Chapter 87: Hand-Rolled Cigarettes

2022-05-20

It didn’t take long to search through a hundred cars for the one we were looking for. Not even twenty minutes later, the van showed up right in front of us. It was an old, beat-up minivan with no license plate parked in the far corner of the lot, so nondescript it was practically invisible. Honestly, it looked like it was one step away from the scrapyard.

“This is the one!” Xiao Liu declared, certain. “It’s old, tucked away in a corner where nobody would notice, and the trunk’s big enough to easily fit two people. I’m convinced this is the car!”

Seeing Xiao Liu so certain, I almost felt bad for him. There was no way this was the car they used. If it was obvious to us, then people as smart as them would definitely have considered that too. This van is the oldest and shabbiest among hundreds—way too suspicious.

It’s not just fancy cars that draw attention.

In a crowd of people all flashing designer labels, the one guy in shorts and a tank top stands out most.

“This can’t be the car we’re looking for.”

Surprisingly, Jesse spoke up at the same time as I did. We exchanged a glance. It was clear Jesse’s logic and deduction were on par with mine—no wonder he could run his own detective agency back in Nara. I made a gesture. “Alright then, since you don’t think it’s this one, which car do you think it is?”

Jesse gave me a grin, then started pacing as he spoke. “Out of all the cars here, this beater is actually the easiest to notice. It’s a misdirection—they want us to fixate on the most obvious clunker, waste our time, and miss what’s in plain sight.”

With that, Jesse stopped in front of a black Audi. “What about this one? Any thoughts?”

The Audi A6 was parked not far from the van. It wasn’t brand new, but far from junk either—if anything, it looked quietly expensive. In a small city, driving an Audi means you’ve made it, but here in Dongxing City, it just makes you average.

“This car?” Xiao Liu looked a bit embarrassed at being challenged in front of everyone. “It looks completely normal! I mean, look at the body, look at the plates—nothing special at all. How did you two figure this out?”

“Wu Meng.” Jesse shot a glance at me. “Since I’ve found the car, why don’t you explain why it’s this one?”

Jesse looked around at the group, then back at me, his gaze full of challenge.

Clearly Jesse wanted to test me a bit, so I didn’t back down.

“See that scratch by the car door?” I pointed it out. “Something’s off about it.”

Everyone looked more closely and saw a long mark on the right side door, like it had been scraped by something metal. The scratch still looked fresh. I said, “Look carefully at the height and width of the mark.”

I reached over and used the crown of my watch to line it up with the scratch. “Picture this: Liu Feier was unconscious when they loaded her in from the right side. Her arm hung down, and the crown of her watch scraped the door, leaving that mark.”

Jesse shook his head but stayed silent. He clearly didn’t buy it.

Xiao Liu looked confused too, but said nothing—he always had my back in front of outsiders, even if I was just making things up on the fly. But then Jesse’s assistant Vivian piped up, “Come on, that’s a stretch. Why not let Jesse explain?”

I waved her off. “It’s just a bit of a hunch, but there’s something even bigger—the clue is in the tire treads, right Jesse?”

I crouched down and plucked a tiny leaf from the tread. I held it up and gave it a sniff. At first, it was faint and fresh, but the longer I smelled it the more the scent shifted—something sweet, but also strange, hard to describe.

“I have no idea what plant this is,” I said, showing everyone, “but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in Dongxing City, aside from the villa district. Which means this car’s been somewhere those plants grow—most likely the villa district.”

Guan Zengbin stepped up for a closer look and nodded. “Toona, to be exact—western Toona. Around Dongxing, only the area near the villa district grows this stuff. You’ve got a sharp eye.”

I shrugged and turned to Jesse. “Any other insights?”

Jesse burst out laughing. “You said exactly what I was going to! It’s autumn now, so the ground’s covered in leaves. Outside the villa district, I checked—the treads on any car would pick up these leaves if it passed through. So tracing them led me right here. And now you’ve found it too.”

