After finishing lunch, Mrs. He called Director Cheng again. The situation was too chaotic, and Director Cheng had appointments all day. Mrs. He didn’t trust the other young doctors at the hospital—she insisted on Director Cheng coming in person before she’d feel at ease. Finally, she settled with Director Cheng on eight o’clock that evening, and only then went back to her room to rest, relieved.
Hongdou also returned to her room. She waited a while, but He Yunqin still hadn’t come back. It wasn’t convenient for her to call Zhendan University directly, so she went to the study and dialed Peter’s detective agency instead. Loudai answered, saying He Yunqin hadn’t been there, and that Detective Wang had gone out early that morning.
Hongdou hung up the phone and rang the bell to have Steward Yu prepare the car. Her mother-in-law had mentioned that morning that something had come up at Ruide’s place. She planned to first go to Ruide’s clinic to see her aunt, then head to Tongfu Lane to help out. Today her mother and elder brother were moving—the people He Yunqin had arranged should have been in place early in the morning. She’d drowsily fallen back asleep that morning, so she really ought to go by that afternoon no matter what.
Steward Yu seemed to have received instructions from He Yunqin—besides preparing the car, he made sure to arrange an escort, seeing Hongdou safely to Ruide’s clinic, and specifically had the car parked by the roadside.
The clinic was lively inside. Wang Bide, Gu Yun, and her uncle’s whole family were there—only Ruide and He Yunqin were missing.
Her aunt’s complexion looked much better than the day before. The wound on her neck still hurt badly; she lay obediently in bed, not daring to move carelessly when she spoke.
Hongdou went in and first checked on her aunt, then turned to ask Yuyuan, “Did something happen at the clinic this morning?”
Yuyuan said, “It seems a friend was arrested by the police department. Ruide went to arrange bail.”
As she spoke, her aunt’s eyes immediately turned to look at Yuyuan, very bright.
Hongdou let out a breath of relief. Her aunt showed clear improvement in every way—there was noticeably less wariness when she answered questions now. Once the nurse finished changing the dressing, Hongdou closed the door and asked, “Auntie, did you happen to see Bai Haili near Shengmei Road these past few days?”
Wang Bide had spent the whole morning trying to guide Mrs. Pan into recalling the events of the day of the tea party. Hearing this, he asked in surprise, “Did He Yunqin find something out?”
Hongdou nodded. “He could never understand why Auntie became the target of the murderer. He investigated over and over but couldn’t find anything about the day of the tea party itself, so he changed his approach and started from the days before Bai Haili’s death instead. He later discovered Bai Haili had been watching near the Pan residence.”
Mrs. Pan sat stunned, thinking hard for a long while before saying, “Now that you mention it, I do remember. The evening before last, after I finished playing mahjong, I went to the Sullivan’s pastry shop to buy pastries for Yuyuan. On the way I did see a car from the police department—I’m not sure if it was Commissioner Bai’s car, but I saw a man and a woman inside.”
Hongdou and the others startled, quickly asking, “What did the two of them look like?”
“I only remember the man wore a suit, sitting inside—I didn’t get a clear look at his face. The woman was sitting near the outside, but she had a scarf wrapped around her head.”
Hongdou’s face fell with disappointment. “Neither of their faces was clear?”
“No.” Mrs. Pan was deeply regretful. “It figures—that’s exactly why we got targeted in the first place, and I didn’t even take a second look at the time. Besides, the two of them had been talking, and the moment I passed by, they stopped—”
Wang Bide’s expression grew increasingly serious. “Do you remember anything they said?”
Mrs. Pan was about to answer when she suddenly remembered something, her eyes widening. “Wait a moment. I remember that woman’s voice sounded a little familiar.”
Yuyuan and Yuqi exchanged a glance, saying in astonishment, “Could it really be someone we know? Mother, think carefully—who could this person be?”
