Chapter 76: ◎Police Flower Officer Zhou, Our Date is Over◎

“Hey! What the hell are you cops so arrogant for? I didn’t kill the guy! Go hassle whoever did! If you can’t find the real killer, you wanna pin it on me?” A young man in a shirt bellowed at the courtyard gate.

“What did you say?!” Sun Ye was so furious that flames practically shot from his eyes. He grabbed the young man by the collar with one hand and jabbed a finger at him with the other. “Answer the police questions properly! What are you doing at the manor? Sneaking around like that—what’s your deal? Where’s your invitation? How’d you get in without one? Speak!”

“I already gave my invitation to the security guards at the gate. They lost it themselves—forgot to write down my name. You gonna blame me for that too?” The young man wasn’t tall, and he looked pretty refined, but his mouth ran like a faucet. He lied without missing a beat, spinning tales right off the cuff. “Can you cops be reasonable? I’m a good citizen who pays my taxes on time. You dare yell at me? Hey! What’s your badge number? I’ll complain to the Public Security Bureau about you tomorrow, you little policeman.”

Zhou Hui and Yu Bai had just come downstairs when they walked into this scene. The young man who was apparently named Yang Xiaofeng was tangled up with Sun Ye right at the front gate.

His outburst sparked the other guests into jeering as well. They all started clamoring to leave, and the situation nearly spiraled out of control.

Zhou Hui hurried over and gave Sun Ye a sharp tilt of her chin. “Sun Ye, let him go!”

“Captain Zhou.”

“Let him go and take him straight to the police car.” Zhou Hui repeated herself, pointing at the patrol car parked nearby by the gate. “Yang Xiaofeng, you don’t want to be questioned here? Fine. How about a taste of the Police Bureau’s interrogation room—twenty-four hours in detention.”

Sun Ye heard that and immediately hauled Yang Xiaofeng toward the car, fixing him with a hard stare. “Let’s go, Mr. Yang Xiaofeng. Experience our City Bureau’s twenty-four-hour hospitality.”

Yang Xiaofeng’s bravado deflated the instant he heard it. He quickly backpedaled two steps and forced a grin. “No, no, no—I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Don’t drag me to the station!”

Only then did Sun Ye stop. He glanced back at him, released his grip, and said, “If you’d just done that from the start, we’d all get along fine. Cooperate, understand each other, and you folks can leave sooner.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Yang Xiaofeng nodded vigorously.

“Now then, what do you do? What was your real purpose coming to the banquet?”

“I’m a reporter.” Yang Xiaofeng let out a dry chuckle and handed over his press badge. “From XX Daily.”

“A reporter? You…” Everyone on the scene was momentarily stunned. Sun Ye had barely gotten half a sentence out when the guests erupted even more fiercely than the cops.

“Damn it, what’s a reporter doing sneaking in here?!”

“Shit! Did you take any sneaky photos? Hand over the film! Or tomorrow we’ll sue your paper into bankruptcy—believe it!”

Rich folks tended to value their privacy. The fact that Half-Mountain Manor had no security cameras was proof enough—they hated intrusions into their personal lives. They’d long been hounded by reporters and paparazzi, so discovering a stealth photographer in their midst didn’t sit well. Add in the police crashing the party and shutting down the banquet by force, leaving many already fuming, and this was like lighting a fuse. It ignited every pent-up grievance in an instant.

Zhou Hui had no choice but to calm the guests first, urging them to be patient, cooperate with the police, and promising they could leave as soon as the killer was found.

She then turned her gaze to Yang Xiaofeng, frowning as she asked, “Where’s the film and the camera? Where’d you stash them?”

Yang Xiaofeng swallowed hard. Surrounded by cops grilling him relentlessly, he was drenched in sweat. Now even the guests were glaring daggers, out for blood. He wiped the sweat from his brow and stammered, pointing toward the bamboo grove by the wall near the gate.

“Over there. When I saw you cops show up, I got scared you’d find the film, so I hid it behind a tree.”

Sun Ye sprinted over and returned in under two minutes with the camera, cleverly disguised in a fanny pack.

Zhou Hui took the camera and flipped through the photos from around two a.m., the time of Frank’s death. She spared a bit of attention to glance up at Yang Xiaofeng. “What spots in Half-Mountain Manor did you shoot tonight?”

Yang Xiaofeng didn’t dare lie anymore. He answered whatever the police asked. “Front courtyard, back garden, ballroom, third-floor lounge, study—oh, and the second-floor guest rooms too.”

“Ho! You got around.” Zhou Hui looked up at him and waved the camera. “What about the Bell Tower? Snap any there?”

“Y-Yeah… I think so.”

“Did you or didn’t you?!” Zhou Hui snapped sharply.

Sweat beaded on Yang Xiaofeng’s forehead again. Seeing Zhou Hui still staring him down, waiting, he nervously shrank back and said, “I did, but I was kinda tense when I took them… honestly can’t remember for sure, Officer.”

Zhou Hui had no choice but to keep her head down and continue searching, flipping through the photos one by one. The images from around the time of Frank’s death were nearly exhausted when suddenly, one captured a corner of the clock tower.

