past nine. That was very near the exact time when Liu Jiao was murdered. Would it be that he killed her and then joined Lan Shuping for drinks, just to prove that he wasn't at the crime scene?
But… how then do we explain about the weapon that appeared in Feng Kuo's bedroom?
In such a short period of time, it would be impossible for him to rush to Feng Kuo's house to leave the knife there, then return.
Could it be… When he was drinking, the knife was with him until he sent drunk ole' Lan Shuping home? Then, he maybe went to Feng Kuo's house to frame him?
But… By then, Xiao Guofeng and Xiao Zhen had already returned home. Would it be… He was courageous enough to take such a huge risk, while they were home?
Hey?!
An idea popped into Zhao Yu's head suddenly. He was wondering if Lan Shuping and Guan Jun would carry out a cooperative murder?
Just like Feng Lin, who had found Meifang and her husband to help her in her crime, would Lan Shuping recruit his buddy, thus dragging Guan Jun down with him? Or maybe the mastermind of the pair was Guan Jun? Or maybe still, the two of them collaborated to kill Liu Jiao together?
Another scenario could be: If Lan Shuping wasn't drunk at all, and the two of them didn't go home after drinking, but went to Feng Kuo house to leave the weapon to frame Feng Kuo...
Tsk tsk…
It still doesn't make sense!
Zhao Yu shook his head, because according to the testimony of the restaurant boss, Lan Shuping and Guan Jun drank until twelve midnight before they left. By then, the pair of Xiaos, father and son, had already arrived home after delivering the goods! If he wanted to sneak into Feng Kuo's house to leave the weapon to frame Feng Kuo, it would be really risky.
Plus, the framing was quite awkward. If Feng Kuo's fingerprints were on the dagger, why didn't he just throw the dagger at the scene? Even somewhere in the bushes would do. Then, when the police picked it up, Feng Kuo would be the prime suspect! Had it been handled this way, the effect of the framing would have worked out much better!
Tsk tsk…
That's weird.
And then there's the weapon. How did it get to Feng Kuo's bedroom? Would it be… Did Feng Kuo have a split personality? Some medical condition, where he could just have killed someone, then leave the dagger and forget all about it?!
Then, what was going on between Lan Shuping and Guan Jun? Had they killed someone merely because they were jealous that Feng Kuo was more good looking or something?
No way! Seemed just too much...
Zhao Yu tapped on the notebook as he pondered all of these possibilities. It seems that he simply had to take one step at a time and investigate every single lead steadily.
So, he would need to start investigating, beginning with Guan Jun. Even if he wasn't a murderer, he might still be able to offer some insights.
Unfortunately, however, Guan Jun was an assistant director now, and was filming at a production studio far away, not in Qinshan. So, Zhao Yu had to change his original strategy and set his mind to look for Lan Shuping to ask him about Guan Jun.
Just when he started the car engine, his phone rang. It was the teen that catches crickets.
"Hey? Police officer!" The teen boy was obviously extremely excited. "Bean Restaurant is open! I just saw them opening their shop! Are you coming over?"
"Yes, Bro Yu, these were the results provided by the handwriting expert!" Hu Bin, who was from the forensic department, told Zhao Yu over the phone, "He has already taken into consideration the deceased's position, height, strength and so on. They are a hundred percent certain that the deceased left an ice radical, which is a Chinese character with two strokes that looks like two drops of water...
"Alright, I got it! Hu Bin, I am just casually investigating right now. So, please keep this to yourself and tell the handwriting expert to keep his mouth shut, too!" Zhao Yu exhorted.
"Don't worry, Bro Yu! I won't!" Hu Bin guaranteed.
Zhao Yu then exchanged a few more words with him casually before hanging up.
By this time, the sky had already turned dark. Zhao Yu sat in his Landrover, switched on the light in his car, and started jotting down notes in his notebook.
This time, it is really getting more complicated...
To his surprise, Zhao Yu saw that the surname of Lan Shuping's college mate was Guan. "Guan"(关) was just like "Lan" (兰), having an ice radical on the top of the character (丷). Hence, such a fact then redirected Zhao Yu's attention back to the college mate.
As "Guan" has an ice radical… Would this be only a coincidence? Or, could Guan Jun be the murderer?!
According to the information in the record, Guan Jun had also been in the same class as Feng Kuo, Lan Shuping, and Liu Jiao. Although he wasn't among their inner circle group, he did often spend time with them.
More importantly, Guan Jun was one of the crew members on the production team that had been filming in Qinshan back then. Hence, he occasionally would play a walk-on part in the film.
Besides, Guan Jun was also from Qinshan and lived in Feng Ling County. As he was close with Lan Shuping, when he was working on the production team, he stayed with Lan Shuping at his place.
Although Zhao Yu had no idea about the actual situation of this person, looking at it from the angle of his name having an ice radical, this person had now become very suspicious...
Sigh!
