Chapter 46.1: The Murderer Has Been Identified
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then language is the gateway that connects us to the world.
Studies have shown that human beings acquire roughly eighty percent of their information through sight, while hearing accounts for only about ten percent.
But that ten percent can sometimes be crucial.
Even if a person is perfectly normal in every other respect, if she is unable to speak and also does not know sign language or how to write, communication can become extremely difficult. Because others have trouble understanding her, they may easily end up ignoring her.
And this kind of neglect is not merely ignoring the fact that she cannot speak. It is ignoring the person as a whole, as though, aside from her inability to speak, there were something wrong with her eyesight, hearing, and even intelligence as well.
Captain Tan had done this, and Captain Zeng was no exception.
But this subconscious neglect was not particularly serious. The moment Jiang Xia pointed it out, Captain Zeng immediately realized his mistake.
He slapped his forehead, looking rather frustrated.
“I completely forgot. Just because she’s mute doesn’t mean she can’t hear or see. The two of them even sleep in the same bed. If Luo Tianming was acting strangely in any way, she would definitely have noticed.”
As he spoke, Zeng Jun stood up and picked up the phone. He began dialing as he said, “The suspect’s family doesn’t have the same kind of acting skills as the suspect himself. We might actually be able to get something out of her during questioning. I’d better call Captain Tan right away and tell him!”
Jiang Xia gave a slight nod.
Sure enough, she wasn’t the only one who suspected Luo Tianming. Both Captain Tan and Captain Zeng had thought he was suspicious before.
It wasn’t surprising. They were veteran detectives, after all. Who hadn’t encountered a case of brothers turning against each other?
Besides, Luo Tianming fit the profile of a suspect extremely well. It was only after questioning him several times without finding anything suspicious that they had ruled him out.
Hopefully, this interrogation would turn up something.
Jiang Xia thought to herself.
—
Around Luo Family Street.
The scorching sunlight poured down from high above. A resident stood beneath the shade of a tree, looking thoroughly impatient.
“Officers, you’ve already asked me this five times! You come around asking the same questions every single day. Aren’t you getting tired of it? I’m about to go crazy from it!”
Tan Bingyi’s expression remained unchanged. “Comrade, I know this is affecting your normal life, but please try to understand. This is a serious matter involving someone’s life.”
“Who doesn’t know it’s a matter of life and death?”
The resident planted a hand on his hip, clearly displeased. “But couldn’t you at least ask me something new? I’ve told you everything I know about this stuff over and over. There’s nothing else I can say! Officer, just let me go. I still have to work this afternoon. You can’t keep taking away all my free time every day!”
Tan Bingyi couldn’t help feeling somewhat helpless.
After all this investigation, not only had the case reached a deadlock, the nuclear-powered donkeys’ morale was also sinking lower and lower. Even the residents who had originally cooperated with them were beginning to lose patience.
They had clearly narrowed down the area and had hope of solving the case, yet now it seemed as though everything had returned to square one. No matter which direction they tried to push the investigation, they simply couldn’t make any progress.
If they asked the same questions another one or two times and still found no new leads, they would probably have to close the case again.
And once it was shelved this time, the chances of reopening it and solving it in the future would become even slimmer.
Just thinking about that possibility made Tan Bingyi feel miserable. He sighed inwardly and forced himself to perk up. He was just about to try persuading the passerby again when Chen Dong came running toward them from a distance, bringing the donkeys—no, the new police officers—with him.
“Captain Tan!”
Taking three steps in two, Chen Dong hurried over to Tan Bingyi. Without even having time to catch his breath, he immediately said, “Captain Zeng just called. He said we can interrogate Luo Tianming’s wife too!”
“What?”
Tan Bingyi froze for a moment and instinctively objected, “Isn’t she mute? What can interrogating her possibly—tsk!”
He quickly realized what he had overlooked and immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
“I completely forgot! Being mute only means she can’t speak. It doesn’t mean she’s stupid. We can absolutely interrogate her!”
Tan Bingyi instantly realized that this could be their breakthrough.
Seeing that the police captain questioning him was no longer paying attention to him, the resident took two steps backward, then promptly made himself scarce and slipped away.
“Yes.”
Chen Dong took a couple of breaths, finally managing to steady himself, before quickly adding, “Captain Zeng also said we shouldn’t question her at their house anymore. Take her to the Municipal Public Security Bureau, or to the nearest police station, so we can put some pressure on the couple.”
The environment has an enormous influence on people. When questioned in their own home, people subconsciously regard it as their territory. Not only are they more relaxed, but they also tend to answer with greater confidence.
A police station was different. The distinctive surroundings, combined with uniformed police officers, could put enormous psychological pressure on ordinary people. Those with something to hide could easily let their guard slip and reveal a weakness.
So interrogating Luo Tianming’s wife at the police station would undoubtedly be much more effective than questioning her at home.
And taking her away for questioning would inevitably put some psychological pressure on Luo Tianming as well. If he really had something to hide, he would inevitably start wondering whether his wife had confessed to anything, worrying about how much evidence the police had, and might consequently make some suspicious move.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
“Fine. Let’s do it that way.”
There was no need for further explanation. Tan Bingyi immediately understood what Zeng Jun had in mind. He glanced at his watch and said, “You and Old Qin take the others and keep watch outside Luo Tianming’s house. Keep an eye on Luo Tianming and see if he does anything unusual. I’ll take some people back to the Municipal Public Security Bureau for the questioning. Call me if you make any progress.”
“Got it.”
