Chapter 16: The Connection Between the Dead
When Yu Miaomiao went to the front desk for consultation, Han Yun bought two bottles of water from the vending machine and handed one of them to Yu Miaomiao. The two waited in the lobby for two minutes, and Zhang Zhuang came out.
"These are the two who want to consult you about Bai Jing's matter." The front desk lady said when she saw Ma Zhuang coming out.
"Bai Jing, he is my student." Ma Zhuang came over, stood in front of Yu Miaomiao and Han Yun and said, "I started to be his coach in 2019. Later, due to special circumstances in 2020, the fitness center stopped for half a year. It was not until this year that he started exercising again."
"Does he come by himself every time?" Yu Miaomiao asked.
"Yes, it's always me." Ma Zhuang said, "He usually comes to work out around 7pm and leaves at 8pm."
"How many years of membership do you have in your fitness center?" Han Yun was not asking this to Ma Zhuang, but to the lady at the front desk.
"There are probably more than a thousand people, and many of them are temporary visitors." Ma Zhuang answered on behalf of the front desk lady.
"I want to see the information of all members who have applied for annual cards this year." Han Yun unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip of mineral water.
The front desk lady glanced at Yu Miaomiao, and after receiving Yu Miaomiao's signal, she came to the computer. Han Yun walked around the front desk and also came to the computer. After the front desk lady found the member list on the computer, Han Yun began to check them one by one.
In addition to name and ID number, the member registration form also includes contact information and address.
"The last time you saw Bai Jing, was he in any abnormal mood?" Yu Miaomiao continued to ask Ma Zhuang.
Ma Zhuang thought for a moment and said, "I last saw him a few days ago, I can't remember the exact time. He was very normal at the time, we chatted briefly for a few words, and then he went to run on the treadmill. He doesn't talk much, he comes here to focus on fitness. There are many beautiful girls who are members of our fitness center, but he never chats with them or pays attention to them. I have seen girls deliberately chat with him, but he ignored them and acted very indifferent."
"I see there is a woman named Zhao Baoying among your members. Are you familiar with her?" Han Yun, who was looking at the membership list, stood up and asked Ma Zhuang.
"The name is unfamiliar." Ma Zhuang leaned over to the information desk, glanced at the photo in the member registration form, then frowned slightly and said, "I don't have any impression of this woman. It seems that she has never been here."
"This is according to the membership card swipe record. The last time she used it was on April 28 this year, the same day as Bai Jing." Han Yun asked Ma Zhuang thoughtfully: "You have an impression of Bai Jing, but you have no impression of her?"
Ma Zhuang took another look at the photo in the computer to confirm, then still shook his head: "I really have no impression. If she was a long-term member, I would have some impression of her. She definitely has never been here, or she only comes once in a while."
"Okay, we don't have any more questions. Go and get busy." Han Yun smiled faintly, then took out his mobile phone to take a picture of the member's information, and said to the lady at the information desk, "Thank you for your help." Then he walked around the information desk and headed out of the fitness center.
"I'm so sorry to bother you." Yu Miaomiao also apologized to the lady at the information desk, and then hurriedly caught up. After leaving the fitness center, Yu Miaomiao asked in confusion: "We haven't asked anything yet, why are you leaving?"
"I've asked what I should ask, and I've learned what I should learn." Han Yun fiddled with the phone in his hand and got in the car.
Yu Miaomiao also got in the car, still puzzled: "What did you find out?"
Han Yun found the photo he had just taken on his phone and handed it to Yu Miaomiao. After letting her take a look, he said, "This woman named Zhao Baoying swiped her membership card at a time that overlapped with Bai Jing's. This proves that they often go to the gym on the same day and at the same time."
"There are so many members, it's impossible that Bai Jing is the only one who goes there during his time period. It's normal for there to be overlap, right?" Yu Miaomiao blinked.
"It's normal for the time to overlap, but Zhao Baoying went to the fitness center so many times, but the coach didn't recognize her. This is a bit problematic." Han Yun took a deep breath and said, "Either someone stole her membership card, or she applied for a membership card under her own identity and gave it to someone else. If it's the second case, then why didn't that person apply for it under his own identity, but used Zhao Baoying's?"
"It's inconvenient. I'm afraid it will be found out." Yu Miaomiao said, and then suddenly realized: "Bai Jing's mysterious lover?"
"It's almost certain, and I have already guessed who Bai Jing's lover is." Han Yun slowly closed his eyes and sorted out all the clues in his mind.
"How is this possible? How did you infer this?" Yu Miaomiao expressed doubt about Han Yun's words: "Didn't the fitness coach say that when Bai Jing went there, he didn't talk to anyone and just worked out by himself? And I've never seen this fitness coach Zhao Baoying before, so she can't be Bai Jing's mysterious lover. How did you infer this?"
"That ATM withdrawal receipt was from an ATM on Wangxiang Road. I had some suspicions at the time, but I couldn't confirm it until I saw Zhao Baoying's address just now, which further confirmed the possibility of my speculation." Han Yun closed his eyes, unlocked the phone and handed it to Yu Miaomiao.
Yu Miaomiao dragged the photo on her phone, enlarged it, looked at the address on it, and read: "No. 1012, Wangxiang Road, Beidu City, Building B, 1802, Honglin Landscape City. This address is not..."
"Isn't it too coincidental?" Han Yun closed his eyes and didn't look at Yu Miaomiao. He continued, "When we went to Bai Jing's rental house earlier, we inferred that he had a lover. We also suspected that this lover came to the room after Bai Jing's death and left the receipt. So his lover probably lives near Wangxiang Road. I just checked all the members of the fitness center, and they all live nearby. But Wangxiang Road is not close to here. It takes more than 40 minutes to drive, and it takes nearly two hours to go back and forth. This is not normal in itself. The most important thing is that, if I remember correctly, Dong Xing also lives in Honglin Landscape City."
"Building A of Honglin Landscape City." Yu Miaomiao took a deep breath: "But this...is not possible?"
"If it's possible, we'll know if we ask." Han Yun opened his eyes and looked out the window: "If it's true, there is a connection between the first victim Dong Xing and the second victim Bai Jing."
"Then shall we go find Zhao Baoying to verify this matter now?" Yu Miaomiao asked softly.
"There's no need for that. Let's go directly to find Dong Xing's wife." Han Yun stretched, leaned back in his chair, took out his mobile phone, opened WeChat, found Su Mo, and typed to ask: Is your friend Wang Lu safe?
