Red Makeup Serial Murder Case (18)

The weather finally cleared up these few days. Although the case has not made any progress, Meng Siqi feels much more relaxed.

When she was about to go home after get off work, she saw Zhao Leiting busy writing. She walked over and said, "Hey, what are you busy with?"

Zhao Leiting stopped writing, looked up and said, "I just finished a case with Brother Feng, and I have to write the closing report tonight."

During this period, Team 2 has been following up on cases, but the cases are not that big. Because Meng Siqi was seconded to Team 1, Feng Shaomin asked her to concentrate on the cases there and not be distracted.

"Then you will be up very late tonight." Meng Siqi said.

"It will take me at least eight or nine to finish writing this. You know I'm a good speaker, but I'm not so good at writing."

Meng Siqi chuckled and said, "This is a good opportunity for you to practice, right? If you really become a director in the future, you should at least write your own speech reports."

Zhao Leiting made a bitter face, "Siqi, please stop teasing me. If I can become the director, then you will at least be the head of the provincial department."

Meng Siqi laughed and said, "Forget it, go ahead and do your work. I won't bother you anymore. I'm going home to work. I'm going to eat something first. By the way, you should eat something too and go home early."

"Don't worry, I can't starve myself to death. Just drive slowly on the road."

"Okay, I'm leaving." Meng Siqi walked out of the office door with her bag. She planned to go back to her residence after eating and sort out her recent notes.

Looking at Meng Siqi's back as she walked out, Zhao Leiting grinned. He hadn't worked on cases with Meng Siqi for some time recently, and he felt very uncomfortable. However, he was happy to see her going to and from get off work every day and chat with her.

While writing and eating some bread, the office phone rang. He was the only one in the office. Usually, office calls were either internal communication calls within the bureau or greetings from a colleague's family. He stood up to answer the phone. After the third ring, he put it to his ear and said, "Hello, this is the second team office. Who are you looking for?"

"Brother, I'm going to attend Zhu Xiaoxuan's birthday dinner tonight, so don't come back and prepare food for me."

It turned out to be Zhao Yuting. Zhao Leiting said, "I was just about to tell you that I really don't have time to go back and prepare food for you tonight, but why didn't you tell me about this in advance?"

"Zhu Xiaoxuan was originally going to celebrate her birthday with her boyfriend, but her boyfriend had to go back to his hometown for something urgent. We sisters were supposed to get together for graduation, so this is perfect."

Zhao Leiting actually didn't like to interfere in Zhao Yuting's life, because his sister had grown up, and he would respect her ideas, but he also cared about her safety, so he immediately asked, "Where are we having the dinner?"

"It's not far from home, at the Shangri-La restaurant. Don't worry, brother."

The Shangri-La restaurant was not far from home. It would take no more than half an hour to get there by taxi. Zhao Lei Ting reminded them, "My parents are not at home today. I have a rule that you must go home before 8:30 and call me back. Is that okay? If I find you not at home when I get home, I will definitely tell your mother!"

"Brother, isn't that your mother too?" Zhao Yuting said aggrievedly, "Okay, I get it. You just like to control me."

"If you don't want to go home, I will definitely drag you back before nine o'clock."

"Okay, I know you like to control me, so I promise you that you must be home before nine o'clock, otherwise I will make you egg fried rice for a month."

Zhao Leiting smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go buy some eggs tomorrow."

"No, you're just bullying me."

Zhao Yuting hung up the phone. Zhao Leiting walked back to his desk with a smile and picked up his pen to write again. After being busy for a while, he stood up and stretched. He suddenly found that it was getting dark very quickly outside the window. It was summer and it should still be light at seven o'clock. He leaned over the window and looked out, only to find that the sky was covered with dark clouds.

It seemed like it was going to rain. Because of what happened to his sister on the way back from the TV station last time, Zhao Lei Ting had always felt a lump in his heart. He could feel that his sister had been in a low mood recently. If Meng Siqi hadn't called her occasionally to chat with her, she might have been a little depressed. In fact, for this dinner, he also hoped that she could go out and relax. It might be much better to be with her classmates.

