Chapter 9 9. Aromatherapy Murder

At eleven o'clock at night, I had just fallen asleep when I suddenly woke up with a strange palpitation. What happened?Why is my heart beating so hard? The phone rang suddenly, shrill and desperate in the silent night. I stumbled into the living room and grabbed the receiver: "Hello?" "She's dead..." On the other side was a voice that seemed to be whimpering and howling, with teeth chattering, like a wounded beast. I had the creeps. "Who? Who are you? Who's dead?" "Baishu..." It is Yizhong.The person at the other end is actually Yizhong.

"Yizhong! Where are you? How did your voice become like this?" "Baishu..." Yizhong cried, "Xiao Lizi, Xiao Lizi is dead, she is dead..." My heart tightened, my first reaction was to look at the wall clock, it was night, am I dreaming?I patted my face, feeling it, not a dream.So, is Yizhong having nightmares, talking in sleep? "Yizhong, Yizhong." I could only keep calling his name, "Where are you?" But the phone has been hung up. I'm almost going crazy, Xiao Lizi is dead?What does it mean?Where is Yizhong?Why are you calling me like this?

I started to call Yizhong's mobile phone, and again and again, the line was always busy.Called his home phone again, but no one answered. Finally, I found Bai Shao: "Sister, Yizhong just called me a strange call, he said that Xiao Lizi died, I don't know what happened, I'm very scared..." Bai Shao rushed over quickly, her face was pale and she was wearing plain clothes. "Bai Shu, change immediately and follow me to Li's house." "What happened?" "Xiao Lizi is dead." Bai Shao's hands trembled slightly, "I called Xiao Lizi's natal family just now, and Song Yizhong was there too. Xiao Lizi died, and the preliminary judgment was suicide. Her natal family kept saying that you forced her to die. We can't wait here, we have to deliver it directly to our door, while all relatives and neighbors are there, let them vent their anger and avoid future troubles. Your brother-in-law is waiting for us downstairs, I have notified several All my friends will arrive later, don't worry, I will not let you suffer."

"Little Lizi is dead? Is she really dead?" I shook like chaff, my knees bumped against each other uncontrollably, my mind was in a mess, I couldn't figure it out, I just kept telling myself: I'm dreaming , I'm dreaming, I'll wake up soon, nothing happened, it's just a dream! Bai Shao opened the closet to choose clothes for me on her own initiative: "Put this on, don't put on makeup, it's better to look haggard, so that the Li family won't get angry. No matter what they say about you later, don't contradict them, let them Let it out. Don't worry, they don't dare to do anything, your brother-in-law won't stand by and watch..."

I do not understand.I can't understand Bai Shao's words.Why did the people from the Li family scold and beat me?How could Xiao Li commit suicide? "But we just talked this afternoon, and we had a good talk. How could she commit suicide?" My sister's movements stopped: "What did you say? Did you meet this afternoon?" "Yes, didn't you ask me to have a good talk with her? I went and gave her a massage. She was very calm and showed no signs of suicide..." As I narrated, Bai Shao's brows became tighter and tighter. In the end, she threw her clothes on the bed and resolutely decided: "You still don't want to go to Li's house. I will go with your brother-in-law. Before I come back, whoever you are Don't see each other, don't answer any calls, even if it's from your mother or Yizhong, and don't tell anyone that you met Xiao Lizi today. We'll talk about everything when I come back!"

"What happened?" "There's something strange about this...I can't say for sure, but I'm sure there's something wrong about this..." Bai Shao took my hand and urged me again and again, "Unplug the phone line, lock the door, and don't care about it. , especially the people in the police station. The curtains are closed, don’t turn on the lights, and wait for me to come back! Ignore the doorbell. I will use the knock on the door as a signal, stop three times, it is me and you open the door, you must remember !" Bai Shao came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

I was fidgeting and my head was full of messy thoughts.For a while, it was the content of the conversation with Xiao Lizi in the afternoon, for a while, it was the situation where the Li family went to Huazhiyun to fight, and for a while, it was the roar of Yizhong's beast... Finally, my thoughts stopped on Yizhong.Yizhong, how is he doing?Xiao Lizi is dead, will the Li family let him go?He is now at the Li family, enduring the pain of his wife's sudden death, and at the same time bearing the accusations and anger of the Li family, how could he bear it? The phone rang again, I was taken aback, I instinctively wanted to answer it, but stopped again when I remembered Bai Shao's advice.

