RTEW Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Disappearing Murderer

He Wei, Chong Zhen, and Xia Liang squeezed into the tiny security room together. The Shengshi Grand Hotel had cameras on the staircase of every floor, all hooked up to a single computer. The screen was split into six sections—five showing the staircases, and one showing the camera at the front entrance.

Currently, there were four guests staying at the hotel, all of them on the third floor. Three employees were on duty tonight. Normally, the manager would clock out around 10:00 PM, but tonight he was doing the inventory and accounts, so he stayed late. On the cameras from the third floor down, including the corridors, there was footage of the three employees and the guests going up and down. However, no one had gone up the stairs to the fourth or fifth floors. Around 12:10 AM, the manager went upstairs alone. From then until the moment he fell to his death, no one else was seen on the footage.

“I checked the surveillance video. There are no signs of editing or being overwritten; this is the original copy,” Xia Liang sat in front of the computer, skillfully fast-forwarding and rewinding the footage. “From start to finish, the manager is the only one in the video. The killer didn’t go up the stairs. How did they get to the roof?”

Chong Zhen rested one hand on He Wei’s shoulder and used the other to ruffle Xia Liang’s fluffy hair. “Haven’t you watched over five hundred episodes of Conan? Use your imagination, anime boy.”

“It’s over seven hundred episodes!” Xia Liang scratched the back of his head. “How can you compare reality to Conan? The murder tricks in there are way too mystical; no normal person could ever think of them. But since they’re not on the surveillance footage, I deduce the killer went up during the day and stayed hidden on the rooftop the whole time in ambush. Or, they climbed up the side of the wall like Spider-Man, completely silent…”

“Although it sounds pretty unreliable, it is indeed a possibility,” He Wei removed Chong Zhen’s hand from his shoulder. “Go with Er-hu and take some people to inspect the exterior walls. Check the AC units and awnings carefully. Bring back anything useful.”

“There’s another possibility! A helicopter drop! Throwing a ladder down—whoa, how cool would that be?!”

Chong Zhen threw an arm around the kid’s neck, cutting off his fantasies. “Alright, that’s enough. That’s even more unreliable than those seven hundred episodes of anime. If you have that much time, keep staring at the surveillance footage and look for any suspicious individuals.”

Staring at the screen, He Wei suddenly used his slender index finger to press the spacebar, freezing the frame right as the manager looked up at a black box on the wall. Chong Zhen leaned in closer: “That’s an electrical breaker box. I saw it when I went upstairs.”

“Why would your manager go check the breaker box in the middle of the night?” He Wei turned his head, looking at the security guard who was standing honestly to the side.

The security guard answered, “Our hotel’s power has been tripping a lot lately. It tripped again tonight, so after finishing the accounts, the manager went upstairs to take a look at the breaker box, planning to report it for repairs tomorrow.”

He Wei pressed the spacebar again, and the video continued playing. They watched the manager open the breaker box, close it less than a minute later, and turn around to head back downstairs. However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and walked toward the rusted door leading to the rooftop instead.

“He didn’t originally plan to go to the rooftop; he was attracted by something,” Chong Zhen stroked the fine stubble on his chin. “Did he hear someone calling his name? That’s how it usually happens in ghost movies.”

Xia Liang shuddered. “If I heard an unknown person calling my name, I’d rather die than go over there.”

“It could also be some other noise. Attracting someone’s attention isn’t hard.” He Wei continued to question the security guard, “How long has this place been haunted?”

“About half a month. It happens at the same time every day, around eleven o’clock. As soon as the sensor light goes out, the old man disappears.”

“Has everyone seen him?”

“A few cleaners who only work the day shift haven’t seen him. After all, the Gates of Hell don’t open during the day.”

Yun Xiaoxiao had mentioned earlier that it was this security guard who was overly superstitious, sprouting nonsense about the Gates of Hell taking people away. It wasn’t surprising; this hotel was located in a remote area, surrounded by vast stretches of farmland further down the road. Almost all the hotel employees were nearby villagers, and rural fields were always full of rumors about weasel spirits and shamans performing rituals, so people were used to the bizarre.

