Chapter 136 Backlight

◎A black figure stood by the door◎

As a nationally renowned writer, Wei Lan was murdered in Luo County, which caused great headaches for the Luo County Public Security Bureau.

After receiving countless calls, the new director Xiang Yingjie was completely overwhelmed.

In the morning, when Li Mingyang reported that Zhao Xiangwan from the Xing City Public Security Bureau had provided important clues and hoped to participate in the interrogation process, Director Xiang almost jumped for joy.

Zhao Xiangwan, this name was like a bolt from the blue to Director Xiang.

——He single-handedly took away the former director Lu Hui from the Luo County Public Security Bureau and changed the situation there all by himself (this is a bit exaggerated; in fact, Zhou Rulan and Zhu Kang were involved, but they were ignored by the story tellers).

——In less than a month, a 20-year-old family murder case was solved.

——The provincial department and Yuezhou District Public Security Bureau police forces jointly cracked down on the Sancunwan black den.

Who is Zhao Xiangwan? He is the mind-reading detective and the legendary figure.

If she is willing to participate in solving the case, it will be a timely help to the new director Xiang Yingjie.

Xiang Yingjie personally led people to the gate of the Municipal Bureau to welcome Zhao Xiangwan and Ji Zhao. His smile was amiable and showed his genuine joy: "Oh, Officer Zhao and Officer Ji are here. Our Public Security Bureau is extremely honored."

Zhao Xiangwan didn't bother to exchange pleasantries with him: "How's the progress on the Wei Lan case?"

Xiang Yingjie was not used to her pace for a while. He paused for a moment and tried to follow her train of thought. "Leaders from Kyoto, the government, and the provincial department have called to inquire about the case and asked us to solve it as soon as possible. Wei Lan was a very famous person, but she died in Luo County where she grew up. It was also the time when the Provincial Writers Association held its annual meeting. This involved many people and the social relationships that needed to be investigated were very complicated. Oh! It's a headache."

After speaking of the difficulty, Xiang Yingjie glanced at Li Mingyang standing beside him and said, "Officer Zhao, how about I act as a contact person and fully cooperate with you in your work?"

Zhao Xiangwan naturally agreed: "No problem."

Next, Xiang Yingjie introduced Cao Guang, the captain of the criminal investigation detachment. Cao Guang is 30 years old, square-faced, of medium height, a native of Luo County, in his prime, with excellent criminal investigation skills.

Cao Guang extended his hand to Zhao Xiangwan: "Welcome!"

Zhao Xiangwan shook hands with him and said, "We came here uninvited. I hope you don't mind."

Cao Guang smiled when he heard this: "Officer Zhao is too polite. After the Little New Year comes the New Year, and you and Officer Ji gave up your vacation to fight alongside us. I really admire your spirit and attitude, so how could I dislike it?"

Zhao Xiangwan realized that Cao Guang was a straightforward and understanding person, and that was good.

So, accompanied by Cao Guang and Li Mingyang, Zhao Xiangwan and Ji Zhao walked into their office together.

The Luo County Public Security Bureau has set up a special task force for the murder of Wei Lan, with Criminal Investigation Brigade captain Cao Guang as team leader and Li Mingyang as deputy team leader. All personnel and materials are at their disposal.

Li Mingyang knew that Zhao Xiangwan was a man who acted decisively and did not like those empty polite words, but he started directly with the case report.

After Wei Lan's death, all the hotel guests were checked. Except for her first love Chai Dingshan who was brought back last night, editor Huang Liang, and reader Zhou Haoman who was squatting in the stairwell, all the participants of the Writers Association Annual Conference were asked to stay in the Furong Hotel and were not allowed to leave without permission.

The on-site investigation and review revealed the following clues.

First, the results of the on-site investigation.

Wei Lan was stabbed in the throat at around 8pm. Judging from the depth of the cut and the direction of the cut, the killer was between 170-175cm tall and right-handed. There were carpets in the corridor and no footprints were left at the scene. There were no fingerprints or other injuries on Wei Lan's body. The cut was clean and neat, and Wei Lan fell to the ground without struggling or calling for help.

Based on the above, the task force deduced that the target was an experienced killer. Judging from Wei Lan's social relationships, most of them were intellectuals, whether husbands, colleagues, or friends, so this murder was initially classified as a hired killer.