Bureau Chief Hong, Zhao Yu thought, I wonder how did the Bureau Chief close the case back then? There were so many other clues to be investigated. There were also so many people with names that have ice radicals! Yet, he had closed the case so quickly. Isn't this a little ridiculous?!
There was also another thing to consider. According to Hu Bin's explanation, the ice radical that was written with blood, its stroke most likely represented the top of the character instead of the side. In other words, the possibility of the blood stain pointing to Feng Kuo was very low!
On the contrary, in light of these considerations, "Lan" and "Guan" became much more suspicious. However, it still was unknown if the ice radical was actually referring to Lan Shuping or Guan Jun, or even someone else!
Mm…
Zhao Yu read Lan Shuping's previous testimony. On the record, he said that he had started drinking at Bean Restaurant at seven, before Guan Jun then came to join him at about half past nine. Then, they drank together until it was twelve.
It was said that Lan Shuping had too much to drink that night. So, when he left, Guan Jun almost had to carry him home.
In the past, the police asked Lan Shuping why he went to that particular restaurant to drink, as his own house was pretty far away from there. Plus, they asked about his reason for drinking alone.
Lan Shuping's reply regarding the drinking was that he was not in a good mood that day. Firstly, it was because of Liu Jiao and Feng Kuo. Secondly, it was because he was upset during the filming, as he was being excluded by the other actors.
The reason why he chose that specific restaurant was merely because it was very close to the filming location. Plus, he was low on cash that night, so he could only drown his sorrow with drinks from some cheaper restaurant.
Tsk tsk…
Zhao Yu looked at the information recorded in his notebook and started to think about possible inferences. Due to the emergence of Guan Jun as a possible new suspect, the first thing he thought about was trying to figure the how and why of Guan Jun's possibly being the one who killed Liu Jiao.
Was it because he held grudges against Liu Jiao or Feng Kuo?
Guan Jun got to the restaurant at about half past nine. That was very near the exact time when Liu Jiao was murdered. Would it be that he killed her and then joined Lan Shuping for drinks, just to prove that he wasn't at the crime scene?
But… how then do we explain about the weapon that appeared in Feng Kuo's bedroom?
In such a short period of time, it would be impossible for him to rush to Feng Kuo's house to leave the knife there, then return.
Could it be… When he was drinking, the knife was with him until he sent drunk ole' Lan Shuping home? Then, he maybe went to Feng Kuo's house to frame him?
But… By then, Xiao Guofeng and Xiao Zhen had already returned home. Would it be… He was courageous enough to take such a huge risk, while they were home?
Hey?!
An idea popped into Zhao Yu's head suddenly. He was wondering if Lan Shuping and Guan Jun would carry out a cooperative murder?
Just like Feng Lin, who had found Meifang and her husband to help her in her crime, would Lan Shuping recruit his buddy, thus dragging Guan Jun down with him? Or maybe the mastermind of the pair was Guan Jun? Or maybe still, the two of them collaborated to kill Liu Jiao together?
Another scenario could be: If Lan Shuping wasn't drunk at all, and the two of them didn't go home after drinking, but went to Feng Kuo house to leave the weapon to frame Feng Kuo...
Tsk tsk…
It still doesn't make sense!
Zhao Yu shook his head, because according to the testimony of the restaurant boss, Lan Shuping and Guan Jun drank until twelve midnight before they left. By then, the pair of Xiaos, father and son, had already arrived home after delivering the goods! If he wanted to sneak into Feng Kuo's house to leave the weapon to frame Feng Kuo, it would be really risky.
Plus, the framing was quite awkward. If Feng Kuo's fingerprints were on the dagger, why didn't he just throw the dagger at the scene? Even somewhere in the bushes would do. Then, when the police picked it up, Feng Kuo would be the prime suspect! Had it been handled this way, the effect of the framing would have worked out much better!
Tsk tsk…
That's weird.
And then there's the weapon. How did it get to Feng Kuo's bedroom? Would it be… Did Feng Kuo have a split personality? Some medical condition, where he could just have killed someone, then leave the dagger and forget all about it?!
Then, what was going on between Lan Shuping and Guan Jun? Had they killed someone merely because they were jealous that Feng Kuo was more good looking or something?
No way! Seemed just too much...
Zhao Yu tapped on the notebook as he pondered all of these possibilities. It seems that he simply had to take one step at a time and investigate every single lead steadily.
So, he would need to start investigating, beginning with Guan Jun. Even if he wasn't a murderer, he might still be able to offer some insights.
Unfortunately, however, Guan Jun was an assistant director now, and was filming at a production studio far away, not in Qinshan. So, Zhao Yu had to change his original strategy and set his mind to look for Lan Shuping to ask him about Guan Jun.
Just when he started the car engine, his phone rang. It was the teen that catches crickets.
"Hey? Police officer!" The teen boy was obviously extremely excited. "Bean Restaurant is open! I just saw them opening their shop! Are you coming over?"
