S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 160

Special Files – Witches 07 – Flaw

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The SCI team hurried to Fang Dongshun's villa.

This villa was not the house where Fang Dongshun and his wife Wang Aizhen lived. They usually lived in an ordinary apartment block in a residential area far from his company.

This villa, however, was close to Fang Dongshun's company. According to the police officers, Fang Dongshun had recently purchased it, likely intending to live here with Mei Wen and their child after divorcing his wife.

Zhan Zhao and the others looked up at the luxurious villa, feeling somewhat indignant on behalf of the deceased Wang Aizhen. However, there was no time for that now, they had to find the child first.

The police officers had almost turned the entire villa upside down but had not found anyone.

The police dog team had also searched the house but found nothing.

This was expected, though, since the three people originally lived here, so their scent would be everywhere.

Zhao Jue, with his arms crossed, stood in the courtyard, looking at the mural on the wall.

Zhan Zhao glanced at the few well-behaved police dogs and then at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang felt that if he had to hide someone, he would probably have a basement or something in such a large villa.

The searching officers said there were two basements and a garage, all of which had been searched with no results.

Standing next to Zhao Jue, Bai Ye, who had come along but remained silent, suddenly asked, "What about the basement below the basement?"

Everyone was stunned.

The officers exchanged glances.

Bai Ye asked, "Is there a car in the garage?"

They all went to the garage.

Indeed, there was a car in the garage. The door was closed, but the car was unlocked, and the key was left on the passenger seat.

Zhao Hu started the car and backed it out of the garage.

Sure enough, on the ground beneath the car was an iron door. Luo Tian grabbed the handle and pulled hard, opening the iron door to reveal another basement below.

Everyone quickly ran down the steps, puzzled – Why would an ordinary home have such a hidden basement?

When they reached the basement, they were even more confused.

The basement was furnished like a living room, and it was unclear what it was used for.

In the middle of the living room, on the carpet in front of the sofa, there were three very incongruous cabinets placed side by side.

The two cabinets on the sides were tall, while the one in the middle was short, resembling the layout of the mural on the wall.

Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang stepped forward and opened the short cabinet in the middle.

Inside the cabinet sat a boy, seemingly about four or five years old.

The child was hugging his knees with his head resting on them, and judging by his complexion, he seemed to be alive.

Gongsun examined the child and said, "He might have taken some sort of sedative and fallen asleep. It's best to take him to the hospital for a check-up."

The ambulance had already been waiting outside, so Zhao Hu carried the child out to the paramedics.

Meanwhile, Luo Tian and Qin Ou opened the other two cabinets.

In the adjacent cabinets, however, were two people standing.

The two individuals had their hands hooked inside the cabinets, forming a large 'X' shape, much like the two figures in the simple sketch outside.

From their faces, it was evident that they were Fang Dongshun and Mei Wen.

Their faces were pale, but there was no visible trauma.

Gongsun suddenly frowned and walked closer to inspect them, it seemed that these two might not be dead...

As Gongsun approached, Fang Dongshun suddenly gasped and opened his eyes wide.

Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events.

"Not dead!" Gongsun shouted.

Everyone hurried to lift the two "corpses" down and sent them to the ambulance.

The feedback from the paramedics was that all three had survived and were not in any immediate danger.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was a relief not to find five corpses upon arrival, and despite their faults, as long as they weren't the ones committing the murders, the child's parents were still alive.

Zhan Zhao looked around the basement and glanced at Zhao Jue, who was also examining the surroundings.

Zhao Jue raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly wanting to express an opinion.

Zhan Zhao asked him, "Why were the bodies arranged like this?"

Zhao Jue clicked his tongue, "It seems like they were kept alive for the child's sake."

Zhan Zhao didn't respond and glanced aside, as if he had a thought.

Zhao Jue suddenly asked him, "Are you thinking something dangerous?"

Zhan Zhao looked at him, "Are you thinking the same thing?"

Behind them, someone asked, "What are you thinking?"

They turned around to find Bai Yutang and Bai Ye standing there, asking them.

Zhao Jue looked at Zhan Zhao, indicating – Go ahead and say it if you've thought of it!

Zhan Zhao hesitated before quietly saying, "I wonder if the killer committed the murders for the sake of this child?"

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye exchanged a glance, looking at Zhan Zhao and then at Zhao Jue.

Zhan Zhao continued, "This idea is a bit dark, but... what do you think the best living environment for this child would be?"

Everyone pondered, "If Du Ping and Wang Aizhen were still alive, Fang Dongshun and Mei Wen would have to go through a divorce before they could be together. Considering that their respective partners had approached Chen Feng, they certainly wouldn't let things go easily. And since the two victims are indeed victims, this matter wouldn't end easily... This constant conflict, along with the battle over financial and other interests... would certainly affect the child's growth environment."

Zhan Zhao said, "The murderer must have had a specific purpose for the murders. It seems like it was to provide the child with the best possible living environment."

Everyone frowned as they contemplated this. Although it was quite twisted, it seemed to explain the murderer's motive. Of course, since there were three survivors, it would become clearer once they woke up and could provide their accounts. For now, it was just a relatively "dark" hypothesis.

The group then toured the interior of the villa.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue seemed to have a specific goal in mind: to find the child's room.

On the second floor of the villa, there was a small room adjacent to the master bedroom.

The main colour of the room was blue, and it was filled with toys.

