S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 2

Witness of the Three Murderers 02 – Pinwheel

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The rain gradually subsided, leaving the strong winds.

Bai Yutang's car flew down the highway and slowed down in front of the botanical garden.

Zhan Zhao leaned against the car window to look at the botanical garden gates in the distance... The botanical garden was not usually a crowded place to go on weekdays, and combined with the fact that the tree branches and leaves were so lush, overall it's a relatively secluded, even eerie place.

Zhan Zhao suddenly asked, "Do any of you remember the botanical garden case ten years ago?"

Zhao Hu tilted his face and thought, "I was still in high school ten years ago."

Ma Han looked at the botanical garden that was not so calm in the storm, "What case ten years ago?"

"Ten years ago, it should have been when I was in college." Zhan Zhao muttered to himself.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han subconsciously glanced at each other and froze in thought, they had almost forgotten that Zhan Zhao was a grade jumping monster, he was in postgraduate school when ordinary people were in high school.

Bai Yutang had always been with Zhan Zhao and had been with him during school, but he was a bit puzzled, "How did you come into contact with murder cases back then? How come I don't know about it?"

"It’s not like that." Zhan Zhao shook his head, "Do you still remember that summer vacation, when I often borrowed Gongsun's study in order to rush a paper?"

Bai Yutang nodded, "Gongsun started practising medicine at the police station at that time and was very busy every day, so he simply gave you the keys to his home."

Zhan Zhao nodded.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han were both a little curious and asked Zhan Zhao, "Did something happen at that time? Is it related to the case from ten years ago?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment and said, "The exact date of that day should be August seventh, during a typhoon, with a lot of rain and a lot of wind."

Bai Yutang frowned, seemingly uncertain if there was such a day.

"You were taken to the police station by Uncle Bai that day." Zhan Zhao said, "My dad sent me to Gongsun's house to look for information, and when I came home it was your dad and you who came together to pick me up. It was extraordinarily windy when we were going home, and there was a billboard on the road that broke and almost smashed into our car."

Bai Yutang's face revealed a look of clarity, clearly having remembered, "What happened that day?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "That day, as usual, I found the information in Gongsun's study and started writing my thesis. Around three o'clock, Gongsun came back."

Everyone waited to hear what Zhan Zhao had to say.

"Gongsun, however, didn't run in to chat with me for a couple of minutes as usual, nor did he make the slightest bit of noise, so much so that I was somewhat suspicious that a burglar had entered." Zhan Zhao continued, "When I walked outside, I saw Gongsun still wearing a black raincoat, his hair soaked through, holding the toolbox he would use when he went out for an autopsy in his hand, and he was sitting on a chair in the living room, his eyes staring straight ahead, in a daze. He hadn't even changed his shoes, and the carpet was covered with water."

Everyone was a bit surprised. When applied to Gongsun, this phenomenon indicated one word – abnormal!

Although Gongsun was a forensic scientist, he was also a bit of a germaphobe to a certain extent. He was very tidy and picky, and his biggest taboo in life was – entering the house without changing his shoes!

In Gongsun's opinion, home is a quiet and free place, you must change into slippers to enter the house, wearing shoes directly into the house is simply a crime.

Bai Yutang also felt that something wasn't quite right and asked, "Gongsun seems to have been stimulated by something."

Zhan Zhao nodded.

"Ten years ago?!" Zhao Hu moved forward and said, "Gongsun was still young at that time, I reckon he was scared by the autopsy, right?"

Hearing Zhao Hu's words, Ma Han suddenly laughed.

Zhan Zhao also laughed.

Zhao Hu was puzzled and asked Ma Han, "What's so funny?"

Ma Han said, "If he was afraid of corpses, he wouldn't be able to be a forensic doctor. When Xin Xin went to medical school, she brought all kinds of photos of bloodied corpses with her for meals, this is professionalism."

"I also don't think corpses would scare Gongsun." Bai Yutang changed direction, at this time the car drove onto the seaside highway.

"The scenery here is nice!" Zhao Hu was attracted by the scenery outside the window, "It's a pity that it's cloudy and windy. When the weather is good, coming up here for a bike ride or a run should be awesome!"

Everyone looked out of the window. At this time the sea in the distance was blown by the wind, but as Zhao Hu said, when the weather here is good, it must be very beautiful.

"What exactly happened to Gongsun?" Bai Yutang pulled the topic back to Gongsun and asked Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao's superb memory made it seem as if he was reliving what happened at that time...

Seeing Gongsun in a daze, Zhan Zhao was afraid that suddenly walking out would scare him, so he gently knocked on the door frame of the study.

The two knocks made Gongsun wake up and look up to see Zhan Zhao, seemingly very surprised.

Zhan Zhao leaned against the doorframe and looked at Gongsun curiously, asking, "What's wrong with you? It's as if you've bumped into a ghost."

Gongsun suddenly sighed softly, and said with unknown meaning, "Isn't it just bumping into a ghost!"

......

