The Murderer's Visit: Who is the Murderer?, #1

By Daniel Webb

The investigation team is composed of elite criminal police, cutting-edge scientists, criminologists, and network experts. It is established to target criminal groups with strong anti-investigation capabilities and masters cutting-edge technologies such as time retrograde, artificial intelligence, gene editing, and big data information. Secret task force.
One day, detective Zacharias discovered that he had the ability to experience the same day five times in reverse time from time to time. Relying on this ability, Zacharias went back to investigate before the crime occurred again and again, solving one serious case after another. Until a murder notice from Suspect X suddenly appeared, Zacharias gradually realized that he seemed to be not the only one with this ability...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel Webb
• Release date: May 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9798223668428

Book preview

The Murderer's Visit

Chapter 1 Preface

I may not be the one who ultimately leads domestic science fiction and mystery novels to success, but I am willing to contribute my own little bit to it.

Things in the world change like floating clouds, but love remains deep.

Chapter 2 Prologue

1

April 7th, 7pm.

Ronghua Restaurant is one of the top ten time-honored restaurants in City D. This restaurant is located in the suburbs, with simple decoration and unattractive appearance. The consumption level is not high, but the signature dish Dragon and Phoenix Auspiciousness that has been passed down for a hundred years - stewing old hens and fresh water snakes in a pot, supplemented with 18 kinds of local special spices and side dishes - still attracts countless diners from afar.

Today was the same as usual. As soon as six o'clock arrived, the store was already packed, and the latecomers had to gather outside to take a number and wait for a table. By seven o'clock, the entrance to the hotel was already busier than the vegetable market. The nearby vegetable farmers and fruit farmers have long been good at it, and they will rush over at this hour to introduce their agricultural products to the bored customers. Among them is a dark-skinned young man carrying a pole, shouting leisurely, Selling his two baskets of apples.

There are some good apples, try them.

A fashionably dressed girl took a look and found that the apples were small and green. She frowned and said, Brother, are these apples not ripe yet?

with the pole just smiled, disapprovingly, and turned around to walk towards another group of guests.

At this time, a white van parked near the gate. Four big men in black jumped out of the van quickly and looked around. One of them made a gesture, and the four of them filed towards the side door of the hotel.

The pole man, who looked a little silly just now, had a glint in his eyes, and then he slightly opened his collar to reveal a miniature microphone. He lowered his head and said quickly and clearly: The target has appeared, be careful. Yongsheng, Delia, Ready for action.

After that, he threw down the two baskets of apples, picked up the pole, and hurried towards the side door.

Besides, those four big men in black sneaked into the hotel from the side door and looked around for something. A consulting lady wearing a blue cheongsam came forward quickly and asked: Gentlemen, do you have a reservation for a table?

Reservation made, Rose Room. The leading man in black said vaguely.

Oh, are you Mr. Bai's guest? The receptionist looked at the appointment registration form in her hand and said, This way, please.

The receptionist brought them to the door of the Rose Room private room and knocked gently. However, the men in black behind her could no longer hold back. They pushed her away roughly and rushed into the door. Several of them took out switchblades from their arms at the same time.

Don't make any noise. Whoever shouts will be stabbed to death! the leading man in black shouted viciously.

In the private room, Owen's family of three, who were preparing to eat, and the waiter who was pouring tea for them were all stunned.

Owen, who just turned fifty, is a leading high-end clothing brand distributor in City D. He has countless assets under his name and a net worth of over 100 million. His usual business social activities are mostly in five-star hotels. Today, he had a rare opportunity to relax and brought his wife and daughter to taste the authentic local flavors, but he didn't expect to encounter such a thing.

However, Owen had been in the business world for many years, and he realized in just a few seconds that he might have encountered kidnappers. He remained calm and immediately stood up to stand in front of his wife and daughter.

Brothers, what can I do for you?

The leader of the black-clad men stepped forward and reached out to pull Owen's sleeve: Boss Bai, please come with us...ah!

The leading man in black suddenly let out a scream. It turned out that the waiter, who no one noticed, suddenly attacked and smashed the teapot in his hand at the leading man in black, and the scalding tea splashed all over his face.