Second, Zhou Haoman’s explanation.

He is from Luo County, the son of a working-class family. After failing the college entrance examination last year, he relied on Wei Lan's romantic novels to get through a difficult period. He knew that the annual meeting of the Provincial Writers Association was held in Luo County and Wei Lan would attend the meeting, but he became interested. Yesterday, he spent some money to ask the service staff and found out that Wei Lan lived in 301. He knocked on the door at 7 o'clock, but no one opened the door, so he squatted in the evacuation stairwell. At that time, he sat in the middle of the stairs from the third floor to the second floor, took out a novel by Wei Lan from his bag, and read it for a while in the dim light of the stairwell.

Around 7:30, Zhou Haoman heard a man and a woman arguing in the corridor on the third floor. They spoke in Luoxian accents and mentioned that the train was late. When Zhou Haoman looked out of the stairs, the argument was over and he saw nothing. He knocked on Weilan's door again, but no one opened the door for him.

Around eight o'clock, Zhou Haoman was hesitating whether to leave. Suddenly, the fire door of the stairwell was opened, and a figure rushed down like the wind. He didn't even have time to see the other person clearly before he disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

Later, Zhou Haoman fell asleep on his bag while sitting in the stairwell. He was caught by the police and taken to the lobby as a suspect. He cried out in injustice and tried hard to prove that he was not the murderer.

Third, Chai Dingshan’s explanation.

The quarrel that took place in the corridor on the third floor at around 7:30 was between Wei Lan and Chai Ding Shan. The two had agreed to have dinner together at 6 pm, but Chai Ding Shan broke the appointment because his train was late. Wei Lan was very angry, so they argued for a few words and left unhappily.

According to Chai Dingshan's account, he lived in Room 506 and called Wei Lan using the hotel's internal line, wanting to apologize in person, but no one answered the phone until the call was connected around 7:30. He asked Wei Lan to meet and said he had a gift for her. Wei Lan then said in an unhappily: Then come on.

Chai Dingshan knocked on the door and handed the prepared gold necklace to Weilan. Weilan looked at it with disdain, took it and turned to close the door. Chai Dingshan wanted to go into the house with him to reminisce, but Weilan pushed him away and cursed, "Get lost!"

Chai Dingshan hurriedly explained: "I was supposed to treat you to a meal, but the train was late, so you were delayed?"

Wei Lan didn't let him in and glanced at him: "I haven't seen you for so many years, and you've become like this?" After saying that, she turned and went into the house, slamming the door.

Chai Dingshan stood at the door, feeling mixed emotions, swore a few words, and left in a huff. According to him, although the corridor was carpeted, it had a strong echo, and the weather was cold, so the doors of the rooms were all closed, and no one opened the door when he was talking to Wei Lan.

Fourth, edit Huang Liang’s explanation.

Before he came, he spoke to Wei Lan on the phone. Wei Lan did have the idea of ​​splitting up with Lan Yu Publishing House, and told Huang Liang that she was writing a very interesting 300,000-word romance novel, which could be serialized in "Absurd" magazine, and that she could also cooperate with Nan Xiao Publishing House behind Absurd in the future.

According to Huang Liang, Wei Lan was very confident about the new book and said very mysteriously that it would be an epoch-making new book that would lead the romance novel market in the next decade. She only told him that the book would be named "Wrong Love" and that the specific details would be discussed when they met.

After Huang Liang talked with the editor-in-chief, the editor-in-chief sent him on a special trip to make sure this cooperation was successful. The two were originally scheduled to meet at the coffee shop in the hotel lobby at 5 pm, but because of the train delay, Huang Liang and Wei Lan missed it. The hotel waiter also confirmed that at 5 pm yesterday, Wei Lan did wait in the coffee shop for half an hour, and then left and went upstairs, with a bad look on her face.

In summary, the task force sorted out the timeline.

Wei Lan and Huang Liang had an appointment at 5pm yesterday afternoon, and Chai Dingshan had an appointment at 6pm, but they all broke their appointments because of train delays.

Azure was not in the room before seven o'clock;

Wei Lan returned to the room around 7:30;

At eight o'clock, the killer came, knocked on the door, and killed Wei Lan.

