“A woman? What did she say?” Han Haoming asked, surprised.
Zou He replied, “She didn’t say much, just called out Pan Li’s name. I didn’t dare to speak, but she seemed to sense something and quickly hung up the phone.”
“Oh? Did you call her back then?” Han Haoming furrowed his brow and continued to ask.
Zou He answered, “I called twice, but her phone was switched off. It seems that woman is very cautious; we’ve alerted her.”
“Send me that phone number. Tomorrow, immediately go to the telecom department and find out who the account holder is,” Han Haoming said, his face darkening.
“Yes.” Zou He replied with a single word over the phone, then added, “Captain Han, there’s a small detail I need to report. When that woman called, her voice was very tense. Besides calling out Pan Li’s name, she seemed to have mentioned a ‘Han’.”
“The character ‘Han’?” Han Haoming repeated thoughtfully. “I understand.”
As soon as he hung up the phone, Qin Si Yue asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Han Haoming then explained the matter of Pan Li to her.
“Oh? You suspect he’s the thief who broke into your house that day?” Qin Si Yue looked at him, frowning. “Do you have his photo? Let me see, maybe I can recognize him. That person bumped into me then.”
“Yes.” Han Haoming quickly pulled up Pan Li’s photo on his phone and showed it to her.
After carefully examining it for a few minutes, Qin Si Ye said, “That person was wearing a black baseball cap and a mask, so I didn’t see his face. However, judging by his build and eyes in this photo, it’s indeed about seventy to eighty percent similar.”
“I compared the video from the surveillance that day with him, and I also felt it was very similar, but he adamantly refused to admit it,” Han Haoming sighed lightly. “We don’t have conclusive evidence yet, so we can’t do anything about him for now.”
“Then who do you think the woman on the phone earlier was?” Qin Si Yue asked, taking a sip of her juice.
“I can’t judge that either. She only mentioned the character ‘Han’,” Han Haoming replied, his brow furrowed.
“‘Han’? Which ‘han’? Could it be related to your surname?” Qin Si Yue’s beautiful eyes darted back and forth.
Han Haoming’s heart skipped a beat. “You mean the woman contacted Pan Li to talk about me?”
“I’m just speculating based on your suspicion,” Qin Si Yue looked intently at him. “If that Pan Li is indeed the thief who broke into your house that day, then the woman who called is very likely his accomplice, or even his mastermind. And they already knew who you are. The reason the woman called him in a panic and haste might be that she discovered you.”
“Discovered me? I’ve been in the hospital these past few days. I only went to your house today; I haven’t been anywhere else,” Han Haoming said, looking confused.
Just then, Qin Si Yue’s phone rang. She looked down at it and said, “It’s Sister Xi.” She then swiped to answer. “Hello? Sister Xi.”
“Si Yue, are you still with Hao Ming?” Yin Xi asked on the phone.
“Yes. We are having dinner,” Qin Si Yue replied.
Yin Xi then asked her about the police’s detailed investigation into Meng Qi and Bai Lin. Qin Si Yue spoke for a few sentences and then switched to speakerphone, letting Han Haoming speak to her directly.
“It seems these two are guilty and were well-prepared,” Yin Xi commented after listening.
Han Haoming lowered his voice and said, “No matter how capable they are, they have nowhere to hide from our inescapable net. We will find them soon.”
Afterward, the three of them discussed Pan Li’s phone call. Yin Xi, upon hearing about it, analyzed with surprise, “A woman? Among the women you met at the Qin family’s old house today, only three are suspicious: Meng Qi, Bai Lin, and Jiang Jie. However, the first two are young, and it’s unlikely they are involved in that matter from years ago.”