Lu Shimiao closed the drawer. The thought of having to take the pills back to test their composition and deal with the whole procedural hassle annoyed her. So, she turned around, grabbed the girl’s arm, and headed for the door. “I’ll buy you a new box.”
“Thank you.” Hong Moli followed Lu Shimiao obediently. The two went downstairs and got into the police car.
The raid in broad daylight had drawn a crowd of onlookers to the streets. Elderly men and women whispered to each other in Shanghainese. Lu Shimiao heard them and lowered her eyes. But Hong Moli beside her didn’t flinch. She walked with her head held high, a look of arrogant disdain on her face, as if she had nothing to fear.
Maybe she simply couldn’t understand them.
Lu Shimiao rarely saw someone so brazenly unashamed.
Back in the dimly lit building, Lu Shimiao had only sensed a mournful, tragic sharpness from Hong Moli. Unable to see her face clearly, her hand had been covered in sweat when she cuffed her, forcing her to wipe her hands for a long time afterward.
Now, seeing Hong Moli under the sunlight, she gave off a completely different feeling than inside that shop.
Hong Moli had a high nose bridge, long hair reaching her lower back, and slightly rough skin. Whether from lack of food or a deliberate effort to maintain her figure, she was quite thin. The handcuffs shifted loosely around her wrists. “A woman’s hips are an empty gold mine.” In a civilized society, was Hong Moli not also consuming her youth with her pretty face? For a moment, it was hard to tell who was exploiting whom.
Lu Shimiao sighed and turned her head to look.
The red and green advertisements of the ear-picking shop at the street corner were spliced together, dazzling. It was like the welcome sign the chief had made her hold high during the airport pickup that day, a scene that once again brought back the Mong Kok streets she had seen at twenty-three.
That bustling yet dilapidated Kowloon Mong Kok was a densely populated area of Hong Kong. During the day, advertising signs of all sizes hung across the sky, a riot of color that dazzled the eyes. Sports cars were parked right along the commercial streets.
Xue Tong would walk ahead of her, hands clasped behind her back in a patrol posture, even though the two of them were only there to shop.
As they walked into the shops, it was often crowded. When Lu Shimiao was accidentally jostled by the crowd, Xue Tong’s hands, clasped behind her back, would accurately catch her wrist.
Then Xue Tong would keep holding or gently squeezing it until the crowd thinned, then let go.
Lu Shimiao sometimes wondered, wasn’t Xue Tong afraid of grabbing the wrong person? Unfortunately, she never found the answer.
Mong Kok at night would become unfamiliar. Tattooed drivers smoking, men and women beckoning on the streets, junkies suddenly encountered in the alleys. Like duckweed drifting apart, each with their own fate, these marginalized people lurked in a nightmare of a lifetime, crying for help, and then… hiding to eke out a living in their tiny square boxes.
Lu Shimiao sighed repeatedly, getting into the police car.
She thought of Xue Tong again, wondering how Xue Tong had treated these women back then. Had she also carried this same helplessness she felt now?
—
“You guys, hurry up for blood and urine samples!”
Since joining the major crimes unit, Lu Shimiao had been like a mule, spinning non-stop. She glanced at her watch; it was already past noon. She couldn’t even spare time for lunch.
“Little Lu, come discuss the key points of the interrogation.” Li Siting hurried over, patting Lu Shimiao on the shoulder before lowering his voice. “We need to apply for a summons to detain Cheng Guang this afternoon.”
Lu Shimiao handed her Police Mobile Terminal to Lili, who had come to help, and followed Li Siting towards the office.
“Cheng Guang’s prostitution ring is a sure thing. And I seriously suspect the arsonist is a construction worker from the site.” Li Siting pushed open the office door; the officers in charge of the interrogation were already waiting inside.
“The safety shoes, the hidden passage at the construction site, Cheng Guang’s mistress, the prostitution ring, the workers visiting prostitutes—the connections are all too strong. And this Zhang Lin has very simple social ties; besides Cheng Guang, there’s practically nothing to investigate.”
