Silent Witness - Chapter 20

At 11:30 PM, they returned to the investigation vehicle, lugging their cases.

The night was utterly still as Qiu Wan twisted the key, the engine’s roar shattering the silence.

He Ying sat in the back, her face etched with frustration. “Sigh, all this effort for nothing.”

“Not necessarily,” Qiu Wan and Li Hewei replied in unison.

Qiu Wan steered the car out of the villa district’s narrow streets, gesturing. “You go first.”

“Zhang Xiuqin tried to appear calm and composed, but her subtle body language betrayed her,” Li Hewei explained. During the interview, Li Hewei had been positioned behind them and noticed Zhang Xiuqin unconsciously picking at her pants with her right pinky finger whenever she spoke. This prompted her to observe more closely, and she noticed Zhang Xiuqin swallowing hard every time Qiu Wan mentioned Sun Hao.

This was a classic sign of nervousness suppressing saliva production, causing a dry throat and involuntary swallowing.

“Exactly! She kept touching her neck too,” Qiu Wan agreed. Ever decisive, she had instructed Xiao Liao to investigate Zhang Xiuqin’s finances half an hour earlier. As she spoke, her phone suddenly vibrated, the ringtone piercing the cramped space.

Li Hewei helped answer the call.

“Hello, Boss.”

“Go ahead,” Qiu Wan said, her phone connected to her Bluetooth headset, freeing her hands.

“Zhang Xiuqin’s financial records are clean. She receives a monthly salary of 4,800 yuan, deposited on time. She lives in the old city district, and Sun Luying reimburses her transportation expenses, allowing her to save 4,000 yuan each month.”

“What about her family situation?”

“She’s been widowed for years and has only one daughter, Zhang Jinglan, who works in sales at Rongke. I checked Zhang Jinglan’s finances too—her base salary plus commissions average around 20,000 yuan per month.”

With her daughter working at Rongke, there were too many opportunities for manipulation.

“Zhang Jinglan usually buys third-tier brands, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Alright, you and Lao Zheng go get some rest.” During this critical period, the Major Crimes Unit was operating on a rotating shift system, with only two teams working around the clock due to manpower shortages.

“Understood, Boss.”

Qiu Wan hung up.

Li Hewei asked, “What’s the situation?”

“Complicated.” Qiu Wan, who had been working for sixteen consecutive hours, felt dizzy and drained. “Zhang Xiuqin’s daughter works at Rongke. It would be child’s play for Sun Hao to pressure her into giving false testimony.”

Li Hewei voiced her intuition: “It might not be Sun Hao. I heard Sun Luying is deliberately training him by having him rotate through various departments to gain experience.”

Qiu Wan remained convinced: “Just the fact that he’s Sun Luying’s son is enough for Zhang Xiuying to agree.”

“Do you think Sun Hao killed Yang Guang, dressed as a woman to dispose of the body, and create confusion?”

“Yes. Sun Hao is 171 cm tall, matching the height of the woman described by the convenience store clerk.”

“Right, let’s review the evidence,” Li Hewei said, detailing the facts. “First, we know the suspect is around 172 cm tall and weighs over 68 kg. Second, Zhou Lin’s preferred brands match the brand of the long dress worn by the suspect. Third, the osmanthus petals found in the victim’s nasopharynx led us to investigate Sun Hao, and we discovered anomalies in the water and electricity usage at his villa. Two witnesses also appear to have given false testimony.”

Qiu Wan agreed: “Yes, as of now, Sun Hao remains the prime suspect.”

“What about motive?”

“I suspect Sun Luying spent a considerable amount of money on Yang Guang, which threatened Sun Hao’s interests.”

Li Hewei disagreed: “Over two million yuan? He wouldn’t risk murder for that amount.”

Qiu Wan frowned, considering the objection she had raised.

He Ying agreed, “Xiao Li is right. Murder is a serious crime.”

Li Hewei analyzed, “Sun Hao is highly educated and has Sun Luying’s support, living a comfortable life. Why would someone without worries and with a bright future suddenly commit murder? There must be a reason.”

Qiu Wan nodded. “True, but finding out his relationship with Yang Guang now will be difficult.”

“Indeed. If Sun Luying intends to protect Sun Hao, she won’t tell us the truth.”

Qiu Wan lightly pressed the brakes, using the pause at the traffic light to voice her lingering question: “Ever since we suspected the villa might be the primary crime scene, I’ve been puzzled by one thing: how did Yang Guang get to Ten Thousand Peaks City? Did he drive himself?”

Li Hewei hummed in agreement. “I’m puzzled too. We’ve reviewed the surveillance footage from the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, scrutinizing every person and vehicle. There’s no sign of him.”

“That’s why I asked the colleagues on duty tonight to check the preceding days. If he rode to the villa in Sun Hao’s car, we’ll never find out.” Both of Sun Hao’s cars—the Porsche and the Mercedes-Benz—have privacy film on the windows, making it impossible to see anything beyond the front seats.

“True.”

Tao Ling, ever attentive to detail, suddenly asked, “If Yang Guang was at the villa, would he never leave?”

Qiu Wan burst out laughing. “I never even considered that! You’re sharp, Xiao Tao.” She released the accelerator and pressed down again, continuing the drive.

Li Hewei turned to Tao Ling. “Plenty of shut-ins can stay home for half a month straight, as long as they have enough food.”

Zhao Xiaoting chuckled heartily. “Not me! Even on vacation, I have to go out every day.”

Qiu Wan ventured a bold guess. “Hey, you know what? That’s actually plausible. In this 40-degree heat, I wouldn’t want to leave the house either if I didn’t have to.”

Li Hewei asked, “Team Leader Qiu, didn’t you say Yang Guang hasn’t led a tour group in two months?”

