Skin - Chapter 69

Chapter 69 – Meng Zhao’s Dangerous Speculation　　

The Internet was not well developed twenty years ago, and Meng Zhao could not retrieve any useful information by searching the Internet on his own.

　　The next morning, Meng Zhao went to the Technical Investigation Office.

　　”Brother Chao, help me find a person.” Meng Zhao handed the photo of the migrant worker to Zhang Chao.

　　”Who is this?” Zhang Chao took out a cup of coffee from under the coffee machine and glanced at the photo. “Are there any new clues in the case?”

　　”Private matter,” Meng Zhao said, “Please help me.”

　　”No problem,” Zhang Chao put the coffee on the table, “Want to drink?”

　　”No.”

　　”This photo looks quite old…” Zhang Chao scanned the photo into the computer first, then operated the internal system with his fingers quickly, and several photos with extremely high similarity appeared on the screen.

　　”Is this the person?” Zhang Chao clicked on the page. “It’s a newspaper from 20 years ago. It’s really early.”

　　Meng Zhao leaned forward slightly on the table, staring at the screen. This was a newspaper page. In addition to the photo of the man, there was a short news report next to it – “A man in the west of the city committed suicide by jumping off a building late at night, suspected of being unable to bear the family debt.” The tofu-sized article was hidden in the corner of the newspaper and was very inconspicuous.

　　Meng Zhao quickly browsed the news. The news said that the man was asking for a salary from a real estate company in the city before his death. It is suspected that he could not bear the family debt and chose to jump off the building and commit suicide late at night.

　　”Yancheng Daily…” Meng Zhao finished reading the news and whispered while looking at the name of the newspaper. Although the report did not mention the name of the real estate company, the case of migrant workers seeking wages that Lu Chengze won that year happened in Yancheng. Combined with the time when this news was published, this man was probably asking for wages from Zhu Wenxiu’s “Wending Real Estate” before his death.

　　If this man and Lu Chengze and his wife were both involved in the migrant workers’ wage-demand case, then what role did Wu Jiayi play in the middle?

　　Wu Jiayi’s resume did not contain any information related to Wen Ding Real Estate. Wen Ding Real Estate, which was once very popular, has fallen into disrepute since the lawsuit and has long been silent. There is not much relevant information available…

　　Moreover, Meng Jing was in Mingtan City at the time, so how could she go to investigate the case in Yancheng?

　　Meng Zhao had no idea. He pointed to the page below and said, “Open this person’s profile and let me take a look.”

　　Zhang Chao took the coffee, took a sip, and clicked on the page.

　　”Chen Yu…” Meng Zhao whispered the name, and after quickly browsing the man’s profile, he stood up and said, “Thank you, Brother Chao. Now I’m busy with the Dark Cage.”

　　After leaving the Technical Investigation Office, Meng Zhao went to the Archives Department to retrieve the case that Meng Jing was in charge of that year, but the files showed that Meng Jing had not been in charge of the Yancheng case during her lifetime.

　　Was his mother secretly investigating the case, or was someone deliberately hiding the files? Meng Zhao felt that this matter was not simple.

　　‘Should I ask Director Xu?’ Director Xu was Meng Jing’s colleague and a good friend when she was alive. He might know why she went across cities to handle the case. He might even know the relationship between Wu Jiayi and the whole thing.

　　But at this moment, the scene of the last meeting with Wu Jiayi once again appeared in Meng Zhao’s mind. Thinking of the happy atmosphere and unclear attitude when Director Xu and Wu Jiayi talked that day, Meng Zhao always felt a little unsure. Over the years, he had been with Director Xu day and night. He is grateful to Director Xu, but also doubtful about him. Obviously, Director Xu has helped him a lot on weekdays, but he always felt that he couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

　　Meng Zhao was a little hesitant about whether or not to ask Director Xu.

　　Thinking of this, Meng Zhao returned to the criminal investigation office. Cheng Yun, who was standing at her workstation and making a phone call, saw him coming back and said to him anxiously, “Brother Zhao, we can’t contact Zhu Wenxiu’s son!”

