Hong Kong Film Intelligence King

Chapter 124 The Case of a Crime of Passion Solved

Just as Wang Dao analyzed for Chen Guozhong, as long as the identity of the deceased is known, as long as her social network is known, and as long as Hong An is willing to help, it is very simple to catch the murderer.

When the bigwigs of Hong An gave the order, all the gangsters were mobilized.

Because of Chan Kwok-chung's intimidating presence, triads such as Kowloon City Hop To, Number Gang, Hung Hing, and Sun Luen Shing also offered their full support.

The deceased was quickly identified.

A brothel owner named Cai Chunhua had a five-year-old daughter.

Cai Chunhua's mother brought her granddaughter to identify the body, and cried uncontrollably, almost fainting.

Chen Guozhong also understood why Cai Chunhua worked as a prostitute—she was the pillar of her family, with an elderly person and a young child to support, and working as a prostitute was the fastest and most stable way to make money.

That's right, quick profits are secondary; stability is the most important thing.

The elderly person has various underlying medical conditions, requiring medication and money.

Children naturally need money to grow up.

As a woman with little education, it seems that she has no other way to make money except by working as a prostitute.

The gangsters had already recognized Cai Chunhua.

They even knew her method of attracting customers—through those little cards found inside her bra.

The small card contained Cai Chunhua's contact information and address.

As for the Great Wall Hotel, it wasn't her usual place to meet guests, but she would go there occasionally.

Cai Chunhua had to take care of two people, so she wasn't a prostitute in the traditional sense; she needed a considerable amount of time to care for the elderly and children.

We can only receive guests during limited time.

Through the gangsters, Chen Guozhong discovered that there were 33 people who had obtained cards like Cai Chunhua's.

These people were all regular customers whom Cai Chunhua approved of.

After investigation, it was discovered that three people were missing.

The other thirty people all have alibis.

Based on the clues we have, it's quite simple: the murderer is almost certainly among these people.

Liang Zhenbang asked Chen Guozhong:
"Inspector Chen, we've just found the address of one of the suspects, Feng Shan. Would you like to come with us?"

Chen Guozhong nodded:

Let's go together.

The two arrived at Feng Shan's house together. Unexpectedly, there was an old man in Feng Shan's house, but he was not his father, but his uncle.

Feng Shan's home was a rather simple subdivided flat. Two children were looking at them from a double bed.

Liang Zhenbang asked:
"Where did your nephew Feng Shan go?"

Feng Shan's uncle was very cooperative.
"I don't know. He told me a couple of days ago that he was going to work in Macau."

Liang Zhenbang continued to ask:
What does he do for a living?

Feng Shan's uncle replied:

"Working as a laborer on a construction site."

Liang Zhenbang asked several questions, but the other party's answers were basically that they knew nothing.

He had no other choice but to say...
"If you see your nephew, tell him to go to the police station. We need his help with something."

Feng Shan's uncle nodded repeatedly.

Liang Zhenbang sighed and said to Chen Guozhong:

"Inspector Chen, let's go back."

Chen Guozhong was watching TV with two children. At that moment, the closing theme of "Enjoy Yourself Tonight" was playing on TVB Jade. It was already 11:30 p.m.

Chen Guozhong took two steps and then suddenly stopped.

A strange thought popped into my head—why did I come with Liang Zhenbang to investigate?

I didn't need to come here for this kind of investigation.

But I made it through. Why?

Am I here just to watch TV?
Chen Guozhong felt he couldn't just leave like this; his arrival here was probably not accidental.

His eyes were vacant when suddenly a suitcase caught his eye.

He didn't know why he was staring at the box, as if something was guiding him to find it.

Chen Guozhong suddenly pointed to the box and asked:

"Sir, whose box is this?"

Feng Shan's uncle replied:

"It belongs to Feng Shan."

Chen Guozhong sneered:

"Feng Shan went to Haojiang and won't be back for a while, and he didn't even bring a suitcase?"

Feng Shan's uncle gave that kind of answer again:
"I don't know!"

