Silent Witness - Chapter 15

During the dog days of summer, even after a torrential downpour just hours earlier, the moment the sun fully emerged, the women outdoors felt no trace of coolness.

The criminal investigation vehicle parked at the south gate of Cuihui Villa. The four investigators followed Sun Luying’s personal secretary on foot into the estate.

“Officers, please sign in,” the security guard said, handing over the registration log as usual.

The secretary picked up a pen and said with a smile, “They’re police officers here on official business. My signature will suffice.”

The guard nodded in agreement. “You know how strict our community is.” He waited for the secretary to record the entry time before pressing the automatic gate release.

Cuihui Villa was a high-end residential project developed by Rongke Group, a local real estate giant in Puchen. The villa district featured a low building density, high green space ratio, and strong privacy, with only five villas per two-acre plot, the remaining land dedicated to supporting amenities. Secretary Xu, known for his gentle and approachable demeanor, didn’t mind the extra steps. He spoke with a constant smile, “Officers, I warned General Manager Sun long ago that Yang Guang was untrustworthy. I never imagined he was stringing along five women at once.”

“Miss, who told you that?” He Ying asked. During the investigation, the police strictly maintained confidentiality regarding all known evidence and had not disclosed the existence of Yang Guang’s other four girlfriends to Sun Luying.

“General Manager Sun, of course,” the secretary replied. “Officer, please don’t take offense, but our General Manager Sun has many connections.” Sun Luying was the Chief Operating Officer of Rongke Group, naturally with extensive networks. The secretary continued, “I only learned today that General Manager Sun knew about Yang Guang’s true nature, but she turned a blind eye. After all, the dog-man was quite handsome and had a honeyed tongue—he was annoyingly charming.”

Li Hewei interjected, “So you’re saying General Manager Sun couldn’t possibly have killed Yang Guang, right?”

“Absolutely not! At most, she’d tell him to get lost. Who would resort to murder?” the secretary insisted. “General Manager Sun isn’t just Rongke’s COO; she also owns two small companies herself. Why would she risk committing a crime for some pretty boy?”

Qiu Wan had previously mentioned that Sun Luying’s transfers to Yang Guang had been decreasing since May, speculating that her infatuation might last only a few more months. As Li Hewei chatted casually with the secretary, she nodded in agreement, “I think so too.”

They walked across a lawn, following a winding path of blue flagstones. He Ying asked the secretary, “How much further?”

“Just past the garden over there,” the secretary replied, leading the group forward. After about thirty seconds, a riot of colorful flowers came into view, accompanied by a rockery, a pond teeming with fish, and two sets of wrought-iron tables and chairs. A woman was feeding the fish. She greeted them, “Sister Liu.”

Sister Liu was the housekeeper. “Oh, Xiao Xu, what’s this?” she asked.

“I’m showing the police around the house,” the secretary interjected. “General Manager Sun knows about it.”

“Alright, you know the code. Open the door yourself.”

Xiao Meng clicked his tongue involuntarily. “This is what it means to be rich.”

“Officer, the real estate market has been booming for the past two years. Rongke has made a fortune. Even ordinary sales staff earn monthly salaries of twenty to thirty thousand yuan, let alone General Manager Sun,” the secretary said as he entered the code, successfully unlocking the heavy security door. He led the four through a lavish reception hall, an elegant dining room, and finally pointed to a sliding door on the right side of the leisure area. “The swimming pool is behind there.”

Li Hewei thanked her. “Thank you, Secretary Xu.”

“Oh, General Manager Sun instructed me to handle everything perfectly, of course.”

“No wonder your General Manager Sun makes so much money,” He Ying remarked, slipping on her shoe covers and gloves as she headed toward the pool. “She’s certainly thorough.”

Splitting up, Tao Ling surveyed the pool and garden while Li Hewei whispered, “Tao Ling, have you noticed anything?”

Tao Ling analyzed, “She must have other villas.”

“Mm.” Li Hewei turned to Secretary Xu. “Secretary Xu, could you tell me how often the pool water is changed and when it was last changed?”

“Every twenty days. The last change was around July 15th… oh, wait, the 18th,” the secretary corrected, checking her phone records.

“Thank you.”

Li Hewei had been observing since they entered, casually asking, “How many years has General Manager Sun’s husband been deceased?”

“Seven years.”

“General Manager Sun must own more than just this property, right?”

Understanding that the police could easily access Sun Luying’s assets, Secretary Xu answered truthfully, “Puchen has two Western-style houses, another villa by the Shu River, and properties in Diancheng and Qiongzhou for summer and winter retreats.”

Tao Ling followed up, “There’s a framed photo hanging to the left of the wine cabinet in the living room. Is the villa in that photo located on the Shu River?”

“Oh, that villa belongs to General Manager Sun’s son.”

Tao Ling pressed further, “Where exactly is it?”

“North Suburb Ten Thousand Peaks City—another Rongke project.” The secretary looked startled. “You don’t suspect General Manager Sun’s son, do you? He’s only 24 and still a university student.”

“Rest assured, our police investigations rely on concrete evidence. We currently have no evidence pointing to him,” Li Hewei said. She waited for He Ying to finish collecting the water samples and pack up her forensic kit before walking toward the living room. She deliberately paused briefly in front of the wine cabinet before taking her leave. “Thank you for your cooperation, Secretary Xu.”

The secretary saw them to the door. “It’s my duty to assist.”

As they left the villa and approached the south gate, Tao Ling spoke up. “Sister Wei, do you remember me mentioning finding plant matter resembling flower petals in the victim’s nasal cavity?”