Hearing this, Zhao Xiangwan raised the first question: "At 7:30, Zhou Haoman knocked on the door, but Wei Lan didn't open it. This shows that Wei Lan is very alert. If there is no prior appointment, she will not open the door to strangers casually. Then why did she open the door at 8 o'clock?"

Cao Guang asked: "Do you suspect that Wei Lan has an appointment at eight o'clock?"

Zhao Xiangwan nodded: "Yes, who made an appointment with Wei Lan to meet at 8 o'clock in the evening? Did you ask?"

Cao Guang shook his head: "No, we have questioned every participant of the Writers Association Annual Conference, and no one knew that Azure Eight had an appointment with someone."

Zhao Xiangwan looked at Cao Guang: "Where is the guy called Bookworm?"

Cao Guang looked at Li Mingyang.

Li Mingyang took out the list of all the writers' association attendees, checked them against each other, and pointed to a name and said, "Jiang Chunlai, 33 years old this year, pen name Shudai, a member of the provincial writers' association. He is a full-time writer, mainly writing rural love literature, married, and has a daughter."

Zhao Xiangwan stretched out his hand and said, "Bring me your transcripts."

Li Mingyang handed over the transcript of his conversation with Jiang Chunlai to Zhao Xiangwan.

Zhao Xiangwan read the book quickly and handed it back to Li Mingyang: "From 6 to 7:30 last night, he was in the room?"

Li Mingyang said: "Yes."

Zhao Xiangwan asked: "The association had a dinner party last night, how could he be in the room at six o'clock?"

Li Mingyang thought intently: "The association started the dinner at 6pm, held in the Chinese restaurant on the second floor of the hotel, with a total of three tables. Weilan did not attend and went back to her room to rest. Strange, Shudai didn't eat either? Let me see what others say. Oh, here, a person with the pen name Lao Chong once said that Shudai was a little worried during the dinner yesterday, and only ate a few bites before returning to the room."

Zhao Xiangwan said: "Something must be wrong when it's out of the ordinary. It's very likely that Wei Lan was with Shu during the period from 6 to 7:30."

李明楊再一次“啊”了一聲，“他們是情人？”

孤男寡女，共處一室，說他們是坐在一起談小說構思？誰信！

趙向晚點頭：“只是一種推測。再問問書呆，也許能問清楚，她與誰約了八點見面。”

曹光有些興奮：“如果是雇兇殺人，那我們有兩件事要做。一是找出這個殺手，二是找出雇傭殺手的那個人。殺手目前只有周浩漫見過背影，恐怕不好找，但這個雇兇者，或許我們能夠找得出來！”

趙向晚說：“是，抓緊時間問問書呆。”

李明楊皺眉道：“可是，書呆不願意承認與蔚藍的情人關系，連幽會一事都瞞着警方，他怎麽可能會告訴我們其他有用的信息？”

趙向晚站起身：“我和你一起去問。”

李明楊開心地笑了起來：“好，有你在，我就放心了。”

曹光立馬吩咐底下人去芙蓉酒店傳喚書呆。

趁着等待的空隙，趙向晚對李明楊說：“我們先見見周浩漫，看看他能不能想起那個只有他打過照面的兇手特征。”雖然只是一個背影，也許能夠透露出一些重要信息。

李明楊連連點頭：“好好好，有季警官幫忙畫像，我們如虎添翼啊。”

大家一起往審訊室方向走去。

臘月寒冬，天氣冷得很。

羅縣公安局大樓的走廊裏，有冷風從兩頭的窗戶透進來，冷得鑽心。

李明楊看一眼神采奕奕的趙向晚、季昭，忽然想到一件事，詢問道：“你讓我們帶回來的那對男女，基本情況都已經詢問清楚，後續還需要了解什麽？”

趙向晚問他：“趙晨陽交代了什麽？”

李明楊回答：“趙晨陽說曾經給蔚藍寫過信，說有些好的寫作素材要提供給蔚藍，并且兩人約了今天在芙蓉酒店見一面，具體時間幾點幾分并沒有約好，只說到了之後再打電話聯系。”

趙向晚問：“洛一輝怎麽說？”

