Sister Xu, passing Lin Yaoyao, walked to the spot with a silhouette on the ground. Driven by professional instinct, she reached out and touched the ground, and in an instant, she shouted loudly in the distance.
"Old Chen, bring people over!" After speaking, Sister Xu pulled Lin Yaoyao and Zhou Wen's arms a few steps away.
Old Chen, along with his apprentice Xiao Zhao and others, ran over quickly. He looked at Sister Xu's actions and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Old Xu?"
Sister Xu, with a somber face, nodded her chin toward the silhouette. Old Chen looked there, and his expression was equally grim.
"No one look anymore. Xiao Zhao, tell the onlookers around to disperse." Old Chen's voice was stern, and at the same time, he had Da Liu and others set up a cordon.
Because the arrest of Bai Lao San had caused quite a stir, there were many residents watching the commotion at the intersection. After more than ten minutes, the crowd around the vegetable patch finally dispersed to a distance, still watching.
Old Chen and Sister Xu exchanged a look. The former spoke in a low voice, "Dig."
Rustle...
No one spoke, only the sound of shovels scraping against the soil, and occasional whispers from the distant crowd.
The shovel dug into the soft earth, making a dull sound. Lin Yaoyao clenched her fists, her fingernails digging deeply into her palms.
Zhou Wen sat slumped outside the cordon, clutching the Transformer toy tightly in her arms, its plastic edges leaving deep red marks on her arm.
Thud...
A dull thud, and a police officer's shovel stopped.
"There's something!"
Hearing the shout, everyone froze. Sister Xu stepped forward and saw the silhouette of a rectangular wooden box, about 1.2 meters long, emerging from the pit.
Several people worked together to lift the wooden box out. Old Chen's face was as dark as it could be. He looked at Sister Xu, "It's not light. There should be something inside."
Upon hearing this, the people around them felt a pang of dread. Just then, the walkie-talkie on Old Chen's shoulder crackled to life: "Captain Chen! West Suburb Abandoned Brick Kiln, Zhang Dehai and two boys found! Repeat, Zhang Dehai and two children found!"
Old Chen quickly picked up the walkie-talkie. "Received. Confirm the children's health status."
"The children's vital signs are good. Medical personnel have been contacted."
Hearing the report from the other end of the walkie-talkie, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. But Zhou Wen, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly looked up, her lips parting slightly: "Two, two?"
With this soft question, Sister Xu and the others turned their attention back to the wooden box in front of them.
"Open it!" Old Chen's voice was a bit hoarse.
The police officers exchanged glances, and Xiao Zhao's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. As the crowbar slid into the gap in the lid, Lin Yaoyao clearly heard Zhou Wen's teeth chattering.
"One, two, three!"
The moment the wooden box was pried open, the beam of Sister Xu's flashlight shook violently.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the inside of the wooden box, but no one spoke.
Lin Yaoyao slowly leaned forward and was stunned by the scene before her.
Inside the box, various rusty hoes, rakes, and other tools were neatly stacked.
"Damn it!" Old Chen kicked a clump of dirt by his foot, clearly frustrated by the scene.
However, since it wasn't anything else, Sister Xu also felt relieved. But Lin Yaoyao behind her frowned.
'If I really met Xiao Bei's spirit, then where... where is he?'
Lin Yaoyao thought of Xiao Bei's appearance. She didn't want to hide what she saw from Sister Xu, but who would believe such a thing if she told them.
"Let's go. We'll interrogate Zhang Dehai first," Old Chen said.
After comforting Zhou Wen, Sister Xu led everyone away from the scene. Lin Yaoyao, however, kept looking back at the place.
The fluorescent lights in the interrogation room hummed.
Behind the one-way mirror, Zhang Dehai tapped the table with his bandaged right hand.
"Three? I only met two!" Zhang Dehai grinned, revealing half his smoke-stained yellow teeth. "Officer, how could someone like me, who just got out, kidnap children again?"
Bang!
