Silent Testimony - Chapter 94

In the hallway of the fourth floor of the administration building, just outside the Deputy Director’s office, Qiu Wan raised her hand to knock, but stopped when she heard hearty laughter from within.

“That guy Jiang is so desperate for an achievement to get promoted to Division Chief that he’s come all this way to toss you guys around,” Officer Peng said. She was a university classmate of Director Liu and two years his senior; she knew Captain Jiang had worked with him before.

Director Liu sounded used to it. “Him? He’s impatient. He wishes he could file a case today and solve it by tomorrow morning.”

“Ignore him. Just keep your own pace.”

“I haven’t bothered with him; I’ve left everything in Xiao Qiu’s hands.”

“I know Qiu Wan,” Peng noted. “She came from a township station. Logically, she should have been promoted to a full position. Why is she still a deputy under you?”

“Xiao Qiu is a natural talent for criminal investigation. I snatched her up early. Her term ends this July, and she’ll transition to a full position then.”

“July? Hey, let’s make a deal. Give her to me. Shujiang is short on people anyway.”

“Go on now,” Liu laughed. “How can a provincial capital bully a county-level city for talent?”

Officer Peng checked her watch. “Anyway, why hasn’t anyone come to get me?” Although she had reviewed the detention videos and made a judgment, standard procedure required a face-to-face interrogation.

Hearing this, Qiu Wan knocked on the door. “Director Liu, Captain Peng.”

“Xiao Qiu, come in,” Liu called.

Qiu Wan entered and greeted them politely. “Captain Peng, Li Hewei is already in Interrogation Room 1.”

“Good.” Peng turned to the Director. “I’ll be back shortly. After all, you promised to treat me to the cafeteria for lunch.”

Director Liu’s eyes crinkled. “All you can eat.”

The interrogation lasted only thirty minutes. After Li Hewei signed her papers and left, Captain Jiang hurried into the room, frowning at Officer Peng. “Hey, Old Peng! Usually, your interrogations take two hours minimum. Today was only 27 minutes. What gives?”

“I asked everything I needed to. She answered perfectly. Didn’t you watch the monitor?” Peng gathered her materials and handed a sketch to the following Qiu Wan. “Li Hewei’s drawing of the suspect. Look at that—it’s quite well-done.”

Qiu Wan took the sketch. Li Hewei had captured the silhouette: black down jacket, dark pants, baseball cap, and a mask.

“How does she know what he looks like?” Jiang asked, confused.

“Big-mouths chatting in the hallway,” Peng said sharply, her gaze piercing a colleague Jiang had brought along. “Xiao Wei, go back and write a self-reflection.”

The officer’s smile froze. Jiang added with a dark face, “Write two.” He had invited Peng hoping she would find a hole in the story to speed up the case for his record. Now that his dream had collapsed, he grumbled at Qiu Wan, “Meeting after lunch.”

Qiu Wan didn’t indulge him. “Captain Jiang, I’ve arranged field work. I’m afraid I won’t have time.”

“What field work?”

“A new lead. In February last year, Du Guozhou had a cash expenditure of 150,000 yuan. His wife says she knew nothing about it. I want to go to Shujiang University and look into his social circle.”

At lunchtime, Tao Ling headed to the cafeteria with her lunchbox when a familiar voice called out, “Sister-in-law!” Before she could react, Cheng Yingqiu dragged her to a corner of the bike shed and stuffed a bag of snacks into her arms. “Sister bought these for you.”

“Mhm?” Tao Ling stared at the snacks blankly. It took a long moment for the reality to sink in; her soul, which hadn’t seen sunlight in days, was finally stirring.

“Don’t worry,” Yingqiu babbled. “She’s eating and sleeping well at home, she just misses you constantly.” She opened her arms with a grin. “Oh, and she told me to give you a hug for her.”

“Yingqiu… where is Sister Wei?” Tao Ling’s heart trembled with an uncontrollable urge to see her.

“Since she was restricted for four days, we haven’t been back to our hometown. We’re leaving soon. She’s by the back gate.”

