Silent Testimony - Chapter 48

Sis, we are watching Ferryman in the living room. She is covered with a blanket; you can rest assured.

Her temperature is 37.2∘C now.

It was past 9 p.m. Li Hewei was sitting in front of the computer, her left hand propping up her sleepy head as she reviewed the surveillance footage, when a WeChat message arrived from Cheng Yingqiu. She instantly became sober and typed a reply: [You don’t need to report everything. It’s enough that Tao Ling is fine.

I’m getting paid to do this, after all.

[Sis, why aren’t you chatting with Sister Tao Ling? I see her phone placed on the nearby coffee table.]

[I’m busy, and…] Since returning from Shujiang, Li Hewei had noticed that Tao Ling intentionally or unintentionally avoided her gaze, and their casual chats were not as enthusiastic as before, often ending after just one or two sentences. But she knew that easing the other person’s concerns required time and patience. Forcing the issue prematurely, without regard for the situation, could easily backfire. After much thought, she decided that some matters could only be resolved between the two of them and deleted the last two characters of her thought.

[Oh, even when you’re busy, you should take time to care for her. She is sick, which is when she is most vulnerable.]

[Mm, alright.]

[You should learn to be shameless like me. Knowing Sister Qiu is free, I proactively chat with her. Ferryman was her recommendation, and I started binge-watching it right away.] Cheng Yingqiu scrolled through her chat history with Qiu Wan, her face alight with a smile. [I even took screenshots to share and commented or complained about the show.]

[Tao Ling’s personality is different from Sister Qiu’s. Specific problems require specific analysis, and I plan to finalize the divorce first.]

[Simple. Once you get the court ruling that declares Tao Yang missing, you can directly file for divorce. With complete documentation and no division of property or children involved, it will take at most half a month to complete.]

[I know.]

[Sister Qiu is finally finding relief. It seems after the doctor’s diagnosis, Jiao Yang is fit to give a statement.]

In the interview room of the Emergency Department at Shujiang University Affiliated Hospital, Qiu Wan signed the bottom of the notification form. Lin Ye, standing beside her, offered continuous apologies: “Officer Qiu, I apologize for making you wait until now.”

“It’s alright. It shows you are seriously responsible toward your patient.” Qiu Wan handed the notification form back to her and followed her out, casually asking, “Is Doctor Lin not resting?”

“I’m on duty today.” Lin Ye led her to Jiao Yang’s ward and gently reminded her, “15 minutes, Officer Qiu. Please manage your time.”

“Okay, thank you.” Qiu Wan pushed the door open. Jiao Yang’s calm expression was as usual, and her voice was low: “Old classmate, I heard you waited for me for nine hours.”

“More or less.” Qiu Wan sat on the right side of the hospital bed, chatting with her in a reminiscent tone. “Jiao Yang, I remember you studied teaching. Why aren’t you teaching?”

“It doesn’t make money. You should know best what my family’s financial situation was like back then.” The smile on Jiao Yang’s lips was bitter. “I graduated from a second-tier normal university, took the public institution exam in Puchen, ranked third overall in the written and oral components, and successfully chose a post at Wanyang Middle School. It’s an iron rice bowl, isn’t it? It looks glamorous, but the actual salary was only two or three thousand yuan. When I went home, I was despised. They said it was better to go out and do manual labor.”

“I studied relentlessly, but it didn’t even earn money as fast as hard labor. Relatives shun you and mock you. Do you understand that feeling?”

Qiu Wan frowned as she looked at her.

“What happened next? I spotted the opportunity and partnered with friends to contract the excavation of a coal mine. I earned my first pot of gold, and then relatives started to fawn over me, praising me as smart and capable.”

Relatives, Qiu Wan seized the key point and asked her: “So, did you know what Jiao Yong was doing?”

Jiao Yang’s eyes were bewildered: “What was he doing? Did the express delivery station break the law?”

“Operating an underground casino.” Qiu Wan got straight to the point, looking directly into her eyes, trying to find a fault in her demeanor.

“An underground casino?” Jiao Yang’s eyelids twitched. She coughed twice to cover her inner panic and quickly adjusted her state. “Old classmate, are you joking? My third uncle has the brain of a pig—how could he possibly run a casino?”

“He doesn’t have the ability, but you do.” Qiu Wan analyzed all the clues, linking them to Qian Gang’s asset loopholes and the details of the black-car driver soliciting customers for the casino. She said every word distinctly: “Jiao Yong was just the person working underneath. You cooperated with Qian Gang and operated things from behind the scenes, didn’t you?”

Jiao Yang pressed her lips together: “Heh, Officer Qiu, you need evidence when you make accusations.”

The change in her address to the formal ‘Officer Qiu’ indicated that the previous guess was accurate. Qiu Wan pressed her advantage: “Don’t think that cleaning the factory area or flatly denying the sketch is Jiao Yong can help you evade the police’s carpet search and deceive us. We have the most professional forensic inspection personnel who have brought every single thing from the casino back to the police station for analysis.”

At 4 a.m. this morning, the police contained the scene. He Ying led the technical team through six hours of on-site investigation, collecting all the evidence. However, the sheer volume meant they were still in the classification stage.

The air movement immediately ceased, and Jiao Yang remained silent.

Qiu Wan speculated further: “Qian Gang cooperated with you to open the casino, accumulating tens of millions of yuan in assets. But you two had a private falling out, he developed ulterior motives, and he paid Zhang Dal陆 and Chen Han to kill you, correct?”

“As for Qian Gang’s disappearance, I estimate you cannot be completely unrelated.”

