MWC – Chapter 21 Investigation

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The investigation at the New Era Mall didn’t yield any particularly useful clues. The employees who knew Deng Hongmei, when interviewed in the presence of the store’s management, completely disparaged her.

Lu Ming privately chatted with two employees who were closest to Deng Hongmei. Although their tone softened and they described her as “pretty,” “simple,” and “not talkative,” nothing valuable came from it.

However, he did learn from them that Deng Hongmei was newly married and very much in love with her husband.

Finally, Lu Ming decided to conduct a more in-depth investigation at Deng Hongmei’s residence.

…

In a black sedan, Lu Ming and Pamela were seated in the back.

In the front was a young man with a hip-hop style, wearing baggy gray cargo pants and a jacket with many pockets, resembling a post-WWII rebellious youth from Lu Ming’s previous life.

In this world, there hadn’t been a major war in a thousand years, but the rebellious fashion trend had emerged much earlier.

He was Liu Laocai’s second son, Liu Kexing. He was taciturn and spoke little, a stark contrast to his attire.

Originally, Lu Ming wanted to come with Pamela by themselves, but Liu Laocai insisted that his second son accompany them.

In the front passenger seat was a demure girl in a floral dress, Deng Hongmei’s friend from the department store, named Yang Yanran.

Soon, the sedan left the wide avenue and entered a narrow alley.

In the maze-like residential area, the black sedan twisted and turned before finally stopping at a crossroads in an alley, in front of a row of small shops.

Liu Kexing pointed to an alley on the east side, “It should be in there. This should be Gaoping Lane.”

Deng Hongmei lived at No. 4 Gaoping Lane, one of the courtyard houses in Gaoping Lane.

“Let’s check out the shops first!” Lu Ming said, getting ready to get out with Pamela.

The small shops in the alley thrived on neighborhood business and were well-informed.

“Huh, my brother, why is he here?” Liu Kexing suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a teahouse in the row of small shops, “Is that Deng Hongmei sitting opposite him?”

Lu Ming looked in the direction Liu Kexing pointed. The teahouse was quite shabby, with dirty windows, but he could see a man and a woman sitting by the window. However, Lu Ming didn’t recognize Liu Kexing’s older brother, Liu Keyue, and had only seen photos of Deng Hongmei. From the side, he couldn’t tell if the woman in the red dress resembled Deng Hongmei.

Yang Yanran looked at the teahouse, wanting to say something but then held back.

“It’s Deng Hongmei,” Pamela said.

“Oh?” Lu Ming looked at the blonde beauty with blue eyes in surprise.

“Deng Hongmei has a small black mole on her nose, and her nose’s height, eye shape, and the distance from her eye corners to her temples match the photo.”

Lu Ming rubbed his nose, surprised at Pamela’s keen observation. 

Unlike face blindness, this was probably a heightened sensitivity to faces, likely developed from her pursuit of perfect makeup and meticulous observation of others’ faces—a talent that men generally couldn’t understand.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ming said, “Yang, you get out of the car and let’s go to Deng Hongmei’s house first.” He then turned to Pamela, “You attract too much attention. Better wait in the car.”

Yang Yanran nodded, opened the car door, and got out.

…

Yang Yanran had visited Deng Hongmei’s house many times and was familiar with the other families in the courtyard.

The large courtyard, similar to a siheyuan, housed several tenants. The courtyard was bustling with noise, children running and playing, parents yelling, and a couple fighting intensely, creating a lively “life atmosphere.”

Yang Yanran greeted a woman rinsing her mouth with tooth powder by the courtyard’s water pump. The woman, her mouth full of white foam, mumbled, “Yanran, it seems that Xiao Deng and her husband aren’t home. You can go inside and wait.”

“Okay, thank you, Aunt Wang,” Yang Yanran replied, leading Lu Ming into the east wing.

In these courtyard houses, if neighbors were familiar, there was no habit of locking doors, especially since Deng Hongmei was just at the teahouse by the alley entrance, likely planning to return soon.

It was a simple two-room rental. The outer room served as a kitchen with a small table also used as a dining area. The inner room was the bedroom.

The bed was neatly made with floral sheets, and a black bedside table with neatly folded bedding stood beside it.

“Lawyer Lu, is this… unfair to Hongmei…” Yang Yanran looked at Lu Ming, rummaging around, with a complex expression. She was reluctant to lead the lawyer here but had no choice if she wanted to keep her job.

Lu Ming said nothing, opening drawer after drawer of the bedside table.

Since you’ve chosen to betray your friend, there’s no point in expressing regret now.

I won’t pretend to be righteous by saying things like “if Deng Hongmei falsely accuses Director Liu, then we are just.”

As a defense attorney, having accepted this case, even if Liu Laocai were indeed the perpetrator, I must protect my client’s interests from now on.

If the perpetrator goes unpunished, it’s the prosecution’s fault for failing to gather enough evidence to convince the judge and jury.

It’s the prosecution’s dereliction of duty.

The defense’s utmost effort to protect the client actually demands the prosecution conduct more thorough and careful investigations, thus reducing wrongful convictions.

That’s the purpose of both the defense and prosecution.

Hmm?

Under the newspapers in the drawer, there was a passbook just lying there. Lu Ming took it out, looked at it, and put it back.

There were also several identical medicine bottles, carefully preserved even though they were empty, neatly arranged.

“Let’s go! Let’s talk to the tenants here!” Lu Ming headed out.

Yang Yanran immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The longer she stayed here, the more guilty she felt.

Lu Ming chatted with the tenants of the courtyard and then with the elderly residents of the nearby courtyards.

By the time they left the alley and returned to the car, Deng Hongmei and her husband still hadn’t come back.

In the black sedan, Liu Kexing looked sullen. Pamela leaned slightly toward Lu Ming as he got in and whispered, “Liu Keyue and Deng Hongmei never left, and they were very close. Liu Keyue even held Deng Hongmei’s hand…”

“Did you find anything, Lawyer Lu?” Liu Kexing turned to ask Lu Ming.

Yang Yanran immediately said flatteringly, “Old Wang from their courtyard said that recently Deng Hongmei’s husband changed jobs. He used to pull a rickshaw but now works as a clerk in a small company.”

Liu Kexing snorted coldly, “Looks like they’re not short of money anymore, and someone arranged a job for him!” He cast a hateful glance at the teahouse.

Pulling a rickshaw was hard physical labor, but it paid well if you worked hard. A diligent person could earn a hundred and eighty yuan a month, though it was exhausting and dirty, and the job was looked down upon.

Small company clerks earned less, typically forty or fifty yuan a month in Beiguan, with some earning as little as thirty or forty yuan.

But clerical work was more respectable and leisurely, sometimes requiring recommendations from notable people.

So, Deng Hongmei’s husband’s shift from laborer to clerk suggested they were financially secure.

Yang Yanran was surprised, “Second Young Master, you know about these things?”

Lu Ming looked thoughtfully at Liu Kexing.

“Lawyer Lu, where do we go next?” Liu Kexing asked.

“Take me back to the law firm,” Lu Ming smiled.

On the way back, Lu Ming stopped by a pharmacy to buy two types of cold medicine and chatted for a while, then went to a bookstore and bought a few books.