Chapter 26 Bird of Paradise 11

Their enemies are powerful and cunning, so they devise a plan to test those who suspect them.

There was a bulletin board in the school that was later used by students as an anonymous confession wall, where people would often post confessions. So every day, students would go check it out.

Luo Siwei took advantage of the night to avoid surveillance and posted an anonymous letter on the bulletin board. She pretended to be a student who participated in cheating and had been suffering from the guilt of her conscience since the incident that year. She was thinking about whether to tell the truth she knew.

Such a letter was naturally extremely damaging, and the old incident sparked discussion on campus.

Subsequently, under Luo Siwei's guidance, relevant discussion posts appeared on the school's bulletin board and forum.

As people started talking about this matter, a chain of suspicion was formed.

The school was in an uproar, and finally, the people involved in the incident were no longer indifferent.

First, the administrator blocked the post, and then ordered the confession wall to be demolished on the grounds that it affected students' studies. Rumors also spread in the school that some students were secretly interviewed.

All this was like a crack in an airtight wall, and the person behind the scenes gradually showed his identity.

Luo Siwei focused her attention on Vice Principal Yan Yeran. He oversaw the arts department at the school and was her mother's direct superior.

Thinking back carefully, it was Uncle Yan, who had watched her grow up, who repeatedly talked to her mother after the fraud incident and kept suppressing relevant news. He even visited her home after her death.

Luo Siwei did not rush for success, but slowly collected evidence.

She gradually discovered the vice-principal's unspeakable secret. Naturally, there were some tall students studying dance at the art high school. Yan Yeran would select young and beautiful female students and bring them into his office...

After obtaining enough evidence, Luo Siwei reported Yan Yeran under his real name on the eve of the college entrance examination for serious problems such as cheating in the exam and coercing female students.

This time, her report did not fall on deaf ears, but was taken seriously by the police. Ye Ling, then deputy director of the Donglan Municipal Bureau, personally came to her school to investigate this series of cases.

Overnight, the school became completely different. There were many more police officers rushing back and forth on campus. Some teachers who were implicated asked for leave, and the relevant students were interviewed by the police.

In the school's conference room, Ye Ling met her alone.

That was the first time that Luo Siwei met this goddess in the police force. Ye Ling was no longer young at that time. She was nearly fifty years old. Probably because she kept exercising all the year round, she maintained a very good figure. However, her hair had many white hairs due to overwork. She had an affinity that was different from those male police officers.

Ye Ling's gaze towards her was so gentle, just like a mother's. Before she could say anything, Luo Siwei felt her nose and eyes sore, and the usually strong-willed girl lowered her head and burst into tears.

Ye Ling didn't rush her. She handed her a tissue and watched her cry gently.

After she had cried enough and wiped her tears, Ye Ling took out a candy from his pocket and said to her, "Luo Siwei, let's make a deal. I'll give you this candy, and you tell me everything you know."

She put the candy in her mouth. The sour and sweet taste gave her courage, and she told everything clearly.

Ye Ling said seriously, "I will verify the truth and help you catch those bad guys."

On the day Yan Yeran was taken away by torture, Luo Siwei was extremely excited. She had really done what she had done, and made the person who hurt her mother pay the price.

Naturally, she would tell Thinker about this.

She sat in front of the computer, her fingers typing quickly on the keyboard: "Thank you for helping me. How can I repay you?"

The thinker quickly replied: "You don't have to repay me. Once your problem is solved, I will disappear from your life. If you want to thank me, you can use this feeling to help more people."

"Will we meet then?"

"Maybe one day, we'll meet."

The alarm clock suddenly rang, Luo Siwei sat up from the bed, and finally woke up from the dream.

Today is Saturday. The case has come to an end and she doesn't have to go to work at the Municipal Bureau. However, Luo Siwei is still used to getting up early on weekends. She went to the bathroom to wash up, still immersed in that dream.

In fact, that was her first real case. And the Thinker was her best teacher.

After graduating from high school, she resolutely applied to the police academy. This decision was unanimously opposed by her grandparents. Her grandmother was full of doubts: "Can you be a police officer? You want to be a criminal police officer? You will only encounter corpses in the future."

Grandpa also said: "Being a police officer means arresting people. When something happens, you have to rush to the front. How dangerous it is."

She said, "But my dream is to be a police officer."

Grandma frowned: "From childhood to adulthood, you have never been a tomboy, just a normal girl. Why do you want to be a police officer?"

She asked her grandmother, "Why do policewomen have to be tomboys?"

Then she said, "I like dolls, dresses, lipstick, and bags, but these have nothing to do with whether I can be a good police officer."

Grandpa asked her, "Girl, I know you've been thinking about your mother in the past, but now that your mother's affairs have been investigated, do you still want to be a police officer?"

"My mother's problem has been solved, but there are still many unresolved issues in this world and in society." She thought of Ye Ling whom she had met, so heroic, so righteous and gentle.

She said: "I didn't have a goal in life before, but now I have a goal in mind for how I want to live my life."

In the end, her grandparents were convinced by her, and she got a high score in the college entrance examination, and was admitted to the university of her dreams.