Hearing Zhan Zhao finish, everyone froze.

Hu Zi's tone rose a few notches, "Bumping into a ghost?!"

Ma Han also found it strange, "Gongsun actually believes this?"

"He didn't say any more after saying this at the time, and soon after he went about his business again." Zhan Zhao said, "This matter wasn't brought up after that, but later, when I looked at the police department's files of unsolved crimes, I found out about the case that happened on that day."

Zhan Zhao leaned against the back of his seat and looked at the rough sea beside the coastal highway, "The case on that day was of a woman who hung herself from a longan tree in the botanical gardens."

"A suicide case?" Ma Han asked.

"Gongsun was in charge of the autopsy at the time." Zhan Zhao said, "His autopsy report clearly stated that it was a homicide."

"I also looked at the photos of the scene in the information. That longan tree was quite tall, and the branch that the body was hanging from was nearly ten metres off the ground. The female victim had a pair of high-heeled shoes still on her feet, and there wasn't a stitch of disarray about her appearance, she was just hanging from the tree." Zhan Zhao recalled the case from memory, "At that time, the police mobilised the fire department's ladder, Gongsun should have gone up the ladder to examine the scene. In addition to many details of being artificially hung up, he also found a very strange detail."

"What detail?" Zhao Hu was curious.

"The knot of the rope from which the body was hung." Zhan Zhao pulled out a napkin, rolled it into a rope shape, and continued, "Gongsun took photos of the knot of the rope from all angles, and it was a knot tying method I've never seen before."

Zhan Zhao tied the knot and showed it to Ma Han and Zhao Hu behind him.

Ma Han frowned slightly, he had never seen this knot tying method either.

Zhao Hu, however, picked up the knot and said, "This kind of knot is used for marking ah."

With Zhao Hu's words, Zhan Zhao was surprised, "I've looked in many books and haven't found the significance of this kind of knot..."

Hu Zi couldn't laugh and cry, "Of course you can't find it in the books! This is for thieves, used for counting."

"Counting?" Bai Yutang was also puzzled.

Zhao Hu nodded, "Thieves always check the ground before they strike, especially in places where there are guards. For example, three guards at the front door, two at the back door, and one by the window. Just tie this kind of knot in an unnoticeable place. I used to play with a group of habitual thieves when I was undercover, they taught me. But the ones who know how to use this manoeuvre are old timers. Young people rarely use it anymore. Modernised petty thieves use invisible ink and wear special glasses, so they can write an essay on someone's door without it being discovered." While saying this, Zhao Hu took a few more napkins and rolled them into long strips, demonstrating the knotting to the crowd, "This is one, this is two, this is three..."

When Zhao Hu demonstrated the knot that Zhan Zhao had just tied, he said, "This number indicates six."

"Six..." Zhan Zhao frowned.

At this time, Bai Yutang pulled the car to a stop and the crowd looked out the window, they had already arrived at the residential area on the waterfront. Although this place wasn't as luxurious as the villa area on the distant hillside, it was definitely quite a high-class neighbourhood. It's just that this place was far away from the city, so young people might not find it very convenient, but it's definitely suitable for the elderly to spend their twilight years in peace, and the key is that the environment is good.

"Does Liu Jin live alone?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao looked at the information, "His wife divorced him when they found out about the one-half deficiency syndrome, he hasn't remarried since then and has been living alone."

At this time the rain had stopped, leaving just the strong wind. Everyone got out of the car and walked into the neighbourhood. More than half of the wind was blocked by the buildings on both sides of the street, and the whole neighbourhood was spotless, clean and beautiful.

"How are the housing prices here?" Zhao Hu gossiped.

"It was very cheap at first, and it's not particularly expensive now, after all, it's too far away from the city." Zhan Zhao said, "Liu Jin's financial situation is quite good, in addition to his own generous income and family background. Furthermore, he has two sons, a doctor and a pilot, both of whom are quite reliable. The wife who divorced him is a painter, and the two still keep in touch..."

While reading the information, Zhan Zhao lamented, "Where did Jiang Ping find so much messy information? It's comparable to a gossip magazine!"

After circling around the garden district a few times, the crowd finally arrived in front of building number seven where Liu Jin lived.

Building number seven had a total of three floors, all of which were duplexes, and Liu Jin lived on the third floor.

Zhan Zhao and the others tilted their faces up and realised that the balcony of this small building was very large. The balcony on the third floor was not fitted with windows, and the scene above the balcony made the crowd all look a little dumbfounded.

They saw a dozen rows of small pinwheels hanging from the roof of the balcony on the third floor.

Zhan Zhao couldn't help but praise the designer who came up with this roof design, their taste was truly unique!

Yellow and blue four leaf pinwheels, which should be made of plastic, were threaded one by one on a thin line and hung horizontally on the roof. Just like this, several rows were hung, and the entire roof was full of them... It was windy at this moment and all the pinwheels were spinning, and the view from downstairs was bizarre.

"This is quite creative ah." Zhao Hu said.

