Chapter 4 (1/2)
Killer Nights
Chapter 4: New Developments
Just like half a month ago, Jiang Zhengkai once again paid a visit to this alley. The difference this time, though, was that the murder occurred in a room above the one where the murder occurred last time. The victims were also different: a prost.i.tute named A-Hua and a local boy named Yin Tao.
But the scene of the crime looked exactly like last time: no signs of a struggle and no blood splatters. On the bed were the skin-covered skeletons of a man and a woman in the middle of lovemaking. There was no evidence to indicate that anyone had entered the room between the time the victims went in and the time the police arrived on-scene. Everything seemed so tranquil, but behind the tranquility was a brand new murder case.
All relevant suspects were once again hauled back to the station. As before, the initial round of interrogation revealed no credible leads. The only similarities between the two sets of people present were that in both cases, the victims were involved in the prost.i.tution business, the victims died naked on a bed, and that woman A-Jiao had been nearby.
Jiang Zhengkai sat in the interrogation room. He felt a throbbing pain in his head. These two cases had no leads whatsoever. Two unrelated sets of victims died in two different rooms in the same building. What did this mean? He thought about it all night, but still could not figure out an answer.
Right before dawn, he patted Wei Xin awake, who had earlier fallen asleep beside him. ”Wei, go and bring A-Jiao here. I want to question her again.” Wei Xin rubbed her sleepy eyes and then left the interrogation room.
About ten minutes later, Wei Xin and another female police officer brought A-Jiao back to the interrogation room. Because it was early morning, the only officers at the station were those on the night s.h.i.+ft, which did not include many female officers. ”h.e.l.lo, A-Jiao,” said Jiang Zhengkai. ”I want you to tell me again what happened last night.”
”Last night…” A-Jiao's lips appeared a bit pale, and her hair wasn't as neatly done as the last time he’d seen her. After the rough treatment Zhang Weidong and Li Chunhai had given her, she was clearly exhausted. ”Last night, those four guys came over for a good time. So A-Hua went to that room, and A-Hui went to the opposite room. I went to Xiaomei's room downstairs.”
”Downstairs?” Jiang Zhengkai stared at her, shocked. ”Are you saying you were in the room where the last murder occurred?” He could hardly believe his ears.
”Yes.” A-Jiao's tone of voice was noticeably more measured than last time. She said slowly, ”There was nowhere else to go. I had to take care of my clients. If I didn't go to that room, then where else could I go?”
”Then… then did you find anything unusual about that room?” Jiang Zhengkai looked at her with a touch of strange curiosity. These women will do just about anything for money! He continued, ”Had you been inside that room anytime recently?”
”No!” A-Jiao said as she shook her head. She was obviously very tired. If A-Hua hadn't died last night, then it may well have been her who was lying dead on a bed today. The only difference is that A-Hua had turned straight into a skeleton, whereas A-Jiao would've died from exhaustion after too much rough s.e.x from those two men.
”Are you saying there wasn't anything unusual in that room, or that you hadn't been inside that room recently?” Jiang Zhengkai wanted to confirm.
”Both!” A-Jiao said as she shook her head again. Because of all the talking, her lips looked even paler than before.
”Give her some water,” Jiang Zhengkai said to Wei Xin. As an old veteran of the police force, he didn't have too much sympathy for women like A-Jiao.
”Thank you, sir,” A-Jiao said softly. Apparently, she was capable of saying nice things after all.
”Did you not find anything even slightly unusual in that room?” Jiang Zhengkai asked after he saw A-Jiao take a sip of water.
”Well… Oh right, that room was very cold!” A-Jiao thought a bit further and softly said, ”I thought it was just an illusion on my part. The weather isn't that cold anymore, but that room really did feel very cold.”
”Really? So you're saying the room felt very cold?” Jiang Zhengkai thought this was kind of strange, so he asked one more question. ”Other than that, you didn't notice anything else unusual?”
”That's right,” A-Jiao nodded in response. ”I thought it was an illusion because two people had just died there, but you can double-check with those two guys–”
”That’ll be all.” Jiang Zhengkai said with a nod. ”You can go now.” He didn't care if A-Jiao was doing her business with one man, two men, or a whole group of men. Those things weren't his department.
After A-Jiao left, Jiang Zhengkai looked at Wei Xin and asked, ”Those two, Zheng Weidong and Li Chunhai: was there anything in their testimonies that mentioned the room was especially cold?”