As soon as the words were out, Tao Ling turned and ran—sprinting toward the sunlight.

In the driver’s seat, Li Hewei was resting her eyes, listening to music. The sound of the car door closing made her lazily open one eye. “Let’s go,” she said, assuming it was Yingqiu as she turned the key.

“Sister Wei…” Tao Ling’s voice carried a distinct tremble.

Li Hewei’s hand froze on the key. Her nose suddenly prickled with heat.

“I know your situation,” Tao Ling whispered. “And I wanted to tell you mine, in person.”

Li Hewei turned her head, staring at Tao Ling’s visibly thinner face. She felt a lump in her throat and couldn’t speak.

“Old Tao passed away. I slept six hours in three days. It wasn’t as painful as I imagined… just tired. Very tired. I just wanted to lean on your shoulder and talk.” Tao Ling leaned against the couple’s headrest Li Hewei had bought, staring ahead into a daze. “Sister Wei, people say I have thin ties with my kin and a cold nature. I used to think that was an insult, but experiencing this death… it seems to be true.”

“Tao Tao.” Li Hewei cut through her thoughts, her voice soft and comforting. “Having thin ties isn’t the same as being cold-blooded. It means you’ve learned how to filter people and you owe them nothing. Understand?”

Li Hewei reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from Tao Ling’s forehead. “Besides, your ‘kin’ includes your mother, doesn’t it? You saved money because you wanted to help her out of her hardship. Now that the house is sold, you can put a down payment on a two-bedroom apartment. It’ll be easier for her to live with you.”

Tao Ling felt the knot in her heart loosen slightly. “Mhm.”

“Didn’t you say she actually likes playing mahjong? In the future, she can run the stall in the morning and play with her friends in the afternoon. You and I can help out at the fish stall whenever we’re free.”

Tao Ling looked up, her eyes shimmering. “Sister Wei…”

“What? You don’t trust my fish-gutting skills?”

Tao Ling shook her head quickly. “No.”

Li Hewei’s tone suddenly shifted. “Tao Tao, if I don’t stay a police officer in the future, would you be okay with that?” After three days of freedom, she found she no longer wanted the constraints of the system.

Tao Ling’s gaze was fervent. “Whatever you do, I support you.”

Li Hewei checked the clock. “Alright. Now that I know your news, shouldn’t a certain someone get back to lunch?”

Tao Ling leaned in, her voice like a tiny whisper. “You haven’t yet…”

“Haven’t what?”

“You let Yingqiu hug me… why don’t you do it yourself?”

Li Hewei reached out and pulled her close by the shoulder. Though it wasn’t a full embrace, in that breath and voice, their hearts were infinitely close. “Tao Tao, I’ll wait for your good news.”

Meanwhile, across the street, Cheng Yingqiu watched Tao Ling head back. She crossed the road and entered the local grocery store.

Qiu Huiyu was eating behind the counter. Seeing her, she dropped her chopsticks. “Yingqiu! You haven’t been here in five days. I saved some delicious hotpot fish for you.”

“Grandma, please sit. I’m just here to say Happy New Year; I have to head to the countryside soon.” Yingqiu stuffed a red envelope with 600 yuan into her hand. “Wishing you a great Year of the Monkey and a long life.”

“Oh, why more money? Xiao Qiu already gave me some.”

“Hers is hers, mine is mine.” Yingqiu looked down at her phone, her eyes darker than the clouds outside as she stared at a message she’d sent three minutes ago. [I’m at the store. Can we see each other? Just five minutes.] [Going to Muyang. Won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.] [Don’t you miss me?]

A sudden set of footsteps behind her interrupted her thoughts.

“Grandma, the food is getting cold. Eat up. I’m taking Xiao Qiu upstairs to grab something.”

Before Yingqiu could process it, she was being led by the hand by Qiu Wan toward the inner room. They climbed the stairs. Two steps, three steps… once they were out of sight from below, Qiu Wan turned and pulled her into a tight embrace, her arms squeezing tighter inch by inch.

“Silly,” Qiu Wan whispered hoarsely. “I miss you too.”