Ma Han, on the other hand, frowned, "Won't you get dizzy after looking at it for a long time?"

Bai Yutang glanced at it, thinking that looking at it for too long might trigger trypophobia, so he walked over and pressed the electronic doorbell.

Zhan Zhao was still looking up at the rows and rows of rapidly rotating pinwheels, pondering.

After the doorbell rang three times, a voice came out, "Who is it?"

The crowd was slightly stunned, the voice they heard sounded like that of a little girl.

"Hello, we're from the police department, looking for Liu Jin." Bai Yutang replied.

"Oh, Grandpa!" The sound of a little girl calling out for her grandfather came from the electronic doorbell, and the commotion was quite loud.

The crowd glanced at each other, it was probably a granddaughter.

Not long after, the door was opened with a click.

Bai Yutang and others entered the building. When they turned around, they saw that Zhan Zhao was still standing downstairs looking at the roof, so they waved to him.

Zhan Zhao ran in, and as everyone walked upstairs, Bai Yutang suddenly asked, "That case in the botanical gardens hasn't been solved? Are there any other clues?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head, "The police don't have a single clue."

"Then why did Gongsun say he saw a ghost?" Bai Yutang was curious.

"I'm not really sure about that." Zhan Zhao shook his head, "Why don't you ask him when you get back? When I mentioned this matter in the morning, although he was a bit uncomfortable, he didn't particularly reject it either."

Bai Yutang nodded, and as he spoke, the crowd had already arrived at the entrance to the third floor.

At the same time, a door on the third floor was opened, and a chubby little girl who looked to be seven or eight years old stood in the doorway, tilting her face to look at the crowd.

From the entrance, a beautiful big golden retriever ran out with slippers in its mouth, putting them down and wagging its tail.

The little girl held up three fingers to the big dog, "Three more pairs Barry."

The big golden retriever woofed and went to get the slippers.

The crowd entered the room after greeting the little girl and saw that the interior was warmly decorated and colourful.

Zhan Zhao was analysing the host family's personality through the colour blocks in the room when a glass door next to the living room opened and an old man walked out.

The old man in front of them should be Liu Jin, who looked slightly younger than in the photo.

Liu Jin was clearly not surprised by the police's visit. He told his granddaughter to take the big dog to her room to do her homework, while greeting Bai Yutang and the others as they sat down.

Zhan Zhao saw that the glass door that was just opened was precisely the one that led to the balcony. On the balcony, in addition to some potted plants, there was a large chaise lounge, a small wooden table, and a pot of tea on the table... The old man was probably just drinking tea on the chaise lounge... and watching the pinwheels on the roof?

Waiting for everyone to sit down, Liu Jin asked, "What do you want to ask? I have already told the police everything I should say."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, which meant – Bao Sir asked you to come and talk to him.

Zhan Zhao didn't say anything, he just stood up, walked to the balcony, took out his cell phone and snapped a picture of the pinwheels, then sent a text message.

The crowd looked at each other in disbelief.

Liu Jin was also a bit puzzled.

Zhan Zhao walked back unhurriedly, pointed at the pinwheels on the balcony, and asked, "Is that what cured your one-half deficiency syndrome?"

Liu Jin froze. Bai Yutang, Zhao Hu and Ma Han were also surprised, he had to rely on the pinwheels?

Eventually, Liu Jin nodded.

"Who taught you this method?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Uh... a friend of mine." Liu Jin replied.

"Is your friend a psychiatrist?"

"Mhmm." Liu Jin nodded.

Zhan Zhao took a step forward and said, "Excuse me," then he stared into the old man's eyes.

Liu Jin sat blankly. He looked at Zhan Zhao in confusion.

After looking at him, Zhan Zhao smiled with an unclear meaning. He reached out, passed over a pen and notepad, and placed them in front of Liu Jin, "Your friend's name and contact information, please write it down."

Liu Jin held the pen with a blank expression.

At this time, Bai Yutang's cell phone rang.

Seeing an unfamiliar number, Bai Yutang picked it up in disbelief and heard Bai Ye's helpless voice from the other side, "What did you show that demon this time? He's going crazy and coming to find you guys now."

Bai Yutang blinked.

On the other end of the phone, banging could be heard, as if someone was running, and there was a shout from Zhao Jue, "Kitten! Wait for me, I'll be right there! Take me with you to play aaaah!"

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao shrugged.

Bai Yutang then heard Bai Ye ask, "Where are you guys?"

Bai Yutang told him the address, and Bai Ye sighed, "We'll come as soon as we can."

Bai Yutang hung up the phone and heard a ding dong... the doorbell rang.

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow – They weren't this fast, were they?

Liu Jin put down his pen and looked at Zhan Zhao.

Seeing that the paper was empty, Zhan Zhao reminded Liu Jin, "That friend of yours, we're looking for him for something."

Liu Jin nodded and pointed to the door, saying, "There's no need to look for him, he's already here."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: January 1, 2024 by Angel

Edited: January 31, 2024 by Angel