李明楊說：“他說他什麽都不知道，這次純粹就是陪女友來見蔚藍。”

趙向晚嘴角一勾，面露嘲諷：“可是，他知道蔚藍已死。”

李明楊大驚：“怎麽可能？蔚藍被殺的消息，目前只有作協和我們內部人員知道。就算昨天在酒店住宿、吃飯的人，也只是知道酒店發生了命案，具體死的人是誰，他們并不知道啊。”

趙向晚擡眸安靜地看着李明楊：“所以啊，我讓你把他們帶到公安局來。這個洛一輝，絕對有問題。”

曹光與李明楊對視一眼：“今天洛一輝早上八點從珠市出發，直接去的趙家溝，他根本沒有機會接觸到知情者。如果他知道蔚藍已死，那他一定有嫌疑。”

李明楊有些好奇地問：“趙警官，你又是怎麽知道，洛一輝知道蔚藍被殺？”

趙向晚将當時的情形描述給他們聽。

——趙向晚當着洛一輝的面告訴趙晨陽：蔚藍已死，趙晨陽很慌亂，不敢置信，可是洛一輝卻眉毛都沒有動一下，很堅決地說蔚藍的死和趙晨陽沒有關系。

——趙向晚詐他說他知道蔚藍已死，洛一輝嘴上說不知道，但他的微表情顯示，他在說謊。

——趙向晚收了他車鑰匙，不準備他離開時，他開始慌亂，甚至打算走路離開趙家溝，直到被人阻止，他才不得不放棄這個打算。

以上種種，的确令人懷疑。

但是，也只是懷疑。

李明楊說：“趙警官，早就聽說過你的微表情理論很牛，沒想到在判斷對方是不是說謊這件事上，你能夠這麽冷靜、這麽準确。只是，雖然我們懷疑洛一輝，但具體應該怎麽樣才能讓他承認罪行呢？”

趙向晚道：“所以，我們要尋找證據。”

李明楊眼睛忽然一亮，想到了什麽：“趙晨陽說曾經與蔚藍有書信往來，我們在蔚藍的行李裏也發現了一些讀者來信，只是沒有來得及一封一封地看。那我現在去找一找。”

曹光也說：“蔚藍常住地在京都，她家應該會有安裝電話。我讓京都警方協查，到電信局查一查，最近有沒有從珠市、羅縣打過去的電話。”

趙向晚點了點頭：“對，就這麽辦。”

李明楊有點焦急：“不過……傳喚時間最多只有十二小時，我們得抓緊。”

是啊，證據收集需要時間，京都警方協查更得費周章，可是今天必須要審出個結果，否則洛一輝便能離開羅縣，繼續逍遙自在。

想到這裏，趙向晚深吸了一口氣：“不急。”

希望周浩漫能夠提供有用的信息，揪出殺人兇手；

希望書呆不要

讓自己太失望，能夠把蔚藍這邊的恩怨情仇掰扯清楚明白。

先得把蔚藍這邊的複雜社會關系理順，再來審訊洛一輝。

臘月二十四，羅縣公安局審訊室。

趙向晚今天的第一審。

公安局的審訊室大同小異，白牆、水泥地板、鐵椅、“坦白從寬、抗拒從嚴”黑體大字……一切都透着嚴肅與冰冷。

周浩漫穿得不多，昨晚在看守所又冷又恐慌，現在來到審訊室，坐在鐵椅上開始發抖。趙向晚讓李明楊拿了一床薄毛毯過來，給他披上，周浩漫這才慢慢止住這股控制不住的顫抖，感激地說了一聲：“謝謝。”

趙向晚道：“昨天晚上我見過你，你當時對警察說，你不是嫌疑人，你是證人。”

周浩漫老老實實點頭：“是的。”

趙向晚語帶鼓勵：“那就證明給我們看。”

周浩漫把昨天自己蹲守樓梯間的過程再次描述了一回，提到八點有人猛地推開樓梯間防火門，匆匆奔下樓的時候，他打了個寒顫：“我，我當時不知道他是兇手，如果知道，我一定會努力把他的樣子看清楚。”

