HH Chapter 48

“Cheng Ye, could you please use your brain to think this through?” Pei Qinghuai looked at Cheng Ye with a puzzled expression. “The one being spied on wasn’t me.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Cheng Ye said earnestly. “Men should also be cautious when they’re out and about.”

Pei Qinghuai sighed. “…”

….

After examining the scene, the two of them went downstairs and met Fang Yuan and Chen Xiaonuan. Fang Yuan waved Cheng Ye over as soon as he saw him.

“Captain Cheng, over here.” He called out.

Cheng Ye noticed the two sitting at a stone table. “Why are you two sitting? Where’s Jiang Fei?” he asked.

“Taking notes,” Chen Xiaonuan replied, looking up. “We’ve covered most of the residents. Those who could provide information said the same things, while others had nothing to add. Jiang Fei is probably finishing up the last few households now.”

“So quickly?” Cheng Ye was a bit surprised.

Fang Yuan shrugged. “Some houses were empty, and others had elderly residents who were hard of hearing. There weren’t many middle-aged people around, so it went fast.”

“Captain Cheng, what’s the discussion?” Jiang Fei came down the stairs, closing his notebook.

“Any leads?” Cheng Ye inquired.

“Yes,” Jiang Fei responded. “Let’s walk and talk.”

“I checked the fifth and sixth floors. Nothing unusual on the sixth, but on the fifth floor, someone mentioned hearing a scream for help that lasted about a minute before it stopped. They thought it was a burglar trying to lure them out and didn’t pay much attention, especially since it was around one in the morning.”

“That’s it?” Cheng Ye asked.

“That’s it. No other leads from the residents,” Jiang Fei said with a shrug. “There aren’t any cameras in these old apartment buildings. The whole complex only has four or five, and I’ll need to review them.”

“Okay,” Cheng Ye said. “Let’s head back to the station. We have people waiting.”

“Alright, Captain,” Jiang Fei said, handing his notebook to Fang Yuan. “You handle the follow-up.”

Back at the station

Pei Qinghuai handed the recovered phone to Zhang Yibao. “How long to get this working?”

Zhang Yibao donned gloves, took out the phone, and pressed a few buttons. He smiled at Pei Qinghuai. “Give me about ten minutes.”

“Thanks,” Pei Qinghuai replied.

Cheng Ye sipped his water and asked, “Where’s the guy who insisted on following us this morning?”

Zhang Yibao looked up and smirked. “He got spooked. He’s still in the break room, trying to calm down.”

Cheng Ye patted Pei Qinghuai on the shoulder. “You go comfort him.”

“Me?” Pei Qinghuai questioned.

“Who else but you is good at this sort of thing?”

Fang Yuan and Chen Xiaonuan nodded in agreement. “Captain Cheng, you’re right.”

Pei Qinghuai looked at his three colleagues, then turned to Zhang Yibao.

“I have tasks you assigned to me, Professor Pei,” Zhang Yibao said with a cheeky smile. “Good luck!”

Under the scrutiny of his teammates, Pei Qinghuai headed to the break room. Within a minute, they heard crying from inside.

Zhang Yibao shook his head. “That’s the third time today.”

Cheng Ye smiled and said, “Alright, everyone, back to work.”

He then headed to the autopsy room.

“Knock, knock.”

“Come in,” Yan Ya said.

Cheng Ye entered, wearing two layers of masks. Even then, the smell made him want to gag. He frowned and asked, “What’s that?”

Yan Ya’s expression darkened. “Chen Mengyao was pregnant. That’s the unborn fetus.”

Cheng Ye’s frown deepened as he stared at the tiny, unformed mass on the table.

“What about the other victim?” Cheng Ye asked.

“The family refused an autopsy. They want to wait until they arrive,” Yan Ya explained. “Based on Chen Mengyao’s condition, the two died within minutes of each other, both from a stab to the chest and another to the neck.”

Cheng Ye wanted to stay and observe, but the smell was too much. He gave Yan Ya a thumbs-up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Breathing in the fresh air, Cheng Ye felt better. He drank several gulps of water before sitting heavily on a bench.

….

When Jiang Fei returned, Pei Qinghuai finally escaped from Gao Yuan, looking exhausted. Cheng Ye watched him with a smirk.

“How was it?”

Pei Qinghuai, smiling tiredly, replied, “Any longer, and either he or I would have gone mad.”

Cheng Ye patted him on the shoulder. “Only you could handle this.”

“Alright, everyone’s here. Let’s start the meeting,” Cheng Ye announced, taking a deep breath before getting up.

Jiang Fei, looking drained, slumped in his chair. “I reviewed all the surveillance footage. The cameras are old and poorly placed. Of the five cameras, three are blocked by leaves. The remaining two don’t cover building 10.”

He sighed. “I checked footage from the past three days and found nothing suspicious. The security guard reported three unfamiliar people entering the complex. I had Zhang Yibao check them out; they were out-of-towners who left the next day.”

Zhang Yibao continued, “I looked into Cheng Xiaoxiao and Chen Mengyao. One was a university student, the other a kindergarten teacher. They had simple social lives with no connection between them. Gao Yuan has a solid alibi for the past three days.”

“As for the phone Pei Qinghuai gave me, it was Chen Mengyao’s. Her last calls were to Gao Yuan, but he didn’t answer. The final call was to 110, but it lasted only a second before disconnecting.”

“Why didn’t she call 110 first?” Fang Yuan wondered aloud.

Zhang Yibao shrugged. “No idea.”

“She was probably climbing the stairs during that time,” Pei Qinghuai speculated. “Let’s hypothesize.”

He turned to Jiang Fei. “From your interviews, we know someone on the fifth floor heard cries for help around 1 AM on June 19th. Chen Mengyao might have called her boyfriend first for comfort, then realized the danger and tried to escape, dialing 110.”

“Right,” Cheng Ye agreed. “I suspect the perpetrator is someone from the complex, possibly a peeping tom. Look at these.”

He displayed the obscene letters found in Chen Mengyao’s apartment. “I found these five letters. Chen Mengyao had reported them to the police, but the case was never resolved.”