I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 53: Chapter 51: The Murderer Has Escaped

Zhuang Yanzheng and the other two went to the hospital.

When they arrived, the first thing they heard was the sound of Jiang Lingjie’s family crying.

”Captain Zhuang.” The two officers who had been monitoring Jiang Lingjie at the hospital walked over.

”What happened?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”The doctor said the lab results show it was cyanide poisoning.”

”Around 12:15 AM, we heard the call button for the nurse’s station ring. A nurse entered the ward calmly, but then she came running out in a hurry to call for the doctor on duty.”

”It only took two or three minutes, and then he was gone.”

”We were standing guard at the door the whole time. We’re certain no one went in except the nurse.”

”Did any nurses go in or out before he pressed the call button?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”Just before midnight, a nurse came by to do her rounds. It was the nurse on duty. She’s still here.”

Zhuang Yanzheng went to find the doctor to get more details.

Su Miaoyi followed him.

The doctor’s conclusion was:

Death by oral ingestion of cyanide.

Cyanide is extremely toxic. When ingested orally, it can be fatal within two to three minutes.

’That means Jiang Lingjie must have eaten something before he pressed the call button.’

’It couldn’t have been suicide.’

’Cyanide is a very strictly controlled substance.’

’So what would make him eat something in the middle of the night?’

When Zhuang Yanzheng left the doctor’s office and returned to the hospital ward, Jiang Lingjie’s mother was grabbing an officer’s uniform and shouting at them.

Zhuang Yanzheng immediately walked over, pulled the officer away, and stood in front of him. ”I’m Zhuang Yanzheng, Captain of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division. If you have something to say, say it to me.”

”Zhuang Yanzheng!” The woman grabbed his clothes. ”What crime did my son even commit? His girlfriend died! He was heartbroken! He was in the hospital! Didn’t you have police stationed here? How could you let him die from poisoning! What the hell are you people doing?!”

”Please calm down.” The woman struck him on the arm, but he didn’t say anything.

He could understand the family’s grief.

”You only know how to watch him, not protect him!” the woman screamed. ”What good are you?! What’s the point of having you around?! Give me back my son! Give me back my son’s life!”

The woman’s relatives pulled her away.

The woman sobbed uncontrollably.

Su Miaoyi walked to Zhuang Yanzheng’s side and looked up at him.

Zhuang Yanzheng led her aside. ”I’ll have Lu Zhishen take you home.”

”I...” Su Miaoyi managed only a single word before she froze in place.

Zhuang Yanzheng saw her eyes suddenly go vacant and still.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

’A day had passed, and he’d almost forgotten she could see things.’

Hearing her trail off after just one word, Lu Zhishen tilted his head and looked at her. ”What’s wrong?”

Zhuang Yanzheng pulled him aside. ”Don’t disturb her.”

Lu Zhishen realized what was happening. ”Is she...?”

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded.

Lu Zhishen watched her. ’So this is what it’s like,’ he thought.

He was a little curious and craned his neck, trying to get a closer look.

Just as he leaned in a little, Su Miaoyi suddenly flinched.

Startled, Lu Zhishen also flinched and instinctively grabbed Zhuang Yanzheng’s arm.

With a look of utter disgust, Zhuang Yanzheng frowned and shook off his hand.

Lu Zhishen looked at Su Miaoyi. ”Are you back?”

”What did you see?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”The nurse. There’s something wrong with the nurse.” Su Miaoyi started walking toward the nurse’s station.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Lu Zhishen both followed.

”I think I saw it from Jiang Lingjie’s perspective. A nurse came to give him medicine,” Su Miaoyi said. ”I couldn’t see the nurse’s face, but I saw Jiang Lingjie’s hospital wristband with his name on it. There were three capsules. The nurse told him to take the medicine six hours after dinner. There was afternoon sun slanting into the room, so it must have been around three or four PM.”

”I saw another part,” Su Miaoyi continued. The vision this time was short, and it came in two fragmented scenes. ”The room was dark, with only a single lamp on the bedside table. Jiang Lingjie took the medicine and almost immediately felt a burning in his throat and had trouble breathing. He pressed the call button right away, then collapsed onto the bed.”

