Chapter 13
“Could these letters have been written by Huang Guojun before he died?” Guo Zhen stubbornly continued reading through them. A moment later, he shook his head. “No, the date on the last letter is from this year. Don’t tell me Huang Guojun actually came back from the dead? Looks like this copycat is committed to the act—even dragging the victim’s mother into it.”
Pan Chang, meanwhile, looked relieved.
“Thank god Wang Guifen only cared about stirring up public opinion and clearing her son’s name. If some unethical news outlet had convinced her to release these letters, I don’t care how many press conferences I held—I wouldn’t have been able to put the ghost-murder rumors to rest.”
“Someone as greedy as Wang Guifen was never going to make those letters public.” Lin Jiafan clearly had his own take on the matter.
The fact that she hadn’t gone to the police after receiving them was enough to reveal her true nature.
Most likely, her first thought had been what she could gain from such a bizarre situation. Only after she confirmed that the murders described in the letters had actually occurred did she rush to the Public Security Bureau to make a scene—and shamelessly demand five million yuan in compensation.
“Look here. This letter is dated September 3rd—the day of the first copycat murder. The writer explicitly describes the crime they committed and states that they’re simply finishing work that was left incomplete.”
“However, because the police withheld several key details from the public from the very beginning, Wang Guifen didn’t dare make any moves until she could verify whether the contents of the letters were genuine.”
“Then, on the night of September 8th, a media outlet violated the agreement and leaked part of the case details. On September 9th—that is, yesterday—she received another letter. The killer once again confessed to committing a murder and even hinted at the approximate location of the crime scene. That was what finally convinced her to come to the Municipal Bureau and kick up a fuss.”
After listening to Lin Jiafan’s meticulous analysis, Guo Zhen and Pan Chang couldn’t help clicking their tongues in amazement.
“She wasn’t afraid the person writing those letters might be some lunatic?” Pan Chang’s thin face was full of disdain. “Just because they called her ‘Mom’ a few times, she believed it was really her son? Any normal person’s first reaction would be to call the police! And if not that, at least spend some money on a fortune teller to exorcise the ghosts or something!”
“If she were normal, would she have secretly filmed customers in the store where she worked and sold their private videos?” Lin Jiafan stood up as he spoke and glanced at the man and woman beside him. “Who has time to come downstairs with me and have a chat with Wang Guifen?”
“Director Zhang texted me earlier. He wants me in his office after the meeting to discuss the direction of public opinion online.” Pan Chang sighed regretfully.
Guo Zhen, on the other hand, answered immediately.
“Take me with you, Captain Lin. The autopsy’s finished, and I don’t have anything urgent right now.”
Unexpectedly, Pang Guang, who had been busy at his computer the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
“Hey, don’t leave me here alone! I just ordered an iced Americano to keep myself awake. My program’s running through a critical stage right now—I can’t step away!”
His shameless complaint earned him nothing but two cold backs of heads from Guo Zhen and Pan Chang.
Only Lin Jiafan paused at the door and pointed toward the sofa.
“I’m sure Coach Luo won’t mind helping you out.”
Then the office door slammed shut behind him.
“Tsk.”
Pang Guang finally lifted his head from behind the monitor and cast a somewhat sympathetic glance at Luo Jingyao, who still looked completely lost. His words, however, were anything but polite.
“Because of security regulations, delivery drivers aren’t allowed inside the bureau. All deliveries are left with the guards at the front gate. Sorry to trouble you, Coach Luo. It’s the order ending in 7389.”
Luo Jingyao silently took a deep breath.
In the end, she said nothing and left the office.
After all, accidentally spending 1,688 yuan had been her mistake. Since Lin Jiafan refused to accept repayment, she had to find some way to ease her conscience.
Besides, she didn’t think the man’s attitude was unreasonable.
If she calculated it as a daily wage, 1,688 yuan was still far better than what she’d earned fighting underground matches.
When she finally returned with Pang Guang’s coffee, she immediately noticed that something was off.
His brow was furrowed so deeply it looked like it could crush a fly. He stared at the monitor with a miserable expression, sighing nonstop.
Luo Jingyao walked over and gently set the iced Americano on the corner of his desk.
“What’s wrong?” she asked cautiously. “Computer trouble?”
Without even looking up, Pang Guang shook his head.
“The computer’s fine. My program’s fine. That’s exactly the problem—if neither of those is wrong, then what is?”
He rubbed his face.
“The connection between the two victims is still completely blank. I’ve investigated every fitness-related lead I could find. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
“…”
That problem was well beyond Luo Jingyao’s pay grade.
She quietly took a step backward, ready to retreat to the sofa and continue existing as background decoration.
At that moment, however, the report beside Pang Guang’s keyboard happened to catch her eye.
Two victim photos stared back at her.
Such young, radiant smiles.
A trace of regret flickered through her chest.
Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to her.
“Officer Pang, since you’re so confident in your technical skills… could you access their social media accounts?”
“Of course I can!”
