Skin - Chapter 75

Chapter 75 – Lin Mai

　　Over the next two days, the two rented an off-road vehicle, drove to Xiaohe Village after breakfast, and staked out near Zhang Linqing’s home.

　　Lu Shichen sat in the car working while Meng Zhao stared at the wide-open door.

　　Looking at the crazy old lady with a hunched back and limping feet picking up trash along the road, and thinking about how her son killed his mother twenty years ago, Meng Zhao felt very uncomfortable.

　　The next afternoon, the sun was very strong. Meng Zhao turned on the air conditioner in the car. Just when he was feeling a little sleepy, the woman appeared.

　　She carried a canvas bag in one hand and supported the old lady with the other, and walked slowly towards the door of her house.

　　As they passed by, Meng Zhao heard the old lady mumbling something meaningless. Although he still couldn’t understand what she was saying, from the tone of her voice, he knew that she was very familiar with this woman.

　　After watching the two people walk into the house, Meng Zhao waited for a few minutes, then pushed open the car door.

　　Lu Shichen looked at him: Are you going to go to her now?”

　　”I’m not going to look for her. I’ll go take a look. You stay in the car.” Meng Zhao said, pushing the door and got out of the car.

　　He walked to the door and looked in. A woman was sweeping the yard with a broom. The old lady was sitting on a small stool, eating something the woman had brought for her.

　　After the woman finished sweeping the yard, she put down the broom and said to the old lady, “Come in, I’ll give you a bath.”

　　Then, she walked over and helped the old lady up, and they both walked into the house.

　　Meng Zhao watched for a while, turned around and walked back to the car, opened the door and got in.

　　”How did it go?” Lu Shichen asked.

　　”Not only did she clean the house, she also gave the old lady a bath. It seems that their relationship is indeed not ordinary.” Meng Zhao closed the car door and thought about his next move. “If we rashly approach her about Zhang Linqing’s situation, it might arouse the woman’s vigilance. It will be difficult to deal with the situation if we really scare her away. Let’s follow her and see where she lives.”

　　”Yeah.” Lu Shichen responded.

　　The woman stayed in the old lady’s house for two hours. When she came out, she had only an empty canvas bag in her hands.

　　The old lady also followed out and chattered a lot at the woman’s back. The woman looked back, said nothing, and walked to the traffic stop on the side of the road to wait for the bus.

　　A few minutes later, the bus stopped at the station, the woman got on, Meng Zhao started the car and drove after the bus.

　　They followed the bus for about half an hour, all the way to the city. The woman got off at a stop near a residential area.

　　Meng Zhao parked the car on the side of the road, got out with Lu Shichen and followed.

　　The security guards were lax in their management and people could enter the community without swiping their cards. The woman did not notice someone following her. She went upstairs, took out her key, unlocked the door, and closed the security door.

　　”402.” A few steps away, Meng Zhao glanced at the house number and whispered, “Let’s go to the property management’s office first.”

　　Walking out of the corridor, Lu Shichen asked: “Didn’t you hand in your police ID? Will they provide information without it?”

　　”It’s a bit difficult,” Meng Zhao sighed, “Let’s try.”

　　The property management office is located in the last row of buildings in the community. As he walked past it, Meng Zhao was thinking about how he was going to ask for information. In the past, he could solve the problem by showing his police ID, but now he was suddenly suspended, and all investigations became a little tricky.

　　He pushed open the door and entered the property management office. He walked to the front desk and said, “Hello, may I ask if the resident of Room 402, Building 4, is Zhang Linqing?”

　　”Are you a resident of this community?” the receptionist asked, moving her eyes from the computer screen to Meng Zhao’s face.

　　”I came to visit Zhang Linqing’s family, but I’m not sure whether she lives in 402, so I wanted to come to the property management to confirm.”

　　The receptionist didn’t reply immediately, but looked at him hesitantly and asked, “Are you… the policeman at the press conference? Officer Meng who broke the dark cage?”

　　”You know me?” Meng Zhao was stunned. It seemed that his luck was really good. He smiled and said, “That’s great. No need for me to explain more.”

