Silent Testimony - Chapter 5

“Sister Wei,” Tao Ling called out to her softly for the third time, and Li Hewei finally snapped out of her concentration.

“What is it?” she replied, trying to appear natural, using a piece of paper to cover her phone. Failing to clear level 200 after five attempts was rather embarrassing.

Tao Ling saw through her attempt to cover up a mistake, and a mixture of surprise and slight disorientation washed over her. She first met Li Hewei when she was twelve. Her older brother, Tao Yang, was always talking about her, saying she had a good appearance, excellent character, and an impeccable personality. During the summer vacation, she was dragged along to Puchen No. 1 High School to watch an orchestral performance. Among the twenty or so people, Li Hewei was a violinist, seated in the corner to the right of the stage. Yet, the inconspicuous position did not hide her radiance; she shone brightly, as if surrounded by stars.

Being young and naive at the time, she openly exclaimed, “Sister is so beautiful!” Tao Yang, who was beside her, was even more utterly captivated, unable to take his eyes off her.

When she finished junior high, she followed her brother, riding a tricycle to deliver fish to a restaurant, and had her first close-up interaction with Li Hewei. Li Hewei’s kind demeanor and proper conversation made a favorable impression on her, prompting her to happily get up early to deliver fish for fifty-plus days straight.

Later, they became university classmates in the same major, one a freshman and the other a second-year graduate student interning at the Public Security Bureau. During one chance encounter, Li Hewei added her on Q.Q., telling her that she could communicate with her anytime if she had trouble with her schoolwork. Fearing she might bother the other woman, she did not say a single word on Q.Q. for three years. It was not until her brother called from overseas to show off that she was reminded of Li Hewei, who had now changed majors and taken a job.

For the next year or so, the two of them corresponded more and more frequently, like a typical sister-in-law and sister-in-law. Li Hewei would express concern and care for her, and she would actively show affection and seek counsel from the other woman when encountering difficulties during her internship. Yet, she could not pinpoint when the messages she sent started receiving delayed replies, or were simply dismissed with a few brief words.

She originally thought Li Hewei was just busy with work and did not take it to heart, but the reality was otherwise. In early May, after completing the onboarding procedures and two weeks of training, she officially reported to the Technical Team. Her immediate supervisor treated her with a lukewarm distance, even less warmly than an ordinary colleague.

After repeatedly offering a warm face only to be met with a cold shoulder, she could not help but suspect that Li Hewei probably wanted to draw a clear line between herself and the Tao family. Sure enough, on the first Saturday of July, a rest day, her mother received a call from Li Hewei, who said she planned to apply to the court to declare her brother missing and needed the household registration book.

She understood Li Hewei’s actions—after all, her marital relationship was one in name only—but she could not immediately accept the abrupt, almost “breaking off relations” way the other person handled it. She could only try to adapt slowly.

However, how could the person who used to leave early and return late, whose work was so meticulous, and whose phone only contained native software and communication tools, be playing a match-three game now?

“Hey,” Li Hewei prompted, seeing her in a daze.

Tao Ling snapped back to the present and got to the point: “The diatom species detected in the deceased’s small intestine, spinal cord, and lung tissues are inconsistent with the on-site water samples.”

“What about the respiratory tract and other gastrointestinal organs?”

Tao Ling understood her concern and analyzed the situation seriously: “Although nearly two-thirds of the diatoms are inconsistent, they can be clustered into one category.” They used the microwave digestion-scanning electron microscopy combined method for diatom testing and performed cluster analysis on the data to determine whether the deceased died from drowning or was thrown into the water after drowning.

“Did the small intestine and lung tissues detect any other special substances?” Li Hewei frowned. Since it was confirmed that the person was thrown into the water after drowning, the next step was to narrow the scope. Otherwise, the serious crimes team’s investigation would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Tao Ling shook her head. “None so far. Sister An is still in the lab.” An Yu was the forensic scientist in the lab, three years older than her. The average age of their team was only twenty-seven. To use Deputy Director Liu’s words, it was a young and vibrant team.

“Mm.” Li Hewei turned her head and glanced at the wall clock; the hour hand already pointed to eleven. She withdrew her gaze, moved the mouse, and shut down the computer. “Let’s go back. Tell An Yu as well.”

“Okay.” Tao Ling turned around and had just stepped her right foot out when the person behind her spoke. “Wait a moment.”

Li Hewei picked up her phone and stood up. “I’ll go with you.” She took two steps, clearly noticing Tao Ling’s complicated emotions. Too lazy to delve into their past, she said frankly, “You know my current situation. I apologize in advance for anything I might have done to offend you in the past. Let’s let bygones be bygones.”

