065 Lost Contact

Han Bin frowned. In his estimation, much of what Wang Zhaodi said was unreliable, perhaps even deliberately misleading.

“How did He Yan leave the house?” he asked.

Wang Zhaodi thought for a moment. “She put the child down and left. I didn’t follow her out to see.”

“What time was it exactly when she left?”

“It seemed to be a little after nine.”

“Did she say where she was going? Or when she’d be back?”

“No, she just said she had some errands to run,” Wang Zhaodi replied.

“Did she take any spare clothes with her?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Did she often go out alone before?”

“Oh, right, sometimes she did,” Wang Zhaodi replied perfunctorily.

“How long would she be gone when she went out?”

“Just a few hours. Never as long as this time.”

…

Han Bin asked several questions, but Wang Zhaodi failed to provide any useful leads. He changed the topic: “What was your son doing yesterday?”

“He was at work.”

“Where does he work?”

“He Yan’s disappearance has nothing to do with my son,” she protested.

“Whether it’s relevant or not is for the police to decide. Just answer truthfully,” Han Bin warned.

“My son works at a courier company.”

“As a delivery driver?”

“I’m not sure. That’s just what he told me.”

Han Bin noticed that whenever he asked about her son, Wang Zhaodi grew defensive.

He put away his notepad, took out a cigarette, and gave Li Hui a signal with his eyes. “I’m going outside for a smoke. You continue with the statement.”

“Go ahead,” Li Hui replied.

Han Bin left the room and sent a text message to He Ru, asking her to bring the younger daughter outside.

He stood at the main entrance, took a few drags of his cigarette, and soon saw He Ru leading the little girl out.

Han Bin stubbed out his cigarette and sized up the child. “Miss He, how is the relationship between your sister and her mother-in-law?”

“They never really quarreled. The relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is pretty much the same everywhere,” He Ru replied.

Han Bin, having never married, didn’t have any firsthand experience with such familial dynamics. “What’s the little one’s name?”

“Yuanyuan.”

“May I ask her a few questions?”

“Of course.” He Ru squatted down and said, “Yuanyuan, this is a police officer. He’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Officer, I’ll be good. Please don’t take me away.” The little girl shrank back, hiding behind He Ru.

“What does she mean by that?” Han Bin asked, turning to He Ru.

“Kids can be mischievous, and when my niece misbehaves, my sister likes to scare her, saying if she cries, the police will come and take her away, and she won’t be able to go home or see her parents anymore,” He Ru explained.

Han Bin shook his head. A child in danger should seek out a police officer first, but this kind of upbringing was misguided. In a real emergency, it might keep her from seeking help in time.

As this was the parents’ way of teaching, Han Bin had no right to interfere, nor could he change the child’s ideas with a few simple words.

“Yuanyuan, do you miss your mother?” Han Bin asked gently.

The little girl nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m here to help you find your mother.” Han Bin took a piece of gum from his pocket and handed it to her.

Yuanyuan took the gum and sniffed it. “Officer, when will my mom come home?”

“If you want your mom to come home soon, you have to answer my questions carefully.”

“Go ahead. I really want my mom to come back soon.”

“How do your mom and grandma get along?”

Yuanyuan looked puzzled, as if she didn’t quite understand.

“Did your mom and your grandma ever argue? Or say bad things about each other?” Han Bin explained.

“They didn’t fight, but grandma often says bad things about my mom.”

“What did she say?”

“Whenever my mom isn’t around, grandma says she’s lazy and only cares about playing on her phone. She tells me never to be like her,” Yuanyuan said earnestly.

“Does your mom work?” Han Bin asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I can answer that,” He Ru interjected. “My sister quit her job in the last months of her pregnancy. After the baby was born, her mother-in-law couldn’t handle things alone, so my sister stayed home to help look after Yuanyuan.”

“But Yuanyuan should be in kindergarten by now. Why isn’t He Yan working again?”

“My sister looked for work, but after such a long break, she couldn’t readjust to life outside. She tried running an online shop, but lost money.”

“So right now, your sister has no job and no income. The whole household depends on her husband’s salary?”

“That’s right,” He Ru nodded.

Han Bin turned to Yuanyuan again.

“Have your mom and dad quarreled?”

Yuanyuan nodded.

“When was that?”

The little girl frowned, thinking hard. “Just a couple of days ago.”

“What were they fighting about?”

“I don’t know. I was asleep, but they were shouting really loudly and even broke things in the house.”

“After your mom disappeared, was your dad anxious?” Han Bin pressed.

Yuanyuan nodded, then shook her head. She was still too young to articulate everything clearly.

“Call your brother-in-law and ask him to come home,” Han Bin instructed.

“All right,” He Ru replied.

“Officer, when will you help me find my mom?” the little girl asked, her eyes full of hope.

“I’ll do my very best to find your mother,” Han Bin promised.

“Thank you, officer.” With that, the little girl ran off to find her aunt.

Thud, thud, thud—

Li Hui came down the stairs, rubbing his stomach. It was already one in the afternoon, and he hadn’t eaten yet.

“How did it go?” Han Bin asked.

“Not great. The old lady talked in circles for ages without saying anything useful,” Li Hui shrugged. “How about on your end?”

“I just questioned the little girl. She’s young, but she’s made the family situation pretty clear. The family’s under financial strain, and there are a lot of conflicts. The missing woman and her husband had a big argument just a couple of days ago.”

“So there’s a chance she left home because of family strife,” Li Hui analyzed.

“But why would she switch off her phone and ignore her sister’s calls?”

“Maybe she just wanted some peace and quiet to think things through.”

“But what about the child? Leaving without a word would be devastating for her,” Han Bin sighed.

“Bin, there are all kinds of people in this world. In our village, plenty of women from out of town have left their kids behind because life was too hard at home,” Li Hui said, unfazed.

“Let’s take her husband’s statement before we draw any conclusions.”

“I still think it’s more likely she ran away. There’s family discord, and the relatives haven’t received any ransom notes,” Li Hui said, spreading his hands.

“Officer Han, Officer Han!” He Ru came running over, phone in hand, looking flustered.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve called so many times but can’t get through. I can’t reach my brother-in-law at all,” she said, her face full of worry.