Chapter 10

"Zhang Wei, are you really going to search?" Hou Jianjun stood outside the principal Zhang's house, his expression solemn. There was no turning back once the arrow was released, and he was fully aware of the severe consequences of stepping into Zhang Guoliang's home. If he failed to find any relevant evidence, his position as the head of the urban police station would be at an end.

Lu Zheng had returned from Aunt Cuihong's house and had repeatedly inquired about the county literary association's responsible officials, hoping to find a common point among the three murdered women who were all literature enthusiasts. Ideally, he would find evidence that their lives intersected with Principal Zhang. Of course, when asking, he would never mention Principal Zhang, the honorary chairman of the literary association. The people at the literary association had no idea that the police were actually looking for something else.

However, the investigation at the literary association did not yield any valuable clues. Among the three victims, only the third victim had submitted articles to the literary association.

Lu Zheng pondered for several days and, through Hou Jianjun, found a friend within the construction committee to obtain a map of the underground pipelines. He personally went down into the sewers. After a thorough search, in the area where the drainage from the residential complex of the First Middle School flowed into the main pipeline, he finally found something on the wall, stuck in oil and not washed away by water. It was a mop strip entangled with black, long hair, and at the root of the hair, a small piece of decayed flesh, which was undoubtedly a piece of scalp. Normal hair would never carry scalp.

The position where the mop strip was stuck on the wall was quite high, likely left over from last year's rainy season. It was tangled with some debris and stuck to the pipeline. Since this year's rainy season had not yet arrived, the sewage had not reached such a high position, so it remained.

Perhaps, this was what they called the net of heaven being vast but not letting anything slip through.

Although these clues alone could not determine the killer, there was no doubt that through various signs, Principal Zhang had become the top suspect in Lu Zheng's mind.

That morning, Lu Zheng obtained a search warrant through Hou Jianjun to avoid drawing too much attention if he applied at the bureau. Except for the name of the person being searched, all other details on the search warrant were handled by Hou Jianjun. No one would have thought that the search warrant was targeting a deputy county-level official.

Throughout the process, from searching the sewers to applying for the search warrant at the county bureau, Hou Jianjun was fully involved. Now, he was completely tied to Lu Zheng, and their relationship had naturally changed. The somewhat distant title "Comrade Lu" had become "Zhang Wei."

In fact, Hou Jianjun still didn't understand why he was following along, but he couldn't help but run errands and do tasks as Lu Zheng instructed. Perhaps, it was a step-by-step entanglement, deeper and deeper into this case, leaving him no choice but to bet on Lu Zheng finding the real killer.

However, standing at Principal Zhang's door, Hou Jianjun suddenly realized that if he stepped inside, there would be no turning back. It was still possible to pull back now.

So, Hou Jianjun stopped Lu Zheng, who was about to knock, and asked, "Are you really going to search?"

Lu Zheng smiled, reached out, and gently knocked on the door.

The sound was light, but to Hou Jianjun, it was like a thunderclap. He gritted his teeth, knowing that there was only one path to follow now. Even without evidence, he had to find some.

However, Hou Jianjun smiled bitterly. If it were an ordinary person, finding evidence wouldn't be difficult, but Zhang Guoliang was a well-known figure in Guangning, and he wouldn't be so easily manipulated.

The door was quickly opened by Xiao Du, who had already "invited" Principal Zhang back from the school. If no one was home, the evidence found during the search would be less convincing.

Seeing Lu Zheng, Principal Zhang was momentarily stunned. They had only met about ten days ago, but he naturally remembered this young man with a strong presence.

Principal Zhang did not show any particular agitation when shown the search warrant, only asking calmly, "Can I ask why?"

Lu Zheng waved his hand, indicating for Principal Zhang to sit on the sofa. Hou Jianjun, Xiao Du, and a young police officer from the urban police station began searching for suspicious evidence.

Principal Zhang's home was a two-bedroom apartment with a living room, sofa, coffee table, and TV, all arranged elegantly. One bedroom was a bedroom, and the other was a study, which was the focus of the search, hoping to find useful clues.

If Principal Zhang was indeed the killer, the mop strip with the decayed hair and scalp must have been left in the bathroom after he disposed of the bodies, and the mop strip, which had broken off, had entered the toilet and then the sewer.

So, if Principal Zhang was the killer, it could be deduced that there had been a significant amount of blood in the bathroom. Unfortunately, with the current technology, it was impossible to detect blood after so many days.

