Das Geheimnis des alten Hauses

Kapitel 5

Hung Tse-chen sought the death penalty within a year and was executed by firing squad before the Lunar New Year the following year, but the lingering fear among the citizens of Kaohsiung remained for a long time.

Jian Xiang woke up in his hospital bed and realized that he had just had a nightmare.

The nightmare was incredibly vivid. He was chasing a woman in white with flowing hair down a long road. The woman never looked back and kept running forward until she reached a house with a red door.

The woman's face was turned to the side, as if she were secretly glancing at Jian Xiang who was following behind, but Jian Xiang still couldn't see her face, which was hidden by her straight black hair. Before Jian Xiang could get close, the woman opened the door and went inside.

When Jian Xiang arrived, he found that the red door lock was impossible to open. He frantically tried to turn the horn-shaped lock handle, but the handle remained unmoved.

Then he discovered that the entire doorknob was covered in blood. His hands were bleeding, and blood was dripping from the doorknob as well.

Just then, the door lock suddenly opened, and he immediately went inside, wanting to catch up with the mysterious woman in white. Jian Xiang discovered that the woman in white was crouching at the end of the corridor behind the door.

He slowly walked over and saw the woman in white turn around. But the face hidden behind her long, black hair was that of a rat, which was feasting on the carcass, its hands covered in rotting flesh and blood.

The giant rat turned and pounced on him in an instant, and Jian instinctively raised his baton to fight back. After a brief struggle, he looked closely and saw a mangled face, beaten to death with a wooden stick.

The woman's face was crooked, her lips and teeth split open. In his arms, she kept emitting a sinister laugh with seductive eyes... He woke up.

Jian Xiang's forehead and neck were covered in sweat. He realized he was in a hospital room.

He recalled his last conversation with Shaode just before the end of his hospital visit.

“You know the forensic doctor and the team leader are very close. After the autopsy, he privately told the team leader that although Zhong Sizao’s body had been eaten by rats, he actually found many tiny scratches on the deceased’s bones through a microscope. After combining the physical evidence, he judged that it was caused by the murderer cutting off the flesh of the body… In order to avoid causing unnecessary negative impact, the forensic doctor did not write this point in the report for the task force’s colleagues to refer to.

"Of course, we must first rule out the possibility that Hong Zechen committed the crime. First, Hong Zechen is already dead, and second, all the people he hated were old people. However, apart from that, all the methods of killing are exactly the same as those of the 'Bone-Eating Demon'."

"Frankly speaking, I don't believe anyone would be mentally abnormal enough to learn Hong Zechen's murder methods. Moreover, if someone really wanted to imitate him, he couldn't possibly replicate everything based on the limited clues released by the police. At the time, in order to protect the dignity and privacy of the victims, many details of the crime scene were preserved or concealed, and have not been disclosed to this day. This is something that the murderer in Zhong Sizao's case could not know."

"The team leader values you highly, so he entrusted you with full responsibility for this lead."

"No, he wants you to do the investigation."

"oh?"

Perhaps Team Leader Gao had already sensed his enthusiasm for this case? — That's what Jian Xiang thought. Actually, this is a good tradition in the police force: whoever uncovers the case is responsible for the most important investigative direction. This avoids the potential for blame-shifting.

Therefore, Team Leader Gao believed that starting with the "Hong Zechen case" was the most likely way to find a solution.

So, why didn't Team Leader Gao tell the information himself, but instead asked Shaode to relay it...?

My team leader is worried about me!

It must be. It's always been like this.

Unlike Liwei's casual and indifferent attitude, Jianxiang and Shaode are both team members in Team Leader Gao's eyes who have strong reasoning abilities and a relentless approach to solving cases. However, the biggest difference between the two is that Shaode is much calmer than Jianxiang; he rarely lets his emotions get involved in the case.

