The police's findings matched what Chen Ge had guessed earlier — the sculpture was a tool for transporting corpses.
After getting Li Zheng's reply, Chen Ge's thinking became very clear: "The suspect killed the victim, hid the body inside the sculpture, then had someone move it to the warehouse. When no one was around, he snuck in, dealt with the corpse, and dragged it down into the underground morgue — completing the murder without anyone knowing."
Jiujiang Medical College was a special case. The morgue was located right beneath the western campus, so everything could be wrapped up almost effortlessly.
"No one would go looking for a living missing person down in the morgue. And sure enough, the suspect gambled correctly."
Chen Ge had already said everything Li Zheng wanted to say. On the other end of the line, Li Zheng was silent for a moment. "We can't confirm who owns the sculpture yet, but we've narrowed down the scope. After canvassing the area, we've determined that this thing didn't belong to Jiujiang Medical University — it just suddenly appeared one day in the art club's activity room."
"Suddenly appeared?"
"We tracked down the art club president at the time. He remembers it clearly — that morning, when he walked into the activity room, he found an extra sculpture inside. At the time, many people assumed the school had purchased it, so no one thought much of it. It just so happened the school was relocating, and in the end, a few male students worked together to move it down into the underground storage area."
"Which means the killer didn't participate in transporting the body." Chen Ge thought it over carefully. "The killer knew the school was moving and that unused items would be sent to the underground storage. It's even possible he was on-site at the time, quietly pushing things along behind the scenes."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. The killer was able to freely enter and leave the school at night and had access to all kinds of information about the campus — he's very likely a teacher or staff member." Someone was speaking to Li Zheng on his end. He exchanged a few words with the person, then turned back to Chen Ge. "After screening, we've narrowed it down to four suspects."
"The first is the male counselor I told you about yesterday. His name is Liu Zhe — popular at school, tall and broad, good-looking, well-liked by students. But after a deeper investigation, we found that this man isn't as straightforward as he appears. He never received much education, and the school gave no clear explanation for how he became a counselor — only that it had something to do with his brother-in-law."
"The second suspect is the night-shift security guard at the old campus — Zhang Li. He's thirty-five, introverted, the complete opposite of Liu Zhe, with very poor social standing. Many students absolutely can't stand him."
"The third suspect is a former member of the art club, and the only woman among the four — Zhang Shihan. She's Zhang Li's younger sister, and she had a terrible relationship with Ma Ying's older sister. Before Ma Ying disappeared, she'd argued with Ma Ying's sister multiple times."
Li Zheng stopped there. Chen Ge had been listening intently. "Zhang Li is a security guard — he has both the ability and the means to kill. Zhang Shihan has motive and opportunity. But neither of their lives seems connected to Western-style sculptures. I still think the first suspect is the most likely. Oh, didn't you say there was a fourth?"
The man Liu Xianxian had a crush on was Liu Zhe. Chen Ge had once followed him into Room 3004 in the Fanghua Yuan community.
"Actually, based on our investigation, the fourth suspect is the most likely to have committed the crime." Li Zheng's voice sounded odd, as if he didn't want to say the person's name. "This fourth person — you've met him. It's Dr. Gao."
"Dr. Gao?" This answer caught Chen Ge off guard.
"Like you just said, neither Zhang Li nor Zhang Shihan has any connection to artistic sculptures. But Dr. Gao is different." Li Zheng's voice slowed down. "I met Dr. Gao five years ago. After I first opened fire and killed a criminal, I went to him for psychological therapy. Over the course of two weeks, the two of us became friends."
Chen Ge listened carefully. He hadn't expected Li Zheng and Dr. Gao to have known each other for five years.
"To be honest, Dr. Gao is a nearly perfect person. I can't find a single flaw in him — if anything, his good qualities are beyond counting." Li Zheng's voice grew somewhat somber, and Chen Ge now understood why the detective was calling him at this hour. "I deeply admire him, but that doesn't mean I won't suspect him. During my therapy sessions, I learned a great many things about him — including his love of collecting artwork, his obsession with Van Gogh's paintings, and so on."
"Being fond of art doesn't make him the killer. Did you see that sculpture in Dr. Gao's house or something?"
Using a sculpture to conceal and transport a body — a clever method to most people, but actually riddled with loopholes when put into practice. If Dr. Gao was the killer, Chen Ge felt he would have used a far more perfect method to commit his crimes.
"I've never been to Dr. Gao's home, but I know he likes artwork with extreme contrasts and strong visual impact. And I know his car entered Jiujiang Medical College late at night on several occasions in the days before Ma Ying's sister disappeared." Li Zheng's voice carried a trace of exhaustion. "He knew the school well and avoided every surveillance camera. It was only after we expanded our search range that we spotted his vehicle near the campus — and then it seemed to vanish. We cross-referenced every surveillance camera in the area, and our final conclusion was that during those twenty-seven unaccounted minutes, he entered the school."
"Hold on — could someone else have been driving his car? Using it to commit the crime?"
"That's exactly what I'm about to get to." Li Zheng's tone gradually turned serious. "This case may have had two killers."
"Two?"
"Whether or not Dr. Gao is the killer, his car entering the school during that time window is a fact. And only two people could have driven his car in — one is himself, and the other is Liu Zhe."
Li Zheng's words made Chen Ge's eyes widen. "You mean Liu Zhe's brother-in-law is Dr. Gao?!"
"That's right. This was actually a dual crime. The person who killed Ma Ying's sister and came up with the plan to use a sculpture to move the body was Liu Zhe — and he was probably the one who carried it out. But this man is stupid. He left behind a ton of clues. If he'd committed the crime entirely on his own, he would've been exposed within days. What's strange is that when we went through the original case files, every lead the police might have followed had been cut off. What's even more terrifying is that some clues disappeared just hours before the police arrived — as if an invisible hand in the dark was interfering with everything."
Li Zheng let out a soft sigh. "Liu Zhe could never pull that off. In over a decade on the force, the only person I've ever known who could manage all of that is Dr. Gao."
"But why would Dr. Gao go so far as to personally intervene to cover up Liu Zhe's crime?" Chen Ge voiced his biggest doubt.
"Liu Zhe is the brother of Dr. Gao's wife — and her only living relative." Li Zheng seemed to anticipate what Chen Ge was about to say and spoke first. "Dr. Gao's wife died seven years ago in a car accident. Taking care of her family was her dying wish."
Chen Ge was not Dr. Gao. He couldn't feel what that was like, so he chose not to speak up at that moment.
"Chen Ge, I know you're on good terms with Dr. Gao, but I hope you can stay rational about this. It was Captain Yan's idea for me to call you. We suspect Dr. Gao is involved, but every lead and loose end has been cleaned up immaculately by him. Right now, all we have is suspicion."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Gao Ruxue is Dr. Gao's only daughter and the person he cherishes most. If we approach her without any evidence, it'll only make Dr. Gao more cautious — so this can only be done by you." Li Zheng delicately revealed his true purpose. "Gao Ruxue is our way in. You saved her life — she definitely won't be on guard around you. So we need you to reach out to her and feel out the situation."
"Me?" Chen Ge had always been out on his own, playing the righteous vigilante of his own accord. Being officially deputized by the police like this — it felt a little strange.
"You're the only one who fits." Li Zheng talked with Chen Ge for a while longer. He didn't force anything — it was simply a proposal.
Hanging up the phone, Chen Ge sat in the pitch-black car, his expression deeply conflicted.