【警察不會懷疑我說謊吧？我真沒有！】

【如果我知道蔚藍被他殺了，我一定不會放過他。】

【蔚藍的文字那麽溫柔、溫暖，怎麽會有人那麽殘忍，要殺她呢？】

看得出來，周浩漫是個單純、浪漫的人。

趙向晚雙目微眯，琥珀色的眸子裏閃着異光，她的聲音裏帶着蠱惑：“周浩漫，你現在配合我，我們一起找到兇手。”

周浩漫毫不猶豫地點頭：“好！需要我做什麽，你說。”

趙向晚的聲音似清澈的泉水，又似春天吹來的微風，暖暖的、懶洋洋的，在她的聲音裏，周浩漫漸漸進入催眠狀态，昨天晚上八點發生的一幕清晰地浮現在腦海。

“我将挎包放在膝蓋，坐在臺階上打瞌睡。突然被身後一聲很大的響動驚醒，我當時睡得有點迷糊，吓了一大跳，猛地回頭。”

季昭坐在桌邊，桌上擺放着紙筆。

不過他沒有動，依然安靜地傾聽着周浩漫的話。

李明楊大氣都不敢喘，緊張地盯着季昭的一舉一動。他沒有見識過季昭的模拟畫像過程，只聽過公安系統內部的傳說。

——只憑一張畫像，讓連環殺人犯上吊自殺；

——憑借一張照片，畫出五年後的模樣，順利尋找到失蹤兒童；

——哪怕是做了僞裝的拐子，他也能去僞存真，畫出她真正的模樣。

傳到後來，簡直神乎其神。

大神就在眼前，李明楊終于有了近距離觀摩的機會，激動得心都快要跳出胸腔，屏氣凝神緊緊盯着季昭。

周浩漫的描述還在繼續，他的文字功底不錯，之所以高考失利全因為數學、英語太差。

“我當時坐在中間第六、第七級臺階的位置，也許是因為仰視，逆光看過去，對方很高大，肩膀很寬，短短的頭發，很短，貼着頭皮的那一種。他穿的是一件皮夾克，深綠色的工裝褲，側邊有幾個口袋的那種，束腳褲，高幫的皮靴，腰很細，腿很長，給人的感覺特別精神。”

“走廊的光比較亮，樓梯間比較暗，逆光過去，我看不清楚他的臉，再加上當時腦袋有點昏沉，也只看得清楚他的身形輪廓。他的動作很快，從我身邊匆匆而下，一步兩三級臺階，像只老虎一樣。”

趙向晚問：“他沒看到你？”

周浩漫咽了一口口水：“應該看到了吧？不過他并沒有理睬我，就從我身邊跑過，眼神都沒有給一個。”

趙向晚再問：“他經過你身邊的時候，你聞到了什麽？”

周浩漫閉目沉思，不太篤定地說：“像醫院的消毒水味道，哦，對了，還有一股汽油味。”

趙向晚問：“看到他側臉了嗎？”

周浩漫努力回想，卻發現腦子一片空白，只得搖了搖頭：“不記得了。他跑過去的速度太快，我根本沒有看到他的臉。”

趙向晚停下訊問，轉頭看向季昭。

季昭拿過白紙，以漫畫的形式開始描畫起來。

樓梯間，逆光。

一道黑色身影立在門邊。

短發、寬肩、細腰、窄臀、長腿，身材非常好的一個年輕男人。

貼身的衣服，流暢的肌肉線條，透出一種勃勃的野性，仿佛在叢林之中行走的黑豹一般。

It's just an outline, but it makes people feel heartbroken when they see it.

——This man’s ferocity can be seen even through the paper.

Ji Zhao turned the paper around and showed it to Zhou Haoman who was wrapped in a blanket.

Zhou Haoman took one look and stood up suddenly, his voice breaking: "It's him!"

Zhou Haoman looked at the portrait in disbelief, then looked at Ji Zhao with admiration: "Oh my God, how can you draw so well?! I, I didn't even see what he looked like clearly, how could you draw this?"

There was no expression on Ji Zhao's face, but his face was so beautiful that it gave people a mysterious feeling, as if he was an immortal banished to earth.

Zhao Xiangwan picked up the portrait and handed it to Li Mingyang: "Hurry up and make a copy. Go to Furong Hotel and ask the waiter if they have seen this person before."