Free Web NovelChapter 231: Chapter 228: Furious Ex-Husband in the Middle of the Night_1
Yang Xuetong sighed and, while holding up the camera, said:
"The room is spotless; it would be tough to even find a single hair. Clothing, bedding, bathtub—cleaner than a hotel. We just collected the toothbrush, and some hair from a wooden comb, which doesn’t look like that of a place left uninhabited for a month."
"Hmm, if only Zhou Xiaozhou were here. Mr. Yang, how can such a wealthy woman, living in an almost 300-square-meter apartment, rumored to own two more properties, possessing luxury cars, and not that old either, remain unmarried?"
Yang Xuetong looked at Mr. Zhao as if he were a fool and glanced at him. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"No wonder you can’t find a partner, blurting out such nonsense. At thirty-eight, with money, property, cars, and a career, why would she need a man? To worship an ancestor? Is she lacking company, or is it for the thrill of life, perhaps to play palace intrigue with mistresses whenever she feels like it?
Don’t overthink it. These aren’t people you can mingle with. Let alone women, how many men these days are actually willing to date? Online, everyone talks big, but in person, they’re all social phobics."
Following such a statement, Mr. Zhao was left speechless, especially after giving it further thought, realizing he himself had no wish to go on blind dates, much less the time to chase after someone, even if he thought Zhou Xiaoyu was appealing; it was just a bit of grumbling on his part.
According to Zhou Ning’s words, Mr. Zhao was just flipping sides and continuing to be a salted fish.
It seemed this was the consensus. At that moment, Mr. Zhao glanced at Zhu Xingxing, his mind seemingly preoccupied with something.
It was then that Xu Dayuan’s voice rang out.
The two of them packed up the collected evidence bags and made their way toward the door.
"Come in and tell us, how come you have an elevator card for 1201?"
The property manager hurriedly stepped forward and introduced:
"This is Mrs. Wen; she has been working as a caretaker at Miss Fang’s place for a long time. Whether it’s paying the property fees or handling other matters, Mrs. Wen is always the one doing it on her behalf."
Upon seeing the police, the middle-aged woman known as Mrs. Wen showed a shocked expression on her face.
However, the shock didn’t last long. She rushed to Xu Dayuan as if realizing something, opened her backpack, and began searching through it. She pulled out her ID card and a large bunch of keys, handing them to Xu Dayuan.
"My name is Wen Xiue, and this is my ID card. My home is in Lishugou. I take care of two households, cleaning at Miss Fang’s on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and at Uncle Cui’s on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
However, there’s been something off with Miss Fang’s place lately. She left without a word, and it’s been many days since she’s been back. I called her and initially got no response, and later the phone was unreachable. I checked the surveillance and there was no sign of her returning. Could it be that something has happened to Miss Fang?"
After listening, Xu Dayuan pulled out a notebook, gesturing for Wen Xiue to sit down. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Looking up at this woman, who was as demure and frail as her surname suggested, she did not seem like a typical caretaker. Her face bore genuine worry and panic.
"Come, sit over here and tell us, did you say there’s surveillance in the home?"
Wen Xiue nodded her head.
"Other than you coming over, has anyone else visited this home?"
Wen Xiue hesitated for a moment and then pointed towards the study.
"Miss Fang’s ex-husband has been here. I don’t know if he was trying to reconcile, but he came at night when I wasn’t here. Oh, and he left Miss Fang a note. I placed it in the drawer of the coffee table."
As she spoke, she squatted down in front of the coffee table, opened the drawer, and took out the note.
Mr. Zhao and Mr. Yang had already moved to the study and switched on the notebook computer. Indeed, they found the surveillance storage content, and Mr. Zhao quickly forwarded it to Mr. Qu, then began looking through it.
Xu Dayuan took the note and read it—it was written in a hasty scribble.
Fang Wenjie, stop pretending to be dead. Return my calls. I know you’ve been fired, so hurry up and give me the stuff. If you continue to threaten me with this, we’ll both end up destroyed. I will not let you off.
The signature at the bottom was flamboyant, and as Xu Dayuan seemed to guess the name, Wen Xiue had already switched on her phone and brought up a contact to show him.
"He is Miss Fang’s ex-husband, named Qin Jinxue, a senior accountant. It seems he opened a company, oh, I remember now, called Qindao Jinhai Accounting Agency Co., Ltd. He worked for a big group before, got tangled up and went to jail. Miss Fang broke up with him then.
After getting out, he kept pestering Miss Fang—at first, courting her with flowers and food, but after they had a fallout, he started sending dead mice and other nasty stuff. I don’t know how he could have this elevator card; I remember Miss Fang complained and had the property revoke his card."
Xu Dayuan was surprised; the caretaker knew quite a bit. He too had found the ex-husband’s information, but not as extensively as Wen Xiue had described.
Particularly the company’s information—that checked out upon looking it up on his phone, and indeed, just as Wen Xiue had said, Qin Jinxue was one of the shareholders of Qindao Jinhai Accounting Agency Co., Ltd., but not the legal representative.
However, having been to jail, could he still be a legal representative?
Xu Dayuan was puzzled. At that moment, Mr. Zhao and the others moved the notebook computer closer to the sofa and paused a segment of the surveillance footage, clicking play casually.
The timestamp on the surveillance read: January 8, 2012, at 22:47.
A man opened the elevator door, hurried to the apartment door, attempted to enter the password, tried a few times seemingly getting it wrong each time, and in frustration, began to bang on the door, all the while swearing with particularly offensive words.
However, after much effort, no one answered the door to the room, so he found some paper and a pen in the drawer above the shoe cabinet, wrote a note, and left it on the entrance door before leaving.
