Chapter 79: Bloody Clues

2022-05-20

“Take this lipstick for testing. I have a feeling there’s something to be found,” I said to Guan Zengbin.

Guan Zengbin nodded and took the lipstick, slipping it into an evidence bag. “If that’s the case, I’ll head back to the lab and take a closer look.”

Xiao Liu glanced around before speaking up. “So what about that guy—what’s his name, Jesse? He doesn’t have the kind of equipment we do. What do you think he’ll do next? Do you think he’ll notice anything off about the lipstick?”

I looked at the business card Jesse handed me. It read: Jesse Detective Agency.

I shrugged. “I’m sure he will. It’s not hard to piece together if he thinks for a second. Still, he didn’t take the lipstick for testing himself. Maybe detectives like him have a different approach than us. Either way, this isn’t the last time we’ll see him. There’ll be plenty of chances to cross paths.”

“Let’s check around the outside of the villa. Figuring out how they got her out of here is our top priority right now.” As I walked toward the door, I added, “They’re almost too professional. They came into Liu Feier’s room, took her, and barely touched anything else. There must be bags in her closet worth tens of thousands. Nobody touched a single one.”

But that lipstick had definitely been handled. Was it by accident, or did they do it on purpose?

Gu Chen spoke up. “To avoid leaving traces—and for long-term gain—they ignored the small stuff. People who can restrain their desires are the ones who achieve great things.”

I was surprised to see Liu Yinyan standing at the stairwell. He saw us coming and asked, “Any leads yet?”

I thought for a second, walking downstairs with Liu Yinyan. “I’m guessing Feier came back to her room after lunch. An hour later, someone knocked, got no reply, opened the door, and realized she was gone. Am I right?”

Liu Yinyan nodded. “How’d you know before I even said anything?”

“Just a guess. If that’s the case, I have to be honest—these people are very professional. Based on their methods—quick, no evidence. Other than the lipstick, nothing else in the room was touched. Your daughter has a lot of valuable stuff, but they didn’t take a single thing.”

As I spoke, Liu Yinyan’s face became more and more stony. “You’re right. That’s exactly how I felt after seeing the room. Given my position, plenty of people want to profit off me. I’m not afraid of crooks. If they want money, I’ll give it. The ones I’m worried about are those whose motives I don’t understand.”

I let out a sigh. “I’m afraid your instincts are spot-on this time. It’s been nearly two hours since your daughter disappeared. There’s still no word. If I’m right, they won’t call tonight. Still, try not to panic. For now, she won’t be in any danger.”

Liu Yinyan sighed deeply. “Guess that’s all we can do for now.”

I helped the old man settle on the sofa. “Just a heads-up—we’ll be staying here for a while. Sorry if we get in the way.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s plenty of rooms upstairs,” Liu Yinyan waved his hand.

“Oh, right!” I suddenly remembered. “One more thing. If they call, keep them talking. Your phone’s wiretapped. If someone calls for more than three minutes, we can roughly trace the signal. Don’t agree to their demands on impulse. If they get what they want, their best way out is to get rid of her. I hope you understand.”

Liu Yinyan just looked at me, silent. He sat quietly on the sofa, none of the vigor I’d seen in his photos. It was clear how much his daughter’s disappearance hit him. If not for this, he’d be at the company steering the ship, not exhausted here.

Before anything else, he was a father.

“I’m heading back to check on the lipstick,” Guan Zengbin said. “If I find anything, I’ll be back. If you all find anything new, bring it over.”

Guan Zengbin left to analyze the lipstick, while the rest of us circled the villa.

Standing below the balcony of Liu Feier’s room, I turned to Gu Chen. “Five minutes. Could you get up there somehow?”

Gu Chen eyed the wall. “It’s spotless and smooth—someone cleans it often. No footprints either, which means they wore shoe covers. And those covers are clean. Look at the ground.”

Xiao Liu and I looked down at our feet.

