Jim was convinced that the unidentified male corpse recorded by the San Francisco Police Department in ’67 was Xu Zhongyi himself. The age-matched, and the rental location were the same – the possibility of it not being Xu Zhongyi was very small.

But this was something Xia Xiaolan found hard to accept: “Your deduction suggests local gangsters robbed him and set the fire to cover up the truth. Even if we assume Xu Zhongyi was unfortunately murdered, what about his wife Cui Yiru, and son Xu Changle? According to the case records, only one male body was found… Even the San Francisco police couldn’t confirm the identity, right?”

If the police had been certain it was Xu Zhongyi, the death certificate wouldn’t have been written that way.

On this matter, Jim clearly understood American circumstances better, and he had something to say: “For a body burned beyond recognition, dental records would be one way to identify it. But Xu hadn’t obtained official status yet and had no dental records in America – that’s why they couldn’t make a definitive conclusion at the time. As for Xu’s wife and young son? They weren’t considered threats by the gang, and could even be counted as ‘property’ to be taken from Xu. Young women and children would be sold… That was America nineteen years ago, anything was possible. After the fire, no one ever saw Xu’s wife and son again.”

Rob their money, kill the husband, and take the wife and child as spoils.

The overall situation in America during the late 60s wasn’t as dark as Jim described, but it depended on who was involved. None of the Xu family had obtained official status yet – they weren’t even American citizens. How could they expect the police to be responsible for non-citizens?

New crimes happen every day. After a period of fruitless investigation, cases would be hastily shelved.

If she hadn’t paid Jim to investigate, no one else could have dug up this old case just by asking around.

Wait – her thinking was already following Jim’s lead, accepting that the corpse was Xu Zhongyi. What if it wasn’t?

“What about the body – can we still find it?”

A nineteen-year-old corpse – hard to say if it could be found. American TV shows often depicted murder victims being preserved by medical examiners in cold storage, waiting for family identification. But as Jim said, this severely burned, unrecognizable body went unclaimed at the time.

“Of course! It might not be appropriate to say this now, but I must emphasize – I’m the best in this business. Every dollar you’ve paid me is worth it. That body, highly suspected to be Xu, went unclaimed at the police station and was later buried by a local San Francisco church.”

Church priests didn’t just hide in small rooms listening to others’ troubles.

They also distributed food to the poor weekly.

Having the church handle unclaimed bodies’ burial was normal.

“Was it a ground burial?”

If the church handled the burial, there was a high chance the skeleton would be intact. The flesh would certainly be gone, but the bones must still be there.

“Yes, ground burial. Would you like to exhume the body to confirm the identity?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Of course, we need to re-examine the body. I can’t believe Xu Zhongyi is dead based solely on the old case files!”

Was DNA technology available now?

Even if it was, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure if the technology had developed enough to test nineteen-year-old bones, but she would find a way to confirm the deceased’s identity.

Whether it was Xu Zhongyi or not, they needed a conclusion.

Xia Xiaolan took out her checkbook and wrote another check for 3,000 dollars: “Jim, we need you to continue investigating deeper. This is new funding. Confirm the body’s identity and investigate what happened to Xu Zhongyi’s wife and child. I know this might involve local San Francisco gangs. If you choose to stop investigating, I understand. After identity confirmation, I’ll consider your commission complete and pay the remaining fee.”

They had previously agreed on a total fee of 10,000 dollars. Xia Xiaolan first paid Jim 2,000 dollars as investigation expenses for going to San Francisco – full payment if he found the person, no remaining payment if he found nothing at all.

Jim’s preliminary investigation showed Xu Zhongyi died nineteen years ago, with his wife and child’s whereabouts unknown.

Xia Xiaolan just wanted to be 100% certain of that body’s true identity. If it was Xu Zhongyi, did his wife and child manage to escape, or were they taken by the gang?

Events that occurred must have left traces, otherwise Jim couldn’t have found the old case.

Now Xia Xiaolan wanted him to investigate deeper – this wasn’t quite the same as the original commission. It had become more complex and dangerous.

Jim flicked the check, “A detective doesn’t refuse investigations. This is how we make our living. If we die during an investigation, that’s our fate.”

Jim said this with his chubby frame appearing somewhat righteous.

But his cool demeanor broke within three seconds:

“However, regarding the payment…”

“It will increase, don’t worry about that!”

If she was willing to pay 10,000 dollars, what was a little more?

Jim nodded, “Then there’s no problem.”

He grabbed the donut Xia Xiaolan had ordered earlier. It would have been too cruel to make a severe sweet tooth resist this extra-large donut – now that business was concluded, Jim could finally enjoy his donut.

Xia Xiaolan had only drunk a cup of coffee.

She definitely couldn’t tell Grandmother Yu about Jim’s preliminary investigation results.

You need to see a person if they’re alive, or a body if they’re dead.

First, they needed to confirm the body’s identity. If the deceased was Xu Zhongyi, it would be best to find Cui Yiru and Xu Changle before telling Grandmother Yu. It couldn’t all be bad news – that would devastate Grandmother Yu.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t know Xu Zhongyi’s family at all, so naturally had no emotional connection, but she cared about Grandmother Yu.

Could Grandmother Yu handle such a shock?

Just thinking about it made Xia Xiaolan’s mood quite heavy.

After agreeing to maintain contact with Jim, if she hadn’t promised to travel with Ning Xue, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t even want to go to New York. San Francisco was too far from Ithaca – a weekend was barely enough for a round trip. She wanted to find time to go to San Francisco herself.

It seemed the newspaper search couldn’t proceed immediately. If that body was Xu Zhongyi, and if he was killed by local gangs as Jim suspected, even if Cui Yiru and Xu Changle were still alive but controlled by the gang, wouldn’t a newspaper advertisement alert them?

“I hope Jim is the best in the detective business like he claims and can ensure his safety while investigating!”

Was DNA testing technology available now, and how far had it developed?

Could Cornell Medical School answer her questions?

Back home, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but ask Professor Wen for help.

“Cornell Medical School? If you’re seeking medical assistance, perhaps Klaus could help.”

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t thought of Klaus – that was Wen Manni’s husband, a surgeon… DNA testing, Xia Xiaolan felt, should fall under biology.

Biology and modern medicine were closely related. Whether Klaus could help or not, it was better than Xia Xiaolan fumbling around blindly.