Logan Clark gave a sudden shiver and jerked his head around. Matthew Reed was almost startled: “Damn, are you carsick? You look terrible!”

The forensics van from the Nancheng sub-bureau finally arrived. The well-trained forensics team quickly cordoned off the scene again. The technical team’s Director Martinez was personally leading several trace examiners over in a hurry; Brian Hughes, who had swiftly completed all the paperwork, was directing his men to expand the police line and assist the technical team in collecting evidence. The riverside was busy but orderly.

Logan Clark’s heart pounded in his throat. Meeting Matthew Reed’s concerned and suspicious gaze, he couldn’t speak for a moment, so he forced a hasty smile. When he turned back, he almost bumped right into Ryan Foster.

—At some point, Ryan Foster had already walked up behind him, his gaze probing and sharp, brows slightly furrowed, his tall figure casting a shadow over the grass.

“It’s nothing, just didn’t expect the victim’s eyes to be open.” Logan Clark took half a step back and said hoarsely, “You guys go ahead, I’ll go over there… I’ll go help the trace team carry boxes.”

Matthew Reed watched him stride away, baffled. “Come on, it’s not that bad. Just because the eyes are open? That can’t scare you this much. It’s almost like the first time I saw the boss himself in person… Just kidding, just kidding.”

Ryan Foster shot him a look from the corner of his eye, and Matthew Reed immediately shrank his neck in a pleading gesture, grinning as he asked, “Captain Bu, the trace team says the area under the embankment is pretty much destroyed, nothing much left to analyze. Should we just do it the old way and have the local precinct guys sift through the soil again?”

“No, the soil environment out here in the wild is too complicated.” Ryan Foster hesitated briefly, then said, “Here’s what we’ll do: use the victim as the center, shovel off a layer of soil from around and send it back to the tech team. Tell Old Wang this case has too few leads, sorry to trouble him.”

Matthew Reed saluted with two fingers from his temple. “Got it!”

“Has the victim’s identity been confirmed?”

The two of them walked over to the body. Matthew Reed jerked his chin at the poor girl: “We cross-checked with the county police on the way here—Emily Price, fifteen years old, her parents are migrant workers living in Xiaogang Village not far from here. Her dad, David Price, watches over a warehouse for someone, her mom, Grace Howard, works at a garment factory. Emily Price was a second-year student at Xiaogang Middle School. According to her teachers, her grades weren’t great, she often skipped class to work, and lately she’d been hanging out a lot with someone outside of school—probably an early romance. That ‘person outside school’ is none other than our case’s witness and informant, Stella Green.”

Ryan Foster had actually already seen this information in the witness statement, but he focused intently on examining the victim’s mouth, nose, and wounds, not interrupting Matthew Reed.

“On May 2nd, the night of the incident, Emily Price worked overtime at an assembly plant in the industrial zone until 10 p.m. After she got off, Stella Green met up with her, and the two took the bus home together. The last bus stopped at Silihe Station. After getting off, they walked along the embankment to this spot. It was pouring rain, visibility was extremely low. According to Stella Green’s statement, he heard strange noises, like something rustling up behind them, and then a walking skeleton with a knife burst out of the grass and came at them.” Matthew Reed mimed a dramatic stab in the air. “Stabbed Emily Price.”

Matthew Reed spread his hands, his face clearly showing disbelief, but Ryan Foster remained unmoved. “And then?”

“According to Stella Green’s account, the attacker was completely skeletal, no eyeballs or nose, just a bare skull on top, walked stiffly and awkwardly, just like a zombie in the movies. He was so terrified he couldn’t recall any details about the attacker’s clothes or the exact sequence of events. He only vaguely remembered the ‘zombie’ stabbing Emily Price once, then walking to the riverbank and jumping in, disappearing into the water.”

The detectives from the squad brought over a body bag and a stretcher from the car, signaling to Ryan Foster for instructions.

Ryan Foster nodded, indicating they should load the body into the vehicle, then led Matthew Reed toward the riverbank.

“The killer didn’t hurt him?” Ryan Foster asked.

“Not only did he not hurt him, according to Stella Green’s statement, it was like he was completely ignored from start to finish, as if he didn’t exist at all—let me tell you, Captain Bu, this statement reads like a cheap pulp novel, the kind you get two pounds of for three bucks at a street stall. I wouldn’t read it even if it was free.” Matthew Reed wagged a finger. “After the killer jumped into the river, Stella Green realized Emily Price was dead. He was terrified, didn’t dare touch the body, and certainly didn’t dare go check where the ‘zombie’ jumped in. So he ran home through the rain, rolling and crawling, hugged his blanket and shivered till dawn, and only early the next morning did he nervously go to the police.”

“—He reported it early yesterday morning.” Ryan Foster asked sharply, “So why did the police only come out today?”

“Ah! Now that’s a long story!” Matthew Reed perked up, asking mysteriously, “Do you know what kind of person Stella Green is?”

Ryan Foster raised an eyebrow.