Now, all the good and bad things are in the past.

Her life had its share of misfortunes, but along the way, she also met many kind people, such as Si Zhe and Ye Ling, who encouraged her. It was these people who changed her life.

After graduation, she joined a group of high school classmates and attended a class reunion, which was a joyful occasion. Those classmates told her that in high school, it was Yan Yeran and several teachers who secretly encouraged those students to bully her. She was even regarded by later students as a hero who opposed the school's hegemony.

It seems that all problems have been solved.

No one responded except the Thinker account, but it was as if he had sown a seed in her memory. After a long time, the seed took root and sprouted.

She has now become a policewoman and serves as a light to others.

Luo Siwei forced himself to struggle out of his memories and focus on the case at hand.

The police made their judgment based on the situation at the scene, surveillance video footage, Liu Wangnan's testimony, and He Jin's final confession, and eventually identified the suspect.

During the interrogation, they did not force the girl, nor did they extract a confession.

He Jin voluntarily pleaded guilty and the police obtained her confession, which was consistent with the investigation results. She was also detained as a suspect in the case.

From all aspects, there is no problem with the police's handling of the matter.

But thinking back to that dream and reviewing the current case again, Luo Siwei finally understood why she felt that He Jin was wrong. A daughter killed her father, brother, and sister, and seriously injured her mother. What kind of traces would this leave in her heart?

No matter what kind of emotion it is, it will not be insignificant. It must be a deep scar in her heart.

Luo Siwei has witnessed numerous cases of patricide and matricide, both domestically and internationally, including the Jennifer Pan case, the case of an 18-year-old girl who dismembered her parents, and the Peking University matricide. She specializes in studying the psychological trajectory of juvenile offenders and has personally encountered similar offenders. She has observed their expressions: triumphant, joyful, bewildered, sad, and heartbroken.

He Jin seems to be different from those people.

Luo Siwei still remembers the look in her eyes when she made her confession.

What if He Jin is not the real murderer...

Her story was perfectly coherent, but lacked the corresponding emotion. Could it be that this was just another brilliant lie? She knew her home well; she had broken into it before without a key. She had been to a crime scene and seen her brother's body.

Thinking of this, Luo Siwei covered her eyes with a towel and recalled every detail of yesterday's interrogation. In the end, she remembered the girl's smile twice, one when she was standing downstairs and looking up at the fire scene; the other was in the interrogation room when she heard Liu Wangnan identifying her.

That smile was not beautiful, but rather very sad. Combined with her numb eyes, she looked like a walking corpse.

But there are still many mysteries and questions in her heart.

But if He Jin was not the murderer, why did she appear at the scene? If she did not commit the crime, why did she admit to the crime in person?

To protect the real murderer?

Or is there another reason?

Thinking about this, Luo Siwei whispered to himself: "He Jin, what kind of person are you..."

Luo Siwei finished washing up in the bathroom and wiped the water off her face.

She thought of her dream again, as if she was talking to the Thinker across time and space. If he were handling this case, what would he do and what would he say?

"If she is not the murderer, then there must be a real murderer."

Luo Siwei decided to continue investigating the case. She could not wrongly accuse a good person, nor could she let the murderer go unpunished.

Early Saturday morning, Luo Siwei did not go out for exercise as usual, but instead logged onto the city bureau's internal website to check police dispatch information.

She always remembered the incident of He Jin stealing money. The girl gave her an explanation, which might also be a lie. She still wanted to know the details of the situation.

Luo Siwei quickly found the call record on the police platform.

The crime occurred two years ago, with the police report filed at 8 p.m. The officer who handled the matter and recorded it was a police officer named Zheng Lin from the Second Precinct at the time. Luo Siwei did some searching and discovered that Zheng Lin was no longer with the Second Precinct; he had been transferred to the Donglan First Detention Center as a minor supervisor.

Luo Siwei considered that today was Saturday and going through the formalities would take too much time, so she just wanted to go over and ask a few questions.

Luo Siwei suddenly had an idea and thought of the prison doctor Lin.

She hadn't spoken to Lin Shuangting in a long time. She opened WeChat on her phone and thought for a while before sending a message: "Prison Doctor Lin, it seems that there is a leader named Zheng Lin over there. Do you know him?"

Luo Siwei was a little nervous, worried that Lin Shuangting would take a break today, and also worried that he would be unwilling to help.

After a while, Lin Shuangting replied to her: "The timing of your question is quite coincidental. I just arrived at the detention center. He is in class today. Do you need anything from him?"

Luo Siwei explained, "There's a suspect in the case I'm investigating. There was a dispute there, and Officer Zheng was called in to handle it. I'd like to know the details. Can I go and see him?"

"I'll ask for you." After a few minutes, Lin Shuangting said, "I've already spoken to Prison Guard Zheng. Come over here. When you get back to the gate, tell the guard you're looking for me. I'll bring the person over for you."

Luo Siwei thanked him profusely. She quickly put on her clothes and took a taxi out.

We soon arrived at the detention center. We could see the high walls and iron fences from a distance. Every time we entered, it was heavily guarded.

