Chapter 7 Mr. Nice Guy.
Zhu Qing spent the night at the Sheng family's house.
The uncomfortable metal-framed beds in the welfare home and the faded metal-framed beds in the Wong Chuk Hang police academy dormitory were neither as comfortable as the bed in a guest room casually set aside in the villa. However, the clues and details she kept adding notes to her notebook reminded her that this was not a vacation, but a mission.
Xu Jiale and Zhu Qing hadn't slept all night and stayed up until dawn. After eating breakfast brought by their maid, Sister Ping, their CID colleagues arrived.
"Here to relieve you on shift?"
Zhu Qing shook her head: "It's the autopsy report of the Maltese dog."
Last night was unusual, but everything is back on track today.
As for why the CID arrived so early... Ironically, the Sheng family's legal team completed the procedures in a flash, and before the expedited report on the DNA test of the deceased's remains was even available, Bobo's autopsy report had already been delivered.
"Bobo's cause of death is not unusual."
The report was technical and lengthy, but Zhu Qing's gaze lingered on the section on "excluding death caused by external force."
Uncle Li glanced at the report and let out a cold laugh.
Miss Sheng placed her hands on her knees, gripping the hem of her skirt, and murmured, "Was it really just an accident?"
Uncle Li turned his face away.
Murdering a puppy—what a rich girl could come up with! Was the murderer worried the dog would steal her inheritance, or did the puppy witness the crime and the murderer kill it to silence it?
I hate stupid people the most.
When Zhu Qing left, the bed in the guest room was still neatly made.
Most of the time, the young master of the Sheng family's activities are limited to the children's room on the third floor and the entire corridor. Especially now that the secret passage has been sealed off by his second brother-in-law, Marissa is more like a human surveillance camera, never leaving his side.
Shengfang rested her round little chin on the stair railing, watching Zhu Qing who was about to leave.
"Aren't the police protecting the public anymore?"
"We need to investigate the case." Zhu Qing looked up. "If you're obedient, I'll apply for a Good Citizen Award for you."
The policewoman's tone was icy, but her words sounded like she was coaxing a child.
The child, who had been coaxed, pouted and looked disdainful, like an invincible villain in an animated film: "Pfft, you can even solve cases."
I don't know what the kid is so amazing about.
Her colleague's urging voice rang out, and Zhu Qing agreed, leaving behind a "Let's go" before hearing Sheng Fang's eager little voice again as she went downstairs.
"Give me a phone call!"
Zhu Qing turned around: "I didn't."
"A pager?"
No, not at all.
Filipino domestic helper Marissa learns through every minute of her daily life.
She looked left and right, learning concise Mandarin vocabulary during this standoff.
The young master scrutinized him with a stern face: "Are you penniless?"
Are you a nouveau riche?
A deathly silence.
Marissa held her breath, barely daring to make a sound—
Young Master lost again?
...
The contractor who was in charge of the construction of the Sheng family villa ten years ago has now opened a building materials company. The company is quite large, but it was built up from scratch with an unregulated system and no records of the early construction team members.
However, by comparing the construction contract and building material purchase list submitted by Shengjia's legal team with the list of visitors submitted by the property manager, some discoveries were made.
Leaving the hillside, Zhu Qing and Uncle Li headed to Yongjian Building Materials Store. The company's gilded signboard at the entrance was impressive, and the secretary led the two policemen into He Yongjian's office.
"You're Cement Hard?" Uncle Li glanced at him.
He Yongjian is no longer the same as before. He has transformed into a man adorned with designer brands and his gold teeth gleam. The former contractor has become more arrogant and his temper has grown accordingly. Even his old coworkers now respectfully call him Boss He. At this moment, when the police officer casually utters "Cement Jian," a flash of displeasure appears in his eyes.
Zhu Qing's gaze swept around the room, lingering on the statue of Guan Yu before she looked away and sat down at the mahogany tea table.
He Yongjian stared at Zhu Qing for a long time, then said with a grin, "Madam is such a beautiful girl, why don't you go to Zhou's for tea after work?"
Uncle Li's expression changed, and he was about to slam his fist on the table when he saw Zhu Qing using a ballpoint pen to draw lines on the report submitted by "Yongjian Building Materials".
