CH 212

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian, who immediately stopped talking and began to pour tea for Xiao Ming’s parents.

Xing Conglian said politely, “Originally, I wanted to invite your family of three to the police station to assist in the investigation, but since we know each other quite well, I thought we could have a meal together first and discuss some matters related to a case.”

“What case?” Xiao Ming’s parents became quite nervous. “It has nothing to do with Xiao Ming, right?”

“No, no.” Xing Conglian hurriedly interrupted the nervous parents and said seriously, “I just wanted to ask if you went to the Hongjing Amusement Park with Xiao Ming yesterday.”

Xiao Ming’s parents became even more nervous. “I heard that someone died at the park yesterday. We’re not that unlucky to be involved, are we?”

Lin Chen and Xing Conglian exchanged a glance, confirming their previous judgment.

“During the time from 10:00 to 12:00, were you and Xiao Ming both in the park?” Xing Conglian asked.

Xiao Ming’s mother recalled, “We arrived at the park at 9:30 in the morning and left around 5:00.” She patted her son’s head and said, “He likes to stand under the roller coaster and watch the tracks, but he refuses to ride it.”

“Talented children are like that.” Wang Chao sighed. “When I was young, I liked to watch the tracks of the roller coaster. I thought the curvature was particularly beautiful.”

Xing Conglian patted Wang Chao’s head like Xiao Ming’s mother did, asking him to be quiet, then said to the parents, “So I wonder if you remember if a stranger gave something to Xiao Ming?”

Xiao Ming’s mother poked Xiao Ming’s father and whispered, “I knew that person was suspicious!”

Xing Conglian’s expression turned cold. “What kind of person was he, and where did you meet him?”

“I can’t remember exactly where we met him, but he was a strange person who gave our Xiao Ming a balloon and then left…” Xiao Ming’s mother said.

Xing Conglian gave a signal to Wang Chao, who quickly handed over his tablet. The screen showed the moment when the stranger with a duckbill hat tied a balloon to Xiao Ming’s hand.

“That’s him,” Xiao Ming’s mother said excitedly, as if finally recalling something. Suddenly, she changed her tone, “The person who gave the balloon to our Xiao Ming isn’t the murderer, right?”

At this, Xiao Ming’s father poked Xiao Ming’s mother again, saying, “Don’t talk nonsense. The police are here.”

Xing Conglian found it difficult to answer the question and could only say, “The specific situation is still under investigation.” He paused and continued to divert the parents’ attention with another question. “By the way, do you still have the balloon that was given to Xiao Ming?”

“We threw the balloon away long ago. We didn’t drive that day and took the subway instead. You can’t bring balloons on the subway,” Xiao Ming’s mother said with some disdain. “And we always thought that person was too strange.”

Xing Conglian sighed quietly.

Lin Chen picked up the tea on the table and took a sip. He asked Xiao Ming’s mother, “You just mentioned that the person was strange. What did you mean by strange?”

“Well, how should I say this…” Xiao Ming’s mother tried to remember again. “Have you ever seen anyone who covers themselves up so tightly in the middle of summer, wearing big sunglasses and a mask? It was terrifying.”

“Are you saying that he tried hard to hide his face from others?” Xing Conglian asked.

“Yes, his sunglasses were very big, covering half of his face, and I remember his collar was flipped up high,” Xiao Ming’s mother said.

Lin Chen nodded. “Later, I’ll have to trouble you and your husband to come with Xiao Ming to the police station to create a simulated portrait.”

“Is it a criminal suspect?” Xiao Ming’s father interrupted. “But it’s been so long. We really can’t remember.”

“The police have officers dedicated to drawing portraits who can help you recall…”

Before Lin Chen finished speaking, suddenly, Zheng Xiaoming, who had been holding onto his arm tightly, jumped up and snatched the tablet from his mother’s hands.

Xiao Ming’s mother was about to scold her son, but Lin Chen shook his head and stopped her with his eyes.

He looked down and saw Zheng Xiaoming, who was familiar with the device, return to the main interface of the tablet and open the drawing app. He took out the stylus and began drawing on the blank canvas.

As Zheng Xiaoming’s strokes became faster and faster, the image on the blank paper gradually became clearer.

The shape of a face gradually appeared, followed by sunglasses and a mask. Lin Chen noticed that before drawing the mask, Zheng Xiaoming drew a raised corner of the mouth and then covered the lower part of the face with a mask.

Wang Chao leaned over and admiringly rubbed Zheng Xiaoming’s head. “Holy shit, you’re so awesome. Can I recognize you as my little brother*?”

*[Didi] (弟弟) Basically like [gege] but referring to younger brother.

Xing Conglian covered the teenager’s mouth and dragged him back.

Soon, Zheng Xiaoming stopped drawing.

Lin Chen had been placing his hand on Xiao Ming’s head the whole time. The child looked up at him and tentatively probed with his eyes.

Lin Chen looked at the picture, then at the child’s face, and softly said to him, “You drew it well. The details are very comprehensive.”

