Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Matricide for Insurance

Lu Xingye and Huo Qing shot to their feet when they heard the news from outside.

"What in the world happened?"

"We were still interrogating him. At first, Xiong Wangtian claimed he’d turned over a new leaf and begged us to let him go. But then we started asking about his mother."

"Xiong Wangtian suddenly became agitated. Then... then he snapped his own hand. When we tried to stop him, he bit his tongue to commit suicide. Just as we turned to grab a strip of cloth, he smashed his head against the wall. He’s dead."

Huo Qing and Lu Xingye exchanged a look. If things were really that simple, there would be no reason for Xiong Wangtian to kill himself. ’There must be more to this story.’

Huo Qing and Lu Xingye went to the interrogation room next door. The wall was spattered with blood, and Xiong Wangtian’s body lay on the floor, covered by a white sheet.

"Investigate. Run a thorough check on the name Pi Ziyang."

Lu Xingye said to his colleague.

"Got it."

Jiang Li witnessed the scene, completely shocked.

Wu Ming looked at her. "Jiang Li, I..."

Before Wu Ming could finish, the phone in Jiang Li’s pocket rang. She pulled it out and saw it was a call from Qiao Siyuan.

"Hello?" Jiang Li answered.

"Jiang Li, where have you gone now? It’s so late, why aren’t you back yet!" Qiao Siyuan’s voice came through the phone.

"I’m at the police station."

After Jiang Li spoke, the other end of the line fell silent. Qiao Siyuan’s voice became quieter. "What... what are you doing at the police station again?"

"I was bored, so I came to hang out."

On the other end, Qiao Siyuan was speechless. ’That’s the police station, not her house! What’s so great about it that she has to go hang out there every day!’

’What on earth is Jiang Li trying to do?!’

The more he thought, the more flustered he became, but he quickly calmed himself down. ’I haven’t murdered anyone for money. The police can’t touch me.’

"Which police station are you at? I’ll come get you."

"No need. I’m sleeping at the police station."

Qiao Siyuan: "..."

"Jiang Li, can you stop messing around? The police station isn’t your home. You want to sleep there? Do you even hear the nonsense you’re spouting!"

Qiao Siyuan frowned in frustration. ’This is one headache after another. They’re all so much trouble.’

’No, I have to go get that psycho Jiang Li and bring her back.’

Qiao Siyuan grabbed his car keys and drove toward the police station he had been to last time.

Jiang Li looked at the disconnected call, and when she turned around, she saw Wu Ming staring at her in shock.

"You’re sleeping at the police station?"

Jiang Li nodded and pointed to a room nearby. "That one. Want to sleep with me?"

As she spoke, Jiang Li pulled a key from her bag—the one Huo Qing had given her.

Wu Ming’s jaw dropped. She followed Jiang Li over, thinking it was a joke, but the next second, Jiang Li actually unlocked the door!

"You... you... you!"

Wu Ming pointed at Jiang Li, too stunned to form a complete sentence.

"How are you getting this kind of treatment? Do you have someone on the inside? How is it this good?" ’They actually set you up with your own room? Could Jiang Li be some kind of hidden big shot?’

’Like the daughter of some mogul?’

"It’s convenient. This way, I can help provide new information anytime," Jiang Li said, smiling at Wu Ming.

"Fine, I guess." ’Even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I’d never dare to stay in a police station. Probably because I did my share of petty theft back on the mountain when I was a kid. I’ve got a guilty conscience.’

Jiang Li glanced inside. The desk had been moved out to make space for a small 1.5-meter bed, complete with a mattress pad and a standard-issue duvet cover.

Next to it... were there snacks?

Jiang Li stared at the food in the cabinet, her mouth hanging slightly open in surprise.

"Jiang Li! Jiang Li!"

The moment Qiao Siyuan arrived at the police station entrance, he started shouting for Jiang Li.

He didn’t manage to summon Jiang Li, but the man he’d seen a few times before came out instead.

Lu Xingye looked at Qiao Siyuan, feeling nothing but contempt for the scumbag.

"Jiang Li is staying at the police station. Is there anything else?"

Qiao Siyuan looked at Lu Xingye, who was younger than him, then at the police insignia behind him, and reined in his temper.

"You probably don’t know this, but Jiang Li has a mental illness. She’s still on medication. I came because I was afraid she’d have an episode here and interfere with your work."

"I think you’re the one with the mental illness!" Lu Xingye clenched his fists, glaring at Qiao Siyuan.

"Hey, don’t just dismiss it. I’m doing this for your own good. Don’t let that lunatic Jiang Li hurt you."

Qiao Siyuan took a step back. He wasn’t a fighter.

Hearing the commotion, Jiang Li walked out from inside. Seeing Qiao Siyuan at the entrance, she strode forward and slapped him twice across the face.

"Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t coming back tonight? Are you deaf? Can’t you understand plain language?"

Qiao Siyuan clutched his face in shock. "Jiang Li, are you crazy? We’re at the entrance to a police station!"

Qiao Siyuan glanced over at Lu Xingye and the few colleagues beside him.

They all silently averted their eyes.

"Aren’t I your girlfriend? This is just a little lovers’ quarrel. The police won’t get involved."

Hearing this, Qiao Siyuan almost choked on his own saliva.

"Jiang Li!"

Jiang Li’s expression darkened, her gaze turning grim. "I said, I’m not going back!"

Qiao Siyuan instantly fell silent, as if he’d been forced to drink a potion that made him mute.

"Fine! Just don’t go having a meltdown!" Qiao Siyuan finally left, defeated. ’Anyway,’ he thought, ’Jiang Li is already mine.’

Wu Ming stared at Jiang Li in astonishment. She had previously thought the man had some kind of hold over Jiang Li, which was why Jiang Li would leave as soon as he called.

But now, it was clear that the scumbag was actually afraid of Jiang Li.

Jiang Li turned and went back into the station.

Soon, news came from the other team.

"Xiong Wangtian’s current identity is a forgery. He paid someone to make a fake ID card. According to our investigation, six months ago, Xiong Wangtian used his mother’s ID to take out loans."

"Nearly two million in loans, all of which he gambled away. A month ago, Xiong Wangtian bought a high-value insurance policy for his mother, but he wasn’t the beneficiary."

"It’s a three-year-old child named Xiong Yaozu. He has cerebral palsy and is currently in the hospital. He’s Xiong Wangtian’s nephew."

"So you’re saying Xiong Wangtian planned to murder his mother for the insurance money. Then, once his nephew died, the money would ultimately end up in his hands."

The officer in front of them nodded.

"The most important thing now is, where is Xiong Wangtian’s mother’s body?"

In the end, they decided to push the timeline back and start their search from Building 11. They also sent a team to the hospital where Xiong Yaozu was staying.

In the hospital, Xiong Yaozu lay in bed, the faint rise and fall of his chest the only proof he was still alive.

"Xiong Yaozu’s parents were also murdered by Xiong Wangtian. You could say that aside from his mother and Xiong Yaozu, every one of Xiong Wangtian’s family members and relatives has been killed by him."

Looking at the three-year-old child in the hospital bed, a few blurry images flashed through Jiang Li’s mind before quickly vanishing.

On her way out, Jiang Li went to pay for a year’s worth of Xiong Yaozu’s medical expenses.

It was only after she received the text notification for the payment that she realized she had an extra 500,000 in her account!

Jiang Li froze. ’That... that’s so much money.’

...

Back at the police station, after seeing Wu Ming off, Jiang Li returned to her room. She grabbed the snacks from the cabinet and started eating, her mind replaying the scene from Building 11 earlier that day.

’Xiong Wangtian murdering his mother for the insurance money, that eerie floor, the secretive landlord.’