Case No. 023—New Year's Day Ghost Fetus (7)

"Her parents cried terribly on the news. They called me a heartless bastard, called me an animal, said I wouldn't even acknowledge the child. I... I really didn't... Back then, I thought maybe Shanshan had been... and didn't dare tell me. Then, when she found out she was pregnant, she decided to leave me. I went to see Shanshan's body. My sister went with me. Shanshan's parents were in the morgue too, along with reporters. The two of them kept hitting me. I... I couldn't react at all then. I begged them to let me see Shanshan just once. My sister helped me inside, and when I saw Shanshan's face, I couldn't take it anymore. She'd jumped into a river to kill herself. That face... that face... My sister was crying beside me too. Then suddenly, she cried out, shook my hand, and pointed at Shanshan's exposed hand. She... she was wearing a ring... that square ring... The morgue was freezing, but when I saw that ring, I felt even colder, chilled from head to toe."

"Are you sure it was the same ring?"

"I'm sure. My sister was sure too. It was that ring. I... we didn't dare tell anyone. It was too unbelievable. How could that be possible...? I couldn't say it out loud, but I knew then that something really had happened to Shanshan. I thought it happened on New Year's Day, at that hotel. I went to the hotel. By then, lots of people had seen the news, and they looked at me like that... The hotel staff didn't want to deal with me. In the end, a young girl at the front desk got angry and cursed at me, and only then did I learn that... that when Shanshan came downstairs that day, her clothes were disheveled and she had injuries... They thought... They'd even asked Shanshan whether she needed help, but she just shook her head and said nothing. I... I'm really useless! I was right beside her and knew nothing at all!"

"Mr. Pan, this isn't your fault. This was a supernatural incident. It's only normal that ordinary people would be unable to handle it."

"But Shanshan... If I'd persisted, if I'd sat down and talked things through with Shanshan properly, it never would have happened! She never would have... died like that..."

"My condolences, Mr. Pan."

"Thank you..."

"May I ask whether you remained in contact with Miss Shi's family afterward? We haven't been able to find her parents' current contact information. It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide it."

"Please don't disturb them. They moved to the countryside after Shanshan died. They don't want to mention this again."

"Mm, all right. Then may I ask what happened to that ring afterward?"

"I don't know. Shanshan's funeral was handled by her parents. Her family wouldn't let me attend... As for her belongings, I don't know how they were dealt with either."

Shi Wenshan, confirmed as victim number two. Incident occurred in 2001. The origin is presumed to predate this. Investigative target added: "square diamond ring."

April 29, 2004. Checked into Room 809 of Junli Hotel again. Searched the room interior. No square diamond ring found. Audio file 02320040429.wav.

Rustle...

"...I've never found a ring. Something that valuable, guests are very careful with it. They wouldn't leave it behind."

Rustle...

"...I heard from my coworkers that one was found once. The owner even appeared on television."

"Was it the woman who jumped into the river and killed herself?"

"Ah! Right, that one! It was that ring. Everyone said a proposal was rejected, and then things turned violent."

"Was there anything else? It was a square diamond ring, lost in Room 809."

"Did you lose it?"

"Our client lost it. It's a ring with great sentimental value, and we'd like to recover it."

"Maybe it was lost somewhere else. The hotel probably doesn't have it."

Rustle...

May 3, 2004. Followed the client's parents but failed to locate the client. Failed to locate the client's husband, Wang Fangjie. No medical records for the client found at hospitals in this city.

May 3, 2004. Confirmed that Meng Fangfang was infertile and currently receiving treatment. No other romantic relationships involving Zhang Xuan were found.

May 11, 2004. Victim number four, Sun Gan, was murdered. The killer committed suicide at the scene. No proof of identity.

Attachment: Photocopy of case file.

Audio file 02320040511.wav.

Rustle...

"...Sun Gan... Oh, that Sun Gan! He was a coworker, but we weren't close. After he was transferred here, he spoke entirely in dialect, so he was hard to communicate with. I just remember that he died horribly. A TV station even came to our workplace to interview us and questioned quite a few people."

"Did you know the killer?"

"No. The TV station said she was his girlfriend, but none of us had ever heard him mention having a girlfriend. We didn't normally hang out with him either."

"Then did you know he stayed at Junli Hotel in 1999?"

"Hm? What? How would I know that? It's not like I paid attention to whether he went home after work."

Rustle...

"...I really don't know. I already said I didn't know when the TV station interviewed me back then. We really weren't close."

"Did you know he stayed at Junli Hotel in 1999?"

"I don't know. I told you already, I wasn't close with him."

Rustle...

"...Now that you mention it, I remember. He asked me which hotels around here were good. When I answered... when I answered, I named several places. Junli Hotel should have been one of them."

"Did you hear him mention why he was booking a hotel?"

"Probably booking it for a friend. I'm not too sure. Talking to him took too much effort. His accent was so heavy that I had to ask him several times before I could understand."

"Did you ever meet that friend of his?"

"No."

"Please think carefully. Did you ever see strangers come looking for him, or did he ever mention anyone related?"

"I don't know. I don't even know whether they were men or women."

Rustle...

Sun Gan, status uncertain. Investigation has reached a dead end.

May 17, 2004. Received a call from the client. Call recording 200405171139.mp3.

"Greenleaf! Is this Greenleaf?"

"Yes, it is. May I ask who's calling...?"

"I'm Yu Meng! Save me! Please, save me!"

"Miss Yu, where are you right now?"

"Xiaoling, who are you calling?"

"Ah! Aah! No..."

"Xiaoling, you're not being good."

Beep—beep—beep—

May 17, 2004. Analyzed call recording. Audio file 200405171139G.wav.

"...Xiaoling, who are you calling?"

Click!

"That voice..."

"Something's wrong with it, isn't there? It called her 'Xiaoling,' but there's no 'ling' in Yu Meng's name."

"Could it be a nickname?"

"Quiet, quiet."

Click! Click!

"Xiaoling, who are you calling?"

Click! Click!

"Xiaoling, who are you calling?"

Click!

"Mushroom, what are you doing?"

"I told you to be quiet."

Click! Click! Click!...

"...I can't stay. I absolutely can't stay..."

Click! Click! Click!

"Xiaoling, who are you calling?"

Click!

"Did you find anything?"

"It's one person's voice. The one calling Xiaoling, and the voice from Yu Meng's first visit—the one that said 'bitch' and 'kill her'—they're the same person."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure, completely sure. It's absolutely the same person!"