Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When Wu Xiumin returned to the office and heard Zeng Ke’s assumption, she immediately disagreed, “That’s impossible. After Zhang Jingru’s death, psychological experts assessed Han Kuan, and although Han Kuan was somewhat agitated, the results showed that his mental state was no different than an average person’s.
Wu Xiumin then added, “Also, when our team took over this case, I reassessed him myself. I confirmed that his psychological status is relatively stable! If he is really a fanatical crime fiction fan, who could go to such extreme lengths in committing a crime, there would definitely be some more obvious signs. But, I have been in contact with him for several days, and I still have not noticed any such signs.”
Zhao Yu frowned and said, “Actually… If you think that Han Kuan is the murderer, there seems to be another thing that is hard to explain! If Han Kuan truly designed everything, why did he want us here?”
“Yes! But, in fact, it was not us, but you! Leader, he wanted you here!” Wu Xiumin crossed her arms, then added, “That point is much too big to ignore!”
“I know! That’s why I’m surprised…” Zhao Yu said. “After all, he knows that I am a super detective, who was able to solve the Headless Female Corpses Case. So, why would he have asked me to investigate his case if he was the murderer?”
Zeng Ke thought about this for a moment, then snapped his fingers and said, “There are only two possibilities as to the reason that Han Kuan did this. Either he is innocent, so he invited our leader here to prove that…”
Wu Xiumin excitedly interrupted him, asking, “Then… What about the other possibility?”
Zeng Ke’s nose bulged as he said mysteriously, “The other possibility is that Han Kuan is actually the murderer, and the reason why he invited Zhao Yu to investigate the case was purely in order to pose a challenge to himself, as it is only if our team leader can’t find out the truth that he could consider his murder as a truly perfect crime, thus giving him a sense of accomplishment!”
“This… It’s not a challenge, it’s provocation!” Zhao Yu frowned and immediately grew serious. He did not know whether Zeng Ke was actually wanting him to analyze the case or if he was just complimenting him and his detective skills.
Wu Xiumin then shook her head and said, “No, I believe that your theory is far too subjective. We must take into account Han Kuan’s psychological status. Based on the results of the psychological test, Han Kuan doesn’t show any clear signs of paranoia or fanaticism.”
She sighed, then added, “If we assume that his agitation at the beginning was a natural reaction to his wife’s death, then I am positive that Han Kuan is a very calm person! This means that he is either innocent or that everything he does has a definite purpose in this crime!”
“What do you mean… A definite purpose?” After hearing this, Zhao Yu seemed confused. Then, able giving it some more thought, he suddenly seemed to understand something and quickly ran over to the white boards and starting scanning the notes on them, which he had added previously.
“Han Kuan… Calm?” he repeated, while shaking his head. He then turned to ask Wu Xiumin, “But… Ever since I first saw him, I have not felt that he is not a calm person at all!”
Wu Xiumin then said, “Really? I don’t understand that, as I use the most popular version of Ester testing. According to these results, Han Kuan is absolutely a very calm and patient person! The reason why you don’t feel this way must be that every time you have seen Han Kuan has been when he’s experiencing some extreme emotions. Hence, you have only seen one small portion of his whole personality. But, our professional assessment is the most comprehensive one, not yours… No offense!”
“Huh…” Zhao Yu exhaled heavily, then murmured, “Maybe so… But… Another possibility is that Han Kuan’s reaction in front of me was all him putting on a show. Maybe… He as faking it all along!”
“This…” Wu Xiumin was speechless, and she and Zeng Ke looked at Zhao Yu, each suddenly having a bad feeling.
“I… Maybe… He actually managed to fool me!” Zhao Yu slammed his fist down on the table and said indignantly, “He was faking all of it! That a*shole was playing a very smart game, as he carefully planned his every step! Why didn’t I see this earlier? He a very calculating criminal!”
“Team Leader…” Zeng Ke quickly stood up and tried to comfort him, “Calm down! Let’s think about this again. After all, there is no evidence to support such a conclusion. Hence, it is too early to draw such a conclusion to this case!”
Zhao Yu looked grave as he shook his head. “It appears that I may really have underestimated him! I forgot that he is an expert when it comes to crime fiction? That explains so much…”
“Team Leader, what are you thinking of in particular?” Wu Xiumin asked in surprise.
Zhao Yu then said, “Han Kuan may have deceived us all by using a form of reverse psychology on us! At first, I never considered the possibility that he was a murderer because he was the one who invited me here. I also believed in his theory about 11 Kills.”
