Chapter 62: Investigation Stalled

Lin Dongxue asked, “Were you not at home last night?”

“Oh, we went to a relative’s place,” Wang Jinsong’s father said with a smile.

“Which relative?”

“Uh… Do you need to ask that? Officer, what is this about? Is it related to Du Lei’s case?”

Lin Dongxue almost blurted out, “What were you doing when the murder happened?” but she remembered Chen Shi’s advice during their casual chats. The more suspicious someone is, the more you need to let them lower their guard. Learn to ask indirect questions and extract information subtly.

She forced a smile, “It’s like this, Du Lei’s grandmother doesn’t know about this yet, so we lied to her.”

“Yes, yes, it’s so sad for the elderly, raising a grandson alone, now this happens,” Wang Jinsong’s mother chimed in.

“Indeed, it’s tragic for an old person to lose a young one,” Wang Jinsong’s mother echoed.

“So, there are some questions we can’t directly ask her, so we came to ask you. Weren’t Du Lei and Wang Jinsong often together?”

“Not really often, just occasionally,” Wang Jinsong’s father stuck to his story from last night.

“Did he recently tell you anything strange about Du Lei?”

“No, no, we are usually busy. When Wang Jinsong comes home, he does his homework or plays on the computer. We don’t talk much,” Wang Jinsong’s father said.

His mother added, “Yes, yes, both of us lost our jobs. We work hard for the family, leaving early and coming back late, so we don’t communicate much with the child.”

“We just try to meet his material needs.”

“By the way, didn’t the news on Weibo say the case has been resolved?”

The couple’s synchronized responses deepened Lin Dongxue’s suspicion. She followed up, “The case indeed has some leads now…”

“That’s great!” Wang Jinsong’s mother suddenly exclaimed, then realized her outburst, “I mean, it’s great to give the victim’s family some closure. You police are very efficient.”

“Don’t speak nonsense when a child is gone!” Wang Jinsong’s father scolded.

Lin Dongxue finally got a chance to continue, “But we still need to investigate and gather evidence, so we’re here to ask some questions.”

“We don’t know much. Du Lei was a well-behaved and sensible child. We always told Wang Jinsong to learn from him,” Wang Jinsong’s father said.

His mother added, “Actually, our kid is smart too, just uses his smarts in the wrong places, always playing games.”

“Isn’t it your fault?”

“You’re the one who bought him the computer and game console!”

The couple started blaming each other. Lin Dongxue suddenly asked, “What game console?”

“Huh?” Wang Jinsong’s father looked nervous and laughed, “Just a console for kids.”

“What game console!?” Lin Dongxue repeated sternly.

“Oh!” Wang Jinsong’s mother quickly intervened, “His father promised him a game console if he got into the top thirty in the midterm exams.”

“But we checked the report card, and it seems he was at the bottom,” Xu Xiaodong said.

“Yes, so we didn’t buy it,” Wang Jinsong’s father laughed.

Lin Dongxue felt the couple was hiding something. Direct questions wouldn’t work. She said, “We’ll leave now.”

“Alright, alright, no need to see us off!” The couple looked relieved.

Lin Dongxue used Chen Shi’s trick. She whispered to Xu Xiaodong, “Stall them!”, then suddenly said, “Excuse me, may I use your bathroom?”

“Uh, the bathroom…”

“It’s this way! I’ll take you,” Wang Jinsong’s father quickly said.

Xu Xiaodong loudly asked, “When did you buy this house?”

Lin Dongxue entered the bathroom and immediately saw a curtain, likely hiding a bathtub. She moved to pull it aside when Wang Jinsong’s mother rushed in with a smile, “I thought you might not know how to use the toilet. Let me show you.”

“Oh, no need. I know how.”

“Press this button, then lower this.”

After an awkward tutorial on using the smart toilet, Wang Jinsong’s mother finally left. When Lin Dongxue reached for the curtain again, she knocked on the door, “Do you need more toilet paper?”

Lin Dongxue sighed, “No, thank you!”

She reached for the curtain again, and this time, the mother banged on the door, “Oh no, I have diarrhea. Can I use the toilet first?”

Lin Dongxue clenched her fists in frustration. Ignoring everything, she pulled the curtain aside. As it swished open, Wang Jinsong’s mother burst in, breaking the door latch. They stared at each other, the mother’s face momentarily sinister.

But the look quickly vanished. She smiled, “Sorry, I couldn’t hold it.”

“Fine, I’ll go elsewhere,” Lin Dongxue said, sweating.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Outside the Wang residence, Lin Dongxue said nothing. Xu Xiaodong asked, “Hey, what’s wrong? What did you see? Why are you shaking?”

Lin Dongxue stopped, nearly causing Xu Xiaodong to bump into her. She looked back at the window, “There’s something wrong with this family!”

“Honestly, I felt it too. They’re too… polite.”

“It’s not just the politeness…”

A delivery guy on a motorbike entered the community, making a call, “Wang Bin, come down and get your package.”

Lin Dongxue glanced over, seeing a large box on the bike, likely an electronic device. Xu Xiaodong said, “That’s a PS4.”

“The same console as in Du Lei’s room?”

“Yes, yes!”

Lin Dongxue approached and showed her badge, “Excuse me, who is this for?”

The delivery guy checked the slip, “For 504 in this building.”

It was indeed Wang Jinsong’s home. Xu Xiaodong said, “Didn’t they say no game console if he didn’t do well? They have no principles.”

Chen Shi once said that a child’s motivation could be something trivial to adults.

Could it be this?

Lin Dongxue stood there, thinking about another possibility in the case until she was interrupted by a call from Lin Qiupu. He started, “Sis!”

Lin Qiupu only called her that when he was in a good mood.

“I have good news… or maybe bad for you. We found the same aphrodisiac at Li’s place. You don’t need to run around anymore.”

“Brother, I want to apply for a search warrant.”

“A search warrant? For whom? Do you have evidence?”

“No.”

“Then what are you doing? Come back… I need to go, Li’s lawyer is here.”