Chapter 221: The Foot Reflexologist’s Godfather (2/2)
”It all comes back to the same point, that is, people aren’t so easily frightened to death. Even if the old man had heart disease and suddenly saw a kite made of human skin, he might feel some discomfort at most and take his medicine immediately. Therefore, I wondered if this human skin kite was made from a person he knew. That would explain why the moment he caught sight of it, he received such a strong blow he was frightened to death! From this, it’s obvious that the old man's death was no accident. So I think we can turn our focus to Madam Hu.”
The old man’s surname was Yang while the dead woman went by Tang. Thus, we could surmise that she was an illegitimate daughter.
The room seemed less tense at once. Clearly, they were all relieved that the end of the tunnel was near. Truthfully, I wasn’t that surprised. Often, the more complex the case, the easier it was to solve. The real challenges were the simple and neat cases.
At this moment, Wang Yuanchao stormed in and plopped into his seat without a word. Xiaotao rapped her knuckles against the table and growled, ”Wang Yuanchao, shouldn’t you at least explain why you’re late? Where’s your sense of discipline?!”
Wang Yuanchao paid her no attention and casually lit a cigarette. ”I managed to look into the matter you asked. The old man lived in a community near the park and frequented the park every day for his morning exercise. Here’s the other thing–he only married Madam Hu five years ago.”
As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, the room exploded into loud discussion and the suspicion around Madam Hu increased.
Bingxin glanced at the lab report, raised her hand and interrupted, ”By the way, I forgot to mention one thing. I managed to obtain a clue from the phlegm sample. Whoever spat has asthma.”
”Asthma may be an old ailment caused by chronic exposure to chemicals,” I said. “You should check Madam Hu's medical records. If she has asthma, we can basically confirm she’s the murderer.”
Glancing at her watch, Xiaotao said, ”It's almost six now. Let’s try to tackle both tasks at the same time. Wang Yuanchao, contact the hospital immediately to get her medical records. The others will follow me to pay Madam Hu a visit.” And with a wave of her hand, she coolly instructed, ”Let’s get a move on it!”
”I’m going too!” squealed Bingxin excitedly.
But Xiaotao was quick to douse her enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water. ”Don’t forget the three rules!”
“What can an old lady do to us?” argued Bingxin.
”It’s still a no,” said Xiaotao, refusing to budge. “It's a matter of principle!” She thereupon turned around and threatened to punish anyone who dared indulge Bingxin with a bonus deduction.
Before leaving, I asked Bingxin for the DNA test report.
At the gates of the community, Xiaotao radioed the other officers to warn them against driving in for fear that Madam Hu would commit suicide by jumping off the building if she saw the police coming for her.
The others remained hidden and stayed on watch while the four of us, including Wang Yuanchao, got out of the car and made our way to her door on foot. After several knocks, Madam Hu answered the door, only to pause in surprise at the sight of us. But she quickly regained her composure and asked, ”Is there anything I can do for you?”
“May we go in and talk?” I asked.
”Sure, please come in!” nodded Madam Hu repeatedly.
The place was neatly organized. On the table was a photo of the couple taken in their youth. This was something I hadn’t expected. It seemed the couple knew each other early on. After Madam Hu brought us tea, I asked, ”Did you and Mr. Yang have any children?”
”When I was young, I relocated to Yundian Province in the ‘Down To The Countryside’ movement. One year, during a terrible flood, my body was soaked in the floodwaters for an entire night, causing weakness and infertility. I tried for many years but never succeeded.” She sighed, ”Now I’m all that’s left in this house.”
”When were the two of you married?” I asked.
”Haven’t I already mentioned this?” she said. “In the seventies.”
Suddenly, Madam Hu burst into a violent coughing fit, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. I noticed that she had coughed up a mouthful of bloody phlegm.
I decided there was no reason to beat around the bush any longer. When she had finally stopped coughing, I stared into her eyes with my Cave Vision and went straight to the point. ”Why did you kill that girl?”
A loud crash echoed in the room. In a panicked fluster, Madam Hu quickly cleaned up the broken pieces from the teacup she had knocked over. She forced a smile and feigned ignorance, ”Officer, I don't know what you're talking about!”
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