The incident happened suddenly. The leading black-clad man covered his eyes and retreated wailing. The black-clad man closest to the waiter reacted quickly, raised his knife without saying a word, and stabbed the other man in the face.

The waiter showed far more agility than ordinary people in reaching out, lowered his head, twisted his waist, dodged the knife of the man in black, picked up a rice bowl on the table, and threw it towards the man in black.

The man in black ducked sideways to avoid the flying rice bowl, and was about to raise his knife to stab him again. Unexpectedly, the waiter had already stepped forward and thrust out both fists, forcing the man in black to fight hand to hand. The man in black raised his eyebrows, turned the blade, and cut the waiter 's arm. The waiter moved faster, using a series of grappling techniques to clamp the hands of the man in black, and then twisted them with force. There was a crisp click sound, and the man in black broke his wrist and immediately lost his fighting ability.

Seeing that it took less than a minute for the two companions to fight and be defeated, the remaining two men in black were originally weaker, and their momentum was suppressed by their opponents, so they dared not fight any more and turned around to flee. The two men who were thinking of escaping never expected that the delicate consultant who had just led the way for them suddenly used a sweeping kick, tripping one of the men in black. The timing and strength of this kick were just right, and it was obvious that she was also a trained martial artist.

The man in black wanted to struggle, but the consultant stepped on him and handcuffed him . With a click, he realized that the man was a genuine policeman.

Stop, don't run!

There was still a man in black running out without looking back, waving a knife in his hand, scaring the guests along the way to avoid it, but there was a man in simple clothes and a peasant look, carrying a long pole, standing in front of him with a smile. In the middle of the road.

Get away! The man in black shouted angrily. Seeing that the other party showed no signs of retreating, he was no longer polite and took the knife directly to the man's chest.

Joke! The corner of the man's mouth turned up, and the pole in his hand seemed to be spiritual, and he struck the knife of the man in black. It stands to reason that a pole is much bulkier than a knife, but the man in black tried to change his attack several times, but the attack route was blocked in advance by the pole.

Poof - the knife was inserted straight into the pole, three-thirds of the way into the wood. The man in black's expression changed, and he had no choice but to use his shoulders to rush forward, trying to squeeze out a way to escape.

Where are you running?

The man in black's eyes were dazzled, and he didn't even know what happened. He turned around in the air involuntarily, fell heavily to the ground, and lost consciousness.

Boss, are you done?

It's amazing!

The waiter and the counselor rushed over one after another, and it turned out that they were the Yongsheng and Delia the pole man called - Darnell and Delia from the seventh detachment of the D City Criminal Police Team. The man pretending to be an apple farmer is their boss, deputy captain Zechariah .

All four have been caught. Where is the driver outside? Zachariah's face remained normal, and he did not seem particularly happy because he had successfully prevented a kidnapping case.

How could he escape? It seems that Howell caught him himself. Darnell said.

Very good, prepare to pack up. Zechariah waved his hand, indicating that all the suspects should be taken back first.

The crowd in the hotel had never seen such a movie-like scene. After the thief was caught, everyone felt relieved and squeezed forward to watch the excitement. In desperation, Daniel and Delia had to ask the hotel security personnel to help maintain order so that they could take the suspect away.

Zachariah left quietly before the crowd gathered. Before leaving, he glanced into the Rose Room and happened to meet Owen's gaze.

The eyes of this business elite were filled with gratitude and admiration, as well as confusion and bewilderment. The decision to come here for dinner tonight was made on the spur of the moment this morning, and only a handful of people knew about the itinerary. If the kidnappers bribed the people around him and planned the kidnapping, then how did the police know about the kidnappers' actions and plan to rescue him in advance?

Before Owen could come up with a reasonable explanation, Zachariah 's back had disappeared into the crowd.

2

April 7, 10pm, Fa Kee Food Stall.

Beer, barbecue skewers and spicy hot pot are the three signature night snacks in City D. Today, Daniel and Delia completed their task brilliantly, so as their superior, Zechariah had to reward them.

The table for the three of them was filled with kebabs, but since they had to go to work tomorrow, they did not order beer and only ordered ice-cold Coke instead.