“What did Cyber Security say about Zhang Lin’s computer?” Lu Shimiao recalled another victim’s belongings were still in their possession; perhaps there was a lead there.
“Absolutely nothing, a dead end.” Li Siting shook his head.
“Focus the questioning on what position Cheng Guang holds in the prostitution ring, and how the transactions were made. Focus heavily on Cheng Guang and Zhang Lin. Key investigation point: what incidents occurred at the Chengshang construction site during the 2020-2021 Star Sea construction project.”
“Does Cheng Guang have a criminal syndicate behind him? Is he involved in other criminal activities? Today’s preliminary interrogation must break through! Whether you use psychological tactics, shock and bluff, whatever works!”
Li Siting glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s 1 PM now. I need a confession that can be used to apply for Cheng Guang’s detainment summons by 4 PM today.”
“Get to work.” Li Siting pulled a few pens from his pocket and started signing the interrogation approval forms.
“Captain Li, I want to try questioning that one named Hong Moli.” Officer Lu made the request.
“Alright, we’ll work in shifts. You go eat first.” Li Siting put his pen back in his pocket. “We’ll use both good cop and bad cop.”
“Right, that girl needs to take birth control pills. My delivery order should be here soon. I’ll bring it in when I switch shifts with you. Remember to tell her.” Lu Shimiao remembered the pills and gave the instruction.
“Don’t expect me to reimburse you for this.” Li Siting nodded, then pushed the door open and left.
Lu Shimiao took her delivery order and ran up to the third-floor office. She ate while looking at the forensic examination photos on her computer.
She cradled a bowl of cold skin noodles, eating heartily in front of the computer displaying pictures of corpses. It was rare for her to be picky and not want a large bowl of carbs; everything tasted good to her today.
She had looked at this scene examination diagram no less than eight hundred times.
Because the crime scene had suffered a major fire and a micro-explosion, the trace evidence that could be extracted from the body was truly too scarce.
The material of the murder weapon couldn’t be identified. Not knowing the murder weapon essentially meant losing a crucial layer of clues. The victim’s clothes had been burned away, making it impossible to directly find the material exchange that occurred between the perpetrator and the victim.
Apart from suspicious footprints on the periphery, the scene could practically be called a “clean scene.”
Safety shoes?
Lu Shimiao lifted some noodles into her mouth. Were these shoes for insulation or just a wearing habit? If it was a habit, could the killer be a chemistry expert hiding out in the construction site?
Lu Shimiao looked at the Fire Department’s investigation report again.
The high-intensity explosive components could cause either deflagration or detonation. Electric detonators were found. Management of detonators is relatively strict, with limited purchasing channels.
No leads whatsoever.
After finishing her noodles at her computer, Lu Shimiao took the organized documents downstairs. She picked up the emergency contraceptive pill delivered by the courier at the guard post at the entrance.
The red light above the interrogation room was on.
Confirming the birth of sin.
At 2 PM, Lu Shimiao knocked on the door. “Captain Li, I’m done eating.”
Li Siting saw Lu Shimiao arrive. He stood up and slammed the table in front of Hong Moli. “Think carefully.”
She gripped the medicine in her hand, stepped back half a step to let Li Siting out of the interrogation room. “How did it go? Did she confess?”
“Of course she confessed to the prostitution. A mix of truth and lies, contradictions in her testimony, talking all over the place.”
Li Siting looked somewhat impatient. “I need to organize the current testimonies and follow up on the progress. You keep an eye on things.”
“Okay.”
Lu Shimiao walked in and took Li Siting’s place as the lead interrogator.
But she didn’t sit down. Instead, she pulled the pillbox from the sealed evidence bag and placed it in front of the girl. “You know how to take this, right?”
“Wait while I get you some water.” Lu Shimiao turned to the water dispenser and poured a cup.
For a full minute, no one spoke. The sealed, soundproof interrogation room seemed to be on mute, only the gurgle of the water dispenser could be heard.
“Why didn’t you go to school?”
