Chapter 13

At two in the morning, Chu Wanning received several documents from Chen Anyou: bank records for Lu Zhenglin and Hu Hua. After finishing the coffee Nie Fanxin had picked up earlier, the two entered the interrogation room.

Inside, Hu Hua’s facial muscles were noticeably tenser than they’d been hours ago, the result of an hour’s confinement. His eyes remained closed.

Chu Wanning sat across from him and laid out the bank records one by one. “Hu Hua, on November 18, Lu Zhenglin transferred 800,000 to you. What was it for?”

Hu Hua shuddered and mumbled, “My aunt’s surgery and school renovations.”

“What kind of surgery costs 500,000? We checked the chat records. Your aunt did have surgery on the 20th of last month, but the family covered 300,000 out of pocket. As for the renovation, the contractor was only paid 80,000. You told Lu Zhenglin it was 150,000.”

Hu Hua avoided eye contact. “Money. People like to skim a little. Old Lu had plenty. And the surgery, I helped too…”

Chu Wanning let out a cold laugh. “Borrowed 30,000? Your cousin paid that back at the start of the month.” Nie Fanxin handed her a phone, and her frown relaxed slightly as she asked point-blank: “Tonight’s horse betting results are in. Want to know the outcome?”

Hu Hua began to fidget, his clenched fists opening and closing uncontrollably.

Chu Wanning went on: “In September, you won 300,000 betting. October, 50,000. November, you lost 500,000, so you borrowed to recover? December, another 340,000 in losses. So you killed to wipe the debt?”

Hu Hua clenched his jaw and stayed silent.

“The sebum secretions in the trunk cover a wide area. Were you sleeping there with your clothes off? Weren’t you cold? The massage parlor used geranium oil, but the trunk tested positive for ylang-ylang.”

Hu Hua’s head shot up, his lost and hazy eyes finally focusing, like a cornered man awaiting judgment. Still, he said nothing.

“But Lu Zhenglin’s back and limbs tested positive for ylang-ylang oil.” Chu Wanning’s voice rose sharply, her gaze piercing as she pressed on, every word ringing with force. “Hu Hua, you’d better be straight with us. Any accomplices? How did it go down?”

Hu Hua murmured, “I didn’t kill him. It wasn’t me.”

Chu Wanning’s words landed like hammers: “Then who? Li Lan?”

Hu Hua’s voice steadied as he asked hurriedly, “You know her? You’ve found her?”

Nie Fanxin interjected: “Spill it. All of it.”

Chu Wanning added: “How did you meet Li Lan? And how you carried it out.”

Hu Hua’s tense body went slack as he leaned against the chair back and began to recall. “On November 23, early morning, I was walking home alone when someone clubbed me from behind in an alley near the back gate of our compound. Nearly knocked me out. It was Li Juan’s sister, Li Lan. She wanted to kill me. She had a knife, and with years of fitness training, she was stronger than me. But Li Lan only knew Li Juan’s death was tied to the three of us. She didn’t know the details. So I begged her not to kill me. In exchange, I’d help her kill Lu Zhenglin.”

Nie Fanxin, taking notes, asked, “Was killing Lu Zhenglin your doing?”

“No. She did it. My job was to impersonate Old Lu and clock out of the gym. After Li Lan left, I moved Old Lu’s body.”

Nie Fanxin had access to all the chat records between Lu Zhenglin and Hu Hua. Scrolling through, she refreshed the memory of the man seated across from her: “And you’re the one who introduced Li Lan to Lu Zhenglin as his personal trainer?”

Hu Hua admitted it. “Yes.”

“You killed your brother, a man who lent you hundreds of thousands. Heartless.” Nie Fanxin paused, then changed tack. “But you’re all the same. He wasn’t a good man either.” The full extent of Lu Zhenglin’s molestation was now clear: eight victims in total, five who’d reported, three who’d stayed silent for fear of damaged reputations.

Chu Wanning asked the key question: “Do you know where Li Lan is?”

Hu Hua shook his head. “No. She always contacts me. She also forced me to turn myself in and reveal why Li Juan killed herself.”

Nie Fanxin glared at him. “Isn’t that only right?” Her voice was sharp enough to make Hu Hua nearly topple from his chair.

At 3 a.m., Chu Wanning and Nie Fanxin left the detention center and boarded the criminal investigation vehicle waiting outside.

“Li Lan’s grandmother’s house.” Chu Wanning sat in the passenger seat and buckled up, gazing out at the snow drifting down. “Today’s Grandma Li’s birthday. Li Lan might show up.”

Snow was rare in southern Binnan. Nie Fanxin could only recall two other times. She stared at the flakes dissolving as they touched the ground, and thought of Li Lan’s fate. A cloud of worry settled on her brow.

In the modest two-bedroom apartment, a warm yellow light filled the living room. Two figures sat at the tea table, smiling and chatting.

The grandmother said earnestly, “Lan’er, leave Binnan. Find someone good to marry.”

Li Lan smiled brightly. “Okay.” She opened the exquisitely wrapped cake box and inserted the candles. “Grandma, I might not have time to come home and see you anymore. A friend found me a good job out of province.”

