Case Files 013

Chapter 147: It is Folly to be Wise

When I saw Guan Zhenglin, I knew she had followed the instructions on my phone. Several hours ago, when we were trying to ambush the killer, I had predicted this moment. Therefore, I had Guan Zhenglin do a few things.

First, check whether Chief Zhou's younger siblings had received any money recently.

Secondly, go to the market and check whether Er Xiao had been there 4 days ago to restock his store.

Thirdly, if the answer for both of the above was no, then had Captain Zhao bring the police from the city to come to the village. The answer was clear. At that moment, the group of five walked up from the basement.

"You've found the killer?" Captain Zhao looked at me.

Instead of answering him, I turned to Chief Zhou and said, "Luo Sumei's body is inside the basement. I believe you should go and see her." Chief Zhou looked at me with a complicated feeling and then he nodded and walked down into the basement. First there was a temporary silence and then came Chief Zhou's blood-curdling cries.

"What happened?" Guan Zhenglin wanted to go down to witness the situation for herself. An indescribable melancholy overwhelmed me. I hugged Guan Zhenglin to stop her and sighed, "Let him be alone for a while. He needs to cry this out." Guan Zhenglin noted how reserved I was. She didn't say anything but patted my back. I had never been in love, and I didn't know what that felt like but from Chief Zhou's wails, I could hear that Chief Zhou did love Luo Sumei. But he had no choice but to kill her. This kind of love-hate relationship was just sad.

"I killed her." Chief Zhou climbed up the ladder. "I am color blind."

One day later, Guan Zhenglin finally came back with the lab test result. The body parts did belong to Luo Sumei and the brown hair was dog fur. Guan Zhenglin also told me that when the police informed Luo Sumei's family of her death, her family refused to come claim her body because they didn't want to travel so far.

Mary did some digging and found out that Luo Sumei would mail money home every month because she had a 25 years old younger brother. The brother needed money for dowry. Luo Sumei's mother told her that if she didn't mail back 5000 RMB every month, she would disown her.

3 days later, Chief Zhou and the group of five confessed to everything. The police chief of Elm Town, the senior officer who practically saw Chief Zhou rise through the ranks, participated in the interrogation. After hearing Chief Zhou's story, the police chief didn't say anything but stood up and left the interrogation room. As he exited the door, I heard him mumble to himself, "How can God be so cruel?"

Sometimes, hard work is not enough to achieve the things one wants. Some people are born with original sin. I was reminded of what Chief Zhou said that night, "I guess this will be my life." It was filled with such despair and helplessness. The last time I saw Chief Zhou was when he was about to be sent to court. There was a question that I had to ask Chief Zhou because I might not have the chance again.

I asked, "You've managed to fool everyone for 20 years but why would Luo Sumei discover that you're color blind?"

Chief Zhou flashed me his friendly smile, "I told her myself."

"Why?" I was confused.

Chief Zhou was ushered into the car. He rolled down the window and told me, "Because we are kindred spirits. I've been so alone for 40 years. Go to my place, there is a wet market behind it. At the end of the market, there's a grandmother selling vegetables, ask her about it." Chief Zhou smiled, "I assumed I loved her, and I thought she loved me too." The car drove away and the last thing Chief Zhou told me was, "But in the end, who we love is ourselves. Honestly, if the situation switched and I was the one who had the upper hand in the relationship, would I rise above the occasion? I doubt it" That was the last time I saw Chief Zhou.

Five days later, at First Drain Village. The day when Captain Zhao arrived with the team, they used the snow cleaners to shovel away all the gathered snow. So now we could drive all the way to First Drain Village. Currently I was sitting inside the village head's office. "Now everyone at First Drain Village knows the truth." The village head poured the tea for me. "Chief Zhou, Ol' Xia, Er Xiao, Lee Luo, Lee Danan, Sun Zheng are all killers. This is the first time First Drain Village has lost so many people at one time." I shook my head. I refused the tea but stood up to walk towards the bookshelf.

Last time I was here, the bookmark was in the middle of the book but now it was near the end. I pulled out the book with the bookmark and casually flipped through it. I said, "In that wheelchair, no matter how high you reach, you will be unable to take the book down from its location on the shelf." I turned to face the village head. "And you have no secretary. Why the insistence on using the wheelchair? Wouldn't it be better for you to walk around and exercise?"

