[02/21, 12:13, Criminal Investigation Division of Haijing City Bureau]
Lin Heyu and his team arrived in Haijing at noon. The colleagues who stayed in the main office were all resting. Seeing the captain return, they quickly asked how things were in Nanyi.
Yuan Maoqiu spread out his hands: “Guess, a four-character idiom.”
Song Ping, resting her chin on her hand, glanced lazily: “Do we even need to guess? Came back empty-handed, right?”
Yuan Maoqiu gave a thumbs up: “Impressive, impressive, you guessed it right in one go. As expected of the master’s wife!”
Song Ping was momentarily dazed. Lin Heyu held down Yuan Maoqiu’s head and said softly, “Sister Ping, Maoqiu didn’t mean it, please don’t mind.”
Yuan Maoqiu also realized that he had misspoken. Song Ping had not yet come out of the shadow of Zhang Rui’s death. Everyone in the office tried to avoid mentioning it, yet he had to be insensitive enough to call her “master’s wife,” unintentionally reopening old wounds. Even if it was unintentional, it was still his fault.
“It’s okay, what’s the big deal? Are we going to treat it like Voldemort and not mention it?” Song Ping’s lips curved up as she waved her hand, “The living should look forward. Anyway, I don’t plan on remarrying, so you can keep calling me ‘master’s wife.’ I’m used to it.”
Yuan Maoqiu chuckled, praising the master’s wife’s open-mindedness, inner strength, and exemplary role as a strong woman. His flattery made Song Ping laugh and cry at the same time. “Alright, alright, enough of your sweet talk. I’m done talking to you. Heyu, what’s going on in Nanyi?”
“Lost the suspect, couldn’t intercept them. The Nanyi City Bureau has arranged for people to conduct a door-to-door investigation.”
“Lost the suspect?” Lü Kanshan thought of a key issue. “The five million?”
Yuan Maoqiu nodded gravely. “Lost.”
“……”
The office fell silent. Jian Ru murmured, “What if Chief Liu finds out about this and breathes fire in the office?”
Zou Bin patted his shoulder. “Be more confident. Remove the ‘what if.'”
Liu Chenyi rarely showed up, but when he did, it was inevitably to provide ideological guidance. He was different from Yuan Kang. Yuan Kang would come to the team to check on the progress, concerned about the kidnapped children, hoping they would be rescued quickly. Liu Chenyi, however, was concerned about his career, worried about losing face if he was named by the provincial leaders too many times.
Lü Kanshan said gloomily, “You two took Xiao Bei and left without notice. I can already predict Chief Liu coming at us with a knife.”
Yuan Maoqiu retorted, “Who said we left without notice? We applied to Chief Yuan, and he agreed before we went!”
Yeah, right. Everyone knew they acted first and reported later, using his father as a scapegoat.
Everyone sighed. Chief Yuan was indeed pitiful, stuck with these two troublemakers, one of whom was his own son. He often had to clean up their messes.
Sure enough, as soon as Yuan Kang heard that these two rascals were back, he rushed to the scene. Yuan Maoqiu, feeling like he was facing a formidable enemy, pulled Lin Heyu to act as a shield. Lin Heyu remained expressionless as he reported to Chief Yuan, “An unexpected situation occurred. The suspect got away. Most likely, they’re still in Nanyi. We’ve already arranged for an investigation.”
“It wasn’t us who lost them; it was the people from Nanyi,” Yuan Maoqiu quickly added. No wonder Lin Heyu was a Chef—he was too honest. He didn’t even finish his sentence, making it sound like they were taking all the blame, no wonder he was always the scapegoat.
Yuan Kang already knew about the lost suspect from last night. Chief Deng from Nanyi had called him. Since the case had fallen into their jurisdiction, cooperation between the two city bureaus was inevitable, but procedures had to be followed. They would have to come back to report and take the necessary personnel back.
“Rescuing that child was a good thing. Couldn’t you have caught the suspect and taken them to the detention center to find out the whereabouts of the Tu Laogui?” Yuan Kang paced back and forth, then stopped. “Lin Heyu, now that the kidnapper and the ransom are both lost, who is responsible if we can’t find them?”
“This time is different.” Lin Heyu took out his phone and showed a photo taken during the defusal. “Look.”
“This is a homemade bomb. I know.”
“Tu Laogui has never used something like this to kill hostages before. If he had this skill, he would’ve used it to threaten the police long ago.” Lin Heyu’s expression was serious. “So, I suspect he found new accomplices and is planning something big.”
The office buzzed with discussion. Tu Laogui’s wanted posters were all over the country, yet he could still find accomplices. Who would be fearless enough to get involved with him now?
“And the man who came to get the ransom was unfamiliar. It’s already been confirmed that he’s not one of Tu Laogui’s men. He should be one of the new accomplices. If we had caught him directly, we wouldn’t have gotten the location out of him before Tu Laogui, missing the money, went on a killing spree. Who would be responsible then?” Yuan Maoqiu said.
Song Ping nodded. “Maoqiu’s analysis makes sense. Those are children. If anything happens to them, a family will be destroyed. At least they rescued the child. The ransom is only temporarily lost and can still be recovered.”
