Shi Ting nodded in agreement with Bai Jin’s reasoning. By eleven o’clock that night, it was well past the time when people moved about freely — most would already have been asleep. Anyone able to enter the guardhouse at that hour could only have been someone who had just clocked off the night shift at ten-thirty.

“Are all four of the men Fan Dabao was close with here?”

Bai Jin said: “They’re all here. Funny thing is, all four of them were on the night shift the evening of the murder.”

Shi Ting’s brow creased slightly.

“I had my sister-in-law check the palms of all four men. Only Triangle Eyes had an injury on his right hand — it was wrapped in a thick bandage. He claims he was scalded by hot water while working in the workshop, and that it was a serious burn.”

“When did he get burned?”

“This morning.” Bai Jin produced a cigarette. “Seventh Brother, isn’t this just too convenient? His hand had to get scalded at exactly this moment — anyone who says there’s nothing suspicious about that is lying to themselves.”

“Where are the men now?”

“Zheng Yun is questioning them.”

Shi Ting and Bai Jin entered the interrogation room, where a tall man sat before them. He had a pair of pronounced downward-slanting triangular eyes that gave him a somewhat menacing look. His right hand was swathed in thick bandaging and rested on the table.

To Zheng Yun’s questions, Triangle Eyes appeared indifferent.

“Officer, I’ve said it many times already — at eleven o’clock last night I was already home in bed.”

“Can anyone vouch for that?”

“I walked back to the shantytown with Bald Two. He can vouch for me.”

In another room, Bald Two was equally aggrieved: “After the night shift yesterday, I did see Dabao — I waved at him through the window. After that, I went back to the shantytown with Triangle Eyes. He can back me up.”

“When you saw Fan Dabao, did he seem unusual in any way?”

“He seemed to be fixing the window. I asked what he was doing, and he said some bastard had smashed the glass. He was cursing up a storm, so I said a few comforting words to him.”

“What time did you and Triangle Eyes get back to the shantytown?”

“Around ten forty. The factory is close to the shantytown — you can walk it in about ten minutes.”

“Did you see Triangle Eyes again after that?”

“I went home, washed my face, and went to sleep. Who goes wandering around in the middle of the night for no reason?”

“Were you present when his right hand was burned?”

Bald Two shook his head: “Before the cloth gets dyed, it has to be boiled in water. That’s Triangle Eyes’ job — he handles that part of the process. Getting burned every so often is normal. Nothing strange about it.”

“What was his relationship with Fan Dabao like, generally speaking?”

“They used to work in the same workshop together and were very close. A while back, Triangle Eyes’ mother fell ill, and Fan Dabao lent him money for medicine. When his mother didn’t pull through, it was Fan Dabao who put up the money for the funeral.”

“Did Triangle Eyes ever pay that money back?”

“Yesterday was payday, wasn’t it? Triangle Eyes said he’d pay it back as soon as he got his wages. Who could have imagined that the moment the money was in hand, Dabao would be gone. What a shame.”

Zheng Yun looked again at Triangle Eyes across the table: “Bald Two says he only saw you around ten-forty. What about after eleven o’clock — where did you go?”

“I went home and went to sleep, obviously.”

“Who can verify that?”

“I’m a man alone in the world. God himself can verify it.” Triangle Eyes grew agitated. “Officer, if you’re going to suspect me, you need some kind of evidence, don’t you?”

“Did you borrow money from Fan Dabao? How much?”

Triangle Eyes’ eyes shifted. “Ten coins.”

“Did you pay it back?”

“It was only just payday!”

“Then when you clocked off that evening, Fan Dabao was right there in the guardhouse — why didn’t you go pay him then?”

Triangle Eyes was briefly lost for words, and then muttered: “I figured I’d put it off as long as possible.”

“Now that Fan Dabao is dead, you thought you wouldn’t have to pay it back — is that it?”

Triangle Eyes was rattled: “Officer, Fan Dabao is gone, but he still has a wife and children. Whatever small faults I have, I’m not that rotten. Let me go and I’ll pay back every coin to his widow right now.”

Zheng Yun studied him. It was clear she did not quite believe his promise.

“When did you get that burn on your hand?”

“This morning. Careless of me, really. I was boiling cloth when my watch strap came undone. In a panic, I plunged my hand into the boiling pot to fish it out, and this happened.”

“Where’s the watch now?”

“The watch? It’s ruined after going in the water — I threw it away.”

“Where did you throw it? Go and retrieve it.”

“I threw it in the factory rubbish bin. Someone’s probably taken it by now.”

Zheng Yun gave a cold laugh and jotted down several quick notes.

“Are you familiar with Gou Sheng and Big Gap Tooth?”

“Familiar, yes. We all work in the same workshop. We get along well enough normally. Gou Sheng is the youngest — we all treat him like a little brother. Big Gap Tooth is the oldest — we all call him Elder Brother Gap Tooth.”

“Was there any bad blood between either of those two and Fan Dabao?”

Triangle Eyes lowered his head as though reluctant to say.

“If you know something, it’s best you say it honestly. Otherwise, you remain the prime suspect.” Zheng Yun slammed the table abruptly.

Triangle Eyes startled, then said grudgingly: “Elder Brother Gap Tooth is obsessed with women. He was always taking liberties with the female workers at the factory. He got beaten up for it twice, but he’s the sort who can take a beating and doesn’t care about shame — a few days after healing up, he’d be at it again.”

