Chapter 11

“Why bring the investigation kit?” In the parking lot across from the Municipal Bureau, Nie Zhilan rested her elbow on the car window and her chin on her hand as she watched her sister approach.

“Are we not going to the scene?” Nie Zhiyan tapped the trunk to signal for her to open it. She carefully put the kit inside, making sure it wouldn’t tip over if the car jolted, then closed the trunk and got into the passenger seat.

“It’s been days. What could be left at the scene? I want you to assess the injuries and help reconstruct what happened. We’ll use it to bluff the suspect.” Nie Zhilan waited for her to buckle her seat belt before pulling away.

“Bluff?” Nie Zhiyan had put on an eye mask. The world was dark, and she turned her head slightly to show she was listening.

Nie Zhilan didn’t turn on the navigation. She lowered the car stereo and answered carefully. “Zheng Haipeng had a friend help him make a private deal with Wang Bin. After the out-of-court settlement, he promised Wang ten thousand yuan in exchange for convincing the workers to agree to a three-month delay on the other fifty percent of their wages. But Zheng went back on his word and kept coming up with excuses. Then, in late March, he fired Wang Bin. Wang had taken a bribe in the first place, but he couldn’t complain about it at the factory. He hoped he could at least get the money back through a civil suit. But after asking around, he was told by prosecutors in the Sixth Procuratorial Department that his chances were slim.”

“Then what? That doesn’t make him the victim. If it was a private agreement, wouldn’t it be legally unenforceable?”

“Zheng learned that he was planning to file a civil suit. In mid-April, he hired someone to beat him up. Wang’s left lower leg was shattered. Wang reported it to the police, but the hired thug took the blame and only got a month in detention. Wang spent tens of thousands of yuan on surgery and recovery. His wife was pregnant with their second child, but she miscarried without anyone to help her. Ten days ago, Wang was discharged from the hospital and swore he’d make Lin Shengfu pay in blood.”

Nie Zhiyan reached for the water bottle on her right, opened it, and took two small sips. “So Zheng Haipeng never shows his face, while Lin Shengfu takes the blame for him?”

“Could be. Wang Bin had motive. Brother Zhao found a bloodstained wooden club and is waiting for the DNA results. But the original fingerprints were wiped off with alcohol, and the killer wore gloves that night, so there’s nothing to lift.” The car stopped at a red light. The intersection was busy, and the light lasted ninety seconds. Nie Zhilan shifted into neutral and pulled on the handbrake.

“Clever.”

“Two minutes ago, Zhu Fang found out that Wang Bin had an uncle living at No. 118 Maliangkan in Liuyang Village. The old man had lost his only child. Before Wang was injured, he had plenty of time to look after him and knew the area and its residents very well.”

Nie Zhiyan accepted the unopened bottle of water her sister handed her. “So he had the means. He had motive and opportunity. What about the timing?”

“He has an alibi.” Nie Zhilan released the handbrake, shifted gears, and pulled away.

“Did they apply for a search warrant?”

“The Leilong County Criminal Investigation Brigade is applying for one.”

The car left the busy city behind and headed toward National Highway 208.

“Go search his home carefully. I’m going to sleep.”

“Sure. Oh, Ying said we’re having dinner at her place this weekend.”

“Mm.” Nie Zhilan drove steadily. Nie Zhiyan trusted her completely. She had a habit of falling asleep as soon as she got into a car. Within minutes, the woman behind the eye mask was out.

In Tongzhi Township, Leilong County, a car was parked beside a gas station called Xiaojiabian, on the provincial highway twenty-seven kilometers from Wanyuan Township. The driver was still inside. Wan Tong and two auxiliary officers had just gotten out.

The sky was growing dim. Their car had been assigned twenty-one gas stations. This was the nineteenth.

Inside the surveillance room, the attendant pulled up the footage.

“Could you check the footage around midnight on the third?” Wan Tong asked, watching the recordings from the second and third.

“This is a small gas station. We mostly get trucks at night. When you called, Little Cai, who was on duty that night, mentioned that a car came in and asked for a full tank.”

“Where’s Little Cai?”

The attendant pointed outside, toward the second pump. “There. The one wearing the hat.”

“Thanks. Brother Li, can you go ask?” The auxiliary officer on Wan Tong’s right nodded and stepped outside.

A short while later, Little Cai pushed through the curtain and came in. He rested his left hand on the glass counter and spoke proudly.

“I remember that person pretty well. They wore a mask and a hat, so all you could see were their eyes. They said they had a bad cold and didn’t want to infect anyone. They paid two hundred yuan in cash, and I filled the tank.”

“About what time?” Wan Tong asked, her eyes suddenly wide.

“Before twelve. After they left, I signed in on the group chat.” Little Cai was a fan and belonged to a fan group. Every night at midnight, the members could check in.

Wan Tong smiled. “Thanks, Little Cai.” She leaned toward the computer. “Could you check the footage after 11:40 on the second?”

The surveillance video showed a yellow coach bus leaving at 11:48. A car with license plate Jiang BHE329 slowly pulled up beside pump number ninety-two. The driver only lowered the window once Little Cai came over. Five minutes later, the person wearing a mask and hat handed him two hundred yuan and rolled the window up again.

“Wait. Back up a little. When he leans over to buckle his seat belt.” Wan Tong stared at the screen.

“Stop. Right there. Could you zoom in?”

The video showed two black moles in a row, five centimeters below the back of the man’s left ear. They were clearly visible.

Wan Tong called Nie Zhilan, who was in Leilong County. Nie Zhilan told her to come over at once. Wan Tong got into the car and glanced at the last streak of sunset. For the first time in days, the gloom and pressure began to lift.

At No. 72 Zuolangkou in Wanyuan Township, Leilong County, Nie Zhilan sat opposite two men in a second-floor room at the township police station. They had been drinking and eating with Wang Bin that night. Nie Zhiyan leaned against the sofa behind her.

Nie Zhilan uncapped a gel pen, wiped away the ink that had leaked onto a tissue, and asked, “You said you were drinking with Wang Bin at nine-thirty that night. Why do you remember the time so clearly?”

“I was going to leave. I’d had enough to drink and felt a little dizzy, but Wang Bin said it was only nine-thirty, so I stayed and had another half-glass.” The man with the beard under his lip spoke first.

The clean-cut man beside him continued, “He mentioned the time, and I happened to look at the clock on the wall. It was 9:35. We didn’t leave his place until 10:30.”

“But, Old Yang, when I got home and took a shower, my wife came back from playing cards, all excited because she’d won fifty yuan. She usually doesn’t leave the table until after midnight.”

“Same for me. That show that starts at eleven was already over when I got home. Isn’t that strange?”

Nie Zhilan turned to look at Nie Zhiyan, whose brow was slightly furrowed.

“I’m stepping out for a moment.” It was that time of the month, and her stomach hurt. Nie Zhiyan asked two officers outside where the restroom was. They told her it was on the first floor, all the way at the back.

Night crept in. The lights in the stairwell flickered weakly as she went down, turned the corner, and headed for the restroom. Moonlight cast her shadow long and thin. She heard footsteps approaching. A dark figure’s shadow nearly merged with hers. She turned around, startled—but a broad hand clamped over her mouth before she could cry out.