Chapter 45: Meeting Liu Zhiqiang's Daughter

On the way to meet the lawyer, I found out that Captain Yan had the same suspicions as I did. He believed the case involved my enemies seeking revenge, and he thought it was worth investigating Li Xia.

However, my suspicions went further. I suspected that the person who hired Li Xia's lawyer was the same mastermind behind my mother's kidnapping. There were still too many unresolved mysteries in the Lianhua Village case. By all rights, this mastermind should have been thoroughly investigated. I couldn't understand why the case had been closed.

But I had already decided that regardless of whether the case was officially closed, I would continue to investigate until I uncovered the truth. If I couldn't investigate openly, I would do it secretly.

We met the lawyer at a coffee shop across from the high-end residential complex. She was sitting alone in a prominent booth, playing with her phone when we arrived.

Captain Yan was right; she was indeed very attractive and quite friendly.

She was about my age, with a delicate oval face, wearing a professional suit—white blouse, mini skirt, and her hair neatly pinned up. Her long, slender neck was so captivating that even I, who usually didn't pay much attention to women, couldn't help but steal a few glances.

She was definitely a beauty on par with Zhang Yihan. As soon as she saw us, she stood up and greeted us warmly, "Yan Ge, who's this handsome guy? I haven't seen him before. Is he one of your subordinates?"

Although her words were directed at Captain Yan, her eyes were fixed on me, scanning me from head to toe like a "female wolf," making me almost blush.

"Haha, this is Officer Lin from our cold case unit," Captain Yan introduced. "This is Lawyer Meng, though she prefers to be called Meng the Beautiful."

"Oh, so Officer Lin, huh? You're really handsome. Do you have a girlfriend? I have many beautiful friends..."

Initially, I had a good impression of this Lawyer Meng, but hearing her talk like this, I immediately felt put off.

I disliked frivolous women. I would rather appreciate someone overly serious like Zhang Yihan than someone too casual.

However, I still politely replied, "Hello, I'm Lin Mingjun. Just call me Xiao Lin."

"Come on, let's sit and talk. Order anything you like; it's my treat today..." Lawyer Meng said, pulling me by the sleeve to the booth she was sitting at. She insisted on sitting next to me, blocking me into the window seat. Worse, she sat so close there was no room to escape.

She asked what we wanted to eat. Both Captain Yan and I said we didn't mind, so she ordered a ton of random items. It wasn't until Captain Yan and I together dismissed the waiter that she stopped.

After placing the orders, Captain Yan got straight to the point, "Meng the Beautiful, tell us about the person who hired you to get Li Xia out half a month ago!"

Li Xia was released from custody half a month ago, and the first package arrived the day after her release. Because of this timing, both Captain Yan and I suspected Li Xia.

To our disappointment, Lawyer Meng's answer was unsatisfactory.

She said the client transferred the money directly to her account, promising another five thousand once Li Xia was released. But after Li Xia was out, the client disappeared, and the phone number left was no longer in service.

Lawyer Meng offered her full cooperation to find this person, as she also wanted to reclaim the missing five thousand.

Now I understood her enthusiasm—she too had a vested interest in catching the culprit.

Despite talking about business for only five minutes, we ended up spending over an hour chatting in the coffee shop.

Lawyer Meng was a chatterbox, discussing everything from astronomy to geography. Initially, I had a good impression of her, but after two hours, I vowed never to see her again.

She was too casual, openly talking about intimate topics, which I found very off-putting. Worse, she occasionally rubbed her chest against me while talking.

It was only when evening approached and she suggested ordering steaks for dinner that Captain Yan and I managed to escape.

With the only promising lead gone, Captain Yan and I went our separate ways—I back to my mother's guesthouse, and he to the public security bureau.

After spending a couple of hours with my mother, around 8 PM, I received a text message.

It was from Lao Chen, saying: "Xiao Lin, I've found them. Liu Ge's daughter is named Meng Jie, her phone number is XXXXXX."

This morning, after Lao Chen, the big guy, and I got off the plane at the city airport, I had asked Lao Chen to find Liu Zhiqiang's wife and daughter's address and phone number as soon as possible.

