Chapter 3: Julien Two

Chapter 3: Julien Two

TL: cici, Editor: Lady Blue, QC: Noa

Synopsis: I have been observing him for the past seven years.

First Published on Ainushi.

The area around Nanping Drive was the hardest area for commuting; the busy hours lasted from 6am to 10pm.

The white collars going to the Eastern District always ran into moped riders running around; if a slow bus also joined, together they could hold a "No one will be able to escape" party.

The road condition of Western District was particularly complicated. The wide roads and narrow ones interlocked with each other.

Building private construction without authorization had become a common practice among the local residents, and thus the man-made dead ends were everywhere. Motor vehicles that encountered them were like bugs caught on a spider's web- they had to struggle to move in all directions to bring themselves to the light again.

Luo Wenzhou poked his head out the car window, rang the sirens once, and called out: "Hey Mr Handsome, we are performing our duties, and not able to go through now. Could you move that BMW by the door?"

An old man came out from the yard of a small cottage besides them, as a response to what he said. The old man glanced at him with a crumpled mouth, and pushed his elderly mobility scooter back to the yard trembling.

On the left side of the elderly mobility scooter, a piece of paper was stuck with the words "dedicated for picking up grandson", while on the right side was another piece of paper which said "Urging will only make me slower. I am kick-ass!" As the old man walked away, the police heard a bark. Luo Wenzhou lifted up the sunglasses on his nose in surprise. He lowered his head and saw a big yellow dog dart out from behind the mobility scooter.

The big yellow dog strolled to the police car. The dog and Luo Wenzhou looked at each other, and the dog raised its back legs towards one of the wheels blatantly.

Luo Wenzhou whistled at it, said kindly: "Little baby, if you do your business there, I will cut off your penis and make a pancake from it."

This kind of food was really outside the mainstream, the big yellow dog had never heard about it. It was frightened by the experienced hoodlum smell of Officer Luo, so it barked and ran away with its tail between its legs.

Lang Qiao used a tablet to block her face: "Chief Luo, have you noticed that there is an unmarried young woman in the backseat? The Sub Bureau has sent all available information to us."

"Then I will ask this woman comrade to briefly talk about the objective information." Luo Wenzhou drove the police car out of the cleared narrow alley slowly. "Ignore all subjective assumption. Wang Hongliang, that bastard only knows kowtowing. When those above behave wrongly, the ones below will follow. The Huashi Sub Bureau is full of good-for-nothings."

"Oh, the dead man's name was He Zhongyi, male, 18 years old, a non-native worker, a delivery boy in a chain cafe. The groove on his neck points to the cause of death as suffocation... Or alternatively, strangulation. According to initial speculation, the lethal weapon is something like a ribbon of cloth. The time of death was probably around 8 to 11 o'clock last night, we still need to wait for more details from the legal medical experts- Oh, yeah, the corpse was found somewhere behind but not far away from the place he had rented, therefore his identity was verified immediately."

Luo Wenzhou was a skillful driver. He managed to move in the narrow alley that was only a few millimeters wider than the police car, and was still able to interrupt her and ask: "From where did the rumors of robbing and garroting gangs start?"

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"They said that it was because the belongings of the dead were all robbed. His phone is gone, and his wallet was emptied and left beside him, but it is not concluded if those belongings were taken away by the murderer." Lang Qiao quickly glanced over the mail. "Oh yeah, the reporter said that there was a piece of paper left on the corpse's face, and it was stuck on his hair by tape, the side facing inside read 'Money'."

Tao Ran turned off the navigation: "Take a right turn here and we will be there."

"Got it." Luo Wenzhou drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "This is Sub Bureau's case, and has not been transferred to Bureau. Do you know what we're supposed to do here?"

Lang Qiao replied tentatively: "Guidance and supervision?"

Luo Wenzhou: "Do you know who generally used to do the job of 'Guidance and supervision' in the past?"

Lang Qiao suddenly understood: "Eunuchs!"

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Tao Ran turned back and stared at her.

"This is what young women in your village think about all day long?" Luo Wenzhou grinned as if he had a toothache. "Putting this aside. I am serious- there are only few years left before Director Zhang retires, and all the deputy directors are just a few years younger than him. All other people in our bureau either lack experience, or soak themselves in tech and don't bother to speak to anyone like Head Zeng. Therefore, it is highly probable that some people from the Sub Bureaus will get promoted."