Mr. Zhao pointed to several surveillance locations, and Xu Dayuan understood that this Qin Xuejin had come four times, on January 8, 15, 21, and 24, diligently working even through the New Year, quite persistent indeed.
Wen Xiue glanced at the property manager and continued speaking:
"On the 9th when I came over, the property management told me someone had complained. That’s when I checked the surveillance and found Qin Xuejin was looking for Miss Fang. I then told the property management that this person wasn’t Miss Fang’s friend and to take back his elevator card if he came again. Despite that, we never managed to stop him."
The property manager was somewhat anxious; discussing this with the police made them look very unprofessional.
"Our security tried to stop him several times, but couldn’t hold back Mr. Qin at all. He would bluntly say, ’If it doesn’t work, just call the police. I’ve just been released and I’m not afraid of going back in,’ so who would dare to stop him!"
Xu Dayuan ignored the property manager and waved to have him taken out. After the door closed, Xu Dayuan continued to ask:
"When was the last time you saw Miss Fang? Do you remember? Calls count too."
Wen Xiue thought for a moment, took out a small notebook, and handed a page to Xu Dayuan.
"I’m best at making soup. I remember on the last day of last year, when I was packing up to leave, Miss Fang told me she wanted to eat the Cordyceps flower chicken soup I make. She asked me to buy the ingredients and start cooking on the 3rd when I came over, so she could drink it upon returning home later.
Early on the 3rd, I went to buy the ingredients; she had been feeling weak recently, so I also bought abalone. But around noon, Miss Fang called me saying she had to discuss some matters and would be busy both at noon and in the evening. She asked me to store the ingredients well and to contact her later about when to eat it.
I asked her when she would be back and if I should prepare her breakfast for the next day; she enjoyed the sandwiches I made, toasted just right in the morning. Miss Fang refused, stating she would be very busy these days. If she couldn’t finish her work, she might not be able to make it home at all. If it wasn’t for her saying that, I would have called the police long ago."
By this point, Wen Xiue had started to cry.
Obviously, seeing the police at the door and recalling all these unusual events, the nanny could sense that something was amiss. After all, Mr. Zhao and his colleagues had arrived fully equipped, even wearing shoe covers like those she’d only seen on TV.
"Has something... has something happened to Miss Fang?"
Xu Dayuan nodded.
"Fang Wenjie is dead, and has been for nearly a month."
Wen Xiue shuddered with fright, her lips trembling. She was probably experiencing fear, shock, relief, confusion—all at once. Head bowed, she seemed to take a long while to gather herself before taking out a USB flash drive from her backpack, encased in a sealed bag, obviously well-kept.
"What is this..."
"Miss Fang had been acting strange at the end of last year, and I don’t know how to describe it. It’s as if she became a different person. She was a bit overweight before, but lost several tens of pounds in two months, with a lot of hair loss as well. When I asked her what was wrong, she didn’t say.
Around mid-December, I can’t clearly recall the exact date, but as soon as I arrived, she was waiting for me at home with this USB flash drive. She also told me many strange things, which left me thinking she was diagnosing a terminal illness and arranging affairs for after her passing."
Xu Dayuan became interested.
"What did Fang Wenjie say to you?"
Wen Xiue pondered; no one rushed her. As just a nanny who noticed something wrong with her employer, she was already admirable. Otherwise, Fang Wenjie wouldn’t have entrusted her with the items.
"Miss Fang didn’t have children, and her parents had passed away a long time ago. Talking about relatives, it seems she was somewhat close to a cousin from her aunt’s side. The cousin’s child studied at Ocean University, later found work here, and would visit Miss Fang every week, occasionally staying here. Even after graduation, the child would come by from time to time.
That day, Miss Fang told me she had made a will, which was already notarized at the notary’s office. If she died, all her property would go to that child—two properties, cash, a car, and also some jewelries.
Moreover, she gave me a card with twenty thousand yuan on it. She said if she was okay, that was like prepaying two years of my salary. If something happened to her, then it was my resettlement fee."
Mr. Zhao came closer; he had been calculating something, and even though the place was in Beizhai and not a coastal first-tier area, property prices were still very expensive. At the launch, prices were over twenty thousand yuan per square meter. For a nearly three-hundred-square-meters luxury flat in this location with decoration, listing it for five million would cause a frenzy.
The other property he had already seen the ownership certificate for was even better located, slightly smaller by twenty some square meters, yet still worth at least five million. Along with the savings and the car, not even counting the jewelries, this was a comfortable amount that definitely exceeded twelve million yuan.
Xu Dayuan’s voice interrupted Mr. Zhao’s deep thoughts.
"When Fang Wenjie gave you the card, did she mention she was in any trouble? Or say, had made enemies with anyone? Someone who might want revenge on her?"
Wen Xiue shook her head. Xu Dayuan was not discouraged and continued to ask:
"The child from her cousin’s family, what is their name?"
"Chen Wenchi, but I don’t know their phone number," she replied.
Xu Dayuan stood up, smiling at Wen Xiue.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation. Please don’t clean up here for now; our people will stay here temporarily. After all, we need to see if anyone still comes looking for Fang Wenjie. If you remember anything else, feel free to contact me at any time. Of course, if we find Chen Wenchi or perhaps Fang Wenjie’s ex-husband, we may need you to identify them. We will contact you then."
Wen Xiue stood up and bowed to Xu Dayuan, struggling to control her emotions.
"Officer, I was wondering... if you catch the person who harmed Fang Wenjie, could you let me know? And how will her body be handled? If possible, I would like to help with her burial."
