“Lin Kun, do you know him?” Meng Jin asked.
Jennie Yang shook her head blankly, “I don’t know him. Who is he?”
Meng Jin briefly introduced the Lin Kun case, only mentioning that Lin Kun’s body was also wrapped in plastic wrap, without mentioning the blood drops behind the ears of the corpse.
“Do you think the person who killed Lin Kun is the same one who killed my husband?” Jennie Yang shifted her sitting position.
“It’s too early to conclude, but we believe your husband and Lin Kun must have had some connection. Did your husband go to the United States in the year 2000, 23 years ago?”
Jennie Yang’s eyes sparkled, “He did. It was his only trip to the United States, so I remember it very clearly.”
“Only once? Why didn’t he go again, was it because there was no opportunity, or he didn’t like America?”
“It wasn’t that there were no opportunities, we were just too busy with work and couldn’t leave.”
This excuse was too far-fetched, obviously a pretext.
“Have you been to the US again since then?”
“I’ve been many times, mainly for business trips, and also to send my son to study abroad.”
“In 2000, when your husband went to the United States, did you go with him? What did you guys do there?”
“I went with him. We had made some money from business at the time, and he suggested we go on a trip as a sort of honeymoon.”
“It was your husband who suggested the trip?”
“Yes.”
“Which city did you visit?”
Jennie Yang thought for a moment, “New York. It’s the most bustling metropolis in America; we wanted to see and learn.”
“Was it you or your husband who decided on New York?”
“I can’t remember exactly, does it matter?”
Meng Jin nodded, “Every detail matters in a criminal case.”
“Did you stay in New York the whole time? Were you always together?”
“We were always in New York. We were always together.”
“What I mean is, you weren’t attached at the hip 24/7, right? There were times when you were apart?”
“Of course. I found a language school and took English classes, two hours each day, and with the commute, I’d be gone all morning or afternoon. Tianshi didn’t like learning English, so he would stay at home or go to the park or a coffee shop.”
“Where were you staying?”
“I can’t remember exactly. I just remember it was near a park, but I can’t recall which one.”
“Was there a Red Maple Tree nearby?”
Jennie Yang shook her head, “It’s been too long, I can’t remember. If Tianshi were still alive, perhaps he would remember; he liked to go out and wander.”
If Liu Tianshi hadn’t died, there would be no investigation into the Lin Kun case, nor any questioning about the Red Maple Tree.
Leaving the sanatorium, Zhao Yunzhi finally got to express the theories he had been holding back.
He suspected that Jennie Yang might be lying, as the blood found on Lin Kun’s body belonged to a woman, and that woman could very well be Jennie Yang.
Perhaps Liu Tianshi killed Lin Kun, and Jennie Yang helped him dispose of the body, causing her blood to drip onto the corpse. As for the relationship between Liu Tianshi and Lin Kun, it was likely a homosexual relationship.
Or perhaps Jennie Yang killed Lin Kun herself. She returned early from her English class to their accommodation and found her husband with another man, and in a fit of rage, killed Lin Kun.
Proving that the blood on Lin Kun’s body belonged to Jennie Yang would prove she was lying.
Meng Jin messaged Long De on WeChat to ask if the blood sample had been sent out yet.
Half an hour later, Long De replied that he was too busy to deal with it right now.
What did that mean? Was he still angry that he didn’t agree to share all the information?
Was he deliberately trying to annoy Zhao Yunzhi by promising to send back the blood sample?
In high school, Meng Jin hadn’t noticed such pettiness in this person.
Meng Jin couldn’t believe it. He decided to run a test, “Zhao Yunzhi, send a message to Long De, that’s Andy, and urge him to send the blood sample as soon as possible.”
Busy driving, Zhao Yunzhi couldn’t free his hands, “Hasn’t he sent it yet? Then you should hurry him.”
Meng Jin didn’t want Zhao Yunzhi to see anything, so he pretended to be impatient, “I’m dealing with Lin Kun’s civil affairs.”
Zhao Yunzhi, unaware of his superior’s inner machinations, truly thought Meng Jin was too busy, and after parking the car, immediately contacted Long De.
As soon as he sent the message, Long De sent a video call request, which Zhao Yunzhi, out of politeness but seeing no need for video, accepted.
He didn’t want to disturb Meng Jin, so he turned his back to him and spoke quietly with Long De.
Meng Jin secretly wondered, why did it take half an hour to reply to his message but Zhao Yunzhi got an instant response? What did he do to offend people?
He tried to recall any missteps over the few days they’d reconnected, but could think of nothing except perhaps something from their high school days.
He shifted his sitting position and sneakily glanced over; Zhao Yunzhi and Long De seemed to be getting along famously. Then he saw, to his surprise, Long De actually smiled.
During their three years in high school, he had almost never seen Long De smile. Long De had been like a study robot, always solemn, even when he was always the top student. It made him forget that Long De was human, capable of laughter and tears.
Long De’s smile at Zhao Yunzhi, whom he had known only for a few days, made Meng Jin even more convinced that he must have offended Long De during their high school years.
