I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 108: Chapter 106: Someone Helped

Su Miaoyi stood outside the interrogation room, listening to what Yao Ying was saying.

She raised her hand to the corner of her eye, wiping away a tear that was about to fall.

Lu Zhishen glanced over at her and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, offering it to her.

Su Miaoyi shook her head. ”I’m fine.”

Lu Zhishen looked at her for another moment before saying nothing and putting the handkerchief away.

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at Chu Xingrou beside him. ”Go see if the DNA analysis report is ready.”

Chu Xingrou looked at him, then stood up and left the room.

In truth, they weren’t in a rush for the report. It was just that Chu Xingrou couldn’t take it anymore.

The moment she stepped out and closed the door, she lost control of her emotions.

Tears streamed down her face.

She took a deep breath, trying to quickly calm herself, but the tears fell too fast. She dug her nails into her palm and headed for the forensics lab.

The door to the interrogation room swung open.

Chu Xingrou returned with the analysis report.

Yao Ying glanced at Chu Xingrou’s red eyes.

Zhuang Yanzheng took the report and flipped straight to the last page.

It confirmed that Ma Yan was Yao Ying’s biological father.

Zhuang Yanzheng closed the report. ”Walk us through the murders.”

Yao Ying sniffled. ”I killed Qian Fan first. After I killed him, I went home. Ma Yan and Zhu He wouldn’t let me stay, and I had nowhere else to go, so I went back to Qian Fan’s house.”

”While you were gone, was Qian Fan’s body in the house the entire time?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”Yes,” Yao Ying said. ”I hid his body under the bed and wiped up the blood. With a guy like him, hardly anyone ever visited. So I slept in his house for a day and a night. What was there to be afraid of? The scariest things in this world are the living, not the dead.”

”The next day, just as it was getting dark, I took a rope, a hammer, and a fruit knife to Ma Yan’s house,” Yao Ying said. ”Ma Yan was outside checking the chicken coop, so I snuck up behind him and strangled him with the rope.”

”After he was dead, I covered his body with dry grass and went to find Zhu He. But no one was home, so I waited behind a pile of hay outside for them to come back.”

”Zhu He came back first,” Yao Ying continued. ”As she passed the hay pile, I raised the hammer from behind and brought it down on her. The first blow didn’t kill her, so I hit her a few more times.”

”Right after I finished her off, their precious son returned—he was right on Zhu He’s heels. He saw me killing his mother.”

”But that precious son of theirs...” Yao Ying slowly exhaled. ”So fat, and not even short. He saw me kill his mother and was so scared he couldn’t even make a sound, let alone try to fight back or save her. He just fell on his butt and couldn’t move. A total coward.”

”How did you kill him?”

”I stabbed him in the stomach a few times,” Yao Ying said. ”Then I spent the whole night burying the three of them in three different locations around Jinghai.”

”What did you use to transport the bodies?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”Qian Fan’s electric tricycle,” Yao Ying replied.

”Did the tricycle have enough battery to get you out of Qingyou District?” Zhuang Yanzheng pressed. ”Three different locations in one night? What, did the tricycle fly?”

Yao Ying fell silent.

”You’ve confessed this much. What’s one more detail?” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Yao Ying remained silent.

Zhuang Yanzheng continued, ”Someone helped you. Someone helped you move the bodies to three locations, even helped you bury them and nail them down. They gave you the nails, didn’t they?”

Five years ago, they had investigated the nails but the trail went cold.

Yao Ying said nothing.

”Who was it?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked. ”You said you haven’t been in Jinghai for years, so you shouldn’t know anyone here. Why would a complete stranger help you?”

”I don’t know,” Yao Ying said. ”I don’t know why she helped me.”

”Who was it?” Zhuang Yanzheng pressed.

Yao Ying shook her head. ”I don’t know her. She was wearing a mask and a hat. It was dark, so I couldn’t see her eyes. All I know is that she was a woman.”

”I was on the electric tricycle and only dared to take the back roads. I don’t know how long I’d been driving when the battery died. The tricycle was sputtering along when a car hit me from behind,” Yao Ying explained. ”The tricycle flipped over, and Ma Yan’s body rolled out.”

”The woman in the car got out and asked me what was going on, where the body came from. At that point, I thought I was finished. With nothing left to lose, I told her everything. Then she moved the body into her car. She used a rope to tow the tricycle all the way back to Huayue Village.”

”Then she helped me load the bodies of Zhu He and her son into the car as well,” Yao Ying said. ”All I know is that she was very strong and very brave. Not scared at all. After moving the bodies, she even cleaned up all the evidence.”

”I wouldn’t know, but the way she cleaned up the bloodstains seemed very professional.”

”After that, she drove me to three locations—east, west, and north—found spots, and dug the graves. She told me that if I nailed their hands and skulls, their souls would be pinned down and would eventually scatter and disperse.”

”When all that was done, she drove me back to Huayue Village. She gave me three more nails and told me to take care of the last one myself. Then she drove off.”

Zhuang Yanzheng said nothing.

Yao Ying continued, ”By the time I got back to Huayue Village, it was almost dawn. I took the nearly-dead tricycle, sputtering all the way back to Qian Fan’s house in Fuxiang Village.”

”It started to snow right as I got back to Qian Fan’s house. It snowed all day.”

That snow covered everything.

”Qian Fan’s body was starting to decompose, so I went out at night to find a place. I found that cellar. I waited another day, then in the early morning when no one was around, I threw his body in and nailed it down.”

”That night, it started snowing heavily again. It snowed for a full day and night. When the snow stopped, I left.”

Chu Xingrou listened to her confession.

’It was like both snowfalls were helping her.’

’She had help in Huayue Village, so the evidence was likely cleaned up thoroughly.’

’But the house in Fuxiang Village where she hid the body had been vacant for a long time. When she dragged the body into the yard, she must have left tracks in the snow.’

’No matter how well she cleaned up, it would have looked suspicious. After all, the house was supposed to be empty.’

’But then it snowed again, covering everything.’

”What was the license plate number of the woman who helped you?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

Yao Ying shook her head. ”I didn’t see it.”

”You’re lying,” Zhuang Yanzheng stated.

Yao Ying shot back immediately, ”I am not.”

”You saw it, and you remember it,” Zhuang Yanzheng said, watching her expression.

Yao Ying stared at him.

Zhuang Yanzheng said, ”You yourself said her technique for cleaning blood was professional. She was bold enough to help you bury bodies. Does that sound like an ordinary person to you?”

Yao Ying still didn’t speak.

Zhuang Yanzheng asked, ”What kind of car was it?”

”A Volkswagen,” Yao Ying replied.

”It was a Mercedes E300,” Zhuang Yanzheng said, watching her.

Listening from outside, Su Miaoyi’s brow twitched.

’So Zhuang Yanzheng already has a suspect in mind.’

Yao Ying suddenly held her breath. ”I... I don’t know cars.”

Seeing her reaction, Zhuang Yanzheng pressed, ”The license plate.”

Yao Ying fell silent for another moment, then finally recited the license plate number.

Hearing the license plate number, Zhuang Yanzheng lowered his gaze to the file in his hands...