Nouvel An chinois

Chapitre 11

The house was pitch black. Mudfish pressed its ear against the door and listened, but there was no sound from inside.

"Nobody's here. Could he have run off with that woman?" Mudfish muttered to himself, taking a shiny little thing out of his pocket and fiddling with the door lock.

"What are you doing?" Jiaming thought to himself, "Turning the door and picking the lock is illegal."

"Let's go inside and wait. That woman's out having fun, and who knows when she'll be back." The door creaked open in response.

As soon as Jiaming stepped into the house, he felt a soft, heavy weight under his feet, and a chill ran down his spine. He quickly lit his lighter, and in the light, he saw a face. It was a face frozen in a strange smile, which looked particularly terrifying in the flickering, weak flame.

It was another morning, and Jiaming sat in the front seat of the police car, his nostrils still filled with the smell of blood.

It turned out that there wasn't a dead body in the room, but rather the waiter and his mistress, both murdered. The expressions of elation still lingered on their faces, though now, with blood flowing from their seven orifices, their expressions looked particularly gruesome. Their hands were still tightly clutching handfuls of banknotes.

"Judging from the situation, these two people died suddenly from poisoning," the forensic doctor reported to Zhang Zhi.

"Take the body back for further examination. Let's call it a day."

Zhang Zhi stepped out of the room. The sunlight was already dazzling, but the surrounding air was still chilly. Zhang Zhi always felt this coldness whenever he arrived at a crime scene.

"Jiaming, could you please write down what happened that day for us?"

"Damn it, if we had come sooner, they might not be dead."

Zhang Zhi understood Jiaming's feelings. With all the clues cut off, it would be difficult to overturn Luo Xiuqing's case.

Further examination determined that the two men died from cyanide poisoning. The source of the poison was the banknotes in their hands. The perpetrator must have been very familiar with their habits, counting banknotes with fingers moistened with saliva. Furthermore, the perpetrator had been to the scene and carefully locked the door after their deaths. Then, the perpetrator completely vanished without a trace.

After listening to Zhang Zhi's summary report, the bureau chief nodded and walked out from behind his large desk. "This is another unsolved case."

"This case must be related to Luo Xiuqing's case. Is it possible to postpone the trial of Luo Xiuqing's case?"

"I'm afraid not, the higher-ups are pressing us hard. I don't think there's any necessary connection between these two cases. We have no reason to request a postponement. Xiao Zhang, with so many things going on one after another, the higher-ups are very annoyed. Since the evidence in this case is conclusive, we shouldn't delay it."

"But I suspect that someone murdered the waiter and his lover to cover it up."

"Do you have any evidence? Suspicion without evidence is worthless. Okay, go prepare your court testimony. I don't want to hear any more of your unfounded speculations."

Zhang Zhi walked out of the bureau chief's office dejectedly and saw Jiaming sitting on a bench in the corridor with his head buried between his knees. He walked over and patted Jiaming on the shoulder.

"How is it? Any clues?" Jiaming asked Zhang Zhi anxiously.

"Get Luo Xiuqing a good lawyer. The trial cannot be postponed because I have no legitimate reason." Zhang Zhi punched the wall, and a passing police officer looked at him curiously.

nineteen

The trial of Luo Xiuqing proceeded as scheduled. As he was led off the police car, a flurry of camera flashes erupted from the reporters. Looking around, many of them were the same people who had crowded the docks to take pictures of him when he arrived in Tianjin. Times had changed, and Luo Xiuqing felt a mix of emotions, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside him.

But what he couldn't bear to face was his wife's opinion. He recalled the promises he made to the pastor at their wedding, but now, instead of making his wife happy, he was causing her worry and fear, and she might even have to bear the stigma of being the wife of a murderer in the future.

Luo Xiuqing noticed that Xiaoju was wearing a mask. Was his wife feeling unwell again? This thought made Luo Xiuqing forget to worry about himself. Xiaoju's eyes were practically a reflection of his own, filled with anxiety.

The court called its first witness, a cloakroom attendant at the theater, who testified that Luo Xiuqing left the theater at 9 p.m. that evening.

The second witness made Xiaoju, who was sitting in the audience, gasp in surprise; it was actually her student, Wu Xia.

Wu Xia had become much thinner than before, her face reduced to just two large eyes. Her expression had become wooden, a far cry from the lively and adorable young girl she once was. As a key witness in court, she had personally witnessed her father's murder. After the initial shock and grief, her tone was unusually calm and resolute.

Wu Xia had a good habit of going to bed early and waking up early, and she went to bed at 9 pm. But she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did. Around 10 pm, she felt extremely thirsty and got up to get some water in the living room. Her father's bedroom door was ajar, letting in a sliver of light. Someone was talking to her father in his room when suddenly something fell over. About ten minutes later, someone came out of her father's room, and Wu Xia could see clearly that it was Luo Xiuqing. Wu Xia pushed open her father's bedroom door again and saw her father lying in a pool of blood, unable to speak.

As Wu Xia spoke, she broke down in tears. Everyone present was deeply saddened.

When Luo Xiuqing's defense lawyer questioned Wu Xia, the young girl calmly told him that she was not seeing things and that she recognized the murderer as Luo Xiuqing.

Luo Xiuqing listened blankly, even doubting whether he had done it while in a state of delirium. During his time in the detention center, he had the same dream every night: he would fall repeatedly into the street, writhing in excruciating abdominal pain. People would surround him, three or four deep, staring down at him, shouting so loudly he could hardly breathe. Each time he woke up, he was drenched in cold sweat; being in prison felt like another nightmare, and he wondered if this nightmare would ever end.

"Defendant, do you have anything to say?"

Luo Xiuqing was jolted out of her reverie and stared blankly at the judge's questioning face.

"Xiuqing, tell them you didn't kill anyone!" Xiaoju stood up from the audience and shouted loudly at Luo Xiuqing.

An uproar erupted in the audience.

"Silence! Silence!" The judge tapped the table with his small gavel, silencing the noisy crowd.

"Defendant, what do you have to say?" The judge asked again, as if afraid that Luo Xiuqing had not heard the question clearly.

"I didn't kill anyone." Luo Xiuqing mechanically repeated what his wife had just said, his mouth bitter.

"Defendant, this is your time to defend yourself. If you have any evidence, please present it in court."

Luo Xiuqing understood the judge's meaning perfectly; this was her last chance to speak.

"I have no evidence, but I really didn't kill anyone." Luo Xiuqing knew her defense was weak and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Defendant, is this your final statement?"

Luo Xiuqing nodded.

"Alright, the court is temporarily adjourned..." The judge picked up the gavel again.

"Wait a minute, I want to testify." A voice came from the spectator stands.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the sound; some were surprised, some were taken aback, and some were confused.

The person gracefully walking down from the stands was Jian Rou.

"I object. All the witnesses on the list have already been summoned. Your Honor, adding witnesses at the last minute is not permitted," the lead attorney protested.

“Although there are few precedents for adding witnesses at the last minute, this is a case involving lives, please allow them to testify,” the defense lawyer’s voice followed.

"Silence. I grant permission for the witness to testify. But witnesses should be aware that if you commit perjury, you will be contempt of court and perjury, understand?"

“I understand, Your Honor,” Jane replied briefly.

As Luo Xiuqing watched Jian Rou stand in the witness stand, his eyes suddenly twitched rapidly, making him feel flustered.

"Witness, what is your name and occupation?" the judge asked Jian Rou.

"Jian Rou, an employee of Licheng Trading Company."

What kind of certificate do you need?

“I can prove that Luo Xiuqing did not kill anyone.”

"Please provide evidence."

"I am the evidence."

"Please have the witness answer the questions directly."

“I was with the defendant the whole night he committed the crime, so he didn’t have time to do it.”

After a brief silence in the courtroom, a commotion erupted.

"Silence! Anyone who makes a sound will be expelled from the courtroom and may be charged with contempt of court." The judge's voice was barely drowned out by the clamor of the crowd.

No one was more surprised than Luo Xiuqing. He stared at Jian Rou in astonishment, and after only a second, he looked back at his wife. He met her bewildered gaze, and Xiao Ju seemed to shiver.

twenty

The interrogation continues.

"Your Honor, please allow me to question the witnesses." The prosecutor's request was granted.

"Witness, what exactly do you mean by saying you spent the whole night with the defendant?"

“That day, as I just stated, the four of us went to see a performance. During the performance, Mr. Luo, who you mentioned as the defendant, suddenly left. I happened to go to the restroom and saw him looking pale and staggering. Because I was worried, I followed him out. We hadn’t gone far when he collapsed on the ground and lost consciousness. I couldn’t wake him up no matter what I did. The situation was critical, and since my original residence was nearby, I helped him to my place.”

Why didn't you take him to the hospital?