Why didn't Bai Shao come back?Today, she is my only connection with the outside world. The phone rang and rang, and each time it rang, my heart skipped a beat.Every stop makes me panic again. Time stood still, and the huge villa turned into a giant tomb.I have some doubts about the error of the news. Someone did die, but it was not Xiao Li, but myself.I died in my cocoon, forgotten by the world. Unprecedented fear and loneliness. I tugged at my hair, wondering if they would be white in the morning. Why is the night so long?Where did Bai Shao go?Will she leave me here and never come back?Am I dead or not?I want to see Yizhong, Yizhong, where are you, how are you doing?Yizhong!

Bai Shao didn't come back until dawn, and knocked on the door three times, as if playing a spy game. She looked bleak, because she ran around all night, her face was covered with a layer of gray.The brother-in-law also had a serious face, and kept smoking after sitting down, coughing a few words before opening his mouth: "Baishu, let's talk." I am more aware of the seriousness of the situation.Over the years, my brother-in-law has rarely intervened in my family's affairs.Now that Bai Shao calms down and asks her brother-in-law to talk to me, it means that something serious has happened, and even the shrewd sister feels that she can't handle it.

"Brother-in-law, I'm listening." "Xiao Lizi died. The time of death was five o'clock this afternoon. It was still working hours, and there was no one in the community. A passer-by found smoke coming from the window of Song's house and called the police. Firefighters arrived At that time, the fire was already burning, and the fire truck was spraying water while yelling to the upstairs, at this moment, Xiao Lizi suddenly opened the window, jumped down from the upstairs, and fell to his death on the spot..." I groaned, not daring to listen any more, my heart clenched in a ball, and I was suffocated by the pain.