　　”Of course I know you. I watched the live broadcast. Those girls were in such a plight. Thanks to you for saving them. I think you fought very well,” the girl said indignantly. “Those bastards who bully girls should be beaten to death. But why are you in Yancheng? There are rumors online that you have been suspended. Is it true? Are you no longer in charge of the Dark Cage?”

　　The girl spoke very quickly, blurting out a series of questions. Meng Zhao looked at her and smiled: “Which question do I answer first?”

　　”Sorry, I’m a little excited…” The girl blushed, “What did you want to ask?”

　　Meng Zhao stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point: “I want to know the information of the resident in Room 402, Building 4.”

　　The receptionist quickly lowered her head, tapped the keyboard to pull up the household owner’s information on the computer, and then turned the display screen to Meng Zhao: “Is this it?”

　　”Lin Mai…” Meng Zhao whispered the woman’s name, then quickly browsed through the other information and asked the front desk, “Do you know any other information about this resident?”

　　”This woman must be quite wealthy,” the receptionist thought for a moment and said, “She seems to have four houses in this community. She lives in 402, and rents out the others. If there is any problem with a tenant’s house, she is the one who reports it to the property management.”

　　Seeing that the receptionist seemed to know something about this woman, Meng Zhao continued to probe: “Then do you know what she does for a living?”

　　”She… I’ve never seen her working. The few times she came to report repairs were all during the day on weekdays. I don’t think she has a job. Besides, the housing prices in this area have risen in recent years. She can make a lot of money just by collecting rent. There’s no need for her to work.”

　　Meng Zhao asked a few more questions and then thanked her.

　　”You look even more handsome than on the live broadcast,” the girl looked at Meng Zhao, then at Lu Shichen next to him, “Is this gentleman also a policeman?”

　　”My consultant.”

　　“Your Mingtan city’s police are so good-looking.” The girl whispered.

　　”Thank you,” Meng Zhao smiled. “Miss, I have to trouble you with one more thing. We want to get some information from Ms. Lin Mai. Can you help lead the way?”

　　”Okay.” The receptionist agreed immediately, “Then I’ll find someone to take my place for a while.”

　　A few minutes later, three people stood at the door of 402 and the front desk knocked on the door.

　　”Who is it?” A woman’s voice came from inside the house.

　　”Property management.” the girl said loudly.

　　The door opened a crack, and the woman leaned out: “What’s going on?”

　　”Ms. Lin, these two are police officers. They want to talk to you about some matters.” The property receptionist introduced.

　　A trace of panic suddenly flashed across the face of the woman in front of him. Meng Zhao observed her. This subtle expression made him sure that this woman should know something.

　　”Can we come in and sit down?” Meng Zhao asked.

　　The woman seemed to hesitate for a moment: “…Come in.”

　　After entering the house, Meng Zhao noticed a pair of men’s slippers placed at the entrance. He looked up and looked inside the house. Although the decoration was simple, judging from the furnishings in the room, this woman should have a comfortable living condition.

　　”Please sit down.” The woman took them to the living room. Although she was in her own home, she looked a little restrained.

　　Meng Zhao sat down and said straight to the point without beating around the bush: “Ms. Lin, I think you can guess the purpose of our visit. I won’t say anything more. What is the relationship between you and Zhang Linqing?”

　　The panic on the woman’s face suddenly became more obvious, and she clenched her hands tightly together: “I don’t know this person.”

　　”You don’t know Zhang Linqing, so why do you go to take care of his mother regularly?”

　　”I just feel a little sorry for her…”

　　”She looks pitiful?” Meng Zhao laughed. “There are so many poor elderly people in China, why do you only take care of her? And you travel such a long way from the city to the countryside regularly. If you don’t have any relationship with her, it’s really hard to understand.”

　　The woman was silent for a few seconds, then repeated in a low voice: “It really doesn’t matter…”

　　At this moment, the sound of a door opening was heard outside the living room, and someone walked in.

　　Meng Zhao and Lu Shichen looked over at the same time.

　　”Mom, I’m back.” A young man in his early twenties came over and saw two men sitting in the room. He was stunned for a moment and asked, “Are there any guests?”

　　The woman frowned at the young man and scolded him in a low voice: “It’s none of your business, go to your room.”