Silent Testimony - Chapter 10

Late at night, Tao Ling lay sideways on the soft, large bed, her eyes slightly closed. Sleepiness surged over her like a tide. Just as she was about to lose consciousness and drift into a dream, the sudden chime of a WeChat notification sounded in her ear. Drowsily, she reached for her phone, managing to lift her eyelids to check the unread message.

It was a voice message from Liu Yun.

“Xiao Ling, are you off work yet? I want to talk about something.”

Tao Ling typed: 【Mom, go ahead.】

“Ai, what was wrong with your sister-in-law tonight? I’ve never seen her get so angry before.”

“And you, why did you refuse the date Tao Zong set up for you? That’s a good thing!”

Tao Ling did not want to argue with Liu Yun: 【Mom, I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.】

“Hey, you really are!”

“Oh, right. Your sister-in-law gave your father a 600 yuan red packet, but she gave me 800 for my birthday earlier this year. Your father is annoyed and has been complaining constantly.”

【How much red packet my sister-in-law gives is her freedom,】 Tao Ling emphasized for what felt like countless times. 【Mom, can you please learn to distinguish right from wrong and not always blindly follow whatever Dad says, okay?】

【Where has my sister-in-law done poorly? After my brother went missing, she did everything she could to help find him—filing a police report, placing ads in the newspaper, asking friends to inquire…】

【She has given you both a red packet for your birthdays for the past two years. Dad’s lumbar spine was bad, and my sister-in-law even introduced a professor of orthopedics from Shujiang to him. It was him who didn’t want to spend the money for treatment, so he didn’t go to the hospital.】

Tao Ling stated the facts of how the original host’s sister-in-law had treated the Tao family well, omitting the details of her shift in attitude toward the host herself.

“I don’t think she’s bad; it’s just that your father keeps saying that if it weren’t for her, Xiao Yang wouldn’t have suddenly returned from abroad, and he wouldn’t have gone missing.”

Tao Ling felt a headache coming on: 【Dad is just being utterly unreasonable. Don’t you remember? Brother comes home for two months of rest after every project he finishes.】

“That is true.”

【Mom, I’m going to apply for dormitory accommodation.】 The reason Tao Ling had put off moving out of the old building was that Tao Luhai (her father) had started experiencing frequent lumbar spine pain in March and could not lift heavy objects. She usually helped Liu Yun sort and organize the fish products before riding her bike to work.

She knew Liu Yun (her mother) was not highly educated, so she tried to persuade her gently. She had spoken too harshly when she suffered from sunstroke two days prior, and afterward, she reflected that her mother had gone through difficulty raising her, so as a daughter, she should be more understanding.

However, Tao Ling no longer wanted to endure this inner turmoil and realized she must first free herself from this cage to improve her mother’s life.

Liu Yun did not understand: “Why live in a dorm? Isn’t it better to live at home?”

Tao Ling stated directly: 【I can’t rest properly at home, which affects my work.】

“Let me discuss buying an air conditioner with your father again.”

【No need, Mom. I’m transferring 2,000 yuan to you. Give 500 yuan to Aunt Zhang and ask her to help move the goods twice a day.】 Aunt Zhang, who had a stall next door selling and preparing chickens, was famously strong and occasionally helped Tao Ling move the fish.

“Ai, your father won’t agree.”

【You bring it up first and see what he says.】

【He’ll be back after his shower. You should go to bed soon.】

Liu Yun switched to manual typing, and the message reached Tao Ling three minutes later.

【Okay, good night.】 All sleepiness had vanished, and the rock weighing on her heart made it harder for her to breathe.

People say it is easy to become melancholic at night, and Tao Ling was no exception. She wondered: If she successfully took the first step, would things become better afterward?

The next day, driven by her biological clock, Tao Ling woke up and changed her clothes before 7 o’clock. She opened the door just as Li Hewei was coming out of her study with a coffee cup, letting out a quiet yawn: “Morning.”

“Morning.” Tao Ling looked past her, seeing the opposite room covered with drawings and lifelike figures sketched in pencil. She couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Wei, did you stay up all night?”

“Yes.” Li Hewei felt she was not thinking straight—she often complained about others forgetting to eat or sleep, and yet here she was, imitating them. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep. You order some takeout to eat.”

“Sister Wei, shouldn’t you eat something before you sleep?”

Li Hewei returned to her room to grab her phone and opened the takeout app: “You’re right. What do you want to eat?”

“Do we have any noodles at home?”

Li Hewei looked up: “Yingqiu bought instant noodles.”

“And eggs?” Tao Ling walked toward the kitchen.

“Yes.”

Tao Ling spoke in a gentle, soft voice: “Sister Wei, takeout has too many preservatives, and the ingredients aren’t fresh.”

Her stepmother had once nagged her with the same words when she worked in Shenzhen, constantly eating at the cafeteria and ordering takeout while working long hours.

Old-fashioned, indeed, Li Hewei thought. She opened the cupboard next to the refrigerator, took out two packets of instant noodles, and deliberately sang a contradictory tune: “Instant noodles also have preservatives.”

