Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Wei Zheng glanced lightly at his puzzled subordinate, then nodded approvingly at Lin Zhiwei. “Exactly. And I believe Lao Cao noticed something off about the suspect a long time ago. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have set a trap for him right from the start of the questioning.”
Zhou Zheng looked at Wei Zheng in surprise. “So according to you, that Pei guy isn’t the killer?”
Wei Zheng said, “He’s not the only one with a strong enough motive to kill.”
“You mean…”
Wei Zheng said, “Judging from what the suspect has told us so far about what happened between him and the victims, as well as the clues we currently have, Lu Dong, Su Jin, and Bai Xue are all highly suspicious. Also, I don’t think the key to solving this case should actually be placed on motive.”
“Then where should it be placed?”
“The channel through which the poison was obtained.” Wei Zheng said with certainty, “As long as we find out which one of them came into contact with potassium cyanide, I think we’ll be close to cracking the case.”
“But that won’t be easy to investigate!” Zhou Zheng could not help pouring cold water on the idea. “Conducting visits, checking surveillance, tracing the source and destination of the drug… How is twenty-four hours enough?”
That was the truth. Especially since it was still the middle of the night. Most of the investigative work could not even begin.
Wei Zheng spread his hands. “Then we’ll take it one step at a time. Still, things may not be as pessimistic as we think. I have a lot of confidence in Lao Cao.”
Wei Zheng conveyed the expert’s meaning to Cao Lei in a few words. On the surveillance feed, Cao Lei not only showed no sign of discouragement, he even looked as if he had expected this.
He quickly adjusted his emotions and cut off Pei Yuming’s rambling explanation. “Stop. Lao Pei, even if what you’re saying is true, there still isn’t any direct evidence to prove it right now, so don’t keep circling around this issue. However, the test report doesn’t lie. There were no sleeping pills in your home, but you did take them, and you were the only one who did. If you aren’t the killer, then we can infer that there is a very high chance the killer fed them to you. Think carefully. From the moment you got home, among everything you ate or drank, was there anything you could touch but no one else could?”
Pei Yuming suddenly understood. “Right. Officer Cao, your analysis is right!”
Cao Lei was not pleased by his agreement. Instead, he stared at him sternly. “Was there?”
Meeting his gaze, Pei Yuming murmured, “Something I could touch but no one else could… Then it would only be my own tableware… my wineglass, my water glass, my soup bowl… That’s all.”
Cao Lei frowned and thought for a few seconds, then asked, “Did you serve the soup yourself?”
“Ah…” Pei Yuming did not react as quickly as Cao Lei. After freezing for a moment, he shook his head. “No, it was… I think Su Jin served it.”
“Su Jin…” Cao Lei slowly repeated the name, a cold, sharp light flashing through his piercing eyes.
Even after Pei Yuming got off at the subway station, he still could not figure out why Cao Lei had singled out that bowl of soup.
Could he suspect Su Jin?
Pei Yuming opened the door and went inside with a heavy heart. From the kitchen came the sound of Bai Xue and Su Jin chatting and laughing.
“What took you so long? Su Su has been here for ages,” Bai Xue complained in an exaggerated tone. Pointing at Pei Yuming’s hands, she said to Su Jin, who was washing vegetables, “See? What did I tell you? He definitely forgot to buy salt. Good thing I had the foresight to ask you to bring some for me.”
Su Jin smiled and greeted Pei Yuming, then continued bustling around the kitchen with Bai Xue.
Pei Yuming took off his coat. He did not hurry into the bedroom, but stayed in the living room instead. On the surface, he was boiling water and making tea. In reality, he kept hovering near the kitchen doorway. He did not know what exactly he wanted to do.
When Su Jin came out, she nearly bumped into him. Puzzled, she asked, “Whoa, Yuming, what are you doing over here? Are you hungry?”
Instead of answering, Pei Yuming asked, “What, are you done?”
“Not even close.” Su Jin deftly picked up an empty vase from the windowsill. “I’m going to arrange the flowers first.”
In a rare moment of insight, Pei Yuming reached out to take it. “Want me to help?”
Su Jin quickly dodged him and said with a smile, “Absolutely not. What do you know about arranging flowers? Don’t ruin the lilies I personally picked out first thing this morning.”
“Fine.” Pei Yuming did not insist, watching as Su Jin went off to the bathroom alone.
Bai Xue had heard their exchange as well. She could not help poking her head out to tease her husband. “You think Su Su just grabbed those flowers at random? And you still wanted to help?”
Pei Yuming ignored Bai Xue’s teasing and returned to the living room by himself, continuing to fiddle with the tea set. But his ears followed Su Jin the whole time.
After Su Jin finished with the flowers, she placed them in the center of the dining table, then went back to the kitchen to help Bai Xue.
The two women chatted as they cooked. Pei Yuming, teacup in hand, once again shifted himself closer to the kitchen.
Bai Xue’s deliberately lowered voice drifted out in fragments. “…At first I thought it would be enough for just the four of us to get together, but after hearing what you said, it really wouldn’t be right not to invite my father-in-law and brother-in-law. We all live in the same complex, after all.”
Su Jin immediately agreed. “Exactly. It’s a happy occasion anyway. The more people, the livelier it is. You have no idea, our Zixuan has been talking about you every day lately!”
Bai Xue’s hand slowed as she sliced scallions. Interested, she asked, “Oh? Talking about me? What did I do?”
Su Jin smiled. “What else? Last time he had that braised fish at your place, he couldn’t stop thinking about it after he went home. Every couple of days, he’d come ask me when we were going to your house for dinner again.”
“Oh, honestly.” Hearing this, Bai Xue complained with regret, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner that the kid liked it? If I had known when I went grocery shopping this morning, wouldn’t I have bought another yellow croaker?”
“I was afraid you’d go to the trouble. He’s just freeloading a meal. We can’t spoil him like that,” Su Jin said. “I think he’s only looking for an excuse to come play at your place.”
Bai Xue stopped slicing entirely. She turned to glance at Su Jin, but Su Jin was still looking down, frying the ribs, and did not raise her head.
“He needs an excuse to come to my house?” Bai Xue put the scallion strips into a glass bowl. “It’s not like he barely came over when he was little.”
Su Jin curled her lip. “He’s grown up now, that’s all. Somehow he’s gotten more thin-skinned instead. He’s embarrassed.”
Bai Xue clicked her tongue twice, her expression suggestive as she nudged Su Jin lightly with her shoulder. “I think he’s got a guilty conscience.”
Su Jin shrugged and did not go any deeper into the topic. “Who knows? Kids do get more things on their minds once they grow up.”
The two had known each other for many years. Though Bai Xue did not have the kind of exquisite sensitivity that let her read other people’s minds, she could still clearly sense that Su Jin’s attitude was not as open and straightforward as usual. It was as if Su Jin had something bottled up inside.
But the thought only flashed through her mind before Su Jin interrupted it. “Xiao Xue, help me find a bigger plate. The ribs are done.”
The doorbell suddenly rang. Pei Yuming quickly slipped away from the kitchen doorway. He stood in the middle of the living room, straightened his shirt, then went to open the door.
The person who had arrived was none other than Lu Dong, carrying wine.
This time, Pei Yuming held the wine Lu Dong had brought and studied it for quite a while, greatly satisfying Lu Dong’s urge to show off.
Lu Dong stood beside him, eagerly explaining the wine’s origin. Pei Yuming responded with absentminded murmurs of agreement, but his gaze remained fixed on the mouth of the bottle the entire time. He was one step away from finding a magnifying glass and examining it properly.