The place where Han Kuan was being kept was the only detention center in the Golden City. The detention center was old and run-down. Because the exterior walls were painted with blue paint, just like the brothels had been in ancient times, the local people all called it “the brothel.”
Regarding its size and management, it was far worse than the district detention centers in Qinshan. Zhao Yu even worried that, if there were more criminals in the future, this place just might not be adequate to hold them all.
Having been already notified of the situation before their arrival, the prison guards had already taken Han Kuan to the interrogation room by the time Zhao Yu and the others got there. Just as Deputy Bureau Chief Zhang had said, it was just after 4 p.m., but the sky was already getting darker.
Due to the limited space in the interrogation room, only Zhao Yu, Miao Ying, Wu Xiumin and Deputy Bureau Chief Zhang entered the interrogation room. The others all went to the observation room next door.
“Oh, Officer Zhao! I didn’t expect that you would actually come!” Just as Zhao Yu entered, Han Kuan recognized him and called out to him in excitement. “Now, I will finally be saved!”
Han Kuan was so relieved, he started sobbing. He then started mumbling almost incoherently, apparently speaking to his deceased wife’s spirit, “Babe, you can rest in peace now! The famous police officer Zhao has come, and he will surely find the real murderer!”
Hearing this, Zhao Yu was somewhat touched. He didn’t expect that he had become so famous.
Han Kuan then turned to Zhao Yu and said, “I have been hearing your name often these last few years!” Han Kuan said. “Before the Headless Female Corpses Case, I was already paying attention to your work! In my opinion, you are the biggest talent in the entire criminal investigation force!”
Han Kuan was getting more excited as he continued to flatter Zhao Yu, “I even thought about adding some of your cases to my novel as side plots!”
Zhao Yu was pleased to hear his words. He waved his hand and said, “Although what you have said is all true, you’d better not say such things in front of too many people! After all, they just might get jealous! Ha ha…”
Miao Ying couldn’t stand Zhao Yu at the moment. So, she faked a few coughs as a warning to Han Kuan before saying, “Han Kuan, it’s getting late. If you really want us to help you, you should get right to the point.”
“Oh… Yes.” Han Kuan looked heavy-hearted as he begged Zhao Yu, “Officer Zhao, you must help me! I really am innocent. It is clear that someone framed me!”
“Rest assured, if you have been wrongly accused, I will definitely prove your innocence!” Zhao Yu pulled a chair up to Han Kuan and sat down in front of him before he added, “But, before I decide whether or not I will help you, you have to tell me about the serial killer first!”
Han Kuan nodded, then said, “Officer Zhao, there’s a serial killer out there, and he is killing people according to the plot of a novel that I wrote several years ago. If you help me clear my name, I will certainly help you find the real murderer!”
Zhao Yu then asked, “Is there anything else?”
“What else could there be?” Han Kuan asked, clearly having told him all that he knew.
Zhao Yu sighed, then smiled and asked, “Man, do you really think that you can force me into making some deal with you?”
Han Kuan still couldn’t understand his meaning, but cold sweat started to collect on his forehead as he asked, “What exactly do you mean?”
“You should know that I came here to investigate the case only, not to do business with you!” Zhao Yu said. “You’ve written so many crime stories, you seem to think that you’re now capable of working with the police as some sort of an expert. But, you’re really just trying to force them into allowing you to weasel your way into this role. As I remember, threatening the police is a serious crime.”
“I… I don’t mean to do that! I just want to clear my name!” Han Kuan said, clearly frightened.
Zhao Yu then said, “I don’t like to beat around the bush! I’ll give you 10 seconds to tell me about the serial killer, then I’ll ignore the fact that you tried to manipulate the police. If you don’t tell me, I’ll just say goodbye to you right now and leave you to rot in here.”
“Hmm…” Han Kuan was still confused and did not know how to answer him.
Zhao Yu didn’t give him time to think before he began the countdown, “1… 2… 3…”
When he reached the number 10, he slammed his fist down on the table and shouted, “Okay, time’s up! Congratulations! In addition to homicide, you are also going to be charged with threatening the police, making false claims, and interfering with an active investigation! I am done with you now.”
Hearing this, Han Kuan said in a panic, “Officer Zhao, I’ll tell you whatever you want to now. You must not leave me! Everything that I have said is true!”
Bang!
Just as Han Kuan finished begging, Zhao Yu went straight up to him and slapped him across the face! Han Kuan was shocked, and he spit out blood immediately.
Miao Ying and the others were also shocked. They didn’t understand why Zhao Yu had hit him!
Han Kuan was stunned, and soon, tears filled his eyes.
Zhao Yu then said, “I hit you because I felt that I needed to teach you a lesson. Remember, you must be an honest person in the future!”
Upon hearing this, Miao Ying and the others almost fell to the ground.
“I… I was wrong!” Han Kuan covered his face. “I was confused because I was eager to approve my innocence. You’re right! Honesty is the only way! I’ll tell you all that you want to know! That serial killer should be in the Golden City. If I am right, he should have killed three people by now. No, it should be four, at least according to the timeline of my novel.”
Seeing that Han Kuan had finally given Zhao Yu the information that he was seeking, Miao Ying and others were relieved and sat down once again.
Han Kuan then said, “My novel’s title was originally 11 Ways to Kill Yourself, but it was later changed to 11 Kills. I wrote it not long after I graduated from high school. I wrote the story in notebook with a ballpoint pen. Because my writing skills were not mature back then, it wasn’t published. In fact, I didn’t even let anyone read it, but just kept it in my locker all of the time.”
He shook his head, then admitted, “The story actually kind of sucks. It’s about a girl who jumps out of a building because of a situation related to school violence. A few years later, the father of the girl wants to avenge his daughter, so he kills everyone who bullied her one by one, using 11 different ways to disguise the crime scenes as suicides! Probably about half a year ago, I found that someone had started to kill people in the exact ways that I described in my book!”