Old Chen slapped a photo onto the table. "Zhou Xiaobei, ten years old. Look clearly!"
"Don't know him!" Zhang Dehai retorted angrily. "Officer, you need evidence!"
He looked at Old Chen. "Besides, I didn't kidnap those two children."
"Then why did you take them to the brick kiln?" Old Chen asked coldly.
"I just saw their parents weren't around and thought they were lost." Zhang Dehai leaned back. "What? Is helping people a crime now?"
Hearing the mocking retort, Old Chen glared. "Think before you answer!" With that, he got up and left the interrogation room.
Seeing Sister Xu and the others, Old Chen sighed heavily. "Damn it, this guy's a slippery old fox. We won't get anything by questioning him further."
"Officer Chen, is there no other evidence?" Lin Yaoyao asked her question.
Old Chen showed a troubled expression. "This area is remote, and some surveillance equipment is insufficient. The only surveillance footage currently showing Zhang Dehai is of him alone."
Lin Yaoyao pressed further. "What will happen if no evidence is found?"
"We'll file a report, and he can be detained for 24 hours." Old Chen stared at Zhang Dehai in the room. "If we use other methods, it's 48 hours at most."
After Old Chen finished speaking, Sister Xu chimed in, "And now that the children have been found, the parents are no longer pursuing the matter."
Silence fell upon them.
Just then, a thought flashed through Lin Yaoyao's mind: when she picked up the Transformer, she noticed a crack, as if it had been scraped by a shovel.
'No! Xiao Bei is there!'
A crazy thought flashed through her mind. Sister Xu, noticing Lin Yaoyao's abnormality, spoke softly, "Xiao Lin?"
She patted Lin Yaoyao's shoulder. "You look pale."
Lin Yaoyao suddenly turned around and found everyone in the observation room looking at her. Her throat tightened, and she unconsciously took half a step back. "I... I feel a little dizzy, maybe it's low blood sugar."
"Low blood sugar?" Sister Xu fumbled for a candy in her pocket. "Here, have it."
The coolness spread across Lin Yaoyao's tongue. Calmed down, she looked at Sister Xu. "Sister Xu, can I go back now?"
Sister Xu nodded. "Okay, I'll take you."
"No need," Lin Yaoyao quickly refused. Seeing Sister Xu frown, she forced a smile. "You still have to interrogate Zhang Dehai. I can take a taxi myself. I'm fine, really."
Sister Xu glanced at Old Chen and finally sighed. "You have your keys, right?"
Seeing Lin Yaoyao nod, Sister Xu wrapped her coat around her. "Text me when you get home."
As she walked out of the Criminal Investigation Team, the night wind, carrying a chill, brushed against Lin Yaoyao's face.
She stood on the steps and took several deep breaths before hailing a taxi with the "Vacant" sign lit.
"Where to?" the driver asked, chewing gum.
When Lin Yaoyao gave the address, Jin San Road, the driver's eyebrows twitched visibly in the rearview mirror. "That place is lively tonight. I heard a lot of police officers went there today."
Lin Yaoyao ignored him, resting her forehead against the cold car window. In a daze, she saw Xiao Bei's face appear on the window reflection.
She closed her eyes, recalling the details she had seen tonight over and over again. Although she was an art student, she had an unusual ability, or rather a condition, since childhood – hyperthymesia.
Yet, despite having hyperthymesia, she couldn't remember the cause of her maternal grandfather's death, which Lin Yaoyao couldn't understand at all.
At this moment, Lin Yaoyao, who was lost in thought, suddenly opened her eyes: "Blue cloth scrap!"
Her exclamation startled the driver, who cursed. "Hey girl, what's wrong with you?"
"No, nothing, sorry, driver." Lin Yaoyao apologized profusely. "How much further?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the driver hit the brakes. "Twenty-three yuan and fifty cents."
Lin Yaoyao, who had just come to her senses, hadn't realized that they had already arrived at Jin San Road. After paying, she scrambled out of the car as if fleeing.
