Kn Chapter 38 (1/2)
Killer Nights
Chapter 38: A Chance Encounter
Ever since The Bald Wolf resurfaced, Jiang Zhengkai grew increasingly restless and anxious. Although no new murders had occurred in the alley, he still felt more and more ill at ease. That weekend was the one-week anniversary of Wei Xin’s death. Jiang Zhengkai decided he would visit Wei Xin’s grave early in the morning to pay his respects before heading over to do some overtime at the sub-bureau. When he thought of this deceased young woman, Jiang Zhengkai felt more than a little bit of guilt in his heart. Perhaps it’s because ever since his wife and daughter died, he couldn’t bear the thought of seeing a woman get hurt again.
Even though it was early summer, the wind blowing down from the nearby mountains was still quite cool. Jiang Zhengkai clutched a bouquet of flowers as he slowly walked step by step towards Wei Xin’s grave. As he approached Wei Xin’s gravesite, he found a young woman standing in front of Wei Xin’s tombstone. She had short hair and was wearing a bomber jacket over a long dress while sporting large sungla.s.ses that covered half her face. Because she bowed her head in respect, Jiang Zhengkai could barely make out any part of her face at all. Nevertheless, Jiang Zhengkai felt this woman’s figure seemed very familiar, except he wasn’t quite sure of her ident.i.ty. Was it A-Jiao? People are often like this. When someone you’ve longed for day and night finally stand in front of you, you hesitate and refuse to believe your eyes. Still, one shouldn’t be too hard on Jiang Zhengkai. After all, the A-Jiao standing there now exuded the quiet grace of a gentle lady, not at all displaying the eccentric willfulness that defined her personality during her time as a street prost.i.tute.
Jiang Zhengkai placed the flowers he had been holding before Wei Xin’s tombstone and quietly stood next to A-Jiao. The elegant aroma of A-Jiao’s perfume found its way to Jiang Zhengkai’s nostrils. He found the smell to be very pleasing to the nose. Again, he felt the aroma to be very familiar but also very foreign. Perhaps it was because he was used to breathing in the sterile smell of the hospital when he was in A-Jiao’s presence. A-Jiao had not noticed Jiang Zhengkai was standing right beside her because she had closed her eyes in prayer. Only when she had finished her prayer for Wei Xin did she turn around to leave. Right at that moment, however, Jiang Zhengkai just happened to stand directly in her way.
“Excuse me please,” said A-Jiao softly to Jiang Zhengkai. Although she could hear her nervous heart thumping, she nevertheless resolved to speak.
“A-Jiao…” As Jiang Zhengkai heard her voice, he looked at her with heavy leaden eyes. He felt this voice sounded so very familiar, yet it was also missing something.
“A-Jiao? Sorry, I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong person,” A-Jiao replied in her newfound gentle voice.
“Oh, I see,” Jiang Zhengkai replied, but he still didn’t move out of the way. “Miss, you look a lot like a friend of mine, who is also an important witness in a case I’m investigating. Could you be so kind as to show me your ID?” Jiang Zhengkai said as he took out his own police badge.
“Ai… fine!” A-Jiao impatiently sighed. She didn’t know if she sighed because she was disappointed or because she was relieved. This stupid man actually didn’t recognize who she was. A-Jiao reached into her purse, took our her ID card, and showed it to Jiang Zhengkai. A-Jiao’s fingernails were now neatly trimmed and had only a thin coat of clear nail polish, which was a far cry from the motley array of colors she used to display on her nails.
Jiang Zhengkai looked at A-Jiao’s hand and felt somewhat disappointed. Was she really not A-Jiao? He took her ID and saw the name “Ren Ziyuan” written on it clear as day. Jiang Zhengkai looked at the ID card more closely to see if it was a fake. Nope, it was real! He then politely returned the ID back to A-Jiao and asked, “Could you also tell me where you work?”
“Do I really have to answer that question?” A-Jiao impatiently asked as she s.n.a.t.c.hed back her ID. Because of the large sungla.s.ses, Jiang Zhengkai could not see that familiar pair of mischievous eyes.
“Jiang!” Yao Tianyu’s voice boomed from the stone steps behind them, “Oh hey, Miss Ren, are you here to see Wei Xin as well?”
“Uh, yeah,” A-Jiao recognized Yao Tianyu, so she pursed her lips and smiled, “Uncle Yao, you… oh… hehe, I was her friend.” She then turned around and looked at Wei Xin’s tombstone with great affection.
“The two of you…?” Yao Tianyu saw A-Jiao and Jiang Zhengkai awkwardly standing there, so he decided to break the ice for them, “Well, I guess introductions are in order. This is the most capable investigative task force commander under my command, Inspector Jiang Zhengkai. This is my grandson’s preschool teacher, Miss Ren Ziyuan.”
“Oh! Hehe, sorry, Miss Ren. I apologize for the inconvenience my questions may have caused you,” said Jiang Zhengkai. Having heard what Yao Tianyu just said, he had no choice but to temporarily give up on the idea that the woman standing in front of him was A-Jiao.
“Don’t worry about it!” A-Jiao smiled at Jiang Zhengkai, “I’m sure Officer Jiang was only doing his job.” However, in her mind, she was yelling, “You idiot! Imbecile! Moron!”