Chapter Three: Request for Transfer

An Changpu stood to the side, watching the two men who had reported the crime. One’s face was ashen, the other had seemed relatively at ease at first, but now, cowed by Qin Ruonan’s stern expression, he too looked tense and uneasy. With a soft sigh, An Changpu fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook out two, and offered them to the men. They accepted silently, each taking out a lighter to light their own and their companion’s cigarette.

“Frightened, aren’t you?” An Changpu squatted down beside them, offering a gentle smile and speaking in a soothing tone.

The smaller man nodded silently, glancing toward the busy officers in the distance. His body trembled, and he shuddered violently. The larger one, though always a bit more composed than his companion, avoided looking in the direction of the corpse, instead sneaking glances at Qin Ruonan, gauging her mood with some apprehension.

“How did you discover the body? What brought the two of you out here in the outskirts so early?” Qin Ruonan, unlike An Changpu, did not squat down. Standing at a distance, she looked down at the two men with an air of authority, her tone uncompromising.

The smaller man, who had not spoken until now, finally raised his head. Meeting Qin Ruonan’s gaze, a trace of indignation gradually appeared on his face.

“What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting we killed someone or something?” He slowly stood, his agitation now diluting the fear that had gripped him. “We made a point of coming back early in the morning to report this, and now we’re the ones under suspicion? What kind of world is this?!”

Seeing his companion rise, the larger man hurriedly stood as well, nodding repeatedly in agreement though he himself said nothing.

Although Qin Ruonan’s question had clearly angered the men, An Changpu had picked up on something telling—at least now he knew that the two had not discovered the body at dawn by the riverside, but rather had found it earlier and only returned in the morning to report it.

“Calm down, please,” An Changpu took a half-step forward, wary of their mounting agitation. “We appreciate your initiative in reporting and your cooperation with our investigation. My colleague is simply eager to solve the case; there’s no intention to suspect you without cause. Please, don’t take it to heart.”

Seeing that An Changpu was being conciliatory, the men felt embarrassed to keep arguing, especially since the officer they’d taken issue with was a young woman.

“Which of you found the body first?” Seeing that they had calmed somewhat, An Changpu glanced at Qin Ruonan. Although she seemed reluctant, she dutifully took out her notepad to record the statement, yielding the questioning to him.

“It was Er who found it first,” the larger man, clearly prone to speaking out of turn, didn’t wait for his companion to answer. He hurried on, introducing them both as he spoke. “Just call me Ginger; Er and I are good buddies, coworkers, and we like to fish together when we have time. We thought we’d try our luck at night, but Er spotted a big bag floating on the river. We thought it might be something valuable, but it turned out to be something so damn unlucky! Isn’t that right, Er?”

He nudged the smaller man—Er—with his elbow as he spoke.

Er shot Ginger a disgruntled look, perhaps still smarting from Qin Ruonan’s earlier words or simply annoyed at Ginger’s habit of dominating the conversation. “Why ask me? You might as well tell them—you seem to know everything!”

Ginger, stung by this, turned away sullenly and smoked in silence.

“Do you remember roughly what time you found the body?” An Changpu, seeing their dynamic, directed his question squarely at Er.

Er, realizing the question was meant for him, felt obliged to answer. He blinked and thought for a moment. “It must’ve been a little after one in the morning. That’s my best guess—I can’t give you an exact time.”

Ginger turned back to glance at both An Changpu and Er, as if wanting to say something but holding back.

“What are you looking at me for? If you have something to say, just say it! It’s not like I’m stopping you!” Er snapped, his irritation flaring again.

Ginger, rubbing his neck in embarrassment, explained to An Changpu, “It was too dark to see what was inside the bag, so I took out my phone to use as a light. I remember checking the time—it was ten past two in the morning.” Seeing Qin Ruonan’s skeptical look, he quickly added, “I’m not lying, I swear! Right after we realized what was inside, we were both so shocked we just froze. I even dropped my phone into the river!”

Qin Ruonan said nothing, but she noted the time Ginger had given.

“The woven bag floated down from upstream?” An Changpu pressed on. “Aside from you two, did you see anyone else nearby, or hear any unusual sounds? Like the splash of something heavy being thrown into the water?”

Ginger looked at Er, and Er at Ginger; both shook their heads.

“To be honest, we were just there to fish, but even so, in the dead of night everything felt eerie. It was quiet—if there’d been any noise, we’d have heard it, let alone something that big being dumped in the water. If it had happened nearby, it would’ve made a huge splash. As far as we could tell, there was no one else on the riverbank but us,” Er said. His mood had calmed, his face now less tense. He glanced apologetically at both Qin Ruonan and Ginger. “Last night scared me half to death. Even this morning I was still shaken. I’ve never encountered anything like this in my entire life. If I sounded harsh earlier, I hope you won’t hold it against me.”

Qin Ruonan didn’t speak, but she nodded at him in acknowledgment.

After speaking with the two men, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan prepared to organize a search along the river and to check for missing men within the city.

“If what they just said is true, it seems this mutilated male body was dumped into the river much further upstream. As Dr. Zhao pointed out, if there hadn’t been so much air trapped in the bag, keeping it semi-submerged, it wouldn’t have been found so easily. Which means, the other half of the body is likely lying at the bottom of the river upstream.”

On the way back, Qin Ruonan wordlessly slid into the driver’s seat as usual, leaving An Changpu to play the role of passenger once again. He took the opportunity to share the only conclusion he’d managed to deduce so far.

Qin Ruonan merely nodded, offering no reply.

An Changpu glanced at her several times, hesitating, but finally couldn’t resist voicing his thoughts. “Also, though we’ve only just met and maybe it’s presumptuous of me to say so, but your manner toward the witnesses really needs to change. That approach is likely to put people on the defensive.”

Hardly had he finished when Qin Ruonan shot him a displeased look. An Changpu braced himself for her retort, but after a long pause, she simply glared and said nothing.

“Do you smoke?” After a while, Qin Ruonan suddenly asked, out of the blue.

An Changpu was momentarily taken aback, unsure why she’d ask such a thing. Then he remembered offering cigarettes to Ginger and Er earlier, and understood.

“I don’t smoke myself, but I usually keep a pack on me. Cigarettes can sometimes serve as a bridge in conversation,” he replied with a smile.

Qin Ruonan nodded silently and said nothing more. The two of them made their way back to the precinct, intending to report to Cheng Feng.

An Changpu briefed Cheng Feng on the situation. Cheng Feng was pleased with their plan, then turned to the silent Qin Ruonan. “Anything you’d like to add?”

“No, but I do have a request.” Qin Ruonan shook her head, then stood up and addressed Cheng Feng formally. “I request to be assigned to work cases with the others.”