Team B got busy, and before they knew it, it was evening.
Working on an empty stomach can turn your brain to mush, especially for middle-aged and older people like Uncle Jiu who can’t handle hunger. After a well-balanced day of work and rest, everyone went together to a food stall for dinner. As soon as they sat down, they huddled together and whispered about the case.
Forensic officer, Sir Xu, explained to Jiayi, who was sitting next to him, how he extracted clues from the bones found today, all while nibbling on chicken feet.
His flowing long hair occasionally fell across his face, and instinctively, he would tuck the stray strands behind his ear with his pinky. He styled his hair to look cool, but now, the shiny, smooth black hair made him appear somewhat effeminate, unbeknownst to him.
Jiayi listened intently to the knowledge being shared, all the while worrying that Sir Xu’s hair might get oily from the chicken feet, which really stressed her out.
The meal was delicious, with a variety of good flavors, but with their minds on the latest case, they couldn’t fully enjoy it.
Even while discussing the case, they had to be cautious due to the crowded and noisy environment of the food stall, only daring to whisper to those seated close by. It was frustrating not being able to share thoughts with Fang Zhenyue right away.
After dinner, everyone headed home. Fang Zhenyue stood at the entrance of the food stall, turned back, and saw Jiayi slowly walking out while chatting with Sir Xu. He checked his watch, then gestured to the young female officer.
Jiayi quickly said goodbye to Sir Xu and ran over to Fang Zhenyue.
“I’ll give you a lift,” he said, lightly patting the back of the young officer’s neck, then bidding farewell to Sir Xu and the others.
The young officer, as if under a spell, followed him without any objections.
Sir Xu, watching Jiayi and Fang Zhenyue’s retreating figures, asked Lin Wangjiu beside him:
“Aren’t Sir Fang’s two mansions located in Mid-Levels and Repulse Bay? How does he also have a house in places like Sham Shui Po where ordinary and poor people live? Is he trying to experience life?”
“That’s what you don’t understand. As long as Sir Fang wants, anywhere can be his home,” Lin Wangjiu said calmly, then strutted out of the food stall towards his modest sedan.
“…” Sir Xu pondered Uncle Jiu’s words, feeling that they were loaded with stories.
…
…
The next day, everyone arrived at the police station early, as if they couldn’t wait to delve into the case.
Team B was busy from the moment they arrived, but the anticipated fast-paced investigation did not happen.
The real process of handling cases involved so much anxious waiting and fruitless labor without knowing if there would be any results.
At 2 p.m., Uncle Jiu and Sanfu returned to the police station with dust-covered faces.
After settling down in the office of Team B, Uncle Jiu smoothed his hair, which had been messed up by the sea breeze, and wiped his face, feeling grains of salt on his palms. His mouth was bitter, and upon finding some black tea brewed by Jiayi in the teapot, he poured himself a cup and gulped it down without minding the heat.
Sanfu sat at his desk, frowning as he recalled all the people he had interviewed today and all the information he had gathered.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
“Have some tea,” Uncle Jiu said, glancing at Sanfu and pouring him a cup.
Young people, still hot-blooded, often rush headlong into things and, when faced with setbacks and tangled situations, are easily discouraged.
Older people like them are steadier, having experienced everything already with no expectations or disappointments, and thus, their emotions are more stable.
Sanfu took a sip of black tea, feeling his body gradually warm up, and finally let out a long sigh of relief. He felt the restless energy inside him dissolve, and he relaxed significantly.
Fang Zhenyue and Jiayi rushed back from the forensic department and asked upon seeing them:
“How did it go? Did you find anything?”
“We walked around for most of the day and finally met a fisherman who said he had indeed seen someone driving a car late at night, carrying something and crying as they went to the port to burn things.”
“We followed up on the vaguely remembered license plate number and car model provided by the fisherman, visited several nearby car dealers, and asked colleagues from the traffic police department for help. Finally, we found the person.
“And guess what? Ha, we went there and found out that the woman had been dumped. She took all the gifts her boyfriend had given her during their relationship, along with her own diary, and burned them all at the seaside to say goodbye to her past,” Sanfu said, slapping the desk in annoyance:
“All that effort for nothing!”
“The time span is too large, it’s been too long, even if someone did see the murderer, they probably have forgotten by now,” Lin Wangjiu also sighed, acknowledging that they had truly done their best.
“Finding a needle in a haystack,” Sanfu rubbed his forehead.
Jiayi took a small plate from the desk and handed it to Sanfu and Lin Wangjiu, “Have some sweets, it’ll make you feel better.”
Sanfu looked up at Jiayi, his hand touching the cup of hot black tea. The warm drink and sweets soothed his body and mind, comforting his frustrated mood after a long day of setbacks… Having Jiayi in Team B really brought many warm moments.