After replying with a thank you, I texted Meng Jie to arrange a meeting the next day. Considering the late hour, I didn't want to risk waking her with a phone call.

As expected, there was no immediate reply, likely because she was already asleep.

I wasn't in a hurry since I had planned to meet her the next day. After chatting with my mother a bit more, I prepared for bed. Just then, I received a reply from Meng Jie.

The message read: "Officer Lin, I'm with some colleagues at Coco Bar, room 168. If you want to meet, come now. I'm going out of town for work tomorrow."

Seeing her message, I didn't want to miss the opportunity. I quickly changed clothes and took a taxi to Coco Bar.

I was in a good mood until I pushed open the door to room 168 at Coco Bar and froze in shock.

Damn, the room was full of women, not a single man in sight.

I saw a beautiful woman in a tank top and high heels dancing seductively on a coffee table—none other than Lawyer Meng.

To my dismay, she was even more attractive at night, but all I wanted to do was turn around and leave.

Unfortunately, I was too slow. Lawyer Meng, standing on the table, spotted me and rushed over, hooking my arm, "Hehe... Xiao Linzi, how did you know I was here? Don't tell me we met by chance, because I wouldn't believe it!"

"Lawyer Meng, sorry, I'm here to find someone..." I quickly pulled my arm away.

"Find someone? Who?" Lawyer Meng glanced at her friends in the room.

"Lawyer Meng, I'm looking for..." I stuttered, suddenly feeling as if I had been electrocuted. I realized that I was looking for Meng Jie, and Lawyer Meng happened to be surnamed Meng...

Damn, could Meng Jie be her?

If Liu Zhiqiang's daughter was this woman, I would be in big trouble.

With that thought, I weakly asked, "Lawyer Meng, do any of your friends here also have the surname Meng?"

"No, I'm the only Meng here!" Lawyer Meng replied, puzzled. Then she shouted, "Damn, you must be my dad's colleague! We really are fated..."

"Damn, fate my ass! If it's fate, it's bad fate," I cursed inwardly.

"Meng Jie, I just remembered I have something urgent to do. Let's talk next time!" I said, turning to leave.

However, Meng Jie wouldn't let me go that easily. She grabbed my hand, "Don't go. Since you're here, stay and play. Look at all my friends here. Take your pick!"

Before I could respond, she pulled me further into the room, but I resisted by clinging to the doorframe.

Meng Jie then shouted, "Girls, I brought a handsome guy for you! First come, first served!"

Her friends initially froze, then swarmed me.

The sight nearly scared me to death.

At that moment, I had only one thought: as a police officer, they wouldn't dare to assault me, right?

Fortunately, I was overthinking it.

Meng Jie's friends were well-behaved; it was only Meng Jie who kept rubbing against me.

I knew I was a bit handsome, but this was too much.

If Meng Jie weren't Liu Zhiqiang's daughter, I would have left immediately. I really didn't like women who were too casual.

Luckily, by the time I arrived, they were almost done partying. After Meng Jie's friends had gone, I finally got to talk to her about her father.

When I finished telling Meng Jie about her father's death, she remained calm, though she no longer joked or bragged.

She sat quietly for a while, then asked me to take her home so I could tell her mother the news too.

Feeling it was necessary to visit Liu Zhiqiang's ex-wife, I agreed.

At Meng Jie's home, I recounted Liu Zhiqiang's story to her mother. I hadn't expected her to burst into tears upon hearing of his death.

Then she went to a drawer and took out an old photo album, flipping through pictures of their family.

Initially, I didn't pay much attention, but then I noticed a black-and-white photo that made me shiver as if struck by lightning.

It was a yellowing photo of a 13- or 14-year-old boy. He wore an ill-fitting green military uniform and carried a rifle.

What struck me was that this boy looked exactly like the youngest person in the photo I had found in Lao Wang's house.

How could Liu Zhiqiang know Lao Wang and my father?

My mind swirled with confusion, feeling as if my intelligence was insufficient for this puzzle.