Chapter 112: Lao Yao to the Rescue (1/2)

Xiaotao read the case file from beginning to end. When she was done, she shook her head.

“I really can’t find anything suspicious here, Song Yang.”

“Look here,” I pointed at a paragraph. “The car left the parking lot at 10.03 pm, and the brake failure occurred at 10.05 pm. That means the crash happened only two minutes after the car left the place.”

“And then?”

“What were they doing before?”

“Well, according to the file… The couple was in their car from 9.48 pm to 10.00 pm… Having sex. The security camera in the parking lot captured it.”

“You mean it captured the car rocking!”

Xiaotao hit me with the file.

“You’re so bold now, aren’t you?”

I smiled wryly. “I’m serious! We’re discussing a possible murder case here!”

I would’ve indeed gone red to the roots of my hair if this had been a normal conversation, but since it concerned a case, all my inhibitions were gone.

“They only got married six months before that,” I continued. “They were basically still in their honeymoon phase. And then the security camera captured the car rocking in the parking lot.”

“Everything seems to connect so far.”

“No,” I turned the page to the list of evidence and pointed at one of the items. “Why were there Viagra pills in the car?”

“How is that suspicious?” Xiaotao snorted.

“The husband was only thirty years old,” I replied. “Not to mention, they’d only gotten married half a year before that. Do you really think he needed help in that department already?”

“Perhaps… They wanted it to last longer…” Xiaotao muttered, her face reddening.

“But the whole thing only lasted for twelve minutes—that’s only an average number.”

Xiaotao laughed and playfully punched me and asked, “Who taught you all this?”

I scratched my head and replied, “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m being serious here.”

“Okay, okay, I believe you. But to be honest, I really don’t think what you mentioned amounts to much.”

“Of course, what I just mentioned wouldn’t be nearly enough to change anything,” I said. “But they are good enough reasons to start reinvestigating!”

The next anomaly was even more suspicious. At the moment of collision, the airbag would pop out to protect the people in the car. The windshield would’ve shattered and hurled glass shards into the car. But I noticed that the airbag was punctured at a spot where it shouldn’t be punctured—right where it was facing the wife’s neck where her fatal wound was.

Unfortunately, though, the case occurred over a year ago and the car had long been disposed of. Even the wife’s body had been cremated. If the airbag was still around, it would’ve been possible to check whether it had been pierced through from the front, i.e. from the windshield, or the back, which would have been from the direction of the wife’s neck.

“Would that make any difference?” asked Xiaotao after listening to my deduction.

“Of course it would,” I replied. “Which direction would the glass shards puncture the airbag from if it came from the windshield?”

“The front!” cried Xiaotao.

“Exactly,” I replied. “That meant that the glass shard didn’t cut the wife’s throat after the crash, but before. It seemed that the police had overlooked a critical clue.”

“In other words,” realization hit Xiaotao, “it was murder!”

I nodded.

“The car must’ve been full of debris and glass shards after the crash,” I continued. “Therefore, it was difficult to notice that the glass shard that killed the wife was not from the windshield. The murderer must’ve calculated that. Too bad all we have now is this photo, which isn’t even nearly enough to be used as evidence!”

“But that means the murderer is still alive and at large!” sighed Xiaotao indignantly. “I’ll try and apply for the formation of a task force to investigate the case anyway!”

In the end, Xiaotao’s efforts were in vain. Her superiors felt that the doubts I raised were not enough to overturn the conclusion previously reached for the case. Besides, if this turned out to be just an accident, it would be a waste of manpower and resources to reinvestigate the case.

Xiaotao persisted. She even offered to pay for the expenses used in the investigation with money from her own pocket. Still, Captain Lin could not be swayed. Not only was Xiaotao’s proposal not approved, but he even reprimanded her and warned her not to act impulsively by trying to be the heroine.

She came back to me looking deflated.

“Why don’t we investigate it independently?” I suggested.

She smiled. “If I get caught doing that, I might get suspended.”

I was prepared to say then let’s just give it up, but she continued, “But I believe in your instincts, Song Yang! Let’s do this! However, we must make sure to lay low and not let Captain Lin know what we’re doing!”