21 - This steel wire ball is used to wash the dishes

The sunlight on the wall faded, leaving a thick slice of shadows hanging by the window edge. The four squares of the windshield neatly enclosed in its screen the sky, its color becoming lighter and shallower, becoming more and more austere. The clouds resembled a porcelain spoon of apricot jam, glistening yellow, bright red and golden-bright. Zhou Chi pressed her hand to the glass which was so cold she left a mark. As expected the temperature in the mountains is much colder, she thought.

Wu Fengrong touched the top of her head and asked: “Are you afraid?”

Zhou Chi shook her head, her attention once again on the remains of the victim. The woman’s cold lifeless gaze met her’s head on, and her hand shook as she brushed a hand against the woman’s face, closing her eyelids.

“Verifying the victim’s personal information. Her name was Chen Hongping, 27 years old, Manchu and of Kenamu, who initially intended to return to Kenamu but was unexpectedly murdered. The rust found tangled in the hair on the back of her head is being traced. These lumps of rust are especially unusual in how brightly colored they are. If we can find the source of the rust, we can determine the location of her murder.”

Wu Fengrong gave her a thumbs-up: “Not bad. You’re pretty skilled.”

At the praise Zhou Chu blushed a little, and she lifted her face to smile at Wu Fengrong.

“However, the murder weapon still hasn’t been found. It shouldn’t be a water pipe because the wound is a little too large. I suspect it’s an even larger metal object. In regards to the scene of the homicide, she definitely wasn’t killed while she was in her seat or else many people would have seen her there. This suggests that the murderer moved her back to the seat after she was killed. Also, there weren’t any marks of a fight or a struggle, indicating that she might know the murderer, or possibly that she didn’t feel that she needed to be on guard with the murderer. Otherwise, it’s unlikely that she would voluntarily have walked to her the scene of her murder and then had her head smashed so many times.”

“Is it possible that it happened inside the toilet? She would have had to use the bathroom at some point.”

“That’s not very likely. If it did happen in the toilet, the murderer would have first have had to ambush her, then dragged her inside and killed her. And anyway, how would the murderer have known when she was going to use the bathroom? You can’t just loiter in the bathroom. Others would have find it suspicious.”

“You think that she was targeted by the murderer rather than selected randomly. If they had randomly chosen their next kill, then Cheng Hongping was simply unlucky to fall prey to a murderer.”

Zhou Chi briefly thought: “Rong-ge, you’re right. Since killing Cheng Hongping was done to get out attention, then the victim wouldn’t need to meet any other requirements than being a good choice. What’s more, because she was a young woman, she wasn’t likely to resist so the possibility of success was higher. The murderer probably thought that she would be good prey.”

Wu Fengroung said sternly: “We must find the scene of the murder, the place where she died, in order to find Shi Xiaoran.”

Zhou Chi nodded: “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

Zhao Xintao’s voice came over the two-way radio: “RongRong, I received a notice that there’s been an avalanche in the northern mountains, 60 kilometers to the east of the tracks. We won’t be able to pass so we’ll need to change route. We won’t be able to stop at Kenamu. You need to make a decision, quickly.”

Wu Fengrong frowned: “Avanlanche? Then we’ll have to do straight to Baihe and then detour south.”

“Well, there’s a lot of snow. 3:1 of the electrical systems in mountains have been affected, and the ice is 6cm thick. The avalanche has completely sealed off two villages. Right now we still have time to detour, that’s not an issue. But late in the day we will need to stop and wait get in contact for a substitute train.”

“I got it. You go and prepare a broadcast to inform the passengers, then contact Baihe to arrange for the passengers headed to Yangjiao and Kenamu to take another train. Let me know what happens.”

“Good. If we need to detour, we can get to Baihe at least two hours earlier.”

Wu Fengrong decided quickly: “Detour. We mustn’t stop!”

Someone walked up to Wu Fengrong’s side.

Wu Fengrong didn’t see the person clearly and asked, irritated: “What is it?”

Zhou Yanling spoke: “The injured officer has awoken. Do you want to come and listen?”

It was the transit police officer who was tasked with guarding Hé Youan. Wu Fengrong recalled that this was the one who had taken a blow to the head and pushed himself up to follow Zhou Yanling. Zhou Yanling appeared to be in an awfully good mood, and took advantage of his surroundings to kiss his temple when no one was looking. Wu Fengrong disdained his frivolous appearance, but when he thought about it he couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from curving upwards. Declaring that that he was his boyfriend in front of the entire crew, he was also frivolous. Nevertheless as they say, don’t look down on anyone.

“Is the injury serious?” Wu Fengrong asked.

Zhou Yanling shook his head: “It’s nothing major. Let’s have Zhou Chi take a look in a bit.”

