Chapter 1149 - The Death of Vestreling
By afternoon, Xu Ke's investigation had yielded nothing. Though the Service Company soldiers worked with enthusiasm, they still hadn't obtained any valuable leads.
The basic investigation had traced Zhang Qianniu's movements after leaving base. What could be confirmed was that he was still alive when he left the tavern around 4:30 PM. After the five o'clock steam whistle, someone had last seen him at the fishing boat wharf on Commercial Street—vomiting by the seaside. According to the witness, no one was with him.
After that, Zhang Qianniu simply vanished.
Now the Service Company and police station personnel were screening everyone who had come into contact with him, trying to find new leads.
Xu Ke returned to his office with the case materials. He needed to reorganize his thoughts, to "string together" what he had.
During this time, Lei En called to report that upon re-examining the corpse, he'd found defensive wounds on Zhang Qianniu's arms and hands. The victim had clearly struggled with his killer before dying.
Xu Ke understood that screening wouldn't prove very useful. More than twenty-four hours had passed since the murder, giving the killer ample time to escape.
But something about this case kept nagging at him. Up to this point, the killer's motive remained utterly unclear.
From his years in criminal investigation, ninety-nine percent of homicides had motives—so-called indiscriminate killings were exceedingly rare. Whoever killed Zhang Qianniu surely had a purpose.
He had already ruled out crimes of passion and robbery-murder, making revenge killing the most likely motive. Many in the Navy came from pirate backgrounds, and if their histories were investigated thoroughly, they might not all be clean—old blood debts and vendettas. The killer might have accidentally discovered Zhang Qianniu in Kaohsiung and developed murderous intent.
But why had the killer stripped off his clothes? This puzzled him. Cutting off the head was understandable—to vent rage—but stripping the clothes was strange.
As Xu Ke saw it, the only explanation for both the stripping and the decapitation was that the killer didn't want anyone to identify the corpse. But from the perspective of a revenge killing, that made no sense.
Why did the killer take the clothes?
Xu Ke was deep in thought when a sudden idea flashed through his mind. He felt a jolt of realization: Yes—why hadn't I thought of this earlier!
He leaped from his chair, grabbed the telephone on his desk, and cranked it vigorously: "Connect me to Qijin Base Command."
Minutes later, whistles at the harbor and commercial district all blared simultaneously. This was the Navy's "emergency recall" signal. Upon hearing it, all naval personnel on shore leave had to return to their units.
Xu Ke had formed a new hypothesis: the murder was very likely connected to Zhang Qianniu's uniform.
He then ordered the messenger on standby from the Service Company: "Run immediately to find the Company Commander. Tell him it's my order: starting from 17:30, arrest all naval soldiers active in Commercial Street, Kaohsiung city center, and the harbor. Concentrate and deliver them to base for screening!"
"Yes, sir!" The messenger saluted, pivoted, and jogged out.
Xu Ke took down the holster hanging on the wall and was about to leave when the telephone suddenly rang again. He snatched the receiver.
The call was from the police station. The news they reported confirmed his deduction completely.
About an hour earlier, the police station had received a report from a naval soldier: his uniform was missing.
This soldier had been granted leave a few hours prior, found a "Yellow Card" on Commercial Street, and gone to the "inn" on the upper floor of the cooperative store. After finishing his business, he'd fallen asleep as usual. When he woke, both his uniform and naval dagger were gone.
There was no issue with the "Yellow Card" herself—these Yellow Cards were all individual prostitutes "transferred" from Lingao, selected from those who had practiced there for over a year specifically to ensure no spies had infiltrated their ranks. The police station initially treated this as ordinary theft, questioning only the "Yellow Card," but she had fallen asleep too and couldn't provide more information. Scene investigation revealed the thief had climbed a drainpipe at the back of the cooperative store, then pried open a window to enter.
The police investigators discovered a puzzling detail: the prostitute's own clothes, jewelry, and even her silver coins were all present. Only the sailor's belongings were missing.
The station chief had been transferred from Lingao and received police training at Fangcaodi—a graduate of the formal curriculum. This strange theft immediately connected in his mind to Zhang Qianniu's murder case: also a sailor, also a missing uniform. He called Xu Ke at once.
Xu Ke listened to the briefing, his brow gradually furrowing. Before the chief had finished speaking, his speculation was completely confirmed.
These were two connected cases—the killer's purpose was to obtain a sailor's uniform. Obviously, they had some kind of political objective.
Xu Ke hung up and quickly cranked the telephone handle again.
The steam whistle didn't disturb the gathering at the cooperative restaurant. After finishing their tea and seeing that dusk had fallen, the group decided to return for dinner—Dr. Zhong was said to be making "cold festival dishes" today, and everyone was eager to sample them. As they departed, Zhong Xiaoying and Cretia decided to purchase one more garment, so they fell behind. Vestreling and the priest strolled along the main street.
At that moment, a drunken soldier came walking toward them and bumped into Vestreling. The soldier yelled: "Hey! Red-hair, are you blind?"
Vestreling didn't answer—he just shrugged apologetically.
"Why won't you talk?" The soldier still wouldn't let it go and moved closer.
Father De Mordt shook his head, signaling Vestreling not to engage with the drunk. The two continued walking.
But suddenly the man drew his naval dagger and viciously stabbed Vestreling twice in the lower back. Vestreling screamed and collapsed to the ground. The street erupted in chaos. After stabbing Vestreling, the drunk lunged at Father De Mordt with the dagger. The priest cried out and fell.
Cretia and Zhong Xiaoying were walking toward them when they witnessed the attack, frozen in shock. Zhong Xiaoying had learned martial arts at home and was very agile. She leaped forward and saw that the soldier who had caused the incident was fleeing.
Zhong Xiaoying drew her 1630-model revolver—Dr. Zhong had arranged for her to learn to shoot to ensure her safety, and had specially applied for a pistol for her. But she didn't fire: too many people crowded the street, and shooting rashly might injure bystanders. She gritted her teeth and gave chase.
Cretia watched it all unfold. Coming to her senses, she rushed to check on Vestreling lying on the ground. A large pool of blood had seeped out beneath him. When she touched his mouth and nose, he had already stopped breathing. Cretia collapsed to her knees.
Zhong Xiaoying followed the killer all the way. By now, shrill police whistles were sounding throughout Commercial Street. She knew the gates at all the exits were now closing. And even if someone could escape through them, beyond lay wilderness—traveling at night would be suicide.
The killer sprinted toward the fishing boat wharf. Zhong Xiaoying followed close behind. She didn't know why this naval soldier had committed murder—but instinct told her this person wasn't really a sailor.
He must be captured alive!
The man ran to the fishing boat wharf and dove headlong into the bay, surfacing after swimming fifteen meters underwater and immediately cutting through the waves at a powerful pace—clearly an excellent swimmer. Zhong Xiaoying didn't dare jump in and pursue. Her swimming wasn't bad, but compared to her quarry she was far inferior. In the water, she might not be a match for him. She stamped her feet in frustration—naval patrol boats were stationed at the harbor entrance, but she had no way to notify them.
Several fishing boats floated in the bay. This commotion had already drawn many from the cabins to "watch the spectacle." Zhong Xiaoying shouted: "Stop him!"
But when the fishermen saw the swimmer was a soldier and the girl shouting—dressed in "barbarian" clothing—was a young woman, they couldn't figure out what was happening and no one dared act.
Seeing that the killer had nearly swum beyond effective pistol range, she could no longer afford to worry about capturing him alive. Following the shooting stance she'd learned at the Flying Cloud Club, she raised her pistol with both hands, crouched slightly, aimed, and squeezed the trigger.
Almost simultaneously, the swimming man's arms went limp and he immediately sank beneath the surface.
"Murder!" A shriek came from one of the fishing boats. The entire wharf descended into chaos.
Zhong Xiaoying barely managed to extricate herself. The Korean security soldiers on duty didn't speak Chinese and detained her. Only when the police arrived was she released. She hurried back to the scene of the attack. Cretia was kneeling on the ground, completely distraught, holding Vestreling's head tightly in her arms. The priest, too, was motionless.
Security soldiers and police who had rushed to the scene had already formed a cordon around them.
But then Father De Mordt stirred, wobbled, and rose from the ground. Zhong Xiaoying quickly went to help him.
"Father, are you alright?"
The priest patted himself up and down for a long time, discovering he hadn't been hurt at all. He took out the cross from around his neck, kissed it with his lips, and made the sign of the cross on his chest.
"God be praised..." Then he quickly checked Vestreling's breathing and shook his head helplessly. "My poor child..."
He began to murmur prayers quietly.
By now Xu Ke and Dr. Zhong had also arrived. They found the priest praying over Vestreling. Xu Ke's expression was grim—he hadn't expected such a major case to happen right under his nose.
Zhong Lishi asked Zhong Xiaoying: "Why not rush him to the hospital? Can Vestreling still be saved?"
"The foreign priest says he's stopped breathing. He's giving Vestreling last rites..." Zhong Xiaoying said. "Such a fine person, just dead like this..." As she spoke, she couldn't help but tear up—they had spent these past days together and had become good friends. She never imagined he would die like this.
(End of Chapter)