“The noodle cake itself doesn’t need added preservatives, and I won’t use the seasoning packet.” Tao Ling took two eggs, cracked them, and poured the egg liquid into an empty bowl, adding a little salt and pepper before quickly stirring with chopsticks. Then, she boiled the noodles in the milk pot on the left and heated oil to fry the egg in the wok on the right. The noodles were cooked just as the egg was ready to come out—a bowl of egg-tossed noodles was complete.

Her movements were practiced and skilled, and Li Hewei watched, her eyes filled with unconcealed surprise.

“Want to try some?” Tao Ling held the noodle bowl, a faint smile spreading across her features, gentle like a slow, early-morning breeze in early spring.

Li Hewei’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. Before she could process the fleeting abnormality, Tao Ling had already placed the bowl squarely on the round table outside the kitchen and gently called her: “Sister Wei?”

“Oh, right.” Li Hewei walked over and sat down, taking the chopsticks from her.

Tao Ling had not added any other seasonings, preserving the original freshness of the egg noodles. Li Hewei chewed slowly, only sensing the noodles to be light and savory, soft yet resilient, with the mellow aroma of wheat. She praised sincerely: “It’s delicious.”

“What about you? Go make another bowl.”

“Okay.” Seeing her happy, Tao Ling’s steps became lighter as well. She loved to cook and study food; it was the earliest hobby that brought her a sense of accomplishment.

Around 8 o’clock, the two finished breakfast. Li Hewei returned to her room to catch up on sleep, and Tao Ling went to the office alone to handle the follow-up work. Around 3 p.m., Li Hewei sat at her desk and noticed a piece of paper tucked under the pen holder in her peripheral vision. She reached for it, and her gaze fell upon the content.

It was an Accommodation Application.

She quickly scanned the contents and signed the second-to-last column: The situation is true, and the application is approved. Li Hewei August 2, 2015

During breakfast, Tao Ling had mentioned her plan to apply for dormitory accommodation again. Li Hewei, considering the future misfortune that would befall her, invited the other woman to live at her place but was gently declined.

“You won’t have to pay rent; we’ll just split the utilities.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Sister Wei, but I’ll just stay in the dorm. It’ll be more convenient for commuting.”

The dorm conditions were indeed said to be good—all two-person rooms—so Li Hewei did not press the issue.

As for the portrait she had stayed up all night to draw, after further modifications, she had sent it to Qiu Wan two minutes ago.

In the woods on the west bank of the Liuling River, the Serious Crime Squad police officers discovered tracks where a woven bag had been dragged. The sun was blazing hot at the moment. Qiu Wan found a shady spot and called Li Hewei: “Hello, Captain Li.”

“Captain Qiu, what is it?”

“We may have found a possible body dumping site. I’ll send you the location.”

“Okay.”

Qiu Wan hung up the phone and then noticed Li Hewei’s message, which she forwarded to Cheng Yingqiu: 【Professor Cheng, this is the simulated portrait of the victim in the 7.31 case, reconstructed by one of our colleagues. Please help us write a missing person notice to search for the body.】

【My sister-in-law stayed up all night to draw this, huh?】

【OK, I’m on it.】

【Wait, you should write the draft and send it to me. After review, it will be broadcast on Pucheng News and the Legal Channel in a loop.】

【The colleague responsible for this is on leave, and I am in the suburbs.】

【Fine, I’ll help you out.】

Ten minutes later, Cheng Yingqiu completed the first draft according to the format and transferred the file to her.

【Thank you. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.】

【Oh, no, no need.】

Cheng Yingqiu wished for their interactions to be limited to work. She could gossip, but she could not simply accept casual meals.

At that moment, a colleague next to Qiu Wan received information and told her: “Captain Qiu, there are only two road entrances into the woods from the main road. Directly opposite the first entrance, there is a tire repair shop with surveillance cameras installed.”

“I’ll go check it out.”

Qiu Wan typed a line but forgot to press send, tucking her phone into her trousers pocket.

On the other side, Cheng Yingqiu was sitting on the sofa eating ice cream to cool down, paying attention to the activity in the chat box. She muttered: Stingy person, no sincerity. Doesn’t even give one a chance to refuse twice.

Forty minutes later, Li Hewei arrived at the scene with two forensics experts and a camera technician.

He Ying crouched down to observe and collect samples from the drag marks: “Fortunately, it’s been sunny recently. We might be able to detect the material of the woven bag.” She lightly pinched the remaining residue with her gloved hand, sighing, “But it might be a false alarm. This type of woven bag is extremely common.”

“Sister He, come here for a moment.” Li Hewei bent down, having noticed a detail.

“High heels?”

“Yes, the tape measure.” Li Hewei took the ruler offered by her colleague.

“Xiao Li, you shouldn’t measure it like that.” Since special skills require specialized knowledge, He Ying first measured the height of the heel, then the length, estimating the size: “Size 41 or 42.”

The Serious Crime Squad colleagues were surprised: “She must be at least 175 centimeters tall.”

Li Hewei had seen many things: “Not necessarily. There are quite a few women with large feet.”

