Being Targeted by a Female Ghost [Criminal Investigation] - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Ghost is Caught, The Ghost…

Zhang Zhuo stood in the entryway, looking at the familiar face on the screen, and let out a deep sigh.

After a moment’s hesitation, she finally let her fuming superior inside.

The door had barely opened before a fist flew straight toward Zhang Zhuo’s face. She didn’t dodge or hide, taking the blow head-on. Her head snapped to the side; a cold sensation followed as blood began to leak from her nose.

She raised her hand, wiped it with the back of her wrist, and stood straight again to face the newcomer.

The middle-aged woman standing before her was the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, Gu Xiao. She was also the mentor who had taught Zhang Zhuo how to crack cases and led her onto this path.

Gu Xiao had a notorious temper and was strictest with her only student a fact known throughout the station.

After the first death in the serial case occurred last month, everyone assumed the sudden death was an accident; even the family didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until similar cases appeared one after another that the sub-bureau officially merged them and launched a serial murder investigation.

Gu Xiao, the veteran detective stationed at the sub-bureau, had been seconded to the Provincial Department to help. Consequently, the title of task force leader fell to her student, Zhang Zhuo.

Zhang Zhuo was just like her: regardless of the scale of the case, she usually solved it quickly. Yet this time, she had dragged it out for over a month without progress. Naturally, people suspected the student wasn’t up to her master’s level, and someone reported the lack of progress to Gu Xiao.

Busy at the Provincial Department, Gu Xiao became suspicious. She sped through her workload, reviewed the case files repeatedly, and made subtle inquiries to those around Zhang Zhuo. That’s when she discovered that not only was Zhang Zhuo keeping things from her, but the entire team was covering for her.

And so, she had stormed back.

“Who gave you permission to do this?!” Gu Xiao threw another punch. This time, Zhang Zhuo couldn’t dodge in time and fell heavily to the ground.

The officers following Gu Xiao winced. They wanted to intervene but didn’t dare, standing still with sympathetic looks.

Zhang Zhuo climbed up, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and chased after Gu Xiao toward the living room.

Gu Xiao spotted the bound woman from a distance, immediately recognizing the red dress—the same one worn by the suspect at the crime scenes.

Their eyes met, and Gu Xiao instantly caught the flash of panic in the woman’s eyes. Following the woman’s gaze down to the holster hidden under her jacket, Gu Xiao looked back up with a cold laugh and strode forward.

Standing over Qiu Chi, she said condescendingly, “You’ve got guts. Killing so many people and not even destroying the evidence—you actually dare to wear it.”

Qiu Chi was stunned, then realized she was talking about the red dress. She replied helplessly, “This isn’t evidence. It’s just my pajamas.”

Gu Xiao’s lip curled as she looked at the bedsheet-wrapped “cocoon,” then turned to Zhang Zhuo: “What are you standing there for? Take her in.”

Qiu Chi asked, “Where to?”

Gu Xiao looked back into her eyes. “To where you belong.”

Lancheng Sub-bureau, Forensic Center. Qiu Chi sat on the edge of the bed, letting the forensic doctor treat the wound on her shoulder. She looked around, her gaze landing on a tissue box nearby.

“Can I have a piece of paper?” she asked.

“What do you need paper for?” the doctor asked.

Qiu Chi said, “My hands are a bit dirty; I want to wipe them.”

The doctor glanced at her and shook his head. “I’ll take you to wash up in a bit.”

Qiu Chi fell silent, looking down at the silver handcuffs on her wrists. She gritted her teeth, thinking that once the truth came out, she would definitely settle this score.

Just then, a dark shadow flashed in her peripheral vision. She turned to see Zhang Zhuo leaning against the doorframe, watching her quietly.

Half of Zhang Zhuo’s face was swollen, her nose was red, and her lip was cut. She looked a mess.

When Qiu Chi looked over, Zhang Zhuo crossed her arms awkwardly. “What are you looking at?”

The tone was cold, but the aura was weak. Qiu Chi rolled her eyes and looked away.

Zhang Zhuo walked out into the corridor, wincing as she touched the corner of her mouth. The officer standing nearby looked apologetic and whispered, “Captain Zhang, are your teeth okay?”

Zhang Zhuo bared her teeth. “What do you think?”

“Heh, as long as they didn’t fall out,” the man said. “You know Captain Gu’s temper. If I hadn’t told her, I’d be the one needing bandages right now.”

Zhang Zhuo pursed her lips. “I know. You’re a total sieve—nothing stays in your mouth.”

The man gave a sheepish smile. “I did it for your own good. There have been six cases. If we didn’t catch her, who knows how many more people would die?”

“Just because of a dress, you’re certain she’s the killer?” Zhang Zhuo asked.

The man countered, “That dress is a limited edition. She’s the only one in Lancheng who bought it. If it’s not her, who else could it be?”

Zhang Zhuo frowned deeply. “Then let me ask you: how did she appear out of thin air at the scenes?”

The man pondered for a moment. “She knows the terrain and perfectly evaded the cameras.”

Zhang Zhuo said sternly, “No matter how well she knows it, it’s impossible to leave zero traces.”

“Then… maybe she’s an expert at disguise.”

Zhang Zhuo: “If she’s an expert at disguise, why does she wear that same red dress every time she appears?”

“If you put it that way, I really don’t have an answer.”

Zhang Zhuo thought of the fingerprints and footprints collected at the scene. After a long silence, she muttered, “Everything will be clear once the comparison results are out.”

After her wound was bandaged, Qiu Chi was taken to the interrogation room by Zhang Zhuo.

Just as she was about to sit down, Gu Xiao rushed in and pushed Zhang Zhuo out. “Go wait for the lab results. I’ll handle the interrogation.”

Zhang Zhuo didn’t move, looking from Qiu Chi to Gu Xiao. “This is my case. Why are you interrogating her?”

Gu Xiao glared at her impatiently. “Get out. Now.”

Zhang Zhuo gritted her teeth and gave Qiu Chi one last look before leaving. Qiu Chi’s back was to her; she didn’t turn around.

Zhang Zhuo stormed out, slammed the door, and headed to the observation room next door.

“Captain Zhang, wait a moment.”

Zhang Zhuo turned to see the forensic doctor walking quickly toward her with a file folder.

“What is it?” Her eyes fixed on the folder. “The results are out?”

The doctor nodded and handed it over. “The fingerprints and shoe prints all match.”

Zhang Zhuo scrambled to open it. After reading, she froze, her heart pounding. For a moment, she felt like she had traveled back ten years.

Qiu Chi was a suspect once again. The difference was that this time, Zhang Zhuo was the detective responsible for the arrest, not the victim’s family.

“Captain Zhang?” the doctor called out.

Zhang Zhuo snapped out of it and turned toward the interrogation room.

The doctor suddenly stopped her. “When I was bandaging her, I saw many old scars on her body. Injuries of that severity definitely required surgery. I think you should check her medical records; you might find something new.”

Zhang Zhuo slowly gripped the door handle. Without turning back, she said, “Okay. I’ll check.”

She pushed the door open, placed the folder on the table, and left.

This time, Qiu Chi looked back at her, but only caught her retreating figure. Only a few minutes had passed, yet it felt like Zhang Zhuo had become a different person.

Gu Xiao scanned the documents, a smile appearing on her face. She tapped the table with her knuckle. “Miss Qiu, you just said you didn’t kill anyone, right?”

Qiu Chi withdrew her gaze and nodded.

Gu Xiao pushed the documents toward her. “Then tell me, why do the fingerprints and shoe prints collected from the crime scenes match yours perfectly?”

Faced with the expected answer, the weight in Qiu Chi’s heart sank another inch. She didn’t even look down at the file. After all, she knew better than anyone whether she had been at those scenes.

“I don’t know,” she answered.

Gu Xiao smiled. “Don’t know? Let me help refresh your memory.”

She gestured to the recording officer, who immediately handed over a stack of photos.

Gu Xiao took them and slid one toward Qiu Chi. “September 2nd, 10:00 AM. A male corpse was found at Lancheng Sanatorium…”

Seeing the corpse in the photo, Qiu Chi couldn’t help but frown. Gu Xiao continued, “The deceased was an inpatient. He was walking in the garden. A nurse with him saw a strange woman nearby.”

Qiu Chi had absolutely no recollection of this, and she didn’t believe that woman was her.

Gu Xiao watched her expression. “The nurse chased after her, but she escaped. By the time the nurse returned, the victim had stopped breathing.”

Qiu Chi looked up. “So, that was actually the first case?”

The panic Gu Xiao expected was absent; instead, she saw only calm in Qiu Chi’s eyes.

Interesting. She nodded. “Correct.” She pulled out a second photo. “Late night, September 12th. Another male corpse was found in a cornfield in the suburbs. Same as before: sudden death.”

Qiu Chi had seen several horrific death scenes by now, but seeing it again made her skin crawl. She suppressed her nausea and looked closely.

For some reason, looking at the towering cornstalks surrounding the body, she felt a sense of déjà vu. Like she had been there.

But she had forgotten.

Gu Xiao raised an eyebrow. “Looks familiar, doesn’t it?” She stared into Qiu Chi’s eyes. “You were there?”

Qiu Chi’s eyelashes trembled. She looked up to meet the probing gaze. “No.”

Gu Xiao’s lips curled. To her, that “No” was no different from a confession. A second of hesitation was often more substantial than any physical evidence.

“Didn’t you say he died of natural causes?” Qiu Chi said. “Isn’t that the same as suicide?”

Gu Xiao laughed and pulled out a third photo. It was the surveillance footage from the haunted house.

Qiu Chi looked at it with feigned composure. Though the woman standing next to the body didn’t have her face on camera, Qiu Chi recognized herself instantly.

She went through the fourth, fifth, and even sixth photos.

But her answer remained the same: “I didn’t kill anyone.”

A few hours later, the interrogation ended. Gu Xiao ordered the suspect to be taken to the detention cell.

However, as soon as the suspect left, Zhang Zhuo blocked Gu Xiao in the hallway.

“Can you give me a little more time?”

Gu Xiao frowned. “What more do you want to do?”

“I don’t think she’s the killer,” Zhang Zhuo said.

Gu Xiao raised her hand as if to hit her, but seeing Zhang Zhuo’s expression, she softened her blow and patted her shoulder. “Zhang Zhuo, you’re a detective. You can’t start acting up every time you meet someone who looks like your sister…”

“Shut up!” Zhang Zhuo violently threw off her hand. “I don’t have a sister!”

Gu Xiao clenched her fists, glaring at her through gritted teeth. “Can you stop being so—”

“Captain Gu! Something’s happened!” An officer shouted from down the hall, interrupting them.

Both turned to look. The man was panting for breath: “The suspect… the suspect has escaped!”

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