“Exactly. He even complained to Zhou Lin about how hard it was to earn money, having to cater to those rich clients in this sweltering heat. But after the Labor Day travel peak, he took a vacation and juggled his five girlfriends.”

Zhao Xiaoting cursed under her breath. “They say speak no ill of the dead, but I’m calling him a deadbeat bastard.”

Tao Ling mused, “Hmm, that does make it possible for him to stay cooped up.”

Qiu Wan’s phone lit up. Focused on driving, she asked Li Hewei to check the message.

“This must be the water and electricity companies’ schedule. Take a look—the password is 123456.”

Li Hewei held Qiu Wan’s phone, her face showing surprise. “Such a simple password? Aren’t you worried someone might unlock your phone?”

“I have no secrets, so it doesn’t matter,” Qiu Wan said calmly. “Besides, this is just my work phone, and the WeChat account is for work too.”

“Alright.” Li Hewei unlocked the phone, opened WeChat, and carefully examined the schedule.

“Team Leader Qiu, this is strange. Can you guess the specific time on the 23rd when the water usage was abnormal?”

“Noon?”

Li Hewei stared at the numbers on the schedule. After triple-checking with the water company’s duty officer, she stated firmly, “Between 2 AM and 3 AM.”

Qiu Wan was stunned. “The middle of the night?”

Based on the current evidence, Li Hewei speculated, “Yes, I suspect Yang Guang was murdered on the night of the 22nd. The killer originally planned to use the pool’s water change on the 23rd to discreetly dispose of all the evidence, but something unexpected happened.”

“What kind of unexpected event?”

Tao Ling, the coroner responsible for the autopsy, chimed in, “The blunt force trauma to the back of the victim’s head would have caused significant bleeding, undoubtedly contaminating the pool.”

Qiu Wan’s eyes widened in realization. “So the killer hadn’t originally planned to use a weapon?”

“That seems logical,” Li Hewei agreed, scrolling through her tablet.

“I’ll contact the Lang City Public Security Bureau and request their cooperation,” Qiu Wan said as the car sped across an overpass and turned into the brightly lit food street near the police station. Taking a shortcut, she arrived two minutes ahead of the navigation app’s estimated time.

“You can all pack up and go home,” Qiu Wan instructed as they exited the elevator on the third floor. The Major Crimes Unit’s office was to the left, while the Technical Team’s office was to the right. She turned left.

“Wait,” Li Hewei called out. “The abnormal power usage was likely due to Property Management using pumps to drain the pool. The other buildings showed similar patterns. What’s significant is that after July 23rd, Sun Hao’s daily power consumption dropped to 7 kWh, enough to run his refrigerator and other appliances. Before that, it averaged 180 kWh per day.”

Qiu Wan summarized, “So Sun Hao didn’t leave Puchen until July 23rd.”

“Right, we should notify him directly to return and assist with the investigation. The case is gradually becoming clearer.”

“Okay, I’ll first request surveillance footage from the Lang City Public Security Bureau showing Sun Hao’s hotel.”

Li Hewei yawned, turned her back, and waved her hand. “I’m so tired. I’m heading back. Keep up the good work, everyone.”

The four changed clothes and went downstairs, then parted ways to go home.

It was past midnight. Five or six lights still shone in Building 2 of Imperial Garden International, standing out against the deep night. Outside apartment 902, the two activated the voice-controlled lights and entered the password to get inside. As Tao Ling took off her shoes, she brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her slender profile. Under the warm light, her features appeared exceptionally soft. Li Hewei glanced over and couldn’t help but study her. When she noticed Tao Ling looking back, she quickly averted her gaze and asked casually, “Does your arm still hurt?”

Sensing her concern, a smile bloomed on Tao Ling’s face. “It’s much better now.”

“Good. Go wash up and get some rest. Good night.” Li Hewei mentally scoffed, Why do I feel like I’m sneaking around? Why can’t I just admire her openly? Rubbing her temples, sore from fatigue, she pushed open the bedroom door and went inside.

The next morning, shortly before 10 a.m., Li Hewei finished a brief meeting and hurried toward the laboratory.

Qiu Wan followed her out, unable to resist asking, “Team Leader Li, what’s the rush?”

Li Hewei replied as she walked, “The water sample results from last night revealed a discrepancy.”

Qiu Wan quickened her pace. “Let’s go. I’ll come too.”

Li Hewei asked with concern, “How’s the situation in Lang City? Has Sun Hao returned?”

“We just obtained the hotel surveillance footage. Sun Hao cooperated fully, taking the early morning flight back to Puchen and heading straight to the police station.”

“Good. It’s a relief he’s back.”

The two women entered the laboratory one after the other. An Yu stepped aside to let them view the computer screen. “Theoretically, all facilities under the same company should use the same disinfectant. However, the pool water samples from Sun Luying’s and Sun Hao’s homes show different disinfectant compositions.”

Team Leader Qiu looked puzzled. “What does that mean?”

“For example, while both contain dichlorohydantoin, Sun Hao’s pool disinfectant lacks dibromohydantoin. I suggest we consult Property Management about this.”

“Right away,” Qiu Wan said, moving to the corridor to make a call. Li Hewei, meanwhile, stared intently at the water sample analysis charts, scrutinizing every detail.

Two minutes later, Qiu Wan returned and showed them a received image. “All Rongke projects use Anxinjia disinfectants. Anxinjia launched a new product on July 31st—here’s the ingredient list.”

An Yu compared the two lists, her expression turning serious. “Team Leader Qiu, Sun Hao’s pool uses the new version of the disinfectant.”

The mystery deepened. The pool had been drained and refilled on the 23rd. How could it already contain the new disinfectant?