He walked back to the phone and wanted to call his sister to remind her. He had the restaurant's service number, which he had left when he celebrated her birthday. But he thought that she should have already arrived at the restaurant and was probably gathering with her classmates, so it would be better not to disturb her.

An hour and a half later, there was a sudden flash of lightning and thunder outside the window, and the rain poured down heavily. The rain came very suddenly. Zhao Lei Ting rushed to the window and closed the doors and windows, but before he closed them, his whole body shuddered.

It was such a hot day, but he felt a chill. Outside, the trees under the street lights were swaying left and right because of the wind. Zhao Leiting felt deeply uneasy. He closed the window, went back to the phone, and called the Shangri-La restaurant.

The lady boss replied, "Oh, they went back. The four of them left the restaurant when they saw it was going to rain. They must be almost home."

Zhao Leiting asked hurriedly: "What time did you leave? Do you remember?"

"…About half past eight."

My sister did listen to him and should be home in half an hour by taxi.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Leiting returned to his seat. He had no intention of writing. He stared at the clock on the wall for a while. The clock pointed to about eight forty-five, which meant that his sister would probably be home in fifteen minutes. He had to wait for her call to let him know she was safe.

Zhao Leiting had never felt so anxious. Perhaps if there hadn't been the Hongzhuang serial murder case, he wouldn't have been so concerned about his sister's safety. But since his sister had seen the murderer, would the murderer remember her and find her? Perhaps Zhao Leiting was overly worried, because even if the murderer had seen her, how could he know who she was and where she lived?

He smiled, thinking he was too nervous, and picked up the pen again, but the pen kept shaking in his hand. Zhao Leiting's breathing also became heavier. He stood up and paced back and forth in the office, his eyes fixed on the phone.

Time had never been so slow, every minute was torture, nine o'clock finally arrived, but the phone didn't ring. Zhao Leiting wondered how the time could be so precise, and his sister was always forgetful, maybe she didn't even remember to call him. He immediately called home, but there was always a disconnected tone, no one answered the phone.

In the next ten minutes, Zhao Lei Ting made countless calls, but still no one answered. This shouldn't be the case. He felt that even if it was raining, he should be able to get home in 50 minutes.

It was already 9:20, and he called his next-door neighbor. The neighbor called back a few minutes later, saying that no one was in the house and it seemed that the lights were not on.

He found Zhu Xiaoxuan's home phone number. When it was half past nine, he called her. Zhu Xiaoxuan had already arrived home. She was a little worried, so she told him about her plans for the evening: "The four of us left the restaurant together. It was about to rain heavily, and no taxis stopped, so we went to the bus station together. Yuting was the first to get on the bus, and Jimin and Wenwen got on the next bus. I was the last to leave."

Bus? Zhao Leiting realized that it might take his sister a while to get home, and she would have to walk nearly 500 meters after getting off the bus station. She might not get home that early.

"Do you remember what time you got on the bus?"

"I should have gotten in the car as soon as I left the house."

Zhao Leiting guessed that they must have boarded the bus before 8:40, because Zhu Xiaoxuan had already arrived home. "You all brought umbrellas, right?"

Zhu Xiaoxuan replied: "Yuting forgot to bring it, so I gave her my umbrella. I'll go straight there after getting off the bus, it's okay."

"Okay, thank you, Xiaoxuan."

"It's okay, Brother Zhao Leiting, don't worry, Yuting will be fine. It's my fault for insisting on having a dinner together today."

Zhao Leiting felt that he was too nervous, and hurriedly comforted her, "I haven't wished you a happy birthday yet."

"Thank you, Brother Zhao Leiting."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Leiting made two more calls, but still failed to contact Zhao Yuting.

Fearing that something unexpected might happen, he realized that his forehead was covered in sweat, and he didn't know what was happening in his eyes. Tears blurred his vision. He trembled as he picked up the phone again. The only person he thought of was Meng Siqi.

Over there, the call was answered quickly.

"Siqi, I...I...listen to me, Yuting is attending a party tonight and is expected to board the bus before 8:40. Even if it rains heavily, she should be home in an hour at most. But it's already 9:40 and she hasn't gotten home yet."

