Chapter 7

On the drive back, Nie Fanxin sank into a low mood. They didn’t know exactly when Lu Zhenglin had molested Li Juan, but they’d watched video from the Aolin Middle School Class of 39 graduation farewell party on June 4. Li Juan had been in high spirits, determined to attend Fudan University, her eyes brimming with hope for the future. Why, just a day later, had she fallen into such despair that suicide felt like the only answer?

“Sigh, Sister Xin, let it go. Maybe Li Juan found out her family died in the shipwreck and lost her will to live.” Chen Anyou had called her “Sister Xin” yesterday. She’d rejected it twice, but he persisted, and eventually she’d given up.

Chu Wanning advised, “Fanxin, focus on the task at hand. We found triazolam at Lan Hui’s place. It matches the benzodiazepines in Lu Zhenglin’s system. Old Yang’s already brought her in during the kindergarten’s lunch break.”

Knowing she’d been too emotional, Nie Fanxin nodded. “Mm, okay.” She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and closed the news about the June 5, 2039, shipwreck. Opening the surveillance clips on her phone, she began scanning and analyzing carefully.

Lan Hui had driven out of Honghuai Yuanyang at 11:52 p.m. At 12:05 a.m., her car appeared within the outer Bajiao Street camera’s range at roughly 42 km/h. At 12:17 a.m., she was caught on the first camera on Yanghe East Road across from Bajiao Street. A distance that normally took four minutes had taken twelve.

Suspicious surveillance, motive, opportunity, and means all pointed at Lan Hui. And now they’d found triazolam in her home. Was it really her? Would she keep the murder weapon after dumping the body? A kindergarten logistics director should have more sense.

Yet they had to start with Lan Hui, and with Hu Hua and the three victims who hadn’t reported. Other colleagues were already following those leads.

It was the second time in two days that Lan Hui had been summoned to the interrogation room by the police. She cooperated fully. Ye Jun couldn’t come, so he’d called Pei Rong. Thus, when Nie Fanxin and the others turned the corner to the second floor, they found Pei Rong half-leaning against the wall, idly playing with her hair.

“Hey, it’s been ten minutes without anyone checking in. I was starting to think this station only had three officers.” Pei Rong chuckled and straightened up the moment she spotted Nie Fanxin’s head poking around the corner.

“You can rest in the inquiry room next door.” Chu Wanning walked past and headed straight to the office at the end of the corridor.

Pei Rong’s gaze followed her. “Is she always like this?”

“Like what?”

Pei Rong snorted. “Cold. She and Wan Yi could compete to see who freezes each other first.”

Nie Fanxin considered it. “My sister’s fine with family. As for Sister Wanning, maybe the same?”

“No, no, no.” Pei Rong hastily denied it. “Remember last month when we went to the movies? Your sister and I got there early. I said three sentences and she replied once. She wasn’t on her phone or anything. Just didn’t feel like saying more. I count as a close friend to you people, right? The kind of relationship where Old Gu invites us to dinner three times a month!”

Nie Fanxin asked, “What did you two even talk about?”

Pei Rong blurted out, “Dinner after the movie. I listed three or four restaurants, and she said ‘whatever.'”

“Or what?”

“She should have at least discussed it with me first like you do, then argued a little.” Pei Rong realized she was grasping at straws and abruptly changed the subject. “What are you planning to do with Lan Hui? Is the evidence enough?”

“You think I can tell you?” Nie Fanxin turned to the one-way glass, staring unblinkingly at the woman sitting inside, and said in a low voice, “Not only can I not tell you—I also have to remind you: have Lan Hui prepare to be held overnight tonight.”

Pei Rong was surprised. “Held? From my meeting with her, you shouldn’t have enough for compulsory detention.”

“Oh? How so?”

Pei Rong cleared her throat. “The key point: she has no opportunity. She left Honghuai Yuanyang around midnight on the night of the incident, stopped at a roadside restroom midway because of a stomachache, then drove straight to Ye Jun’s place.”

“A restroom? Where?”

Pei Rong’s tone carried a hint of sourness. “Bajiao Street outer section. I applied for the opposite-side camera footage two hours ago. I can’t match your speed.”

“Thanks.” Nie Fanxin clasped her hands and vanished from Pei Rong’s sight.

“Hey, I almost forgot! The meal you owe me. When are you paying up?” Pei Rong’s voice drowned out the footsteps approaching from down the corridor.

Chu Wanning arrived with the detention papers. She handed them over as Pei Rong turned around. “At 2:00 p.m. on December 28, 2049, we will formally place Lan Hui under compulsory detention.”

Pei Rong refused to take them, her voice firm. “No. She has severe sleep issues. Her body can’t handle it.”

Chu Wanning frowned. “Sleep issues?”

“What? I reminded Lan Hui last time to mention it to you. Did she forget?”

Chu Wanning set the papers down on a nearby table. “So the triazolam was a prescription to treat her insomnia?”

Pei Rong confirmed her suspicion. “Lan Hui tried many medications. Triazolam was the only one that worked.”

Chu Wanning paused, seeming to have more to say. At that moment, Chen Anyou hurried over with several screenshots. “Captain Chu, the few minutes Lan Hui was unaccounted for were spent at the restroom. The timing checks out. Sister Xin asked me to give you this. She’s listening to the audio Old Yang brought back.”

“Old Yang brought audio from Hu Hua?” Chu Wanning walked as she talked, only to realize she’d left Pei Rong standing there. She added, “Attorney Pei, please rest. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll have a final answer.” Without another word, she turned and entered the Criminal Investigation Division’s Investigation Team One office.

“Heaven spirits, earth spirits, great Laojun above, quick as the law. Queen Mother, Mother of the Jade Pool, protect me from vengeful spirits…” The audio repeated Hu Hua’s slurred incantations on a loop. Chu Wanning pulled up a chair beside Nie Fanxin, and the group huddled around the computer, all listening intently.

Chen Anyou suddenly burst out laughing. “Is this some folk ritual?”

Old Yang tapped his temple with his right hand. “Captain Chu, when we went to Hu Hua’s house, we got nothing useful. The man’s not right up here.”

Chu Wanning flipped through the written statements. “What about Hu Hua’s wife?”

Old Yang sighed. “They’re in their mandatory divorce cooling-off period. Hu Hua’s mental state began deteriorating yesterday. Not only can’t she divorce him, she’s now stuck caring for him for humanitarian reasons.”

“However, she did give us access to his private spaces and passwords. Might help the case.” Old Yang finished, and Nie Fanxin caught on immediately, pulling up the webpage.

Hu Hua had faithfully documented his life for years. Paper was too risky, so he’d posted his entries to a password-protected blog. His wife had recently discovered the password but hadn’t checked it before handing it over to the police.

Hundreds of entries. Chen Anyou picked a few and read them aloud.

“Autumn, 2046. Five days after Ade died. Nightmares again. Li Juan appears before me covered in blood, demanding my life.”

“Winter, 2049. Old Lu received two threatening letters. He told me not to worry, that they were just students, that they couldn’t make waves.”

“December, 2049. Dreamed of Li Juan again. Old Lu said that if I kept being paranoid, I should go to the police station and turn myself in alone, and leave him out of it.”