Bai Shao covered her face with her hands, trembling unceasingly.The horrible narrative, the horror and cruelty that is within reach, make us unable to believe that such a cruel fact will happen in reality, to an acquaintance. The brother-in-law stubbed out the cigarette butt, lit another one, took two deep breaths, and then continued: "I asked a friend in the police station to find out, and the autopsy report said that the deceased had taken a small amount of sleeping pills before death, and then prescribed medicines to treat it." The gas was gone, and there was still an unburned fragrance lamp in the house. It is estimated that the explosion caused a fire. The deceased was not killed by the explosion, but was awakened by the smoke. When he saw the fire truck arriving, he jumped off the building and committed suicide..." "No!" I yelled, feeling some doubts in my heart, but I just couldn't figure it out. "It's not suicide!" "I also don't think it's suicide." My sister finally said, "I've thought about it carefully. If it's really what Bai Shu said, Xiao Lizi just had a conversation with you this afternoon and asked you to give her a massage to insult you. Then after you left, she should be very proud and calm, and feel that the matter has been resolved. Even if she wants to commit suicide, it will take a while, and it is not too late to see the development of the situation. What kind of extreme behavior did you take, how could you suddenly become so determined, take sleeping pills, turn on gas and jump off the building?" "That's it!" The doubts in my heart were brought out by Bai Shu, and they immediately became clear, "The last thing is that when I massaged her, she fell asleep halfway through. I I watched her fall asleep before leaving. She took sleeping pills, so she didn’t wake up so quickly, how could she get up by herself and turn on the gas before going back to sleep?” The brother-in-law said, "Could it be a gas leak?" I thought about it, and shook my head affirmatively: "No. When I left, there was absolutely no gas smell in the house, and there was no possibility of a gas leak." "Baizhu has always been very sensitive to smells. She said that if there is no gas smell, there is absolutely nothing wrong." The sister paused and brought up the crux of the matter, "Then, the question is, who turned on the gas?" "It was homicide." The brother-in-law said quietly, "It is very likely that it was homicide. But the problem is that only Bai Shu knows this doubtful point. And Bai Shu is the person who has the most motive to kill." "What? Me?" I was taken aback. "You suspect that I killed her?" "Of course not." Bai Shao pulled me to sit down and said seriously, "Of course we believe you. The question is, will the police believe it? This afternoon, only you have seen Xiao Lizi. and you are her rival in love. You feed her sleeping pills, you take the aromatherapy lamp and light it, so if you turn on the gas after she falls asleep and then lock the door and leave, it is the most logical It's an inference." "What?" I fell into an ice cellar.Bai Shao's deduction is unbelievable, but it is reasonable and natural.Listening to her narration, I almost saw another me walk into Song's house, feed Xiao Lizi medicine, then turn on the gas, light the fragrance lamp, and then close the door to leave, thus creating an explosion... so reasonable, so reasonable It is seamless, beyond doubt. "The motive, time, place, and method of the murder are all very clear." My brother-in-law lit another cigarette and proceeded to finalize my crime. Lizi. But what they mean is that Xiao Lizi committed suicide because you took her husband away. They didn’t really say what you did. If you send it to your door and admit that you saw Xiao Lizi today, you will be convicted. , really became a murderer." "Not me!" I howled. Bai Shao hurriedly rushed up and pressed my mouth, shouting angrily: "Shut up, do you want to attract the police?" My tears flowed down, unable to speak, only looking at my sister sadly. Bai Shao let go and sighed: "So, you must remember that you cannot tell anyone that you have seen Xiao Lizi. Whether it is homicide or suicide, it has nothing to do with you." "Did the police not find any clues? For example, fingerprints and footprints." "No." The brother-in-law shook his head, "I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The scene has been completely burned, and there is no evidence to be found. There is no trace of the real murderer, and no trace of you. So, although no one Thinking of this incident, there may be another murderer, either suicide or homicide, but in the same way, no one knows that you have been to Song's house, so they will not suspect you..." In other words, Xiao Lizi's death will become a murder case that will never be cleared. The real murderer will get away with it because of my cowardice and self-preservation, and let Xiao Lizi die with regret. Xiao Lizi died, she was killed by the aromatherapy lamp I lit with my own hands, and because of my concealment of the truth, she will die again.How safe am I? Bai Shao told me again and again: "Don't tell, you can't tell the truth to anyone at any time, if you tell, you are the number one suspect." The brother-in-law chimed in: "There is no evidence at the scene to prove that a third party came. If you come forward to prove that Xiao Li committed suicide, but the police can't find the real culprit, then you are the suspect. The cause of Xiao Li's death is still unknown. Our family will be involved in vain. Don't forget, you are the one with the most motive for killing." Don't say it, I won't say it.But how do you face your own conscience? Every night dreamed that Xiao Lizi came to me with disheveled hair, crying: "Bai Zhu, I died so badly, only you know that I didn't commit suicide. I died unjustly, you have to clean up my wrongdoing! You owe me, You have to pay me back!" I cried and ran: "It's not me, I won't say it!" However, I can hide it from everyone in the world, but I cannot hide it from Yizhong.He must know the truth! I found Yizhong, at his home, in the ruined Song residence.The walls are all black and ash, the bed is almost ruined, and everything is in a strange twist. The half-burnt bed sheets are half fire and half water stains, and there is a kind of prehistoric desolation. Yizhong half kneeled and half sat in the middle of the room, with his head deeply buried, as if paying homage. I walked over and hugged his head, so distressed that I couldn't say a word. Yizhong raised his head, slowly raised his head, his eyes were a kind of sluggish sadness, as if he couldn't recognize who I was. Then, he spoke, his voice was hoarse, with a trace of trance, still unable to believe that everything that happened was the truth of life. "She died. She said that she would not get divorced even if she died. She really did." "No, Yizhong, she didn't commit suicide." I