Sitting across from Principal Zhang, Lu Zheng lit a cigarette and suddenly asked, "Do you know Zhang Weihong, Cheng Kun, and Duan Hongmei?" These three people were the victims who had been murdered one after another.

Principal Zhang remained calm, took a cigarette from the box on the coffee table, lit it, and said, "Yes, I know them."

This surprised Lu Zheng. Generally, if someone was guilty, they would instinctively deny knowing the person when suddenly asked about something sensitive. If any evidence of the three victims was found in Principal Zhang's home, it could be used to break his psychological defenses.

Principal Zhang's response made Lu Zheng realize that he was dealing with a skilled opponent, and the possibility that Principal Zhang was the real killer increased. After all, the three women had very different social circles, and a person who could intersect with all three was highly suspicious. Combined with the various clues found over the past few days, it was highly likely that Principal Zhang was the real killer.

Principal Zhang admitted knowing them because there was no such thing as a completely secret relationship. His meetings with the three women, no matter how hidden, might have been seen by someone. If he denied knowing them and was later exposed, it would be like admitting guilt.

In fact, if Principal Zhang was not the killer, his instinctive reaction might have been to avoid suspicion, but his calm admission showed his high psychological resilience.

"What is your relationship with them?" Lu Zheng continued to ask, feeling a slight excitement despite the difficulty of the opponent.

"Zhang Weihong, I have a certain emotional foundation with her, but our relationship is normal, a Platonic relationship. Do you understand Platonic?"

"Cheng Kun, I'm not very familiar with her. She was a night school student who submitted articles to me."

"Duan Hongmei, she likes poetry, and we have a teacher-student relationship."

When mentioning these three people, Principal Zhang's tone was calm, but Lu Zheng敏锐地发现他眼中闪过一丝痛苦，这让他有些惊讶。这不像一个冷血杀手该有的情感，或许，不管什么人，内心深处都有不为人知的一面。

“既然都是正常关系，为什么你会极力保密，不仅文学协会的工作人员，就连住在你对门的秦老师也没见过你这几个女性朋友。”陆铮继续追问。

张校长无奈地笑了：“这位小同志，你不到我这个年纪你不会明白，不仅是我不愿意，她们也很怕别人看到我们在一起引起闲言碎语，每次希望我指导她们的文字，总是像做贼一样来我家，我也很无奈，但如果去外面，更容易被人看到。”

从卧室出来的杜小虎听到张校长叫陆铮“小同志”，当即训斥道：“别倚老卖老！老实点！”他才不管对方是谁，更别说只是一个嫌疑人了。

侯建军翻着书橱的书籍，听到杜小虎的喝斥不由得摇摇头，他也不知道，为什么杜小虎对陆铮表现出一种超出战友关系的崇拜、回护和服从，或许，这就是枪林弹雨中才能产生的感情吧。

陆铮对杜小虎使了个眼色，又继续问张校长：“这么说，她们三个都来过这里。”

张校长坦然地点点头，说：“都来过，不过次数都不多，最多的是段红梅，也不过来了三次，我记得第三次是我发高烧，她照顾了我一晚上。”

陆铮笑了笑，现在看来，即使在这里找到三名女性来过的痕迹，他也可以自圆其说。

想了想，陆铮问：“那么去年的六月十号，六月十七号，九月九号，你都在哪里，在干什么？”

以现在的技术，从三具尸体残骸并不能准确判断受害者在哪一天遇害，只能以受害者失踪的日期假设为便是她们遇害的日期。第一名遇害者张卫红六月十号失踪，第二名遇害者程坤六月十七号失踪，至于第三名受害者段红梅，因为是文艺青年，爱好诗歌绘画，朋友众多，还经常去外地写生，所以具体失踪日期都难以确定，但她尸体被发现是九月九日。

而六月十号、十七号和九月九号，都是礼拜天。

不过陆铮知道，时隔一年，问也白问。果然，张校长摇摇头说：“去年的事，谁还记得？”

侯建军从书房拿出一本相册，陆铮接过来慢慢翻看，相册里都是张校长一家的照片，子女旅游的照片，其中，还有张校长与亡妻的合影。陆铮便笑着问张校长这些照片里都是谁，张校长从容地一一作答。