Come on, let's toast to the boss first! Darnell shouted with excitement, his face flushed, and he raised the Coke can.

Respect, boss. Delia echoed in a soft voice. Looking at her current delicate appearance, it is hard to imagine that she was actually a tough female man when performing tasks.

Thank you for your hard work, come on, eat more. Zachariah said with a smile on his face, but his tone remained calm.

Darnell grabbed two skewers of grilled lamb and put them directly into his mouth without even dipping them in the sauce . While chewing, he said, I can eat more. Delia should pay attention to controlling her weight, right?

Delia rolled her eyes at Darnell angrily, was too lazy to answer, and picked up a grilled chicken wing.

Daniel was obviously the most interested among the three, and he took the initiative to bring up a new topic: Hey, Delia, have you seen how accurate the boss's intelligence is today? I've said it before, you will never regret joining us.

Daniel is a criminal police officer of the 7th Division and has been with Zacharias for more than three years. Delia used to be a plainclothes officer in another branch and has just been transferred here for more than a month. There have been rumors in the bureau that this young female police officer applied for transfer in order to follow her idol Zacharias .

But this is just a rumor after all, and no one knows what Delia is thinking except herself.

Stop talking! Delia's face flushed, and she stuffed the chicken wing into Daniel's mouth before he had time to take a bite.

Zacharias smiled even more, picked up a sausage and handed it to Delia: Eat it, ignore him, this guy just can't control his mouth.

Thank you. Delia took the bamboo stick with her slightly trembling right hand, showing a shyness unique to a little girl on her face.

Just when Darnell was about to take the opportunity to make a fuss, he saw Zacharias cast a reproachful look, so he obediently lowered his head and ate the chicken wings .

Delia noticed the eye contact between the two men and couldn't help but burst into laughter: Boss, you are really good at managing people.

Before Zacharias could answer, Darnell yelled: It's called 'control' when others take care of me. The boss doesn't need to 'control' me, because I truly admire him and obey him unconditionally.

Come on, you can talk nonsense even when you're drunk. Zechariah patted Daniel's shoulder.

I'm serious, boss. In my mind, you're much better than Howell. Daniel's words were tantamount to directly questioning Zachariah 's immediate superior, and Zachariah frowned when he heard it.

Darnell threw his phone on the table and said indignantly, Look, we did all the work, but Howell was the one who took the limelight, and in the end, most of the credit was attributed to him. What's going on?

Zachariah and Delia came forward curiously to take a look. It turned out to be a video that had just been uploaded to the Internet and quickly became popular. It must have been taken by a customer waiting in front of the Ronghua Hotel .

In the video, you can see a white van parked on the side of the road without turning off the engine and with the headlights on. Suddenly, there was an inexplicable commotion among the people watching on the side of the road. The driver of the van was about to drive away after noticing something unusual. At this moment, a police jeep quickly rushed into the scene and forced the van to stop with a beautiful drifting tail action.

The next scene was very shaken, probably because the photographer ran all the way to the scene of the incident with his mobile phone and tried to take a close-up shot. When the picture became clear again, Howell had subdued the driver and waved repeatedly, asking the onlookers to disperse.

The video also comes with an exaggerated red-letter title: Uncle police officer drifts in a car, catches a thief in one second, so handsome that he has no friends!

Howell was so arrogant on purpose, and winked at the camera, Darnell said rather dissatisfied .

Zacharias was open-minded and said disapprovingly: This video was shot very well. I can feel the full positive energy while watching it.

Boss, do you really not care about your promotion prospects? Darnell was confused, and became more and more excited as he spoke, To be frank, the Seventh Detachment used to be just a make-up in the bureau, and major cases were basically assigned to one. The elites of the second team are following up, and we can only serve as support. Wherever there is a shortage of people, we can go where we are. If you hadn't led the team to solve the shocking robbery at Tianma Jewelry Center, how could we be where we are today?