He pinched a custard bun, took a bite, and immediately felt the warm, sweet sugar filling melt in his mouth, along with the full flavors of milk and coconut milk. Chewing slowly, he savored the aroma of the dough and the natural sweetness released by the heated pastry.
The delicious experience involuntarily made one want to smile, such delightful food was truly filled with healing power.
He sincerely said, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it, you’ve worked hard,” Jiayi nodded at Sanfu.
Sanfu’s lips twitched into a smile, feeling a hundred times better than when he had just returned to the station.
“Let’s rest for a while, then we’ll head out again and continue visiting along the coastline,” Sanfu stated, looking up at Fang Zhenyue after swallowing the custard bun.
Fang Zhenyue patted Sanfu on the shoulder and nodded toward Lin Wangjiu.
Even if the clues are minute and hard to find, one must not simply give up. Even if it feels like a futile effort, one must still bring forth the utmost patience and perseverance to investigate.
Every potential eyewitness must be questioned, even if they point in random directions. The officers would exhaust themselves running around just to see if there are any leads to uncover.
This is what being a police officer entails.
…
On the morning of the third day after the discovery of the body, Jiayi traveled all the way to the Customs and Immigration office, spending a long time communicating with the staff to complete all the procedures before finally retrieving the documents.
By the time she returned to the police station, it was already afternoon.
There were 16 males, all similar in age and height, who had entered but not exited; most had come to the city with a two-way permit, hoping to strike it rich and then never leaving.
Jiayi spread out the blackened photocopies of their ID photos on the table, carefully identifying each one.
This one’s too fat, not him.
This one’s face is too long, not him.
This one’s bald, not him.
This one has no eyebrows, not him…
Suddenly, Jiayi’s eyes widened as she stared at one of the ID photos.
She brought it closer, closed her eyes to recall for a moment, then opened them to take a closer look.
It’s him!
High brows, round eyes, a prominent nose, and a wide jaw; his features were very pronounced, making him a very handsome man. Even a blurry photocopy of his ID photo couldn’t detract from his good looks.
Jiayi gathered all his information and put the documents of the others behind.
Taking a deep breath, she ran to find Fang Zhenyue in the Forensic Department.
Sir Fang was discussing the lab results with Brother Da Guangming. Gary and lab technician Diane had brought back dozens of samples, and the Forensic team was working overtime, quickly pinpointing a location just above the auxiliary food wholesale market at Cheung Sha Wan Wharf.
Gary had also dived underwater. Beneath the dock, there were many sinkers and construction debris from the dock’s construction years ago, as well as some wire and other materials.
Gary discovered fragments of a nylon bag on a piece of wire, suggesting that after the murderer disposed of the body, the body bag sank to the bottom and got caught on the wire, staying in place until two nights ago when a storm stirred up the sea, ripping the body bag free from the wire, eventually washing it ashore.
Subsequently, the Forensic Department sent more personnel to join the underwater search, but no additional clues were found.
“If it has been hanging underwater there all this time, judging from the recent temperature and the microbial conditions of that water area, the victim’s time of death was approximately one and a half months ago, likely early last month,” Chen Guangyao said while seated at his desk.
“Thank you for your efforts,” Fang Zhenyue nodded, and drew a circle on the map in front of him.
At this moment, Jiayi knocked and entered:
“Brother Yue, customs has filtered out 16 males who have only entered the country without leaving in the past three months.”
“Let’s filter it again, just pick out those from the past two months,” Fang Zhenyue stood up, nodded to Chen Guangyao, and then took Jiayi and Gary back to Office B.
Sitting at her desk, Jiayi, following Sir Fang’s instructions, filtered out 7 more people.
Of the remaining 9, Zhou Jianguo, the deceased from the visual records, was still placed at the top.
Handing the file to Sir Fang, she tentatively asked, “Brother Yue, shall we start the investigation now?”
“Yes,” Fang Zhenyue glanced at the top file at the male’s reason for entry and the information left behind, “Hengxiang Massage Chairs, a secondary distributor in the mainland… Purchasing agent… Connects with Hong Kong Hengxiang’s prosperous business at North Mong Kok Road No. X33… Let’s start the investigation with this person.”
As they stepped out of the police station, they encountered Lin Wangjiu and Sanfu, who had just hurried back from the seaside, and Fang Zhenyue immediately decided:
“Uncle Jiu and Sanfu, come along too, let’s not do the eyewitness check for now. We’ve obtained the information from customs to investigate the deceased.”
Lin Wangjiu and Sanfu got out of one car and into another.
It wasn’t until Fang Zhenyue’s jeep sped away and finally parked in a narrow alley that Sanfu realized they were coming to North Mong Kok Road No. X33. He stood under the building, looking up at the storefront:
This place, covering the first to third floors, belonged to Hengxiang’s thriving business, the primary distributor of Hengxiang Massage Chairs in the mainland.