cried out and hugged him tightly, "I didn't tell the truth at the police station, and I said I didn't know anything, that's a lie. In fact, I have seen She, on the afternoon she died, I came to your house and talked to her once, I met her, she didn't commit suicide..." I cried, with difficulty, in fits and starts, to tell the truth. Yizhong became more and more curious as he listened, his eyes gradually focused, and his brows became tighter and tighter. Finally, he clarified all his concepts: "You mean, Xiao Li died of homicide? After you left, someone else came into my house and opened The gas caused an explosion? And Xiao Lizi jumped from the building after being awakened by the soot, because he was insane or eager to survive, and not because he wanted to commit suicide at all?" He stood up, stroked the wall and walked slowly, from one room to another, as if listening to the wall.The truth is recorded on the wall.These silent walls, they are the only ones who know the truth about Xiao Lizi's death, will they tell Yizhong the truth? Yizhong stopped and was fully awake: "Bai Zhu, you did the right thing." I raised my head and stared at him blankly. "Don't tell, don't tell anyone the truth." He said exactly the same words as Bai Shao.Both he and Bai Shao are my relatives, so they both made the same decision. "If you tell the truth, the police may not find the murderer, but you will become a suspect and bring unimaginable troubles." He turned around, knelt down facing the bed, and suddenly burst into tears: "Li Zi, I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry for you..." His voice was full of painful regret!I was the one who brought him such pain and struggle. Telling him the truth was forcing him to bear the shackles of morality with me, forcing him to make a choice between loyalty and betrayal. He did, that's--no talk. Not to mention, it is to let Xiao Lizi die unjustly, it is to join hands with me.Now, it's not just me hiding the truth, but also Yizhong.He knew the truth, but also told me not to tell, then he became an accomplice!will he hate me "Yizhong..." I called weakly. He didn't look at me, and said tiredly: "You go, I want to be alone for a while." My heart sank, looking at him, looking at him, he was only one step away from me, I stretched out my hand, but I didn't dare to hug him or touch him.The little distance that was so easy to get closer suddenly became farther away.At this moment, we seem to be facing each other across the sea, unreachable. "Yizhong, let me accompany you, okay?" I begged weakly. "No need." Without raising his head, he just told him again coldly, "Remember, don't say anything." I'm completely devastated. He hates me!He knew about his wife's tragic death, but he couldn't avenge her, but wanted to help me hide the truth together.He was sorry for her, double sorry.I forced him to wear such shackles, he hates me, he hates me! Song Yijun hates me!God, I spent ten years waiting for his love, but what I waited for was his hate, my God! I don't know how I got home. Song Yizhong hates me, Yizhong hates me, the elder brother whom I have loved for ten years hates me!This idea drives me crazy, like a million bugs are gnawing on my heart. I found Bai Shao, crying out of breath: "Sister, can you accompany me to surrender? I can't hide anymore, I have to surrender and tell the truth!" "You're crazy!" My sister shook me, "Bai Zhu, what are you talking about? Why surrender? You didn't commit a murder, why surrender? Do you know what you are talking about?" My gaffe made my sister very worried, and she didn't allow me to go to the police station to tell the truth.She even put down the business and ignored it, asked for leave, escorted me on the train, and traveled to the south. We went to Yunnan, visited Lijiang, Butterfly Valley, Cangshan and Erhai... I used to dream about Yizhong thousands of times, and now my sister will accompany me to realize these dreams.But what's the use? In Xi'an, a living person died, and the living person lived in the shadow of the dead ever since.There is a place where the sun does not shine.No matter how clear the water in Lijiang is, or how bright the flowers in Xishuangbanna are, what does it matter to me? Every night, I make a phone call to Yizhong as usual.Most of the time it was unavailable, and occasionally he refused to answer the call.The distance between us is not just as far away as Xi'an and Lijiang, but as far away as the sky. Later, the phone call never came through. It was my brother-in-law who called and said that Yizhong was missing. My sister carefully concealed the news from me, and still took me around.But I'm just a walking dead, held by her hand, roaming without interest, eyes unfocused, conversation without content. I have nightmares every night, constantly calling Yizhong's name, or yelling "I won't tell". When I returned to Xi'an half a month later, my mother saw that I could barely recognize her, and said with a smile, "Is this a trip, or is it back from the army?" I put down my luggage and was about to go out. My sister knew that I was going to find Yizhong. At this time, she had to tell me the truth, saying that Yizhong had disappeared and no one knew his whereabouts. I went crazy at the time, yelling, and just rushed out the door again and again.Seeing that my sister couldn't stop me, she had to accompany me to go out.They found the clinic from Song's house, and finally appeared together at Xiao Lizi's natal house. The Li family still hated me when they saw me, but after all, they had been arguing for so long, and they didn’t have the strength to continue, so they just cursed viciously: “The person surnamed Song may be dead, or he will be taken away by Li Zi’s soul. Be careful , and die a terrible death!" I let them curse without a word of rebuttal. You can give me whatever punishment you want, as long as you let me see Yizhong.Yizhong, where are you?How can you bear to leave me alone like this?No matter how big the disaster is, no matter how heavy the burden is, let us face it together, shall we?How can you leave me again, living alone in pain and longing? They tried all kinds of methods, even reported to the police, and posted a missing person notice, but they couldn't get any news about Song Yizhong. I closed the beauty salon and began to search from city to city, imagining that I would meet Yizhong head-on at a certain intersection. Yet miracles do not belong to me. Yizhong just disappeared from my life, leaving no trace like the wind passing over the water. Whenever I light up the aromatherapy lamp, I think of Xiao Lizi. In the candlelight, I always see her resentful eyes, as if saying to me: "Why, the two of us lost him together?" Xiao Lizi died, Yizhong left, and the two of us lost him together. The candlelight of the aromatherapy lamp stretched my shadow long and cast it on the opposite wall, shaking slightly.