No te apoyes en la barandilla oeste para retener el claro otoño

Capítulo 26

Suddenly, she heard a gasp of surprise from the person's throat. Ling Ge couldn't recognize who it was, but she clearly heard the excitement and astonishment in the voice. Had she found what she was looking for? Before she could think further, she saw the person quickly close the drawer, walk to the door, and then tiptoe out. The door closed, and the room returned to silence.

They're finally gone! Ling Ge's heart sank.

But who was it? Why did she sigh like that? Had she found something? Or had she seen something that surprised her? Unfortunately, she saw nothing, only chewing gum stuck to the sole of her shoe. At two in the morning, Jian Dongping was already half asleep when his phone suddenly rang. He woke up with a start and immediately guessed who was calling—it could only be Ling Ge at this hour. Sure enough, as soon as he answered, he heard her panting voice.

"Jian, Jian Dongping, I just went to Yushan's room." She seemed to be making the call from under the covers, her voice furtive.

"Oh? How did it go?" He could tell she was still shaken, so he immediately comforted her, "Don't worry, don't worry, tell me slowly."

"My phone was in my bag in my room. I made the call from her room, but I couldn't hear it clearly. The voice was very soft; I wouldn't have heard it at all if it weren't nighttime," Ling Ge said, panting heavily and extremely nervously. "But I ran into someone in Yu Shan's room."

"Who is it? Did he see you?" Had she been exposed? Jian Dongping felt a surge of tension, and his hand holding the phone became sweaty.

“I don’t know, I was hiding under the bed, he probably didn’t find me. Let me tell you, that person was rummaging around, I don’t know what she was looking for. Later, when she found the bedside table, she even made a sighing sound, ah…” Ling Ge imitated the mysterious person’s voice, “That’s how she was, I can’t tell who she is either. But I think she seemed very surprised, the kind of sound you make when you find something.”

"I didn't hear you clearly, could you please repeat it?" he said seriously, suppressing a laugh.

"Ah..." She repeated it again and asked, "Did you hear me clearly this time? When she shouted, I was startled. I was almost scared to death." She sounded like she was still very frightened.

He hadn't heard enough and wanted to ask her to repeat it, but he decided against it; it was late and he was really tired.

Did you see her take anything?

“I didn’t see it. But I later looked through the bedside table, and there was a folding umbrella, a pair of plastic gloves, a pair of sunglasses, a computer, and a box of that… um… that one.” Ling Ge stammered.

"What do you mean by 'that'?" Jian Dongping asked, puzzled, but then he understood. He smiled and asked, "Is it a condom?"

"Hmm," she answered reluctantly.

He laughed, intending to tease her, "It's not like you left it there, what are you so shy about? You're supposed to be a policeman." But after thinking about it, he didn't say anything, afraid of offending her again.

"Have you used it? How many have you used?" he asked.

"This... I didn't look at it," she said softly.

"She's such a young girl," Jian Dongping thought to himself.

"Okay, no problem," he said. "Anything else? Did you go to the phone booth to investigate this afternoon?"

"I've investigated. Zhou Jin did indeed make a long-distance call from the phone booth. She called someone named Wang Dongmei. I've also gotten her phone number. Do you want it?"

The name Wang Dongmei is also mentioned in "My Absurd Journey," where she and Yanzi are considered by Zhou Jin to be "the most trusted friends on the journey." Wang Dongmei is a small-town doctor who runs a small clinic. The article says, "Dongmei is a doctor, 35 years old. Her medical skills are average, but she is very honest. She will tell you frankly if she can't cure a disease. She has performed abortions and healed bone injuries. She also cured me of a fever once, and she didn't charge me because I had taken her photos before. She can't have children and has remained single, but her life is not lonely. She has three boyfriends, all of whom are her patients. They meet at her small house at different times. They treat her very well, and she says she is very happy. She has a career, love, and no financial burden. Dongmei never boasts about her medical skills, nor does she ever justify her actions. She lives freely, and I envy her." This is Wang Dongmei as portrayed by Zhou Jin.