Chen Guozhong gave Liang Zhenbang a wink:

"Silky Man, pry this box open!"

Without saying a word, Liang Zhenbang took off his suitcase and deftly pried it open.

They were both stunned!

The box was filled with women's clothing, even underwear.

Judging from the condition of these clothes, they have all been used.

Liang Zhenbang exclaimed in disbelief:

“Inspector Chen, these are Cai Chunhua’s missing clothes, except for her bra.”

Chen Guozhong trembled all over.

He didn't know why he came here, he didn't know why he stopped when he was about to leave, and he didn't know why he was paying attention to this suitcase.

However, now he knows that perhaps it was all so that he could clear the name of the deceased.

Chen Guozhong immediately gave the order:

"Have our brothers set up surveillance in the surrounding area, especially targeting the phone booths."

"Let Hong An's brothers get involved too."

"Tell them that Feng Shan may have mental health issues, and they may be facing..."

At this point, Chen Guozhong suddenly remembered that there were two children here, so he stopped talking.

However, Liang Zhenbang already understood what he meant.

Cai Chunhua's cause of death has been determined to be suffocation.

According to the forensic doctor's judgment, the murderer strangled Cai Chunhua to death with two fingers. At the same time, forensic evidence also extracted a set of fingerprints from the air conditioner at the crime scene. It is said to be a set, but it is actually the fingerprints of the right thumb and index finger.

The murderer was so strong that he could pull the air conditioner out of the wall with just two fingers.

This is not something an ordinary person can do.

Liang Zhenbang immediately went out to do his work.

After a while, he returned.
"Inspector Chan, the brothers are all in place, even the gangsters have come out."

"The Gu family is very cooperative."

He paused, then said,
"The Gu family seems to be different from other organizations."

Chen Guozhong patted him on the shoulder and said, "To be honest, Liang Zhenbang has really changed a lot."

Just then, the phone at Feng Shan's house suddenly rang, sounding particularly jarring in the dead of night.

Liang Zhenbang said coldly:

"A call at midnight must be from Feng Shan."

Chen Guozhong had already drawn his gun and pointed it at Feng Shan's uncle:
Tell Feng Shan that everything is normal at home.

Feng Shan's uncle repeatedly assured him:
"Don't worry, officers. I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I will definitely cooperate with your work."

Liang Zhenbang breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Liang Zhenbang's uncle picked up the phone, and after confirming that it was Feng Shan on the other end, he shouted;

"Ah Shan, run! There are police officers waiting to arrest you at home!"

Liang Zhenbang's face turned ashen!
He was just wondering why Chen Guozhong would pull out a weapon to threaten Feng Shan's uncle; it wasn't in accordance with the rules.

Fortunately, I now understand a bit more about human relationships and social etiquette, so I didn't question it.

In hindsight, Inspector Chan was right!
People would tip off Feng Shan's uncle if he pointed a gun at him; what if he didn't have a gun pointed at him?
Feng Shan's uncle hung up the phone and said frankly to the two of them:

“I know you want to take Ah Shan away, but he is my own nephew, and I can’t let you take him away.”

"I'm old, you can just help me."

Chen Guozhong sighed, put away his gun, glanced at the two children, and said to Feng Shan's uncle:

"Sir, we are police officers. We can't just take people away for no reason."

"Feng Shan can't escape."

After saying that, he led Liang Zhenbang out.

He's not crazy, there's no way he could do anything to an old man.

Liang Zhenbang glanced at Chen Guozhong and whispered:

"Inspector Chen, shouldn't we take this old man back with us?"

Chen Guozhong shook his head:

"Need not!"

"It was his nephew who committed the crime, not him."

He paused, then explained.

"There are still two children inside. All the adults in the family have had an accident. What will happen to these two children?"

What he didn't say was that although the elderly in the family were still alive, the family's breadwinner had passed away, and the two children's lives would certainly be extremely difficult.

Who knows what their future life will be like?

Liang Zhenbang seemed to be deep in thought.
Chen Guozhong calmly said:

"Feng Shan can't escape."

