Chapter 35: The Primary Crime Scene

Cutting to the chase, he was finally nearing the core of the case. Yu Dazhang raised an eyebrow and continued his questioning:

"Did you get the details from her parents?"

"I asked them thoroughly when they came to the station to report it," the officer replied slowly. "Zhang Yan had arrived home early from school that day, so they decided to cook something nice for her. They left for the market at two in the afternoon and returned around three. After the meal was ready, they waited for her to come home, but when they called, her phone was powered off. It wasn't until nine that night, when they were certain something had happened to their daughter, that they finally came to the station."

Yu Dazhang savored these words, his brain working rapidly. Could Zhang Yan have truly been abducted right at her own doorstep? If not, why hadn't her parents seen her? As he pondered, he recalled the surveillance footage. It showed Zhang Yan disappearing around the corner at 2:12 PM. The remaining distance was only a two-minute walk to her home. If she had actually made it back, even if she had stayed for less than an hour, she certainly would have called her parents to let them know if she were leaving again. The problem lay squarely between 2:12 PM and 3:00 PM.

Yu Dazhang’s brow furrowed deeper. He felt something elusive hovering just out of reach. It was close—right in front of him! Suppressing his excitement, he looked at the officer.

"Did they say anything else?"

"That’s all they said at the time." The officer spoke, but a thoughtful expression crossed his face as he struggled to recall more. A moment later, he added, "Wait, I remember now! They came back a second time."

Afraid to break his train of thought, Yu Dazhang watched him silently.

"That was three days after Zhang Yan disappeared," the officer continued. "They came to tell me that... Zhang Yan had indeed been home that afternoon."

Seeing him pause, Lu Zhongxin couldn't help but interject, "How could they be so sure she had been there?"

Yu Dazhang immediately nudged his mentor, signaling him not to interrupt. When listening to a testimony, it is best to let the speaker finish before asking questions. Interrupting often causes the speaker to lose their place or forget what they were about to say. Everyone has heard the phrase, "Wait, where was I again?" It happens all too often. Fortunately, the officer was only in his twenties, at an age where he was still conscientious and sharp.

He only paused for a moment before continuing, "According to Zhang Yan’s mother, she had cleaned her daughter’s room on the morning of the disappearance. She was in the habit of cleaning it regularly, so she knew exactly where everything was placed. After the disappearance, out of fear and distress, she hadn't touched the room for several days. But on the third day, missing her daughter terribly, she went in to look at some photos. She discovered that items in the room had been moved, and there were indentations on the neatly folded quilt, as if someone had rested their head upon it. That was why her mother concluded that her daughter must have returned."

*That’s it.* Yu Dazhang immediately formed a new judgment. As the officer described, Zhang Yan must have come home. After a brief stay, she left for somewhere else... No!

Yu Dazhang suddenly remembered a detail from the officer’s account: the indentations on the folded quilt. That meant Zhang Yan had intended to rest; she would not have left voluntarily in such a short time. And even if she had left, how could she have evaded all the surveillance cameras in the residential complex? Or rather... how had the perpetrator moved her?

"I've got it!" Yu Dazhang stood up abruptly, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Lu Zhongxin. "Master, I know where the primary crime scene is!"

The three men in the room were startled by his sudden movement. Lu Zhongxin stared at his apprentice, bewildered. "Wh-where?"

"Quick, let's go! To Zhang Yan's house," Yu Dazhang urged as he headed for the door. "I'll explain on the way."

Seeing the officer wasn't following, he waved him over. "You know the address; please come with us."

On the road, Lu Zhongxin drove, glancing at the man beside him. "You can tell us now, right?"

Getting no response, he turned again to see Yu Dazhang staring blankly ahead. "I'm talking to you!" Lu Zhongxin raised his voice.

"Oh, hold on." Yu Dazhang snapped out of it and turned to Qian Cheng in the back seat. "Brother Qian, contact the forensics team now. Have them bring their equipment to Zhang Yan's house."

"Right." Qian Cheng agreed, but then frowned, feeling something was off. "Are you saying Zhang Yan's home *is* the primary crime scene?"

That was an incredibly bold assumption. Qian Cheng couldn't help but mutter to himself. She was killed in her own home, and then the body was moved? Was that even possible? In broad daylight, how did the killer get in? Why didn't Zhang Yan scream for help? Why didn't her parents notice anything unusual afterward? It didn't make sense!

To the shock of the three in the car, Yu Dazhang stated with certainty, "You guessed right."

Qian Cheng was startled and immediately distanced himself. "When did I guess anything? You were the one who said it!" He wasn't about to be blamed for such a theory.

"Just make the call," Yu Dazhang said calmly. His tone suggested he was absolutely certain.

After contacting forensics, Qian Cheng hung up and looked at Yu Dazhang in the front. "The chief is on his way with the team. You better not be wrong about this." He was a member of the task force; if this turned out to be a wild goose chase, he would be humiliated too.

Yu Dazhang ignored the complaint and said in a level tone, "Since we can confirm Zhang Yan returned home, my deduction won't be wrong. The indentations on the quilt prove she lay on the bed; she had no intention of leaving shortly after. Plus, she didn't tell her parents when she left. Those two points are enough to prove her departure was forced."

The three men in the car listened to his analysis in silence, unable to interject. These were details they hadn't considered—the very things most easily ignored.

"Tell me," Yu Dazhang asked after a moment, "why did it take her parents three days to realize she had been home?"

The car fell silent. After a while, Lu Zhongxin spoke up. "We just said it—they were too distraught to tidy up, so they didn't notice things had been moved."

Yu Dazhang didn't refute this, but he grew quiet. Lu Zhongxin waited a moment, feeling restless, and finally blurted out, "Well, go on!"

Yu Dazhang sighed. "Master, we must step outside the existing framework. We have to look at this objectively and not let ourselves be led by the assumptions of others."