Silent Testimony - Chapter 75

Zhu Hong provided the audio recordings of Ma Zhiming and Yan Chen discussing the search for a ghostwriter. She speculated that Ma Zhiming likely failed to deliver on his promises: “He profited 12.92 million yuan. According to their agreement, Yan Chen was supposed to receive at least 3 million as a cut, but as far as I know, Ma Zhiming went back on his word.”

The motive for murder was now clear.

Qiu Wan raised a lingering doubt: “Given your status in the publishing industry, you could have easily blacklisted Ma Zhiming. Why did you use someone else to do it?”

“As I said before, back then he was only minorly famous in Yan and Hu cities. He hadn’t climbed high enough for the fall to hurt. Besides, dealing with him personally would have dirtied my hands.”

Qiu Wan and Zhu Hong spoke for nearly half an hour. After hanging up, Li Hewei analyzed the situation: “Zhu Hong shouldn’t be lying. It’s not worth ruining one’s reputation or committing a crime over a piece of trash like him.”

“Mhm,” Qiu Wan nodded in agreement, though she added that they would still conduct a formal investigation.

“Of course, the procedures must be followed.” Li Hewei turned and walked toward the technical unit office. Qiu Wan walked beside her, showing concern. “You’re injured and still have a fever. Why don’t you take some leave and rest?”

“Xiao Wu is on bereavement leave, and Tao Ling is in the hospital. Our team is shorthanded.”

Qiu Wan quickly asked, “How is Xiao Tao? Is she getting better?”

“Same as before. She’s started running a fever.” Li Hewei’s expression darkened, though she tried to comfort herself. “But that’s also a good sign; it means her bodily functions are still working.”

“Right. When are you going to the hospital? Take me with you.”

“You’re injured too. You should rest. I’ll just go sit there for two hours and come back.” Li Hewei knew that the EICU at the affiliated hospital had fixed visiting hours starting at 4 PM, and waiting outside after work wouldn’t help. A hint of sadness touched her eyes, but her voice remained firm. “Tao Ling wouldn’t want me to act on impulse or waste my days in a slump, would she? So, isn’t it better to focus on finding evidence to solidify the case against Yan Chen?”

“You’re right.”

Li Hewei pushed the door open to find He Ying and Wang Cen huddled around a computer by the window, their expressions solemn.

“Sister He, Sister Wang, what did you find?” Qiu Wan asked.

Wang Cen turned her head and gestured for them to come over.

“Look at this. Upon further comparison, Yan Chen’s DNA matches the DNA of the killer from last year’s ‘Tin Oven Case’ in the Beiyun District of Yancheng. I was just about to call you.”

“Really?” Qiu Wan leaned in, scanning the report.

“Yes. After the taxi driver was dismembered, the remains were dumped in an oven on a food street. Because there was no surveillance nearby and the driver’s social circle was complex, we lacked evidence. We only managed to extract a small amount of skin tissue from under his fingernails to get a DNA profile.”

He Ying added a key point: “Until this recent incident, Yan Chen’s DNA wasn’t in the database, which is why he remained at large until now.”

Qiu Wan’s eyes shimmered with the light of certain victory. “Good. I’ll notify Director Liu first, then contact the Yancheng police.”

Around 10 AM, Yan Chen was brought into the interrogation room. Wang Cen remained the lead interrogator, with Old Xu assisting and the steady Xiao Zhou acting as the clerk.

“These are the printed records of Chao Hui’s computer documents and mobile chat logs that we recovered through technical means. They prove he was ghostwriting for Ma Zhiming.” Wang Cen crossed her hands under her chin. “Were you aware of the ghostwriting?”

Yan Chen flipped through the chat logs, his expression one of feigned shock. “What? Old Ma used a ghostwriter? Impossible. He’s already published seven novels—why would he suddenly need a ghostwriter for the eighth?”

“You’re sure you didn’t know?”

“Positive.” Yan Chen was cautious; he had always discussed things with Chao Hui in person to avoid leaving a paper trail.

Wang Cen played the recording sent by Zhu Hong: “Listen to this.”

“Old Ma, information is moving fast these days, and the industry is taking intellectual property rights seriously. Who do you want me to find?”

“Xiao Chao is good. I’ve seen his ideas; they’re quite creative, and his short stories always have a twist.”

“But will he agree?”

“No one is helping Xiao Chao get published. As an assistant, he makes at most 6,000 a month. I’ll give him 200,000 in one lump sum.”

“There’s risk involved. I’ll think about it.”

“Brother Chen, my books are getting more popular. Anything I put out will sell. How about we split the profits in the future?”

Wang Cen paused the recording. “Do you remember how much the split was?”

Yan Chen’s face grew increasingly pale. He bit his lip and remained silent.

“Nothing to say?” Wang Cen pressed her advantage. “Weren’t you just flatly denying it? Are you mute now? Or should I hypothesize the motive for you and Chao Hui?” She stated concisely, “One did it for the ghostwriting fee, and the other for a 3-million-yuan cut. It was all about money, wasn’t it? But did you ever think that killing him wouldn’t get you the money—it would only get you into a prison cell?”

Yan Chen’s throat bobbed; his nervousness was palpable.

Wang Cen shifted her tone. “Well, criminals usually don’t understand that logic. Most of them only care about immediate gratification or are arrogant enough to think they can evade the law.”

“Like you—the killer of the March 28th ‘Tin Oven Case.’ Having succeeded once, you grew more brazen: killing Ma Zhiming, kidnapping Medical Examiner Tao, and attacking Officer Li.” Wang Cen’s eyes seemed to flash with fire as she stared him down. “The last two were attempted murders. Absolutely deranged.”

Yan Chen’s body trembled physiologically, his silver handcuffs rattling under the harsh lights. In the monitoring room next door, Qiu Wan picked up the intercom and whispered, “Sister Wang, play the video from Captain Meng of the Beiyun Branch in Yancheng.”

“Understood.”

Wang Cen pulled up the video on her phone and showed it to the man. “Yan Chen, this is a video recorded by Officer Meng. The squad she leads never gave up the investigation. They’ve been looking for evidence this whole time.”

In the video, a female officer in a crisp uniform spoke with a stern expression: “Yan Chen, we screened 13,678 surveillance videos. We captured your silhouette and a hooded frontal shot. We interviewed hundreds of citizens. We found scattered clues, but the net of justice is vast. I always believed we would…”

Yan Chen tilted his head back and took a deep breath. His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke. “Heh… I was just careless for a moment, using my glove to wipe the blood off my wrist. I put too much faith in Chao Hui’s competence.” During her struggle, Tao Ling had bitten through Yan Chen’s skin. He had pulled off his glove to wipe the seeping blood, leaving behind the smoking gun.

“Still arrogant,” Wang Cen glared at him. “At least Chao Hui hesitated and felt regret. In the end, he confessed to Medical Examiner Tao’s whereabouts. You, on the other hand, are incorrigible.”

“Regret? What did he have to regret? When I suggested kidnapping a cop, he didn’t object! The day after Ma Zhiming died, he came over and said I wasn’t being careful enough. He even wrote the words ‘Deserves to Die’ on the bay window!”

“We only state facts and questions during interrogation once we hold the evidence.” Wang Cen threw Chao Hui’s diary to Yan Chen. “He had a habit of keeping a diary. Half an hour ago, Officer Li discovered a detail in the mountain of physical evidence. In the diary, page 125 is followed immediately by page 127. He once wrote a confession on page 126, but likely because he was in a trance and the writing was incoherent, he tore it out.”

Writing leaves indentations. Li Hewei had used an Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) to restore the contents of the confession.

Yan Chen scanned the lines in the diary, his face turning ashen.

[Brother Chen doesn’t even bat an eye. Why am I so terrified? Should I have agreed to help him?]

[Assisting in a murder makes me an accomplice. At best, it’s three to five years; at worst, it’s life or the death penalty. Brother Chen actually asked me to stalk a cop and participate in a kidnapping…]

[I shouldn’t have been blinded by greed. If I needed money, I should have earned it slowly. 200,000 yuan… if I saved for five or six years, I could avoid eating prison food—or a bullet—when the truth comes out…]

Yan Chen raised his bloodshot eyes. “I thought I had committed the perfect murder with Ma Zhiming.”

Wang Cen sat behind the desk, leaning forward slightly. “There is no such thing as a perfect crime. You will always miss some detail.”

Following standard procedure, Yan Chen confessed to his crimes and signed the deposition before being led away by other officers.

Li Hewei silently walked out of the observation room. She took the elevator back to her office and leaned against the window, looking up at the sky. The weather had cleared after the rain, and the haze was gradually dissipating. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, falling into her eyes and shimmering alongside the spots of light in her palm.

She whispered soundlessly, “Tao Tao, don’t oversleep anymore.”

However, things did not go as hoped. Tao Ling ran a fever for two consecutive days and was diagnosed with exudative pneumonia. Lin Ye stated plainly that the sooner she woke up, the better it would be for her recovery; otherwise, she might suffer permanent sequelae.

Late that night, Li Hewei’s exhausted silhouette pushed open the front door. Cheng Yingqiu busied herself bringing things over.

“Sister, have some water.” “Sister, have some fruit.” “Sister, did you eat? Do you want to order takeout?”

“No,” Li Hewei answered mechanically.

“How is Sister Tao Ling? What did the doctor say?”

Li Hewei’s throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton. She struggled to force out four words: “I’m going to shower.”

“Okay.” Cheng Yingqiu didn’t push. She watched blankly as Li Hewei entered the bedroom and shut the door. Then, she looked down to reply to a message.

[Is she home?] [Just got back. She looks like she’s in a bad mood. I thought she had finally found some peace of mind.] [How could she have peace of mind? She’s using work to numb herself.] [Cat sighing emoji] [At the meeting today, Director Liu praised her individually for her leadership. It looks like the technical unit will get a Collective Third-Class Merit by the end of the year.] The technical unit had provided the direct evidence needed for the Beiyun Branch in Yancheng to solve their cold case. Director Liu and Director Wei had received commendations from the Provincial Department for it. [She probably doesn’t care about merits right now.] Cheng Yingqiu heard hurried footsteps from Li Hewei’s room. She rushed over and knocked on the door. “Sister! What are you doing? What happened?”

Li Hewei’s voice was choked with a difficult-to-describe excitement: “Tao… she’s awake.”

Cheng Yingqiu relayed the good news to Qiu Wan. Near midnight, the three of them drove to the hospital.

In the EICU changing area, Lin Ye repeatedly instructed Li Hewei: “Five minutes maximum. Keep your voice as low as possible.”

“Okay. Thank you for making an exception and letting me see her.”

Lin Ye smiled and nodded in response. Li Hewei followed behind Lin Ye, biting her lip as she approached Bed No. 2.

“I assume you know you need to sanitize your hands. I won’t disturb you.”

“Thank you.”

Once Lin Ye walked away, Li Hewei sanitized her hands. Her eyes never left Tao Ling, who was looking at her with half-open eyes. Her heart ached with an unbearable swelling.

“Tao Tao,” she called out softly, using the intimate nickname.

Tao Ling was weak, her voice sounding as if it were coming from her nasal cavity. “Sister Wei…”

Li Hewei’s eyes turned red instantly. She forced a smile onto her lips, leaned over to take the girl’s hand, and whispered into her ear: “Be good. I’ll wait for you to be discharged.”