The cordon was still in place, the blue and white plastic tape fluttering in the wind. She bent down and crawled under it. The beam of her phone's flashlight fell on the excavated patch of land.
The police excavation was neat, with shovel marks still visible on the edges of the rectangular pit. Lin Yaoyao quickly walked to the large wooden box and started searching.
Before long, she found the blue cloth scrap from her memory, now pressed under the box.
Lin Yaoyao carefully put the cloth scrap away. Suddenly, a weak cry came from behind her: "Sis... Chapter 7: The Boy Under the Greenhouse [3]
Lin Yaoyao followed the sound and stumbled to the ground. She saw a boy lying on his side under a shed not far away.
"Sister, you're here."
Hearing the boy speak again, Lin Yaoyao got up with difficulty, gritted her teeth, and walked towards him.
"Xiao Bei?" Her voice trembled. As she slowly approached, Lin Yaoyao noticed that the ground behind the boy's lying body was visible.
"Sister, I... I'm cold..." Xiao Bei's voice was faint.
Lin Yaoyao instinctively wanted to pick up Xiao Bei, but for some reason, she couldn't touch him as before.
"I... am... here..." With that, Xiao Bei slowly closed his eyes. Lin Yaoyao's eyes turned red, and her hands, passing through Xiao Bei's body, began to dig into the soil beneath.
One dig, two digs, three digs...
Until Lin Yaoyao's fingers touched an object. The soft sensation instantly made her mind jolt, and she froze.
She... she didn't dare to dig anymore.
"Sister... Sister Xu..." Lin Yaoyao dialed her phone, her voice trembling. "Hurry..."
"What's wrong, Xiao Lin?" Sister Xu's voice replied. "Are you home yet?"
"Sister Xu, please come quickly!" Lin Yaoyao cried, almost shouting. "The vegetable patch from before... please come quickly... "
"Okay, okay, don't rush, I'm coming right away!"
Listening to the beeping sound on the phone, soil trickled through Lin Yaoyao's fingers. She curled up under the shed's support, trembling uncontrollably, her childhood conversation with her maternal grandfather echoing in her ears.
"Grandpa, I won first place in the city for drawing this time~"
"Wow, my little Yaoyao is amazing. Mom, Dad, and Grandpa are all proud of you!"
"Grandpa, do you think Dad will know?"
"Little Yaoyao, when people go to heaven, they still watch over you from some corner."
"Really? Can I see them then?"
"That depends on when you grow up."
"Then I have to grow up quickly."
"Okay, my little Yaoyao must grow up healthy and happy. Heh heh..."
Her grandfather's voice faded. Lin Yaoyao's thoughts were pulled back by the sound of police sirens in the distance.
A piercing beam of light cut through the night. Sister Xu's urgent voice called out, "Xiao Lin!"
"Sis... Sister Xu, I'm here!" Lin Yaoyao managed to shout. The beam of light was moving rapidly towards her.
"What's wrong? Why did you run here?" Sister Xu's questions rained down. She had noticed Lin Yaoyao's abnormality when questioning Zhang Dehai, but she was too focused on finding clues about the missing children then to pay much attention.
"This..." Lin Yaoyao opened her palm. A piece of blue fabric, with exposed fibers, caught Sister Xu's eye.
Sister Xu's breathing visibly paused for a second. She whirled around and shouted behind her, "Old Chen! Call the forensic team!"
At this moment, Zhou Wen also came stumbling over, still clutching the Transformer toy tightly, but was blocked by several police officers outside the cordon.
After pulling Lin Yaoyao out of the vegetable patch, Sister Xu lowered her voice. "How did you get here?"
"I..." Lin Yaoyao didn't dare to speak, her gaze drifting over Sister Xu's shoulder towards the back.
In the shadow of the plastic shed, Xiao Bei's transparent figure sat hugging his knees, tilting his head to watch the busy police officers.
As if sensing Lin Yaoyao's gaze, the boy looked up and met her eyes, a smile on his face. He raised the toy in his hand and gently shook it.