"What?" On the other end of the line was the roar of rain and Meng Siqi's surprise. "Don't worry, Zhao Lei Ting. Think about where she might be going now? Where has she passed by? The bus is very safe."

"No, no," Zhao Leiting's lips turned pale. "After getting off the bus, there is still nearly 500 meters to go. There are no pedestrians on that road when it rains heavily. I'm worried..."

"Which road is that?"

"From my neighborhood to the bus stop, there's a road called Xingfu Road. There's also a vegetable market there. It's quite chaotic."

"Zhao Leiting, it's raining heavily and the bus might be slower. Go there right away to pick up Yuting. I'll go get Lu He now and we'll meet at Xingfu Road."

"well……"

*

At 9:30 in the evening, the last bus stopped at Xingfu Road Station. It was raining so heavily outside that the window glass was covered with a layer of rain.

The door opened, Zhao Yuting frowned, opened her umbrella, and got off the bus. She was the only one getting off the bus. In the rain, everything was gray and there were almost no lights. But she knew the direction of her home. She walked about 500 meters west to the community.

Zhao Yuting held an umbrella and walked forward against the wind and rain. Her high heels and skirt were soaked by the rain in an instant, and she felt a coolness seeping into her skin.

Soon, she staggered into a dark place. She remembered that this was the vegetable market. She and her mother had come here several times to buy vegetables, but in the heavy rain, this place was like a lifeless hell.

The place was filled with rain. With a flash of lightning, all kinds of cages, fish boxes, and messy garbage dumps that could not be seen clearly on the ground appeared in her eyes. In the silent and deserted night, they looked like ghosts.

She recalled the scene when she came back from the TV interview that day. She became more and more flustered and her calves began to stiffen and tremble uncontrollably.

She just wanted to walk faster, go home earlier, and report to her brother that she was safe as soon as possible.

"Boom!" The sound of thunder cut through the rain curtain. Zhao Yuting shuddered in fear, and the umbrella slipped out of her palm and flew to the ground.

She tried desperately to grab the umbrella, but her high heels slipped and she fell down. The rain instantly submerged her knees and arms.

Zhao Yuting trembled as she hugged the handle of the umbrella, letting the rain wash over her head. She climbed up with great difficulty, and her mouth began to tremble because of the rain.

Just as she was about to raise her umbrella, another flash of lightning struck. This time she was completely stunned, because a figure appeared on the lonely road ahead. She saw the figure clearly. He was holding an umbrella and seemed to be wearing a black raincoat. He was standing in front of her motionless.

In the lightning, she could even see his face clearly. It was white, like a white mask that almost covered his entire face, revealing a pair of black eye sockets and a crescent-shaped dark mouth. He seemed to be smiling.

It must be the murderer. Zhao Yuting backed away desperately. Her high heels hurt her again and she fell down again. But this time she did not hesitate at all. She got up desperately and ran in the opposite direction. There was a bus stop in front of her. If there was a bus, she would definitely rush in.

But it was pitch black ahead, and the rain was hitting her face and body, so she couldn't see the view ahead at all.

Behind her, she suddenly heard the shaking of raincoats and the sound of intense footsteps, which still poured into her eardrums even in the heavy rain.

Zhao Yuting was so scared that she burst into tears. Every step she took was like she was facing the death.

Her high heels and skirt were already soaked with rainwater, becoming heavier and heavier, like a thick fishing net trapping her in the sea. She didn't even have time to throw away her shoes as she stumbled forward.

The noise behind me is getting louder and louder!

It's as if he's going to knock her down at any moment!

"Brother, brother!" Zhao Yuting cried out in fear!

Suddenly, a force from behind grabbed her by the waist!

Zhao Yuting waved her arms and struggled frantically. In an instant, something stabbed her neck hard. An icy liquid instantly injected into her blood, causing her to tremble all over.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She cried and struggled with her limbs. She waved her hands desperately and never stopped resisting. However, the strength with which the man was holding her was far greater than hers, leaving her with no chance of breaking free.

After a few seconds, she suddenly felt her bones go soft, her strength to resist was minimal, and everything in front of her eyes gradually became blurred!

The world is spinning...

"Brother...Brother..." Only a few weak whispers flowed out from the rain.