Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Lu Dong?” Cao Lei’s reaction was not unexpected. If anything, his expression turned a little complicated. “Lao Pei, I understand where you’re coming from, but you have no proof. The police can’t change the direction of an investigation based on a couple of assumptions you toss out offhand.”

“I’m not saying it offhand. I have evidence.” Pei Yuming leaned forward, his tone turning impatient. “Lu Dong had another phone. It was dark blue. The contact information for the person who gave him the poison is on it. As long as we find that person, everything will come to light.”

Cao Lei rubbed his chin and studied him. “How do you know all that so clearly?”

“I asked just now,” Pei Yuming said with certainty. “I even used Lu Dong’s phone to contact that person. She asked whether Lu Dong had used it yet.”

Cao Lei frowned slightly. His gaze flicked unconsciously toward the surveillance camera, probably weighing where to take the conversation next. But the moment was so brief that Pei Yuming did not notice anything unusual about him at all.

“You’re saying… during the little while I was out just now, you… went back again?”

“Mm, yes.” Pei Yuming admitted it without the slightest burden.

Cao Lei could not help running his tongue over his back teeth. If the field team had not already verified with Pei Yuming’s friends, colleagues, and relatives that he had never had any mental illness from childhood to adulthood, Cao Lei would definitely have suspected that the man sitting in front of him was mentally unstable.

“Then… did that person say how she obtained the potassium cyanide?”

“No. I didn’t have time to ask.”

Cao Lei made a gesture toward the surveillance camera before speaking again. “If I give you that phone now, can you tell me which one is the person you’re talking about?”

Pei Yuming froze for a second. “You found the phone?”

But he answered his own question immediately afterward. “Right, of course. That phone was in Lu Dong’s pocket. You definitely would have found it.”

“But…” Pei Yuming scratched his head. “At the time, I was too focused on figuring out how to reply. I didn’t pay attention to that person’s profile picture or nickname or anything.”

Cao Lei narrowed his eyes. “So you don’t know who it is?”

“I… I can try!” Seeing the suspicion in Cao Lei’s eyes, Pei Yuming hurried to state his position. “I remember the profile picture seemed to be red, and the name was something starting with ‘A.’ Maybe I’ll recognize it when I see it.”

Cao Lei gave a slight nod. “All right.”

A gloved police officer knocked and came in, holding the dark blue phone Pei Yuming had mentioned. He placed the already unlocked phone on the table, handed Pei Yuming a pair of gloves, and gestured for him to put them on before looking through it.

Pei Yuming put on the gloves as instructed, then picked up the phone and began identifying the more than two hundred contacts inside.

But the search turned out to be much harder than Pei Yuming had imagined. His impression of the profile picture from that moment was very vague. He only remembered the rough outline and the overall color. Once he had the phone in hand, he realized that at least twenty people here had profile pictures in shades of red. As for the names, they were all notes Lu Dong had saved, and more than half started with the character “A.” There was simply no way to pin it down.

“What is it?” Seeing his troubled expression, Cao Lei asked first. “Can’t find it?”

Pei Yuming looked a little embarrassed. “These profile pictures all look too similar. I really can’t be sure.”

“Then what do we do?” Cao Lei looked at him. “Lao Pei, does this person you’re talking about really exist?”

“Yes, she really does, Officer Cao. You have to believe me.” Pei Yuming grew anxious. “Right, she also gave me an address. I said I was going to find her at the time. I can tell you!”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Cao Lei’s gaze sharpened. “Don’t tell me you forgot. I don’t believe you could forget something that important.”

“I…” Pei Yuming avoided his probing stare. “I wanted to go find her and ask her myself first.”

“So you aren’t actually sure whether it’s this person, are you?” Cao Lei heard the implication in his words.

Pei Yuming could only nod.

“Give me the address first,” Cao Lei said, not digging into his intentions.

“Seventh floor, Lijing Garden.”

“What apartment number?” Cao Lei asked.

“I don’t know. She didn’t say,” Pei Yuming answered honestly. “I came back before I had time to ask.”

“All right.” Cao Lei ran his tongue over his teeth again. “Let’s hope this is a useful lead.”