Seeing that she was in a trance, Sister Xu tightened her grip and ordered, "Speak!"
"I... I can see him."
"What?" Sister Xu looked at Lin Yaoyao's sudden words with confusion. "You can see what?"
"I..."
"Captain Chen, something here!"
Just as Lin Yaoyao was about to explain, she was interrupted by a voice from the vegetable patch. Hearing the commotion, Sister Xu also looked back, then grabbed Lin Yaoyao's wrist and dragged her towards the police car.
"Watch her!" Sister Xu ordered the surrounding officers responsible for the cordon, then turned and ran towards the vegetable patch.
Lin Yaoyao watched Sister Xu's retreating back, a sense of inexplicable self-blame in her eyes. The flashing red and blue lights of the police car cast shifting shadows on her face.
Sister Xu rushed into the crowd and saw a small arm sticking out of the soil. The blue striped cuff was the same as on the boy sitting nearby, Xiao Bei.
The forensic examiner squatted down and brushed away the loose soil. Beneath it was a face obscured by blood, but still undeniably young. Following the trail of blood, a clear indentation could be seen on the right side of the child's skull, near the temple.
"Preliminary determination: time of death exceeds 72 hours." The forensic examiner's voice rang out. "Comminuted fracture of the skull, likely..."
The forensic examiner's words were cut short by Zhou Wen's scream. The woman struggled frantically to rush towards the pit, and three female officers could barely hold her back.
At this moment, Xiao Bei stood behind his mother, his transparent fingers trying in vain to grasp her sleeve.
"Take the family back!" Sister Xu shouted sternly, then turned to look at the stunned Lin Yaoyao. "You get in the car too!"
On the way back, the car was extremely quiet. Old Chen was driving, Sister Xu was in the front passenger seat, Lin Yaoyao was behind Sister Xu, and Xiao Zhao sat beside her. However, Xiao Zhao seemed to be guarding a prisoner at this moment; any movement from Lin Yaoyao would draw his immediate attention.
Back at the Criminal Investigation Team, the lights still hummed. Old Chen spoke with annoyance, "Xiao Zhao, have someone replace these lights tomorrow. They're so noisy!"
"Okay," Xiao Zhao replied immediately.
Watching the forensic technicians coming and going and others bustling about, Lin Yaoyao huddled on the bench, silent.
Bang!
Suddenly, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open, and Sister Xu walked out displeased, a patch of sweat staining the back of her uniform.
Seeing everyone looking at her, Sister Xu sighed. "Zhang Dehai said he was playing mahjong that night."
Sister Xu unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and drank half of it. "Two gamblers can corroborate."
She paused, the mineral water bottle in her hand creaking under her grip.
"Damn it!" Suddenly, she threw the bottle against the wall. "This bastard can even remember every hand he won that night!"
The plastic bottle bounced and rolled to Lin Yaoyao's feet. She bent down to pick it up, just as Zhang Dehai's hoarse laughter drifted from the crack under the interrogation room door: "Officer, people like me with a criminal record know the law best. How could I possibly get involved in a murder case..."
"The forensic report is out." At this moment, Old Chen strode over, the folder in his hand rustling. "The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, forming a counter-injury with the indentation on the right parietal bone of the body."
He then glanced at Lin Yaoyao as if by some divine prompting. "However, the murder weapon is still being sought. The guy surnamed Zhang isn't telling the truth."
Hearing this news, everyone frowned. Lin Yaoyao, however, spoke softly, "Officer Chen, why are you so sure that the person inside is the killer?"
"It's too early to call him the killer." Sister Xu walked over and sat beside Lin Yaoyao. "We've interviewed residents in the area. I can't tell you the specifics, but I can tell you that Zhang Dehai is the most suspected."
"Sister Xu..." Lin Yaoyao bit her lip. "Can I tell you my guess?"
"Go ahead."
"That wooden box."