---hqszs

Reply [36]: —Shode was amazed by my unexpected solution to the problem I presented at Mrs. Goe's house, and the reasoning that there was a corpse in Room 401. This was because he had always been very confident in his reasoning ability, to the point that one could even say he was arrogant.

That's why he cares so much about my reasoning.

In fact, there was one thing Jian Xiang had never said aloud: he was able to deduce the real reason why Mrs. Ge suffered from sleepwalking in an instant.

That wasn't reasoning at all... it was just because... because... — I also suffered from sleepwalking when I was a child.

That's why Jianxiang was able to say something like, "Sleepwalking, the formal medical term is somnambulism." "Children and women are more likely to be affected," he said, having suffered from somnambulism for over a year during his elementary school years.

It's not reasoning, it's knowing.

Jian Xiang was also very concerned about regaining his childhood memories of sleepwalking. There was another reason for this, and it was something he still couldn't get over for the past two days.

After breaking into room 401, he immediately entered Zhong Sizao's bedroom—why?

As if he had planned the destination in advance, as if he already knew the location of Zhong Sizao's bedroom... What's more, he actually reached under the bed and pulled the sheet before taking any photos as evidence.

Destroying the crime scene is a taboo in criminal investigation, yet he did it without any hesitation?

Then, I saw the giant carnivorous rat—no, it should be said that the giant carnivorous rat saw me. I remember having a fierce battle with it, but I can't recall the details at all.

It was like sleepwalking.

—In other words, I got this videotape at that time... The sword was pointing at the videotape in his uniform pocket.

Those were videotapes specifically designed for DV cameras: 6.6 cm long and 4.8 cm wide, a thin sheet. They could be easily hidden in a shirt pocket without being noticed.

He sat up, took the DV tape from his shirt pocket in the closet, and pinched the small black cube between his thumb and forefinger, holding it up to examine it closely.

Compared to the eight-centimeter videotapes used by V8, Hi8, or D8 cameras, the videotapes used by DV cameras are only 6.35 centimeters wide, making them much lighter in comparison... Jian Xiang didn't know when he put this videotape in his pocket; the only thing he could think of was the blank period after killing the giant rat.

Between the giant rat collapsing and dying and his colleagues arriving, Jian Xiang lost consciousness. He now understood that the videotape had been taken from Zhong Sizao's bedroom. But why would he do that?

Is this DV videotape different from the box of videotapes that Shaode mentioned and kept in the living room cabinet, and does it contain clues to solve the case?

When Shaode was present, he didn't mention the videotape. At the time, perhaps he didn't fully realize that he had actually taken the videotape.

I had just had a nightmare. At that time, I was still a little confused between dreams and reality.

Jian Xiang suddenly couldn't remember whether he had the nightmare before or after Shao De's visit; he even started to lose track of how many nightmares he'd had. ----------------Chapter Three: The Necromancy At ten o'clock sharp, the hospital nurse made her rounds. She was a young woman who had recently graduated, with short hair and light makeup. She chatted enthusiastically with Jian Xiang about her embarrassing experiences when she first entered the hospital.

"I remember the first time I did my internship at the hospital, I was assigned to take care of a junior high school boy in his ward. He had just had surgery for appendicitis. I saw a simply dressed woman by his bedside and greeted her loudly, 'Hello, Auntie!' And you know what? She turned out to be the boy's older sister... Oh my god! I was so embarrassed! The boy was laughing his head off, of course... By the way, was that your brother who came looking for you just now?..." What an innocent and adorable girl.

However, Jian Xiang still had to disobey her parting words: "Go to sleep early! See you tomorrow! Hehe!"

In the silent, dimly lit hospital room, the videotape grew heavier and heavier on Jian Xiang's chest, constantly reminding him of its existence. Finally, Jian Xiang could no longer restrain himself. He quickly got out of bed and decided to sneak away from the hospital and go home.

I remember my younger brother also bought a DV camcorder; it should be able to play this videotape. Jian Xiang simply couldn't resist his curiosity about the videotape's contents.

