Detective John

CHAPTER 5

John was cooking in the kitchen happily after all the case is finally closed. He even served Lily some. He told her to consider this as a parting gift reminding her about the promise she made that she will move out of the house if John will solve this case.

“Do you really want to kick me out so badly?” Lily asked sadly.

“Don’t go back on your word! You promised me you would move after I solved this case!” John reminded her.

“But my rent has been paid. The landlady won’t refund the money. And we already signed the lease. According to terms, she has the legal right not to refund me. I can’t ask anyone to hit her. How about this? You can give me half a year’s rent and I’ll move right away. And don’t you think the two of us are destined to be roommates?” Lily said innocently.

Ryan also reached Robert’s house to inform him about the case been solved. Robert was very happy about that. Suddenly, he asked about Lily as well.

“Lily hasn’t moved out of that house yet? She is living with a man. This is so inappropriate. Does she want to let me die of a heart attack?” Robert asked angrily.

“The apartment is nice in all aspects, and the rent is not expensive. And I think Lily is in good shape right now. Everyday she is so energetic and happy, as if on steroids. Why don’t you give her some more time?” Ryan explained.

“How is that John’s character like?” Robert asked and Ryan replied “He loves money, but not lascivious. At least I don’t think he is interested in Lily.”

“My daughter is so pretty. How can he not be interested? Does he want to die?” Robert said fumed.

“It’s good that he is not interested. If he was, yu would be so much more worried.” Ryan laughed.

On the other hand….

“I didn’t expect the British to be so ruthless. Killing and k********g to annex my company? We cannot  just let them go around committing crimes anymore.” The president of the tram company said to the Boss.

“However capable they may be, just be patient. I know sooner or later this Mr. Robert will have trouble. And then, I will show them, who are the real owners of this concession zone. Right?” The Boss said smirking.

Next…..

“Inspector, there is a homicide case!” An officer informed Ryan.

In John’s house, Lily was still sleeping as she had to do some last work till late night but John wanted to disturb her. So he started to play violin cacophonously. Lily couldn’t sleep due to his drama and barged in John’s room.

“Do you know what time I slept last night? I was working late to meet a deadline! Can you please let me sleep for some more time? I have an interview in the afternoon. I really need to get some rest.” Lily begged.

“I didn’t want to disturb you either, but I have a strong impulse to compose right now. I feel the god of music is calling me. Both my heart and my hands are itching for action. I can’t control it.” John said innocently.

“I think you need a good beating.” Lily fumed.

“Ayeee….If you hit me, I can call the police right away.” John fake warned.

Suddenly, Ryan entered at that time.

Ryan said “I am here for something serious. I will make it short. Dead man : The Chief of Residency Administration Section in Police Department. The time of death was around 10:00 last night.”

“Cause of death?” Lily asked.

“It’s not clear yet. The victim was found holding a gun in his right hand. There is a bullet hole in the ceiling. But not a single one on him. The head was almost cut off. And the doors and windows of the scene were locked from the inside. No one went in or out.” Ryan explained.

“That’s awesome. A locked - room mystery!” Lily said getting excited.

“John, make an offer.” Ryan said.

“No, I won’t take this case. Your police station is in the Concession, but the Police Department is in the Jurisdiction. There are a lot of complicated government and business relations and conflicts going on between the two parties. I don’t want to get involved in the mess.” John refused to take the case.

“Yeah, why would they hand a case in Jurisdiction to the Concession Police Station?” Lily asked.

“Because the Police Chief is a disciple of your father. Boss asked me to deal with it as soon as possible so as not to affect his career.” Ryan explained.

“One of his disciple can climb to the position of Police Chief? Your Boss must have spent a lot of money to pave the way.” John deduced.

All of then went to the crime scene. The security guards then explained what happened that day. “We heard gunshots at 10:00 last night. We rushed in ASAP only to find that Chief died in that room.”

Then, the guards took Ryan, John and Lily to the Chief’s office.

“On that victim’s body, the neck wound is very smooth. Whoever did it, they did it nice and clean without any hesitation. Judging by the knife cut, it was probably done by an expert. Like an executioner.” John said looking at the Chief’s body.

“How do you know that?” Ryan asked.

There was an old case from a newspaper from ten years ago on the Chief’s table. That case was about ‘Executioner Serial Murder 1915’.

