Silent Testimony - Chapter 15

Despite a torrential downpour hours earlier during the Sanfu (Dog Days) period, the moment the sun fully emerged, those outdoors could not feel the slightest hint of coolness.

The criminal investigation vehicle was parked at the south gate of Huicui Villa. The team of four followed Sun Luying’s private secretary on foot as they walked inside.

“Officers, please register.” The security guard routinely offered a ledger.

The secretary picked up the pen and said with a smile: “They are police officers here to handle some business. I’ll just sign.”

The security guard acknowledged: “You know, our community has strict management.” He waited for the secretary to finish writing the entry time, then pressed the automatic release button to let them through.

Huicui Villa is a high-end development project by Rongke Group, a local real estate company in Pucheng. The villa area has a low plot ratio, high green coverage, and strong privacy. There are only five villas on two mu (about 0.33 acres) of land, with the rest being supporting facilities. The secretary was amiable and warm-hearted and never seemed bothered, always smiling when she spoke: “Officers, I reminded Ms. Sun that Yang Guang was dishonest a long time ago. I never thought he was stringing along five people simultaneously.”

“Sister, who told you that?” During the investigation of a case, the police strictly kept all known evidence confidential and had not disclosed the existence of Yang Guang’s four other girlfriends to Sun Luying, so He Ying couldn’t help but ask.

“Ms. Sun, of course. Officer, please don’t be offended, but Ms. Sun has many friends.” Sun Luying was the Chief Operating Officer of Rongke Group, naturally having a wide network. The secretary chattered on, “I only found out today that Ms. Sun knew about Yang Guang’s character, but she turned a blind eye. Who can blame that scumbag for being rather handsome and having a sweet tongue? He’s quite likable.”

Li Hewei said inexplicably: “You mean, it’s impossible for Ms. Sun to have killed Yang Guang, right?”

“Of course! The most Ms. Sun would do if she was tired of Yang Guang is tell him to scram. Who would commit murder?” The secretary spoke confidently. “Ms. Sun is not only Rongke’s COO; she also has two small companies of her own. How could she possibly do something illegal for a boy toy?”

Qiu Wan had also mentioned that the amount Sun Luying transferred to Yang Guang had been decreasing since May, guessing that her novelty would last only a few more months. Thus, Li Hewei treated this as casual conversation and agreed: “I think so too.”

They walked through an orderly path of bluestone slabs crisscrossing a lawn. He Ying asked the secretary: “How much further?”

“It’s just past that garden.” The secretary led the group forward. After walking for half a minute, the sight of a cluster of colorful, competing flowers came into view, next to a rock garden, a fish pond, and two sets of iron tables and chairs. A person was feeding the fish. She greeted them, “Sister Liu.”

Sister Liu, the cleaning lady, asked: “Oh, Xiao Xu, who are they?”

“I’m taking the police inside to take a look.” The secretary quickly interjected: “Ms. Sun knows about it.”

“Alright, you know the password, open the door yourself.”

Xiao Meng couldn’t help but click his tongue: “Truly wealthy people.”

“Officer, the real estate market has been good for the past two years, and Rongke has indeed made a lot of money. Even ordinary sales staff have a monthly salary of twenty to thirty thousand, let alone our Ms. Sun.” The secretary entered the password, successfully unlocked the heavy security door, and pushed it open. She led the four people through the luxurious reception hall and elegant dining room, finally pointing to the sliding door on the right side of the leisure area: “The swimming pool is back there.”

Li Hewei thanked her: “Thank you, Secretary Xu.”

“Oh, Ms. Sun instructed me, so of course, I have to get the job done properly.”

“No wonder your Ms. Sun earns so much money; she is indeed very considerate.” He Ying put on shoe covers and gloves and walked toward the swimming pool.

Splitting up, Tao Ling surveyed the pool and the garden. Li Hewei quietly asked her: “Tao Ling, did you notice anything?”

Tao Ling analyzed: “She should have other villas.”

“Yes.” Li Hewei turned and asked: “Secretary Xu, what is the pool’s water change cycle, and when was the last time the water was changed?”

“The water is changed once every twenty days. The last change was around July 15th.” The secretary checked her phone records and corrected herself: “Oh, the 18th.”

“Good, thank you.”

Li Hewei had been observing since entering the house. In a casual tone, she asked, “How many years has Ms. Sun’s husband been deceased?”

“Seven years.”

“Ms. Sun must own more than just this property, right?”

The secretary knew the police could check Sun Luying’s assets and spoke freely: “There are two other low-rise houses in Pucheng, another villa in Shujiang, and houses in Diancheng and Qiongzhou, used for summer and winter retreats.”

Tao Ling followed up on her words: “The photo frame hanging on the left side of the wine cabinet in the living room—is the villa in the picture the one in Shujiang?”

“Oh, that’s the villa under Ms. Sun’s son’s name.”

Tao Ling pressed further: “Where exactly is it?”

“Wanfeng City in the Northern Suburbs, another project of our Rongke Group.” The secretary looked astonished. “You’re not suspecting Ms. Sun’s son, are you? He’s only twenty-four and still a university student.”

“Don’t worry. The police operate on evidence. Currently, there is no evidence pointing to him.” Li Hewei waited for He Ying to finish drawing the water samples, pack the investigation kit, and walked toward the living room, deliberately pausing in front of the wine cabinet for a moment before leaving. “We apologize for the intrusion, Secretary Xu.”

The secretary escorted them to the door: “It was my duty.”

As they left the villa and neared the south gate, Tao Ling spoke: “Sister Wei, do you remember me telling you about the flower-like plant material found in the deceased’s nasal cavity?”

“I remember. You want to say that there are two osmanthus trees planted behind her son’s villa, right?”

