Mo Du (默读) - Silent Reading

Macbeth XIX

Fei Du had gone upstairs. There was a click, as if he’d locked the door from inside.

Luo Wenzhou sighed silently, forcing his attention back to the phone, saying to Tao Ran, “You’re saying that someone set the Dong house on fire. What was there worth burning in the Dong house?”

Tao Ran looked up at the scene of desolation in Dong Xiaoqing’s burned house. Strictly speaking, the circumstances weren’t all that grave. The fire had started in the living room and burned up a good part of the furniture and blackened the walls. The TV’s carbon fiber frame had melted a little, but the wall the TV was on and the surrounding cabinets were all right, and in a drawer, the property ownership certificate, bankbook, and other such important items were unscathed.

“We’ve investigated the Dong family three times over, including the father and daughter’s browsing history, e-mails, and social media. We also searched the house. If we somehow still missed something, either it was something very unremarkable…”

Luo Wenzhou interrupted him. “No, that’s too big of a scope.”

“…or it wasn’t in the house at all at the time.” Tao Ran didn’t get angry at all over being interrupted. He unhurriedly added the end of his sentence, and after a paused asked, “Do you have something pressing to take care of over there?”

Luo Wenzhou was at a loss for words.

Tao Ran said very understandingly, “Then let’s hang up. When I’ve finished taking care of things here, I’ll give you a report.”

“Tao Ran, wait,” Luo Wenzhou said quickly. “The complexity of this thing may exceed what we imagine. Be careful when you’re out in the field. Starting from now, no one taking part in this investigation is permitted to operate on his own.”

Tao Ran had worked with him for many years. Hearing his anxiety, he smoothly acknowledged, “Got it,” then hung up the phone.

“Deputy-Captain Tao.” Xiao Haiyang, the rims of his eyes red, came over. “It was the paper. I think the criminal’s aim was the paper product he used to light the couch on fire.”

Tao Ran said, “For what reason?”

“When one residence catches fire in this type of building, the neighbors to either side will report it very quickly. Unless he made sure the thing he wanted was entirely burned up, it’s likely some traces would have been left behind because it hadn’t finished burning.” Xiao Haiyang’s speech inadvertently sped up even more. “Also, Dong Qian’s level of education wasn’t high. I’ve been to the house a few times; aside from a few advertisements someone had shoved in, there were no books in the living room. Everything needed for writing and drawing was in Dong Xiaoqing’s study. After the arsonist on the security camera footage broke into the Dong house, he stayed a full ten minutes. It doesn’t take that long to start a fire. He must have been looking for something…”

“After he found it, he lit it on fire, made sure it was nearly burned up, then threw in onto the couch, lighting up the whole room.” Tao Ran frowned. “Don’t you think that’s strange? Since this person could get into Dong Xiaoqing’s house without anyone the wiser, couldn’t he have just taken whatever he wanted? Why did he have to set the room on fire, making such a commotion and leaving an impression of himself? Was he purposefully calling for the police to investigate an arson?”

Xiao Haiyang stared, reduced to silence.

“Haiyang, I have a feeling that in his eyes, whatever Dong Xiaoqing had wasn’t any particularly amazing secret. Making such a mystical production of burning it… It’s to provoke us.” Tao Ran pointed at his phone. “Go investigate whether it really was Dong Xiaoqing who sent you the text message, or if someone stole her phone number.”