She pointed at it for Han Wei and Sun Ye to see. Both men jolted in surprise. Sun Ye jabbed a finger at the shadowy figure behind Frank on the clock tower and cried out, “Captain Zhou, there really is someone there! Frank didn’t fall by accident.”

Han Wei zoomed in on the photo and frowned up at Zhou Hui. “But Captain Zhou, this figure is way too blurry. We can’t make out any details!” He leaned in closer for another look. “Huh? Though it does look like a man.”

Zhou Hui nodded, gauging the figure against Frank and the clock tower for scale. “Height between 178 and 180 centimeters, weight around 75 kilograms, slim build, black suit. Han Wei, start screening everyone in the courtyard who matches and bring them back to the bureau.”

Han Wei immediately rallied the officers to begin checking the crowd.

Sun Ye scratched his head on the sidelines, still anxious amid the sea of people. He turned to Zhou Hui. “Captain Zhou, what now? Haul them all in? The City Bureau doesn’t have enough interrogation rooms for that!”

Zhou Hui looked up from the photo, brow furrowed in thought. “What about the statements?”

Sun Ye hurriedly passed her the stack of witness statements. Zhou Hui scanned the accounts from the guests. A few had been straightforward, but the rest all claimed no contact with the deceased, total strangers, just there to show face tonight.

She handed the camera and statements to Sun Ye. “Cross-check these against the photos on Yang Xiaofeng’s camera to verify. Anyone who had close conversations with the victim tonight or was spotted near the clock tower around the time of death—bring them in for another twenty-four hours of questioning. Release everyone else.”

Sun Ye started to nod and get moving, but hesitated at her final words. “R-release… all of them?”

“These people’s legal teams combined could bury the City Bureau in lawsuits and have us all stripped of our badges—believe me? Let them go!” Zhou Hui laid out the harsh reality with a helpless shrug, then her tone sharpened. Her eyes darkened with a sly glint as she fixed Sun Ye with a grave stare. “Call in the Anti-Vice Squad and Narcotics Squad for a sweep. Frank was using—find out if he had any buddies sharing his high, and anyone involved in prostitution. Haul them all in. Tell the rest they’re not leaving Pingling City until the case is closed. That one talking about flying to New York tomorrow? Tell him to cancel his ticket and save himself the trouble!”

Han Wei grinned in understanding and flashed Zhou Hui a thumbs-up. “Brilliant move, Captain Zhou. We’ll nail half of them this way. I’ll notify Anti-Vice and Narcotics right now.”

Sun Ye bolted off to handle his tasks. Zhou Hui conferred briefly with Forensic Doctor Meng about the body. No doubt about it—a fall from upstairs.

When Zhou Hui mentioned the signs of drug use, Meng Liansu shrugged. “Preliminary exam’s too limited to confirm anything yet. We’ll do a full autopsy back at the bureau. Report on your desk tomorrow afternoon.”

It was just past four-fifteen in the morning when the work finally wrapped up. Facing a crew of bone-tired officers, Zhou Hui issued her orders. “Secure the scene. No non-case personnel within a mile until it’s closed. Let’s head out!”

With the pool of suspects still unclear, all five police cars heading down the mountain were packed to capacity. Zhou Hui eyed them, wondering how they’d manage the late-night descent with no room to spare.

Yu Bai came jogging out the door, jangling her car keys. “Captain Zhou, ride down with me?”

Zhou Hui froze for a few seconds, only then remembering Yu Bai amid the frenzy—she’d been too busy to think of her.

She arched a brow at the woman sidling up with a grin, hesitated a moment, then climbed in.

Safely buckled into the passenger seat, Zhou Hui turned to Yu Bai. A sudden thought struck her. “Where to after we get down the mountain? Back to Datang Foot Spa?”

Yu Bai blinked in surprise, then amusement lit her eyes. She shot Zhou Hui a suspicious glance across the gearshift and drew in a slow breath. “Officer Zhou, you’re not planning to drag me back to the Police Bureau for questioning this time?”

By all rights, the usual script called for Zhou Hui to toss her into the car without a word, slide behind the wheel herself under the guise of “requisitioning the vehicle for official business,” slap cuffs on her, and ignore her icily the whole ride—straight to a holding cell at the City Bureau.

That was the routine.

Today’s Zhou Hui was acting completely out of character, and Yu Bai felt a touch off-balance. She licked her lips, waiting for the captain to snap back to form—maybe she’d just forgotten to haul her in for the night. Better to get it over with now than have to chase her down later. She wasn’t sleeping anyway.

“At the time of the crime, you were with me, so you’re temporarily cleared of suspicion.” Officer Zhou’s clear black-and-white eyes fixed on her. She didn’t look like she’d forgotten about taking her back. After a long moment, Officer Zhou let out a heavy sigh and said to Yu Bai, “However, the police surveillance on Datang Foot Spa won’t stop. Go back and tell Qin Hua to watch his step. Also, you can’t leave Pingling City until the case is closed.”

Yu Bai’s smile faltered for a moment. Then she took a deep breath, shrugged, and replied, “Alright. I’ll pass your words on to Qin Hua word for word and tell him to watch his step.”

Pausing for a beat, Yu Bai said softly, “Then let’s head down the mountain now, Officer Zhou. Our date is over.”

She flashed Officer Zhou a meaningful smile, turned to grip the steering wheel, and started the engine.