Luo Wenzhou avoided hitting a pile of rubbish at the roadside, and lowered his voice: "Our old director wants to get rid of people like Wang Hongliang, so that we won't have a son of a rum puncheon as our leader in the future- Now, do you know what our main task is?"

Tao Ran was very serious and persistent, which was incompatible with this era. He didn't care much about anything else, Luo Wenzhou would take care of everything even if the sky was falling. In terms of the crime cases, however, as long as there was one doubtful point, he would not stop investigating- regardless of whether he was in charge of that case or not.

Luo Wenzhou: "The dead was knocked out from the back. If it was robbing, the robbers didn't need to strangle him. It is highly probable that this is a personal grudge. Wang Hongliang's basic judgement is correct- What questions do you have?"

The body had already been put inside a body bag and carried away by the legal medical experts. Tao Ran quietly said: "It is his shoes- Nobody does cleaning here, and you get mud under your shoes easily. But just now I opened the body bag and checked the corpse. That child's shoes are very clean."

Luo Wenzhou lifted his eyebrows slightly.

"Of course, it is probable that the dead lived near here, and was very familiar with the environment." said Tao Ran. "However, I still have a feeling that that small glasses guy of Sub Bureau was correct. We cannot rule out the possibility of here not being the first scene. Besides, the paper stuck to the head of the dead was strange as well. Wenzhou, in any case this is not as simple as it seems like. I am afraid that Director Wang just wants to close the case quickly to avoid digging into it."

"Afraid?" sighed Luo Wenzhou. "Obviously he wants to close the case quickly."

As long as one suspect appears, Wang Hongliang could immediately announce to the public that this was a case caused by personal grudge, and not some 'garroting killer' as people talked about online. Without public stunts, people would forget about this case in days. After people stop talking about this case, they can again say that "Huashi District Sub Bureau have made great contribution for the city's success in holding XX meeting."

As for the case, they would send a few criminal police to investigate. If they find the murderer they will catch him/her, if not, they will just hold the case. After a while, the case could be closed without conclusion.

This was what Wang Hongliang had always done, otherwise Director Zhang would not be against him.

Tao Ran said: "Anyway, a child came all the way here, died in this city far from home. We should be conscientious on his case."

Luo Wenzhou gave him a sidelong glance which lasted for two seconds.

Tao Ran added quickly: "I am just a bit concerned so I want to go with them. I won't create extra branches on the tree."

Luo Wenzhou smiled: "All right, anyway all these years the extra branches created by you were always taken care of by me, but still you haven't pay me back with your body."

Tao Ran did not care, he jokingly cursed: "Go away."

Finishing this sentence, he was about to go. Luo Wenzhou stopped him: "Wait. Is Fei Du the one who sent you flowers in the morning?"

Tao Ran didn't care much about that, and said: "Who else would do that?"

Luo Wenzhou put his two hands into his pocket, glanced at his tiptoe as if he was looking for something to say: "If I say to you 'Keep yourself away from that fellow', does that sound like a dog chasing mouses? (1)"

"Are you serious?", laughed Tao Ran. "He always does this. This is a joke to him. He's not my type, even if I were as curved as a ball..."

Luo Wenzhou cut him off in a low voice: "If you were curved, that kid wouldn't even get a chance."

Tao Ran's brain was blank after hearing this. But before he could consume the information in the words, Luo Wenzhou said: "I am not saying that he keeps racketing around, or he is not accountable... Not that level. I always have a bad feeling about Fei Du, do you understand what I am saying?"

"I understand," nodded Tao Ran. He was thin and frail-looking, seemed to be one of those guys who don't dare to fight for himself when being bullied. Therefore, he always wore uniforms at work. The sunlight in the morning penetrating the parapet and moss, gave him a fine edge. "I have been observing him for the past seven years. Fei Du is a good child, you don't need to be alarmed- although he is indeed a bit overcorrected now. He is too vivacious."

Luo Wenzhou didn't answer.

Tao Ran changed the topic: "And, there was an unknown someone, who was so shy that he didn't even give his name when sending a gift. I recall that he had spent great efforts to get a game machine from some foreign country, but asked me to..."

"Go away.", Luo Wenzhou cut him off with a cold face. "Do your work. Don't keep talking about nonsense!"

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(1) a dog chasing mouses: Meaning mind others business

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