The village head chuckled. "I never said that I am handicapped. People assume that because I'm seated in a wheelchair. Therefore, do not trust everything that you see, the eyes can lie."

My lips curled into a smile. "If we can't trust our eyes, then what can we trust?"

"Your heart." The village head stood up to take the book away from me and sat back down on the wheelchair. "How you think of the world is how you see the world."

I said, "Actually there is one thing that has been troubling me. Chief Zhou has been to First Drain Village many times so he must have known Ol' Xia but during my first visit here, he pretended to not know Ol' Xia, why do you think that is?"

The village head pointed at my chest. "What does your heart tell you?"

I was silent and then said, "At the start, Chief Zhou never wanted to surrender. When I was down in the basement, I told the five that Chief Zhou would definitely surrender but I was just bluffing. Is it not possible that Chief Zhou never wanted to surrender? But when he saw that I had figured out most of the case, he had no choice but to do so to hope for a lighter punishment?"

The village head didn't answer me but offered, "How you think of the world is how you see the world. Maybe you're right. In any case, I personally have no idea why he would pretend to not know Ol' Xia."

"But if that's true." I frowned before I asked, "Does Er Xiao make his trip to the city for the restock on a fixed schedule?"

The village head nodded, "Yes, the man is like clockwork. He will go to the city on the 25th of every month after lunch hour no matter the weather." The village head's words shattered my world and I was stunned. I shivered all over. The five were willing to sacrifice themselves for Chief Zhou so they must have a good relationship with Chief Zhou and Chief Zhou would know about Er Xiao's monthly habits. What if Chief Zhou purposely led Luo Sumei to First Drain Village because he knew Er Xiao would pass through and help him finish his job?

Chief Zhou was also acting. He needed Luo Sumei to die but he didn't want to hang for killing her. So he only mortally injured her. That way, his crime was only attempted murder and he would have so many people, including Elm Town's police chief to plead for his case. But if that was true, just how corrupt Chief Zhou's heart must be?

"But" My voice shook. As if seeing through my thoughts, the village head pointed at the calligraphy behind me. "When I was young like you, I too wanted to know everything but later I understood, what's the point? Sometimes not knowing is better than knowing. Perhaps the knowledge is that not everything can be answered. You are still too young."

I turned to look behind me.

It is folly to be wise.

Suddenly, a weight lifted off my shoulders.

Before we left the village, we decided to pay Granny Wang another visit, the old lady who couldn't speak and hear. This time it was Guan Zhenglin who cooked, I was surprised by her skills. Granny Wang smiled brightly like a child. When we departed, I gave her several hundred RMB but she refused them. After we walked out, I quickly ran back, dropped the money on her bed and ran. At that moment, I heard a voice say, "Another good man has left."

It was a very kind-sounding voice. When I turned back, Granny Wang was still standing there. So Granny Wang did know how to speak, she merely didn't wish to speak with others. I didn't get it. Were the people at Handicapped Village truly handicapped? Or perhaps they were just people with their own stories. And who could say that we were not handicapped' in our own ways?

I had no idea the good man' Granny Wang referred to was me or Chief Zhou. Who knew and who dared to proclaim that they were a truly good man?

One week later, we got the news. Zhang Ke, Xia Tian, Lee Danan, Sun Zheng and Lee Luo were given the death sentence due to murder and mutilation of body while Chief Zhou was given life imprisonment. Hearing that news, I couldn't help but be reminded of Sun Kangning. Would he hate me after he knew the truth? For him, was I a good buy or bad guy? Perhaps he would see me as a bad guy, after all I had taken away his father like the bad guy who took away his arms.

10 days later, I followed the address given to me by Chief Zhou and found the old lady who sold vegetables at the market. I asked her about Luo Sumei and she surprised me by remembering everything. This was because the old lady was familiar with Chief Zhou who often came to help her.

This happened 4 months ago. Luo Sumei went to the market to purchase some vegetables and she got into an argument with this old lady due to a change of 3 cents. At the start, Luo Sumei was pushy and unforgiving but suddenly, she crumbled to the ground and cried. The old lady was shocked and quickly came to console her. She blurred, "I'm already 30 now but I still have to argue like a crazy woman for 3 cents. This is not the life I want, how did things get to this state?"

Chief Zhou was at the market as well and witnessed everything.

He asked, "What's your name?"

"Luo Sumei." When she saw Chief Zhou, she blushed. She felt like she was 10 years younger.