Zhao Yunzhi, sensing the gaze from behind, suddenly turned around, catching Meng Jin’s eye.
Meng Jin, like a thief caught red-handed, hurriedly shifted his gaze, only making the situation more awkward.
Zhao Yunzhi couldn’t guess the myriad thoughts going through Meng Jin’s mind, thinking he was just disturbing his boss, he hurriedly hung up the phone after a brief exchange with Long De.
To smooth things over, he quickly reported the progress. Long De had assured him that the sample would be sent out today.
With such a definite reply to him, yet saying he was too busy to handle it… Meng Jin for the first time doubted whether he was being overly sensitive.
But the disparity made one think.
Zhao Yunzhi waved his hand in front of Meng Jin, “Meng Team, your phone is ringing.”
Meng Jin snapped back to reality upon hearing the ringtone.
He picked up the phone and saw it was Tang Xiaoguo. This person was like a lingering spirit.
Suddenly, he realized something, but it was too late.
Zhao Yunzhi had seen it, “Meng Team, why do you have my cousin’s number?”
Meng Jin, not good at lying, stumbled for a response, eventually coming up with a poor excuse, “Just because her name is Tang Xiaoguo, does that mean she’s your cousin? Can’t there be others named Tang Xiaoguo?”
Zhao Yunzhi at first thought it made sense.
On further thought, there were flaws. Not to mention how low the probability of such a coincidence was, Meng Jin’s reaction was off too, too defensive. A normal reaction would have been, “What? Your cousin is also named Tang Xiaoguo?” not like someone stepped on his tail.
Something was off.
Zhao Yunzhi chuckled awkwardly, “Sorry. Go ahead and take the call.”
Feeling guilty, Meng Jin hung up, “It’s not an important call.”
Zhao Yunzhi’s eyes curved up, his smile mischievous. He picked up his phone, dialed Tang Xiaoguo, and deliberately angled the screen towards Meng Jin to see his reaction.
Meng Jin clenched his teeth, helpless and furious at this cousin pair.
A minute later, Zhao Yunzhi hung up, smiling even more wickedly, “Meng Team, so your blind date was my cousin, and my cousin’s blind date was you. Should I start calling you cousin-in-law?”
His look at Meng Jin became much warmer, the role switch astoundingly fast.
Meng Jin glared, “What cousin-in-law, I haven’t even met your cousin.”
“How haven’t you met? You saw her at the park the day we found Liu Tianshi’s body. What do you think of my cousin?”
Meng Jin was speechless, “Who has a blind date at a crime scene? Your cousin.” He snorted through his nose, “Gathering information, publishing without consent, selfish.”
“Come on, my cousin even said she wants to apologize! Give her another chance, for my sake.” Zhao Yunzhi patted his own cheek.
“Your face isn’t that big. There’s no chance for me and your cousin,” Meng Jin, fearing Zhao Yunzhi would persist, commanded, “Drive.”
The atmosphere in the car turned slightly awkward as Meng Jin changed the subject, asking about Jennie Yang’s son.
Zhao Yunzhi launched into chatter mode, almost starting from the dawn of time. Meng Jin quickly stopped him, urging him to get to the point.
Turns out, Jennie Yang and Liu Tianshi had an only son, named Liu Er, who had killed someone six months ago and was wanted by the police. He had mysteriously disappeared, along with a brother and sister duo.
The siblings had a deep grudge against Liu Er. Simply put, Liu Er’s murder was triggered by these siblings.
He had imprisoned the two, and a month later, the police received an anonymous tip-off and tracked down Liu Er’s whereabouts. Liu Er tried to escape in his car but tragically died in a crash.
Born with a silver spoon, a top-tier rich second generation, a returnee from abroad, yet he ended up a fugitive murderer, dying in a crash, a tragic end.
Jennie Yang was a well-known entrepreneur domestically, with a net worth of billions. Initially, she was an invisible tycoon.
The establishment of the Little Angel Children’s Charity Foundation brought her fame. Under her sponsorship, hundreds of children were rescued, and the media’s portrayal turned her affectionately known as “Mama Yang.”
Who would have thought that such a benevolent “Mama Yang” would raise a son who turned out to be a murderer? She could save many lives, but not her own son’s.
Back at the station, Meng Jin went straight to the civil affairs department.
Twenty-plus years ago, internet technology was just beginning, and registry data was all on paper, not digitized.
Lin Kun had gone abroad before 2000, dying overseas, his registry data never had a chance to be digitized. The civil affairs department found thousands of “Lin Kuns” in the system, none matching the age.
Searching nationwide seemed like finding a needle in a haystack, it seemed they’d have to rely on Long De again.
Meng Jin was inexplicably irritated. Back in his office, Zhao Yunzhi was grinning like it was the New Year, reporting that Long De had already sent out the blood sample, even flashing the courier slip in front of him.
The kid was clever enough, just lacked a bit of tact.
“One more task for you, get Lin Kun’s records from Long De,” Meng Jin gritted his teeth, adding, “I want them in ten minutes, or it’s coming out of your bonus.”
He wanted to see if Long De was really targeting him.