When Delia heard the words Tianma Jewelry Center, her eyes flashed with excitement. This was a case that was regarded as a miracle by the police! Two years ago, five robbers from a neighboring province came to City D and jointly planned a big deal. They got a batch of guns from smugglers thousands of miles away and hid in the local area. When the plan to rob the Tianma Jewelry Center was formulated, they killed the only local gangster who might leak the news and buried his body in the wilderness.

Such a carefully planned robbery was actually known to Zachariah in advance. When Zachariah asked his leader to send a special police team for support, many people thought he was making a fuss out of nothing and even doubted the reliability of the informant's intelligence.

The police force is about cooperation. What's the point of my accurate intelligence? If Howell hadn't gone against the crowd and secured support from the SWAT team for us, we would have been shot to pieces by that bunch of perverts. Zachariah sighed as he recalled the past.

Zachariah and Daniel were both eyewitnesses. They still remember that although the police sniper attacked first and killed two robbers in succession, the remaining three did not surrender immediately, but picked up their AK-47s and exchanged fire with the police. Fortunately, the police were prepared for this and the crowd was evacuated very quickly. In the end, two more robbers were killed, and the last robber was also shot and arrested. Only a few police officers were slightly injured, and passers-by were unharmed.

Delia looked at the two seniors with admiration and said, This is really amazing. The more the story spreads within the system, the more amazing it becomes. The version I heard is that you even predicted exactly where the robber would park his car. All snipers were on standby and opened fire as soon as they confirmed the robber's identity.

Darnell said with great enthusiasm: Hey, that's how it was back then!

Ah? Can the informant's information be so accurate? Delia looked at Zacharias in astonishment . The latter smiled without saying a word and raised his head to take a big gulp of Coke.

Daniel pretended to be serious and said, This is the boss's secret. We shouldn't pry into it casually.

Oh... Delia's eyes rolled around, obviously not accepting this answer. But as a police officer, she knew the rules very well. Informants and undercover agents were highly confidential, so it was understandable that Zachariah was so secretive about it.

If Howell hadn't taken credit for it in front of the leadership, I think...

Yongsheng! Zachariah suddenly raised his voice, and his usually calm tone was rarely filled with anger, Don’t say anything that will ruin the team atmosphere!

Oh... I'm sorry, I was wrong. Daniel covered his mouth and shrank back into his seat obediently. He was like a tiger with bared fangs and claws the previous second, but at this moment he became a kitten being scolded by his owner.

Zachariah probably felt that his tone was a bit harsh, so he sighed and said, Actually, if you think about it carefully, if Howell hadn't been standing in front to deal with the leaders, I wouldn't have been able to hide behind the scenes so freely and provide intelligence...

Daniel and Delia were both smart young people. When they heard this, they immediately understood that safe and reliable informant resources were extremely scarce treasures, but if Zachariah 's reputation was too great and he rose rapidly in the police station, it would be an invisible pressure on him and the informants behind him, and might even bring disaster to the informants .

So Howell and I have a tacit understanding and work in harmony. Let's focus on our work and ignore the rumors , okay?

Zacharias raised the Coke can and motioned for the two subordinates to clink glasses. His words were neither humble nor condescending, and well-founded. Darnell and Delia nodded repeatedly, and their affection for this low-key boss doubled in their hearts.

However, Delia, who has a keen intuition, still noticed that there was some inexplicable emotion hidden under Zachariah's calm expression - he was clearly a young man who was not yet thirty years old, but he seemed to be a man who had already Have you seen through the old man in this world?

...So boss, you are the winner in life!

Delia was distracted just now, and she didn't know what she missed.

You kid can really talk nonsense!

If you solve a major case in one day and win a beautiful woman, if you find a girlfriend as good as Sister Bartholomew, isn't that considered a winner in life?

How many times have I told you, you are one year older than Bartholomew , please don't call me so old, okay?

Delia had long heard that Zachariah had a girlfriend, but she had just learned her name: Huh? Is the fate of the boss and his sister-in-law related to the Tianma Jewelry Center case? She was full of gossip. It popped up immediately.

Zacharias couldn't help but smile happily: On that day, when the robbers opened fire, I happened to save her life.

Oh , that's too easy to say! Daniel danced with joy. The boss was so awesome at that time. He leapt over and pinned down Bartholomew, who had just turned the corner with a cup of coffee in her hand and was completely unaware. A second later, bullets from the AK-47 flew over. It was really thrilling.