“After the National Day holiday, I will file for divorce. We will still be colleagues in the future, so there is no need to be too reserved when interacting.” Li Hewei was skilled at socializing, and though she was single, she at least had three or five close friends.

Tao Ling swallowed. “Okay.”

An introvert? Naturally a woman of few words? She was quite adept at ending a conversation. Li Hewei did not know how to respond, and the two of them walked in silence, one after the other, into the laboratory.

Seeing them enter, An Yu poured the silver sulfate powder she was holding into a test tube and said, “Sister Wei, give me half an hour. I have two experiments to run.”

This was the drawback of working in a disciplined force: there was always an urge to selflessly dedicate oneself. Li Hewei advocated for moderate overtime and said warmly, “Do it tomorrow. Go pack your things.”

Five minutes later, Li Hewei watched An Yu, who was riding an electric bicycle, disappear into the night. She turned her head, and Tao Ling approached, pushing her bike, stopping beside her.

“How many minutes does it take you to ride home?”

“About ten minutes.” Tao Ling’s home was in East Street, next to Puchen’s busiest vegetable market.

“Alright, be careful.” Li Hewei waited until Tao Ling turned out of the Public Security Bureau gate, then immediately followed, hailed a taxi, and got into the front passenger seat. “Driver, follow that bicycle ahead.”

The female driver, seeing her step out of the Public Security Bureau, did not say much and quietly stepped on the accelerator.

“No need to follow too closely, thank you.”

The female driver could not help but ask, “Officer, what are you doing?”

“A colleague is going home. I’m worried.” She knew Tao Ling’s ultimate fate but was uncertain when and where it would happen. Traveling alone at 11:30 at night was somewhat worrying.

The female driver chuckled. “You two have a very good relationship.”

“Mm.” Li Hewei did not continue the conversation. What good relationship was this? It was just completing a task, part of her duty.

The car turned and twisted, passing through narrow alleys, and finally stopped near an old building. She stretched her head out and watched Tao Ling lift her bicycle to climb the steps. The dim light illuminated the first floor, the second floor, and the third floor, and then she heard the sound of a door closing.

Li Hewei sighed in admiration. She’s not tall, but she has quite a lot of strength.

The female driver was eager to get off work and asked, “Officer, where to now?”

She rolled the window back up and rested her head against the headrest. “Diyuan International.”

The small car drove away from the alley. The dilapidated building behind it, having weathered the elements, was like a lingering old man in the night, exuding a musty smell that made Tao Ling’s bedroom seem out of place. The space, nearly 9 square meters, was clean and tidy, furnished with a 1.2 meter single bed, a fabric wardrobe, and a desk. Under the desk were two cardboard boxes full of books. To the left, a scroll she had written herself was hanging on the wall: “Simply do good deeds, never ask about the future.” The semi-cursive script was elegant and flowing, suggesting she had developed a habit of practicing calligraphy since she was young. Tao Ling sat at the desk to rest for two minutes, found her pajamas, and quietly moved toward the bathroom. Liu Yun came out to get water and called out to her, “Xiaoling, did you just get off work?”

Tao Ling turned around, her cheeks flushed red, and her temples throbbing as if she had heatstroke. “Yes, I ran into a thorny case.”

Liu Yun noticed something was wrong, leaned down, pulled out a drawer, and placed a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid on a plastic stool not far from her. “Drink this after your shower.” She then asked, “It’s the weekend tomorrow. Are you off?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Your dad is turning fifty, and we decided to host two tables back in the hometown. We’ll have birthday noodles tomorrow evening and the main meal the day after tomorrow at noon.”

“I know. I’ll try my best to finish my work early.” Tao Ling felt truly uncomfortable. She reached for the Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, punctured the bottle cap, and slowly sipped the slightly bitter medicine.

Liu Yun spoke evasively, “Is your sister-in-law free?”

Tao Ling instantly frowned. “Is Old Tao asking her to go?”

“Well, they haven’t gotten divorced yet. At the end of the day, she’s still a member of our Tao family.”

“Mom, did he teach you to say that?” Liu Yun was a native of the countryside with an elementary school education, and she married Tao Lukai at nineteen. In her mind, whatever her husband said or did had its own reasoning.

“Ah, he’s not wrong.”

“Who says she’s a member of the Tao family? Even if Big Brother wasn’t missing, her surname is Li. She is clearly a member of the Li family.” Tao Ling believed that everyone was an independent individual, and she detested the saying “a woman should follow her husband no matter what he is” the most. After saying this, she also knew that Liu Yun would be unable to explain herself to Tao Lukai. Suppressing her emotions, she said in a low voice, “I’ll try to ask her.”