Meng Jin walked out of the leader’s office with the files Zhao Yunzhi had prepared and reported to their boss. A meeting was swiftly called to discuss the Lin Kun case.
Meng Jin was displeased with the outcome. The leaders refused to merge the investigation of the Lin Kun case with the Liu Tianshi case, citing compelling reasons. Since Lin Kun’s case occurred in the United States over twenty years ago, a joint investigation would require cooperation with the U.S. police and communication through the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., involving significant language and procedural challenges.
Despite Meng Jin’s strong arguments, the leaders eventually agreed only to submit an application to the provincial office, though they hinted at slim chances of approval. Meng Jin knew this was just a superficial concession.
As he stepped out of the office, he saw Zhao Yunzhi leaning against the wall across, looking expectant. Zhao’s face fell when he saw Meng Jin’s expression.
Zhao Yunzhi chuckled and clapped Meng Jin on the shoulder, trying to console him, “I knew it would turn out like this. It’s not a major international case; no need to make a big fuss. That’s probably what the leaders thought.”
Meng Jin glanced at the hand on his shoulder, thinking, When did we get so familiar?
“Hmph, you seem to understand the leaders very well. You spent all night sorting those documents for nothing, aren’t you annoyed?” Meng Jin half-joked.
“Who says I’m not? I’m practically a grumbling husband by now, Team Meng, you owe me one,” Zhao Yunzhi whined playfully, acting like a girlfriend teasing her boyfriend.
Meng Jin felt a chill and quickly shrugged off his hand.
They went to a breakfast shop across the street, which was a buffet for twenty yuan per person.
“Has Li Zizi contacted you?” Meng Jin asked, picking up two steamed buns.
“She did. She said Liu Tianshi didn’t mention buying anything. But you know, Liu often shops offline more than online,” Zhao Yunzhi replied, taking a bite of a custard bun.
That meant no leads.
“Keep checking. WeChat, Alipay, bank records, online shopping always leaves a trail. After breakfast, let’s visit the courier company and find that courier who called,” Meng Jin decided, finding a quiet corner to sit, “Can you even eat all that?”
Zhao Yunzhi’s plate was piled high, a little mountain of food, with about ten different items.
“Just trying a bit of everything, then I’ll know what to get next time,” Zhao Yunzhi said, starting to eat with gusto.
Meng Jin envied how Zhao Yunzhi enjoyed his meal. At 22, Meng Jin could eat without gaining weight. Now at 30, even drinking water seemed to add pounds. Age slows metabolism.
Meng Jin messaged Long De to tell him that the leaders did not support investigating the Lin Kun case and wondered how much help Long De could offer.
If the official channels were closed, they would have to resort to less formal means.
Half an hour later, Long De responded, willing to help but wanted information sharing in return. Meng Jin knew this meant sharing whatever he found domestically with Long De.
Following protocol, important details of criminal cases shouldn’t be disclosed.
Long De was pushing him into a corner.
Meng Jin frowned, trying to negotiate, “Can I just reveal some parts?”
“No,” Long De was firm.
So inflexible.
“Agree to it,” Zhao Yunzhi popped his head from behind, having been peeking at the phone.
“What’s with you? Ever heard of privacy?” Meng Jin put away his phone.
Zhao Yunzhi sheepishly smiled, “He doesn’t know what we’ve found anyway. Whatever you tell him is what goes. Team Meng, you’re too honest.”
“Zhao Yunzhi, you’re too sly,” Meng Jin mimicked his tone, “I wouldn’t lie to an old classmate.”
He wasn’t a saint. If necessary, he could lie, bluff, or be “sly,” but he didn’t want to use those tactics on Long De, not because of any reluctance to deceive an old friend, but because he saw Long De as a rival and wanted to win fairly.
Zhao Yunzhi shrugged helplessly, indicating no solution.
Meng Jin was troubled. What he needed most was a blood sample from Lin Kun’s body to compare with the one from Liu Tianshi’s body, to confirm if the same person was responsible.
