Chapter 61: The Jump

2022-05-20

Once you realize you can’t take back your words, you learn not to make promises you can’t keep. The next morning, another suicide happened—only this time, it wasn’t in either of the areas I’d marked.

“Let’s go, Freud,” Gu Chen said, patting me on the shoulder with a meaningful look. “Seems psychology isn’t all that dependable after all.”

Guan Zengbin shrugged, adding, “We still can’t confirm if it’s suicide or homicide. Someone fell from the building, but you can’t tell without checking the scene close up. That’s why they want us to take a look first.”

I let out a sigh. “Whether the books are reliable or not, that’s still up in the air. See, we haven’t even figured out if it’s suicide or murder yet.”

By the time we arrived, the body was still lying there, now covered by a white sheet. Police tape stretched around the area. Outside it, a crowd pressed in, all snapping photos with their phones. It took some serious effort to push our way through, flashing our credentials to finally get past the line.

A fellow officer came over and told us, “The deceased is Ma Liliang, worked as a real estate agent. Not long ago, he fell from the building. We still don’t know whether he jumped or was pushed. Since you guys are handling the recent suicides, they called you in.”

“Let’s go,” the officer said, pointing at a few people giving statements nearby. “Those folks were witnesses when Ma Liliang jumped. Maybe you should talk to them first?”

But Guan Zengbin started walking toward the body and replied, “No rush, I’d rather talk to him first.”

“Who?” the officer asked.

Guan Zengbin parked his toolkit beside the body and pulled back the sheet. “Ma Liliang, of course. The dead can tell us a lot more than the living can.”

Even before the sheet was lifted, blood was visible, pooling out from beneath. From the front, it had fanned out in a wide spray—some stains split out nearly a dozen meters. This matched what you’d expect when someone falls from a great height. Judging from how far the blood went, it was quite a drop.

I glanced up at the apartment building: thirty-two stories. The windows up on the higher floors were only narrow vestibule types—an adult couldn’t squeeze through from inside. That left only the rooftop as a realistic place to jump from. Thirty-two floors… the thought alone made me queasy.

Once the sheet was off, we saw the body clearly.

Roughly speaking, Ma Liliang lay face down, with one shoe on and one off. Altogether, he looked strangely like a gecko clinging to a wall.

The skull had been utterly shattered; his facial features were beyond recognition. They must’ve identified him some other way, and pretty quickly at that.

Guan Zengbin didn’t even open his toolkit—just took one look and said, “He hasn’t been dead for more than an hour. Based on the injuries, everything fits with a fall from height. The way his limbs and head are bruised all in the same direction, that’s almost impossible to fake.”

“But I can’t make a final call yet. I need to look for any other wounds, or maybe drugs in his blood, to tell if someone knocked him out and tossed him, or if he jumped on his own.” Guan Zengbin re-covered the body. “Go ahead and take him away.”

“Let’s hear from the eyewitnesses,” I said. “Might as well see what they saw.”

Apparently, nobody downstairs noticed Ma Liliang when he was up on the thirty-second floor. But as he jumped, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Watch out down there! Move!”

His warning seemed to echo in everyone’s minds as he plummeted, slamming into the ground. By the time people rushed over, he was already gone. At the very least, it meant he was conscious when he jumped.

“Let’s check the rooftop!” I said, already heading upstairs. To another officer, I added, “Can you find me a few mannequins and bring up a big sack of rocks?”

He scratched his head. “What do you need all that for?”

“You’ll see. Bring them to the roof and clear people from below,” I said with a grin.

While waiting for the elevator, I got bored and struck up a conversation with Gu Chen. “Hey, Gu Chen, why do people kill themselves? Is life just too disappointing? If someone could really see inside their heart, maybe they’d never get to this point.”

Gu Chen studied me for a long moment before answering, “You’re asking the wrong guy. Maybe that’s it, though. When there’s nothing left worth staying for, living feels like torture. But I also believe that nobody dies alone. Even if you lose your will to live, think about the ones you leave behind.”

“There’s always someone who’ll cry for you after you’re gone,” Gu Chen said.

“Oh? So if I die, you’ll cry over me? Honestly, I want to see what a tough guy like you looks like bawling.”

“Sure, on your one hundred twentieth birthday, when I visit your grave, you’ll see,” Gu Chen shrugged.

The doors opened and I stepped out, saying, “Sorry, but the fortune teller said I don’t have any big hurdles until one hundred thirty…”

“Yeah? What happens then—your grave collapses?” Gu Chen shot back.

Looking down from the thirty-second floor is a wild feeling. With a gust stronger than a breeze, you’d think you’d be blown right off. But man, the view from up here—everything’s laid out at your feet. Even around noon, the air’s still cool.

From this height, the crowd below looked like ants. The longer I stared, the more I felt the urge to jump myself. Maybe that’s why people love bungee jumping, chasing the thrill. Shame the people who know what it’s like can’t tell us about it anymore.

There’s a railing on the rooftop, but if someone’s truly resolved, it can’t stop them.

Checking the spot where Ma Liliang fell let us narrow down the general area.

“Hey, look—there’s a pair of glasses,” I told Gu Chen.

I slipped on gloves and picked them up to take a closer look: gold-rimmed, clearly men’s.

Examining the width of the frames, I told Gu Chen, “These belonged to Ma Liliang.”

“Yeah? How’d you know that, his name printed on them or what?”

I shook my head. “Just an educated guess. Ma Liliang worked in real estate—his image needed to be professional, matching the suit he wore. Glasses like these fit that style. Plus, the way they’re carefully folded and set here—he must’ve taken them off on purpose.”

“But why leave them here?” Gu Chen asked.

I shrugged. “The book I read said people who take their own life almost always close their eyes at the moment they do it. Doesn’t matter how tough you are—deep down, we all have the same instincts. Nobody wants to face death, theirs or anyone else’s.”

I stood by the edge and looked down. The spot lined up perfectly with the body’s.

I kept explaining, “That’s why, when most people see a corpse, they feel fear first, not sympathy. It’s instinct. Makes you realize how impressive forensic examiners really are.”

“You mean Guan Zengbin?” Gu Chen shook his head. “You two flirt in front of me so much, why not just get together already.”

“Her?” I waved my hands as fast as I could. “No thanks!”

“Mannequins are here!” a voice called out behind us.

I turned to see five people each carrying a mannequin, and one lugging a sack of rocks. Gu Chen and I quickly took the mannequins and set them beside us.

“Is this enough?” the guy asked, sweating buckets.

I nodded. “Perfect—thanks! Now get everyone down below to back up. We’re about to run an experiment.”

“An experiment?” The crowd sounded confused.

But Gu Chen caught on and said, “It’s a simulation.”

“Exactly. If we want to know whether Ma Liliang jumped or was pushed, these mannequins will help.” I explained, “Ma Liliang was about 1.75 meters tall. These mannequins are about the same. He weighed about 65 kilos—let’s load the rocks in.”

Once each mannequin and the rocks together hit about 65 kilos, we were set.

Gu Chen and I set one mannequin outside the railing.

“Alright, this one’s simulating if someone pushed him. Tell the people down there to stay clear.”

With that, we sent the mannequin over the edge. Not three seconds later, it hit the ground with a loud bang—split wide open, rocks everywhere. Good thing we’d warned everyone to move back.

Police below marked the spot where it fell. Next up, we ran more simulations.

“Now we’ll try Ma Liliang jumping under his own power,” I said.

And another mannequin went over.

“Let’s see how it looks if he’d been knocked out and pushed down,” I added.

One more mannequin.

“And finally, the last scenario: walking off the edge…” I continued.