At this point, arguing about right or wrong was meaningless. Even if Lin Heyu’s actions were outside the original plan, as long as he had a reason, Yuan Kang could accept it. Yuan Kang waved his hand. “Enough, enough. Talking about this was a waste of time. It was better to organize people quickly to go to Nanyi for action.”
“Yes, the first team will go to Nanyi. The second team will continue searching Southern Cheng’an Mountain. We can’t be sure that Tu laogui has left Haijing yet. We should keep looking.” Lin Heyu flipped through his notebook. “Also, we can’t withdraw people from Tu Laogui’s house or his subordinates’ residences. Continue surveillance and report any news immediately.”
“Do we need to assign people to Lin Erde’s house? His body is still in our forensic department,” Jian Ru raised his hand to ask.
“What about his family? Haven’t they come to claim the body?”
“No, I went to his house. There’s only a blind old mother with dementia. She refuses to come, saying her son isn’t dead. She’s seriously ill.”
Another person reported, “He also had a mistress who ran a hair salon. Their relationship wasn’t formal, so she isn’t eligible to claim the body.”
“Still, let’s assign people there. Keep watching. There might be unexpected gains,” Yuan Maoqiu nudged Lin Heyu. “What do you think?”
Lin Heyu nodded. He thought the same. Better to be safe than sorry. Lin Erde had sacrificed himself for Tu Laogui. Maybe Tu Loagui would have a conscience and help take care of his old mother.
“Go home tonight and pack your things. Gather at the city bureau entrance at 8 AM tomorrow,” Lin Heyu assigned the personnel and clapped his hands. “Meeting adjourned. Get to work.”
The office door was pushed open, and Liu Chenyi’s assistant was outside. “Captain Lin, Chief Liu wants to see you.”
Everyone: “……”
What you fear often comes true.
Yuan Kang stopped him. “Assistant Wang, yesterday’s action was approved by me. Chief Liu should know that, right?”
Assistant Wang smiled insincerely. “Chief Yuan, Chief Liu knows. He just wants Captain Lin to come over for a routine inquiry. Don’t worry.”
Lin Heyu agreed without hesitation and left immediately.
Yuan Kang frowned, looking displeased. Yuan Maoqiu sneaked over and whispered, “Dad, Captain Lin’s back looks a bit desolate. Do you think he’s in for a hard time?”
Yuan Kang glared at him. “Afraid now? Haven’t you done enough things first and reported later?”
Yuan Maoqiu chuckled awkwardly but politely.
———
This time, Lin Heyu went to Liu Chenyi’s office and came out in less than fifteen minutes, breaking all records for speed.
Yuan Maoqiu was astonished. “Did the living Yama let you out so quickly? That’s not possible!”
Lü Kanshan stroked his chin. “Let me guess, Chief Liu got so mad he couldn’t even yell at you, right?”
“…” Lin Heyu was speechless. “He didn’t have time to scold me. He heard about the new accomplices and got more anxious than I did.”
“Of course, he did. He’s retiring next year. If a big case like this goes unsolved, his reputation will be tarnished.” Yuan Maoqiu patted Lin Heyu on the back. “Now, Chief Liu is counting on you to solve the case and earn him some merit. You can go all out.”
“Good to hear. I was worried you’d anger Chief Liu to death and get arrested, making me have to interrogate you,” Lü Kanshan said, stretching. “I’m off to the hospital to pick up my wife and kids.”
“What happened? Are both the adults and kids sick?” Yuan Maoqiu asked, wondering why he hadn’t seen Sister Juan today.
“They took a day off for health check-ups,” Lü Kanshan replied.
Hearing him mention children, Lin Heyu asked if Xiao Shitou’s condition had improved. Lü Kanshan shook his head and sighed. “Same as always, a young kid with too many worries. My wife and I decided to finalize the adoption procedures soon. We’ll enroll him and Miaomiao in the same school in September, making it easier for us to manage.”
It was clear that Lü Kanshan and his wife genuinely treated Xiao Shitou as their own child. Yuan Maoqiu crossed his arms and smiled. “Xiao Shitou is quite close to Heyu, but he’s a single man with a busy job, no time to care for a child.”
“Exactly! My wife said the same. If Heyu had a wife, he could adopt Xiao Shitou,” Lü Kanshan added.
Speaking of Lin Heyu’s love life, Yuan Maoqiu exchanged knowing looks with Lü Kanshan, hinting that a relationship for Lin Heyu might be on the horizon. Lü Kanshan perked up, eager for gossip about Lin Heyu’s romantic prospects.
“…,” Lin Heyu didn’t want to see their matchmaker-like faces, so he left and headed to the forensic department. He knocked on the door of the small two-story building. Qi Wenyu, Gu Yan’s apprentice, answered. The room smelled of smoke.
Qi Wenyu, adjusting his black-framed glasses, looked embarrassed. “Captain Lin, I’m a first-time offender. Go easy on me.”
Lin Heyu quickly assessed the situation and knew how insincere the “first-time offender” claim was. He didn’t bother with it. “Where’s your teacher?”