The transit police officer was very young, as though he had just finished school. Wu Fengrong thought that his face was unfamiliar and as he racked his brains he couldn’t recall his name. Actually, aside from the captain of the transit police, Qi Jianjun, Wu Fengrong wasn’t very familiar with any of the transit police officers. The transit police officers were always changing. Sometimes these people, sometimes those people. It wasn’t like the service crew which had a fixed composition. Aside from the few captains that he was in frequent contact with, the faces of the team members were always changing, so much so that Wu Fengrong couldn’t remember them.

“Thanks for all your hard work, young comrade. It’s difficult for you since old Qi is not present to relieve you of your duties. What’s your name?” Wu Fengrong passed him a cigarette and water: “Does your neck still hurt? There’s only one member of the medical team on the train and she has her hands full, so bear with it for a bit, okay.”

The young officer looked very guilty: “It’s okay. My name is Liu Qin. You can call me Xiao Liu. I’m sorry conductor. I’m the one who lost Hé Youan.”

Wu Fengrong waved his hand with a laugh: “I’m also very much at fault. Aside from your head, have you been injured anywhere else?”

“No, I was only hit on my neck.”

“Could you be more specific about what happened?”

“It was like this, originally I and three others were watching Hé Youan together. Suddenly the deputy conductor called saying that there was a dead body in car 9. He wanted us to go to the scene and help. I then said that someone needed to stay here and guard, so I asked the other three to go first while I would wait for the deputy conductor to ask you what should be done with Hé Youan next. From start to finish, I didn’t leave. After waiting for a good while, the deputy conductor didn’t call again. I just thought they already had enough manpower on scene.

Later, about 15 or 20 minutes, I don’t remember exactly, someone knocked on the door. They said that they’d come for a ticket replacement, and I opened the door without giving it much thought. At that time, Hé Youan was sitting on the bed, well-behaved. So I opened the door, and it was a girl. Hé Youan shouted when he saw her, and he moved around excitedly. That girl was going to rush in dragging someone, so I blocked her and made her leave. Then…..”

The officer thought for a moment, then continued: “After it seems as though Hé Youan kicked me. I immediately turned around to tell him not to move. Suddenly someone grabbed my neck from behind and chopped the top of my neck. It hurt so much. I almost thought that my neck was broken. I couldn’t catch my breath, and after that I don’t remember…..”

Wu Fengrong asked: “When you saw that girl, what did she look like?”

“She was about this tall, coming up to my chin. Her skin was white and she had curly hair. She was very pretty, yeah. I’m not really sure how to describe her. Hé Youan kept calling her ‘Xiaoran’, ‘Xiaoran’. Is that what she’s called?”

That was definitely Shi Xiaoran. Wu Fengrong’s expression became very imposing. Zhou Yanling lit a cigarette for him, hinting with few words.

“Since she only comes up to your chin there, are you sure that she hit you on the neck? Does one young girl have that much strength?” Zhou Yanling asked: “Did you see anyone else?”

Liu Qin spoke, terrified: “It wasn’t her who hit me. Ai ya, I left that out of my explanation. I’m sure it wasn’t her. The moment I was hit, that girl was close by on my right trying with all her might to get away from me and get to Hé Youan. So I’m absolutely sure that she’s not the one who hit me. But as to who hit me, I’m not clear. I don’t think there was anyone else……”

“You didn’t see that person’s face?”

“No. They came up and chopped my neck from behind. I didn’t even hear their footsteps.”

“Apart from this, you didn’t find anything peculiar?”

“Nothing. What’s going on with this case? It’s even more convoluted. After all this, who killed Xiao Quan? Isn’t it Hé Youan? He said himself that he killed Xiao Quan, so what’s going on with this girl?”

Zhou Yanling smiled at him: “I’ll explain the details of the situation with you later. First, rest properly. At the moment, this girl and the person who attacked you have taken Hé Youan, and we’re trying to find this girl. If you see them again, you must contact the conductor.”

Liu Qin nodded: “Okay, I got it.”

Liu Qin’s injury worried Wu Fengrong and he requested that Zhou Chi come over and examine his injury. Liu Qin’s neck ached dully, and Zhou Chi kept pinching and kneading at his neck, unsure whether he’d suffered an injury to his cervical vertebrae. As the train’s medical officer, the current number of injuries and fatalities on the train far exceeded her skill level.

“Rong-ge, I found something.” Zhou Chi brought Wu Fengrong back to the female victim’s body, picked up the tweezers placed next to the latex gloves and revealed: “This. Do you know what this is?”

Held pinched by the tweezers was one small silver thread. Compared to a head hair, it was a little thicker and was both more exquisite and more glossy. Unfurled in the light, it lit up in a dazzling array of different colors. The luster dazzled the eyes and made it hard to focus. Wu Fengrong leaned down to see what it was more clearly.

“What is this? Where was it found?”

“It was found in her mouth. There was some blood inside of her mouth, seemingly caused by scratches on her gums. When I was cleaning her mouth, I found this. It doesn’t look like a natural or a synthetic fiber. It’s a little stiff and almost seems more like metal. I’m not sure what it is. There’s no smell and it’s certainly not something that can be eaten. Anyway, for what reason would she have something like this in her mouth?”

