Blutiger Handabdruck - Kapitel 41
"What's the meaning?"
Before Xu Hai could answer, a police officer interrupted, "Could it be a human-faced bat? I've heard that such bats exist."
Everyone's eyes lit up. If the existence of human-faced bats really existed, it would make sense to explain a series of things.
Xu Haicheng shook his head and said, "The forensic examination showed that the teeth were made from human teeth."
"Could it be that the teeth of the human-faced bat are similar to those of humans?"
Everyone was taken aback again, realizing that such a possibility wasn't out of the question, since no one had ever seen a bat with a human face. Xu Haicheng was speechless now.
"Old Jiang, go and look up some information on this later," Deputy Captain Feng said. "Then, Xiao Wu, can you tell me what the shaman of Panlong Village said?"
“Yes.” Detective Wu stood up. “Grandma Chunhua said that she heard her master mention a kind of witchcraft that can summon spirits to bite people to death, but very few people know it and it is very difficult to master, basically a legendary spell. This kind of witchcraft is called ‘Robbery,’ but she doesn’t know how to cast it.”
These words were very similar to what Song Sanping had said that day. For a moment, no one spoke in the meeting room; everyone looked troubled. After a while, Deputy Captain Feng said, "Huang Zhengsong, have the people watching Lu Mingjie found anything?"
Officer Huang stood up and said, "Yes, I've noticed that he's been frequently visiting Wu Dajun these past two days. The two seem quite close. Wu Dajun was also at the TV station on the day of the Lei Yunshan incident. We also have people watching Wu Dajun, but we haven't found anything unusual yet. Should we bring Wu Dajun back for questioning?"
Deputy Captain Feng shook his head and said, "Let's keep a close watch for now, and not alert them."
"What about Lu Jieming?" Officer Chen asked. "Old Chun denied saving him earlier. Should we ask him again?"
Deputy Captain Feng hesitated, but Xu Haicheng shook his head and said, "No, if we don't have any evidence, the result of arresting them will be no different from last time. Our biggest problem now is that we have no clue about the murderer's methods. It would be better to keep an eye on them secretly and catch them red-handed when they are exposed."
"If the murderers don't make a move soon, won't we never be able to catch them?" one of the police officers asked with concern.
"Judging from He Qing's death, the murderer probably won't let Xiao Lu go," Xu Haicheng said, glancing at Pan Xiaolu, whose face was slightly pale. The other officers had also heard about what happened last night and looked at her with complicated expressions.
Deputy Captain Feng thought for a moment and said, "Speaking of this, Xiao Lu, the bureau has arranged for Sister Hong to protect you 24 hours a day and for you to live in a special detention room. Do you have any objections?" The special detention room is for high-risk criminals, under 24-hour surveillance and high alert.
“Yes.” Pan Xiaolu suddenly stood up, looking at everyone’s puzzled faces, “I don’t need anyone’s protection, and I don’t want to stay in the special guard room. I demand to be bait.” Everyone was stunned by her words, staring at her blankly without saying a word.
After a moment, Deputy Captain Feng came to his senses, waved his hand and said, "It's too dangerous, we can't do that."
Pan Xiaolu said, "Captain Feng, I've thought about it. Even if we want to protect you, we might not be able to. Why not take the risk and install a surveillance camera where I am? That way we can find out what's going on."
Deputy Captain Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he felt that this was indeed a feasible method. He looked at Xu Haicheng and said, "Captain Xu, what's your opinion?"
Xu Haicheng looked at Pan Xiaolu intently and said, "I think this method is good."
"Alright, let's begin the deployment now." At Deputy Captain Feng's command, everyone responded in unison and left. Xu Haicheng deliberately slowed down, as did Pan Xiaolu, until finally only the two of them remained in the conference room.
"Xiaolu, I didn't realize you were so brave."
Pan Xiaolu smiled, a smile that held both pride and worry, and said, "I'm just brave, I don't want to die. Captain Xu, you all have to protect me."
"Of course." Seeing a strand of her hair fall onto her cheek, he had a fleeting impulse to tuck it behind her ear. Xu Haicheng was shocked by his own thought and turned away almost as if fleeing.
"etc."
"What?" Xu Haicheng stopped and turned around, his earlier loss of composure completely gone.
“Captain Xu, there’s something…” Pan Xiaolu paused, looking thoughtfully at Xu Haicheng, “I asked a friend to check, Hawk, his name on his American ID card is Hawk.Yu, his name in China used to be Yu Hao, and his father’s name is Yu Congrong.”
