Chapter 826: Locked Room MurderTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Zhang Jingfeng in the Golden City was not related whatsoever to Zhang Jingfeng in Qinshan. Just like his name suggested, this Zhang Jingfeng was tall and slender and actually did have a body shape similar to that of a water well (“Jing” means “well” in Chinese).
Moreover, he had a strange hairstyle, which looked like a cartoon character’s. It was definitely a very unique style!
However, this fellow was shabbily dressed, He also had a foul smell about him, which made people pinch their noses whenever he came near them!
After the others had left, Zhao Yu and Zhang Jingfeng got behind the screen. Zhao Yu then asked Zhang Jingfeng to recount exactly what happened on the day of the crime.
“That evening, I was playing mahjong with my friends in Pengling,” Zhang Jingfeng explained. “That day, I had good luck… Six wins in a row! Just as we were starting the seventh round, my sister called me.”
Zhang Jingfeng shook his head as he recalled the memory, “I remember that it was quite late, and since my sister never calls me that late, I was worried about her. So, I answered it, but there was only silence!”
As he was speaking of this moment, he clearly felt guilty. “At that time, it was quite noisy. I tried a few times to get a response, but finally hung up after not having any luck. Then, after I hung up the phone, I saw that I had missed a Wechat message from my sister…”
He then shook his head and sighed. “But… I was about to win the round! So, I didn’t look at it right away. Later, when I read the message, I saw that frightening photo! It was only then that I realized that my sister might be in danger!”
“Was that a photo of the left hand or the right hand?” Zhao Yu asked. “Also… How did you know that it was you sister?”
“Hmm…” Zhang Jingfeng held up his two hands and pondered for a moment before he answered confidently, “The right hand! I recognized the bracelet on my sister’s right hand. Besides, I also recognized her bedsheets, so I knew that it must be her, and that she must have been at home, or at least that was where the picture was taken.”
Zhao Yu frowned. “So… When you saw the picture, did you go to your sister’s house immediately?”
“Yes!” Zhang Jingfeng said. “Well, actually, I called my sister first, but she did not answer! So, I called my brother-in-law, but he didn’t answer either. That was when I rushed to my sister’s house.”
“Okay… How long did it take for you to get there?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Um… Pengling is far, and I was on my electric bicycle. As it had no electricity left, I pedaled for quite a while. Hmm…” Zhang Jingfeng pause to calculate the time.
He then recalled, “Probably less than an hour. On the way, the more I thought about everything, the more worried I became.
I thought that I might not get there in time to help her if she was indeed in trouble, so as I was riding my bicycle, I called the police! However, when I arrived, the policemen weren’t even there yet!
Zhang Jingfeng then said indignantly, “What a bunch of garbage! I was worried that they wouldn’t take me seriously when I called, so I had even told them that someone had been killed, and they still didn’t get there quick enough!”
He was clearly upset as he added, “Those jerks didn’t even arrive until I had already climbed over the wall to get into the yard. I saw them coming and opened the gate for them, and those idiots actually thought I was a thief!”
Zhang Jingfeng shook his head, then said angrily, “After I tried to explain everything to them for quite a while, they finally understood what was going on! My poor sister! If they had come earlier, she might have been saved!”
Next to Zhang Jingfeng, Zeng Ke, who was holding the autopsy report, said, “No… That is not possible. Whoever the murderer is, he calculated the time precisely. According to our report, your sister could only have survived for 20 minutes after being cut.”
Zeng Ke then picked up his phone and said, “Judging from the already dried bloodstains in the picture, Zhang Jingru had been cut quite a while before that photo was taken! So, no matter what, she couldn’t have been saved!”
“I know what you are doing. You are just making all of that up to escape taking responsibility!” Zhang Jingfeng replied disdainfully. “Regardless… I won’t argue with you about this now, as even if the police had arrived earlier than I did, the front door was still locked! We had to end up smashing down the door frame with an axe before we finally got inside! It took us ages.”
“Do you remember if the door locked?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Of course I remember!” Zhang Jingfeng’s face showed great anger. “I’ve said it more than 800 times, and all of the policemen on the scene can corroborate it! My sister’s front door could only be locked from the inside!”
Zhang Jingfeng grit his teeth and said, “So… By process of elimination, the murderer has to be Han Kuan!”
Only then did Zhao Yu understand why the police were so confident that Han Kuan had killed his wife. It turned out that this was a murder in a locked room!
“Zhang Jingfeng!” Zhao Yu said. “Han Kuan had no motive to kill your sister. After all, they were living a happy, married life. Did they have any conflicts that we are unaware of?”
Zhang Jingfeng stood up excitedly and scolded Zhao Yu, “Is there something wrong with your brain? Why do you need a motive for this kind of crazy thing? Just look at the evidence! Isn’t the evidence clear enough? When we broke in, Han Kuan was holding the actual knife in his hand! If he didn’t kill my sister, who else could it have been?”
Zhang Jingfeng then rolled his eyes and demanded to know. “Do you think that my sister committed suicide? What a joke!”
Zhang Jingfeng laughed like a madman, then added, “Although I have to admit that I despise my bald brother-in-law, I won’t deny that he and my sister really loved each other! They have been married for so many years, yet they still took a walk together every day, holding hands nonetheless!”
“Then… What about children? Zhao Yu took the opportunity to ask a key question, “As they had no children, were there any conflicts about that?”
Zhang Jingfeng immediately shook his head and said, “In fact, that is not my sister’s fault! They went to the doctor regarding this so many times, and every time, the doctors found that it was Han Kuan’s problem, not my sister’s. But even with this knowledge, my sister never complained about him. She was happy with him and what they had… Each other.”
Unexpectedly, while he was speaking of this, Zhang Jingfeng suddenly cried out, “My sister told me several times that she hoped that I could get married and have children soon, so that they could help me raise them! However, Han Kuan didn’t know that she felt this way.”
He was sobbing now, as he struggled to speak through the tears. “My poor sister cared for him so much, but in the end, she was killed by that bastar*! My parents died early, so she basically raised me. And… How do I repay her? I didn’t protect my sister! And… Look what happened to her.”