“Xiao Xia, copy the surveillance footage and take it back. We need everything from the last half month.”

Xia Liang nodded and began copying the videos. Chong Zhen went to find Hu Songkai to check the exterior walls, while He Wei returned to the hotel lobby. Seeing him enter, Yun Xiaoxiao stood up to provide the deceased’s basic information.

“Chen Lei, male, thirty-four years old, married, with a four-year-old daughter. He lives in Chenjia Village, about two kilometers from the hotel,” Yun Xiaoxiao flipped to another page of her notepad. “He was the manager and accountant for this hotel. He’s related to the owner, who almost never comes around. Chen Lei practically ran the place himself.”

“Have his family members been contacted?”

“Someone called his wife right after the accident happened, but she hasn’t arrived yet. Driving from Chenjia Village takes less than three minutes, and walking is only about a fifteen-minute trip.”

As soon as she finished speaking, they heard a woman’s wails coming from the courtyard, crying out Chen Lei’s name. He Wei and Yun Xiaoxiao walked over to see Chen Lei’s wife weeping bitterly next to the corpse covered by the white sheet. Standing beside her was a sleepy-eyed little girl, likely still too young to understand she had lost her father, tilting her head and staring blankly at the white cloth.

“What are our little girl and I going to do without you?! And your mom and dad—who’s going to provide for them in their old age?!…”

The woman sobbed until she was out of breath. A police officer standing nearby, unable to bear it, advised her to restrain her grief and accept the inevitable. Scenes of family separation always made people feel heavy-hearted. Yun Xiaoxiao sighed: “The child is still so small. How pitiful.”

He Wei stared at the woman and suddenly spoke up: “Something’s strange.”

Yun Xiaoxiao blinked: “What is it, Captain?”

“She came here wearing makeup.”

———

It was now deep into the night. The rain that had fallen all evening finally stopped. The dark clouds dispersed, leaving behind a bright moon and sparse stars. After the police removed the body, the onlookers mostly scattered, and the night gradually returned to its usual tranquility.

“Lei-zi usually comes back late when he’s doing the accounts. The kid and I are used to it. The two of us had gone to sleep long ago. When I heard Lei-zi had an accident, I hurried over with our daughter…” Chen Lei’s wife, Wang Cui, had bloodshot eyes. Her daughter was very sensible; seeing her mother cry, she handed her a tissue.

“You were at home the entire time?” Yun Xiaoxiao stared at her. “You were called and notified right before 12:30, and it’s already 1:00 AM. Does it take this long to get from your house to the hotel?”

Wang Cui stammered, saying that it was raining and her daughter was too small. While carrying her and walking in the dark, she accidentally stepped into a mud puddle, so she went back to change her clothes before coming over.

“Went back to change your clothes, and casually put on makeup too?” Yun Xiaoxiao pointed her pen at her lips. “Your lipstick color is still very vibrant. Your husband just had a fatal accident, and you still have the leisure and mood for that?”

Wang Cui’s face turned pale. She quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe off the lipstick, then changed her story, saying her daughter had fallen asleep but she hadn’t. This makeup was applied during the day, and she just hadn’t had the time to wash it off.

“Jie, we’re both women. I can tell at a glance how long makeup has been on. Your husband’s fatal fall is not a simple case. You’d better cooperate and tell us the truth.”

Wang Cui was astonished. “It wasn’t an accident?! Lei-zi had a good temper and never offended anyone. Who would want to harm him? Comrade Police, I really was at home the entire time tonight! I never went out, I was with our daughter. You have to believe me!”

“Then if you didn’t go out, did you put on such heavy makeup at night just to look at yourself?”

Wang Cui’s eyes darted left and right as she scrambled for an excuse, saying her makeup skills were poor, so she was just practicing at home while she had nothing to do.

