Free Web NovelChapter 213: Chapter 212 Mrs. Wei_1
January 5, 2012, 22:22
In the darkness of the night, He Chunyang closed the intercom and turned to look at Xu Dayuan.
"Brother Xu, just as we predicted, Fei Pi Bar is still open for business. They just aren’t using the rooms facing the street; regulars are entering from the back door. The boss is called Mrs. Wei; nobody knows her real name. She is the real power behind the scenes. Do we go in and check now?"
Xu Dayuan shook his head.
"No rush. The killer lures hostesses away by deception to kill them. Operating solo like that, he wouldn’t voluntarily enter such places. Nevertheless, you and I will go in dressed in plain clothes. I have Mr. Tao and the others keeping watch on this street."
He Chunyang glanced at Liu Yufei, who had changed into a fluffy white coat, and there was a hint of embarrassment on his face.
"Is Mr. Liu coming with us?"
Xu Dayuan gave him a stern look.
"Without her, the two of us look just like cops. Give me your down jacket hood to put on, when are you going to get rid of that buzz cut."
He Chunyang laughed. Actually, working with Xu Dayuan always gave him great confidence. He grabbed the hood and put it on.
The three got out of the car, Liu Yufei hooking her arm through Xu Dayuan’s, while he put on a pair of black-framed glasses. It was as if he instantly transformed into a disreputable intellectual. He opened a small bottle of liquor, poured some out onto himself, and then tossed the bottle to He Chunyang.
He Chunyang was even more ruthless; after taking a mouthful, he swished it around his mouth and spat it out, spreading the smell instantly.
The trio staggered to the back door, where a young man with tattoos all over his hands stopped Xu Dayuan, and then smiled.
"Bro, we’re closed. Come play after the holiday."
Xu Dayuan swayed, speaking in Qidong dialect.
"No use blabbering to me like that. It’s been many years since this young brother returned to the country. Hurry and bring over a few Da Man’er. Brother here isn’t short on cash. You know the kind I want, right?"
He Chunyang kept waving his hands, appearing to try to stop Xu Dayuan. But as they tussled, he pushed the tattooed youth aside.
"Brother Xu, you’ve had too much to drink. They’re closed, right? Can we go to the city tomorrow? I know a place where there are blue-eyed Da Man’er."
Xu Dayuan wrapped an arm around the tattooed guy’s neck, pulling out a card and flashing it in front of his eyes.
"Go call Mrs. Weiwei over here. What’s the deal? Coming here is all for giving her face. Why hasn’t she come to greet me? Hey, where’s my phone?"
Liu Yufei, supporting Xu Dayuan, smiled at the young man.
"Just go find Mrs. Wei. My brother is drunk. If things get rough, it won’t look good for anyone. He’s this drunk and still found your back door. I don’t need to explain more, do I?"
The tattooed youth’s face creased into a smile; he was also observing the situation. Seeing their state, especially the stack of red bills peeking out from Xu Dayuan’s pocket, he understood what was going on.
"Bro, I didn’t see Mount Tai in front of my eyes. I’ll take you upstairs!"
Helping Xu Dayuan, he started towards the upstairs. As he turned around, another young man in a hoodie blocked the door, clearly showing that these people were highly cautious.
After winding through several turns and entering the building, the deafening sound of music, along with howling songs, women’s cries, and laughter, could already be heard. They went straight to the third floor, where a woman in a tight-fitting black dress sashayed over and sized up the three newcomers.
Xu Dayuan grabbed the woman’s waist and pinned her against the wall. Without any excessive moves, he just smiled and blew a breath of alcohol at her.
"My buddy’s back from overseas. Mrs. Weiwei, help me find him a few articulate and capable beauties, beautiful Da Man’er."
The woman seemed about to react. Xu Dayuan grabbed her hand and stuffed it into his waist. The moment she touched the gun, she froze, then her face was masked with an even more seductive smile.
"Don’t rush. I’ll arrange a room for you. Choose any girl you like, and I’ll make sure your friend is satisfied. This way, please."
Mrs. Weiwei, the woman, was quite generous and took Xu Dayuan’s arm, leading the three of them into a large private room. Once inside, He Chunyang blocked the door, his drunken facade completely gone. Liu Yufei moved to the window, peeked out the curtains, and looked outside. They were in the first room facing the street. She quickly reported back to Xu Dayuan.
"It’s the first room facing the street."
Mrs. Weiwei took a seat on the sofa across from Xu Dayuan. In her hand was now a pack of cigarettes. After lighting one and taking a drag, she elegantly flicked the ash towards Xu Dayuan, as if she wasn’t the one who had just touched the gun.
She stared at Xu Dayuan with interest, slowly saying,
"Tell me, what do you need me to do?"
Liu Yufei looked at the woman sideways. She could not bear the tone and the alluring gestures.
"Why can’t it be a crackdown on prostitution?"
The woman shook her head, tousling her hair as she looked towards Xu Dayuan.
"You don’t need to be armed for a vice raid, nor do you need to come in like this. Speak up, let’s see if there’s anything I can help you with. But let’s be clear, don’t make me end up dealing with the Public Security Brigade, okay?"
"Deal!"
The woman laughed. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"So, tell me, what do you want to find me for?"
Xu Dayuan took out his cell phone and handed it to the woman.