Luo Siwei greeted the security guard in charge and walked in to sit in the outer reception room.

After a while, Lin Shuangting arrived first. He said to Luo Siwei, "Prison Guard Zheng is doing his morning routine inspection and will be out in five minutes."

Luo Siwei thanked him.

Lin Shuangting stood up and poured Luo Siwei a glass of water in a disposable cup: "Are you handling the fire case?"

Luo Siwei: "You know that too?"

Lin Shuangting poured himself some water and sat down in front of Luo Siwei. "I was resting yesterday and saw some analysis online." He paused and said, "Many people say that it was the eldest daughter who did it."

Luo Siwei took a few sips of water, put down the cup, and looked up at him: "This case is still under investigation. In fact, I came to ask Prison Officer Zheng because of this case. There was a dispute in their family and they called the police."

Lin Shuangting asked, "What exactly is the dispute?"

Luo Siwei didn't hide it from him: "The girl's parents once called the police and said she had stolen money from their family. It was Prison Guard Zheng who handled the matter at the time."

Lin Shuangting showed an expression of expectedness: "Then this seems even more correct. Some people are born evil, regardless of age."

He seemed to be convinced that it was He Jin who did it, and most people on the Internet also thought so. Luo Siwei did not refute him.

Just like what happened before, she had long discovered that people were only willing to believe the truth they believed in, and the best refutation was to put the results in front of those people.

The interrogation room was somewhat quiet, and Lin Shuangting continued to speak to himself: "I've seen too many bad people here. I don't think criticism and education, or prison, can help those seriously ill prisoners reform. Some people think they are just thinking about how to be good people after they get out, and how to commit crimes again after regaining their freedom."

Luo Siwei said: "Maybe."

They chatted briefly, and then the prison guard Zheng came out. He was wearing a prison guard uniform and greeted Luo Siwei.

This matter was not a secret, so Lin Shuangting did not leave. Prison Guard Zheng walked over and sat next to him.

Luo Siwei mentioned the dispute at that time, and Prison Guard Zheng quickly remembered it. He nodded and said, "Yes, I was the one who received the call and handled it."

Luo Siwei asked, "The record was very simple, saying it was a family dispute that was later settled. But what was the specific process?"

Guard Zheng leaned back in his chair, his fingers casually tapping the tabletop. He recalled, "That incident was quite complicated, and it's hard to record it."

There seemed to be a story inside, and Luo Siwei suddenly felt that his trip was not in vain.

I only heard Prison Guard Zheng say, "It wasn't the mother who called the police, it was the girl."

When this was said, not only Luo Siwei, but even Lin Shuangting who was listening was surprised.

Luo Si frowned slightly: "He Jin?"

"Yes, that seems to be her name. She pretended to be her mother and called the police. She also reported her mother's ID number to register."

Luo Siwei gathered her thoughts and asked, "She called the police, saying she stole her parents' money and wanted them to arrest her?"

"Yeah, I think it's strange too. That day, we went to the address where the police phone number was, and we found that the parents hadn't even noticed they had lost their money. The mother also said she hadn't called the police. I explained the situation to them, and then they checked and found that eight hundred yuan was missing from where they had kept the money."

"Later, the girl came back, and after we inquired in detail, we confirmed that it was she who made the call. The child's father said it was no big deal and that he would give his daughter a proper education, so he let us go. The girl was still a minor at the time, and if I recorded the police response accurately, it would mean she had made a false report, and no one would believe it. Anyway, we had already reported the incident, the matter had been handled, and the parents were not pursuing the matter, so I simply recorded it."

Prison Guard Zheng recounted what happened.

Luo Siwei discovered that this version of the story was indeed completely different from what He Jin had told her. After listening to Zheng Lin's story, Luo Siwei became even more confused: "He Jin...why did she do this?"

Prison Guard Zheng shook his head. "I don't know. Perhaps it was revenge on her parents? Or was there some other motive? The girl had apparently been away from home for two days, and her parents didn't seem worried at all. While we were dealing with this, the girl stood aside with her head down, barely speaking to us. I have no idea what she was thinking."

Luo Siwei listened carefully. This was different from the situation He Jin described to her. She had mentioned that she had run away from home and said that her parents were very anxious, but from what Zheng Lin said, it seemed that her parents didn't care about her leaving at all.

This was all Zheng Lin knew. After talking to Luo Siwei, he went back to work.

Lin Shuangting escorted Luo Siwei out. He asked Luo Siwei, "You came here specifically to ask about this matter. Do you think there's something wrong with this case?"

"Hmm." Luo Siwei said, "I suspect the murderer may not be the daughter of that family."

"I don't know the whole story, so I won't comment. My previous thoughts were arbitrary." Lin Shuangting was a man who could correct his mistakes. He walked Luo Siwei all the way to the door.

Luo Siwei said politely: "Doctor Lin, you can go back. Thank you very much."

Lin Shuangting waved at her.

Luo Siwei left, but Lin Shuangting did not leave. He stared at Luo Siwei's back. The woman looked thin, but seemed to have infinite power.

He murmured to himself, "Maybe you are right."