Ghost Behind You

1.30. The Final Puzzle (2)

After comforting Mary and sending her home, Rose spent the entire morning investigating the lead tied to Lana's phone, while Zach followed the hotel owner, Tian Weidong, to gather information about his character and behavior. By lunchtime, Zach had his report ready. Tian Weidong had spent the morning at the local market, purchasing a large number of supplies, and returned to the hotel just before noon. Afterward, he stayed in his room for the remainder of the day. Zach also learned from the staff that Tian Weidong was generally well-liked and treated his employees fairly. Neighbors and other hotel owners confirmed his good reputation, which matched the positive impression Rose and Zach had formed after meeting him.

However, one critical question still lingered: What was Tian Weidong's connection to the killer? Where was the killer now, and did Tian know about the crime? Rose briefly considered the severity of the charges the killer would face—rape and murder, both of which would certainly lead to the death penalty. If Tian had knowledge of the crime but failed to report it, he could be looking at two to three years in prison.

After lunch, Rose and Zach returned to Tian Weidong's room.

Tian clearly hadn't expected them to return and scrambled to serve tea. But Zach cut straight to the point, explaining they needed the name of the killer. Rose and Zach had agreed beforehand—Tian's reaction to their direct questioning about the murder would reveal whether he was involved.

Tian's face was a mix of confusion and disbelief. He couldn't comprehend that a murder had occurred at his hotel without him knowing. But when Rose presented some of the evidence, Tian's skepticism turned to shock. Rose noticed his hands tremble.

"Is this... really true?" Tian muttered, as if speaking to himself. "There's really a ghost in Room 104?"

"Yes," Rose replied solemnly, watching his face closely for any subtle reactions. She recalled her university training on assessing a person's age by studying their facial lines and briefly entertained the idea of touching the wrinkles on Tian's face, but she quickly dismissed the thought and focused on the task at hand. After observing his behavior, she felt confident that Tian had no direct knowledge of the murder.

"It's been over a year... I can't remember much," Tian stammered, looking flustered as he scratched his head. "I just remember how busy we were last year. So many guests—it was chaotic."

"Try to recall early August of last year," Zach prompted, taking a sip of tea. They couldn't rush this—identifying the killer depended entirely on Tian's memory.

"August is always our busiest time," Tian said, straightening up and pulling out an old ledger. He moistened his finger and flipped through the pages. "We were working nonstop back then. I barely had time to even go grocery shopping."

Rose's eyes fell on the ledger. The numbers were written neatly across the pages in fine handwriting. As Tian turned the pages, she could see the hotel's transactions from August of the previous year.

"Wait a minute," Rose suddenly interrupted, stopping him from turning another page. "Did you write all of this?"

"Yes, I did. We don't have an accountant, so I handle the books myself," Tian replied, still unsure of her intention.

"All of it, even from the earlier pages?" Rose asked, flipping to the first few pages.

"Yes, it's all mine," Tian answered, his confusion deepening.

"Then who wrote this?" Rose pointed to a page where the handwriting had changed drastically. Gone was the delicate, elegant script—it had been replaced by a more mechanical, blocky style.

Tian paused, adjusting his reading glasses. Rose noticed the date on the page: August 6, 2006. She flipped a few more pages and found that this blocky handwriting disappeared after August 9, replaced on August 10 and 11 by two other unfamiliar scripts. By August 12, Tian's neat handwriting had returned.

"You usually do the bookkeeping at night, right?" Rose asked.

"Yes."

"Were you away in early August last year?"

"No, I didn't leave. We were so busy, there was no time to go anywhere," Tian replied. But he stared at the unfamiliar handwriting, perplexed. "This isn't mine..."

His finger traced down the page and stopped at a name. "That's my second brother, Tian Weiguo," he said, taking off his glasses.

"Tian Weiguo..." Rose exchanged a glance with Zach, a gut feeling telling her that Tian Weiguo was the man they were looking for.

"Oh, right!" Tian Weidong slapped his forehead as if recalling something important. "Last August, things were so hectic that I asked my brother to help manage the hotel. He co-owns the place with me, so it made sense for him to step in."

"So there were two 'bosses' running the hotel back then—you and your brother?" Rose asked.

"That's right. The staff called him 'boss' too."

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Rose recalled the cleaner mentioning that "the boss" had hidden the guest registry. She and Zach had assumed the cleaner meant Tian Weidong, but now it was clear—the "boss" could've been Tian Weiguo. They had been investigating the wrong brother. Lana's ghost had never targeted Tian Weidong because he wasn't the killer. It was Tian Weiguo they needed to investigate.

"Do you have a picture of him?" Rose asked.

"I have a family photo," Tian Weidong said, picking up a frame from the desk.

Rose had mentally prepared herself, but when she saw the picture, she felt a surge of excitement. It was him. Though she hadn't seen the killer's face in her dream, she immediately recognized Tian Weiguo. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and thickset—exactly like the shadowy figure from her vision.

"Is this him?" Rose pointed to the man in the photo.

"Yes, that's my second brother," Tian Weidong confirmed, his voice trembling slightly. "Do you think my brother could be a murderer?"

"No," Rose said, offering a reassuring smile. "We just need to ask him a few questions about last year's events. Has it been a while since you've seen him?"

"He came by during Chinese New Year," Tian said, his tone softening. "He stayed for a meal and left."

Rose's suspicions were aligning perfectly. The killer had likely returned during the New Year not just for a family visit but also to check on the guest registry. The hotel had switched to a new registry in January 2007, giving him an easy opportunity to steal the old one without raising suspicion.

"And where is he now?" Rose asked casually, trying to keep her eagerness in check. "We just need to ask him a few questions about last year. We're following up on a lead involving a guest who might've been involved in the crime."

"Oh, I see." Tian Weidong relaxed a little. "He lives in the city, about 40 miles from here."

Rose's mind raced as she recalled the name of the forensic investigator she had met when she first arrived at the hotel. While they didn't yet have irrefutable evidence, they were close. Confronting Tian Weiguo was the next step. Once they found him, Lana's ghost could confirm his identity, and the rest would be up to Zach.

Rose glanced at the window—it was around 2 p.m., and the sunlight cast a wilting shadow over the drooping willow tree outside. She turned to Zach, who was watching her carefully, and gave him a subtle nod.

It was time to act.