“Cough, cough. He wounded me this badly, yet you believe…” Jiao Yang clenched the bedsheet with her five fingers, her face suddenly turning red. She raised her hand and pressed the call button. “I… I need to rest. Please leave.”

“Jiao Yang, I don’t want to be the one to arrest you personally.” Qiu Wan stood up, her expression grave. “If possible, I hope you confess soon.” She turned to leave. Two or three medical staff members poured into the ward. Jiao Yang watched the woman’s straight back as it departed, her eyes clouded with gloom.

The night was thick. Qiu Wan walked around the bus stop opposite the hospital and stood outside the residential parking lot to send a message. The clear moonlight illuminated her solitary figure. She lowered her head, her fingers touching the screen.

[Sister Qiu, when are you going back? Be careful alone.] This straightforward greeting suddenly struck Qiu Wan’s heart, causing her gaze on the dialogue box to tremble involuntarily.

[I’m about to get in the car. You get some rest early.]

[Okay. I watched the third episode of Ferryman. I’ll continue tomorrow.] [Goodnight emoji.]

[Goodnight.] Qiu Wan suppressed the complex, undeniable emotions and clicked on He Ying’s profile picture, redirecting her focus to work. [Sister He, what’s the progress?]

[I was just about to contact you.]

Qiu Wan immediately placed a voice call.

“What did you find?”

“Fresh saliva from the grass outside the window of the code room. Jiao Yong’s DNA was detected.”

Qiu Wan could not hide her joy: “That’s great! Truly wonderful!”

“We also have Little Li to thank for her quick thinking in getting the paper cup Jiao Yong drank from.”

40 minutes ago, Jiao Yong was summoned and taken to an interrogation room at the police station. At the time, Xiao Liao questioned why they weren’t interrogating him in the regular room and instead holding him for 24 hours to wear down his patience. Li Hewei explained: “To make him lower his guard.”

She entered the room and handed the paper cup to Jiao Yong, smiling as she said: “Sorry for making you come all this way so late.”

“The sketch really isn’t me. Someone must be setting me up,” Jiao Yong said, his throat dry. He thought the police couldn’t possibly poison him, tilted his head back, and finished the water in the cup.

“Mm, we’re just following procedure.” Li Hewei casually handed the physical evidence to Xiao Zhou and sat opposite Jiao Yong, sending a reminder text: [Hand the paper cup to Zhao Xiaoting in the lab on the second floor.]

[Received.]

Her expression subtly changed. She asked the man in front of her: “Jiao Yong, you were at the massage parlor at 119 Luyuan Road, Wanyang Town, after 10 p.m. on the 28th, correct?”

Jiao Yong nodded: “Yes, I have witnesses.”

Li Hewei displayed the photos to confirm the statement’s authenticity: “Li Lifen, the massage parlor owner. What is your relationship with them?”

“Li Fen and I divorced back in 2010. As for Gui Yan, well, it’s what you think.”

“Why did you divorce but not leave home?”

“The child. Li Fen and I don’t have feelings for each other, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put on an act for the child,” he said with a smile. “Many couples divorce but don’t leave home nowadays. Is it unusual?”

“It’s indeed not unusual.” Li Hewei took out two other photos of the factory area. “Have you been here?”

“No.” He asked, feigning ignorance, “Where is this?”

“Look clearly. You’re a local from Wanyang. Have you truly never been?”

Jiao Yong quickly waved his hand: “No.”

“Alright.” Li Hewei drank some water to quench her thirst, quietly waiting for the saliva test results.

Jiao Yong saw her remain silent for half a minute, assumed she was stumped, crossed his arms, and asked impatiently: “When are you going to let me go home? The elderly people in my family are not well and need our care.”

“No rush. Since you won’t tell the truth, we’ll just keep waiting.” Li Hewei lowered her eyes, casually scrolling through her phone interface, appearing to ignore him completely.

Jiao Yong’s face turned green. He slammed the table: “Hey! What are you police officers doing? Leaving a witness hanging and playing on your phone?”

Li Hewei paid no attention.

“I want to file a complaint!”

“Can people from the Municipal Bureau just do whatever they want?”

“Hey! Speak up!”

Jiao Yong roared.

Inside the surveillance room, Xiao Zhou was energized, furiously typing in the work group: [OMG, Team Leader Li is amazing! Jiao Yong is clearly panicking.]

[I really want to order takeout for Team Leader Li and have her sit in there drinking milk tea right in front of Jiao Yong.]

Wang Cen had just emerged from another interrogation room and headed straight for the surveillance room, lightly patting Xiao Zhou’s shoulder: “If you say it, you must do it. I want a cup too.”

“Yes, Sis, I’ll buy them right away.”

“I was joking. Why would I ask a kid like you to pay?” Wang Cen stared at the surveillance screen, her expression serious. “Any news from the technical team?”

“Zhao Xiaoting detected Jiao Yong’s DNA. We are waiting for Sister He in Puchen.”

“Mm.”

Time ticked by in increments. Only Jiao Yong’s frantic voice could be heard in the sealed space when a phone suddenly rang.

It was He Ying calling. Li Hewei quickly answered.

“Little Li, the DNA from the saliva on the paper cup matches the DNA from the saliva outside the window of the code room in the factory area. It belongs to the same person.”

“Good. Thank you for your hard work.” Li Hewei abruptly looked up, leaning forward, and stared at Jiao Yong, whose throat was bobbing up and down. Her expression was a half-smile: “I gave you a chance, but you didn’t value it.”