I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 256: Chapter 254: Going Home to Rest

The search for Lu Xian’s whereabouts was still underway.

The bodies of Feng Ruihao and Yuan Man had both been brought back to the municipal bureau.

The families of both victims were contacted.

Yuan Man’s parents were out of town and wouldn’t be able to arrive until the next morning.

So, after Feng Ruihao’s wife saw him, Yan Cheng went ahead and performed the autopsy on Feng Ruihao.

The plan was to let Yuan Man’s parents see her first thing in the morning, if possible.

Su Miaoyi and Chu Xingrou interviewed Feng Ruihao’s wife, Ma Qin.

Zhuang Yanzheng and his team were responsible for questioning Ma Qin’s parents.

There was no one else at home, so Ma Qin had brought her child with her.

Only three months old.

It was also a chance for the baby to see Feng Ruihao one last time, in a way.

The baby cried constantly at first, but after being soothed, he fell asleep.

Ma Qin’s eyes were swollen from crying. Her hair was a mess, and her face was etched with exhaustion and grief. "We’ve hired several nannies to look after the baby, but I have too much going on. I never felt at ease with them taking care of him, so it’s always been my parents and me—the three of us—looking after the baby together."

"My parents-in-law passed away before we got married. My husband... no, Feng Ruihao... he’s pretty much always lived with us." Ma Qin spoke softly, patting the baby. "The two of us started the building materials factory together. Later, because I worked too hard and my health suffered, he took over everything, and I became a full-time homemaker. My health was poor for years, and I was focused on recuperating. He was always so good to me. Whatever I liked, he was always supportive."

"He supported any decision I made. When I said I didn’t want kids, he was fine with it. When my health was bad and I didn’t want to work, he gave me all his money and told me to do whatever I wanted, as long as I was happy. Then, as my health slowly recovered and I was finally well enough, I wanted to have a child. He was worried about my health and kept saying we shouldn’t."

"Until last year, when we started trying, and we had him." Ma Qin looked down at the baby in her arms. "He was just too good to me. It never even crossed my mind, not once, that he would cheat on me."

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.

Su Miaoyi handed her a tissue. "Did you know there’s a basement at the building materials factory?"

"What basement?" Ma Qin wiped her tears. "Is something wrong? I haven’t been to the factory in a while. Since I’m not involved in the operations there anymore, I don’t know much about what’s going on. Whenever I did go, I’d just walk around for a bit and leave."

"There’s a lot of cash in the basement," Su Miaoyi said.

"Cash? How much?" Ma Qin looked at them.

Chu Xingrou took out a photo and showed it to her.

After seeing it, Ma Qin was speechless.

She had wondered how much cash there could be for them to mention it specifically. It turned out to be this much!

"This is..."

"The people at the factory said only Feng Ruihao could enter the room above this basement. No one else was allowed in. They didn’t even know there was a basement underneath."

"I’m well aware of all the factory’s income and expenses. Where did this money come from? How could there be so much?" Ma Qin was shocked. Then she added, "Is this about what Officer Qi mentioned? Was he involved in some organization? A scam? A cult?"

Su Miaoyi nodded.

Ma Qin lowered her gaze to the photos on the table, unable to process it for a long time.

"I was at home, waiting for him to come back and give me an explanation. But I waited and waited, and all I got was a dead body. So he had all this money himself... I was so stupid. I believed everything he said. Did he buy that woman’s apartment?"

"We’re not certain, but our investigation shows... that the apartment was bought with cash," Su Miaoyi said.

Ma Qin suddenly let out a bitter, hollow laugh, her voice filled with despair. "I feel sick just thinking about it now."

"Have you ever looked at his phone?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"I have. I look at it often," Ma Qin said. "He had no secrets from me."

"Did you know his phone had a dual operating system?"

Ma Qin stared blankly for a moment, then shook her head.

"Thinking back now, can you recall any time he acted strangely?"

Ma Qin thought about it but ultimately shook her head again.

"Okay, we understand." Su Miaoyi kept her voice low, afraid of waking the baby. "We advise you not to wander around or go too far from home for the time being. The police have already taken measures to protect your family’s safety."

"You think someone might try to kill us? The same people who killed Feng Ruihao?" Ma Qin asked.

"Yes."

Ma Qin fell silent, then said, "Then why don’t you use us as bait to lure the snake out of its hole?"

Su Miaoyi looked up at her. "We are very eager to catch them, but your safety is our top priority. We can’t risk it."

"I’m not afraid," Ma Qin said.

"Besides your safety being the most important thing, the other party is being very cautious right now. Even if we were to pull back, they likely wouldn’t show themselves," Su Miaoyi explained. "I’m telling you this simply so you’ll be extra careful lately. If you feel anything is wrong, call the police immediately."

"Okay, thank you," Ma Qin said.

Su Miaoyi nodded.

Chu Xingrou added, "You need to take care of yourself too. Don’t grieve for someone who wasn’t worth it and ruin your health."

Ma Qin smiled faintly. "I know. I still have my child and my parents. I’ll be okay. Thank you."

They saw Ma Qin and her parents off.

There was still no news on the license plate of the car Lu Xian had been in.

Yan Cheng was also in the autopsy room.

Zhuang Yanzheng had everyone take turns going home to rest.

A little after six in the morning, Su Miaoyi returned to Weiyang Palace.

She ate breakfast at a diner.

Then she returned to her residential complex and got into the elevator.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, someone suddenly shouted, "Hold on, hold on!"

Su Miaoyi immediately pressed the open-door button.

The doors opened, and a mother and son rushed into the elevator. "Thank you."

Su Miaoyi shook her head and stepped toward the back.

The mother and son pressed their floor button.

It was a floor above hers.

They were new neighbors.

"I told you, you need to check that you have everything before you leave. You’re so forgetful. We were already running late, and now we’re definitely going to be late."

The little boy pouted and said nothing, then glanced at Su Miaoyi.

When Su Miaoyi saw him looking, she smiled. "Off to school so early?"

The woman looked at her, her tone instantly softening. "Yes. The school is a bit far, and we’re worried about traffic, so we’re leaving early."

"Jinghai traffic is terrible."

"It really is. And then he had to forget something." The woman then added, "I see you live downstairs. I hope my son hasn’t been too loud and disturbed you when he’s being naughty."

"Not at all. It’s usually too quiet around here," Su Miaoyi said. "Hearing him talk, sing, and play the piano makes the place feel a little more alive."

The elevator arrived at her floor, and Su Miaoyi stepped out.

The woman said, "We’re in a rush today. We should get to know each other some other time."

"Okay."

...