Leung Chun-pong shared the same sentiment:
"According to our interviews, Feng Shan is a laborer on the construction site. He is a steel bar tying worker. He doesn't have any friends or other hobbies."

“He has elderly people and children at home, so he can’t go far.”

Chen Guozhong remained silent:
"I basically understand what happened."

Liang Zhenbang turned to listen.

Chen Guozhong sighed:
“People like Feng Shan are very responsible and filial.” “He is focused on his work and gives almost all the money he earns to his family.”

"The old man risked his life to inform Feng Shan, which clearly shows that Feng Shan treated him quite well."

"To treat one's uncle like this means that one is taking care of him as if he were one's own father."

Liang Zhenbang largely agreed.

The subdivided flats are actually quite small; it's already cramped enough for three people.

Unfortunately, besides the two children, there was also Feng Shan's uncle.

So here's the question: why is Feng Shan's uncle living in Feng Shan's house? Doesn't he have any relatives?

These things remain unknown; perhaps there are other things going on behind the scenes.

“Feng Shan was a steel bar tying worker on the construction site. Ordinary people can’t do that kind of work. His hands were very strong, which also shows that he could easily strangle Cai Chunhua.”

"As for how he met Cai Chunhua—a strong and muscular man like him always needs a woman, and perhaps it was just to release his excess energy at first."

"But over time, feelings will develop."

Leung Chun-pong added:

"We've found out that the two of them were secretly seeing each other."

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

“For a responsible person like Liang Shan, he certainly wouldn’t want Cai Chunhua to continue working as a prostitute. Except for some weirdos, no one wants their woman to work as a prostitute.”

"But Feng Shan's family background is not good."

Liang Zhenbang remained silent.

Cai Chunhua's family is in dire straits. There is an elderly person in the family who is ill, and a young child who is unable to take care of himself.

Feng Shan's family burden is even heavier.

Cai Chunhua could never give up being a prostitute. It wasn't that she was unwilling, but that she knew that if she gave up, her family's daily meals would become a problem.

"When the two were being intimate, Feng Shan brought up the topic of marriage."

“Naturally, this was opposed by Cai Chunhua.”

"And so... the tragedy occurred."

Liang Zhenbang could imagine the scene—a man in the throes of passion suddenly proposes marriage; some men are willing to bring up such things in such situations.

Perhaps this isn't the first time he's made this request.

Cai Chunhua had refused before.

However, this time, Cai Chunhua refused again, and that's when things got out of hand.

For some unknown reason, Feng Shan suddenly flew into a rage and strangled the other person to death.

He was afraid that Cai Chunhua would be recognized, since the two had been dating for several months and the police would definitely suspect him.

After calming down, he proceeded to desecrate the corpse.

But he truly loved Cai Chunhua, so he took all of Cai Chunhua's clothes except for her bra as a keepsake.

This must be reality.

Chen Guozhong said calmly:

"We'll soon find out if it's true or not."

Leung Chun-pong also said:
"Now it's up to the guys."

Things are progressing very smoothly.

With the police and gangsters joining forces, and both the legitimate and criminal worlds working together, Feng Shan has no chance of escaping.

Soon someone reported that a man with a broken leg, Feng Shan, had been found on a street not far away.

According to the man, they had followed Feng Shan to a building where he jumped from the third floor in a panic, only managing to break his leg.

At that time, the houses near Kowloon City were all three or four stories high.

When gangsters fight, it's common for them to jump off buildings.

When the two arrived at the hospital, Feng Shan's leg was in a cast, and he was completely confined to the bed.

Chen Guozhong didn't argue with him.

"Did you kill Cai Chunhua?"

Feng Shan was very cooperative:

"Yes."

Chen Guozhong asked:
Where did you kill her?

Feng Shan then gave a direct account of the situation at the time:
"At the Great Wall Hotel."

“We arranged to meet there, and I killed her in bed.”

“I wanted her to marry me and stop being a prostitute, but she refused. In a fit of anger, I killed her.”

Feng Shan recounted the whole story in detail, and Liang Zhenbang was increasingly surprised as he listened, as it was exactly the same as Chen Guozhong's analysis.

