Chapter 3

Was it true?

Or a lie to escape punishment?

Fu Yi gave a cold laugh.

“Mr. Liu, stop making things up. You're obviously the killer. Everyone knows what you're like.

“You've harassed female students more than once. You even groped both me and Fu Nian when Mum wasn't home.

“Why else did she stay in the art room until late every night? She was afraid of you. She just wanted to avoid you.

“Besides, how could a girl like her escape from you? I think you killed her, then took her body to the art room and staged the scene.”

“You...”

Liu Jie pointed at her angrily but couldn't get the words out.

It seemed her accusations were true.

He certainly wasn't innocent.

Could he really be the killer?

When I remained silent, Fu Yi pressed impatiently.

“What are you waiting for, Officer Xia? Arrest him and have him shot.”

Just then, the familiar electronic sound rang out.

Clunk!

I turned toward my sister.

“Ruonan... do you mean... Liu Jie isn't the real killer?”

Beep.

I froze.

Then a bitter smile came to my lips.

I really was far behind my sister.

How had I failed to think of something so simple?

Seeing I still hadn't moved, Fu Yi raised her voice.

“Hey, you're not actually going to believe her, are you? It was obviously Liu Jie!”

I looked at her as though she were an idiot.

“Don't you understand? It couldn't have been him.”

Before she could argue, Xu Ruo spoke slowly.

“That's right. It really couldn't have been Mr. Liu. Officer Xia said Fu Nian's fatal injury was caused by the bronze horse. If Mr. Liu killed her at home, he couldn't have used it.”

Fu Yi refused to accept that.

“What if he planned it beforehand? He could have taken the statuette home, killed her, then brought it and her body back to the art room to stage the scene.”

I shook my head.

“That theory doesn't hold up. Liu Jie never intended to kill Fu Nian in the first place, so he wouldn't have prepared a weapon.”

Silence settled over the room again.

Liu Jie wasn't the real killer.

Bai Qiao had an alibi.

If it was one of these four, that left...

Fu Yi.

Or Xu Ruo.

My gaze moved between them, trying to find a crack in their composure.

Nothing.

I had no choice but to move on.

“Now I'd like each of you to describe your relationship with Fu Nian. Ms. Bai, you first.”

She looked at me in bewilderment.

“Haven't you already investigated that?”

I shook my head.

“I need more detail.”

Reluctantly, she began.

“Fu Nian's mother, Yu Qingqing, and I went to university together. We were very close.

“Fu Yan noticed her when she was working part-time as a hotel receptionist. He fell in love at first sight and pursued her relentlessly.

“He was handsome and wealthy—the man of many girls' dreams back then. Qingqing soon fell for him. Things moved quickly, and they married as soon as they graduated.

“He adored her after they married and treated her like a treasure. I was genuinely happy for them.

“Sadly... it didn't last. Not long after Fu Yi was born, they were killed in a car accident while out together.

“Qingqing was an orphan. Fu Yan's parents had died long before too. After his death, his relatives descended like wolves and divided up the entire family fortune. They left the girls nothing.

“There was no other choice. I adopted them.

“I've remained unmarried all these years to raise them. I never imagined...”

She lowered her head and wiped her tears.

I nodded, then turned to Liu Jie.

He looked ashen and remorseful.

“Because of my appearance... I'd never managed to find a wife. I liked Bai Qiao the first time I saw her.

“When she told me I was honest and dependable, and that she wanted to try a relationship, I thought I was dreaming.

“To help us grow closer, and make it easier for her to teach, I used my position to arrange for us to move into the staff housing.

“She said she had two daughters. I didn't mind.

“But... she set three ground rules. I wasn't allowed to touch her before marriage.

“I'm a grown man. I have needs too.

“I don't know what possessed me... I started having designs on Fu Nian and Fu Yi.

“But I had the desire, not the nerve. Usually, all I dared do was touch them.

“That night, I'd had far too much to drink. I lost control for a moment...

“I... I'm so sorry to Bai Qiao. And even more sorry to Fu Nian.”

He buried his head between his knees again.

Concealing the disgust in my eyes, I turned to Fu Yi and Xu Ruo.

Fu Yi folded her arms.

“Fu Nian was my older sister,” she said coldly. “That's all there is to say.”

I could do nothing about her refusal to cooperate.

Xu Ruo spoke.

“I was born into a backward, old-fashioned family. When I was in junior high, they wanted me to leave school, work for a few years, then get married.

“They wanted to squeeze everything they could out of me to buy my younger brother a house and find him a wife.

“Ms. Bai saved me. She persuaded my parents and paid all my tuition and living expenses from junior high through high school.

“Fu Nian was her daughter. She was also an excellent student. We had a lot in common and were close.

“I was very upset when I heard she'd been murdered.

“That's all.”

Her voice remained level.

As cold as an emotionless machine.

Just then, the electronic tones sounded again.

Beep! Clunk! Beep! Clunk! Beep! Clunk!

The two sounds alternated. The screen kept changing from green to red and back again.

Yes.

No.

Yes.

No.

What did the alternating signals mean?

I looked at my sister.

“Ruonan... do you already know who the killer is, but we don't have conclusive evidence yet?”

Beep!

Her answer was certain.

I immediately felt reassured and energized.

“Good. I'll go over all the clues from the scene again.

“We found the bronze horse, confirmed as the murder weapon. An unfinished painting. Paintbrushes scattered over the floor. And... a photograph stained with the victim's blood, found in the killer's pocket...”

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I continued carefully.

“You mean... the evidence is in the photograph?”

Beep.

My sister could only give me hints, not the answer.

It was as though she'd lit a lamp at the destination. I still had to clear the fog along the road myself.

The photograph...

It showed Fu Nian and Fu Yi together.

There was a bloody handprint on its surface, left by Fu Nian.

Which meant she'd held it before she died.

A flash of lightning seemed to tear across my mind and sweep the fog away.

Of course!

If she'd had time to look at a photograph, why hadn't she left any information about her killer?

Even the initial of their name would have made the case simple.

Unless...

I jumped to my feet and pointed at Fu Yi.

“Admit it! You killed Fu Nian!”

Every eye turned to her.

At last, unmistakable panic appeared on her face.

“Don't frame me! I didn't kill anyone!”

I stepped in front of her and looked down.

“The photograph against Fu Nian's chest proves she took it out after she was injured. But why didn't she leave any information about the killer? She clearly had time. Why didn't she? Do you know?”

Fu Yi trembled all over.

She seemed to have thought of the answer.

“Because the killer was the person she loved and cared about most! That's the only reason she'd willingly wait for death without identifying them.

“What's more, the only fingerprints on the statuette were hers. That means she wiped the killer's prints away herself.

“I can't think of anyone she'd protect to that extent... except her own sister.”

Fu Yi was deathly pale, her voice hoarse.

“How can you be sure... there wasn't someone else important to her?”

I clenched my teeth and stared at her in anger.

“If it were someone else, she wouldn't have held on to a photograph of you before she died. That proves you were the person she couldn't bear to leave.

“If someone else had attacked her, and she still cared so much about you, she could have called the police or called for help. She would never have lain there waiting to die.

“You killed a sister who loved you that much. Have you no humanity left?”

Suddenly, Fu Yi's face twisted.