Yi Chengwen seemed very confident in his work. I knew some of his pieces were decent, and I’d even read parts of them. But his current attitude was too flippant, making me reluctant to engage with him.
I didn't answer his question, remaining silent. However, Yi Chengwen seemed insistent on digging deeper. "Speak up, Officer He. It's been a long time since I've talked to anyone in real life!"
"What?" I looked at him, surprised.
"Never mind, we'll discuss it at the police station!"
The guy suddenly shut up. When we arrived at the station, we took him to an interrogation room.
Since there wasn't enough evidence to link him to the case, he couldn't be put in a proper interrogation room.
I took out the photos I had taken at the fair and spread them all out in front of Yi Chengwen. "Don't you find it strange? Why were you also at the fair?"
"Uh, Officer He, your question is even stranger. What does my presence there have to do with the case you're investigating?"
"You know we're investigating this case?" I shot back.
"No, but it must be pretty serious, otherwise your emotions wouldn't be so tense?"
"You can read our micro-expressions?"
"No, I'm just talking about emotions. Alright, Officer He, I was at the fair that day. I even recommended my work to some friends. What's wrong with that? Didn't you see me? I was holding my work in the photos."
"We photographed you every time. Were you deliberately following us?"
Yi Chengwen burst into laughter. "How is that possible? It must be a coincidence. I didn't even know you were police officers then. Miss police officer, did you deliberately try to photograph me? Hahahaha!"
Liu Yuning immediately retorted, "How is that possible? I was taking pictures randomly. Wasn't it you who deliberately appeared in front of us? You must have known we were investigating this case. Were you doing this to scare us? Or to confuse us, allowing the real killer to escape? What's your relationship with that guy!"
"What guy? I don't know who you're talking about?"
I quickly produced the surveillance footage from the Venice restaurant, showing the man being cursed at. "Don't you recognize this person?"
"This? Isn't this my reader? I remember his name is Wang Dajun! He's my most loyal fan!"
"Your reader?"
"Yeah. Has this guy gotten into trouble? He hasn't tipped my novel lately, and I was wondering why."
Liu Yuning and I exchanged a look. I continued, "Can you contact him? Or do you know where he lives?"
"Yes, I've been to his place. He's quite a shut-in and likes writing novels too, just not as well as me. He can barely afford rent, and sometimes I spend tens of thousands a month."
Yi Chengwen seemed to be bragging, but I didn't have time to listen to his boasting. "Let me tell you, Mr. Yi, a great writer, we suspect that man, your reader, is connected to a serial murder case involving Song lyrics. If you can help us catch him, it will be of great benefit to you!"
"What do you mean? I have absolutely no connection with this guy!"
"Heh, didn't you just say Wang Dajun was your most loyal fan?"
At this point, I suddenly remembered a scene from "Detective Chinatown 2," the desperate look on Tyson's face, which I still recall.
"Uh, well, he used to read my work, but he stopped later. We haven't been in contact for a long time."
"I think you're being deliberate. But let's find Wang Dajun first. We'll deal with you later!"
Yi Chengwen wrote down an address and told me that if Wang Dajun hadn't moved, he should still be there.
I asked Liu Yuning to dispatch officers immediately to go with Captain Guo. I didn't go with them, instead facing Yi Chengwen.
"Why aren't you going to find him?" After a moment of silence, Yi Chengwen couldn't help but speak to me.
I stared at him calmly. "Do you really have no contact with that Wang Dajun? Or did you instruct him to do everything? Isn't he your fan? He should be very obedient to you!"
"You're talking nonsense. So what if he's my fan? He's not my dog!"
"Alright, let's wait for news. If we catch him, and he implicates you, things will be different!"
"Officer He, I'm warning you, don't say such things, or I'll sue you for defamation. How could he... No, what I mean is, I haven't done anything, so there's no possibility of him implicating me."
"Hmph, you change your tune pretty quickly!"
I walked out of the interrogation room. A while later, Liu Yuning called me. She said they had checked Wang Dajun's house but couldn't find him. From the state of the house, it seemed he had left some time ago.
"Then collect all the evidence at the scene." After thinking it over, I decided to go see it myself.
Liu Yuning was surprised to see me drive up. "Weren't you not coming?"
"Never mind, I'll take a look myself. There's no progress with Yi Chengwen. That guy seems very cautious, but I always feel something is off about him!"
"Me too. Otherwise, how could he be in those photos? He must be trying to stall us!"
"Then the killer should be Wang Dajun. That's the most likely deduction right now!" Captain Guo interjected.
I entered Wang Dajun's house. It was a two-story building. The interior was very simple, with very old furniture. It could be described as bare.
At the scene, I saw forensic technicians scanning everywhere. Luminol reagent had been sprayed all over, and bloodstains were found. In a large room, there were signs of refrigeration, a huge refrigerator, and a stove nearby.
I used an invisible reflection tube to scan everywhere. On the machine, I indeed found traces where bodies had been, as well as residual hair and fingerprints. These, when compared to the previous victims, would be sufficient.
It seemed this was the primary crime scene. Wang Dajun would bring his target here for abuse and murder, and after some time, he would abandon the bodies in designated locations, leaving clues in the form of lyrics.
The evidence at the scene was enough to point to Wang Dajun as the killer. Once he was caught, the truth would be revealed.
"Why didn't you tell me you found this just now?" I asked.
"I was going to, but since you said you were coming, I wanted you to see it with your own eyes!"
"Alright, all evidence has been collected. Take photos, Captain Guo. Once the DNA results come back and match the deceased, we can apply for an arrest warrant!"