Zhan Zhao found a sketchbook on the desk.

He opened the sketchbook and flipped through it from beginning to end before finally sighing helplessly and handing it to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang took the sketchbook, and Zhao Jue curiously leaned over to look.

The first page of the sketchbook depicted the mural outside on the wall.

The second picture showed a child sitting alone in the dark, similar to how the child was found in the cabinet earlier.

The following drawings depicted the parents arguing.

As the pictures progressed, they became increasingly dark, often showing two figures scribbled over in black and crossed out with large Xs.

Though they were simple crayon sketches, it was clear that the adults' quarrels had significantly affected the young child.

Bai Yutang also sighed, acknowledging that Zhan Zhao's hypothesis was likely correct... From the child's drawings, it was evident that he wished for the arguments to stop.

This provided the group with a potential lead to solve the case.

"Did the murderer have contact with the child?" Bai Yutang asked, "And did they hear about the family's situation from the child?"

Zhan Zhao nodded – It was a possibility.

Bai Yutang instructed Jiang Ping to investigate the family's social background, including any nannies or tutors who might have had long-term contact with the child and gained his trust... They should also look into the child's school situation.

At that moment, Qin Ou called from the hospital to inform Bai Yutang that the three people, all sedated, had woken up.

Bai Yutang hung up the phone and, along with Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue, headed to the hospital.

......

At the hospital, before the group even entered the ward, they heard crying, and it was a man's crying.

Qin Ou and Yang Fan were talking at the door. When they saw Bai Yutang and the others approaching, they waved them over.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue peered into the ward and saw Fang Dongshun sitting on the bed, crying.

Bai Yutang asked Yang Fan about his condition.

Yang Fan explained that the couple had been sedated, and the child had ingested a small amount of a sedative. It was unclear what happened, the child's condition was relatively stable, but the adults seemed to have suffered severe emotional shock and had been crying non-stop since regaining consciousness, without saying anything.

Bai Yutang frowned and glanced into the room.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue stood side by side, staring at the weeping Fang Dongshun.

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye exchanged a resigned look, thinking that anyone would cry under such intense scrutiny from those two.

Bai Yutang then checked on Mei Wen in the adjacent room. She appeared even more fragile, emotionally distraught and crying into her hands, with several nurses trying to comfort her.

Bai Yutang frowned – It was impossible to question them like this.

Zhan Zhao slipped out of Fang Dongshun's room, hands behind his back, and leaned against the wall while rubbing his chin.

Bai Yutang approached him and asked how it went.

Zhan Zhao whispered, "His emotions are abnormal."

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye nodded – It was indeed abnormal, but what did that mean?

Zhan Zhao continued, "They are avoiding police questioning, stalling for time, trying to come up with a story, or possibly waiting for a chance to conspire!"

Bai Yutang frowned and looked at Zhan Zhao – Weren't they both supposed to be victims? Why this reaction?

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows slightly, "Didn't we find their fingerprints on the bodies of the deceased?"

Bai Yutang began to feel uneasy, "Could it really be that they committed the murders?"

"It feels more complicated. I suspect they were coerced by the murderer into participating in the murder." Zhan Zhao said.

The three of them walked to the door of Fang Dongshun's room.

Before entering, they heard Zhao Jue say, "Aren't you going to ask about your son's condition?"

With that single question, Fang Dongshun's crying stopped and he looked up at Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue narrowed his eyes slightly.

Zhan Zhao pulled Bai Yutang back from entering the room and pointed at his eyes and ears, gesturing a few times.

Bai Yutang thought for a moment and seemed to agree, then nodded.

Behind them, Bai Ye was completely baffled – What kind of communication was this?

Seeing Bai Ye's confusion, Zhan Zhao explained, "Zhao Jue just kicked me out, saying he wants to interrogate the suspect himself. Let's see how good his interrogation skills are!"

Bai Ye looked at Bai Yutang – So pointing to his ears and then his eyes just now had such a layered meaning?

Bai Yutang nodded.

Bai Ye seemed intrigued. He stood behind them, observing the interaction between Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang with renewed interest.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Fang Dongshun's emotions seemed to have stabilised.

Zhao Jue sat down on the sofa opposite the hospital bed and crossed his legs, with his elbows resting on the arms of the single-seater sofa, hands clasped together, and fingers lightly touching each other, as if the person lying opposite him was his patient, undergoing psychological therapy.

Fang Dongshun looked up, scrutinising Zhao Jue, seemingly trying to guess his identity.

After a brief observation, Zhao Jue smiled.

Seeing Zhao Jue's somewhat sinister smile, Fang Dongshun frowned and asked, "What are you smiling about?"

Zhao Jue replied, "Your entire plan was almost perfect."

Fang Dongshun was visibly shocked. Not only was he surprised, but even Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang at the door were taken aback.

"But you made one mistake." Zhao Jue extended one finger.

Fang Dongshun frowned, looking down as if he was contemplating.

Suddenly, Zhan Zhao exclaimed, "Ah!"

Zhao Jue glanced at the door and gave Zhan Zhao a mischievous smile.

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye both looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao muttered, "That old fox, how dare he mislead me!"

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye raised their eyebrows at him – Did he get outsmarted?

Zhan Zhao was fuming – Careless!

‿︵‿︵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: May 30, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 10, 2024 by Soojin