Chapter 105: Sibling rivalry.

He liked the woman she was!

These words floated through Liwu’s mind all through dinner. Weijun was in a good mood, and he told many jokes at the table, jokes that had Majesty wheezing. Over rice, lobster, steamed fish and a bottle of plum wine, the cat’s laughter rung loudest.

“I have got one, I have got one.” The cat said eagerly and purred. “Why don’t architects ever play hide and seek?”

Liwu worked on her lobster. Jokes had never been her strongest skill, which was why she did not understand a good percentage of the things Xuanji said.

“Because the always draw attention to themselves.” Majesty’s tail danced and his paws slapped the table. “It is a good joke but terrible.”

Weijun cackled. “Draw attention! I have a better one.” He leaned in, undeterred. “What did the detective say to sandwich thief?”

Liwu rolled her eyes, but her eyes twitched.

Weijun raised his glass. “Lettuce catch you!”

Majesty topples sideways, clutching his belly, his whiskers trembling with mirth. “Lettuce! Oh Liwu, your husband is a menace!”

“My great great grandpa would agree.” She muttered. She pretended to scold Majesty. “Don’t encourage him or else he will make this a regular thing.”

Majesty howled, tail thumping against the chair. “Lettuce catch you! Lettuce catch you! I can picture you saying this Liwu.”

Liwu finally laughed too, the sound mingling with her husband’s chuckles and the cat’s delighted squeals.

Grand aunt Yuening focused on feeding herself, Officer Bun and Reaper. It was almost like she was not even at the table.

Late in the night, lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire room and thunder boomed, making the windows shake. Liwu closed her eyes, wondering how Weijun could sleep so comfortably through it.

A random reminder of his words crossed her mind. How he liked the woman she was now.

She sighed, telling herself not to obsessed with such silly words. It was better to think of the case. But as her mind wandered, exhaustion overtook her. She dreamed of the sea and stars.

She dreamed of her boat. She dreamed of strong arms holding her on the boat and then pulling her down into the sea.

When she woke up for her morning run, Weijun’s arms had her wrapped tightly. In a spontaneous moment, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

And that was why she was an hour late to work!

By the time she arrived, progress had been made. Most of the people on Jinling and Beimo’s hate list had come in for questioning and left.

“Long night?” Linlin asked, sounding lecherous, like she knew something had happened.

Liwu pushed her away.

Su Jin and He Xiao Yi walked into the conference room. Xiao Yi touched the virtual murder board, and presented the sketch that had been drawn of the mastermind.

“No eyes, no ears, no nose!” Liwu exclaimed.

He Xiao Yi smirked. It was that smirk which said he knew something the rest had not figured out and he was about to lay it out and dazzle them.

“The victim has an older sister.” Liwu blurted out. “Who interviewed her?”

He Xiao Yi cursed. “It’s not a competition Liwu. How did you figure it out anyway because you did not go over Jinling’s life from childhood like me.”

Liwu laughed. She had figured it out from talking to her husband the previous night. “Nobody hates someone who is loved from childhood and a winner in life, more than the sibling who has nothing. Jinling was the pampered one who got all the love. It is impossible for her sister not to be resentful.”

“She would also have easy access to her sister’s photos and personal information.” He Xiao Yi pointed out. “She started living in Jinling’s shadow as soon as her younger sister was born. She is a failed stage actress who works as a part time art teacher to pay rent. The dancers at the square performed at the theater where she acts four months ago.”

Every piece of the puzzle just seemed to come together.

Linlin grabbed her handcuffs. “She is at the hospital right now.”

“We don’t have tangible proof that its her.” Xuanji reminded them. “She was beside herself when I interviewed her at the hospital.”

“It is classic sibling rivalry, just sicker.” Linlin declared.

“We are not jumping to conclusions.” Liwu assured him. “We just need to talk to her. Bring her in.” She went to prepare herself for the interrogation, slipping over spilled coffee in the process.

[+30 points: Slipping on a liquid.]

Xuanji handed Su Jin a note. “I told you she would slip.”

Liwu turned and said, “You know what, I am going with you.”

****

Jinling’s sister Jialin was not at the hospital. She was found in Jinling’s apartment, sitting stiffly at the kitchen table. She was listening to music on the radio, a whole buffet of pastries arranged before her and a cup of coffee in her hand.

She looked eerily like Jinling, but her aura was different. It was ordinary–defective. She looked like a piece of fake art that was incomparable to the real thing.

“Would you like to talk here or back at the station?” Liwu asked her.

The others set up the cameras, while He Xiao Yi made himself a cup of tea. “You wore a wig recently,” he mentioned something random, looking at the sides of Jialin’s forehead.

Liwu pulled a chair and sat opposite Jialin. She began gently by reading Jialin her rights. “This is not because we are accusing you of anything, we just need to piece together what happened. You told detectives that you were home on the night your sister was assaulted but some witnesses place a woman matching your description at the square. Why were you there?”

Jialin’s eyes flicked.

He Xiao Yi sniffed the air. “I am getting a whiff of mango from your hair. What brand of shampoo do you use? It is funny because the woman we are looking for smells like mango.”

Jialin’s hand tightened on the handle of her cup. “It is a a common brand of shampoo and I don’t know what you are all trying to imply. I might have gone to the square for like five minutes but that is because I had some things to buy near the market. It was no big deal so I did not see the need to mention it. Why do you care anyway?”

Linlin pressed. “You were in the square where your sister was assaulted and lied about it. Why?”

“Is this your phone?” He Xiao Yi picked up the phone on the table and unlocked it.

Jialin jumped up, distress in her eyes. “You can’t do that.”

He Xiao Yi grinned. “Actually we can because your sister’s apartment is considered part of the crime scene. We are allowed to touch anything we see inside and this phone was sitting on her table so for all we know, it is hers.”

Jialin scrambled, trying to climb onto the table and stop Xiao Yi.

He dodged her, while Linlin pulled her back.

“Now what do we have here?” He Xiao Yi waved the phone.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep