Chapter 173
Chapter 173
In everything, do what you can and leave the rest to fate.
Only after you have done all you can are you qualified to leave it to fate.
But now, I had come to a different realization.
Things were what people made of them.
Fortunately, we hadn’t given up. After walking into a dead end, we had searched for another way out, deducing our way step by step to the version of the truth closest to the real truth.
Now, we had another breakthrough point: Xiang Kai’s wife, and the hitman she had hired.
It was too late, so Seventh Master went to his room to sleep first.
Song Xiaotian and I stayed in the living room, continuing to go over the entire process, looking for the flaw that could save Meng Yifan.
Cigarette butts had piled up like a mountain in the ashtray.
But we had really been too exhausted lately. Song Xiaotian fell asleep with a cigarette still between his fingers.
I took the cigarette from his hand, tossed it into the ashtray, and continued listing every suspicious point on the paper.
I reasoned it through and reviewed it again and again. Around four in the morning, I finally grew too sleepy to keep going and passed out on the sofa.
At eight in the morning, Seventh Master woke up to take a piss and roused me from sleep.
We had to make contact with Xiang Kai’s wife today, so I had no intention of going back to sleep.
After going downstairs for breakfast, Song Xiaotian and I drove to Jiangling Group.
In the car, Song Xiaotian and I started reviewing the whole sequence of events again, working out how we should deal with Xiang Kai’s wife later.
Xiang Kai’s wife was named Pan Xiaorou. She was thirty-one this year, eight years younger than her husband.
Rumor had it that she and Xiang Kai had started dating when she was in college. Later, they married, and everyone saw them as a happy couple with a harmonious family. In the entire business world, they were an enviable pair.
On top of that, Pan Xiaorou had also been born into a wealthy family. The two of them were well matched in social status.
Such a good couple, yet Xiang Kai just had to be a lecher who liked fooling around. If I were his wife, I would probably feel chilled to the bone too.
“According to what we deduced last night, the second killer must have been captured by surveillance cameras outside the villa as well. Plus, he deliberately covered his face, so the police should suspect him too,” Song Xiaotian said as he drove.
I said, “The police have already identified Meng Yifan as a suspect. Can they really deduce that there were two killers?”
Song Xiaotian laughed. “You shouldn’t think the police are that incompetent. They’re professionals, after all. This is what they do for a living. Besides, they analyzed the traces at the scene, conducted an autopsy, and have surveillance from every side. They have far more clues than we do. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to deduce the truth.”
“The reason it was so hard for us is because we didn’t have as many clues to support us. We relied entirely on logical deduction to get to the truth.”
“I think they know there were two killers. But the problem is, the second killer belongs to Xiang Kai’s wife. As far as I know, after Xiang Kai passed away, the board of directors has already elected a new chairwoman. It’s Xiang Kai’s wife, Pan Xiaorou.”
“The two killers are Du Yunting and Pan Xiaorou. They can’t afford to offend either one, so they might as well drag in a scapegoat. And it just so happens that this scapegoat is also highly suspicious.”
The car soon arrived near Jiangling Group.
We found a place to park, got out, and walked straight inside.
But getting to meet the current chairwoman of a group company was easier said than done.
Song Xiaotian directly took out his old ID and said to the staff, “We’re police. We’re here to inform Ms. Pan Xiaorou of the progress in a case. Please report this to President Pan.”
Naturally, the staff member didn’t ask too many questions and immediately called Pan Xiaorou.
After hanging up, the staff member said politely, “Please go up to the twenty-fourth floor and wait in the reception room for a moment. Our chairwoman will come over after she finishes receiving her guests.”
When we reached the elevator, I couldn’t help scolding him. “You actually dared to pretend to be a cop in a place like this? You’ve got some nerve.”
“Who was pretending?” Song Xiaotian tossed his head. “Just tell me, have I been a cop before or not? Besides, our old chief said it himself: once a cop, always a cop. Nothing wrong with that.”
I was speechless. “What if Pan Xiaorou calls the police? Meng Yifan won’t even be out yet, and you’ll be going in too.”
Song Xiaotian looked utterly arrogant. “What the hell is there to be afraid of? If she dares call the cops, I’ll print ten thousand flyers and have people hand them out, saying she hired someone to commit murder. Heh.”
When we got to the reception room, we waited for a little over ten minutes before a stunning woman walked in, with her female assistant following at her side.
This woman was exceptionally beautiful, and exceptionally elegant.
At first glance, she looked exactly like one of those glamorous female CEOs described in novels.
I couldn’t help thinking how absurd it was. Xiang Kai had such a beautiful wife, and he still fooled around outside.
If I had a wife that beautiful, I wouldn’t even spare another woman a second glance.
“Thank you for your trouble, officers. I’m Pan Xiaorou.”
She sat down across from us and had her assistant pour us tea, then asked, “Is there some progress in my husband’s case?”
I couldn’t exactly answer. After all, the one pretending to be a cop was Song Xiaotian.
He smiled and said, “President Pan, we can only disclose case developments to family members. It’s not convenient for outsiders to be present.”
Once the assistant finished pouring the tea, Pan Xiaorou sent her out. Only then did she smile and say, “You can speak now.”
From the way she looked, there wasn’t the slightest trace of grief over losing her husband.
It seemed she probably hadn’t had much feeling left for him either.
Song Xiaotian took out a cigarette and asked, “May I smoke?”
Pan Xiaorou smiled. “As you please.”
I had no idea what Song Xiaotian was up to. I watched as he lit the cigarette, took a drag, and then said, “President Pan, the truth is, we’re not police.”
As soon as he said that, Pan Xiaorou froze. So did I.
What the hell was this guy doing? She didn’t even know you were pretending yet, so why were you confessing on your own?
Pan Xiaorou’s face darkened, and she took out her phone, about to call the police.
“Go on, call them. You sent someone to kill Tao Xiaoyu, and you still dare call the police?”
Song Xiaotian held the cigarette between his lips, completely unruffled.
Pan Xiaorou had just picked up her phone when she suddenly went rigid. She looked at Song Xiaotian expressionlessly. “What do you mean? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Song Xiaotian sneered. “Playing dumb? You think playing dumb means I don’t know what you’ve done? I may not be a cop now, but I used to be one. I know exactly what you did.”
“You sent someone to kill your husband and his mistress. But when the person you sent arrived, your husband had already been killed by someone else. The first killer only killed your husband, not Tao Xiaoyu.”
“So the person you sent went on to kill Tao Xiaoyu, then stabbed her more than twenty extra times to make it look like the same killer had done it, trying to pin Tao Xiaoyu’s death on the first killer too.”
As he spoke, Song Xiaotian exhaled another mouthful of smoke, blowing it right into Pan Xiaorou’s face.
It was an incredibly rude gesture, yet Pan Xiaorou didn’t react at all.
The corners of Song Xiaotian’s mouth lifted as he kept pressing her. “Guess how I know. Now guess what will happen to you if I make what I have public.”
“The police may not be able to do anything to you, but Xiang Kai’s family can. And so can the old hands in the company. If they find out, do you think you’ll still be able to sit securely in the chairman’s seat?”