Hegel's Confession

Hearing my comment, Teng nodded. “Zhuxuan is right. How long they’ve been missing is not good for the investigation, maybe we would have better luck by focusing on Little Hui. Of course we won’t ignore the other victims either. We’ll have people keep investigating their connections and who they’ve seen before they went missing. Wu Jun is a doctor, so we could focus on his patients. Zhao Yu’s skincare clinic is a good place to look for suspicious customers.” He stopped and looked thoughtful.

 “And?” Haoran raised his brows.

Teng smiled awkwardly, “this is a big project, let’s do more and talk less. If we wasted too much energy on the wrong thing, it’d be a waste of time.”

Something clicked in my brain, but I couldn’t narrow it down. I squinted at the blackboard behind Haoran, something seemed off. Just like what I mentioned before, have we forgotten anything?

“In addition, we need to check the workplaces: Wu Jun’s hospital, Zhao Yu’s skincare clinic, Zhou Liang’s restaurant, and Little Hui’s entertainment company. Let’s look at the locations and anything in common. Even if they didn’t know each other, they must know the suspect. Maybe Teng is right, the suspect could be their patient or customer.” Haoran’s tone became more serious as he continued.

In that moment I finally figured out what triggered me earlier. Before, I wasn’t focused on Teng’s words but Haoran’s repet.i.tion made me remember. Yes, someone who has dealt with all four victims, if not friend or family, had to be a patient or customer.

Everyone stayed overnight at work that day. By three a.m., I was exhausted and rested on the sofa. When I groggily woke up, it was around six a.m. I was about to get up when I saw someone had put a jacket over me.
 

Is it Haoran’s jacket? I work up in my stupor. He was kind to worry about me being cold. I folded the jacket and put it aside, then got up and stretched.

When the door opened, Haoran walked in, he laughed at my pose. “Don’t you ever act like a lady?”

I was thinking early morning is a good time to think of the case, since the mind is sharper then. Hearing his comment, however, made me shake my arms and waist exaggeratedly. “I was never a lady. And it’s none of your business!”

Haoran was already sitting in front of his desk and rubbing his head. He was in work mode already. Without looking up, he said, “I’m only concerned no one will want to marry you.”

I gritted my teeth, before I retorted, Teng marched in bringing breakfast. “Hey, so everyone’s up? Come and eat.”

Haoran started eating methodically, ignoring my stares, and I didn’t want to waste time arguing. I asked, “Teng, did you sleep at all?”

 “I did, I slept for two hours on the desk when I was too tired. Let’s eat fast, there is a lot to do today.” He stretched his neck, looking pretty beat.

It was 8 a.m. when we organized everything we needed to do that day. Teng and I headed for Little Hui’s home. We already visited his family yesterday, but we needed to do more investigating today, and maybe we’ll find something we forgot before.

When we were outside Little Hui’s house, I got a call from Haoran. It was about the victims’ list of phone calls; most calls looked normal and could be checked, but all four lines showed a few unlisted numbers. He said technicians were working on them and needed a bit of time.

“What is it? Did we get anything?” Teng asked.

I shook my head. “It’s too early to say, and we need more time. And you have to let the precinct know to keep posting missing people notices, both online and offline. Make the reward bigger, especially near the victims’ workplaces. There’s got to be something there.”

Little Hui lived in a single-family home. The two-story house was renovated in an European style and quite lavish. His wife, however, looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes. It was obvious she didn’t sleep well.

His wife, Zhu Na, once worked as a model. After marrying Little Hui, she became a full-time mom. Even though her husband had a lot of mistresses, they had a good relationship. She accepted that he was a player and as long as he went home, she was fine with his cheating.

Na’s eyes became red as we talked, but we didn’t get many clues. She said Little Hui had many business partners and friends; all of which were contacted but offered no information. The last person to see Little Hui was his a.s.sistant.

When we asked if he seemed different before he went missing, she shook her head. “He seemed the same, but...” she continued after a pause, “he was in a good mood for a few days. I didn’t ask, I didn’t want to know what he did outside the house.”

In a good mood? I repeated the phrase in my mind and asked, “why would his mood improve, based on what you know about him?”

Na didn’t hesitate this time. “If his company did well or if he had a new lover. He’s into variety, but loses interest very fast. He said he’s just playing with those women and only loves me.”

I really think Na’s mentality was different from typical women; maybe it was because Little Hui had powerful family connections. Perhaps when she had enough things, she didn’t focus on emotions and just let the unfaithfulness slide.

When we left, I left my contact information and told her to let me know if she thought of or noticed anything. Afterwards, Teng and I reached Little Hui’s workplace, his TV and film company, to talk to his a.s.sistant.

His a.s.sistant was a sultry and attractive woman around her late 20s. She seemed very mature for her age. It was obvious she had a relationship with Little Hui too, it was hard to imagine she’d be left untouched.

She got us two gla.s.ses of water inside the conference room. During our interview, she said he left work around three p.m. the day he went missing, and didn’t say where he was going.

I remembered what Na told us earlier. “I heard he was in a good mood in the days before he went missing. Do you know what was it about?”

The a.s.sistant thought intently for a bit and then shook her head, saying she wasn’t sure.

Teng looked around and asked her to remember if Little Hui acted out of the ordinary before he went missing. Who he saw, and who he was about to see, etc.

The a.s.sistant didn’t seem impatient, she actually took out a notebook to tell us.