This was destined to be a long night.
At 7 PM, Yu Can called Jian Jing, saying she couldn't reach her daughter and was a bit worried: "Her flight was supposed to be around 4 PM, so she should have arrived by 6 PM. I thought it might be delayed, but when I checked, it seems the flight has already landed."
Jian Jing immediately said: "Don't worry, ask the airline if there's a record of her boarding."
A moment later, the call came back, saying there wasn't.
Jian Jing calmly said: "Don't panic yet. If it's a kidnapping, she's not in danger right now. When was the last time you saw her?"
Yu Can mumbled: "At 3 PM, I took her to the subway station..."
"Where are you? I'll come find you."
She said she was at the home furnishing mall.
But halfway there, Yu Can called Jian Jing to say "everything's fine."
"It seems she went to a classmate's house," Yu Can's voice was a bit panicky, trying to sound calm. "She had mentioned it before, but I forgot. I'm sorry for making you worry too."
Then she hung up.
This excuse was too clumsy; Jian Jing didn't believe it at all. But she could guess why Yu Can did this – she must have received some kind of message and was lying to protect her daughter from harm.
Fearing phone tapping, she didn't call back and instead headed straight for the home furnishing mall.
Yu Can's store was still open. The staff said the boss had just left in a hurry, not knowing where she went.
Jian Jing tried calling from the store's landline, but Yu Can had already turned off her phone.
She had no choice but to find Ji Feng.
"You're not actually a police officer, so you don't have much persuasive power," Ji Feng said at 8:30 PM, just getting off the highway and reaching the elevated road in Peace City. "I'll talk to her. Do you have her address?"
Jian Jing got Yu Can's residential area from the store staff and passed it on to him.
At 10:20 PM, Ji Feng arrived at the location and got Yu Can's exact address from the property management. At 10:30 PM, he knocked on Yu Can's door.
She cautiously asked: "Who is it?"
"Police." Ji Feng showed his badge. "I'd like to talk to you about Zhao Bin and your daughter."
Only then did Yu Can open the door.
Ji Feng explained the situation and asked if someone had contacted her.
She said "yes."
"What did they tell you?"
"If I don't want anything to happen to Xin'er, I should mind my own business." Yu Can looked regretful. "I really didn't know that what I told Miss Jian was so serious..."
She gave a bitter smile and pleaded: "Just pretend I never said anything, officer. Please don't ask me anymore. Xin'er is my only family..."
Ji Feng comforted her a bit, then asked: "How did they contact you?"
Yu Can took out an A4 printed paper: "I went to pick up my takeout dinner, and this was in the bag."
"What's the takeout phone number?" Ji Feng asked.
Yu Can found the order and gave him the delivery person's number.
Ji Feng called and asked if he remembered delivering a meal to the home furnishing mall. The delivery person said he did. Ji Feng then asked if anyone had tampered with the food. He replied: "We're not allowed to enter the mall, so we always leave deliveries at the back door. Was your food taken by mistake?"
"It's nothing." He hung up the phone, silently sighed, and instructed Yu Can, "When the child comes back, call this number to inform me. If they contact you again or make any demands, it's best to contact us as soon as possible."
Yu Can hesitated for a long time before agreeing.
At 11:30 PM, the local police station received an emergency call.
Lao Gao: "So she visited your store today?"
Yu Can: "Yes."
Lao Gao: "Oh, did she eat anything there?"
Yu Can: "Yes, I was worried she might miss dinner, so I ordered some food for her to eat before leaving."
Lao Gao: "What did she eat?"
Yu Can: "A sandwich and milk tea."
Lao Gao silently noted this information.
After questioning Yu Can, he sent Xiao Li to run an errand, going to Yu Can's store to verify this information with the staff.
The staff confirmed that around 2 PM, the boss's daughter came by and they had afternoon tea together. At 2:40 PM, Yu Can saw her off, and returned at 3:25 PM.
The travel time from the home furnishing mall to the subway station with direct access to the airport is about 20 minutes.
From this, it can be deduced that the time of death was between 4 PM and 6 PM.
After 7 PM, Yu Can received a note from an unknown person, telling her to mind her own business.
The person was already dead, yet they were putting up a show of force... Could it be that the killer thought the body wouldn't be discovered for a while, thus buying some time?
What use would that be?
*
Twelve hours after the body was discovered, Jian Jing arrived at the crime scene.
Her first words upon seeing Ji Feng were a firm rebuttal: "This doesn't make sense. What does Yu Can's daughter know? Why come to kill me, but kill a girl unrelated to the case instead?"
Ji Feng had been running around for half a month, not eating or sleeping well. He had been busy all night yesterday, and his eyeballs were full of red blood vessels, looking terrifying.
But he still patiently comforted Jian Jing: "It's not your fault."
Jian Jing said stiffly: "I didn't say it was."
"I'm not just comforting you, you're right, there's no reason to go after Cai Xin," Ji Feng said. "Killing Yu Can would make sense, but what's the point of killing her daughter? Intimidation? When the letter was sent, the person was already dead."
Jian Jing said: "Either Cai Xin knew something she shouldn't have, or it's a provocation."
Let's not talk about the former for now, but the provocation... it's actually not quite right.
Her successful provocation of Wang Shineng stemmed from his special feelings for her, and the two had an intricate emotional game.
But the message posted online was quite ordinary. Upon seeing it, a timid person might disappear without a trace, while a bold one might just kill her outright.
Why Cai Xin?
What significance does her death hold?
Jian Jing stared at the cordoned-off scene, where there were still scorch marks on the ground. The position of the female corpse was outlined in white, giving off an inexplicably eerie feeling.
"Can we confirm now that the killer is the same person?" she asked.
Ji Feng nodded: "Some details are not convenient to leave in the files, but the method of burning the corpse is exactly the same."
While both involved post-mortem burning, different people would do it in different ways, including the placement and treatment of the body. In these cases, the bodies were all fully clothed, laid flat on the ground, with oil poured in a circle around them, carefully avoiding the body itself, and no other accelerants nearby.
The ignition device was unknown, but it wasn't matches or cigarettes, as no traces were left.
These details were never made public, making it impossible for a copycat to replicate so precisely.
Jian Jing tilted her head and said: "Then, this case must serve a purpose, just like many years ago when he suddenly killed Li Xiaonuan. It's just that we haven't found the motive yet... no, perhaps the motive is..."
She looked up, meeting his eyes: "An alibi?"