Zhu Qing: "Mr. He, the number of fire hydrants your company reported two years ago doesn't seem to match the number I saw today."
Mr. He ran into a brick wall, and his frivolous smile instantly froze.
Uncle Li wanted to laugh.
This young woman...
He Yongjian pretended to drink tea to cover his embarrassment, and then coughed awkwardly before getting back to the main topic.
"Working through the night every day, the renovation contractors have no complaints. Who wouldn't want to earn more money to go back to their hometown for the New Year?"
“Back then, the old men in the old tenement buildings at the foot of the mountain protested by splashing water every day. Mr. Sheng increased our wages by 30% and told us to find our own solutions… Rich people, problems that can be solved with money aren’t really problems.”
Zhu Qing recalled what Uncle Lin from Banshan Property Management had said that day—
The construction team leader said that Mr. Sheng later changed his mind and was unwilling to work at night, which slowed down the progress for several months.
"Why did construction stop later?" Zhu Qing asked.
It was such a long time ago that his memory was a bit hazy. He Yongjian frowned and thought for a long time.
"Work stoppage... Now that you mention it, it sounds like there might actually be such a thing."
"Oh." His brow relaxed, and he slapped his thigh. "Mr. Chen told us to take our time; they're not in a hurry to move in."
"Which Mr. Chen?"
"Which other Mr. Chen could stop the entire construction team? Of course, it's the second son-in-law of the Sheng family."
"Is the second son-in-law in charge of all the construction work? What about the eldest son-in-law?"
"The eldest son-in-law has never come. It's the second son-in-law who is favored by Mr. Sheng... When Mr. Sheng came to supervise the construction, he said in person that the second son-in-law is better at dealing with people than the eldest son-in-law. As for the eldest son-in-law... he's just a schoolteacher who only talks about grand principles. You know, he's very boring."
Uncle Li: "Did you notice anything unusual during the construction of the fireplace?"
“No, there isn’t.” He Yongjian waved his hand. “The police have asked us many times. If there were anything unusual, they would have said so already.”
"On December 19th and 20th—" Zhu Qing looked down at the construction drawings and property registration book: "The worker named Li Fa never showed up again."
"Hundreds of workers came and went, how could I possibly remember them all?" Boss He fiddled with the tea set. "I don't recall Li Fa, the one you mentioned."
Zhu Qing looked up at him and said, "Okay, then let's continue the investigation."
He Yongjian's hand paused for a moment, and the covered bowl knocked onto the tray.
"It won't stop Boss He from making his fortune." Uncle Li left these words with a meaningful meaning, then got up and gestured for them to return to the police station first.
After the two left, He Yongjian suddenly chased after them to the elevator entrance.
"Officer!"
"The boss said the marble for the relief on the back of the fireplace was delayed, but then it arrived suddenly. The workers were transferred to the Repulse Bay site, so they found someone else to replace them. It was Ah Fa, my distant cousin..."
“Ah Fa wasn’t familiar with the process, so he sped up the work. Later, while we were drinking, he told me that he had finished what should have been a five-day job in just two days.”
The case of the skeleton found in the fireplace of the Sheng family has attracted widespread public attention.
He Yongjian was worried that media exposure of potential safety hazards caused by the accelerated progress at the time would lead to public outcry and damage the reputation of their building materials company, so he dared not bring it up himself.
“Actually, sir…” Ho Wing-kin said in a gentle tone, “the fireplace has never had any quality problems. Could you please keep this from the reporters?”
Uncle Li and Zhu Qing exchanged a glance.
Their concerns had nothing to do with whether or not to smash the building materials company's prestigious reputation.
As the elevator doors were about to close, He Yongjian anxiously emphasized—
"It's a secret!"
In the enclosed space of the elevator, Uncle Li asked, "What do you think?"
He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard Zhu Qing's speculation.
"It's not necessarily because Li Fa was quick."
"If the construction was completed in two days, the murderer probably already hid the body in the fireplace."
...
When Zhu Qing and Uncle Li returned to the police station, Hao Zai was showing off the world he had seen at the nightclub with Mo Shazhan the night before.
"That bottle is called Louis something-or-other—it's wrapped in rose gold leaf, and you have to wear white gloves to open it!"
