Chapter 3

But I was little back then. I truly didn’t know that the Niem family wasn’t the only one to move away.

Who was the other family, and what had happened to them?

Officer Li found out quickly.

They were the Zhangs. They had bought land in the village and opened a small factory.

At that time, anyone who managed to build a business like that was considered very successful.

Officer Li contacted the family immediately.

That call had a major impact on the case—

The family said they hadn’t been able to reach their daughter for three days!

That’s right. The newly discovered female body near my house…

It might very well be Zhang Lingwei, the Zhangs’ eldest daughter.

There were three members of the Zhang family: the father, Zhang Jianjun; the eldest daughter, Zhang Lingwei; and the younger son, Zhang Lingzhi.

After Officer Li contacted them, Zhang Jianjun and Zhang Lingzhi hurried over.

I knew all this because after hanging up, Officer Li came to the break room where he’d put me and asked if I remembered the family.

I answered honestly that I had no impression of them at all.

“What about the skeleton in the ruined temple? Have you identified it yet?”

I asked Officer Li, pretending to be calm, as if I were only curious.

“Not yet. But there’s one notable detail from the autopsy…”

Officer Li paused, then continued:

“That body was probably buried there sixteen years ago—the same year your family moved away.”

Just as I’d thought.

Everything still pointed back to that year.

I asked, “What exactly happened back then?”

Officer Li shook his head to show he didn’t know.

Then he added, “The Zhang family will come tomorrow. We should be able to get some answers then.”

He looked straight into my eyes, as if hinting that the truth would come out tomorrow and I still had a chance to confess.

Of course, I shook my head and said I knew nothing.

Officer Li said nothing more. He quietly left the break room.

I lay on the bed, thinking about my childhood.

Now I was certain.

The last time I played rock, scissors, paper with Niem Niem, the day we went up the mountain…

Something terrible had happened to her.

And it might well have involved the Zhang family.

I stayed in the break room for the rest of the day.

It was part of the police station, and there were surveillance cameras everywhere. Wandering around would have looked suspicious.

I had no idea what was happening outside.

Not until night fell.

Officer Li came back to see me. His expression was even heavier this time.

He pulled up a chair and began:

“The Zhang family has confirmed that the body is Zhang Lingwei. They’ve also told us a few things about what happened sixteen years ago…”

After sitting down, he fixed me with a sharp look before asking:

“What happened back then really did involve you, didn’t it?”

I was completely confused and could only shake my head.

I knew he was trying to draw something out of me, but I truly had nothing to say.

He paused again, then asked, “You haven’t completely forgotten what Du Hieu Niem’s parents were like, have you?”

I frowned and thought carefully before answering.

“Her father was very strict. Like my father back then, he was a farmer, but he had a much worse temper.”

“A few times, when we played together too late, he scolded her viciously. Sometimes he even wanted to hit her.”

“As for her mother, I remember she always took her side. She was a farmer, too…”

I spread my hands. “I really can’t remember anything else. Why are you asking?”

Officer Li stared at me for a long moment before saying, “Du Zhicheng is now our prime suspect in Zhang Lingwei’s murder.”

I froze, frowning even harder.

“The two families had a dispute back then. That’s why they both moved away.”

“And once Zhang Jianjun identified the body and learned that it had been dumped in the ruined house that belonged to the Du family, he insisted that Du Zhicheng was the killer.”

“He said he was sure Du Zhicheng had acted out of revenge for that old dispute.”

“But he refuses to tell us what the dispute was. That’s why I’m asking if you know.”

“I don’t!” I answered quickly. “If I knew, why wouldn’t I tell you? Besides, if you’ve already listed Du Zhicheng as your prime suspect, why not just arrest him?”

Officer Li shook his head and sighed.

“He’s missing, too. We can’t reach him at all.”