Chapter 6
“D…DEPUTY SERGEANT T-TAO!”
Tao Ran turned around to see someone sprinting wildly toward him. It was the district bureau’s Little Four-Eyes—Xiao Haiyang, the one with the rapid-fire mouth.
It seemed Xiao Haiyang hadn’t had time yet to replace his broken glasses; they sat lopsided on his face, falling below his cheekbone as he skidded to a stop in front of Tao Ran. Xiao Haiyang’s features had a stiffness reminiscent of a facelift, and his expression was strangely severe, yet he was gasping for breath, panting so violently that Tao Ran felt a sympathetic choking sensation in his own chest. He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers, then adjusted his glasses, which clung for dear life to the end of his nose. Finally, taking his phone out of his pocket so that he could read his notes, he began, “Deputy Sergeant Tao, I have a report for you.”
Tao Ran waited patiently for Xiao Haiyang’s breathing to steady. “Don’t panic. Take your time.”
“You see, during yesterday’s door-to-door inquiries on the West Side, I noticed that the living situation in that building is pretty chaotic. The turnover rate for tenants is high in general, and tends to be seasonal. Tenants change jobs and move so frequently that it’s less like an apartment complex and more like a fleabag extended-stay motel. The people living there aren’t very close to each other, except for those who come from the same area and watch each other’s backs. For all our efforts yesterday, we didn’t gather much useful information.”
“Mm.” Tao Ran nodded, encouraging him subtly.
“But one of He Zhongyi’s housemates did come from the same province as him. His name is…” Xiao Haiyang checked his notes. “Zhao Yulong. He and the deceased were very close, and we were told that he helped He Zhongyi get his delivery job. But Ma Xiaowei said Zhao Yulong had gone home for the past few days.”
Tao Ran raised his eyebrows in surprise. This Zhao Yulong was precisely the person he was looking for.
“Last night, I found the person in charge of stock delivery for that café chain and got Zhao Yulong’s contact details,” Xiao Haiyang continued. “After I called Zhao Yulong and told him what happened, he promised to take the last long-distance bus back to Yancheng that same night. I’m meant to meet him today.”
Tao Ran looked at Xiao Haiyang contemplatively. “I thought the district bureau was focusing its investigation on Ma Xiaowei.”
Xiao Haiyang’s face tightened even further. He fiddled with the hem of his button-down, perhaps unconsciously. “Well, something feels off about that mysterious person who gave He Zhongyi the phone. There are still too many unanswered questions for us to be certain that Ma Xiaowei was the perpetrator. I said that to our sergeant as well…but he told me to stop digging for no reason, and not to think I’m always right.”
At that, Tao Ran’s face darkened, his kindly smile disappearing. “What time are you meeting Zhao Yulong?”
“Oh.” Xiao Haiyang checked his watch. “In an hour, if his bus is on time.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tao Ran said decisively. “Come on!”
✦ ✦ ✦
WHILE JUNIOR OFFICERS pounded the streets under the hot sun, Lord Fei reclined against the soft leather of his revolving office chair, his temple propped against his fingers. The laptop on his desk displayed a full encapsulation of He Zhongyi’s brief, unremarkable life. After a pause, Fei Du found a number in his contact list and dialed it.
“Hey, Chang-xiong? It’s me.” Fei Du listened to the reply over the phone, then bowed his head with a laugh. “Yeah. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, but there’s something I really need your help with.”
Less than half an hour later, Fei Du had successfully acquired what he’d sought: footage from the security cameras near Chengguang Mansion from the night the mansion opened.
It was lunch hour. Fei Du heated a bottle of sweetened milk in the kitchen microwave, complimented the secretary’s figure in passing, then locked himself in his office and put on his earphones. Through them, he looped the same song he’d played on repeat in his car. Then he pulled out a sheet of A4 paper. Using an abstract style of drawing that only he understood, he sketched a simple map, then twirled the fountain pen and thought for a moment. He drew a few light circles, then wrote “8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.” Another pause followed, and then he changed “8:00” to “8:30.”
Fei Du drew a few files from the large collection of security footage and compiled them. Then he chose the sections of the footage timestamped 8:30 to 9:30 and fast-forwarded through them. Scenes from multiple different cameras flickered on-screen. Fei Du leaned back lazily in his chair, every ounce of focus in him seeming to concentrate in his eyes.
✦ ✦ ✦
LUO WENZHOU STROLLED PAST an intersection in Huashi, a briefcase under his arm and his flashy sunglasses set firmly on his face. Now and then, he raised his arm to hail a passing taxi, but none were vacant. Seeing that, the drivers of unlicensed cabs—a local specialty in Huashi—called out to him in unison from their parking spots on the side of the street.
“Hey, man, need a ride?”
“Where’re you headed?”
“It’s cheap—and faster than a taxi!”
Luo Wenzhou inspected the platoon fastidiously, at last pausing in front of a young man with a flattop. The young man was extremely shrewd. He opened the door for Luo Wenzhou immediately. “Hop in, sir. Where are you headed?”
Luo Wenzhou didn’t say a word. He bent down and got in.
The driver switched the AC on and pulled the car out of the line. He was very young, no older than twenty. Compared to his comrades, with their grease-slick style of wooing customers, he seemed inexperienced and cautious. Glancing at Luo Wenzhou in the rearview mirror, he politely reminded his customer, “You haven’t said where you’d like to go, sir…?”
“Just keep driving.” Luo Wenzhou took his shades off, and his piercing gaze met the driver’s in the mirror. The driver froze, his expression growing nervous. Unhurried, Luo Wenzhou opened the briefcase and pulled out a photocopied document. “I have an anonymous report here.” He flipped casually through it.
The driver’s face immediately fell, and his car nearly grazed the one next to it, which responded with a long, loud honk.
“Don’t worry. I’m not from your district bureau,” said Luo Wenzhou. “Keep driving.”