After making the arrangements, Tan Bingyi led his people toward Luo Tianming’s home.
Luo Tianming’s wife was named Liu Qiao.
She had been unable to cry from the moment she was born.
Back then, many ordinary families were unwilling to raise a disabled baby. Whether Liu Qiao was lucky or unlucky was hard to say. She was the eldest child, the firstborn, and her parents couldn’t bring themselves to abandon her. They hesitated and hesitated, and before they knew it, the child had grown up.
There was no school for her to attend in those days, and she had never even heard of sign language. After spending enough time together at home, her family could generally understand what she meant from a few gestures. But outside, not only could other people not understand her, children her own age would even deliberately pretend to be mute in front of her to make fun of her.
This made Liu Qiao even more reluctant to leave the house. She stayed home doing the housework, and after getting married, this became even more pronounced.
This self-imposed isolation made it difficult for outsiders to communicate with her, which was also part of the reason Tan Bingyi had overlooked her earlier.
Liu Qiao was certainly not going to be easy to question.
Before they even reached Luo Tianming’s home, Tan Bingyi was already thinking through the process.
Taking her alone definitely wouldn’t work. It would be far too easy for a mute person who didn’t want to cooperate to simply refuse to respond. They needed to bring along someone who could interpret her gestures and relay what she meant.
With that in mind, they arrived at the Luo family’s home.
The front door wasn’t locked, so they could simply walk in.
It was nearly noon, and the Luo family was preparing lunch.
Liu Qiao stood beside the cutting board, rapidly chopping a handful of cleaned chives. Four eggs lay beside them.
At the stove behind her, thirteen-year-old eldest daughter Luo Aihua had her head lowered as she carefully rubbed together some straw, preparing it for kindling.
The commotion caused by Tan Bingyi and the others entering quickly caught Liu Qiao’s attention.
She let out a very soft “Ah,” then turned around and bumped her daughter lightly on the shoulder with the back of her hand.
“Uncle Police? Why are you here again?”
Luo Aihua raised her head. She was a little confused, but still turned toward the house and called loudly, “Dad! The police are here looking for you again!”
Luo Tianming quickly pushed open the front door. When he saw three police officers standing in the courtyard, he paused for a moment, but immediately resumed his normal expression and walked over, a puzzled look still on his face.
“Officer, didn’t you just come by the day before yesterday? Why are you here looking for me again today?”
“We’re not here for you this time.”
Tan Bingyi looked toward Liu Qiao. She didn’t seem accustomed to having so many people around. When she saw Luo Tianming come out, she immediately lowered her head and continued chopping the chives.
Instead, her daughter, Luo Aihua, had forgotten all about starting the fire and was staring at them curiously.
“Little girl, let me ask you something. When your mother has trouble communicating with outsiders through gestures, who does she usually ask to translate for her?”
“Obviously me.”
Luo Aihua straightened up, looking slightly proud.
“I spend the most time with Mom. Whenever she wants to say something, I know what she means as soon as she gestures.”
Hearing this, Luo Tianming’s heart suddenly sank.
He took two steps forward and stood in front of Tan Bingyi, blocking his view of his daughter. Pretending not to understand, he asked, “Officer, I can understand why you’d question an adult, but why are you asking a child?”
He seemed a little too anxious.
Tan Bingyi pondered this. Rather than press him, he reached into the leather briefcase under his arm and pulled out a summons he had written just a few minutes earlier.
“Your wife, Liu Qiao, is connected to this case. We’re now taking her in for questioning. To assist with the interrogation, Luo Aihua will be coming with us as well.”
Luo Tianming’s expression changed slightly.
His lowered hand unconsciously clenched the sleeve of his clothes, then quickly released it. Almost immediately, a hint of anger appeared on his face.
“Officer, what do you mean by that? You suspect my wife? Just because you haven’t caught the murderer, you can’t go around blaming my family! That was her grandniece!”
When an innocent person comes under suspicion, the strongest reactions are usually anger and resistance.
His reaction was perfectly normal. Tan Bingyi studied him but couldn’t spot any more obvious signs of guilt.
“We’re only trying to get to the truth as quickly as possible.”
Tan Bingyi stared at him.
“You don’t want your grandniece’s death to remain unexplained either, do you?”
Luo Tianming opened his mouth but found himself unable to respond.
“Ah, ah.”
Having been mentioned, Liu Qiao could no longer continue preparing lunch. She raised her head and struggled to force two sounds from her throat. She pointed at her throat at her daughter, then shook her head. After that, she pointed toward the cutting board, brought the other fingers of her right hand together, separated her index and middle fingers to imitate a pair of chopsticks, and moved them through the air twice.
“Mom says she can’t speak, so there’s no point in her going,” Luo Aihua hurriedly translated. “And she hasn’t finished making lunch yet. If she doesn’t finish it, everyone at home won’t have anything to eat.”
“That’s fine. Old Qin can cook.”
Keeping an eye on them from outside couldn’t compare to watching them from inside the house. Tan Bingyi said directly, “He’ll make the food. Don’t worry about it. We’re all doing this to solve the case, so please cooperate.”
With things put that bluntly, Luo Tianming couldn’t think of anything else he could say to stop them. He could only nod submissively.
“Cooperate. We’ll cooperate.”
Tan Bingyi turned toward Liu Qiao.
“Then let’s go.”
Liu Qiao pressed her lips tightly together, looking somewhat reluctant, but she still untied her apron and followed behind him.
Luo Aihua hurried two steps forward, went to her mother’s side, and took her hand.
It was ice-cold.
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