I was just about to reply when my phone rang. It was Gu Chen: “I’m in the underground garage now, but I don’t see you guys. Oh, wait, I hear you now. I’ll be right over.”

In a moment, Gu Chen followed my ringtone over, and tagging along was Wang Ergou.

I hadn’t seen Wang Ergou in months, and I couldn’t help feeling happy to see him. For him, seeing me was like meeting his long-lost master—well, no, it really was seeing his master. He sprinted over, nearly on all fours, and rubbed against my leg with everything he had.

A wave of mixed feelings washed over me. On one hand, Wang Ergou acting like this broke my heart a bit—after all, he’s still a person. But then again, if he ever remembered his past and became human again, he’d probably just be sad all over again.

People suffer so often just because they know too much.

If you could choose, being a happy dog wouldn’t be so bad, would it?

Jesse actually jumped a little, unable to make sense of why a grown man was acting so much like a dog.

I patted Wang Ergou’s head. “Don’t be surprised—the world’s a big place.”

Jesse gave a gentlemanly smile and let it be, but Vivian looked downright ecstatic. “He’s adorable! I love him—can I have him?”

Now it was our turn to be surprised.

I cleared my throat. “No way. Let’s get back to these cars.”

“How do we open it?” I asked the group.

That’s when Moriko stepped up, giving us a polite bow. “Leave it to me.”

She pulled out a small cube, stuck it to the driver’s door, and the block lit up. After fiddling with something, we heard a soft click as the car alarm blared but the door popped open.

“Let’s check it out!”

Everyone pulled on gloves. Vivian dug a magnifying glass out of her coat and handed it to Jesse. Guan Zengbin pulled out his custom toolkit. The whole thing ran like a police drama—looking for fingerprints, footprints, any traces of sweat or saliva. Those would be direct evidence.

If none of those turned up, we’d look for anything the killer might’ve left behind—a lighter, a tissue, things like that. If there were no prints or direct traces, those became indirect evidence, which we’d need to investigate further.

But as expected, the result was disappointing. Nothing—no direct or indirect evidence at all. Surprised? Not really. We’d just have to hope Mary’s surveillance check came up with something. The fact she hadn’t called meant she was probably having just as tough a time.

I leaned against a pillar in the underground lot, holding on to Wang Ergou.

Suddenly, Wang Ergou tugged at his leash and nosed his way over to the car, his nose twitching as if he’d picked up a scent.

“What is it, Ergou?” I called after him.

He made it over to the passenger door, sniffing the handle for a good long while.

“Did you find something?” I asked him.

He barked twice, then looked up, tail wagging. “I smell tobacco, sugar, and wine.”

Tobacco, sugar, and wine. That reminded me of something I’d heard before—a real smoke connoisseur wouldn’t just smoke ordinary cigarettes. They’d buy packs, open them, and dump out the tobacco leaves.

Then, they’d add a dash of wine, a bit of sugar, maybe even a gram or two of honey. Mix it all together with the tobacco, heat it up in the oven for twenty-four hours, then roll it up into cigarettes to smoke.

These hand-rolled cigarettes had a much richer flavor than the regular ones—a subtle sweetness on the tongue, and the taste of the tobacco came through. But honestly, this kind of custom blend was so rare—one misstep, and the result would taste awful.

So, looks like I’d need some help from a specialist—someone who loved hand-rolling their own cigarettes, someone who knew how to get the mix just right.

“Ergou, you did great this time.” I couldn’t help but praise Wang Ergou.

“Of course! I’m the cleverest dog in the world!” he replied, trembling with pride.

Jesse overheard us and chuckled. “Sir, that’s impressive. How’d you know?”

“I’m a dog!” Wang Ergou snapped, offended Jesse had even asked.

I ignored Jesse and turned to Guan Zengbin. “Since we can smell it, there might be tobacco strands in the gaps. Search carefully—that could be the crucial piece.”

Half an hour later.

Guan Zengbin fished a thin strip of tobacco, still wrapped in rolling paper, out from between the window glass with a pair of tweezers.