22 Headmaster Zhang's Body

 

All the evidence pointed towards Headmaster Zhang, now we only needed to confirm one thing and basically the case would be over. Guan Zhenglin had found traces of semen in Zhang Mingliang’s vagina. If the semen matched Headmaster Zhang’s DNA, it was a done deal for Headmaster Zhang. Half an hour later, Guan Zhenglin compared the DNA found on everyday objects from Headmaster Zhang’s home with the semen inside Zhang Mingliang’s body and the answer was as we expected. They matched. Therefore, the conclusion was, 4 nights ago, Headmaster Zhang saw the note Zhang Mingliang left for him and he thought it was written by Wu Jiajia. He arrived at the abandoned building site as promised and he saw Zhang Mingliang in the dark. He assumed Zhang Mingliang was Wu Jiajia.

Worried that they would be spotted by the night guard, Ol’ Zhang, Zhang Mingliang led Headmaster Zhang up the building. When they reached the 15th floor, Zhang Mingliang believed they were high enough away from Ol’ Zhang so they stopped. Headmaster Zhang had been following quietly behind her and Zhang Mingliang had no reason to be guarded around the respected headmaster.

It was then that Headmaster Zhang put his promise into words. Headmaster Zhang clamped one hand over Zhang Mingliang’s mouth and pulled down her panty with the other. When we discovered Zhang Mingliang’s body, she was wearing a dress. That would have been convenient for Headmaster Zhang. Zhang Mingliang was still recovering from her surgery so she was too weak to fight back. In the dark, Headmaster Zhang failed to tell he was not dealing with the real Wu Jiajia. Zhang Mingliang had a constructed vagina, therefore, she wouldn’t have the hymen. Then again, Headmaster Zhang wouldn’t know that Wu Jiajia was still a virgin. After all, she was living under the same roof with Gao Rui. Who knew what had happened between them? That thought angered Headmaster Zhang further.

Before Zhang Mingliang could even say anything, Headmaster Zhang sliced her head off. The head rolled to the ground and blood splattered everywhere.

Even after death, Zhang Mingliang had no idea why she was killed. Headmaster Zhang smiled as he picked up the bloody head. Dipping the hair into the pool of blood, he wrote down the famous love poem on the wall, What is love that humans would relinquish life and death for it.

Then he dropped the body from the 15th floor. At the same time, a thief was ensnared by Ol’ Zhang’s dog trap. When Ol’ Zhang headed up the stairs, Headmaster Zhang went hiding on the 16th floor. After Ol’ Zhang left, Headmaster Zhang trailed behind him. Perhaps he thought about killing Ol’ Zhang to silence the possible witness but he didn’t. After they reached the ground, Headmaster Zhang sought out Zhang Mingliang’s headless body and entered the sewer through a sewer entrance near the building site. He dragged the body for about 1000 metres underground and then dumped the headless torso there. He believed the body would rot and never be found again. Even if the body was found, it would be hard to be traced back to him. Satisfied with his job and completed promise, Headmaster Zhang left.

“That’s your conclusion?” After hearing Guan Zhenglin’s analysis, I asked.

“Yes, it’s logical, no?” Guan Zhenglin nodded. I shrugged and then sat up. I pulled up 3 fingers. “Regarding your analysis, I have 3 questions. If you can answer all of them, then I’ll admit perhaps you’re onto the truth.”

“Sure!” Guan Zhenglin sat opposite and raised her eyebrow in challenge.

“First question.” I began. “Where was the pail that Ol’ Zhang said he used to store the dog's blood? Your story didn’t mention that at all.”

After giving it some thought, Guan Zhenglin answered, “I got it. Headmaster Zhang had to have brought with him a sharp weapon to decapitate his target, naturally he wouldn’t carry it on him, that would be too suspicious. So, he had to find a container for it. The pail with the dog’s blood was the perfect container, Zhang Mingliang wouldn’t have suspected anything.”

“If Headmaster Zhang came with a pail, wouldn’t that be even more suspicious? Regardless, now onto my second question.” I continued, “In your story, Headmaster Zhang hid on the 16th floor after he murdered Zhang Mingliang but other than on the 15th floor, there was no trace of blood anywhere else. How is that possible? Furthermore, he had already killed one person, why did he spare Ol’ Zhang, why wasn’t he afraid that Ol’ Zhang might have seen something?”

Guan Zhenglin’s face was drawn. Her chin was placed on her palm. “Headmaster Zhang’s obsession is only with Wu Jiajia. He won’t kill anyone else.”

“Okay, third question.” I pointed out, “Since Headmaster Zhang believed no one would discover his crime after he dumped the body inside the sewer, why did he suddenly decide to go missing? We wouldn’t even have suspected him if he did not suddenly disappear. Now why would he do that?”

“Erm, perhaps he thought someone had witnessed him commit the crime! Yes, Ol’ Zhang, the probable witness…” Guan Zhenglin said with uncertainty as she scratched the back of her head.

I shook my finger at her, “Then why didn’t he just kill Ol’ Zhang to eliminate that potential danger?”

“Damn!” Guan Zhenglin threw a plush pillow at me, “You’re just enjoying this, aren’t you!”

I hugged the pillow and continued to ponder the case. It was undeniable that Headmaster Zhang had raped Zhang Mingliang but he might not have killed Zhang Mingliang. Could the rapist and the killer be different people? Perhaps the killer was the young person who fell for Ol’ Zhang’s trap? No, the timeline didn’t match either.

Ol’ Zhang discovered the thief around 10.30 pm. When he arrived, the young person had already shaken off the snare and took off running. Ol’ Zhang prepared to leave when he heard commotion from upstairs. Taking into account Ol’ Zhang’s stamina, and the fact that he stopped at each floor to check the traps, he would reach the 15th floor at around 11 pm. Based on Guan Zhenglin’s coroner report, it was entirely probable that Zhang Mingliang had just died then. There were only a few minutes of difference. The young person caught in the trap couldn’t be the killer unless they knew how to fly.

“Does the rapist have to be physically present to rape someone?” I tossed out the question that sounded absurd even to my ears.

“Are you high?” Guan Zhenglin turned to look at me. “Are you talking about some kind telekinetic rape?” As I turned to meet Guan Zhenglin’s eyes, she suddenly crossed her arms before her chest. “Actually, I don’t need to hear more of this nonsense.”

I tossed the pillow back. “I’d rather target Gu Chen before I come after you!”

Gu Chen immediately crossed his arms to make an X. “I’m not Zhang Mingliang, I don’t like men.”

“Zhang Mingliang’s ideal type is someone like Gao Rui, even if you like him, he might not even like you.” Guan Zhenglin chided.

…

We were gathered inside Captain Zhao’s office. The police had started a search for Headmaster Zhang but there was no trace of the man at all. Mary checked all the public transport information and Headmaster Zhang didn’t use any of them. None of the street cams caught Headmaster Zhang either. The only strange thing was the cams near Headmaster Zhang’s home appeared to have been destroyed a few days ago.

“Do you think it’s possible that Headmaster Zhang has committed suicide from guilt?” Mary mumbled through a mouthful of watermelon.

“Captain, Wu Meng, we have a new clue.” Xiao Liu burst through the door. Captain Zhao asked, turning his white china cup. “What’s wrong? You look so harried, is there a new body?”

Xiao Liu wiped away his sweat. “Yes, someone found a dead body on the mountain, it has decomposed quite a bit already.”

As we prepared to move out, Captain Zhao said, “By the way, Xiao Guan, bring the box with you.”

Guan Zhenglin’s eyes twinkled. “You mean Doctor Yang’s toolbox?”

“Yes, the custom made one.” Captain Zhao said, “I already told you, eventually you people will inherit the box.”

“Then what about Doctor Yang?” Guan Zhenglin asked, “I haven’t heard from her for years already.”

Captain Zhao waved his hands to end this topic, “Go, the dead body is waiting for you.”

The weather was still as hot as ever. Gu Chen and I had removed our jackets. We stayed under a temporary tent to watch Guan Zhenglin dissect a dead body. Compared to Zhang Mingliang’s body, this one was not much better. The face was so decomposed, it was impossible to tell its identity. Part of the muscle tissues had already liquefied. The grave wax leaked out onto the clothes and they attracted many flies. However, with the lesson from last time, Gu Chen and I fared better. Seeing the sweat pour down Guan Zhenglin’s face, Gu Chen and I felt rather embarrassed just sitting there, doing nothing. So I picked up a towel, doused it with water and walked towards Guan Zhenglin. While Guan Zhenglin continued with her dissection, I used the towel to wipe away her sweat. “Did you find anything?”

Holding the tools in both hands, Guan Zhenglin allowed me to dab away her sweat. She then said slowly, “Yes, and it’s a big discovery. Do you know who this is?”

“Who?”

“Well, this is our primary suspect, Headmaster Zhang!” Guan Zhenglin looked at me and announced evenly. I made a double take at the body. Looks like Headmaster Zhang had been left here for quite some time already.

“Can you tell the time and cause of death?” I enquired.

Guan Zhenglin nodded as she rummaged through the toolbox. “The time of death is a few days ago, in fact, I believe it’s only several hours after Zhang Mingliang’s death. The cause of death is blunt force trauma to the head. This is definitely a homicide.”

Headmaster Zhang killed Zhang Mingliang and then someone killed Headmaster Zhang?

“Xiao Liu, how was the body discovered?” I shouted at Xiao Liu who was taking the witness testimony.

“Someone came across the body in a shallow grave. The person saw the body’s clothes poking out and called the police.” Xiao Liu shouted back.

“A shallow grave?” I asked to confirm.

“Yes.” Xiao Liu replied, “The villager said anyone would have spotted it but not many people use this particular track of the mountain road.”

More questions to solve. Who would be familiar enough with Headmaster Zhang’s movement to accomplish something like this? It had to be someone very close to Headmaster Zhang and there was a name that immediately popped in my mind. Could he have killed Headmaster Zhang?