Tao Ling ducked into the car seat: “Exactly. But this is just my sixth sense. I still need to go back and verify if it’s actually osmanthus.”

“Understood. Let’s head back to the police station first.”

The tires screeched as the car came to a smooth stop in front of the integrated building. The four people got out, walking in pairs. In the corridor opposite the Technical Squad sign, Li Hewei reached out and pulled Tao Ling, who had already stepped past the office door and was heading toward the lab, back into the room.

“Sister Wei?” Tao Ling was stunned for two seconds, her eyes wide.

Li Hewei gestured with her eyes toward the office desk. It turned out that Zhao Xiaoting and An Yu had already prepared their meals.

“Man is iron, rice is steel. Let’s eat first.” (A Chinese proverb meaning: Food is the foundation of survival.)

“Okay.” Tao Ling curved her eyebrows, breaking into a bright smile. “I’ll wash my hands first.”

Li Hewei followed Tao Ling’s steps to the restroom. In front of the sink, her peripheral vision unconsciously shifted to the right, seeing that the other party’s lips were still slightly curved upward. She instinctively complimented her: “You look really good when you smile.”

Tao Ling’s hand-washing motion paused, and she turned to look.

Li Hewei was annoyed at herself for saying something so baffling, so she pushed through and rationalized: “Even when facing issues that cause you negative emotions, you can try to view them optimistically.”

“Perhaps. I’ll try to adjust.” Tao Ling thought the other party had witnessed her experience at her old home and was trying to comfort her. She responded softly: “Sister Wei, I successfully moved out of the old house in Dongjie, and I instantly feel much lighter, both physically and mentally.”

Her clear, poetic eyes gazed at Li Hewei, her words full of sincerity: “Thank you.”

Why the sudden thanks? The two looked at each other squarely. For a brief few seconds, time seemed to stand still. Li Hewei realized what was happening and immediately looked away, as if scalded by fire.

Straight girls are too scary. I should keep my distance from now on. Li Hewei took a deep breath, but the words that came out had nothing to do with ‘keeping distance’: “We live under the same roof. What are you being polite for?”

Tao Ling returned a perfect smile and walked out of the restroom first.

After the meal, Li Hewei was chewing a creamy candy when Tao Ling brought the first piece of good news in two days: “Sister Wei, the petal from Yang Guang’s nasal cavity is indeed osmanthus.”

He Ying suggested: “Go directly to Sun Hao’s villa?”

“Let’s not alert the suspect yet. I’ll discuss it with the Serious Crime Squad.” Li Hewei disliked phone calls and habitually used WeChat. She typed: 【Captain Qiu, are you at the police station?】

【I am. We have a new discovery.】

【What is it?】

【Xiao Zhou has repeatedly compared the video processed by Tao Ling and confirmed the brand of the long dress the suspect was wearing on the day of the incident. It’s Shanshenhe, priced between 500 and 700 yuan, and Zhou Lin loves to buy clothes from Shanshenhe.】

【Zhou Lin? Didn’t you say she was in her hometown?】

【Yes, so we decided to initiate a further investigation into her. For example, when she went to her hometown, and whether she took any transportation back to Pucheng in the interim.】

Li Hewei brought up a difficulty: 【Buying tickets at the station requires real-name registration, but what about the carpool from Pucheng to her hometown, Wangyan Town? Non-official carpools charge 25 per person. And the shuttle buses traveling between townships—passengers can board and buy tickets mid-route.】

【That’s the trickiest part. Yang Guang’s mother, however, said Zhou Lin was with her the whole time.】

【Check this: Did she and Yang Guang have any recent arguments?】

【The WeChat chat history is normal. We don’t know about their phone calls or face-to-face meetings.】 Qiu Wan reasonably speculated: 【For example, did Zhou Lin find out about Yang Guang’s cheating?】

【Did you bring it up during your questioning?】

【We did, but Zhou Lin acted quite normally.】 Yesterday, when discussing the details, Qiu Wan asked her to evaluate Yang Guang’s character and even bluntly questioned why they hadn’t married after seven years of dating. Zhou Lin’s overall evaluation of Yang Guang was mostly positive, saying he was filial, family-oriented, generous with money, and always bought her gifts when traveling with a group. As for postponing the marriage, it was because they didn’t have enough savings to buy a house and had to consider the future expenses of children. She was clearly deeply in love.

Li Hewei pondered for a moment: 【What about the neighbors? What is their impression of them?】

【They said the two were very loving because Zhou Lin is soft-natured and always deferred to Yang Guang.】

【One more thing: Has Zhou Lin been in close contact with anyone recently?】

【Are you suspecting collusion?】

Li Hewei cut straight to the chase: 【Or the clothing brand being the same is just a coincidence, and Zhou Lin is innocent. Check out Sun Hao.】 She had just browsed Taobao and found that many Shanshenhe styles sold over 3,000 pieces monthly, not to mention the offline mall channels.

【Sun Hao? Sun Luying’s son? I think he’s doing graduate studies at Hangzhou University’s School of Management.】

【Didn’t he start an internship at Rongke in February this year?】

【Okay, I plan to follow up on both leads simultaneously and ask Director Liu for more people.】

【If you need help from our technical team, just say the word.】

【OK, I’m busy now.】

Near 8 p.m., the test results for the villa pool water came out, showing no match with the drowning fluid in the deceased’s body. As expected, Li Hewei murmured an affirmation, turning her head to look out the window. The night enveloped the last sliver of white light on the horizon like a tide.

“Time to clock out. Let’s go home.”

She and Tao Ling strolled out of the integrated building and passed through the back alley. The streetlights cast their long, thin shadows. Suddenly, a dark figure blocked their path.