Meanwhile, He Wei and Wang Mei were on the hotel’s second floor. This was the main location of the haunting. There were a total of five private rooms, distributed left and right. At the end of the corridor was a window, and turning right revealed a storage room. At first, everyone suspected someone was hiding in the storage room playing ghost tricks. Those who were brave enough went to check after the old man disappeared, only to find absolutely nothing. The same went for the private rooms—the old man seemed to vanish into thin air. That was how the haunting rumors began circulating through the hotel.

“I-I was standing right here at the time,” Wang Mei stood at the door of the first private room on the second floor, pointing forward. “That old man appeared right where that light is.”

He Wei walked over, observing the corridor’s environment. Next to the sensor light was an air vent, with a window below it. Around the corner was the storage room. Opening it, he saw it was only about two square meters in size, holding tools like a ladder, brushes, and wrenches. Wang Mei mentioned that during the first few hauntings, everyone suspected the old man was hiding in the storage room; it had been checked back and forth countless times.

“Li-dage said that ghost has heavy resentment and is looking for a scapegoat. This whole area used to be a graveyard. Building a hotel here definitely disturbed their peace… He killed the manager today, and who knows who he’s going to kill next! I-I don’t even want my salary anymore, please just let me go home!”

He Wei frowned slightly, his light-colored eyes sweeping over her. This girl was genuinely terrified; she wasn’t faking it. It wasn’t surprising—a frail girl bumping into a ghost and then witnessing the bloody aftermath of a murder right after. It was impressive enough that she hadn’t fainted from fright.

However, He Wei didn’t believe in vengeful ghosts claiming lives. If there was a murder, there had to be a murderer. Rooting out the criminals hiding in the dark was exactly what criminal investigators like them were meant to do.

He examined the air vent and the window, feeling puzzled: “There’s a window right next to it. Why install an air vent here?”

“It’s abandoned. The duct inside is blocked off at the end,” Wang Mei thought for a moment. “I think this used to be one big room, but they built walls to change it into small private rooms.”

At this moment, the sensor light turned off. He Wei stomped his foot once, but there was no reaction. Wang Mei jumped forcefully, and only then did the sensor light flick back on.

“Poor connection?” He Wei looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Wang Mei nodded. “Yes, sometimes you have to make a huge racket for it to light up. But the lights further down are fine. The manager said this one doesn’t affect the use of the private rooms, so to save money, he didn’t replace it.”

He Wei took the ladder out of the storage room, climbed up, and turned on his flashlight. He saw that the sensor light was covered in a thick layer of dust, with spiderwebs strung around it and dead little flying insects inside the lampshade. It was clear no one had cleaned it in a long time.

However, the louvered cover of the air vent was quite clean, with obvious signs of being wiped. He looked down and asked, “Is this spot cleaned often?”

Wang Mei shook her head, saying she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t responsible for the cleaning work; only the cleaning aunties would know.

The bright beam of the flashlight swept over the area inch by inch. He Wei’s sharp eyes noticed fresh scratch marks on the four screws of the louvered cover. He asked Wang Mei to fetch a Phillips-head screwdriver, then took a pair of gloves out of his pocket and put them on.

The sensor light turned off again, but he didn’t bother with it. Holding the flashlight in his mouth, he unscrewed the bolts one by one and removed the louvered cover. As soon as he took it off, no dust billowed out at him. Just as He Wei suspected, this abandoned air vent was indeed frequently used.

The air vent was rectangular. He Wei pulled out his steel tape measure—40 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide. Shining the flashlight inside, the area near the opening was spotless; only the area further in, near the blocked end of the duct, still had spiderwebs.

There was no way a cleaning auntie would ever clean all the way in here. He Wei looked at the air vent. It was unrealistic for a normal-sized man to crawl inside, but a thin, frail woman or a short, wiry man could definitely squeeze in.

He Wei picked up his walkie-talkie. “Hu Songkai, have two colleagues from your side come up to the second floor to collect some evidence.” He thought for a moment and added, “Bring Xiaoxiao along too.”

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