SFTD -Chapter 108 Where Did the Tadpoles Go? (Part 5)

An hour and a half later, the three of them arrived at Dongnan Yunding Law Firm.

It was located at No. 22 Ludong Road, Dongcheng District, Jinfu Building. The surrounding area was extremely bustling—this was Dongnan City’s CBD.

People hurried past in all directions. Many young women wore only flesh-colored stockings and thin high heels under their coats. In weather like this, it was enough to make one feel cold just looking at them. Zhou Hai subconsciously shrank his neck.

Xu Biao bumped Zhou Hai’s shoulder. “These girls are really tough these days. True ‘beauty over warmth’ types!”

Captain Huang walked up behind them. “Enough complaining. Let’s get to business. Go upstairs.”

The three of them stepped on the long-pile carpet and followed the crowd to the elevator lobby.

Fortunately, next to the all-glass mirrored elevator hall was a directory board. Dongnan Yunding Law Firm was clearly listed on the 18th floor.

After taking the elevator up, as soon as the doors opened on the 18th floor, Xu Biao couldn’t help sneezing.

“Do people here not feel suffocated? Even someone like me with pharyngitis can’t stand this strong perfume smell!”

Captain Huang only smiled without saying anything. A woman in a black suit politely stopped them.

“Hello, this is Dongnan Yunding Law Firm. Do you have an appointment with a specific lawyer, or are you here for consultation?”

Captain Huang took out his police ID and handed it to her. “We’re police. Is your person in charge here? We need to verify something regarding a case.”

The girl paused briefly, then quickly regained her professional smile.

“Our general manager usually doesn’t handle administrative matters. He’ll be in court shortly. Could you tell me your matter first so I can help arrange an appointment?”

So well-trained—clearly even the front desk staff had undergone professional training.

Zhou Hai stopped Captain Huang. “Lawyer Zhang Miaomiao works here, right?”

The girl nodded, looking a bit puzzled at Zhou Hai.

“Yes. Her photo is on our display board.”

She pointed toward a large photo wall beside the elevator entrance. Indeed, there were many staff photos and introductions. Zhang Miaomiao looked confident and radiant—very striking.

Zhou Hai raised his eyebrows and looked directly at her. “She’s dead. We need to verify some information with everyone close to her. Please contact your general manager.”

The front desk girl was visibly shocked this time. She covered her mouth, stunned, then after a couple of seconds quickly smoothed her hair in panic.

“Three officers, please follow me!”

Captain Huang rubbed his dark face. Was he not attractive enough? Why wouldn’t she cooperate until Zhou Hai spoke? The difference was a bit too big. Suppressing his irritation, he followed the receptionist toward the far east office area.

The entire office space was made up of glass cubicles. Some blinds were drawn, some were fully transparent. Inside, people were busy working—mostly men.

The receptionist asked them to wait a moment while she went in to inform someone. Soon after, she opened the office door and nodded.

“Please come in, officers. Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

She led them inside.

It was a large office, about sixty square meters. One wall was filled with bookshelves, and in front of the glass window there was even a small indoor golf putting area.

Zhou Hai glanced at the crystal nameplate on the desk: General Manager — Liu Dong.

Behind a large desk stood a man in his forties. He got up to shake hands with Captain Huang and gestured for them to sit on the sofa. The receptionist poured coffee for them before quietly leaving.

The man looked calm, lips pressed together, as he spoke to Captain Huang with open hands.

“I’m Liu Dong. I just heard from our front desk Ms. Mi that Lawyer Zhang has had an accident?”

Captain Huang opened a tablet and showed him a photo.

“Mr. Liu, please take a look. Is this Lawyer Zhang Miaomiao from your firm?”

Liu Dong took the tablet and carefully examined the image. It was taken in the autopsy room—Zhang Miaomiao’s hair was loose, her face pale with a slight purplish cyanosis, eyes tightly closed, completely without makeup.

Most people with emotional ties to the deceased would struggle to remain calm looking at such a photo. But Liu Dong only pressed his lips slightly and took a deep breath, as if forcing down his grief, before handing the tablet back.

“Yes, that’s Lawyer Zhang. What happened to her?”

When Liu Dong raised his hand to smooth his hair, Zhou Hai noticed a plain wedding ring on his right hand and a silver Omega watch on his wrist.

Moreover, near his shirt collar below his Adam’s apple, there seemed to be a faint purplish-red subcutaneous bruise. A hickey?

For a man his age, having such an obvious mark didn’t quite match his controlling demeanor.

Zhou Hai then glanced at the wall cabinet behind him.

There was a family photo of four people—two boys, around ten and three years old, both smiling brightly. Liu Dong had his arm around a refined, elegant woman.

Next to it was another photo: the woman standing in front of a blackboard, wearing a headset, drawing what looked like a corn embryo. She was likely a teacher.

Zhou Hai glanced back at Liu Dong and said, “We don’t have a final conclusion yet, but she died a very tragic death—severe head trauma followed by drowning.”

Liu Dong’s fingers trembled slightly. He picked up his coffee to hide his nervousness.

After a long pause, he finally looked up. “Is there anything I can do to help her?”

Captain Huang tapped his notebook. “As far as you know, did Zhang Miaomiao have any enemies? Anyone she offended?”

“In our line of work, it’s normal to offend people. Winning a case for one side means the other side loses. But real enemies… not many. The one I remember most is her ex-boyfriend.”

“He’s called Li Liqun, a fitness trainer. I’m not sure which gym he works at.”

Captain Huang immediately followed up, “Where were you between 7:30 and 8:30 this morning?”

“My wife took the kids to school. I was up all night studying the stock market downturn, so I slept a bit in the morning and only came to work at 9:30. The security at my villa area can confirm I left home.”

“But what does this mean? Am I a suspect?”

Xu Biao immediately laughed. “Mr. Liu, you’re overthinking. This is standard procedure. Everyone who knew Zhang Miaomiao has to be questioned and verified, and your staff also need to be checked.”

Only then did Liu Dong nod.

“Then… do you know if anyone in the company had issues with Lawyer Zhang, or disliked her?”

“She wasn’t exactly easygoing, but she handled people fairly well. Law firms are team-based work environments. Relationships here were generally okay, no major conflicts of interest.”

The three stood up. Zhou Hai casually pointed at the family photo behind Liu Dong.

“Looks like a happy family. But two boys must be exhausting, right?”

Liu Dong smiled. “Yes. The younger one just recovered from a cold recently. Two kids is already the limit—we definitely can’t have any more!”

After they left the office, Liu Dong called Ms. Mi via intercom and had her lead them to various departments for questioning.

After a few steps, Zhou Hai suddenly stopped. Xu Biao leaned over, his eyes darting around suspiciously, and poked Zhou Hai’s arm.

“Hey, Zhou Hai, did you figure something out? Why so mysterious? Tell me what you’re thinking.”