"Look at the woman in this photo, do you recognize any of them?"
The woman looked from the beginning to the end and pointed to three of them, one of whom had already been identified; that person was named Zhu Yuzhen.
The woman quickly said:
"These three worked here for a while, but then suddenly they stopped coming. I heard from the pimp that they ran off in the middle of the night, not even taking their things."
At this point, the woman paused and looked at the identity information of victim number one, her name was Sun Xiaoli. According to the birth date on her ID card, she was still under eighteen. Afterward, her gaze became somewhat complex as she stared at Xu Dayuan.
"This person, she was here a couple of days ago, but the ID she submitted wasn’t this one, and the age she gave was twenty. The day after the crackdown started, Sun Xiaoli didn’t come in, but I heard from the pimp that she had taken a job to go out; no one knows where or when she’d be back, and nobody could get in touch with her... Did something happen to her?"
After saying the last sentence, the woman’s gaze did not leave Xu Dayuan’s eyes. freewebnøvel.com
Xu Dayuan looked up at the woman and nodded slightly. The woman raised a hand to her chest. To some, this gesture might seem like fear or a self-protective state, but Xu Dayuan knew that the woman’s gesture indicated she was feeling relieved.
"Tell me, why do you feel relieved?"
The woman raised her hands as if surrendering, the smile on her face did not diminish, but a trace of sincerity added to it.
"Please, Mr. Officer, don’t try to trap me with words, that wouldn’t be fun. I am not taking pleasure in their misfortune; I’m just relieved that with you coming to the door, whatever they experienced could be avoided. It might harm the business, sure, but staying alive isn’t easy in our line of work."
The woman did not ask directly, but she had already guessed that the fate of these people was more likely to be grim than not.
Xu Dayuan found the photos of the three women she had pointed out earlier and laid them on the coffee table.
"Now, try to recall the last specific time they appeared here."
The woman crossed her arms and hesitated for a moment before she finally fetched her phone, opened the notebook app, and flipped straight to a record that noted the names of the three persons and their departure dates.
"It’s all here. The three of them disappeared one after the other within three days, not much difference from the actual timeline. Here it’s recorded, from December 24 to 26, 2010... Have they... had an accident?"
The woman asked tentatively, not expecting Xu Dayuan to say anything. After waiting a few seconds, Xu Dayuan just hummed in acknowledgment.
"Hmm, they were murdered last year. As for Sun Xiaoli, she was killed too. The murderer specifically targets hostess girls, so this crackdown isn’t just because of the holiday season; it also has another reason—we don’t want the murderer to find the next person they can target."
The woman covered her mouth, shock written all over her face for a long time.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?"
Xu Dayuan nodded, laying the printed photos on the table.
"I need all the hostesses here to tell the truth, whether they have seen the people in the photos, when and where they saw them, whether there is surveillance nearby, whether they saw them interact with anyone."
The woman was silent, as Liu Yufei kicked the coffee table.
"Do you want a few more to die, huh? Let me tell you, the killer has severe OCD and stripped and dumped the bodies in wells. The first time they killed and discarded bodies was a year ago, ten people, and this time it’s been nine in a row, we’re still one short. How could the killer bear it?"
The woman was startled by Liu Yufei’s words and pondered for a moment before standing up.
"Alright, I’ll have the girls brought in right now. But just so you know, the girls who come here, it’s almost the same as hanging an order."
"Hanging an order?"
He Chunyang coughed and quickly explained:
"It means their name hangs here. They drink with customers here, and after costs, fifty percent is taken away. As for the ones who go out, the pimp takes a twenty percent cut, here takes ten, the rest is all theirs. But if there’s an unreasonable customer, this place will stand up for them and argue on their behalf. Usually, it’s rare for anyone to owe them for services."
The woman glanced at He Chunyang, clearly underestimating the capability of the group before her. She busied herself with her phone, signifying that she needed to make a call. Once the other end picked up, the woman finally let out a sigh of relief and said:
"Normally the pimp handles the messy stuff for those hanging orders. When Sun Xiaoli first came here, I told the pimp right away, this girl looks too young, I can’t take her, keeping her would lead to trouble. But the pimp said she was fleeing from an arranged marriage, and it would be worse if she went back.
At that time, I took pity on her, and after she stayed on, she did have a way with words. I didn’t make her go out, just had her entertain some regulars, and she could get a fair amount of tips. Sun Xiaoli was also very grateful, never defying my wishes. Just that she didn’t come in for her shift on the second day.
I contacted the pimp; he said Sun Xiaoli had dinner with some sisters and mentioned she wanted to pop by the supermarket before coming to the bar. But then she never showed up in the evening. I had the pimp look for her. In the rental, there was just a suitcase, no valuables found. The pimp thought she had run off, and that’s what happened."
Xu Dayuan sat up straight.
"Where did they have dinner? Do they all live in town?"
Mrs. Weiwei nodded.
"Everyone knows that the city’s inspections are strict, so we’ve moved our operations here. The pimp rented several places in town, just north of the bar. He has two teams; one is all from Huining Province, and the other is from Chuanbei Province. As for the Jiu’an Grand Hotel they went to for dinner, it’s not too far from here."
Xu Dayuan nodded. The woman was tuned in to the situation; he closed his notebook.
"I’ll need the hostesses here to identify these victims. Does that work for you?"