They arrived at the nurse’s station as she was speaking.

They asked the nurse on duty for information on all the nurses.

Su Miaoyi had seen half of the nurse’s face.

But they couldn’t find a match in that department.

Lu Zhishen got a pen and a piece of paper from a nurse. ”You describe, I’ll draw.”

”Yan Cheng is here. I’m going to go talk to him about the autopsy,” Zhuang Yanzheng said before leaving.

While describing the face to Lu Zhishen, Su Miaoyi also requested photos of every nurse in the entire hospital.

A cyanide poisoning incident had occurred in the hospital.

The department head and the hospital director had both arrived.

Getting permission for the photos of all the nurses was simple.

Lu Zhishen quickly sketched the half-face and then made a few revisions.

Su Miaoyi, for her part, didn’t hold out much hope of finding the person in the hospital.

She thought it was more likely an outsider impersonating a nurse.

But then, she found a match at the hospital after all.

It was a nurse from the Gastroenterology inpatient department.

Lu Jing, female, thirty-three years old.

Lu Zhishen immediately contacted the station to run a background check on her.

Zhuang Yanzheng’s discussion wasn’t going smoothly.

In the end, they only agreed to an external examination of the body.

While Yan Cheng was performing the external examination, news came from the police station.

They’d found Lu Jing’s address.

Zhuang Yanzheng immediately took a team and headed over.

But by the time they got to her residence, she was already gone.

They pulled the surveillance footage from near Lu Jing’s residence and the hospital.

Su Miaoyi watched the footage with them until dawn.

They found nothing.

She eventually fell asleep, slumped over the table, and only started to wake up a little when it was time for breakfast.

Su Miaoyi’s eyes were fixed in a blank stare. The only part of her that moved was her mouth as she chewed on a steamed bun.

”Are you okay?” Yan Cheng asked, having brought breakfast over and sat down beside her.

”No,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Not okay at all.”

”The forensic center is still better. We don’t have to pull all-nighters like this,” Yan Cheng said.

Su Miaoyi chewed her bun, then looked at him after a moment. ”You’re lying to me. You didn’t sleep yesterday either.”

”Yesterday was an exception,” Yan Cheng said.

”You guys always make it sound so good when you’re recruiting. But once you’re hired, they work you to death,” Su Miaoyi said.

Yan Cheng didn’t reply.

Su Miaoyi asked, ”What were the autopsy results?”

”It was definitely cyanide poisoning; the blood test confirmed it,” Yan Cheng said. ”No other drugs were found in his blood. The three capsules you saw must have been filled with cyanide.”

Su Miaoyi nodded.

”Come be my assistant at the art studio,” Lu Zhishen suddenly mumbled.

He had also been watching the surveillance footage all night.

Su Miaoyi had at least gotten a little sleep, but he hadn’t slept at all.

He looked as if his soul had already left his body.

Only an empty shell remained.

Su Miaoyi glanced at him, thinking he barely had the strength to chew his bun.

Zhuang Yanzheng walked over, stood between Lu Zhishen and Su Miaoyi, and reached for a bun in Lu Zhishen’s bag.

Lu Zhishen’s soul instantly snapped back into his body as he clamped his hand down on the bag.

Zhuang Yanzheng’s hand froze.

Lu Zhishen realized it wasn’t one of his personal snacks and let go.

Zhuang Yanzheng stole his food so often that he’d developed a conditioned reflex.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at him, decided not to take his bun, and instead grabbed one from Su Miaoyi’s bag. He devoured it in two bites. ”Any new leads?”

”No,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Lu Jing’s car left the hospital after her shift in the afternoon. It disappeared from surveillance not long after, and we haven’t been able to find it.”

”Finish eating and wake yourselves up. We’re having a meeting in a bit.” Zhuang Yanzheng left after he finished speaking.

Su Miaoyi held up the bun in her hand, wanting to ask if he wanted another, but the words never left her mouth...