The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 17 The Missing Fingers

"We suddenly received a call from Liang Ming saying that the guesthouse had caught fire and my sister had been taken to the hospital with burns. He downplayed the situation and we thought it was okay. But when we got to the hospital and saw Lei Lei's condition, my mother fainted!" Yao Beibei choked up at this. "Leilei's entire body was burned. Not a single piece of good skin remained. Her hands were completely burned except for her left index finger, and her nose was even burned off..." She couldn't help but cover her face and cry. "That beast also had his hands burned. He told the police that it was all my sister's carelessness and that he was injured trying to save someone. I could see the tears and blood in my sister's eyes when he heard him say that!"

"when did it happen?"

"I will never forget the spring three years ago." Yao Beibei was already sobbing.

Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu felt mixed emotions when they heard this - in the summer of that year, Gu Ruyun and "Yang Jinhan" met.

In other words, while his wife was in the hospital, Liang Ming's hand had not yet healed, but he had already changed his name and was luring the next victim.

"So Liang Ming was in charge of the B&B during the time your sister was in the hospital?" Qi Fei asked.

"My mom and I were busy taking care of my sister. This guy initially watched over her day and night, but after the doctor said the chances of her waking up were slim, he started to play it off, using the excuse that he needed to take care of the B&B and wasn't coming around that often," Yao Beibei said angrily. "But he never would have thought my sister would wake up! She told us in bits and pieces that it wasn't an accident at all. Liang Ming poured gasoline on her and set her on fire during an argument. But by the time the police arrived at the B&B, Liang Ming had already fled, vanishing without a trace. My sister was such a wonderful person..." Yao Beibei wiped her tears and opened a photo on her phone to show Qi Fei, "This is Lei Lei before the accident."

The photo shows a woman in a red dress, playing the cello, looking elegant and dignified. Thinking of the tragic scene that Yao Beibei just described, one can't help but sigh.

Yao Beibei looked nostalgically at the flower stand beside the tea table, which was filled with trophies and certificates. "My sister played the piano very well, and these are all the awards and trophies she's won. She was so talented and always wanted to help others. God is so unfair."

With respect for the deceased, Qi Fei looked at these honors carefully, and his gaze stopped on a golden medal. The medal was the size of a photo frame, and on it was a pair of hands with slender fingers that seemed to have a natural rhythm.

But the details on the finger caught Qi Fei's great attention. He stood up suddenly, reached out to take the photo frame, looked at it closely, and then handed it to Wu Shanqiu.

Wu Shanqiu couldn't help but let out a soft cry when she saw it.

Seeing the two people's unusual behavior, Yao Beibei was a little confused and asked, "This is a commemorative medal my sister won at an art festival. Is there something wrong with it?"

"Whose palm print is this?" Qi Fei asked seriously.

"My sister's? What's wrong?"

Qi Fei placed the medal on the tea table and pointed at the index finger on the handprint. He saw a long mark on the tip of the index finger. Both the length and the inclination angle were exactly the same as the fingerprints they collected at the two crime scenes.

Yao Beibei, who didn't know the reason, didn't take it seriously: "Oh, this is it? My sister has been playing the cello since she was a child. This is the mark left by pressing the strings."

"You said Yao Leilei passed away. When did that happen?" Qi Fei asked. "Last spring," Yao Beibei sighed.

However, Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu were surprised when they heard the time, because not to mention that Zhu Mingen had just died, even Yang Jinhan's death happened last winter. If the fingerprints at the scene really matched Yao Leilei's, wouldn't the suspect be dead?
Qi Fei hesitated, but still asked, "Are you sure your sister is dead?"

Yao Beibei was shocked by the question and said unhappily, "What do you mean? I took care of my sister's funeral. All of our family members said their final goodbyes to her and watched her body being cremated. Do I need to lie to you?"

After hearing this, Qi Fei's brows furrowed even more, and his voice was low: "The police found the suspect's fingerprints at the scene where Yang Jinhan, also known as Liang Ming, was murdered." As he spoke, he took out the fingerprint copy he carried with him and handed it to Yao Beibei.

Sure enough, when Yao Beibei saw the fingerprint, she said without hesitation: "This is my sister's fingerprint."

Such a quick reaction caught Qi Fei's attention, and he asked doubtfully, "Are you sure after just one look?"

Yao Beibei took a deep breath. "My sister and I grew up together, so of course I know. But there's a more important reason. As I just said, all of my sister's fingers were burned in the fire. Only her index finger was intact. But at the funeral home, when my sister's body was lying among the flowers, when I said my last goodbye to her, I discovered that her index finger was missing."

"Huh? Don't you find it strange?" Wu Shanqiu said in disbelief when she heard this.

"Because my sister was already unrecognizable before she died, I wanted her to go in a beautiful way, so I asked the funeral home to do some tidying up of her remains. The body was very fragile to begin with, and I just thought that the person who did it was careless. Thinking that the person was gone, I didn't want to meddle in other people's business, so I didn't ask any further questions. But, you said that my sister's fingerprints were found at the place where Liang Ming died? How, how is this possible? Didn't you say that Liang Ming didn't..." Yao Beibei reacted and said in surprise.

"Is it possible that your sister knows this person?" Qi Fei showed Yao Beibei a photo of Zhu Mingen.

As expected, Yao Beibei shook her head. "I've never seen this person. My sister runs a B&B, and people come and go. She interacts with many more people than the average person. I don't know if this person has ever been to this B&B, but I should be able to check their stay records."

"This person died a few days ago, and fingerprints suspected to be your sister's were left at the scene." Qi Fei said.

His words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving Yao Beibei struggling to accept the truth. "Oh my God, my sister is dead, and someone is still framing her? Who is it?"

"You said your sister's fingers were missing after she finished preparing her remains?"

"Yes, I'm sure of that. After all, this was the only finger she had intact when she passed away. I couldn't help but pay attention to it."

"Sorry, we have to take this medal away first." Qi Fei said, picked up the car keys, and went straight to the funeral home in Lanhe with Wu Shanqiu. It seemed that the remains arranger was a very strong suspect.

(End of this chapter)