Killer Nights

Chapter 25: A-Tie's Confession

Just when Jiang Zhengkai was about to give up, his desk telephone rang again.  “Jiang, it’s Zhang,” said Zhang Nan over the phone.  “I have a new lead here.  This morning, the post office delivered a letter to Zhu Yuping’s residence.  It was sent from Sichuan Province.  The letter has already been intercepted by our colleagues patrolling the neighborhood.”

“Really?  A letter from Sichuan?” Jiang Zhengkai repeated.  He didn’t think it was that strange for Zhu Yuping to have a friend or relative in Sichuan.

“Correct, except the letter wasn’t directly addressed to Zhu Yuping,” Zhang Nan continued.  “The envelope was addressed to Lu Xiaomei, care of Zhu Yuping.”

“Lu Xiaomei?”  The importance of that name soon dawned on him. “Wait, is that the female victim in the first case, Xiaomei?”  That’s right, Sichuan!  Xiaomei was Sichuanese!  A-Jiao had told him that.  Furthermore, he recalled seeing the name Lu Xiaomei in Xiaomei’s case file.

“That’s right, Jiang,” Zhang Nan replied.  “I’ve already read the...