Chapter 1 Suicide
Chapter 1 Suicide At midnight, the moonlight obscured the windows. Inside the girls’ dorm at the medical school in A City, a young woman was typing on her phone under her blanket. She was on a website called Dark Angel. The phone screen suddenly turned dark, then, glittering gold spots appeared, which gathered into the shape of an angel with wings, shining brightly on the black background. The woman seemed to be familiar yet surprised by it, pursing her lips, she typed, “I need help...” *** Morning sunlight covered everything, making things more vibrant in the Spring. Humming, I went inside the Special Investigations office at the Police Bureau in A City. As soon as I got to the door, I could see team leader Chu Haoran sitting with his head lowered, as if deep in concentration. I wanted to see what got his attention, so I slowed down and walked behind him. When I held my breath and got close, he quickly turned around to face me. Inches away from him, staring at his handsome face, my head felt blank and lacking oxygen. “Seen enough?” Haoran looked at me meaningfully, his tone full of challenge. I got up reflectively; my cheeks still felt hot, they must look as red as apples. “Who wants to look at you? You were the one who turned around and scared me.” I figured offense is better than defense. Haoran squinted his almond-shaped eyes. “You wouldn’t be scared unless you were sneaking around.” I had nothing to say though I disagreed. I just huffed in protest. To be honest, I was used to his attitude; for the last six months, I always lost in our verbal battles. Who knows when I’d win for once? “Hey, am I late? C’mon Zhuxuan, the coffee is still hot.” The guy who just walked in is is Xiao Teng, also a member of the Special Investigations Team. He’s a computer expert, has a great personality, if only a bit chatty. Our team is unique in that we only do major cases. I took the coffee he handed me. He really came at a good time, saving me from more embarrassment. Seeing me drink coffee, Haoran frowned, he didn’t get my morning coffee habit. Before I finished my coffee, the phone rang. Teng picked up, his expression turning serious. “OK, we’ll be right over.” I could tell there is a case. Indeed, Teng quickly said, “There’s a body at the medical school, the second this month. Peng said someone will brief us.” Peng is our supervisor. Dark clouds gathered at the medical school. Students seemed rushed, as if chased by some monster, their expressions matched their stride, also tense and anxious. Things were actually fine half an hour ago, until someone saw the body by the girls’ dorm. Her whole body was covered in blood, the face pointing down into the soil. The bloody soil made a horrific sight, grotesque in its color, and brighter than the blooming peony flowers. There was some white liquid near the head, undoubtedly brain matter. We quickly arrived at the crime scene, which was downstairs from the girls’ dorm. I frowned as I stood by the garden. On the way here, Teng was mumbling about unlucky kids who insist on killing themselves, and I could feel my stomach turning looking at the body. The girl’s pink nightgown was stained red, her wavy, chestnut hair tumbled messily into the soil, having lost its glamour. With the medical examiner’s guidance, the body was lifted from the ground. The face was now maimed, her features all distorted and bloody. Even soil couldn’t handle the impact of someone falling from the fifth floor. This was the second suicide-by-jumping in the last two weeks, and why we’re here. ”The victim is Zhao Qi, freshman, 20-years-old. Her roommate, Lin Xiao, also killed herself by jumping seven days ago. The location is approximately the same.” Said Officer Zhang, who was in charge of the Lin case. “Seven days ago?” Haoran raised his eyebrows. Zhang nodded. “Yes, we got the report a week ago. It was also here, and the victim Lin Xiao was roommates with this victim. Both lived on the fifth floor. We investigated a week but there was nothing obvious. The ME said it was suicide, but Lin didn’t have reasons for suicide.” In moments, we reached Zhao Qi’s dorm room. She jumped from the bedroom window. Haoran looked around carefully, noticing there was no guards outside the windows, but the railing was high, making an accidental fall unlikely. Soon, two workers came in, saying the school told them to add window guards. Zhao Qi’s roommate, Lin Xiao, did the same thing seven days ago. The files said Lin also fell head down; the crime scenes were very similar, showing blood-stained soil. The white brain matter made the photos even eerier. Teng walked in, ”Zhao Qi has two other roommates, Zhou Nan and Li Ling. They’ll be here soon. I also have some other news, do you guys want to hear it?” His eyes showed an unidentified emotion. “Stop wasting time, just tell us.” Haoran seemed to be in a bad mood. Teng made a face at me and spoke in a low voice. “When I was in the restroom, two male students were talking. They said this dorm is haunted, and both girls died because of ghosts. There were other suicides in this dorm before and supposedly more people will jump in seven days. They sounded obsessed.” As soon as he stopped talking, Haoran slapped him with the file in his hand. “Ghosts? Give me a break. Get the files organized. You have five minutes.” His eyes were full of warning. Teng looked chagrined, while I chuckled. This guy really can’t remember that a cop shouldn’t believe in ghosts, so he always ended up getting lectured by Haoran. I sighed. I knew that even if there were ghosts, they were in our hearts. “What are you thinking?” Haoran was staring at me while I ruminated. His eyes seemed deep in thought; it was as if his whole body was tense and looking for every clue.