“The deceased had a gun in his hand. There is a bullet hole in the ceiling. It feels like he found something maybe a ghost on the ceiling. While he raised the gun to shoot, someone cut off his head in an instant.” John remarked.

“I also think so. I didn’t see the ghost. But I heard that ten years ago, the Chief caught the serial killer of the Executioner Serial Murder case and got promoted to be a police officer. He was just a patrol officer before that.” The security guard said.

“Tell me what happened back then.” Ryan ordered the guard.

“In 1911, the government cancelled decapitation as execution at that time. There was an executioner at that time nicknamed One - Blade. He was bored at home, so he got a craving for his old job and killed several people. Later, he was caught by Chief, the ex - night patrol officer. Before the execution, One - Blade said at the execution ground that his ghost would return to seek revenge one day. The incident became sensational at that time and even was reported in the newspaper.” The guard explained.

“Executed ten years ago, but he just came back. It seems hell is busier than the mortal world.” John mocked then asked “Why do you think Chief suddenly wanted to review the old files?”

“He must have seen something spectral.” The guard said scared.

“Stop this nonsense! Don’t talk about superstition all the time.” The Superintendent scolded the guard and said “This case is really weird. When the body was found, the doors and windows were locked from the inside. There were guards at the door. There were policemen and me in the hallway. It is impossible for anyone to run out of this room.”

“This fan is so suspicious. If the murderer is small in size enough, they should be able to go out between the fan blades.” Lily said while watching the fan spinning continuously in the Chief’s office.

“Impossible. When we came in here last night the fan was still on. Later, I felt the room was so gloomy and cold, so I turned it off.” The guard said and then left the office scared.

“Tell, what did you find out?” Lily asked.

“After this round of investigation, I think the most suspicious thing in this room is this expensive gramophone. You see the decoration of this office is very cheesy without any good taste at all, but not this gramophone. In short, any evidence that doesn’t fit with the victim profile is a clue. So, I have to take this back and study it.” John said getting extremely dramatic.

“Cut the act. Don’t think I don’t know what you are really up to. This gramophone was a gift to the chief from my Boss. The vice mayor came over two days ago to inspect. But if you solve this case, then I will give you this as a reward.” Ryan said and John agreed to the condition.

Afterwards, Lily found out all the documents regarding the executioner murder case ten years ago as ordered by John. Then, she explained

“In 1911, the newly founded government changed the execution method from decapitation to shooting. So, an executioner named One - Blade was out of employment. He had nothing to do but get drunk everyday. It was late at night, January 3rd, 1915, the drunk One - Blade met a murderer who by chance walked away with it. The two of them got into an argument. One - Blade lost his temper, dragged the victim into a dark corner and beheaded him. After the crime, One - Blade was quickly charged as the murderer. However in the process of hunting him, two other beheading cases occurred one after another. As the serial murder case had not been solved over time, it caused public panic. The police also put a huge reward for his capture.

Later when One - Blade committed the crime again on February 5, he was caught by a temporary patrol officer in front of a restaurant. They did an overnight interrogation right away after he was arrested. One - Blade confessed his guilt without any remorse. He was executed the next night.”

“In short, he was caught while killing his fourth victim. To be more accurate, it was when he was disposing of the body. Did you find anything else?” John asked Lily.

“The first victim was a murderer who got away with it. The second was a confirmed thief who had just been released. The third victim was an opium dealer. But the fourth one was just a teacher. The first three victims had a previous criminal record. But not the fourth.” Lily said surprised.

“One - Blade came out of his girlfriend’s house that night and met this teacher. Two people accidentally bumped into each other. One - Blade felt offended and killed the teacher on the spot.” Lily explained further.

“The first three former criminals fit his logic. But the fourth one is a bit strange.The first three were an intent to kill where he beheaded them with a big blade. The last one was a heat of passion where he pierced the victim’s heart with a small knife. And there is something weird with the narration of the documents.” John remarked.

“What do you mean?” Lily asked.

“Lily, you are a writer yourself. Why are you so insensitive to text? Look. The files of the first three cases were objective descriptions plus a first - person statement with a proportion of about three to one. But when it comes to the last case’s file, basically there is no first - person statement. It’s all a third - person objective description. In short, maybe the fourth one was fabricated. Another possibility is torture for a confession.

