Chapter 8: She Is Already a Corpse (Part 2)
"How can I calm down! He killed my father... He killed my father! Look at this—this is my father's body, his memorial portrait, his fire pit... Marcus Zhang! My father was alive and well just days ago, and now he's lying here accepting paper money for the dead. Look at what you've done—how does that make you feel?"
I said nothing.
The two elderly people were staring at us in stunned, horrified silence.
Howard Li's rage gave him surprising strength. He broke free from the officers and grabbed me by the collar, bellowing: "I want you on your knees, begging forgiveness from my father!"
I thought about it for a moment, then kicked the fire pit over.
"Blasphemy!"
The old woman shrieked and cowered against her husband.
Howard Li froze. The officers froze.
I said with perfect sincerity: "I've heard that people who cheat in business, deceive their superiors, and cut corners on construction are condemned to the eighteenth level of hell. They're stripped naked, nailed to a board, and sawed in half from the crotch to the head. You ask me how I feel? I feel... quite delighted."
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
He threw a punch at my face, but I was faster. Before his fist could connect, I slammed my forehead into his skull!
Howard Li crashed to the floor, clutching his head and howling in pain.
I kicked him in the face and said, "Hundreds——no, thousands of families were destroyed because of your father. People worked themselves to the bone and still couldn't move into their own homes. Where was your concern for our feelings then? You drive the sports car your father bought you, run the companies your father set up, enjoy the business deals your father handed you—and you can't see us slaving away day and night, never getting what we paid for? And now you want to talk about your feelings?"
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Howard Li scrambled up to attack me again, but the officers restrained him. Officer Carter quickly dragged me toward the apartment, while Howard Li screamed: "Marcus Zhang, f*** you!"
"I have a mother. You don't have a father anymore."
"I'm going to tear you limb from limb!"
"Good point. Your dear father is about to be sliced into sections and cremated at the funeral home. Did you know they chop up the body before burning it?"
"Ahhh! You animal! My father is being buried!"
"Doesn't matter—he's already been burned once. Congratulations to Boss Li on the double achievement—both cremation and burial!"
Officer Carter hauled me into the apartment and groaned: "Brother, can you PLEASE shut up for once? Do you ever want the victim's family to forgive you or not?"
The mention of forgiveness hit me like a punch to the gut. I thought of Elena, kneeling alone in this very hallway, begging for their mercy, only to be humiliated by Howard Li.
So I leaned back out and looked at Howard Li, still being held back by the officers.
I said, "If you love your father so much, how come you're not down there keeping him company?"
"Will you shut UP!" Officer Carter yanked me back inside and slammed the door.
The hallway was still noisy—probably because Howard Li lacked the manners to keep quiet in the presence of the dead.
Officer Carter asked where the secret passage was. I pointed to the spot, and he gave it a push. The wall panel slid open easily.
Strange.
Wendy Xu was supposed to have barricaded both entrances, as I'd instructed.
I said, "Let me go through first."
"I'll go. You stay back—in case there's danger."
He went through first. Once he confirmed it was clear, I followed.
The apartment was empty.
Nora Zhao, who had been tied up, was gone. And Wendy Xu, who was supposed to be standing guard, was also gone.
A cold dread settled in my stomach.
Officer Carter kept one hand on his baton and called out: "Is anyone in here?"
The empty apartment offered no response.
Instead of rushing in, he opened the front door so other officers could enter.
Everyone marveled at the secret passage, photographing it for evidence. Officer Carter checked each room, then returned to me: "You said Nora Zhao was here. Where is she? There's not a single person in this apartment."
"Can I make a phone call?"
"What for?"
"I need to contact Wendy Xu. I have no idea why nobody's here."
He nodded.
I dialed Wendy Xu's number. No answer.
Something was very wrong. Officer Carter saw I couldn't reach her and said: "Let the police handle this. The secret passage is a major discovery regardless. We'll examine all your testimony and see if we can find corroborating evidence."
I slumped, wanting to sit down, but they stopped me—sitting would contaminate the scene.
Officer Carter began having me walk through the scene, pointing to each location as I described what had happened. Each statement was photographed for the record.
After all the photos were taken, I still couldn't let it go. "Can I try calling her again? Maybe she just didn't hear it."
"Go ahead."
Still no answer. But just then, an officer in the bedroom called out: "Something's moving in here!"
We rushed in. Officer Carter told everyone to be quiet. From under the bed, a faint buzzing sound could be heard.
Officer Carter looked at my phone. When the system announced that the call had gone unanswered, the vibrating stopped.
He knocked on the floor. "Come out! Police!"
Silence from under the bed.
"Pull it apart."
They stripped off the blankets and pillows, then lifted the mattress, revealing the bed boards underneath.
Officer Carter grabbed a board and lifted. A powerful smell of blood hit us instantly. Someone gasped.
Beneath the board was a large plastic bag, wrapped around a human form. Several officers exchanged glances. Suddenly, someone grabbed me and forced my arms behind my back. Officer Carter ripped open the plastic bag—and Wendy Xu's pale, lifeless face stared up at us.
He pressed his fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse. His brow furrowed deeply, and he said to the others: "We have a female body. Request immediate forensic team deployment."
"Copy."
I stared at the scene, my mind buzzing.
Wendy Xu had been alive just hours ago. How could she suddenly be a corpse?
Officer Carter said gravely: "Marcus Zhang, you're now a suspect in a second homicide. You're coming back to the station for questioning."
I stammered: "That's impossible... She was alive when I left her. I specifically told her to lock the doors and block the passage. There shouldn't have been any other way in."
"Save it for the station."
"Am I being treated as the killer? I already have one case against me, and now there's another—are they going to pin both on me?"
"Calm down. We'll investigate thoroughly. If it's yours, you won't escape it. If it's not, we won't wrongfully convict you. You—" he pointed to two officers, "—pull the security footage from property management. See if any suspicious figures entered this apartment."
"On it!"
The scene erupted into organized chaos. Officer Carter ordered everyone to stay away from the body to preserve evidence.
I couldn't help asking: "If the cameras don't show anyone else, am I the prime suspect?"
"I can't make that guarantee."
"And if... if I was the last person to see her alive, and she has injuries I caused... does that make me a suspect?"
"What you need to do right now is cooperate with the investigation. Collect yourself. When we get to the station, I need you to tell me every detail you know."
"I will. I'll cooperate."
Officer Carter took me back to the car. He cuffed me to the door handle again and fastened my seatbelt.
As he started the engine, he sighed: "Such a young woman... what a waste."
I said nothing, my heart heavy with disbelief.
Just hours ago, Wendy Xu had been talking to me, working beside me.
Now she was a corpse. How was I supposed to process that?
Officer Carter drove around a couple of turns, and I found myself sighing: "I wish I'd listened to her story."
"What?"
"I mean—"
"Hold on!"
Officer Carter cut me off. He checked the rearview mirror and took another turn.
Then his brow furrowed. "We're being followed."
"Followed?"
I looked at the mirror too. There was indeed a car behind us, but I had no idea when it had appeared.
"Watch out! Lift your feet!"
Officer Carter suddenly shouted in alarm.
A large vehicle was barreling toward us from the side at an intersection at high speed. Officer Carter slammed the brakes, but the truck seemed to have locked onto us—it slammed into our car with devastating force!
The impact threw me forward against the seatbelt, which caught me brutally. Glass shattered everywhere in an explosion of sound, and the airbag slammed into my face. But with my hands cuffed, my head still cracked against the edge of the door.
The world spun. My vision went black, and I passed out...