Chapter 1142 - A Good Person? 2 in 1 (1/2)
“Xin Hai is the safest city on the northern side of China. Some of the business areas here operate for twenty hours. It has the nickname ‘the Eastern City that Never Sleeps’.” Ol’ Wu gripped the steering wheel. “Shouldn’t you youngsters be more familiar with these things than me?”
Chen Ge smiled but did not explain. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Xin Hai Second Hospital. The whole of Xin Hai City had eleven top grade hospitals, and the Second Hospital that Doctor Fang was posted at was ranked at the forefront of the ranking and situated at the busiest part of Xin Hai.
Chen Ge and Ol’ Wu, who was wearing his police uniform, walked to the administration counter. “Hello, I would like to ask you some questions about one of your doctors here.”
The nurse on duty initially did not want to respond to Chen Ge, but when she saw the uniform that Ol’ Wu was wearing, her attitude became much better. With the accompaniment of the nurse, Chen Ge came to the unit for ENT specialists. There was currently a doctor who was inspecting a patient’s body.
“Doctor Fang has missed work for many days now. I personally have no idea what is going on. The doctor inside is called Doctor Zhao. He is Doctor Fang’s closest colleague and best friend, so he should know some information.”
After leaving that nugget of information, the nurse of duty left to return to her desk. Chen Ge and Ol’ Wu waited for Doctor Zhao to finish his consultation with his patient before they entered his room.
“Which one of you is the patient?” Doctor Zhao was very busy. He appeared like he needed a very good rest. He had heavy bags under his eyes, and he looked rather dispirited.
“We are not here to consult the doctor.” Chen Ge pointed at Ol’ Wu next to him. “This is one of the best inspectors from the major crimes unit from the police station.”
Chen Ge did not introduce himself and did not specify that Ol’ Wu belonged to the Jiujiang’s police station. Even though his entire sentence was nothing but the truth, it gave off the feeling that both of them were people sent over by Xin Hai’s police station.
“Inspector?” Doctor Zhao immediately understood the severity of the situation. “Are you here for Doctor Fang?”
“Looks like you really do know something.” Chen Ge planted himself on the chair, and the real police officer, Ol’ Wu, stood at the door.
“I told the officer from your station the actual details yesterday, but I did not expect another visit from your inspector again today, so it looks like Doctor Fang has already…” Doctor Zhao did not finish the sentence, but the intention that was in his words was not lost on everyone inside the room.
“Do not ask questions that you should not. You only need to tell us the information that you know.” Chen Ge picked up a piece of paper and a pen from the table and prepared to start his inquiry. The feeling that he gave off was very professional.
“The past few weeks, Doctor Fang has been performing very badly. He even made a mistake during one of his surgeries. The number of patients who have complained about him has grown larger and larger. This would never have happened in the past. Ol’ Fang is the best ENT specialist we have ever had.”
“Could Doctor Fang’s mental condition be related to his family members?”
“I saw Ol’ Fang’s family just yesterday. His wife and daughters are perfectly normal. They couldn’t be more worried about him. Oh right!” Something appeared to have just occurred to Doctor Zhao. “From what Ol’ Fang’s wife told me, Ol’ Fang would often spend time mumbling to himself, saying things like they are coming soon, they are very happy, and they are already here.”
“They are already here? Was someone following Doctor Fang and stalking him?” Ol’ Wu closed the door of the consultation room and walked over. He did not expect to stumble upon such a curious case as soon as he arrived in Xin Hai with Chen Ge.
“A few days before he disappeared, Ol’ Fang had serious problems sleeping. He kept hiding next to the bedroom window holding a knife and would keep sneaking glances outside the window as if there was someone standing there outside their house. His wife and daughters were very afraid, and they could not help themselves from looking out the window as well, but they never see anyone out the window. There was no one down there.” Doctor Zhao sighed. “Ol’ Fang’s wife prepared to book an appointment with the psychologist here for him, but before the appointment could be arranged, Ol’ Fang disappeared.”
“Doctor Fang’s wife and daughters did not see anyone outside the window, yes?” Chen Ge repeated as confirmation.