奇怪的是，相册里，没有一张他大儿子的照片。

半晌后，侯建军先从书房出来，在陆铮耳边附耳说：“看来，找不到什么了，就算找到了线索这个老东西也能自圆其说，干脆，先定他个流氓罪，拘留，咱们再慢慢调查。”现在正是严打期间，作风问题是很大的问题，张国良与三名女性有着不为人知的关系，他也自己承认了，定个流氓罪是没问题的，所以侯建军的心倒是定了，最起码，没查错，回去后不用怕吃挂落了，而在他嘴里，“张校长”也就变成了“老东西”。

陆铮微微蹙眉，若是局里没有其他嫌犯，现在先将张国良拘留，然后再进行详尽调查，总能找到蛛丝马迹的，但嫌疑人李卫军都被送检了，又哪有时间慢慢来。

而且，看着相册，想起夏天行跟他说过的话，再看张校长的表现，陆铮，又有了一些新想法。

“我去书房看看。”陆铮起身进了书房。

书房里最显眼的就是靠墙的巨大书橱了，里面密密麻麻不知道摆了多少本书，书橱前放着一把椅子，看来侯建军踩着椅子把上面也翻了翻。

陆铮在书橱前踱着步，闭着眼睛，手指在一本本书上划过，三位女性肯定都进过这间书房的，她们在里面，会做些什么呢？

陆铮默默的想着，如果自己是她们，自己会做什么，自己最想做的又是什么？

自从重生后，三名受害人几乎成了陆铮每天都要研究的对象，或许，她们甚至不如陆铮了解她们自己，尤其是，一些潜意识里的东西。

比如第一位受害者张卫红，三十一岁，是三名受害者中唯一有丈夫的，从张国良的语气，陆铮也知道她同张国良应该有一段感情，而张卫红这个人，是敢爱敢恨型，她失踪前正和丈夫闹离婚，在现在这个社会，那需要极大的勇气。她丈夫，也自然而然的成为了最初的嫌疑人。

第二位受害者程坤，二十五岁，工厂女工，吃苦耐劳，正在上夜校，而张国良，同样在夜校授过课，或许，这就是两人相识的契机。从张国良说起她时平淡的语气，应该对她没什么特别的感觉，只是偶尔会指点她写作，同时，也是他猎杀的目标。

第三名受害者段红梅，虽然张国良提及时也很平淡，但并不是他学生的段红梅，和他的关系被他称为“师生之谊”，更在他发高烧时照顾过他一晚，显然两人的关系很密切。

段红梅因为交友广阔，各方面反馈的信息最多，陆铮，或许也最了解遇害前的她，张校长被列入怀疑目标也是因为一句白朗宁的小词。张校长朗诵出来的，同样自段红梅的遗物中被发现写了一遍又一遍这句小词的草稿纸。

陆铮突然站定了脚步，转头看去，手指轻触的，正是几本现代诗，而书橱里这左下的区域，全是诗歌方面的书籍，法国诗人波德莱尔、英国诗人泰德、国内当代诗人子阳等，各种作品应有尽有。

陆铮满意的笑了，段红梅是个浪漫而又自以为是的女孩子，而且，喜欢替别人拿主意，因为这个，和好多朋友闹翻过。

而这些日子的了解，张校长在学术上，是个不拘小节的人，生活中同样如是，从他茶几下的杂乱的摆设，便很难相信这庞大的书橱各类书籍都一本本归类，会是他完成的。

而这，多半便是段红梅的手笔，等再见到自己手指的方向，都是诗歌作品，陆铮便百分百断定是段红梅帮张校长整理了书橱。因为自己手指的方向，是最靠近书桌的区域，也是最醒目的位置，可见，整理书橱的人对诗歌十分偏爱。而实则比起诗歌文学，张国良更注重研究物理学方面，他当年任教时便是教物理的。

陆铮并不急着动手，只是静静的看着这一本本诗歌的书脊，又慢慢的闭上眼睛，他在想，如果自己是段红梅，在整理书橱时，自己会干些什么……

或许，具有浪漫冒险主义精神的“我”，会不会，想通过这个书橱，告诉主人些什么？

因为“我”，不管是同朋友吵架，还是和好，总是通过一种奇异的方式展现“我”的喜怒哀乐……

然后，陆铮猛的睁开眼睛，果然，刚才自己就觉得怪异，书橱里，竟然没有白朗宁的书籍。

而段红梅的遗物，遗留的她写的小诗，都清楚表明她深受白朗宁的影响，文字简约，