“Yes, you think it might be from the two osmanthus trees planted behind her son’s villa, right?”

Tao Ling crouched down to get into the car. “Exactly. But this is just a hunch. We need to verify whether it’s actually osmanthus.”

“Alright, let’s head back to the police station first.”

The tires screeched against the pavement as the car braked sharply in front of the main building. The four occupants disembarked, pairing off as they walked toward the corridor opposite the Technical Unit’s sign. Li Hewei reached out and pulled Tao Ling, who was about to step past the office door toward the lab, into the room.

“Sister Wei?” Tao Ling blinked in surprise, her eyes widening.

Li Hewei gestured toward the desk. Zhao Xiaoting and An Yu had already gotten lunch for them.

“People are like iron, and food is like steel. Let’s eat first.”

“Okay.” Tao Ling’s eyes curved into a smile. “I’ll wash my hands first.”

Li Hewei followed Tao Ling to the restroom. As Tao Ling washed her hands, Li Hewei glanced sideways and noticed the faint upward curve of her lips. Without thinking, she blurted out, “You look really pretty when you smile.”

Tao Ling paused mid-wash and turned to look at her.

Li Hewei, annoyed at herself for saying something so awkward, forced herself to sound reasonable. “Even when you encounter problems that bring up negative emotions, try to look at them optimistically.”

“Maybe. I’ll try to adjust,” Tao Ling replied softly, assuming Li Hewei was offering comfort after witnessing her experiences at her old home. “Sister Wei, moving out of that old house on East Street has instantly lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.”

Her eyes, clear and poetic, met Li Hewei’s, her voice sincere. “Thank you.”

Why is she thanking me all of a sudden? Their gazes locked for a brief, timeless moment. Li Hewei, startled, jerked her eyes away as if burned.

Straight women are terrifying. I need to keep my distance from now on. Li Hewei took a deep breath, but her words betrayed her resolve: “We’re living under the same roof. No need for formalities.”

Tao Ling responded with a perfectly measured smile and left the restroom first.

After dinner, Li Hewei chewed on a milk candy as Tao Ling delivered the first good news in days: “Sister Wei, the flower petals in Yang Guang’s nasal cavity were osmanthus.”

He Ying suggested, “Should we go straight to Sun Hao’s villa?”

“Let’s not spook them yet. I’ll consult with the Major Crimes Unit first.” Li Hewei disliked phone calls and preferred WeChat. She typed: Team Leader Qiu, are you at the police station?

Yes, we’ve made a new discovery.

What is it?

Xiao Zhou ran multiple comparisons on the video Tao Ling processed and confirmed the brand of the long dress the suspect wore on the day of the crime: Sansenhe, priced between 500 and 700 yuan. Zhou Lin loves buying Sansenhe clothes.

Zhou Lin? Didn’t you say she was at her hometown?

Yes, so we’ve decided to conduct a more thorough investigation. For example, when did she go back to her hometown? Did she take any buses back to Puchen in between?

Li Hewei pointed out the difficulty: Buying train tickets requires real-name registration, but what about shared rides from Puchen to Wangyan Town, her hometown? Unlicensed shared rides cost 25 yuan per person. There are also regular buses between towns where passengers can board mid-route and buy tickets.

That’s the trickiest part. Yang Guang’s mother insists Zhou Lin never left her side.

Let’s investigate. Have Zhou Lin and Yang Guang had any recent arguments?

Their WeChat chats appear normal. We don’t know about phone calls or in-person interactions. Qiu Wan reasonably speculated, For example, did Zhou Lin discover Yang Guang was cheating?

Did you bring that up during the questioning?

Yes, but Zhou Lin seemed perfectly normal. Yesterday, when discussing the details, Qiu Wan asked her to evaluate Yang Guang’s character and even directly questioned why they hadn’t married after seven years. Zhou Lin gave an overwhelmingly positive assessment, describing him as filial, family-oriented, generous with money, and thoughtful enough to buy her gifts during group trips. As for delaying marriage, she explained it was because they hadn’t saved enough for a house and needed to consider future expenses for children—a classic case of being love-struck.

Li Hewei paused to think. What about the neighbors? What’s their impression of them?

They seemed quite affectionate. Zhou Lin had a gentle nature and always deferred to Yang Guang.

One more thing: has Zhou Lin been in close contact with anyone recently?

You suspect someone might be conspiring?

Li Hewei cut to the chase: Or it could be a coincidence that they wore the same brand. Zhou Lin might be innocent. Investigate Sun Hao. She had just browsed Taobao and discovered that many models from the Shansenhe brand had monthly sales exceeding 3,000 units, not to mention their offline retail channels.

Sun Hao? Sun Luying’s son? I think he’s pursuing a master’s degree at Hangzhou University’s School of Management.

Didn’t he start an internship at Rongke in February?

Alright, I’ll pursue both leads simultaneously. I’ll ask Director Liu for additional personnel.

If you need assistance from the Technical Unit, don’t hesitate to ask.

Okay, I’ll get to work.

As 8 PM approached, the results of the pool water sample analysis came back, confirming it didn’t match the drowning fluid found in the deceased’s body. As expected, Li Hewei hummed in acknowledgment, tilting her head to gaze out the window. The night sky resembled a surging sea, abruptly swallowing the last sliver of white on the horizon.

“Time to clock out. Let’s head home.”

Li Hewei and Tao Ling strolled out of the main building, passing through the alley behind the back entrance. The streetlights cast their slender shadows on the ground when suddenly, a dark figure blocked their path.