Chapter Seventy-Three: Each Their Own Reunion

Hearing Lin Heng’s question, Huang Yuanguang smiled faintly. The expression on his face was neither approval nor resistance, but he spoke with reserved candor:

“The task force’s conclusion… may have some flaws in certain areas, but — it’s the most realistic inference under the current circumstances.”

“I’m afraid it’s more than just a few flaws,” Lin Heng replied, his tone full of skepticism.

“Ah, this matter… Xiao Lin, you’re still too much of a student at heart. You should know, real-life investigations are nothing like what you read in textbooks or see in detective stories.” Huang Yuanguang shook his head and sighed.

“For cases as incredibly complex as this, when clues are so scarce, don’t focus on how many contradictions there are, but rather on how deeply the facts fit together.

“Look here. The major mysteries of the ‘August 12th Case’ — first, this was a well-armed, highly prepared criminal group, supposedly with dozens of people, yet there’s no trace of them anywhere in the country, no evidence that matches their existence; second, at the crime scene only the security personnel’s own weapons and shell casings were found; third, there’s no sign of an inside traitor at the villa estate or in the outlying areas.

“From the previous investigations, we can confirm that no criminal gang nationwide has the resources to cause such destruction and then cover their tracks so thoroughly.

“But, if we consider that this big case was orchestrated by the security team themselves, and that some unexpected accident occurred midway, doesn’t that instantly resolve many of the doubts?”

“The issue of the surveillance cameras near the villa not recording anything, and the lack of unusual tire tracks on the roads — those are explained, because no one ever actually left. The mystery of not finding an inside man is also solved, because all these people are insiders, or rather, they’re all in it together. Even the puzzle of Wang Changming’s Maybach parked in a blind spot while his body was found inside the villa is resolved. This security team had been employed for years; they surely knew all the blind spots in the surveillance and had every opportunity to get Wang Changming out of his car.

“If you accept this theory — accept that the entire incident was orchestrated by the security team themselves — then most of the mysteries are solved. And since their company is one of the largest armed security firms in the country, they had the means to acquire incendiary weapons and the time to transport and store enough to burn down the entire estate over the years.”

Huang Yuanguang’s analysis was thorough and incisive, but Lin Heng clearly couldn’t accept it. Huang Yuanguang, however, simply gestured for him to calm down, and continued:

“Xiao Lin, you may not know, but I used to be in the criminal investigation unit. About ten years ago, I handled a case in an urban village — a widow was killed in her own home. It only took me three days to solve it: I matched footprints, fingerprints at the scene, and checked the call records on her phone. By tracing her recent contacts, I found the killer.

“The murderer was a young, hot-blooded tenant of hers, strong but always short on money, often paying his rent with his body.

“We found a bloodstained raincoat at his place, and a knife that had been cleaned but still tested positive for luminol. The evidence was overwhelming. The man couldn’t deny it and confessed to the crime. We secured a conviction.

“But there was one issue with the case — the surveillance footage from the corridor leading to the widow’s apartment showed no sign of the man on the day she died. The widow lived on the ninth floor, and there were cameras on the building’s exterior as well, so he couldn’t have climbed up unnoticed. So, how did he get into her room?

“We asked the suspect several times, but he couldn’t explain it either. Yet, despite this unsolved question, the man was still arrested and convicted. So, Xiao Lin, real cases aren’t like detective stories — there are always accidents and coincidences along the way, and sometimes, on a string of pearls, one bead is missing and you’ll never know where it fell. But as long as the string remains intact, that’s enough. As police officers, we can only do our best to get as close to the truth as possible; we can never reconstruct it perfectly, not to the last detail.”

As he finished speaking, the defiance on Lin Heng’s face softened, replaced by a thoughtful look. He fell silent, pondering for a while, about to say something more, when his phone rang on the table.

Huang Yuanguang glanced over. The message was from someone called “Xixi.”

Turning to Lin Heng, he saw the latter gripping his phone, his face noticeably flushing.

“Girlfriend?”

Lin Heng nodded, both troubled and blissful.

“Seeing how you’ve barely been home these past months, I’m surprised you even have a girlfriend,” Huang Yuanguang remarked with amazement.

“She’s a doctor. Her work schedule isn’t much better than mine,” Lin Heng replied with a smile.

“So, what does your girlfriend want? Dinner together?”

Evidently surprised that he could guess, Lin Heng gave a helpless smile.

“Go on then,” Huang Yuanguang waved his hand.

“But… there’s still ten minutes left before I’m off duty…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you.”

Before Lin Heng could finish, Huang Yuanguang shook his head, looking at him with a mixture of exasperation and affection.

“At your age, if I were you, would I still be thinking about work? Besides, haven’t you put in enough overtime these past months? I bet you’ve worked more than eighty hours a week. If you don’t rest, people will think our police department is a sweatshop.”

With both gentle scolding and encouragement, he shooed Lin Heng out. Watching his departing figure, Huang Yuanguang chuckled softly, tidied up his tea set, washed his hands, and picked up his briefcase.

As the wall clock’s hands crept toward five, he too left with his bag.

Leaving the Public Security Bureau, Huang Yuanguang leisurely mounted his bicycle and pedaled contentedly along the bike lane. The setting sun cast a warm glow over the evening, and the middle-aged man, content with life, stopped outside a kindergarten.

“Daddy!”

A little girl in a duckling cap came running joyfully toward Huang Yuanguang as he stopped by the roadside. He quickly crouched down and scooped her into his arms.

“Yiyi, don’t run so fast — you’ll fall and hurt yourself.”

“I only run this fast when I see you, Daddy,” the little girl said, lifting her face from his chest, her eyes shining with trust.

“…Because I know Daddy will always catch me!”

(End of Chapter)