Chapter 186: Good for the kid.
Liwu’s eyes lingered on the picture for a moment, wondering why it seemed to remind her of something. But she was not the only one that couldn’t put a finger on why the picture nagged at the back of their minds.
"Holy shit! It’s the fireman and the dog." Xuanji said in wonder.
Their eyes widened. Just six months ago, Sleazy Han had captured an image of a fireman that saved a puppy in a restaurant fire. He had pushed the dog out in a bin, and carried it out as soon as they were safely outside. The picture that Sleazy Han had captured looked very familiar to the one of Weijun pulling the boy from the drum. Even that mix of relief in their eyes was similar.
That picture had been shared eight million times, and liked by two billion people over the world.
"I will take Wuji’s statement." Linlin offered.
She was trying to avoid the chaos, and Liwu knew this well. But she didn’t stop her partner. She stepped forward, her presence cutting through the noise. "Enough," she said, voice cool and steady. "Your son is alive. He is being cared for by professionals. But your behavior raises questions."
The room fell silent, all eyes turning to her. With her fame, recognition often came easy for her, and she noticed it in the eyes of the couple. The parents stiffened, their bravado faltering under her gaze.
"I am detective Tai Liwu, and this is my case. It is my job to find out what happened to your son. Follow me to an interrogation room so that I can take your statement and start the process of reuniting you with your son." She said coldly.
"What questions?" Mr. Ji snapped, though his voice wavered.
Liwu tilted her head, studying him. "Your son was found in a barrel in the sea. What questions do you think I have for you, his parents?"
The couple did not reply, appearing nervous.
She continued confidently, "You rushed here when you received the news. Instead of calmly talking to officers and figuring out what’s going on, you resorted to making threats and demanding his custody. If you wanted that custody so badly, you should have gone to the sea and fished him out yourselves. Since someone else did the job for you, shut up, be grateful and follow me to the interrogation room before I order for your arrest."
The couple gulped.
So did some of the officers. Nobody truly expected her to use such force when talking to the parents of a victim. Their training told them to be understanding and as polite as possible. But again, she was Tai Liwu. She was the face of the bureau, just like her mother Tai Alix. It wasn’t as if she could be fired.
Officers started to disperse, while two others took the couple by the elbows and took them to interrogation room Liwu had designated.
She did not follow immediately but turned to her husband. He was standing behind her, with a gleam in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "Other than being assaulted by bad breath and some spit, I am okay."
Liwu laughed at him. "Go wash your face. If you want to watch the interrogation, stand outside and don’t meddle. Not unless you have information that is helpful to me."
He had not problem following her instructions. This was not a case he wanted to meddle in. Not unless it crossed paths with his interests.
She touched his arm and walked to the break room. "Xuanji, go fetch the barrel. I want to see their reaction when they see it physically. If they put their son in there, we will know it from their eyes."
Xuanji abandoned his coffee mug.
"Xiao Yi, you are with me." Liwu turned her eyes to the profiler that had just fixed himself a fresh espresso.
They waited for about a minute. Xuanji returned with a drum, but not the one that had been found in the sea. "They are still running tests of the original drum. But, I called your mom and your uncle Aang delivered this thirty seconds later. I poured some acid over it to make it look rusty. Do you think it will work?"
Liwu looked at the blue drum. The paint had melted away with some parts, exposing the metal.
"Also, I have an update from the doctor." Xuanji announced. "For those who were wondering how the kid survived being locked in a drum and thrown in the drum..." he paused for dramatic effect. "A system did it. The kid has awakened a Respiration System." He shook his head, "Can you believe this shit?
A Respiration system! It stabilized his oxygen intake, filters toxins and prevents suffocation. A whole team has come down from headquarters to observe the kid. They think his system doesn’t just recycle oxygen, it can convert energy into sustenance. He was in the barrel for five days but shows no signs of starvation. If I didn’t believe in miracles, I would definitely be a believer in God after this incident."
"Good for the kid." Weijun said, returning to join them.
Liwu and Xiao Yi went to the interrogation room. She walked in with the drum, slamming it down on the table casually.
He Xiao Yi observed the Ji couple. The mother blanched while the father blinked.
He tapped the table twice for ’no.’ The couple did not recognize the barrel.
"What is this?" Mr. Ji asked.
Liwu gestured to the barrel. "The barrel in which we found your son. Does any of you recognize it?"
Mrs. Ji huffed, while Mr. Ji slammed his fist on the table. "What is this? Do you suspect us? Do you think we would do anything to harm our own son?" His face darkened. "We just want our boy!"
Liwu and He Xiao Yi both caught the the flicker in Mrs. Ji’s eyes, the darting glance towards her husband, the silent exchange that spoke louder than words.
"We are hiding nothing!" Mr. Ji blurted.
Liwu shrugged. "I don’t know. You tell me. Why the urgency to take him away from the precinct? People don’t run from the police unless they have something to hide, and you two are running, in your own way." She removed the barrel, placing it on the ground. As she pulled back a chair and sat down, she looked from husband to wife. "So, what are you running from? What is it that you don’t want us to know?"