Haha, I'm just lucky...

Poor Sister Bartholomew, I was 'pushed down' by you the first time we met, so I can only follow you from now on.

Zachariah punched Daniel lightly and reminded him, Don't tell dirty jokes when there are girls around!

My Lord, this is unfair. Can it be considered a dirty joke ?

Delia didn't care, and said with a smile: Although it's not pornographic, it's very cold and not funny at all.

The topics discussed by the three gradually moved away from work and cases, and the atmosphere became more and more relaxed. Unconsciously, they talked until past eleven o'clock in the night.

Zacharias looked at the time and said, That's it for today. We have to go to work tomorrow.

Don't worry, boss, you will be on time tomorrow! Darnell still looked energetic. In contrast, Delia looked a little tired and her speech was weak.

Zacharias noticed this detail and ordered: Yongsheng, please send Delia home.

Herself......

Myself......

I didn't expect that the two of them would speak at the same time and then fall silent at the same time. It was a bit awkward.

Zachariah patted Daniel's shoulder and said, Send her home. That's an order.

Yes, sir!

3

April 7, 11:45 p.m., Zechariah's house.

Strictly speaking, this small rented apartment should be the home of Zachariah and Bartholomew . However, Bartholomew recently applied for a staff dormitory from the company, citing the high pressure of work and frequent overtime work. He usually only stays here on weekends.

On a recent weekend, she didn't even come back.

Zachariah took out a can of beer from the refrigerator , sat on the windowsill, and pulled the tab. The bitter and cold beer entered his throat, making him feel instantly relaxed.

People who have too many secrets always have trouble sleeping.

Zacharias had many secrets, the biggest and most critical of which was that the so-called mysterious informant who helped him solve major cases did not exist at all.

From one day when Zechariah was seventeen years old, he realized that he was not an ordinary person, because he experienced that day five times.

At the beginning, it was just an ordinary and normal day, going to and from school, eating and sleeping, nothing out of the ordinary.

However, after getting up the next day, he opened his eyes and found that the date displayed on the phone screen was still yesterday. After getting up, every word his parents said to him, the breakfast that had been prepared long ago, the classmates he met on the way to school... everything told him that today was a repetition of yesterday.

If Zachariah hadn't been a fan of science fiction, he would have been scared to death. He was very brave at that time, and although he was also panicked and afraid, he was more excited and thrilled.

At school, he could easily complete a test paper that he had seen once yesterday. He could even pretend to be a prophet in front of his classmates because he knew everything that would happen next day.

A magical day was about to pass. Zachariah , who usually had a fixed schedule and went to bed on time at ten o'clock , stayed until midnight just to know whether he could successfully enter tomorrow.

An incredible thing happened. Just after the last second of the day, he returned to the morning when the alarm on his phone rang. The moment he opened his eyes, without any pause, the third today began.

There will be a fourth and fifth time next. After experiencing the cycle five times on the same day, Zacharias finally ushered in a new tomorrow. At the same time, he also realized that everyone except himself would lose all memories of the previous four time cycles, and even damaged things would be restored to their original state in the new cycle.

Since the first time he sensed the time loop, Zechariah would fall into this strange phenomenon from time to time. Every time this phenomenon occurred, it would go through five cycles, and only the fifth cycle would become the real reality.

So Zechariah developed a habit of recording the date of each time cycle. He soon discovered that the time cycle did not occur at a fixed frequency. The shortest time interval between the two cycles in the record was only five days, while the longest time interval between the two cycles was thirty-nine days.

He thought this ability was fun at first, but as the number of experience cycles increased, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. After all, sometimes it was a bit annoying to repeat it five times a day if you were unlucky. The first time he truly realized how powerful this ability was was on the first day of his college entrance examination. That day, an uncontrolled time loop occurred, so he had five opportunities to do well on the test paper in front of him. In the end, he was admitted to the top police academy in the country with a score that far exceeded his expectations.

