"Without the small piece of finger, Dandan’s hand couldn’t make a full recovery!" The woman paused for a long time before she could continue. Wiping away her tears she spoke, "When the doctors were doing the surgery to repair Dandan’s finger, Dandan’s father knelt in front of them, begging them that no matter what, they couldn’t let Dandan’s hand be harmed, that she was the family’s only hope!
"But…even then, the doctor told us after the surgery, that the joints in Dandan’s finger had been severely injured, that she wouldn’t make a full recovery. Her middle finger’s ability to bend was severely affected! Do you know what that meant for a child whose entire life was piano? Being unable to bend her finger was equivalent to a death sentence! Upon hearing this, my husband had a heart attack and fainted right there! If it wasn’t for the emergency treatment, my husband would’ve left us then and there!"
"Then what happened?" Zhao Yu asked for more details. On top of feeling pity for the child prodigy and her family’s misfortune, he also had a bigger question in mind.
"After that, we obviously went to the competition organizers and called the police!" The elderly woman’s face was expressionless, "But by that time the finale of the piano competition had already started. With so many districts arriving, the government officials, the judges, and the host didn’t want Dandan’s accident to affect other contestants. So, they buried this incident, and asked the police to only investigate after the competition was over!
"I was just an ignorant housewife. My daughter and my husband were both in the hospital at the time. What was I supposed to do? Other than listening to them, what could I do?!" Regret was written all over the woman’s face, "After the competition was over, everyone had already left, so how could you catch anyone? The police investigated the incident as minimally as they could, and then they left it at that.
"The only thing we knew was that the thing that had cut my daughter’s finger was some sort of sharp and sturdy razor that had been hidden between the piano’s black keys! According to Dandan’s recollection, the razor had been purposely placed in an unusual spot. Only Dandan’s piece required her to play a very heavy note, so that only she would be cut by the razor."
"Then whoever placed the razor was targeting your daughter?" Zhao Yu asked.
"That seems to be the case. Even if other contestants had played across that spot, nobody was playing an especially heavy note, so if they had been cut it wouldn’t have been as severe as what happened to my daughter!"
"Then the culprit had to be one of the other nine contestants! Someone was jealous of your daughter’s talent, or feared that she would do better than them! That’s such a low blow!" Zhao Yu could not help but be angry. "When your daughter’s hand was cut, the person was definitely watching! As soon as you left, they came out and erased the evidence, took away the razor, and even took your the piece of your daughter’s finger! What a sneaky bastard!"
"Of course, we knew that," the elderly shook her head helplessly, "but at that time there were no surveillance cameras, and no weapon. Not to mention the long time between the incident and the investigation. All fingerprints, and bloodstains were long gone. With no evidence, how could they investigate? Even though my husband he tried many times after his recovery, he came to a dead end every time."
"Tsk, tsk." Zhao Yu thought to himself, "If this had happened now, then they definitely could’ve caught the sneaky bastard. This type of person is completely unforgivable!"
"At first, even though Dandan’s finger was hurt," The elderly continued, "with time and practice, she regained most function. Not only did her finger grow back partially, but the finger was able to bend a little as well. It just took a little more effort. But after a long time, her dad and I realized that Dandan had not only injured her finger that day, but her heart as well!
"Having injured her hand caused Dandan to have severe trauma! At first, she tried to play some piano, but gradually she became too afraid. At her worst, she started shaking as soon as she saw a piano! Me and her dad spent quite a bit of money looking for a psychologist to help, but her trauma never went away.
"This went on for a few years, and our family of three was completely exhausted and bankrupt, without any hope. This truly crushed Dandan’s dad, and he became bedridden and left us soon after." The old woman took a long sigh, "This is life! At least my daughter was very strong and isn’t afraid to work hard, so the two of us managed to survive! But now, I…" Perhaps the old woman wanted to talk about her cancer, but after some thought she decided not to and changed the subject, "Mr. Police Officer, now that you know, if you see my daughter, please don’t mention piano! As a favor to me!" Speaking once again of her pain, the elderly held back more tears.
Zhao Yu nodded, and pitied their family greatly. If they had just been poor then it would not have been so bad, but they had had such a bright future, but it had it stolen away from them. Such misfortune was even more pitiful. If this tragedy had not have happened, then their family might have been able to live like Luo Meina or Li Xinhua, or even better than them!
"If it was like this," Zhao Yu continued to ask, "then how come you guys didn’t go back home? With such a difficult situation, didn’t you guys have any relatives to help you out?"
"You see," the elderly sighed again, "Dandan’s father was very stubborn. Our relatives were all on bad term with him. Back then, after we sold our shrine, he left the village after a huge fight! How could we have the face to go back?"
"Oh…" No wonder the girl prodigy and her family had disappeared after the piano competition! Zhao Yu never expected the truth to be something like this. Even though the story was unexpected, it proved the story of the Lost Hand Case. What the old woman had said was enough to confirm that the direction of Zhao Yu’s investigation was completely correct. According to the woman’s description, the girl prodigy had become the Lost Hand Case’s primary suspect!
The reason was clear. Li Dan’s entire life had been ruined by the piano competition. She had all the reason in the world to want revenge against someone who ruined her! Li Dan had injured her right hand, and the victims of the Lost Hand Case had all lost their right hand! There had to be some sort of connection between the two.
Zhao Yu had read Li Dan’s mother’s medical record. The previous year in May, her mother underwent surgery right at the end of the two Lost Hand Case. Then, after nine months of chemotherapy, her mother had entered resting period, so she finally had the chance to do it again, enacting the third incident of the Lost Hand Case! Not to mention, she had worked at the theatre troupe, and her house was also so close to key locations in the case.
Zhao Yu finally felt that this time he had found the truth behind the Lost Hand Case! The culprit he had been painstakingly looking for should be the child prodigy, Li Dan!