Yu Hao, Yu Congrong.
Xu Haicheng's expression changed.
As Xu Haicheng walked out of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, the names of Yu Hao and Yu Congrong still lingered in his mind. Knowing their relationship had cleared up many of his doubts, such as how Yu Congrong and Ma Junnan had gotten together, and why Yu Hao often mentioned Fang Li. Thinking back, when Fang Li was taken in by Guan Shuxian and brought into the Yu family, Yu Hao was still in high school in China.
Yu Hao, Hawke.
It was almost impossible to connect the two people. Yu Hao seemed to be as indifferent as Yu Congrong and as proud as Yu Yan. But Hawke was now vividly in Xu Haicheng's mind, always with a calm and collected expression on his face, his voice always seven parts gentle and three parts distant, and his clothes always neat and tidy without a single wrinkle.
Xu Haicheng had previously assumed his elegant demeanor stemmed from his upbringing abroad, but now, upon reflection, he realized it was cultivated from childhood; his entire being exuded the composure and ease that came from a privileged family. Xu Haicheng had felt an immediate attraction to him upon first meeting, though he initially resisted due to his reluctance to undergo psychological therapy. After sharing drinks with him, however, he decided he was a friend worth having.
On the way from the Municipal Public Security Bureau to the Mental Rehabilitation Center, Xu Haicheng thought a lot. When he arrived at the rehabilitation center, he felt a little scared and didn't know how to face Hawke.
After thinking it over, Xu Haicheng decided to visit Ma Junnan. He had relapsed and was admitted to the mental health rehabilitation center; perhaps this time he wouldn't leave. The same chubby nurse was on duty again. Xu Haicheng recognized her, smiled at her, and handed her the visitor registration book. Xu Haicheng picked up a pen, ready to fill in his name, but then noticed Lu Mingjie's name was on the previous visitor list. He paused, then checked the visiting time—Lu Mingjie hadn't left yet—and quickly headed towards the activity room.
The activity room was filled with elderly people, most of whom had milder illnesses or were quiet and unhurried. Some were watching TV, some were playing chess, and some were reading newspapers. Ma Junnan sat by the window, looking at the sunlight outside. His back was to the door, so his expression was not clear, but his back was hunched, as if he had been crushed by the weight of the world. Lu Mingjie sat next to him.
Xu Haicheng walked over silently and found that the two were not talking. Lu Mingjie's face was turned to the side, and the sadness on his face was clearly visible. He noticed the change in light and shadow out of the corner of his eye, turned to look at Xu Haicheng, was slightly surprised, put away the sadness on his face, and resumed the indifferent expression he had seen at the TV station that day.
Ma Junnan also saw Xu Haicheng approaching at this moment. He shrank back and hid behind Lu Mingjie, repeating in a low voice, "You killed him, you killed him, you killed him..."
Lu Mingjie protected him, raising his eyebrows and looking coldly at Xu Haicheng.
Xu Haicheng walked past him, squatted down next to Ma Junnan, looked at him, and said, "I killed him."
Ma Junnan's face lit up with joy. He peeked half his head out from behind Lu Mingjie and muttered, "You killed him."
"I killed him." Xu Haicheng nodded heavily.
Ma Junnan's eyes gleamed with dazzling joy, his entire face beaming, his wrinkles deepening. Xu Haicheng felt an indescribable discomfort, and his hatred for him vanished without him even realizing it. He stood up and gestured for Lu Mingjie to come outside to talk. Lu Mingjie followed him to the courtyard outside, tilting his head back to look at the sky.
"Professor Ma is a pitiful person, and so is your sister."
Lu Mingjie was slightly moved, but still looked at the sky.
"I heard that Nurse Dai isn't taking very good care of your sister..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Mingjie sneered and said, "Not too good? In her eyes, my sister is not even human. Does she think I don't know that she mocks and insults my sister behind her back? But I still have to be polite to her every time, afraid that she will make my sister suffer in secret when no one is around."
"Because of this, you transferred your sister's illness to her."
Lu Mingjie smiled contemptuously and said, "I knew you were going to bring this up. How did you see that I have this ability? Do you know what it means for evil to arise from the heart? That Nurse Dai took care of my sister every day and had memorized all her symptoms. Then one day, she was possessed by a demon and ended up like my sister. It's truly a blessing from heaven." He finished speaking through gritted teeth.
Xu Haicheng didn't believe him at all, and said, "You may not be capable, but the person who went to see your sister with you is capable. Who is he?"