Jianxiang's younger brother is twenty years old and has just been assigned to serve in the military in Hukou, Hsinchu. Except for long holidays, he doesn't go home often, instead spending his time at a friend's house in northern Taiwan. He has a strong interest in digital products popular with Generation Z, and before enlisting, he spent most of his pre-enlistment salary on fashionable watches, new mobile phones, PDAs, or digital cameras. Two years ago, he bought an expensive DVD player for the family, and the digital camcorder he bought before enlisting was purchased with all the money he had on hand.

As Jian Xiang pondered this, he put on his clothes and shoes, then quietly opened the door to the ward. He quickly slipped into the corridor, his eyes sharply observing the movements at both ends.

All the ward doors on both sides were closed, and only a few fluorescent lights were on overhead. No one could hear any voices or footsteps.

So he slowly walked to the counter where the night shift nurses were on duty. A nurse, wearing glasses and nearing thirty, was intently copying down some notes, the contents of which he couldn't quite make out. Before she could even look up, Jian Xiang immediately said, "Excuse me," he had already memorized the name on the nameplate of the empty bed next to his own, and spoke politely, "What room is he in? I'd like to have a medical check-up." "Sir, I'm sorry, visiting hours are over," the nurse said sternly. "Also, I remember that patient was discharged just yesterday morning."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll call him again. Thank you."

Jian Xiang left the counter with ease and walked towards the hospital exit. He was secretly relieved that the nurse he had chatted happily with that evening wasn't at the counter; otherwise, he would have had to use one of the other two methods to get home, and the chances of success would have been even lower.

---hqszs

Reply [37]: After arriving at the hospital entrance, Jianxiang hailed a taxi near the intersection. He got into the taxi, told the driver his destination, and then sat in the back seat in silence, lost in thought.

The driver casually exchanged a few pleasantries about current political events, seemingly keen to probe the passenger's political affiliation. Jian Xiang responded nonchalantly, his right hand pressed tightly against the mysterious videotape through his pocket.

About twenty minutes later, Jianxiang arrived near his home. After paying the fare, he walked alone on the dark street.

From the moment he sat in the car, he kept thinking about Hong Zechen, the "Bone-Eating Demon." At that time, he had just started his service in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Sanmin Precinct and had just received recognition from his superiors when he encountered an unprecedentedly difficult and complex case. Although his job at that time was just to coordinate manpower for the city police department's investigative operations, he had never heard of criminal profiling techniques before and was very interested in them. So, while carrying out the suspect screening work assigned by the city police department, he also studied the written materials published by Dr. Li Gantang, a leading psychiatrist.

Six years later, the Taiwanese police force is no longer unfamiliar with criminal profiling techniques. However, since Hung Tse-chen, no other mysterious serial killer with similar criminal behavior has emerged, making it impossible for this technology to be proven in Taiwan. It remains a purely theoretical study that cites many foreign cases.

Unexpectedly, the case of Gao Qinfu, the team leader, involving Zhong Sizao, has led to a connection with the case of Hong Zechen!

Such an association, though seemingly abrupt at first glance, actually harbors a frightening possibility.

First, Zhong Sizao's name never appeared during the investigation of Hong Zechen's case. This means that Hong and Zhong were completely unrelated. Even though both lived in Sanmin District, their relatives and friends had no connection whatsoever.

Now that Zhong Sizao has been murdered by a killer who imitated Hong Zechen's methods, it means the following three possibilities: First, someone who knew Hong Zechen imitated his methods to commit murder against a stranger.

This scenario is unlikely. In the case of Hong Zechen, the police interviewed people who knew him, but everyone seemed incredulous about Hong. However, their understanding of Hong was also very superficial, as Hong himself was someone who found it difficult to be close to others.

The news media also dug up a lot of unverified information in this regard, and the only conclusion was that Hong Zechen had no good friends and no one was interested in his life until the real culprit's identity was exposed.

