Chapter 63: Cracks in a family.

Linlin looked at the body one more time. “It does not look like it.” She raised her voice. “Let’s go and speak to the family. There is nothing left to do here.”

As the walked to the car, Liwu asked, “Who discovered the body?”

“A woman who was jogging with her dog at 5 a.m. The dog went into the water and dragged the body out by the left leg. On seeing who it was, the woman took a picture, posted it online and then called the police.”

Liwu curled her lips in distaste. “Some people can be so insensitive. We should arrest her.”

Linlin wished it was possible, but sadly, that was not how the law worked. She just felt sorry for the Dou family. Finding out your loved one was dead from a picture on the internet was not how such news should be broken.

****

Soon, they reached the Dou mansion. It was within the same district, in an estate for the wealthy. The mansion was less of a home and more of a museum of wealth. Marble floors, crystal chandeliers the size of small planets, and portraits of ancestors glaring down as if judging everyone’s life choices.

Liwu and Linlin were ushered into the grand hall where family members had already gathered like suspects in a murder mystery board game. But there was one extra guest: her husband!

Liwu could not help glaring his way as soon as she set her eyes on him. He was sitting next to Mr. Dou Yajun, the patriarch of the family. Mr. Dou was holding a glass of whiskey in his left hand, tapping his cane against the floor with his right one.

His wife Mrs. Dou was on the left hand of her husband. Even in grief, she was elegant and frosty. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief that looked brand new.

Dou Dawei, the younger brother lounged in a chair with the smugness of someone that thought grief was optional.

Dou Chong, the older brother had his head buried in a financial report. But his eyes were suspiciously red, as if he had been crying only minutes ago.

Dou Sanniang, the youngest sister was the only one crying loudly, unable to contain her sorrow. She was being embraced by a woman dressed like a nanny. Liwu found this odd because in times of sorrow, the girl should have found comfort in the arms of her mother.

But she had seen many complicated family dynamics. Her own father’s Zhang family was a good example.

The fiance, Er Dachang stood apart, his eyes red, his grief raw and unpolished. He had his hands buried over his mouth with tears flowing from his eyes.

She sat down, as did Linlin and then they delivered the bad news which the family was already aware of.

“Weifeng tells me that you will handle this with discretion.” Patriarch Dou got the first words in.

Liwu’s eyes flicked to her husband, promising to stab him at least once tonight. Still, she nodded and said, “We will do our best but I cannot make you any promises. Your daughter’s death has been ruled a homicide and it is my job to get justice for her.”

Dou Sanniang cried louder.

Dou Chong put away the files.

She started her questioning with the subtlety of a hammer. “Where were you all last night?” Liwu asked.

Mrs. Dou huffed. “I cannot believe this. My daughter was murdered and we are the first people to be questioned? Do you think we had something to do with it? How ridiculous!”

“I just need to know where you all were last night. We need to confirm your alibis and focus on the right avenues of investigation.” Liwu replied flatly.

“Mr. Dou sniffed. “At the gala. Yahui was supposed to attend, but she…changed her mind.”

Dawei smirked. “She didn’t change her mind she was not interested. She was all about charity until it got boring for her. Classic Yahui, the family scam artist. She had probably schemed enough and she was ready to move on to something new.”

Dachang bristled. “That is not true. She was not bored or scamming anyone. She changed! She was helping people, raising funds, doing good. Don’t you dare drag her down.”

“Don’t act as if you knew her better than the rest of us.” Dou Chong bellowed at Dachang.

“At least I loved her genuinely.” Dachang snapped back.

“Loved her or loved her credit card.” Sanniang pitched in and then went back to crying.

Liwu scribbled notes, amused at the family dynamics. Linlin leaned over and whispered, “If this were a soap opera, I’d need popcorn.”

By evening, after questioning the Dou’s, and their servants, Liwu had already uncovered fissures in the family’s elegant facade.

Yahui had been cut off financially years ago and her father had only accepted her back in the fold after her charity work made the family look good.

Dou Chong had ensured that she had no shares in the family business and yet he used her accident as a platform to launch Dou Automobile. Yahui was the spokesperson for the brand as an accident survivor who took automobile safety seriously. But, she had refused to continue in the role and accused her brother of using her three days ago. They got into a big fight.

Dou Dawei had debts–large ones. Usually, Yahui bailed him out secretly but with this recent one, she had refused and even threatened to tell their parents.

Dou Sanniang had been overheard telling Mrs. Dou to send Yahui away because her past was an embarrassment. Apparently, she had classmates that were calling her a ’druggie’ like her sister.

Mrs. Dou had also been heard complaining about this to her friend. The embarrassing past, Yahui’s conversion to Catholicism and the do-gooder nonsense which was making the company shell out large sums of money on charity were all a problem.

Mr. Dou has changed his will, but nobody knew what changes he had made.

Liwu’s instincts told her the family was hiding something bigger than petty grudges. Linlin, meanwhile was ready to whip out the handcuffs and take Dawei in. Gambling, combined with smugness were enough to warrant an arrest, in her opinion.

While they were discussing motives, over early dinner in the precinct, Dachang walked in. Liwu put her food aside and invited him to sit down.

“I did not know where else to go.” He croaked. He showed her a ring box–inside was a diamond so large that it could double as a small ash tray!

“She made me buy a lottery card last month and I won the jackpot. Five hundred million!” He laughed with sorrow. “I used one hundred to buy this ring even though I knew it was stupid. As soon as she saw it, she told me to sell it and donate the money to charity. All she cared about was the fake gold ring I proposed with. Money meant nothing to her anymore, she saw it as something evil. The gate to drugs and other vices.”

Liwu wrote all this down.

Dachang blew his nose and raised his head. His eyes sought Liwu’s with a plea for understanding. “Don’t believe them, her brothers. She was not running any scams. If she was, why would she reject this ring? Why would she settle for a nobody like me? Did you know that they wanted to arrange some kind of political marriage for her? Her parents wanted her to marry the city master.”

Liwu’s hand froze. There it was! the reason why her eye lid had been twitching ominously.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep