Chapter 13

I told Officer Wu about Bai Xue’s ordeal and smiled bitterly, “I killed her to help her find release.”

He looked serious. “We investigated Liang Chuan and found that after your sister died, there were clear traces of large amounts of data being deleted from his phone and computer. If what you say is true, those could have been clues. If you had confessed earlier, maybe we would have already found evidence of him hurting your sister.”

My tightly clenched fists unconsciously loosened a little, and this subtle movement did not escape the officer’s eyes.

Officer Wu seemed to suddenly understand something. “Bai Jie, did you do this on purpose?”

“Since the case was filed, you’ve said nothing at all-just giving him time to destroy your sister’s videos.”

Suppressing the turmoil in my heart, I replied as calmly as I could, “Officer Wu, if he had nothing to hide, why would he be in such a hurry to destroy the evidence? I think you really need to investigate him.”

Officer Wu shot back, “Have you considered that your cleverness might let the criminal escape legal punishment?”

I tugged at the corner of my mouth and muttered, “My sister is already dead. Can’t she at least leave cleanly? I know-you’ll never understand.”

He looked at me, his gaze deep, then suddenly said, “Bai Jie, now I’m certain you didn’t kill anyone.”

I was stunned for a moment and replied, “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Do you remember that knife? It tested positive for the victim’s blood, and your fingerprints.”

I couldn’t figure out what he meant and asked, “Is there a problem with that?”

Officer Wu replied, “The problem is, there are only your fingerprints on it.”

“I asked Li Jinshui and his wife. That fruit knife is commonly used in the house. Except for Bai Xue, who was prone to hurting herself, anyone could have used it. So why are there no other fingerprints? My judgment is that you wiped them off for some reason.”

I defended myself, “Isn’t that just your guess? Maybe the knife just happened to be freshly cleaned.”

Officer Wu’s tone softened. “I thought so too at first. But Bai Jie, when you talk about your sister, there’s tenderness in your eyes. You even considered the matter of the videos for her. It’s hard for me to imagine you hurting her.

“Even if, as you say, she had a reason she had to die, you wouldn’t have chosen such a cruel method. If I follow this line of thought, there’s only one possibility: those wounds were meant to cover up the real fatal injury.

“So, Bai Xue used that fruit knife to slit her own wrists and commit suicide, didn’t she?”

I tried my best to meet his eyes and said with a smile, “Officer Wu, you have no evidence.”

He looked at me, sighed, and said, “Bai Jie, you’re punishing yourself.”