Why did Zhou Jin call Dongmei on May 7th? What did she want to say?

"Ling Ge, is there any news from Uncle Lin?" Jian Dongping asked as he wrote down the phone number Ling Ge provided.

“I have read the statements from the past two days, and Zeng Yushan has already admitted that she stole the drawing.”

"How could she admit it?"

"It turns out that someone saw her sneaking upstairs around 9:35 a.m., without even putting on her shoes."

Who is it?

“Fang Rouzhi,” Ling Ge said.

“Zeng Yushan was really unlucky; her rival saw her,” Jian Dongping laughed, then couldn’t help but yawn.

"Are you tired?" she asked with concern, as if she was about to say a few more words. He forced himself to stay awake, wondering why he'd become so clingy. What he should have said was, "I'm tired, let's talk tomorrow, bye." But what he said instead was:

"It's nothing. I'm not tired, go ahead and tell me."

"I want to ask you... I want to ask..." she stammered.

This is bad, this is bad, she's about to ask a question, this silly girl. He felt inexplicably nervous and dared not answer.

"I just wanted to ask how things are going on your end." It seemed she had changed her mind at the last minute. Thankfully.

"I've figured out what Zhou Jin meant by the code 'turn left three, turn right four'." He felt relieved and couldn't help but yawn.

“I also gained something,” she said proudly.

"Didn't you say you didn't watch it?"

"Not that one!" Ling Ge corrected. "The person who went into Yu Shan's room, she didn't notice me, and I didn't see who she was. But I stuck some chewing gum on the floor, and she stepped on it. All I need to do is find those slippers."

Jian Dongping was taken aback, not expecting Ling Ge to use this trick of his.

"Ling Ge, you're so smart!" He perked up and immediately praised.

"I told you, I'm a good cop, don't look down on me. Okay, you should go to sleep early." She said with a laugh, then slammed the phone down.

13. New Breakthrough

Lin Zhongjie had seen many beautiful and dignified women, but few could remain as composed and unperturbed as Fang Qi, even when her lies were exposed on the spot. This was probably the demeanor of a "lady from a good family."

The inventory list of the storage room provided by Shen Biyun two months ago and the latest inventory list provided by Qian Qi a few days ago were both in front of him. There were obvious differences between the two: one small bamboo box was missing, and one green suitcase was added.

"Miss Fang, how do you explain this?" Lin Zhongjie asked.

"I don't know." She shook her head.

“As far as I know, you used Shen Biyun’s list to check the items in the storage room. Her original list included a small bamboo box, but the list you gave us doesn’t have this box, and it wasn’t listed as a stolen item.” Lin Zhongjie paused deliberately so that the other party could hear what he was about to say. “Miss Fang, you changed the original list.”

Fang Qi lowered her head and remained silent.

Where is that small bamboo box?

She didn't answer, but just gave him a cold glance.

“You took it,” Lin Zhongjie said in a definitive tone.

Fang Qi ignored his definition.

Lin Zhongjie had no doubt about his suspicions; there was no doubt that Fang Qi had taken the box, and that she had forged the inventory list. He believed that no one in this family would take such a risk for someone else, so if she was trying to cover something up, it could only be for herself.

"When was the last time you went to the storage room?" Lin Zhongjie asked in a different phrasing.

"It was on May 24th when my mother asked me to check the contents," Fang Qi said.

Lin Zhongjie knew she would answer like that. They all think that changing the subject means you've let her off the hook, but in reality, it's just the same old story in a different guise.

When was the last time you went to the storage room before May 24th?

“It was a few days before my mother’s wedding last year. She wanted to get the cheongsam from inside the dress and asked me to go with her,” Fang Qi said calmly.

"Could you describe what you saw in the storeroom at that time?"

Fang Qi glanced at him. She knew he was testing her.

“I can’t remember,” she said.

"Didn't you see that little bamboo box?"

“No.” Fang Qi paused for a moment, then said in a calm tone, “My mother has a bad memory, she might be mistaken. At least I haven’t seen that little box, I only saw…” She stared at him, her beautiful eyes filled with wariness.

