Chapter Fourteen: An Shi Through the Eyes of the Cleaning Lady

“Lu Yuan!”

Wen Ke hurriedly supported Lu Yuan’s body.

Lu Yuan shook his head. “I’m fine, just suddenly felt a bit dizzy.”

Wen Ke helped Lu Yuan out of the villa and guided him into her car. “You should rest in my car for a while.”

Lu Yuan gave a faint sound of acknowledgment.

Wen Ke quickly stepped aside and made a phone call.

“Send a team to the homicide scene immediately.”

“I’ve made a new discovery.”

After giving her brief instructions, Wen Ke glanced back at Lu Yuan in the car from a distance.

She naturally understood.

The wall behind the bathroom was hollow.

This meant that there could be a hidden secret room behind the bathroom wall in the villa.

Wen Ke’s eyes flickered.

Was Lu Yuan’s dizziness genuine or an act?

Regardless, Lu Yuan had helped her greatly. Since he was also Tang Wen’s classmate, Wen Ke’s gaze toward him softened, shedding the initial aggressiveness and replacing it with friendly harmony between friends.

Soon after, a large contingent of police officers arrived.

Seeing Wen Ke, a colleague leading the team rushed over. “Captain Wen, any new findings?”

Wen Ke took a quick look around.

The criminal investigation team and the evidence department had both arrived.

That saved a lot of trouble.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes, glanced at Wen Ke, then at the villa. In a daze, he saw a figure standing by the villa window, staring intently at him.

The figure bore a striking resemblance to An Shi.

While Lu Yuan was lost in thought, Wen Ke finished briefing the next tasks and approached the car. “Lu Yuan, should I have someone send you home first? I have some urgent matters to attend to and might not be able to look after you for a while.”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan pushed the car door open himself and softly said, “No need to trouble you. I’ll just take a taxi back.”

Wen Ke looked slightly embarrassed.

Lu Yuan took a few steps away, paused, and turned back. “If there’s any new discovery, could you let me know? If it’s inconvenient, then forget it.”

Wen Ke said sincerely, “Thank you, Lu Yuan.”

Lu Yuan pretended not to understand, looking at Wen Ke in puzzlement, then leisurely walked away alone.

“Captain Wen.”

“All colleagues are ready.”

The bureau took this homicide case very seriously, mobilizing nearly half its manpower.

Wen Ke gathered herself and displayed a resolute expression. “The search team, conduct a thorough sweep inside to find any entrance to the secret room.”

“Bring the villa’s cleaning lady over and ask if she’s noticed anything unusual during her cleaning.”

“If we can’t find an entrance, prepare to break through the wall carefully. Be mindful not to damage the homicide scene.”

As she gave detailed instructions, Wen Ke moved toward the villa.

All the officers sprang into action.

The originally spacious villa became quite crowded, but everyone was careful to avoid the sofa area, the main crime scene.

After a thorough search, the search team shook their heads. “Captain Wen, no hidden door resembling a secret entrance was found.”

Wen Ke entered the bathroom again, raised her hand, and tapped the bathroom wall. A hollow sound echoed from within.

Exactly!

There was definitely something behind it.

The others also noticed the strange sound.

“Prepare to break through.” Wen Ke stepped aside as the others brought out various tools for dismantling the wall.

A thunderous noise rang out.

Dust swirled in layers.

To avoid damaging the scene, the demolition had to be gentle, taking some time to create a gap.

Wen Ke retreated from the villa.

At that moment, the cleaning lady responsible for the villa arrived. Wen Ke approached her. “Hello, I’m Captain Wen Ke of the Criminal Investigation Unit.”

The cleaning lady was very nervous, especially upon hearing “criminal investigation,” fearing she was suspected, and her legs went weak. “Officer, I’m just the cleaner. I didn’t kill anyone.”

Generally, there was an unspoken rule in investigations: whoever reported the body was temporarily considered the primary suspect.

Though unreasonable, this was how it usually went.

The cleaning lady, despite limited education, understood this and was naturally anxious.

Wen Ke offered a kind smile. “Auntie, I know you didn’t commit the murder. I just want to ask you a few questions.”

“I’ve already told everything I know before. There’s nothing more to say.” The cleaning lady glanced at the villa, her face clouded with displeasure.

Wen Ke understood the older generation’s superstitions about houses where deaths occurred, so she led the cleaning lady aside. “Auntie, I’m only asking a few questions. It won’t take long.”

Seeing Wen Ke’s sincere attitude, the cleaning lady felt somewhat reassured. “Officer, go ahead.”

Wen Ke took out a notebook and pressed the pen to the paper. “How long have you been cleaning this villa?”

“About five or six years,” the cleaning lady thought for a moment.

“I’m not responsible for just this one house. The villa owner is a doctor who’s often away. He doesn’t like anyone entering his house when he’s not home, so I usually come to clean only once every two or three weeks.”

The cleaning lady had little contact with An Shi. Each time she cleaned, she finished her work and left without much conversation.

Wen Ke carefully noted this and seemed to realize something. “You said he doesn’t like outsiders coming in when he’s away. Did he tell you this directly?”

The cleaning lady nodded. “That old man is very fierce. I clean other villas too, but I suddenly realized it had been a long time since I went there. I thought I had a spare key, so I went in. Halfway through cleaning, he came back.”

“I don’t know if he was having a bad day or just has a bad temper, but he scolded me and kicked me out.”

She still harbored a lot of resentment.

Cleaners specially assigned to villas undergo advanced training and background checks and would never touch the owners’ belongings.

Sometimes, if the owner couldn’t return in time, the cleaners would use a spare key to enter, clean, and leave afterward.

Other villa owners had no objections, but the owner of Villa No. 14 was very difficult to please.

“After cleaning for so many years, have you ever noticed anything strange about the villa? Like a basement or something?”

This was the key question.

The cleaning lady thought carefully and shook her head. “I don’t think so. Every time I clean, that doctor follows me like he’s watching a thief. Wherever I go, he follows. I just want to finish quickly and leave, so I didn’t pay much attention.”

Though Wen Ke didn’t get the answer she hoped for, it was clear from the cleaning lady’s words that An Shi’s behavior was unusual.

An Shi must be deeply connected to Zhuo Yan’s death.