Second, those who knew Zhong Sizao imitated Hong's methods to commit crimes against their relatives and friends.

This possibility is relatively high, but there are also inexplicable contradictions. Attacking a close friend or relative implies a strong conflict of interest, and the complete lack of clues about Zhong Sizao's friendships at the crime scene suggests the perpetrator desperately wanted to conceal their identity. The impenetrable locked-room nature of room 401 further indicates that the perpetrator must have meticulously planned the attack to have been able to carry out it in a way that the police have yet to decipher.

A killer with such meticulous planning would naturally do everything possible to mislead the police investigation. However, it is illogical that he would choose to imitate the method of killing a condemned criminal who had already been executed.

Third, people who did not know Hong Zechen imitated his methods to commit crimes against strangers.

The mere thought of this possibility sent a shiver down Jian Xiang's spine. It meant that Kaohsiung City would once again be shrouded in the gloom of a serial killer. The mysterious murderer, through newspaper and magazine revelations about the Hong Zechen case, had imitated his methods to kill innocent people.

What's even more unbearable to think about is that this mysterious person's methods weren't as irrational as Hong Zechen's, leaving behind physical evidence for comparison. The apartment's surveillance cameras didn't capture anything, and it's safe to assume that the search team won't find a single hair or fingerprint at the scene.

Could Zhong Si-zao's bizarre behavior over the past month or so before his death also be explained as intimidation or threats from strangers before his murder? And could all of this be part of the killer's flawless plan?

A mysterious killer who combines madness and rationality!

Team Leader Gao must have considered this ultimate possibility as well, but he was too worried to bring it up at the investigation meeting. He only told Shao De and asked him to go to the hospital immediately to relay the message, because the two of them were the best detectives in the bureau who were capable of conducting independent investigations, and Jian Xiang was the only member who had conducted in-depth research on the Hong Zechen case.

Thinking back to that DV tape, will all the clues converge at some point?

Jian Xiang took out his key, unlocked the front door, and the key made a metallic clanging sound that only he could hear as it went through the keyhole.

---hqszs

Reply [38]: Send quickly

---yangsheng2008

Reply [39]: How do you plan to check?

I won't tell you.

"Oh, you're so naughty."

"Then tell me, what's your name?"

"My name... is very nice... it's Zhang, Zhi, Mei. Zhang is the bow and arrow, Zhi is the cowherd and weaver girl, Mei is the plum blossom in the snow... hehe... you can call me Mei Mei Bo." "You're the weaver girl, so are you looking for the cowherd now?"

"You big pervert!"

Jian Xiang pressed the pause button on the camera, and the screen froze on the scene of Zhang Zhimei sticking out her tongue and making a face.

Judging from the dialogue, the videotape appears to depict a photographic game between a couple. However, what's intriguing is that the man holding the camera never appears on screen, so his appearance remains unknown. Perhaps this man is Zhong Sizao, and the girl in the video is his girlfriend?

According to the testimonies of the apartment residents, the girl was around twenty years old, with long hair, large, bright black eyes, and a slender figure, which roughly matched Zhang Zhimei's appearance in the videotape. Furthermore, she was wearing a white dress when the videotape was filmed.

Although there was a DV camera in room 401, it was impossible to prove which camera was used by the footage. At most, one could only judge the camera's resolution from the image quality.

Moreover, even if it could be proven which camera it was, it didn't necessarily mean the man was Zhong Sizao—it only meant it was very likely. Jian Xiang continued to examine the subsequent content.

Do you hate perverts?

"Of course!"

"But I'm a pervert."

"You're different again. Hehe... My face suddenly turns so red."

"Meimei, tell me about your interests, okay?"

"Interests... watching movies, singing, shopping at department stores, buying clothes... Oh right! Didn't you say you'd come with me to Shin-Horie last time? You broke your promise!"

"Meimei, I'll definitely go this Saturday. But you don't have enough clothes, do you?"