　　”What?” Meng Zhao frowned.

　　”Didn’t he say yesterday that he would find a way to return? So I sent him an email, telling him to contact us if he had any problems, but he didn’t reply. I called him again last night and found that his phone was turned off. I thought he might have something to do, but when I called again this morning, it was still turned off…” Cheng Yun’s face wrinkled in anxiety, “What should I do, Brother Zhao…?”

　　Will Zhu Wenxiu’s son meet with an accident? Meng Zhao’s expression suddenly became solemn. They just talked on the phone yesterday, but lost contact today. If this is really man-made, then the mastermind behind it is definitely not simple. Zhu Wenxiu’s son is likely to have been under surveillance, and was immediately kidnapped or detained after revealing his intention to return to China.

　　This is not something that can be done by one person. It is very likely that a fairly sound criminal organization was involved. What happened to Zhu Wenxiu and his family back then?

　　”Don’t worry, you’ve done a good job,” Meng Zhao said when Cheng Yun was about to cry. “A person who has been an immigrant for many years has disappeared. We can’t reach out that far. I’ll think of other ways, and let Consultant Lu try to help find him.”

　　Cheng Yun nodded immediately: “Yes, yes, yes, Consultant Lu is very powerful, maybe he can find him…”

　　Meng Zhao thought for a moment, walked out the door and headed towards Director Xu’s office.

　　Director Xu was sitting behind his desk working. When he heard Meng Zhao come in and call out “Director Xu”, he asked without even raising his head: “What’s wrong?”

　　”The clues of the case have been lost again.” Meng Zhao walked over.

　　”Um?”

　　”We just contacted Zhu Wenxiu’s family yesterday, but lost contact today. I should have thought that he might be under close surveillance…” Meng Zhao’s tone was slightly self-blaming.

　　”What can you do now that you have thought of it?” Director Xu looked up. “Go abroad and rescue him immediately? There is no extradition treaty between China and the United States. You, a Chinese policeman, still want to go to the United States to investigate a case?”

　　Meng Zhao: “Is there any way to contact the Chinese Embassy in the United States? Maybe they can help.”

　　Director Xu: “We can only try, but don’t hold out too much hope. It’s not that easy to find someone across the border, especially someone who has immigrated many years ago.”

　　The clue that was finally found was broken again. Meng Zhao stood there for a moment and sighed.

　　”Why are you sighing like that?” Director Xu glanced at him and said, “Let’s look for other clues first.”

　　”It took a lot of time and investigation to confirm Zhu Wenxiu’s identity, and we were only able to contact her family thanks to Consultant Lu’s connections abroad. Now the clues are broken…” After a pause, Meng Zhao continued, “This case is simply impossible to move forward. I have been in this department for so many years, and I have never thought of giving up…” He fell silent here.

　　Hearing this, Director Xu raised his head, a little bit incredulous. Then he sneered and lowered his head to continue working: “Meng Zhao, you can also say such a thing?”

　　After a while, Meng Zhao continued, “When I was little, I idolized my mother, so I chose the profession of police. Now when I think back, it was not easy for my mother. How did she persevere for so many years?”

　　After Meng Zhao said this, Director Xu’s pen, which had been moving, suddenly stopped.

　　He didn’t look up, but put down the work in his hands, stood up and walked to the window, with his back to Meng Zhao: “Yes, such a thin girl, but she was basically responsible for the most difficult cases in the bureau. She was the most capable and worked the hardest. In everyone’s eyes, there was no case that she couldn’t solve.”

　　Meng Zhao really wanted to know what Director Xu’s expression was at this moment, but because Director Xu had his back to him, he couldn’t see Director Xu’s face.

　　”I know all this.” After Meng Zhao finished speaking, there was a long silence between the two sides.

　　Suddenly, Meng Zhao spoke up: “Director Xu, I remember that my mother seemed to be always on business trips when she was alive. Did she have many cases to handle in other places at that time?”

