Everyone wanted to feel a little sorry for the family of four, but the investigation had to go on, no matter what.
One of the officers showed the photo of the deceased woman to the elderly couple. As soon as the old man saw it, his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor. The baby in his arms nearly fell, but one of the officers reacted quickly and caught the infant just in time. If the baby had hit the floor from that height, it would've been serious.
The officer crouched beside him, worried. "Are you alright, sir?"
The old man gave a weak shake of his head. It took him a while, but eventually he caught his breath. The group helped him back inside.
As they entered, one of the officers noticed a surveillance camera mounted on the wall.
"You have cameras installed?"
The elderly woman followed his gaze and nodded. "Yes. We put them in because of the children."
"Would you mind if we took a look at last night's footage?"
The old couple didn't know how to access it, but they mentioned that their daughter-in-law's phone was still in the apartment. One of the officers picked it up.
"Do you know the password?"
The little girl stepped forward, tapped a few digits, and unlocked the screen.
"Smart girl," the officer praised gently.
As one of the officers began checking the footage, the elderly couple asked in trembling voices, "Our daughter-in-law… is she…?"
"She's already gone. I'm sorry for your loss."
The room filled with sobbing again. After a while, when they calmed down enough to speak, the officers began explaining what had happened the night before.
When they heard that the woman had died alongside a man, the old couple exchanged glances and asked at once, "Was it the man from the seventh floor? That guy has always seemed shady. We told her not to be around him. They were always sneaking around together, but she just wouldn't listen."
"You both knew about them?"
The couple nodded, clearly unhappy about it. The grandmother sighed. "Our son died last year. I couldn't ask her to stay alone for the rest of her life. I didn't say anything when she started seeing someone. But the man from the seventh floor already had a family. We didn't agree with it. We argued more than once. Lately, though, we hadn't seen them together at all. I thought it was over. I guess not."
They hadn't ended it at all.
Then the officer reviewing the footage called them over. The surveillance was clear. The man from 701 had come by in the middle of the night and called the woman out. His expression and the timing made it obvious he wasn't there for anything decent.
Just like they said, the two elderly people only woke up because of the child's cries. After that, they didn't leave the apartment. Which meant they had no involvement in the incident. They weren't suspects.
But if the victim's family wasn't involved, then the investigation was back at square one.
Meanwhile, news of the investigation had already started to spread through the building's group chat. Most residents didn't say much, but Huang Jinghe felt a pang of unease. Without thinking, he immediately messaged Lan Jin.
[Huang Jinghe]: Sister Lan, did you see the group chat? It says a man and a woman died. You think it's those two? What if someone comes to question us? What do we do?
[Lan Jin]: Just tell the truth. No matter what it is, we didn't leave the apartment. It's not connected to us.
[Huang Jinghe]: Yeah, I guess telling the truth is safest. But the police wouldn't mess this up, right?
[Lan Jin]: Mess up what? You didn't open your door last night. I only opened mine once. Has nothing to do with us. But it does seem like they came by. My dog barked a few times, then it went quiet outside.
That jogged Huang Jinghe's memory too.
[Huang Jinghe]: Right, right, I heard the dog barking too. Probably got scared off.
Sister Lan, how big is your dog anyway? I couldn't tell last night, I was half-asleep. Felt like a small one.
[Lan Jin]: Three months old. But don't underestimate it. Guard dogs are different from regular dogs.
Huang Jinghe was speechless. If those two really ran off because of a three-month-old puppy, then guilt must've eaten them alive.
Still, it was nice having someone to talk to. Lan Jin's calm replies eased Huang Jinghe's nerves. He wasn't panicking anymore. He felt steady.
Back downstairs, with two families cleared, that meant suspicion now fell on everyone else living in the building. The next step was clear: door-to-door investigation.
They decided to start at the top and work their way down. That would make movement easier.
The top floor only had one occupied unit. Naturally, that was their first stop: Huang Jinghe's home.
The officer looked at the odd layout of the place and muttered, "This floor plan's weird. Someone actually lives here?"
The community worker nodded. "Yes. But not every unit is occupied. In Building 12, unit 3303 has a 19-year-old college student. 3203 is a woman with a child and a dog. 3103 is vacant."
That gave them a good sense of the layout.
At the door of 3303.
A knock echoed down the hallway.
"Anyone home in 3303?" the community worker called out.
"Who is it?" Huang Jinghe asked from inside.
"Community staff. Please open the door."
Huang Jinghe opened the door just a crack, peeking through to confirm their identities. Once he saw familiar faces and the proper badges, he unlocked the second door and let them in.
He'd followed Lan Jin's advice. No one came inside unless they showed proper ID. In times like this, everyone was supposed to carry their credentials. No ID, no entry. That was how you kept yourself safe.
Once inside, the officers didn't waste time. They took out a photo of the deceased man and woman and placed it in front of Huang Jinghe.
"Do you know these two?"
Huang Jinghe's eyes widened. He nodded quickly. "Yes, I know them."
That surprised the group. The two victims didn't seem like people who'd be acquainted with a young student.
"You knew them well? Can you tell us a bit about your interactions?"