After successfully graduating from college, Zacharias became a criminal police officer, fulfilling his childhood wish. He had just started working, and he had a small expectation in his heart. He hoped that one day he could use the special ability of time loop to solve a major case, make extraordinary achievements, and then embark on the road to success with promotion and salary increase.

However, fate always likes to play tricks on people. After working for several years, time loops did happen again and again, but there was never a case that was suitable for Zacharias to display his strengths, so he has always been an ordinary detective.

Until that day two years ago, his fate turned around. At about 6 pm, he was on his way home when he received an emergency call. He received an order to mobilize the entire city's police force to conduct a carpet search for the five robbers who had robbed the Tianma Jewelry Center with guns that afternoon. They robbed eight jewelry stores in succession with AK-47s, killing 13 innocent citizens and four police officers on duty. The scene was a river of blood, and it was a horrible sight.

Zachariah was assigned the task of guarding the traffic arteries all night, setting up roadblocks, and checking suspicious passing vehicles. While on duty, he fantasized wildly that if a time loop occurred today, he would be able to prevent this murder. , those innocent people will be saved...

Unknowingly, the time came to zero, and Zacharias didn't even realize anything. The next second he returned to the morning of this day.

At that moment, he almost jumped out of bed with joy, because he knew that his life would undergo major changes from now on.

Even though he was mentally prepared, the performance of Goddess of Destiny still far exceeded his expectations. Because at the scene of the crime, Zechariah met Bartholomew .

He remembered very clearly that it was the third cycle of the day. He put himself in danger and entered the jewelry store that was about to be robbed first - Tianma Jewelry Center - as a customer before the incident because he wanted to get up close and personal. Robbers, get first-hand information.

Just as the robber jumped out of the car with the AK-47, Zacharias saw a tall beauty through the glass window. She was wearing a pure white chiffon shirt and an aqua blue skirt. Her right hand was lowered and she was operating a mobile phone with her left hand. Holding a cup of coffee, he walked leisurely towards the gangsters.

What a wonderful and strange picture it is, a goddess full of sunshine and vitality, as pure as snow, walking towards the cruel god of death step by step, but her steps are still relaxed and comfortable .

One of the robbers had already raised his gun at her, and several sharp-eyed passers-by were frightened and ran away.

Get away! Zachariah almost screamed, but unfortunately the woman outside the window couldn't hear him at all.

By the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late.

The robbers probably fired randomly with guns in order to scare passers-by and increase their momentum. Zacharias hurriedly leaned down. He heard screams and wailings coming one after another on the street. Merciless bullets shattered the display windows and scattered glass everywhere.

After the gunshot, Zachariah got up from the ground, and his first reaction was to look at the young woman. She was lying among the broken glass on the ground, her white shirt had been stained black by blood, and her beautiful eyes were staring blankly at the sky. Her life was taken away almost in an instant, so there was no pain on her face, but she still had infinite longing and yearning for a better life.

Zechariah suddenly made up his mind that he must protect this girl and let her have the future that should belong to her.

This is the first time Zachariah sees Bartholomew , and before he learns her name, she is dead.

Ouch!

The cold beer spilled onto Zachariah 's lap, and he was shocked to realize that he was sitting on the balcony, having been in a daze for who knows how long.

him and Bartholomew was about life and death. Does this imply that their love will have the same ending?

It's ridiculous, isn't my existence just to change my destiny? Zachariah said to himself .

Two years ago, Zacharias finally rescued Bartholomew in the fifth cycle on the day of the crime and brought her back to life. Later, he successfully captured the heart of the beautiful woman. And today, he also used the ability of time loop to save Owen, who would have been kidnapped and tortured.

Fate is not worthy to be my opponent! He suddenly thought of this somewhat naive but heroic sentence.

The beer can in his hand was empty, and he was about to take another can . His slightly tipsy eyes happened to glance at the box of business cards that his girlfriend had placed on the desk.

Bartholomew , researcher at Fengteng Gene Center Laboratory .

D City's leading high-tech star company offers generous wages and comprehensive welfare benefits. This job, which many people envy, has created an invisible crack in the relationship between Zachariah and Bartholomew .

No matter how small a crack is, it is still a crack.

Zacharias sighed and gently