He shook his head, then said, “Then, when I saw him, he totally fooled me with his visible indecision and uneasiness! I didn’t believe that he would have the courage to let me investigate his case if he had actually done it. After all, if he had killed his wife, I couldn’t imagine that he would dare to keep the murder weapon in his hands!”
Zhao Yu clenched his fists as he continued, “All my hypotheses have been based on my assumption that he was innocent! Hence, my trust in him blinded me, rendering me unable to see what was right in front of my eyes! I never even thought about the possibility that he was the murderer!”
Zhao Yu then described the hypothetical process of Han Kuan’s murder in great detail, “If it was him, he must have put sleeping pills in his wife’s drink, then locked the door, removed the curtain hook, cut his wife’s wrist with a knife, then took pictures and sent them to his wife’s younger brother, Zhang Jingfeng! Then, he must have worried that Zhang Jingfeng might not receive the pictures, so he also made a phone call!”
At this point, Zhao Yu smashed his fists down on the table again and said, “Think about it… If Zhang Jingru had done this herself, after she called her brother, she could have called for help! In this way, she could have fully executed her plan, allowing Zhang Jingfeng to bring the police to the scene in time! So… That leaves the question… Why was there no sound coming from the other end of the phone line?”
Zhao Yu pointed to a white board and said, “Although her wrist was cut, she could still send pictures and make phone calls. Hence, wouldn’t she have been able to call for help?”
Although Zeng Ke had no objection to Zhao Yu’s statement, he did not forget to remind him, “Team Leader, Zhang Jingfeng was playing cards at that time, and the environment in the room was surely quite noisy. Maybe Zhang Jingru did call for help, but he just didn’t hear it!”
“Good point…” Zhao Yu gave him a thumbs up as he said, “Let’s ignore this for now and move on! Do you know why Han Kuan wanted us to investigate his case?”
“Why?” Zeng Ke and Wu Xiumin were confused by his sudden changing of the topic.
“Because he made a mistake in his original plan!” Zhao Yu picked up the bank letter and said, “This letter is the evidence of that very thing!”
Zeng Ke and Wu Xiumin were more confused now, as they both had blank stares on their faces.
“Just think about it… If Han Kuan designed this murder, the reason why he dared to implement it in such a bold manner was because of Zhang Jingru’s recorded confession that was hidden in the bank safe. Han Kuan probably forced Zhang Jingru record it somehow, without telling her his real purpose for doing so. That would explain why there are so many unreasonable things in the recording!”
Zhao Yu took a breath, then continued, “I haven’t figured out how he did it yet, but if the police get ahold of the recording pen, Han Kuan will surely be acquitted!”
Zeng Ke and Wu Xiumin nodded.
Zhao Yu then said, “It was because of this that he was able to carry out his plan. He killed his wife and left his murder weapon at the scene because he knew that once his wife died, he would be caught by the police and then detained as the prime suspect!”
Zhao Yu’s eyes grew wide as he continued to explain, “But, he also knew that the bank would send Zhang Jingru the payment request letter when the rental fee was due. At that time, he knew that as long as the police found the recording confession according to the letter, he would be set free!”
“Wait a minute…” Zeng Ke could not help but interrupt Zhao Yu as he asked, “Team Leader, why did it have to be a bank safe? Since Han Kuan had the recording, couldn’t he just leave it at the scene? In that case, the police would have found it immediately and he wouldn’t have had to stay in the detention center for three months.”
Wu Xiumin stared at Zeng Ke incredulously as she scolded him, “Try to use your brain before you say anything! If Han Kuan is the real murderer, he would obviously want to make Zhang Jingru the scapegoat! If the recorded confession was found at the scene by the police so easily, it wouldn’t be half as convincing.”
“Yes!” Zhao Yu nodded, then said, “He knew that he would have to wait a month or two before this recorded confession could play its due role. Only at that time would the police readily believe in Han Kuan’s innocence!”
Zhao Yu then added, “But, although this seems like a perfect plan, he neglected something important! The Golden City police force is not as good as he imagined, as nobody noticed the payment request letter on the desk in Zhang Jingru’s office.”
“Oh… I see!” Wu Xiumin suddenly understood, and she clapped her hands with excitement as she said, “Zhang Jingru only paid a month’s fee for the safe, and the bank always issued a payment request letter when its safes’ payments were one month overdue! So, according to Han Kuan’s original plan, he only needed to wait two months to be able to get away with his crime seamlessly.”
Wu Xiumin then added excitedly, “But, he waited three months before he found out that the police didn’t get that important letter! So, he had to take the risk of calling our leader over to investigate the matter himself! His real purpose for this was for us find the letter, as well as Zhang Jingru’s recording!”