　　”It’s very common for criminal investigation departments to handle cases across cities. Your mother had a lot of cases on her hands, so it’s normal for her to travel frequently.”

　　”In the year she was murdered, it was probably in May. Do you know where she was working during that time?”

　　”It happened almost 20 years ago, how can I remember it so clearly?” After saying this, Director Xu turned his head and looked at Meng Zhao with a sharp look in his eyes: “Why are you asking about this suddenly?”

　　”Nothing.” Meng Zhao shook his head. “I suddenly remembered something and asked casually. Director Xu, I’m leaving first.”

　　Director Xu looked at Meng Zhao but did not respond immediately.

　　After a while, Director Xu spoke up: “Go get to work.”

　　Meng Zhao closed the door of Director Xu’s office. Outside the door, he carefully recalled Director Xu’s expression and attitude, but still could not determine whether Director Xu really did not understand or was deliberately hiding something.

　　If he couldn’t find out what happened from Director Xu, how could he know the truth?

　　Meng Zhao thought again of the photos in Meng Jing’s notebook. Chen Yu and Shi Xin had passed away. Of the four people in the photos, only Lu Chengze and Wu Jiayi were left.

　　If he wanted to know the truth, there seemed to be only one way to go, that is to ask one of the parties involved – Lu Chengze. However, this is obviously a bit risky.

　　After thinking for a while, Meng Zhao took out his cell phone and called Lu Chengze: “Uncle Lu, I have something to trouble you again. Are you in Haoze?…Okay, I’ll be there in a moment.”

　　After hanging up the phone, Meng Zhao went to the office to get two photos. Then, while thinking about what to say when he saw Lu Chengze, he quickly went downstairs and walked towards the parking lot.

　　•=|=•

　　It was very quiet inside the door, but Meng Zhao knew that Lu Chengze was sitting inside working at the moment.

　　Standing at the door of the office, Meng Zhao quickly reviewed his thoughts on how to approach the problem, then raised his hand and knocked on the door.

　　Boom boom boom.

　　”Come in.” Lu Chengze said from inside the house.

　　Meng Zhao pushed the door open and said politely with a smile, “Uncle Lu, nice to see you again.”

　　”Xiao Meng,” Lu Chengze raised his head from the case file, “You’re here so soon, come and sit down.”

　　Lu Chengze stood up and walked to the sofa on the east side of the office and sat down: “Are you here for another case this time?”

　　”This is not a case,” Meng Zhao also sat down, “Uncle Lu, I came here this time to ask you about a private matter.”

　　”Hmm? What’s the matter? Tell me.”

　　”Uncle Lu, do you remember that in the case of migrant workers in Yancheng seeking wages that you participated in 20 years ago? Was there a migrant worker named Chen Yu?”

　　”You mean Chen Yu?” Lu Chengze was obviously a little surprised. “How do you know him?”

　　‘Sure enough, Lu Chengze knew about this!’ Moreover, Lu Chengze should not have thought of hiding it, Meng Zhao was very sure of this.

　　Then, Meng Zhao took out the photo of the migrant worker and handed it to Lu Chengze: “A few days ago, I found this photo when I was sorting out my mother’s belongings.”

　　After Meng Zhao finished speaking, he paused intentionally to observe Lu Chengze’s expression.

　　Lu Chengze was silent for a moment, then picked up the photo with a serious expression. “Chen Yu was the leader of the migrant workers in that case and also a very good friend of mine. More than 20 years ago, China’s rule of law was not sound. Many migrant workers could not get their due wages due to contract traps. It was very common for employers to maliciously withhold wages or even run away with the money. Chen Yu and his team looked for lawyers everywhere to help fight this lawsuit. But in Yancheng, Wendi Real Estate is very powerful and there are indeed problems with the contract. The probability of winning the lawsuit is almost zero. Basically, no lawyer is willing to take this case. I happened to be on a business trip there at the time, and then I learned about this and met Chen Yu.”

