Chapter Twenty: The Little Nurse

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Although we now suspect that the young nurse is the murderer, without solid evidence, it would be premature to draw any conclusions. After all, any decision we make could affect her future.

As for the comedic duo of Tang Jingjing and Li Xingchen, they went straight to inform Lin Yunshan’s family of his death.

Old Lin and I came in plain clothes, and to avoid being recognized, we both wore masks.

At the hospital, we had Chief Wang contact the hospital’s senior management directly. This investigation was to be conducted in secret, disturbing as few people as possible.

We were received by Director Zhang, a middle-aged man with a beer belly, dressed in a suit and tie, exuding the air of a leader.

He seemed rather dismissive of me, but was quite enthusiastic toward Old Lin. I was a bit frustrated—clearly, youth is a disadvantage in the force!

Director Zhang ushered us into his office, had his secretary serve us tea, and then began the conversation.

As expected of a hospital director, he was smooth and eloquent. It was clear he was trying every possible way to probe the purpose of our visit.

To avoid any leaks, I didn’t mention the nurse at all, only saying we had come to investigate a file.

Unexpectedly, Old Lin was even tighter-lipped than me, not letting slip a single word. Unfortunately, the director shamelessly kept rambling on, to the point where even Old Lin was reluctant to interrupt.

Perhaps realizing he couldn’t get anything out of Old Lin, Director Zhang turned his attention to me, smiling as he said, “Young man, Chief Wang told me you’re here to look up a file. Why don’t I have my staff bring it to you, so you don’t have to go to the trouble?”

I quickly replied, “That won’t be necessary. We’ve already troubled the hospital enough. We’ll handle such trifles ourselves.”

Director Zhang was visibly displeased. “It seems you don’t trust our hospital staff! Let me tell you, even when Chief Wang was just a young officer, he never doubted us. You’re still young; you should learn from Chief Wang.”

In that moment, I wanted to curse at him for his endless nonsense.

But I dared not say anything rash. This guy’s position was probably higher than mine, and he had connections above—if he decided to make things difficult for me, I’d be in trouble.

Helpless, I glanced at Old Lin, silently pleading for help.

Old Lin smiled, “By the way, Mingxuan, didn’t you say you had other business to attend to? Maybe we should handle your matter first and come back later. Our task isn’t urgent.”

What a cunning old fox! With that one sentence, he deftly tossed the hot potato back to Director Zhang. Though he phrased it politely, the meaning was clear: if you don’t let us do this ourselves, we simply won’t do it. If Chief Wang gets angry, you’ll be in trouble too. Everyone knows Chief Wang protects his own—he won’t blame us, but you might not be so lucky.

This was a case of mutual harm.

Director Zhang quickly stopped Old Lin and, forcing a smile, agreed to arrange for us to visit the records room ourselves.

As we requested, only the two of us would check the files—no third party present.

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We soon located the young nurse’s file, and as we suspected, it matched our assumptions exactly.

In college, she had been the school’s sprint champion. What’s more, she entered this hospital as a prospective cadre, which perfectly explained her speed and exceptional stitching skills.

After taking pictures of the file with my phone, we prepared to leave.

At that moment, Li Hong called me, his tone grave: “She’s left the building. Get over here quickly. I’ll keep you updated on my location.”

I agreed, hung up, and put the file back.

“Wait!” Old Lin suddenly stopped me and told me to open the file again.

Perplexed, I did as he asked.

He pointed to the list of honors won at school and said, “Look here.”

I followed his finger and saw something that jolted my nerves.

“During her studies, she won the team championship at the 30th Debate Tournament held by the City College of Finance and Economics.”

Finance and Economics College?

Why was the nurse connected to the College of Finance and Economics? Her alma mater was the City Medical College.

Was there any necessary connection between her involvement with the College of Finance and this case? I glanced at Old Lin, who said, “Looks like we’ve gained something extra.”

I nodded with a smile.

Without delay, we drove straight to the nurse’s apartment building. We still didn’t know where she was headed, so her residence was our best bet. Li Hong kept updating us on her location: from Finance Road, to Government Street, and finally, she was at the College of Finance and Economics.

I sped up, heading for the college, wishing I had Mouse driving—he could snake through any traffic jam.

As we neared the college, Li Hong called to say we should notify the detective team; it looked like the case was about to be closed.

Old Lin and I exchanged puzzled looks.

I asked what happened.

Li Hong told me the nurse had gone into a grove at the college, to the Earth Temple.

What on earth was going on? Even if she were the murderer, why would she go to the Earth Temple and deliberately attract our attention?

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I looked at Old Lin. He lit a cigarette with a resigned expression. “Don’t look at me; I can’t figure out what the girl is thinking either…”

The case was about to be closed, which should have been good news, but I felt as if a stone weighed heavy on my chest—I couldn’t relax.

Still, following procedure, I called Tang Jingjing, telling her to meet us at the college entrance.

The moment she heard the case was about to be closed, she burst out laughing like a gangster who’d just kidnapped a handsome man to be her consort. “Wait for me, my little assistant! Once this case is over, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

When we reached the college, Tang Jingjing, Li Xingchen, and Mouse were already waiting for us. Seeing us arrive, Tang Jingjing rushed over. “Where’s the suspect? Don’t tell me you’ve stuffed her in the trunk.”

I said, “Cut the crap—let’s get inside.”

I called Li Hong, who replied glumly, “Just come over. The suspect’s already in custody.”

We hurried in and found Li Hong sitting at the entrance, smoking. From inside the Earth Temple came the sound of weeping.

No doubt it was the nurse.

Li Hong stubbed out his cigarette and stood up at once. “This case was not exciting at all.”

Li Xingchen protested, “Not exciting? With ghost babies and evil spirits, my heart’s about to jump out of my chest!”

Li Hong retorted coldly, “Not as exciting as murder.”

We entered the temple, which was in ruins. The young nurse was squatting on the ground, clutching something, crying bitterly.

I sighed. “Come with us.”

She looked up at me. “I confess. I killed them all. My goal is accomplished. Let me die.”

I replied, “Let’s go back and take your statement. The law will bring you to justice.”

“The law? The law is worthless.” The nurse, once gentle and mild, suddenly became agitated. “If the law worked, why do you let murderers go free? Why do you let rapists walk away?”

Then, to our shock, she suddenly pulled a dagger from her arms and aimed it at her chest.

No one expected this. We didn’t even have time to react.