“They seemed to be complaining that some restaurant’s food wasn’t good. The man said: ‘Let’s not eat there again next time.’ The woman laughed a couple of times without responding. Later, when I got to the pastry shop to buy things, at checkout I noticed the customer ahead of me had left a box of pastries on the counter. The shop was too chaotic at the time, so I didn’t remind the clerk—I just took my own pastries and left. By the time I passed that spot again, the car had already driven off. Once I got home, I kept thinking that woman’s voice was very sultry and alluring, and the more I thought about it, the more familiar it seemed—like I’d heard it somewhere before.”
Sultry and alluring? That was definitely not an ordinary word choice. Wang Bide patiently probed further: “Mrs. Pan, by your account this woman only laughed twice and didn’t say a word—why did you feel her voice was sultry and alluring? Where did you hear this voice before?”
Mrs. Pan wore an expression of deep, painful thought, unable to answer for a long while.
Yuqi said, “It really is strange. Mother must have heard this person’s voice more than once, otherwise it wouldn’t sound so familiar at first hearing. But my mother’s usual social circle is just those friendly ladies she plays mahjong with. Her biggest pastime is mahjong—somewhere like Bailemen, she barely goes there once a year. As for near the Pan residence, there certainly isn’t a neighbor like that.”
Mrs. Pan raised her hand. “Wait, I remember now. When I went to Tongfu Lane, I once heard this woman speak.”
“Tongfu Lane?” Everyone was startled.
Mrs. Pan lowered her head to think, then turned her eyes to Hongdou. “Hongdou, that dancing girl from Bailemen who lives on the third floor at your place—what’s her name?”
Hongdou froze for a moment. “Miss Qiu?”
“Yes, that’s her, Miss Qiu.” Mrs. Pan nodded vigorously, ignoring the pain from her wound. That woman’s voice had been too distinctive—hoarse yet carrying a low, seductive charm, leaving a deep impression. Earlier, it had simply been impossible to connect this person with a violent criminal, which was why she couldn’t recall it no matter how she tried.
Hongdou’s heart sank straight down. Miss Qiu was a famous dancing girl at Bailemen, with a mixed and complicated circle of acquaintances—it wouldn’t be strange at all for her to have dealings with someone like Bai Haili. The crime scene had a size-39 shoe print—how big were Miss Qiu’s feet? After thinking it over for a while, Hongdou suddenly realized she had never once paid attention to Miss Qiu’s feet. If she really was the culprit, and her mother and elder brother lived on the same floor as her, wouldn’t that be extremely dangerous?
She couldn’t sit still any longer. “I need to hurry back to Tongfu Lane. They’re moving today—there mustn’t be any trouble.”
Gu Yun stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
Wang Bide, not knowing the He family’s car was right outside, said quickly, “Wait, let me drive you two there.”
The three of them came out, only to find He Yunqin had just arrived. He must have seen the He family servants outside first, because he wasn’t surprised to see Hongdou—he only frowned slightly, his tone half reproachful, half tender with worry: “You’re not feeling well, and instead of resting at home, you’re running around everywhere again.”
Hongdou quickly explained what had just happened.
He Yunqin said in surprise, “Miss Qiu?”
Hongdou nodded. “I looked everywhere for you and couldn’t find you, had no idea where you’d gone. Hearing that Miss Qiu is suspicious, I wanted to go back to Tongfu Lane and get Mother and the others out first.”
He Yunqin quickly stopped her. “As soon as I finished my lecture, I went to Tongfu Lane. Mother-in-law and Elder Brother have already moved into the new residence. What’s left are just some odds and ends, all being handled by the servants—it should all be moved by tomorrow at the latest. I know you won’t feel at ease until you see for yourself, so let’s go. I’ll accompany you there first, then send you back to the He residence afterward. When I left, Mother-in-law was preparing dinner—Detective Wang, Gu Yun, come along and have a simple meal together.”
Author’s Note: Asking everyone for nutrient fluid to nourish little Hongdou.