At 3:17 in the morning, Zhang Shumin squatted in the shadows of the back alley of the Emerald Bay Apartments, like a night cat waiting for its opportunity.
She had chosen this new location deliberately—it was more upscale than the Champs-Élysées apartment she'd been staying at last week, with longer security patrols, and today was Wednesday, the day the cleaning company changed all the garbage bags in the apartment building.
The night wind blew across her cheeks with the sultry heat unique to the end of May, but it could not blow away the stench wafting from the garbage room.
Zhang Shumin pulled a half-full bottle of toilet water from her apron pocket and sprinkled two drops each on her collar and cuffs. This was a tip she'd learned from years of scavenging—it masked the smell of garbage and repelled mosquitoes.
"There's definitely something to come tonight."
She muttered to herself as her right hand touched the special wire hidden inside her apron. The 35-centimeter-long wire, with a delicate hook at the tip, had gained confidence from using it to open the garbage room at the Champs-Élysées last week.
The iron door of the garbage room made a slight "click" sound, and Zhang Shumin's ears immediately pricked up.
She remained in a half-squatting position for ten seconds, and after making sure that she had not alarmed anyone, she slid into the garbage room like a snake.
In the darkness, her fingers first touched the first black trash bag. The slippery feeling from her fingertips immediately made her determine that it was bathroom trash - used cotton pads and makeup remover wipes always had a unique sticky feeling.
She gave up decisively and turned to the pile of neatly bundled cartons in the corner. At the bottom of the second carton, her fingertips suddenly touched a piece of smooth fabric.
"Another one." Zhang Shumin's pupils dilated slightly in the darkness. She carefully pulled out the piece of fabric and identified it in the dim light of her phone screen—a dark blue Brioni tie, the same brand she'd picked up last week.
But when she stretched the tie fully out, the dark red stain revealed in the light of her phone made her gasp.
There was a large patch of dried blood in the middle of the tie, which was a strange brown-black color and felt like rough sandpaper.
Zhang Shumin's hands trembled and she almost dropped her tie on the ground.
She gathered herself and brought the phone's light closer to examine it. The bloodstains were mainly concentrated on the front of the tie, while the back was relatively clean. The tie clip was engraved with the words "To Jason" - exactly the same inscription on the Kiton tie box from last week.
"What the hell..." she muttered, her heartbeat suddenly accelerating. This wasn't just ordinary discarded items; it could very well be evidence of a crime.
Reason told her that she should leave immediately, but the greed she had developed from years of scavenging made it impossible for her to give up this valuable tie.
As she hesitated, the light reflected from the back of the tie clip caught her attention. She took a closer look and found a small piece of transparent tape stuck to the inside of the clip, with a micro memory card attached to it.
Zhang Shumin's breathing quickened. She didn't understand these high-tech gadgets, but she often saw these small cards in TV dramas, capable of storing a wealth of important information. With trembling fingers, she removed the memory card and tucked it into her pocket.
"Let's get out of here first." She said to herself, and was about to put away the bloody tie when she suddenly heard the sound of leather shoes hitting the ground outside the garbage room.
It wasn't the lazy pace of a security guard, but rather rapid, purposeful footsteps, and there was more than one person.
Zhang Shumin froze and quickly looked around. The cleaning tool cabinet in the corner came into view—the same hiding place as last week.
She tiptoed over, and at the moment the cabinet door closed, the footsteps outside stopped at the door of the garbage room.
"Are you sure it's here?" asked a deep male voice.
"The security footage shows he was here last night," another voice replied, with obvious impatience. "We have to find that tie."
Zhang Shumin held her breath and peered through the crack in the cabinet door. Two tall, dark figures stood in the center of the garbage room, one of them wielding a powerful flashlight. Wherever the beam passed, dust danced in the air.
"Search separately," the deep male voice ordered, "focusing on checking those made of silk."
Zhang Shumin's heartbeat was so rapid it threatened to burst from her chest. She glanced down at the blood-stained tie clutched in her hand—it was silk. Cold sweat streamed down her back, soaking her old, clinging sweatshirt.
The two men began rummaging through the garbage bags, their movements rough but efficient. One of them moved closer and closer to the cleaning cabinet, and Zhang Shumin could clearly see the gold watch on his wrist flashing in the dark - exactly the same as the "gold watch hand" Feng Yulan had described.
"Old Jin said this must be dealt with thoroughly," the man with the gold watch suddenly said, "that guy knows too much."
"Don't worry," the companion replied with chilling calmness in his voice. "He won't survive the night."
Zhang Shumin dug her nails into her palms. Lao Jin? Wasn't that the name Feng Yulan overheard that night?
She suddenly remembered the chemical smell her son Zhang Shuo had smelled when he came home late last night, as well as his recent frequent "overtime" and mysterious phone calls...
A terrible association formed in her mind.
"No," the man with the gold watch straightened up. "Maybe it's been taken away?"
"It's only three in the morning, and the garbage truck won't be here until six." The companion checked his watch and said, "Keep searching, don't miss any corner."
When the flashlight beam swept towards the cleaning cabinet, Zhang Shumin almost stopped breathing. She desperately shrank back, and her shoulder hit a bottle of disinfectant, making a slight "dong" sound.
"What's that sound?" The man with the gold watch turned his head suddenly.
Zhang Shumin closed her eyes, waiting for the door to be opened. Her left hand tightly grasped the bloody tie, while her right hand touched the wire in her apron pocket - it could also be used as a weapon when necessary.
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