Chapter 367: Bloody Yet Spotless

I stepped outside and spotted a young man waiting for me. “Where’s Uncle Chen?” I asked.

“Uncle Chen is still investigating.” He led us around to the back of the house. When we got there, I saw Uncle Chen crouched down, checking something. From a distance, I could make out two sets of tire tracks beside him.

“What are you looking at, Uncle Chen?” I called out.

Uncle Chen replied, “You asked me to look for the car that might be hidden, but I haven’t found it. What I did find, though, are traces of cars driving through here. It rained for days recently, and this area is just a wide stretch of yellow dirt. Based on what I see, three cars have been through here.”

I nodded, surveying the open ground. From a distance, the tire marks looked like lines drawn across blank paper. Luckily, the tread patterns and distance between each set of wheels were all different. Just by checking those two points, we could figure out what kind of cars had shown up here before.

I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about cars, so I turned to Uncle Chen and said, “From what I’ve observed about Zhang Zijun and his family’s living standards, he should be able to afford a car worth between thirty to fifty thousand. Now you’re saying there are three sets of tire marks. Are you sure there aren’t more?”

Uncle Chen nodded and said, “While you were inside investigating Zhang Zijun, the rest of us started checking for any suspicious vehicles. After comparing the marks, we’re confident; only three different cars passed through here. This spot is pretty secluded, though—there are a lot of houses around. Sometimes cars traveling off the highway stop here.”

Looking at the tracks, I said, “So all three cars were here during the rain and left when it was still coming down. We don’t know if any other vehicles stayed for a while, but if someone lives here, parking long-term is normal.”

“We need to figure out exactly what these three vehicles are.” I added, “That’s going to take a lot of digging.”

At that, Gu Chen shook his head. “There’s no need for it to be so complicated. From the tread patterns, you can tell these three cars weren’t in the same price range. One is obviously the cheapest kind of van you see everywhere. The other two look like sedans worth around a hundred thousand each.”

“The killer grabbed two people,” I said. “It makes sense to use a van—common and easy to miss for a kidnapping. Check if this van belongs to Zhang Zijun. I have a feeling he’s the most suspicious.”

Gu Chen looked over and asked, “Why do you think Zhang Zijun is suspicious? Wasn’t this supposed to be the work of a lone killer? If he were alone at home, then where’s Hu Ningning now?”

“That’s exactly why I told you to keep a twenty-four hour watch on him. If things really are as we think, then tracking his movements will lead us right to Hu Ningning. You have to be extra careful—if Zhang Zijun realizes we’re watching him, he might rather abandon Hu Ningning than risk exposure. That could mean she dies of thirst.”

Everyone nodded. After thinking for a while, I continued, “Send a few people to keep an eye on him nearby. Whatever you do, don’t get caught. We’ll swap shifts at night.”

I turned to Uncle Chen. “Gu Chen is our expert at tailing people. For surveillance, Mary is the best. Now, let’s go talk to Zhang Zuochen and his mother.”

“Are there still enough people in town?” I asked. “We need someone to check where the van drove off to.”

Uncle Chen frowned. “We’re running a bit thin on staff. One of our teams is still investigating the fishhooks. They’ve been at it for a while and nearly checked every hardware store in town. We’re cross-checking info, because I don’t think the killer bought all those fishhooks at once.”

Uncle Chen had a sharp eye for this sort of thing. That meant, most likely, the fishhooks were bought in batches from hardware shops throughout town.

“It’s a huge job to check everything and compare records. Maybe this lead won’t pan out—but since we’ve come this far, we might as well finish it.” I turned to Uncle Chen. “Earlier, you only looked into Zhang Zijun’s background. Did you get his ex-wife’s name?”

Uncle Chen nodded. “Back then I only paid attention to the man. I didn’t check the kid or his wife specifically. His son’s name is Zhang Zuochen, and his wife’s name is Hao Jiamin.”

“Check Hao Jiamin’s records. We never found out why they divorced,” I said. “Usually there are just two reasons—it’s either a genuine falling out, which is understandable, or their relationship wasn’t actually broken. In that case, the divorce probably had another motive.”

“Follow up on that,” I said. “But let’s eat first.”

Partway through our meal, the principal called. I answered, “What’s up? Did you find something?”

The principal replied, “You wanted me to look into Zhang Zuochen. I went back and checked his records. He was in our elementary school for first grade, but when it came time for second grade, his parents suddenly handled the transfer paperwork. We never saw him afterward.”

I shoveled food into my mouth as I asked, “You’re saying the parents filed the paperwork themselves? The boy didn’t come along?”

“Right. The kid wasn’t there. We did the paperwork as usual, but while I was checking his file, I noticed something odd. I couldn’t find any record showing where he transferred to.”

“You have no idea where he went?” I asked. “Aren’t there rules for this sort of thing?”

The principal continued, “You can usually find this info when checking student records, since enrollment is based on district. If a kid transfers, they’re technically considered visiting students, and we should have had proof. But I couldn’t find any record at all—so that means…”

I frowned and said slowly, “You mean the child never went to school again?”

“Exactly. From the moment he left our school, he never enrolled anywhere else.”

“That’s actually a good lead.” I frowned.

Zhang Zuochen left Taishan Elementary and never went to another school. Something serious must have happened. But right now, we still don’t know what.

From what Zhang Zijun told us, after he and Hao Jiamin split, the kid stayed with her. But both parents went together to handle the transfer, so Zhang Zijun played a key role in whatever happened next.

What’s the real story here?

I don’t know yet, but there’s definitely something fishy going on.

“Do you know where Hao Jiamin lives now?” I asked.

The principal replied, “No idea. It’s been such a long time. Tell you what, I’ll go ask his old homeroom teacher, Sun Qingqing. She taught him for first grade.”

“So Sun Qingqing was his homeroom teacher? That means Zhang Zuochen and Hu Ningning were in the same class?” I asked.

“Yes.” The principal confirmed. “Why?”

I slapped the table and said, “The killer is Zhang Zijun. We just haven’t found any concrete proof yet.”

“Why are you so sure it’s him?” Mary asked. “Isn’t this kind of jumping to conclusions?”

I shook my head. “No. He has the time and the means. And did you notice how spotless his house is? There’s one detail that stands out.”

“What detail?” everyone asked.

“His shoes were dirty,” I said.

“That’s hardly a detail,” Gu Chen replied. “Lots of people have dirty shoes.”

I shook my head again. “Think about it—from what you saw, his place was immaculate, even the corners of the shoe cabinet. If a man was truly that obsessed with cleanliness, he’d never leave his shoes filthy. Which means he’s not a neat freak at all.”

“Only someone without a real obsession for cleanliness would keep their house that spotless—most likely to scrub away all traces of blood.”

I glanced at Mary. “What I can’t figure out is, where did Guo Li end up? And where is Hu Ningning now?”