　　”Chen Yu was a man of low education, but he was very loyal and honest. But when the case was about to go to trial in a month, Chen Yu suddenly committed suicide. We had just met the evening before he committed suicide and had talked about the trial. He was very determined and optimistic, and had been preparing for his speech in court. How could he suddenly choose to commit suicide a few hours later in the middle of the night? I couldn’t understand.”

　　”I think his suicide was suspicious, and it might even be intentional, but the local police said there was sufficient evidence that Chen Yu committed suicide, and they quickly closed the case and ruled it was indeed suicide. I really couldn’t accept the fact that a good person died in such an unclear way, so I asked your mother to help me investigate the case privately. I know this request was a bit excessive, but there was really no other way.”

　　”I see,” Meng Zhao finally said, “No wonder I remember my mother often went to Yancheng on business trips for a while. Along with this photo, there was also a train ticket to Yancheng, so I thought of asking you. Uncle Lu, was there any progress in the case? What was the result?”

　　Lu Chengze returned the photo to Meng Zhao. “You also know that handling cases across jurisdictions without permission is not in compliance with the regulations of your public security agency. Although your mother wanted to help, the evidence she had access to was really limited. In the end, this case had to be dropped.”

　　After Lu Chengze finished speaking, he sighed.

　　After a moment of silence, Meng Zhao took out another photo and handed it to Lu Chengze: “Uncle Lu, take another look at this person, do you recognize him?”

　　”This person,” Lu Chengze took the photo and frowned slightly, as if trying to recall, “Looks familiar…” After a moment, his brows relaxed, “Is this Zhu Wenxiu?”

　　”Yes, she was your opponent back then, right?”

　　”No, Zhu Wenxiu was not my opponent. Although she was the largest shareholder of Wendi Real Estate, she was not the one who actually managed the actual affairs.”

　　”Who is that?”

　　Lu Chengze paused: “It was Wu Jiayi.”

　　Although he had guessed it long ago, Meng Zhao’s pupils still shrank when he heard the name from Lu Chengze’s mouth.

　　”After experiencing the last incident when Shi Chen was injured, I realized that this case was related to Wu Jiayi’s son. As a father, he would definitely not stand idly by when his son got into trouble.” After a pause, Lu Chengze continued, “Xiao Meng, I dealt with Wu Jiayi more than 20 years ago. He is not an easy person to deal with. You must be careful.”

　　”Yes,” Meng Zhao nodded, “Thank you Uncle Lu, I will be careful.”

　　Meng Zhao finished speaking and stood up: “Uncle Lu, I won’t bother you any more. There are other things in the bureau, so I’ll leave first.”

　　”Go and get busy,” Lu Chengze also stood up and sent Meng Zhao to the door, “I won’t see you off any longer.”

　　After closing the door, Lu Chengze returned to the office. He did not sit down to continue working immediately, but walked to the window and watched Meng Zhao walk out of the Haoze Law Firm building, open the car door and get in. He waited until the car drove away before Lu Chengze retracted his gaze and sat back behind his desk.

　　On the way back to the Municipal Bureau, Meng Zhao sorted out the relationships between the people in the photo based on the information provided by Lu Chengze.

　　If the key event linking these people was the case of migrant workers demanding wages that year, then why did Lu Chengze and his wife appear in their mother’s notebook?

　　‘Shi Xin’s death…that car accident!’ This thought flashed through Meng Zhao’s mind.

　　‘After Lu Chengze returned from winning the lawsuit, was the car accident he encountered really an accident?’

　　Also, was it really an accident that Meng Jing died in the line of duty?

　　When these two questions came to his mind, Meng Zhao suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

　　When the car was about to arrive at the Municipal Bureau, Meng Zhao saw Lu Shichen standing at the door of the Municipal Bureau.

　　He was wearing a black shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined arms.

　　Since the last car accident, Lu Shichen seemed to have lost some weight.

　　‘Should I tell Lu Shichen about the notebook? No, forget it.’ Meng Zhao quickly rejected this idea. Everything now was based on speculation. Before telling Lu Shichen, he had to verify it first.