A disposable paper cup was placed in front of Hong Moli. Lu Shimiao spoke. To be honest, she wasn’t a curious person about others. Even with Xue Tong, she sometimes just relied on her own observations.
“Why else? Couldn’t study well, and couldn’t afford it.”
Hong Moli’s voice was hoarse, like a smoker’s rasp. She popped a pill from its packaging, swallowed it, then tilted her head back to drink water. “This is a birth control pill, right, comrade officer?”
The officer taking notes next to her looked at Lu Shimiao, then recorded the words verbatim.
“Can’t you read the big letters on the box? Illiterate?” Lu Shimiao’s mood was heavy… a kind of sorrowful pain for an ignorant young girl. Or maybe the note-taking officer next to her was too stern; this kind of scrutiny made the two women feel deeply uncomfortable.
Of course, Lu Shimiao was also thinking how fortunate she was to have had the chance to study, to even instantly recognize the English words four years ago and immediately deduce that Xue Tong had brought home a box of birth control pills.
“Didn’t go to school for many years, can’t read it.” Hong Moli tilted her head, picking at the dead skin on her fingers with both hands.
Lu Shimiao took the computer and looked at the interrogation transcript on it.
Female, twenty-three years old. Elementary school education level.
Family members: Three older sisters, one younger brother. No father, no mother.
Prostitution history: Tricked by a fellow villager into a bath center, then raped, after which she began prostitution transactions.
The note-taking officer recorded the payment for the sex acts.
“Sometimes 300 yuan, sometimes 200, and sometimes 50. Depends on how much the manager gives.”
…
When linked with the sentence below about gambling money, it sent chills down one’s spine.
Lu Shimiao rarely participated in the interrogation stage, except when evidence confirmation or physical evidence identification was needed. She was stunned by these direct questions from Li Siting.
“50 yuan a time? Is your body so worthless?”
Lu Shimiao crossed her legs and pulled a pen from her pocket. The ballpoint pen spun between her fingers; she liked having something in her hands when she thought; it made her thoughts clearer.
“Cheng Guang said my life wasn’t worth much, so he set that price. Said something about… selling in volume.”
Lu Shimiao was again startled by the phrase “selling in volume.” She raised her head, rubbed her chin, and was silent for a moment. “How many clients did you take a day?”
“Didn’t I just say all that? Do I have to repeat it?” Hong Moli gestured with her chin at the computer.
The note-taker pointed to the corresponding answers related to the questions.
“Sometimes five or six, depending on the clients’ time. Sometimes fewer.”
“Did they coerce you? Why didn’t you leave this prostitution ring?” Lu Shimiao asked another question, unable to contain herself before even looking down at the transcript.
The note-taker pointed to the following text again. “Team Lead Lu.”
Lu Shimiao lowered her eyes to read. “No coercion. But any bed is the same to sleep in. They provide food and board inside. Even if I lived outside, I wouldn’t be proper anymore.”
Not proper anymore.
Lu Shimiao stared at Hong Moli’s long hair. Dull and yellowish, probably not dyed. Maybe just malnutrition. Or maybe it was from a lingering non-mainstream style from a long, long time ago. She just lowered her head, looking at the box of birth control pills, her entire being radiating a heavy sense of breathing.
Lu Shimiao wasn’t a man.
But at that moment, she felt her gaze upon this woman was akin to a male gaze.
Looking at her testimony, following the texture of her hair, images filled Lu Shimiao’s mind. But they weren’t images of sexual arousal. They were images of her crouching on the floor, her eyes and mouth open in the darkness, the bloodsucking ghost bugs crawling over her body. It was as if everything related to sex could find a reflection in her.
This made Lu Shimiao think of the night before at Xue Tong’s Huashan Road apartment, the white bed in that century-old antique building.
A proper bed.
But it also held two people with no defined relationship.
Yet Xue Tong would only call her name, and she would only like Xue Tong. It had nothing to do with the bed, nothing to do with the people, and everything to do with love.
“Do you see Cheng Guang often?” Lu Shimiao didn’t find this question in the transcript, so she spoke up.
