Chapter 77 (1/2)
Killer Nights Chapter 77: Recollections of the Past
“Sure!” Uncle Gao crisply agreed.He had no idea A-Jiao and Jiang Zhengkai had purposely laid a trap for him.“Most of my buddies on the police force have all retired, but some of their colleagues and subordinates are still around.I think some of them would agree to help me out if I asked.”
“Thank you so much, Uncle Gao!” said A-Jiao.She took the portrait of A-Xiu from Jiang Zhengkai’s hand and placed it in front of Uncle Gao, then opened it up for him to see.“Uncle Gao, this is what she looks like.”
“Oh, I see!” said Uncle Gao as he carefully studied the woman’s expression and facial features in the portrait.His face twitched ever so slightly when he realized who she was. He then s.h.i.+fted his gaze back to A-Jiao and asked, “This is your sister?”
“That’s right!” A-Jiao answered surely.Jiang Zhengkai, seated right next to A-Jiao, was carefully observing Uncle Gao’s facial expression.Although that twitch on Uncle Gao’s face had been very slight and quick, it nevertheless did not escape Jiang Zhengkai’s detection.
“This woman&h.e.l.lip;” said Uncle Gao before he quickly stopped again.He turned around and looked at the few customers behind him and said, “How about this?I’ll tell you later when all of these customers have left.”He then lowered his voice and continued, “It’s better if there are fewer people around.”
“Oh, sure, sure!” A-Jiao quickly nodded her head.Due to the downpour, her evening cla.s.s had been canceled, so she had plenty of time.As for Jiang Zhengkai, he decided not to press the issue when he saw that Uncle Gao was willing to talk to them about A-Xiu.
About an hour later, the remaining customers in Uncle Cai’s noodle shop gradually left.Outside, the torrential rain continued unabated, so it was unlikely there would be new arrivals.Uncle Cai came out of the kitchen and chatted with A-Jiao and Jiang Zhengkai for a little bit before he and Auntie Ma left the dining area to continuing work in the kitchen.Clearly, Uncle Gao had already given Uncle Cai some indication that he planned to speak with A-Jiao tonight, so Uncle Cai had agreed to give him some time and s.p.a.ce.
After Uncle Cai and Auntie Ma left, Uncle Gao came over to A-Jiao and Jiang Zhengkai’s table with a pot of tea and some snacks.“A-Jiao, is this woman really your sister?” he asked.
“Yes, Uncle Gao,” A-Jiao answered, just as confidently as before.
“Hehe, you can stop lying to me now,” laughed Uncle Gao as he peered deeply at her.He then turned around and said to Jiang Zhengkai, “You were the one who came up with the idea for this young lady to ask me about this woman, weren’t you?”
“Hehe, yes,” Jiang Zhengkai crisply answered.Uncle Gao had seen through his ruse; there was no further reason to continue with the charade.“Yes, it was my idea, but I wasn’t sure about–”
“No need to guess any further!”Uncle Gao interrupted Jiang Zhengkai’s hypothesizing with a wave of his hand.“My name is Gao Jianjun.I used to be the commanding sergeant of a police station not far from here.”
“Really?” asked Jiang Zhengkai in feigned surprise to Uncle Gao’s revelation.After all, he didn’t know what Uncle Gao was about to say, so he didn’t feel it was necessary to show his hand just yet.
“Yes!” said Uncle Gao, before turning his head to look at A-Jiao again.He then picked up a cup of tea off of the table and took a sip before saying, “It all started about two years ago.But first, why don’t you tell me who are you are, young man?”
“Alright.My name is Jiang Zhengkai.I am the captain of the district sub-bureau’s investigative division.”As he spoke, Jiang Zhengkai took out both his personal and police ID and handed them to Uncle Gao.Uncle Gao took a close look at them to confirm his ident.i.ty, before sliding them back across the table.
“Okay, I guess I’ll give you a brief summary of what I know,” said Uncle Gao, rea.s.sured that Jiang Zhengkai was who he claimed to be.“I’ve heard about you.Back then, you had just been promoted to lieutenant at the investigative division, right?”