Chapter 399: An Accomplice (2/2)

”It’s a public holiday, so the workers have the day off. That’s why I only found the body today.”

”Did you see any suspicious people enter the premises last night?” I continued.

“If I did, wouldn’t I have reported the case early in the morning?” emphasized the security guard. “I monitored the entrance throughout the night. If someone did come in, there’s no way I missed them.”

”Sir, it’s not like we’ll dock your pay for telling the truth.” I sternly pressed on, “Were you sleeping last night?”

The security guard shook his head in a panic, ”N-no!”

There was no need for me to use Cave Vision. The chair next to me said it all. ”That's a sleeping bag!” I pointed. “You sleep on the job every night, don’t you? Anyway, there’s no one around to check in on you. Am I right?”

Much to his embarrassment, the security guard admitted to sleeping at night after closing the gates. After all, no one ever came to steal anything. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to stand the long, sleepless hours with his age.

I asked him to lock the gates so I could have a look. After closing both the left and right sides of the gates, the security guard hung a long lock. After careful observation, I found no traces of the lock being picked. In fact, the suspects didn’t have to unlock it at all.

I turned the lock horizontally and pushed it to one end, managing to open a gap in the gates. The security guard watched in shock as I reminded, ”Get a shorter lock! This sort of lock is ineffective. Wouldn’t sleeping in the security room at night be just as dangerous as sleeping out on the streets?”

The security guard nodded vehemently, ”I won't sleep tonight. I promise I’ll change the lock first thing in the morning!”

I headed across the road and scanned the area. Curious, Xiaotao asked me what I was looking at.

”I wonder, how did the murderers know about this place?”

”They checked out the place beforehand?” speculated Xiaotao.

I shook my head, ”Although these four men are worse than animals, their criminal skills are subpar. I don't think they even thought of doing this. This area must be part of their usual haunts.”

I turned around, only to see a massage and spa center at the end of the street. ”They might have been here before. Let’s speak to the staff!”

When we arrived at the spa center, it was still business hours. Flashing her badge, Xiaotao asked to see the manager. The receptionist, a young lady, complained as soon as she met us. ”What’s wrong with you police? It’s been quite some time since you’ve taken the manager away for questioning and now I can't even contact him.”

Xiaotao and I froze. ”What?” puzzled Xiaotao.

The receptionist explained that an officer came looking for their manager early in the morning to ask some questions. They even called two technicians over. The four of them left after speaking and never came back.

”Have you called the Public Security Bureau?” asked Xiaotao.

”No, don’t you have to wait 48 hours to file a case?” argued the receptionist.

”Are you afraid to call the police because of the shenanigans going on here?” Xiaotao quirked her brow.

The receptionist desperately waved her hands. ”God no! Absolutely not! We are a legitimate business.”

”What did the officer look like?” Xiaotao continued.

It was a man with a beard who looked rather ordinary, though he was tall, probably 180 cm tall, and in his forties or fifties.

”Does his right leg appear lame when he’s walking?” I interjected.

”Yes!” the receptionist’s eyes lit up. “Do you know that man? Can you ask him to release our manager as soon as possible?”