The grandmother, wearing a birthday crown, smiled. “As long as you have work.”

“Grandma, let me sing for you, on behalf of Juan’er and Mom and Dad.” Li Lan lit the candles and her lips curved. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”

Her vision blurred. She remembered the shipwreck a decade ago, swimming desperately to shore, penniless, trekking over a dozen kilometers. She’d intended to seek help from a police station when she saw the news: “Aolin Middle School senior Li Juan jumps to her death. Cause under investigation.”

Then she recalled logging into her sister’s QQ and finding the suicide note in a private journal.

“Lu Zhenglin, Wang Gede, Hu Hua, made me feel dirty. I can’t face anyone. Not my parents, not my grandmother, not my sister, not my teachers or classmates. Sister, we said we’d go to Beijing this summer. I’m sorry. This is how I choose to leave…”

Li Lan lowered her head and blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She looked up with a smile. “Grandma, my train leaves at seven in the morning. I still need to pack.”

“Go, then.” The grandmother’s trembling hand emerged from her pocket, pressing a stack of cash into Li Lan’s arms. Li Lan stood and headed for the door. Before leaving, she quietly tucked the money into the basket the grandmother used for groceries, then closed the door and ran off without looking back.

The grandmother leaned on her cane and shuffled to the window, gazing for a long while in the direction where Li Lan’s figure had disappeared.

Five minutes later, three police cars stopped outside the compound. Two officers went ahead and found the living room light had just gone out.

In the courtyard, Nie Fanxin stood beside Chu Wanning, frowning. “Sister Wanning, that car at the intersection…” Before she could finish, she snatched the keys from Old Yang and disappeared.

“Everyone else, hold position.” Chu Wanning finished her sentence and climbed into the passenger seat just as Nie Fanxin started the engine.

“You think it’s Li Lan?”

Nie Fanxin: “Sister Wanning, in the dead of night, a young woman driving around in a hat?” She’d only caught a glimpse but the image lingered.

Chu Wanning analyzed: “She didn’t take the road we came in on. The other road leads out of the city. She’s trying to run.”

Nie Fanxin’s foot pressed harder on the accelerator. “Probably.”

Chu Wanning pulled out her phone and called the Nanyun District traffic police duty office: “Hello, this is Criminal Investigation Unit Captain Chu Wanning. I need traffic coordination.”

“Captain Chu, how can we help?”

“Get me the duty phone numbers for the Wulin and Zhenyuan Exits of Changkuan Avenue.”

The dispatcher quickly sent the numbers. Chu Wanning called them one by one.

After understanding the situation, the officer on duty said, “Captain Chu, provide the plate number.”

“I don’t have the plate. It’s a black Japanese sedan.” Chu Wanning knew cars; she could guess by the body lines.

“Sister Wanning, likely a Nissan Sylphy.” Before she even finished, she cried, “There!”

Nie Fanxin parked and both women moved quickly and cautiously toward the Nissan.

“Door’s open. No one.” Chu Wanning reminded Nie Fanxin to stay alert.

“What’s that?” Nie Fanxin gazed into the distance. Under the bridge, a dark figure was walking slowly forward.

“Something’s wrong.” Chu Wanning had barely started moving when Nie Fanxin was already running. “She’s going to kill herself.”

“Yeah.”

The wind howled. Snow stung their faces. They sprinted. Nearing the river, the bridge lights revealed water already up to the person’s chest.

Nie Fanxin shouted, “Li Lan, is that you?”

The figure gave no sign of hearing.

“Fanxin, what are you doing?” Chu Wanning watched Nie Fanxin strip off her coat.

Nie Fanxin’s eyes were clear and determined: “Save her.”

“I’ll go. You call for backup.” Chu Wanning began unbuttoning her own uniform.

“I’m faster.” Nie Fanxin was already wading into the water.

“Fanxin.” Chu Wanning couldn’t afford to let emotion overrule judgment. At least one of them had to stay on shore. She called for support while keeping her eyes locked on the river.

The water closed over the person’s head. Nie Fanxin gritted her teeth and swam with practiced strokes. She conserved her breath, adjusting her approach based on Chu Wanning’s directions from the bank. Taking a deep breath, she dove. The water was bone-chilling. She scanned as best she could, but the river was deep and dark. She couldn’t see anyone.

“Fanxin, Fanxin… get out of the water. Come back.” Chu Wanning’s anxious voice rang in her ears. Nie Fanxin held her breath, swam two more meters, and stared into the bottomless river. In the end, she had to give up.

Half an hour later, Nie Fanxin huddled in the passenger seat of the car, wrapped in a heavy blanket and shivering, but still concerned about Li Lan: “Hey, Chen Anyou, did they find her?”

“No. Not looking good.”

Achoo!

“Sister Xin, jumping into a river in the dead of winter? Bold!”

Nie Fanxin rolled her eyes and stared into the distance. Three salvage boats crisscrossed the river while dozens of workers dove time and again.

“Found her! Found her!” A chorus of shouts shattered the quiet.