　　Moreover, just because Lu Chengze and his wife appeared on the same page of the notebook with Wu Jiayi, he could not be sure that the information provided by Lu Chengze was definitely true.

　　Meng Zhao stopped the car, rolled down the window, and looked at Lu Shichen: “Why didn’t you go in?”

　　”Get out of the car and talk.” Lu Shichen looked at him.

　　Meng Zhao parked the car in front of the Municipal Bureau, opened the door and got out: “It seems that you are not here specially to report, is there something wrong?”

　　Lu Shichen handed him a key and said, “I have to go on a business trip for two days. I’ll leave Lu Xiaodao to you.”

　　”Business trip? Work-related?” Meng Zhao was stunned and took the key. “Where are you going?”

　　Lu Shichen mentioned a place name: “The company that hired me as a consultant plans to launch a new project and needs me to go for a field trip.”

　　”There’s usually nothing going on in this company, so why do you have to go on business trips when something happens?”

　　”At least I don’t have to report to work every day, and the salary is generous.”

　　Meng Zhao: “…”

　　”It’s only two days,” Lu Shichen said calmly, “I can’t accompany you on the case. Be careful.”

　　”You are the one who should be careful,” Meng Zhao looked at him, “How can you ensure your safety?”

　　”We’re not going to a remote place, and there will be a driver to pick us up. I can’t just stay at home and be an unemployed vagrant just because of a threat that I don’t know if it’s alarmist or not.”

　　”Okay,” Meng Zhao said after a moment of silence, “There is an alumnus of mine from Gong city at the place you are going to. I will tell him in advance so that he can take care of you if anything happens.”

　　The two of them walked along the side of the road, both of them seemed to be troubled.

　　When they reached the intersection, Lu Shichen raised his chin towards the distance ahead and said, “The driver has been waiting for me for a while. I’m leaving first.”

　　”Um.”

　　Watching Lu Shichen walking forward, Meng Zhao’s mind suddenly flashed back to the Panamera that squeezed in at the critical moment when the car accident happened. Thinking of the photo of Lu Shichen’s parents sitting side by side with Wu Jiayi on the notebook, Meng Zhao said aloud: “Ah!”

　　Lu Shichen paused and looked back at him.

　　Meng Zhao took a deep breath and said, “Don’t worry, I will find out the truth of this case. Whether it’s Wu Weihan or Wu Jiayi, I will find evidence of their crime and make sure they get punished.”

　　Hearing this, Lu Shichen’s gaze stayed on his face for two seconds, then he lowered his eyes and laughed very softly, then looked at him again: “Why should I be relieved? Could it be that you are investigating this case not for the so-called justice, but for me?”

　　”It’s for justice and for you. There’s no conflict, right?”

　　”What if one day justice conflicts with me?”

　　This question was unexpected and Meng Zhao was stunned.

　　Lu Shichen looked at him seriously, as if he was really waiting for an answer.

　　Unable to think of a standard answer for a moment, Meng Zhao smiled and said, “Is your question an upgraded version of that classic question? If your mother and I fall into the water at the same time, which one should we save first? However, people who ask this question usually have a special identity. Lu Shichen, what identity do you use to ask this question?”

　　He said this impulsively, and even Meng Zhao himself was not sure what answer he wanted.

　　Lu Shichen thought about it and said, “That’s a good question. I’ll think about it on the way.”

　　”Okay, let’s go,” Meng Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, “Contact me anytime if you need anything.”

T/N :

This chapter was serious! Honestly, the mystery seems to be only increasing. Something occurred to me with LSC’s question in the last part [“What if one day justice conflicts with me?”]. What if it was actually LSC who killed Zhou Yan? If you guys remember, Zhou Yan was still alive according to the forensics after Zhou Wenhua left. So what if it was LSC who strangled him again and even left the dog fur in the act? Sounds crazy, ryt? Of course, this is just a speculation, as of now, I haven’t read more than this >⁠.⁠<