Over there, Qiu Wan had obtained half a month’s worth of surveillance footage from the repair shop. She saw them talking with their heads lowered from a distance and only spoke when she got closer: “Captain Li, here’s the footage. I hope there’s something useful.” She asked He Ying, “Sister He, what did you find?”

The area nearby was desolate, with few pedestrians coming and going. Since this shoe print was relatively new, He Ying judged: “High-heeled shoe print. The suspect is probably a woman.”

“Are there any other shoe prints?” Qiu Wan asked the Serious Crime Squad colleagues.

“Boss, there’s one here too.”

“And here!”

Deeper in the woods, people successively discovered more shoe prints.

He Ying measured the dimensions: “All the same person.”

They followed the trail of shoe prints until they reached the other entrance where there were no surveillance cameras.

The Serious Crime Squad colleagues gritted their teeth: “Cunning! It seems the footage we just got won’t be very useful.”

“It means she knew where the cameras were,” Qiu Wan instructed the police officer beside her. “Xiao Liao, go and retrieve three months’ worth of surveillance footage from the repair shop.”

“I’m on it. I’ll go now.”

“Captain Li, where are you going?” Qiu Wan closely followed Li Hewei’s footsteps.

“Look ahead, the small convenience store.”

Qiu Wan shook her head: “We asked. They don’t have surveillance.”

“What about details? We now know the suspect might be a woman.”

Qiu Wan raised an eyebrow, taking the hint: “So, anyone who might have witnessed the scene will become a person we question.”

Li Hewei nodded, pulled two yuan from her bag, and quickened her pace: “Ma’am, a bottle of water.” She handed the money to the woman and winked at Qiu Wan, “Captain Qiu, you take over.”

She did not want to waste words; this kind of work truly belonged to the Serious Crime Squad.

Qiu Wan showed her police ID: “Ma’am, I am a police officer from the Pucheng City Public Security Bureau Serious Crime Squad. I want to ask you about a few things.”

The woman nodded: “Officer, please ask.”

“You run this store here. Do many people visit every day?”

“Not many. Passersby usually buy water or instant noodles.” She turned and pointed to the tile-roofed house not far away: “There are also a few households behind us who occasionally buy things like salt and MSG.”

Qiu Wan helped her recall: “Have you witnessed anything unusual recently? For example, a woman dragging a woven bag into the woods ahead?”

“Oh, yes, yes! She was so tall! I took an extra look.”

Qiu Wan was delighted and turned on her voice recorder: “When was this?”

“It was many days ago, at least a week, around three or four in the afternoon.” The woman gestured: “Officer, she looked about as tall as you.”

Qiu Wan recorded the key point: height around 175 centimeters.

Li Hewei took out her sketchbook and asked, “What color clothes was she wearing?”

“A pale yellow long dress.”

“Do you remember what she looked like?”

The woman waved her hand: “She was wearing a hat and a mask. I couldn’t see clearly.”

“What about her eyes?”

“No particular impression.”

“Short hair or long hair?”

“Long hair. She was wearing a hat, and it looked a little messy.”

“Was there anything else special about her?”

“Does the way she walked count as special? She was dragging something and walked very strangely.”

“How strange?”

“She was limping. I was truly afraid she might fall down.”

Li Hewei tilted her head: “Captain Qiu, maybe the woven bag was heavy, and it was a bit difficult for her to drag.”

Qiu Wan agreed.

Li Hewei continued to ask, “Ma’am, was she wearing any jewelry? Like earrings or a necklace.”

The woman repeatedly shook her head.

Li Hewei put away her sketchbook.

“Thank you for your help, Ma’am. If you remember anything later, you can call this number.” Qiu Wan left a piece of paper.

As she wrote, the woman accidentally glimpsed the wristwatch on her wrist and clapped her hands: “Oh, she was wearing a watch, and it was set with diamonds! It was sparkling. She must be rich.”

Quan Wan quickly asked, “What did the diamonds look like? How many were there? Were they on the top or the bottom?”

“Hmm, Officer, maybe two or three. I can’t remember exactly where.”

“Look at this.” Li Hewei quickly sketched a watch and asked the woman to identify it.

The woman pointed to the picture where the diamonds were distributed in the upper right corner: “It looked like this one.”

“Thank you very much.”

They said goodbye, and Li Hewei handed the sketchbook to her: “It probably looks like this.”

“Truly lightning speed.” Qiu Wan had long heard of Li Hewei’s skill; the Shuzhou TV station had once reported that she helped the police identify a suspect based on just two blurry video clips.

Li Hewei understood that Qiu Wan’s praise was based on her knowledge of the original host. Her tone was calm and measured: “We still need some facial features.”

“Let’s hope the surveillance footage can help us.”

“Yes. What about the source of the body? I see the community police information platform has already issued the notice to search for the body. Have you received any calls?” The notices were published through different channels, and the TV station was only one of them.

As luck would have it, right after she spoke, the phone in Qiu Wan’s pocket vibrated slightly. She pulled out her phone and answered.

“Hello? Pucheng Public Security Bureau Serious Crime Squad.”

A clear voice, tinged with a slight tremor, came from the receiver: “Officer, the missing person notice you posted this afternoon… the deceased seems to be my boyfriend.”