“Teacher Gu went to the provincial office and will be back tomorrow,” Qi Wenyu cautiously asked, “Is there something you need?”
Lin Heyu wanted to ask about the test results of the skin tissue samples from under Lin Erde’s nails. Qi Wenyu pulled a report from a stack and handed it over. “We extracted the DNA, but it doesn’t match anything in the database. We don’t know whose it is yet.”
Tu Laogui and his men all had criminal records, with their fingerprints and DNA stored in police databases. Since there was no match, the person who killed Lin Erde was likely one of the new accomplices. Lin Heyu flipped through the report and handed it back to Qi Wenyu. “Any other findings?”
“Oh, there’s the mark on the back of his neck. I made an impression of it.” Qi Wenyu took out a sample from a drawer. “Your guess was right. The two lines look like the hour and minute hands of a clock.”
Lin Heyu examined the sample. Qi Wenyu’s impression was much clearer than the sketch Lin Heyu had made. At the bottom, there was indeed a “6,” indicating the clock’s orientation. With the hour and minute hands, deducing the time wasn’t difficult.
On the abstract and blurred surface, the time appeared to be 3:05. Lin Heyu couldn’t be sure but could estimate the approximate time. He pondered and reviewed Lin Erde’s autopsy report. The body was found too late, and the time of death could only be roughly estimated. The time left by the killer had no connection to 3 o’clock. What special meaning did this clock face have?
“What do you think it means?” Lin Heyu asked Qi Wenyu.
Qi Wenyu crossed his arms and shrugged. “Professor Gu and I discussed this. Captain Lin, have you seen the sci-fi film Lucy? Lucy said everything in the world is interconnected, and existence is only proven through time.”
Lin Heyu pondered, and Qi Wenyu smiled. “This time mark must signify someone’s existence or something. What exactly, I don’t know. It’s up to you to find out.”
———
[02/22, 10:50 AM, Nanyan Spring Residence, Haijing City]
Lin Heyu was packing his clothes, preparing for an indefinite departure. Taking the opportunity, he cleaned his entire house. By the time he finished, it was already 11 PM.
He looked at the clock. It was 1 AM where Yi Shi was. He wondered if Yi Shi was asleep.
He sent a message, and Yi Shi quickly replied: [No, I’m interrogating a suspect.]
Lin Heyu did some quick mental math. Yi Shi’s interrogation had been going on for a long time. Were they dealing with a tough suspect?
Lin Heyu: [Tough nut to crack?]
Yi Shi: [Yeah, very loyal, refuses to talk.]
Lin Heyu: [Can’t you use his family?]
Yi Shi: [He only has a mother with dementia and a mistress who runs a hair salon. Neither can be leveraged.]
A mother with dementia? A mistress with a hair salon? Why did this sound so familiar?
Lin Heyu: [Lin Erde?]
Yi Shi was taken aback. How did he know?
Immediately, Yi Shi received several photos of a corpse, taken from various angles, including full body, face, and close-ups, all showing the man in the interrogation room dead from a fall.
[He’s dead, fell from a height. I even checked his autopsy report today.]
Though unsure how Lin Erde had died, Yi Shi had an idea forming.
Yi Shi: [Anything else?]
Lin Heyu: [The data on my phone is incomplete. I’ll send you all the case files once I have them collected.]
It seemed he still remembered their agreement to exchange case information. However, at this moment, all that was needed was the information related to Lin Erde. Lin Heyu sent over a few videos, and before Yi Shi could open them, a cold smile appeared on his lips.
Two rounds of pre-interrogators had already gone in without progress. It was late at night, and everyone in the room was exhausted. Suddenly, Yi Shi stood up. “Let me interrogate him.”
The crowd’s eyes focused on him. The people from Haijing looked curious and expectant, while those from Nanyi, familiar with Yi Shi’s temperament, were cautious. Shao Shiqing quickly reminded, “Hey, Xiao Yi, take it easy. This is Haijing, not Nanyi…”
“Yes,” Yi Shi nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll use the gentlest method.”
The entire Nanyi team: “…”
Why don’t we ever feel any gentleness?
Yuan Kang was also full of curiosity. He had heard that Yi Shi was remarkable. Previously, he had seen Yi Shi’s extraordinary investigative intuition, but he had never witnessed his interrogation skills. Yuan Kang raised his hand, intending to let the pre-interrogator out and let Yi Shi take over.
Yu Xue stopped him and looked at Yi Shi. “First, tell me, what exactly is this gentle method?”
Yi Shi handed his phone over. Yu Xue glanced at it and looked surprised. He exchanged a glance with Yi Shi, who nodded firmly, showing his confidence.
Everyone was extremely curious. What did the two of them see? They were teammates, after all. Couldn’t they share it with everyone? Unfortunately, from their angle, they could only see the black phone case, which made them all the more anxious.
“How long will it take?” Yu Xue asked.
Yi Shi held up one hand. Yu Xue couldn’t believe it. “Fifty minutes?”
“Five minutes.”
Liu Chenyi rolled his eyes. Five minutes? What a joke. They had been interrogating for over five hours already!
“Alright, I believe you,” Yu Xue smiled slightly. “Go ahead, make it quick.”