Pang Guang thumped his chest proudly before immediately catching her meaning.
“Wait—you mean investigating their lives from an online angle? Huh. It’s definitely possible they left some clues on the internet.”
No sooner said than done.
His long fingers flew across the keyboard so quickly they nearly left afterimages. Soon, two windows popped onto the screen.
He hurriedly skimmed through the contents.
A few moments later, his shoulders slumped again.
“These two are the type with practically zero desire to share their lives online. Whatever happened to documenting beautiful moments anytime, anywhere? Does this count as a common trait?”
“Mmm…” Luo Jingyao answered uncertainly.
Then she pointed at the screen.
“Scroll down. All the way to the bottom of Miss Zhuo Meiling’s page.”
Pang Guang complied.
“Is it just me,” she said slowly, “or was Miss Zhuo noticeably heavier six or seven months ago?”
“Probably not your imagination.”
Pang Guang checked the victim’s file.
“The employer provided this ID photo. It’s the most recent one. I heard it was taken only a few days before she disappeared.”
Luo Jingyao’s gaze shifted to the second victim, Gong Lingling, whose face was still somewhat round.
“Have you looked into weight-loss training camps?” she asked hesitantly. “Places like that usually keep magnesium powder and similar fitness-related supplies on hand too.”
“Huh?”
Pang Guang blinked.
“I checked every company and business with fitness-related certifications. Even equipment vendors and protein powder retailers.”
Luo Jingyao looked slightly troubled as she tried to explain.
“Well… as far as I know, government regulations for weight-loss camps are extremely strict. But the industry’s profitable, so naturally there are all kinds of operators.”
“In reality, a lot of these camps aren’t properly licensed. Some disguise themselves as beauty salons. Others claim they’re nutrition centers. Some register as lodging businesses. Some don’t have any permits at all.”
“Most customers don’t know any of that. They just get drawn in by the advertisements.”
“You can do that?”
Pang Guang looked as though someone had switched on a lightbulb over his head.
Immediately, he launched a new round of searches.
As he rapidly entered code into the program, he couldn’t resist asking,
“How do you know so much about this industry, Coach Luo?”
Excellent question.
Luo Jingyao subtly turned her face away, trying to hide the embarrassment in her eyes.
“After I retired, I worked as a coach at a place like that for a while.”
In truth, she’d simply trusted the wrong friend and been talked into it.
After a few days, she’d realized something wasn’t right and gotten out as quickly as possible.
Satisfied with the answer, Pang Guang didn’t press further and returned his full attention to the screen.
Time passed minute by minute.
Luo Jingyao even fell asleep on the sofa at some point.
Finally, as dusk settled outside the windows, Pang Guang suddenly shot to his feet and slammed a fist onto the desk.
“Damn it! Think you’re so clever? Didn’t I catch you in the end?!”
Luo Jingyao jolted awake.
Just as she was about to ask what happened, a male voice sounded from the doorway.
“What did you catch?”
The next second, Guo Zhen pushed the door open.
Lin Jiafan followed right behind him.
“The connection between the victims!”
Pang Guang practically sprinted toward them, excitement written all over his face.
“And I have Coach Luo to thank for the breakthrough!”
“After failing over and over again, I decided to pull up every recorded purchase either victim had ever made. That’s when I discovered that the first victim, Zhuo Meiling, spent exactly 28,888 yuan at a beauty clinic called Slim Body Beauty about half a year ago.”
“And one month ago, the second victim spent exactly 28,888 yuan at a dietary adjustment center called Light Food Era. That identical amount already says a lot, doesn’t it?”
He grinned triumphantly.
“But here’s the best part. These two completely different businesses have the exact same owner!”
Pang Guang proudly shoved a freshly printed sheet of paper into Lin Jiafan’s hand.
“From today onward, please address me respectfully as a genius.”
“You really did well this time.” Guo Zhen patted his shoulder approvingly before summarizing the results of their interview with Wang Guifen.
“She claims she doesn’t know who wrote the letters. Each one was left hanging on her front door handle, and she’s never had direct contact with the sender. As far as the letters are concerned, she doesn’t seem to be lying.”
“As for the case involving the illegal sale of customers’ private videos, Captain Lin plans to transfer her to the Criminal Investigation Division first. We’ll see what they find before making any further decisions.”
Pang Guang naturally had no objections.
Meanwhile, Lin Jiafan had already finished reviewing all the information Pang Guang had uncovered.
After a brief hesitation, he pulled out his phone and dialed the number listed under the owner of the two businesses.
The moment the call connected, he walked over to the sofa without explanation and held the phone out in front of Luo Jingyao.
Listening to the ringing tone, Luo Jingyao’s eyes widened in confusion.
One thousand six hundred and eighty-eight.
She read the silent shape of Lin Jiafan’s lips.
Instantly understanding his meaning, she accepted her fate and took the phone.
At the same moment, a suspicious voice came from the receiver.
“Hello? Who is this?”