"The bottle opener is inlaid with rubies. They say it's the exclusive product of real estate tycoon Mr. Huang, and it was used to celebrate his fifth wife's birthday last month..."
Xu Jiale exclaimed that it was a great pity.
What a coincidence, why didn't Inspector Mo take him to broaden his horizons?
“You’re not bad either,” Xiao Sun teased. “You’ve even lived in a luxury mansion on the hillside.”
"It's a haunted house halfway up the mountain!"
Mo Zhenbang waved the notebook around and gestured for everyone to follow him to the conference room.
"The takeout that Mr. Mo ordered will be here soon," said Sister Zhen, who works in an office. "I specially ordered Lee Kee egg tarts and Hong Kong-style milk tea for you."
"I know you guys, you can't work if you're not well-fed."
Zeng Yongshan immediately rushed into the conference room and grabbed a folding chair by the door: "Lee Kee egg tarts are so crispy and fragrant, they're so delicious you have to fight over them when they're fresh out of the oven!"
"Let's get started!" Haozai walked to the whiteboard and took the notebook from Mo Zhenbang before he could speak and tap it.
"The nightclub staff all say that He Jiaer is very popular in the club. Everyone likes this college graduate and takes good care of her."
"The deceased's parents suspected that she had offended someone at the nightclub... But in fact, Ho Ka-yee not only had no enemies, but she was also doing very well."
"In the two weeks before she disappeared, all her jewelry, clothes and shoes were new, she was constantly receiving gifts, and she was picked up and dropped off in luxury cars every day after work."
"All the girls say she's hooked up with a rich husband... But don't let He Jia'er's friendly demeanor fool you, she's very tight-lipped and hasn't uttered a single word."
Xu Jiale: "Is it inconvenient to disclose the man's identity?"
"A rich husband?" Zeng Yongshan scoffed. "What decent men can come from a place like that? Maybe he's already married."
"Knock knock knock—"
The knocking on the door interrupted everyone's thoughts.
The forensic expert delivered the expedited DNA test report: "Mr. Mo, Mr. Ge asked me to make a trip."
The test report was fresh out of the oven, and Billy's flaky egg tarts were still hot. Mo Zhenbang immediately opened the document bag.
There was no doubt that the deceased was indeed Ho Ka-yee.
Everyone's eyes turned to the scribbled writing on the whiteboard.
The motives for murder are nothing more than a few: revenge killings, crimes of passion, financial disputes...
Mo Zhenbang: "Notify the family members."
"Back then, the Mid-Levels Villa was known for its strict security. Even construction workers had to register with their credentials to enter. He Jia'er was an outsider..."
"With four security personnel on duty at the same time, it's impossible for outsiders to get in," Uncle Li continued, relaying Zhu Qing's words and telling everyone about what he had discovered at Yongjian Building Materials that afternoon.
Zhu Qing: "But if they are internal staff, they don't need to register."
Xu Jiale was a little puzzled: "Of course you don't need to register when you go back to your own home, so what does that prove?"
Intermittent murmurs arose, and Mo Zhenbang's gaze fell on Zhu Qing: "Continue."
“Residents of the hillside mansions drive directly to their garages,” Zhu Qing said. “Once the construction crew leaves, they’ll stuff the bodies into the hidden compartment behind the fireplace.”
Mo Zhenbang: "Perhaps from the beginning, the focus was not on the renovation worker hiding the body."
The Sheng family, hailed as "model citizens," hadn't even moved into their villa at the time of the incident. The fireplace construction required a professional, and even the most unscrupulous tabloids, known for their sensational headlines, refrained from making wild guesses, only lamenting that the mansion's feng shui was flawed, leading to such a murder...
After the skeleton case was exposed, the entire Sheng family fully cooperated with the police investigation and evidence collection work, from alibis and old surveillance footage restored at great expense to the testimony of the maid, the whole set was complete and seemed to have no flaws.
“The cement was hardened,” Uncle Li said thoughtfully. “Back then, my second son-in-law specifically instructed the construction team to finish work at eight o’clock sharp.”
The tense atmosphere finally eased, and the officers exchanged knowing glances.
It seems it's time to invite this nice guy up for a cup of coffee.
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