During the interrogation of the first three cases, the suspect was still sober to confess. But in the final case, he couldn’t hold it together anymore. The police also got pressure from above to also plant this fourth murder on him.” John explained.

“But, this is totally illegal!” Lily exclaimed furiously.

“Killing one person was no different from killing four. As long as he confessed the first case, the result waiting for him would be the same no matter what happened next.” John said.

John then went to the police station to enquire about the case from Ryan.

“Let me ask you something. The teacher who was killed ten years ago. Are there any relatives or friends who we can still get in contact with?” John asked. Ryan said that he will try to find some clues about that.

John then again went to the crime scene and met with the Superintendent.

“How is your relationship with the Chief?” John asked.

“It was all right. I promoted him. He was sort of popular, but he was not so good at his job. After all, he was not so well - educated.” The Superintendent replied.

“But he was a hero in the case ten years ago.” John said.

“He just got lucky. Since then, he never solved a decent case again. He would muddle around all day. Rather a problem than a solution in this police department.” The Superintendent said.

After that, John again went to meet Ryan to investigate the case thoroughly.

“Lily found out that on the day the teacher was killed, he told his colleague that he was going to buy back the freedom of a call girl in a high - end brothel. But before he could make it to the brothel, he was killed.” Ryan informed John.

“We need to find that call girl then. As long as she start to talk, she will give information away without realizing it. As long as she give it away, I can find a breakthrough.” John said.

After many tries, finally they were able to get information about that call girl. That call girl is even a famous journalist now. And only Lily can know about her as she is also into this profession only.

“There is one actually. She mainly targets social and political problems with a sharp style of writing. If my memory serves me right, she started writing columns eight years ago.” Lily informed them.

Ryan and John together then went to the newspaper office for more information about that call girl. After they got her address, they straight went to her house.

“I mailed the file from ten years ago to the Chief. Why? Do you suspect me of killing him?” the call girl asked.

“You misunderstood. We mean the murder has nothing to do with you. The night of the crime, you were getting an IV drip at the hospital. Medical records were on the table.” John explained.

“You investigated this case all these years in secret. Eventually, you found out it was not the executioner who killed the teacher but actually the chief.” John said.

“That’s right. I finally found the real culprit behind after all these years. During the crime night, One - Blade was very drunk and lying on the ground. He was incapable of killing anyone. At first, it was just my guess, that the killer was the chief. But later, I found that the chief was unappreciated in the patrol unit because he was illiterate. So, he frequented brothels. After he got drunk, he often bashed intellectuals. At that day, my lover (the teacher) and the chief must have bumped into each other and was killed by him.

That day, when I mailed the file to the chief, I also left him a letter. I told him if he didn’t plead guilty, I would release this in the newspaper. And he died that very same night. He must have done something evil. I call it his karma.” The call girl said.

After they left her house, John informed Ryan that he was going to the restaurant. Ryan asked him for what purpose.

“Ten years ago, One - Blade was arrested in front of the restaurant while dumping the body. I want to revisit the crime scene.” John said.

Ryan and John went to the restaurant to interrogate about the case ten years ago from the manager.

“Tell us about the executioner case that happened on February 5.” John asked.

“No wonder! Our restaurant opened ten years ago on February 6. We held the plaque - hanging ceremony at 10:00 in the morning. Master Robert was here, too. Such a big honor. I’ll never forget.” The manager said.

“Is the date right?” Ryan cross - checked.

“Of course. February 6th of that year was the 23rd day of the twelfth month of the lunar year. It was the luckiest date for the ceremony.” The manager said determined.

“According to the file, on the night of February 5th, One - Blade killed the fourth victim and got caught in front of the restaurant while dumping the body. And he was interrogated overnight and executed on the night of February 6th, right? But the restaurant was not even there until 10:00 am on February 6th. In other words, the restaurant would never appear in One - Blade’s confession.” John said.

“So you mean….his confession was forged?” Ryan asked.

“If the Chief was the murderer of the teacher and he wanted to blame One - Blade for it, he could only collude with the police who interrogated One - Blade to make a false statement. But that night what they saw should be a restaurant waiting to open without a plaque yet. But to make the confession more real and detailed, they came back again. But they didn’t know the restaurant was what gave them away. Next…” John trailed.

This is all about this chapter. In the next chapter, the suspense will be revealed.