Gu Chen continued, “No matter how clean the ground is, people still walk on it. So the person must have put those shoe covers on while hanging from somewhere—meaning they had tools, like a grappling hook, to latch onto the balcony railing, and used a rope to climb up.”

“Wouldn’t that risk alerting Liu Feier?” I frowned.

Xiao Liu chimed in, “If she had headphones on, maybe not. Gu Chen, you’re the most agile here, up for a live test? See if you can get up there with just a rope in a few minutes?”

Something still didn’t add up. Even if she didn’t hear, someone dropping onto the balcony should be visible—she was facing the balcony, after all.

Reenacting it was the best way to test. And with all Liu Yinyan’s servants, preparations were quick. Gu Chen tossed a grappling hook up, yanked the rope to check the hold, and began to climb.

Scaling a smooth, vertical wall with only a rope and upper body strength is no easy feat. Even moving as fast as he could, Gu Chen took much longer than five minutes. The ninety-degree angle and special slick materials made it almost impossible to use his legs.

Coming down, though, Gu Chen slid down in less than a minute.

The experiment showed getting up in five minutes is almost impossible. If someone as fit as Gu Chen can’t do it, hardly anyone else could. Could they have used an extension ladder instead? But that would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

I stood under the balcony, tugging at my hair, imagining what I’d do if I were the kidnapper.

First, I’d be part of a highly professional crew. No mistakes allowed—any slip, and the whole gang could be traced. No unnecessary risks. So the crew must have staked out this place for a long time.

Night would be the best time to act, but Liu Feier wasn’t always home then. She only comes home at midday. Sometimes, the safest place is actually the riskiest. Liu Yinyan hired bodyguards to follow Feier everywhere—except her own room.

People drop their guard where they feel safest. So, I’d sneak onto the balcony at night. Slip quietly into her room, hide under her bed for the night. Bored, maybe I’d fiddle with her lipstick just to pass the time.

At noon, Feier comes up after lunch and starts playing games. I creep up behind her and knock her out. Then sling her over my shoulder, use the rope to drop to the ground. With a quick yank, the rope’s gone, and someone’s already waiting below to help.

If that’s the case, carrying an extension ladder is way harder to conceal than carrying a person. Suddenly, it struck me: if they wanted to avoid being seen, they could’ve just bribed a security guard. It’d cost far less to buy off a guard than to pull off a high-end kidnapping worth billions.

The guards are hired by Building Management, not Liu Yinyan specifically. We need to look into this.

For now, though, we had to check if anyone hid under Liu Feier’s bed, so we hurried back to her room. Pulling the bedspread aside, we peered underneath. The bed was high enough even a muscular guy like Gu Chen could fit under it—probably on purpose, to make cleaning easy.

I switched on my flashlight, shining it underneath. There were fine traces of dust knocked from the bed frame, but the middle and left side were noticeably cleaner. That meant someone crawled in and out from the left, their clothes wiping the dust away in the process.

That confirmed my hypothesis—the kidnappers played it safe. This meant they likely bribed a guard, doubling their insurance. But guards are always the weakest link. That’s also where things can go wrong. The bribed guard might even be in danger now.

“Xiao Liu!” I quickly called, “Get all the villa district guards here right now. I need to ask them some questions.”

“Got it,” Xiao Liu replied.

I was just about to search Feier’s computer for clues when my phone rang. Guan Zengbin was calling. “Wu Meng, I ran tests on the lipstick and found something you’d never guess.”

“Aside from chemicals, what else? Feier’s skin from her lips?” I asked.

Guan Zengbin replied, “Yes, but also skin from another person.”

My eyes lit up. Instantly I pictured someone, bored and killing time at night, swiping Feier’s lipstick across their own lips or arm. That idle little move might become our critical breakthrough.

“I’m not done yet,” Guan Zengbin went on. “I also found traces of dog blood.”

“What?” I asked, thrown off.

“Dog blood. The blood of a pet dog,” Guan Zengbin clarified.