Wu Fengrong suddenly realized: “This was used to gag her mouth. During the murder, she was hit repeatedly in the head with a blunt object and she definitely would have screamed and struggled so the murderer used something to gag her. Even though the murderer removed the object after, some remnant must have inevitably remained in her mouth. It should be fabric or something. Go to each crew member one by one. Perhaps someone will be able to identify it?”

Zhou Yanling crooked a finger: “Let me take a look.”

Zhou Chi passed him the tweezers. He scratched his fingernail against a portion of the silver thread and laughed: “This is from one of those steel wire balls used to wash dishes. You two haven’t done housework in a while, right? And yes, aboard the train most of the food is packaged so the both of you need not worry about that. This wire ball is made of softened stainless steel threads and is used for more easily scouring stubborn caked-on mess from pots and dishes. Sometimes when scrubbing, twisting or kneading it too much, small pieces of steel wire fall off. Generally this happens fairly often at the kitchen stove or sink.

Wu Fengrong and Zhou Chi glanced at each other and almost spoke in unison: “The kitchen!”

The murder most likely happened in the dining car’s kitchen.

Zhou Yanling first stepped forward and placed a hand on Wu Fengrong to warn him: “For my sake, behave. You need to stay and rest. I’ll go with Xiao Chi.” Wu Fengrong glared at him and opened his mouth to curse, but Zhou Yanling leaned over and placed a kiss at the corner of his mouth. Still, his manner of speaking didn’t change: “Don’t argue, just stay.”

Finished speaking, he walked over. Zhou Chi suppressed a smile, keeping a very solemn expression in place. She was still alive to see the day that Wu Fengrong suffered such a defeat. The Bodhisattvas were indeed naughty. When Wu Fengrong’s severe expression swept over her, she immediately turned away, pretending that she hadn’t seen anything, and escaped to the kitchen.

“Xiao Chi,” Zhou Yanling caught up with her: “you said that the murder weapon probably wasn’t a water pipe. Then, is it possible that it’s a kitchen implement? A lot of things in the kitchen are covered in iron as well.

Zhou Chi admitted conscientiously: “I now believe that she might have been struck with a pot. I’m not joking. And it wouldn’t have been a milk pan (1) or a stainless steel pot or any light kitchen tool. It would have taken a lot of force to cause an intracranial hemorrhage, so it might have been an iron cooking pot, heavy enough to break the skull after a strike. People would pay attention if the kitchen was without an iron cooking pot, so I believe that that iron pot was probably returned. Examine the floor, the walls, and the tables for blood.”

The cook saw the two rush in and became a little angry: “You girl, what are you doing?”

“Sorry for inconveniencing you, master (2). I’m investigating for the case, ne.”

“Investigating what case? Don’t cause trouble and leave.”

“Master, may I briefly ask if the kitchen is always occupied? Is there ever a time when no one is here?”

“Naturally. I can’t stay here all day. Inevitably, there’s a time when I have to leave. When there’s no one here I lock the door.”

The kitchen on the train was narrow and very small. It was barely wide enough for two people. Ice cold stainless steel cabinets stood one next to the other in a row against the wall, all wiped clean and polished to a shine. Whether raising or bowing, one could see one’s own face reflected. Near the kitchen wall, on a counter, were cups, ladles and pots all fastened neatly in place. Ingredients were placed in the freezer. Only the seasoning bottles appeared somewhat vivid and lively, some tall and some short, some fat and some thin, which crouched on a shelf near the kitchen stove in a straight line.

Zhou Yanling inspected the rows of pots on the shelf. The bottom of pots were very clean, and there didn’t appear to be any iron cooking pots, only stainless steel. The trains didn’t use natural gas. Only induction stoves were used to cook, so the bottom of the pots didn’t have any black residue from being used over a fire. He thought, only copper and iron rusted, and everything in this kitchen was made of stainless steel. There weren’t even any spots of rust. So then, what left that rust in Chen Hongping’s hair? Could it be that the murder didn’t occur in the kitchen? If the murder weapon wasn’t a pot, thjen what was it?

His fingers brushed against the filter on the sink’s faucet, and he suddenly remembered–

“Master, where is our conductor’s thermos?”

From underneath the shelf, the cook fetched the thermos. It old style thermos in army green (3) with the paint badly mottled. Zhou Yanling scratched and turned one of the paint spots over, and his eyes lit up: “This is it. This is the murder weapon. It wasn’t rust left in Chen Hongping’s hair, it was flecks of paint.”

T/N:

1. A type of very small saucepan made for heating up milk, some examples can be seen here .

2. 师 傅 shifu: master or someone skilled in the their craft

3. NGL, my grandpa’s old stanley thermos is like a brick. No one uses it anymore because the cork disintegrated and you could get carpel tunnel lugging it around.

Here’s some info on why old Stanley thermoses used to significantly heavier than their modern day counterparts.