The chubby child had a soft face with big, watery eyes, like a young and inexperienced animal. If it weren’t for Zheng Xiaoming’s weight issue, Lin Chen would have liked to hold him on his lap. Now he could only lean in close to the child’s soft face and ask him, “Did the person who gave you the balloon seem very happy at that time? Is that what the smiling face you drew means?”

Xiao Ming nodded vigorously.

“Why was he so happy? Did something happen before that?” Lin Chen asked again.

Xiao Ming looked at him, picked up his pen again, and lowered his head to create a new canvas.

Wang Chao hurriedly stopped him. “Wait, wait, little brother, save it first. Damn, this is such an important clue. If Teacher Zhang sees it, he’ll definitely kneel down and ask you to be his apprentice!”

“Who is Teacher Zhang?” Xiao Ming’s mother asked.

“The police station’s portrait expert,” Lin Chen answered for Wang Chao.

Xiao Ming scrambled to save the paper that was almost deleted, then began drawing on the blank canvas again.

Soon, a lawn and a vast lake appeared on the screen, followed by the shapes of children playing by the lake and flocks of flying pigeons.

Then, a man appeared on a bench by the lake, looking up at the sky. Lin Chen noticed that the man on the bench had only one balloon left in his hand. Afterward, Zheng Xiaoming started drawing in the sky.

One, two, three…

Three hydrogen balloons appeared in the air above the lake.

Wang Chao took a deep breath, and before the young man could speak, Xing Conglian reached out and covered his mouth.

The private room of the restaurant was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone was waiting silently for Zheng Xiaoming to finish his drawing.

In the picture, three hydrogen balloons were tied to a black, ribbon-shaped object that wasn’t very clear, slowly rising into the air. Looking at the picture, Lin Chen’s palms began to sweat.

“What the hell is this?” Wang Chao finally had the chance to speak, and his voice was tinged with panic.

The atmosphere in the room tensed up again.

“What did my son draw?” Xiao Ming’s mother asked. “Did the murderer really give the balloons to my son?”

“It’s still under investigation, and we can’t be sure.” Lin Chen rubbed Xiao Ming’s head. He had no choice but to avoid talking about topics that weren’t convenient to discuss in front of him. “Xiao Ming is really talented. He has a gift for painting, but he still needs you to take him to the police station and make a more detailed portrait.”

Wang Chao also chimed in, “Yes, yes, little fatty is a genius! He’s like Picasso reincarnated! He’s amazing!”

When Xiao Ming’s mother heard someone praising her son, her nervousness temporarily subsided. “If it weren’t for Teacher Lin saying he’s a genius… we’ve always treated him like an idiot.”

“So you sent him to learn to paint?” Lin Chen asked.

Xiao Ming’s mother became excited. “Yes, how did you know? Mainly, we couldn’t communicate with him, so we thought maybe if he could draw more, he’d have a way to express himself. That’s why we did it… Right?”

Lin Chen nodded. “Xiao Ming does have some language deficiencies, and he can’t communicate normally in many situations. But his talent for painting is related to his visual-spatial ability. In this regard, it seems that it is his strength.”

“By the way, Teacher Lin, can you please give me your WeChat so we can keep in touch.”

For almost an hour, Lin Chen had been chatting with the parents of the gifted child about education issues, until they arrived at the police station. Xiao Ming’s family of three was then sent to Teacher Zhang’s portrait room. Only then did he and Xing Conglian have time to sit down and discuss the problem of Xiao Ming’s drawing on Wang Chao’s tablet. They were all silent as they looked at the bizarre-shaped object floating in the air with three balloons tied to it.

“Is this something the suspect released?”

“Probably?”

“Holy shit. What the hell is this dark lump under the balloon?”

Lin Chen pursed his lips and said lightly, “If I’m not mistaken, it should be…”

“The murder weapon,” Xing Conglian finished.

Upon hearing Xin Conglian’s answer, Lin Chen fell into deep thought. The police didn’t find the murder weapon at the crime scene or in the surrounding area. They speculated that the perpetrator who assassinated Tan Kang was an experienced criminal who was very clever in choosing to either take the weapon away from the scene or dispose of it in a better way. However, they never imagined that the perpetrator would tie the murder weapon to three balloons and release it into the sky.

“He must be crazy to release the murder weapon like that. What if someone sees it? It’s very easy to spot,” Wang Chao said, not understanding.

“For criminals, the longer they carry the weapon, the more likely they are to make a mistake. Knowing how to quickly dispose of the weapon is a must for every criminal,” Xing Conglian replied.

Wang Chao suddenly had a thought and asked, “Does the fact that the suspect released the weapon mean that there are clues related to him on the weapon, such as fingerprints, so he had to dispose of it immediately?”

“There’s a high possibility of that,” Xin Conglian said.

“But why did he release it? Couldn’t he have just thrown it into the lake?” Wang Chao asked, puzzled.

Lin Chen didn’t answer.

Xin Conglian continued, “Does he think we’re fools? If he threw it in the lake, it would be easily found.”

“But even if he released it, it’s still easy to find,” Wang Chao said, looking relaxed.