Chen Guozhong was increasingly surprised as he listened, and he began to regret his decision. Wang Dao's crime-solving abilities seemed to exceed his expectations.

How could he have been so foolish as to let someone like that infiltrate the organization as an undercover agent?
After thinking it over again, Chen Guozhong's mood suddenly calmed down.

Wang Dao is a man of his own mind; if he were to follow the routine at the police station, he probably wouldn't be willing.

This guy would never be willing to serve a foreigner.

Wouldn't it be better to let him stay by Liang Kun's side?

Chen Guozhong glanced at Feng Shan and finally said:

"Once your injuries heal, we'll need to record another statement for you. As for how many years you'll be sentenced to, that's beyond my control."

Feng Shan remained silent, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

The two walked out.

Liang Zhenbang sighed:
"This case was unnecessary in the first place."

Chen Guozhong nodded:

"Crimes of passion are inherently irrational; who knows what kind of person you might offend at any time and place?"

"Nobody knows why they couldn't control their emotions at that time."

“Cai Chunhua is pitiful; her mother and daughter don’t know what the future holds.”

"Feng Shan is also pitiful; his uncle and two children don't know what to do."

"Both of them are pitiful; they were originally hiring people!"

"The fewer cases like this, the better."

"No, it would be best if there were none left."

As Liang Zhenbang said, this case was really unnecessary.

There was never any hatred between them, it was just because of a sudden surge of anger...

The case was solved, but the two officers felt no relief, only a sense of melancholy.

Liang Zhenbang suddenly asked:
"Inspector Chan, at Fung Shan's house, I felt you were about to leave, so why did you suddenly stop?"

This is also an incredible thing.

It would be impossible for Chen Guozhong to have noticed the suitcase earlier; Liang Zhenbang could see clearly that Chen Guozhong was watching TVB Jade the whole time.

But this doesn't explain why he stopped at the last moment.

Chen Guozhong suddenly stopped and explained to Liang Zhenbang:

"All of this is without reason."

"It's like you're inviting me to visit Feng Shan's place."

"I didn't need to go to this program at all, but I didn't know why I went."

"But once I got there, I just kept watching TV." "You were the one interrogating me the whole time."

"Until I took my first step to leave..."

Chen Guozhong recalled the scene at the time and earnestly told Liang Zhenbang,
"A thought suddenly popped into my head."

"How did I end up here?"

Why did I come here?

"Did I come here just to go through the motions and kill time?"

"No!"

"There must be a reason why I had to come!"

"My mind went blank at the time, and my eyes were unfocused and lifeless, but I saw that suitcase."

"At that moment, I realized that I was going there for this suitcase."

"This is the evidence I've been looking for!"

Liang Zhenbang was stunned:

"Brother Zhong, don't scare me!"

Chen Guozhong said very seriously:

"I'm not trying to scare you."

"That was how I truly felt at the time."

"Perhaps it's the spirit of the Second Master we usually worship that has appeared to us!"

Liang Zhenbang carefully analyzed Chen Guozhong's words, but he could not detect a trace of perfunctoriness in them.

Chen Guozhong sighed:
"I really hope there won't be any more cases like this in the future!"

After a pause,
"This case is no longer my concern."

"Someone will be interviewing you in a couple of days, so make the most of the opportunity."

Liang Zhenbang nodded repeatedly:
"Thank you, Brother Zhong."

Chen Guozhong asked:
How was the movie made?

Liang Zhenbang knew that Chen Guozhong wasn't asking about his filmmaking, so he replied:

“The Gu family members are easy to get along with. We discussed various issues and shared some common views, as well as some different views.”

"The latter is more than the former."

Chen Guozhong stared intently at Liang Zhenbang and said seriously:
"This brings up something I told you before."

“As long as the foreigners don’t want to eliminate the gangs, the underworld needs order.”

"So, how should this order be maintained?"

Liang Zhenbang seemed to be deep in thought.

(PS: I didn't make up Chen Sir's story; it was told to me by Chen Sir himself.)
(End of this chapter)