Even without the Lin Kun case, the Liu Tianshi investigation could continue, but Meng Jin felt a strong connection between the two cases, with the killer emulating the Lin Kun case for a reason.
“Zhao Yunzhi, your task is to get Long De to cooperate without lying or breaking the rules,” Meng Jin commanded.
Zhao Yunzhi’s eyes widened, “Team Meng, might as well fire me. This task is too hard; I can’t do it.”
Ignoring him, Meng Jin headed towards the police station. As they approached, an officer hurried out, seemingly looking for Meng Jin.
“Team Meng, someone delivered a package for you. Come see it,” the officer turned, leading them into the building.
Curious, Meng Jin quickened his pace. They entered a conference room where even Deputy Chief Liu was present. What was in the package?
“Meng Jin, take a look at this,” Deputy Chief Liu said gravely, handing over a piece of paper.
Meng Jin took it and saw a photo, the same one Long De had sent him—Lin Kun’s body wrapped like a mummy in cling film, surrounded by blond-haired, blue-eyed American police, with a backdrop of red maple trees.
“Who sent the package?” Meng Jin asked.
The officer who brought him in said the gatekeeper had given it to him, left by a courier who didn’t specify the sender and had left quickly.
“I’ve already sent someone after the courier,” Deputy Chief Liu added.
Meng Jin looked at the box on the conference table, picking it up to check the label. The recipient’s address was their location, noted with “leave at the gatehouse.”
The sender was listed as a small community in Wenzhou, Zhejiang.
“The date isn’t today,” Meng Jin pointed out a small line on the label, “This must be from the killer.”
Everyone crowded around to see, the label’s date from a week ago.
The second killer had sent a photo of Lin Kun’s murder, clearly linking Liu Tianshi’s case to Lin Kun’s. Unbeknownst to him, the police were already aware of Lin Kun’s case.
“Both the last call to Liu Tianshi and this package were by a courier. The second killer might be this courier,” Zhao Yunzhi speculated.
Outside, a commotion broke out.
“Why are you arresting me? What did I do? How can you police just arrest people like that?”
They exited the room to see two officers escorting a tall, thin man, protesting loudly but not resisting much.
“I earn one yuan per package, and at most, I deliver a hundred at night. You’re costing me money; you have to compensate,” the man yelled, venting his anger and dissatisfaction.
The man was taken into an interrogation room, where Zhao Yunzhi and an officer went to record his statement.
Meng Jin felt this wasn’t the second killer.
Half an hour later, Zhao Yunzhi returned with the statement.
The tall man claimed he didn’t know Liu Tianshi and had no grudges. He was just a courier. He hadn’t noticed the package or the date, assuming it was a system error because it didn’t scan properly. In a rush, he left it without further thought.
Meng Jin concluded, “He’s not the second killer. If he were, he wouldn’t have written the address; just leaving it at the gatehouse would suffice.”
Zhao Yunzhi realized, “So the second killer must have placed it in the courier’s vehicle, knowing who would deliver that area and when the courier would leave.”
Meng Jin studied the label, Zhao Yunzhi joining him silently, “This killer can forge courier labels; he must know the courier or be one himself.”
Meng Jin shook his head, “Notice anything different about this label?”
Zhao Yunzhi inspected it from all angles but couldn’t tell.
“The text in the recipient address is darker than the rest. Is that it?”
Zhao Yunzhi nodded vigorously, “Yes, you’re right.”
Meng Jin rubbed the address with his thumb. It smudged.
Zhao Yunzhi’s eyes widened, “Is that handwritten? It looks like it was done with a pen.”
“This killer is clever, handwriting that looks almost like print. Not many can do that,” Meng Jin admired, chuckling, “If we can find who threw out the box, we can track down the killer.”
Dr. Jin approached, phone in hand, “Team Meng, I was just about to call you. Good, saved a call.”
Dr. Jin was a no-nonsense person, and Meng Jin awaited her news.
“The results for that condom came back. The residue is JY, which doesn’t match Liu Tianshi’s DNA,” she reported.
This meant Li Zizi was unfaithful, complicating the motives and pointing suspicion towards the owner of the condom.