"Go on," Lin Zhongjie encouraged gently, as if he were just having a heart-to-heart talk with her and that now was not the time to be harsh with her.

“I only saw a few camphor wood chests, a few small black copper chests, a few small wooden chests, an empty green leather suitcase, two murals… I’m sorry, that’s all I remember. I didn’t count how many chests there were. I only glanced at them once or twice and didn’t pay attention,” she said, pretending to be casual.

“Okay.” Lin Zhongjie nodded. “Didn’t you see that little bamboo box?” he asked again.

“No,” she said definitively.

Was it daytime or nighttime?

It's daytime.

"Do you need to turn on the lights in the storage room when you go there?"

"Whether it's day or night, you can't see anything in the storage room if the lights aren't on." Fang Qi seemed relieved to have avoided the topic of the bamboo boxes.

"You just said you saw that green suitcase."

She raised an eyebrow and continued, "But this suitcase wasn't mentioned in the list provided by your mother, Shen Biyun."

She was startled.

"Did Shen Biyun make the list herself or did you help her?" Lin Zhongjie asked.

“It was her,” she said cautiously, her face showing worry.

"Shen Biyun said she had never seen that suitcase before. How could you have seen that suitcase in the storage room a year ago? When did you see it?" Lin Zhongjie frowned, his voice instantly becoming stern.

Fang Qi looked away as soon as her gaze met Lin Zhongjie's eyes.

After a long while, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I remembered it wrong."

"Okay, when you saw this suitcase, did you touch it?" Lin Zhongjie asked confidently.

No. Of course not.

"Okay, when you saw this suitcase, did you touch it?" Lin Zhongjie asked confidently.

No. Of course not.

"Never touched it? Never opened it?"

"No! I'm not a thief!" Fang Qi's face showed an angry expression.

“But there are your fingerprints on it,” Lin Zhongjie said calmly.

Fang Qi thought for a moment before answering, "I'm sorry, I misremembered. I did open it, right when I was checking the items in the storage room. I needed to know if there was anything inside, and the fingerprints were probably left at that time." Her voice returned to calm.

“But we took your fingerprints before you inventoried the items. We took them on the 23rd, and you were checked on the 24th.” Lin Zhongjie stared at her face and continued calmly, “We found the invoice for this suitcase in Su Zhiwen’s drawer. It was a new suitcase he bought on May 5th, perhaps intended for use in Hong Kong. So, the suitcase you saw could only have appeared in the storage room after May 5th. Your fingerprints were taken before the 23rd, and you were in the storage room between the 5th and the 23rd. But after Shen Biyun got the key on the morning of the 7th, she personally locked the storage room door, and no one went to the storage room after Su Zhiwen’s body was discovered.” His gaze shot at her like an arrow, and he saw her tremble. “When exactly did you come into contact with that suitcase?!” he demanded sharply.

Fang Qi glanced at him timidly, then quickly looked away. She then frowned and thought for a few seconds.

“Okay,” she said, her expression suddenly relaxing, “I was there, around 11 p.m. on the 6th, but I didn’t kill anyone.”

"Did you take the key to the storage room and then give it to Shen Biyun?" Lin Zhongjie asked. Although Zhang Yufen had already admitted that she secretly put the key back in Shen Biyun's room after seeing it on the kitchen table on the morning of the 7th, he still wanted to ask Fang Qi one more question.

"No, no. Of course I didn't. The storage room door wasn't closed properly, that's why I went in. I didn't see any key at all," Fang Qi retorted.

It seems the women in this family all have a habit of studying the locks on the storage room doors.

What are you going to do?

“I’m going to find my things. I’m not a thief.” She looked at Lin Zhongjie calmly and said in an almost seductive voice, “Yes, you’re right. I took that bamboo box. It was originally mine, and I’ve been wanting to get it back.”

What's inside?

“Those are my childhood diaries and some books. I don’t want to leave them there. I have the right to take them back,” she said softly.

"Then you can ask your mother, Shen Biyun, for the money. Why did you have to sneak around to take it?"