“Get to the point.”

“Dabao’s wife is quite good-looking. One time we went to Dabao’s place to drink, and Gap Tooth had too much — Dutch courage, I suppose — and he started pawing at Dabao’s wife. Dabao walked in on it and gave Gap Tooth a thorough thrashing. Gap Tooth didn’t used to be called Gap Tooth — he got that nickname because Dabao knocked out his front teeth.”

“Did they have any dealings after that?”

“Yes. Dabao wasn’t the type to hold grudges — once it blew over, the two were arm in arm again. But Gap Tooth was different. He’d slip away to find Dabao’s wife whenever Dabao wasn’t watching. Dabao’s wife used to report it to Dabao, but Dabao didn’t believe her and eventually stopped caring altogether. Gap Tooth grew bolder and bolder.”

Zheng Yun frowned: “Did any of you know about the relationship between Fan Dabao and Xiao Feng?”

“Of course we knew. Those two had been carrying on for years. If it weren’t for Xiao Feng, would Dabao have ignored his own wife like that? Gap Tooth was out of line, too — there’s a saying: never touch a friend’s wife. He went too far.”

“Tell me about Gou Sheng.”

Triangle Eyes swallowed: “Gou Sheng, that kid, has had a hard life. He lost both parents when he was twelve. He came to our textile factory three years ago and worked as a laborer in the dyeing workshop. He’s a quiet, well-behaved type — doesn’t talk much. Bald Two and I liked to bring him along when we drank at Dabao’s place. After a while, he and Dabao became close. Dabao was very good to him — treated him just like a real younger brother. Gou Sheng always called Dabao ‘Big Brother’ and was completely devoted to him.”

Gou Sheng’s eyes were red, his head bowed, his dark face carrying a weathered look far beyond his years.

“If you find out who killed Big Brother Dabao, I’ll make sure they pay for it.” Gou Sheng’s fist was clenched tight.

“Where were you at eleven o’clock last night?”

“I went home after the night shift.”

“Can anyone verify that?”

“I walked back with Elder Brother Gap Tooth. He can verify it.”

“You live alone?”

“Yes.”

“Yet according to the factory’s personnel files, you have a younger sister.”

At the mention of his sister, Gou Sheng’s fist tightened further. The tears that had been pooling in his eyes spilled down his cracked cheeks.

The officer, seeing his distress, handed him a cup of water.

“Thank you.” Gou Sheng accepted it without drinking, cradling it in both hands. After a moment, his voice came out dry and hoarse: “My sister died three years ago. The file was just never updated.”

“How did she die?”

“She was raped and murdered.”

The officer was visibly shaken: “Was it reported?”

“It was. The killer was executed by firing squad. Your military police department solved the case.” Gou Sheng pressed his fist to his forehead. “Heaven has eyes. Heaven has eyes.”

The officer offered a few words of comfort, asked a few more questions, had Gou Sheng sign his statement, and let him leave the interrogation room.

All the transcripts were passed to Shi Ting, who read through them and then handed them to Yan Qing.

Yan Qing went through everything carefully from beginning to end.

“You examined the burn on Triangle Eyes’ hand. Do you think he deliberately covered up a prior injury?”

Yan Qing shook her head: “The killer wielded a piece of glass against the victim, striking dozens of times with a cutting motion. Glass is sharp on all edges, and through the action of opposing forces, it would inevitably have injured the killer’s hands. Even if Triangle Eyes’ burn were severe, it would not hide the existence of such wound patterns.”

“So it seems Triangle Eyes’ burned hand really is just a coincidence.”

“There’s one other possibility.” Yan Qing considered. “If the killer wore thick gloves during the attack, there would be no wounds on the hands. I mean genuinely thick ones — ordinary gloves wouldn’t do.”

“The killer acting on impulse rather than premeditation suggests he wouldn’t have come prepared with gloves. However, certain special circumstances can’t be ruled out — for instance, the killer may have had a specific reason to be wearing gloves.”

“The weather isn’t cold enough yet to warrant gloves. And at the crime scene, Fan Dabao’s own cotton and linen gloves were found, rolled up together, with no blood residue on them whatsoever.”

“Big Gap Tooth had a witness for the evening of the murder — he’s the only one of the four with a confirmed alibi.”

“Isn’t he a bachelor? Who would be a witness for him past eleven at night?”

“There’s a widowed female worker at the textile factory with a loose reputation. After a few flirtatious exchanges with Big Gap Tooth, the two had gotten involved. On the night of the murder, Big Gap Tooth was at the widow’s home. We questioned the widow — she can confirm his alibi.”

Yan Qing’s brow furrowed slightly: “Apart from Big Gap Tooth, none of the other three — Gou Sheng, Triangle Eyes, or Bald Two — have alibis. Based on their statements, none of them had any particular grudge against Fan Dabao. If Triangle Eyes killed Fan Dabao over ten coins, he wouldn’t have needed to inflict that many wounds. In my experience, when a killer continues to brutalize a body after death, it’s almost always driven by deep, long-standing hatred.”

Shi Ting leaned back, pressing his fingers to his temple: “If none of these four is the suspect, we’ll have to widen the scope of the investigation again.”

—

*Apparently everyone’s been complimenting my character names — thank you, thank you. Everyone has nicknames, don’t they? I’ll name yours for free, and I promise it’ll sound better than Gap Tooth and Triangle Eyes. Really!!*

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