“Ol’ Fang’s wife did not see anything, but his youngest daughter yesterday told the people from the police station that there was a woman who would not stop smiling hiding at her home.”
“A woman who could not stop smiling?” Chen Ge narrowed his eyes, and the name instantly floated up in his mind—Non-smilers.
“The station naturally sent people to check Ol’ Fang’s home, and they did not find any traces of this mysterious woman. They concluded that Ol’ Fang’s daughter had probably been under too much pressure lately, so she had been seeing things.”
“The things that she saw would still be related to her own memory. The woman who kept smiling would not appear out of nowhere in her mind. They should have followed this thread much further.” Chen Ge did not go into deep criticism about the things the police from Xin Hai had done; all he wanted to do now was find Doctor Fang as soon as possible. “Doctor Zhao, do you know who the last person who saw Doctor Fang was?”
“I believe that person would be me.” Doctor Zhao looked like he had aged several years in this short questioning. “Ol’ Fang had just requested half a month off, but before his holiday was over, he suddenly came back to work a few days ago. From the looks of it, he appeared rather normal, so I believed he had recovered. At the time, I did not think too much of it, and I even invited him to go have a few drinks with me after work.”
“Doctor Fang disappeared at the hospital?”
“For now, the evidence appears to suggest that. After his shift ended, no one saw Ol’ Fang leave the hospital. He locked himself inside his own room. I have no idea what he was doing inside. When I came to work the next morning, people told me Ol’ Fang had already disappeared.” Doctor Zhao was filled with regret. “If only I’d paid more attention to him that day, perhaps things might’ve ended up differently.”
“You should not blame yourself; this has nothing to do with you. You did everything you could.” Chen Ge frowned deeply in thought as he tried to think back to his first phone conversation with Doctor Fang. Doctor Fang had indeed mentioned he was being followed by non-smiler, and he had also brought up the recent reconstruction of the hospital’s storeroom and his finding an envelope in the old storeroom. After opening it, he had found a letter that requested him to go to an abandoned hospital at midnight. If he refused to do so, something bad would happen.
“Doctor Zhao, a few weeks ago, your hospital updated the hospital’s storeroom, didn’t it? Did Doctor Fang visit the old storeroom at the time?”
“How did you know that?” Doctor Zhao was truly surprised. From his point of view, the renovation of the storeroom was a completely different separate from Doctor Fang’s disappearance. There was no connection between the two at all.
“Try to think back to that period. Did the strange behavior about Doctor Fang start during the time he entered the old storeroom?” Chen Ge put down the pen he had taken and placed the paper note on which he had jotted down the important information into his pocket.
“Now that you mention it… that does ring true.” More surprise appeared on Doctor Zhao’s face. The feeling that Chen Ge gave off was completely different from the local officer that had visited him the previous day. “No wonder you guys are inspectors. Even such details do not escape your notice.”
“If it is not too much trouble, do you mind bringing us to visit the old storeroom now?”
“Of course not. Besides, the place is pretty much abandoned now.” Doctor Zhao was very good friend of Doctor Fang’s, so he was more than willing to help. After informing another doctor of his departure, Doctor Zhao led Chen Ge and Ol’ Wu out of the hospital.
“The old storeroom is not at the hospital?” Chen Ge asked with curiosity.
“A few years ago, our hospital changed address. The storeroom is still at the old address. The old hospital only has a few specialist units left over there.”
Twenty minutes later, the three arrived at the hospital’s original address. After they got the key from the manager, they entered the old storeroom. The place had just been cleaned, and the rows of shelves were all empty; there was practically nothing left in the room.
“When you guys were cleaning up the room, which area was Doctor Fang responsible for?”
“I believe it was at the inner part of the storeroom.” Doctor Zhao took out the key that would open the iron door leading deeper into the storeroom. “Due to the aging electrical circuit, the lights inside are not functioning that well. The place is very dim. The nurses at the time refused to go with him. If I’m not mistaken, Ol’ Fang entered the place on his own that day.”