"Wooden box?" Old Chen asked, confused. "The wooden box belonged to another resident, and it was already inspected at the time."
"No!" Lin Yaoyao looked into Old Chen's eyes and said seriously:
"It has a false bottom. Chapter 8: Can You Draw Me a Picture?
Hearing this, Sister Xu gazed at Lin Yaoyao, then exchanged a look with Old Chen and nodded.
Five minutes later, two police officers carried the mud-covered wooden box through the corridor.
As the technician pried open the bottom plank of the box with a screwdriver, the sound of metal clashing made everyone hold their breath.
"This is... a ram's horn hammer," Old Chen said.
The technician, wearing rubber gloves, held the hammer. The dark red rust on the hammerhead gleamed eerily under the light. He pondered, "It looks like bloodstains. I'll take it for testing."
"Okay."
Watching the technician leave, Old Chen walked over to Lin Yaoyao. "How did you know?"
"I guessed."
"Guessed? Do you think I'd believe that?" Hearing Lin Yaoyao's answer, Old Chen grinned. "With your performance, Old Xu must be having a headache."
"Sister Xu?" Lin Yaoyao seemed a little flustered. "Why?"
After the ram's horn hammer was found in the wooden box, Sister Xu had been called away by an older-looking police officer and hadn't been seen for a long time.
"From the vegetable patch to the wooden box, your guesses were too accurate," Old Chen's expression suddenly turned stern. "If I hadn't checked your file, I would have reason to suspect you were involved in this case."
"I..." Lin Yaoyao was momentarily speechless and exhaled deeply. "Because I've been drawing for many years, I'm very sensitive to spatial structure. So when I carefully recalled the box, I found something wrong."
She then met Old Chen's gaze. "Besides, I have hyperthymesia. I believe Officer Chen can verify this. So when I was sorting through the events of tonight, I remembered the torn cloth under the wooden box."
After she finished speaking, Old Chen remained expressionless. They stared at each other for more than ten seconds before Old Chen suddenly smiled. "Well, that makes some sense now."
Just then, the desk phone rang. Old Chen answered it, listened, and then stormed into the interrogation room with Xiao Zhao.
Not long after, Zhang Dehai's roar could be heard from inside: "Framing! You're framing me! I'll sue you for torture!"
Lin Yaoyao hugged her arms. A shadow fell over her. When she looked up, Sister Xu was standing in front of her.
"Come with me," Sister Xu said softly. Without giving Lin Yaoyao a chance to speak, she turned and walked into the office.
The two stood in an office, facing the older police officer who had called Sister Xu away.
"Director Yang, this is Lin Yaoyao, the sketch artist I told you about," Sister Xu said.
Director Yang sized up Lin Yaoyao, and Lin Yaoyao looked back at Director Yang.
He appeared to be around fifty years old, with a standard middle-aged hairstyle. Although his cheeks had a bit of excess fat from middle age, his eyes were sharp.
"Hello, young lady. My name is Yang Haitao. I'm their superior. You can also call me Director Yang."
"Hello, Director Yang."
"Xiao Lin, this is Director Yang Haitao. He's in charge of our bureau." Sister Xu introduced them.
"Hello, Director Yang."
"You can call me Director Yang." Director Yang smiled. "Don't worry, we're not here to interrogate you. We just want to ask about your observations."
"Okay."
"What did you see at the brick kiln?" Director Yang asked.
"I... I saw a wooden box."
"A wooden box?" Director Yang raised an eyebrow. "Anything else?"
"There was a blue cloth scrap under the box."
"Blue cloth scrap?" Director Yang repeated. "And then?"
"I... I found the ram's horn hammer in the false bottom of the box."
Director Yang's eyes widened slightly. He looked at Sister Xu and then back at Lin Yaoyao. "You found the ram's horn hammer?"
"Yes."
"How did you know there was a false bottom?" Director Yang asked.
"I guessed."
"You guessed?" Director Yang laughed. "I don't believe that. You're not just guessing, are you?"
Lin Yaoyao remained silent.