White Lies

I was worrying about how to negotiate with LaoYao when Huang Xiaotao snatched the phone: "I'm Song Yang's partner, police officer Huang Xiaotao. You're LaoYao, right? As long as you help us, I'll give you all of the reward money I receive after solving this case."

LaoYao was overjoyed: "Officer Huang is really generous! Okay, okay, I'll look it up immediately."

Then Huang Xiaotao hung up and casually tossed the phone back to me. I was surprised and said: "Damn, aren't you being too generous! Just for LaoYao to search online, you're giving him the whole reward?"

Huang Xiaotao winked at me: "You missed a word. I said the reward money that 'I receive'. How much they give out is up to them, how much I take is up to me. Who knows, maybe I'll only take a few hundred, or maybe I won't take a cent!" After being a cop for so long, do you think I can't outsmart a little kid like this?"

I was thoroughly impressed. Huang Xiaotao's scheming ran deep.

Huang Xiaotao asked: "That guy talked kind of gay, it's the one you mentioned last time right?"

"He doesn't admit it, but our classmates all think he is." I replied.

"Then do you like men too?" Huang Xiaotao asked.

I quickly said: "Why would you have such a ridiculous misunderstanding!"

Huang Xiaotao muttered: "Oh, then I'm relieved."

Relieved? Relieved about what? I was totally confused.

When we returned to the police station, I said: "It's so late now, Leader Liao has probably gotten off work. There's a hospital nearby, so let's just take this girl there for now."

"Okay!"

Huang Xiaotao started the car and we arrived at the hospital. Then Wang Yuanchao carried the girl inside.

The doctor examined her and said the girl was fine, just a little malnourished and traumatized. The doctor asked which one of us was her guardian. Huang Xiaotao showed her police ID, so the doctor didn't ask anymore. The doctor gave the girl some IV nutrition and found a room for her to rest first.

Wang Yuanchao went out for a smoke, so I sat down next to Huang Xiaotao. But as soon as I sat down, she suddenly moved over a seat.

I wondered to myself: "Do you have some issue with me tonight?"

Huang Xiaotao looked up at the ceiling light and casually said: "No."

I figured it must have been the incident when I groped her chest in the alley, but if I brought it up again she would definitely get angry. I thought hard and came up with what I thought was the most conciliatory compensation method. I said to her: "When we get back to Nanjiang City, I'll treat you to a meal. I know a great pizza place."

"No need, thanks!" Huang Xiaotao coldly replied.

Just then, crying and shouting came from the patient room. We rushed in and saw the girl had woken up and was crying for her mom and dad. Huang Xiaotao went to pat her head, but the girl curled up in a ball with her body trembling slightly. Her eyes were full of tears and long eyelashes still had glistening teardrops. She looked just like a frightened baby deer.

"Don't be afraid, we're the police..." Huang Xiaotao said.

As soon as the girl heard the word "police", she started bawling: "Police auntie, did something really happen to my mom and dad?"

Huang Xiaotao nodded, and the girl hugged her pillow and cried inconsolably.

After she had cried enough, Huang Xiaotao asked her some simple questions. It turned out this girl was the victim's daughter, Huang Yuanyuan. She had called home a few days ago and couldn't get through to her parents' phones, so she called her relatives to ask what was going on. But the relatives were all evasive, so she immediately guessed something must have happened at home.

So she ran away from school in the middle of the night. Her school was quite far from home, and it took her a long time by bus to get back. When she arrived, she found the house dark with seal tape outside. She vaguely heard some movement upstairs, like some "bad guys" were doing something in her house.

Hearing this, Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged glances. So when we were reenacting the crime scene upstairs, the girl thought we were the bad guys when she came back.

Of course, facing the heartbroken little girl, we couldn't laugh or interrupt her to explain.

The girl went on to say tearfully: "How did my dad, mom and grandma die? Please don't lie to me."

"They..." Huang Xiaotao hesitated and delegated this tricky question to me with her eyes.

"Gas leak. The three of them were eating dinner and didn't turn off the gas properly. They went together without suffering." I lied benevolently.

"Can I see them then?" the girl pleaded at me.

I shook my head: "I'm really sorry, but the bodies have already been sent for autopsy by the coroner. It would be too upsetting for you to see them now."

The girl buried her face in the pillow and continued sobbing. Something like this would be devastating for anyone, let alone a young girl. Huang Xiaotao was about to ask more questions, but I shook my head indicating we should wait. So we went back outside.

Huang Xiaotao glanced at me: "Not bad, you're quite kind-hearted."

I said: "There's no hiding the truth about her parents' death from her, so I had to tell a well-meaning lie."

"We're staying here tonight then? Then don't investigate tomorrow." Huang Xiaotao shrugged.

I said: "I'll call a couple officers to take turns keeping watch. Tomorrow we'll try to contact her relatives."

I messaged the special case team WeChat group saying I had an important task now to take care of the victim's daughter at the hospital, and I'd personally pay overtime to anyone who came. Huang Xiaotao watched me typing and tutted: "What overtime can a broke student like you pay out? You like being a sucker?"

"No, if people help out, you should give them some benefit right?"

"There are many kinds of rewards. Sometimes just a word of praise is a reward too." Huang Xiaotao snatched my phone and deleted what I wrote, quickly typing that whoever came could have a day off tomorrow instead.

After sending it, several policemen eagerly volunteered to work overtime. Huang Xiaotao gave me back the phone and smugly said: "Learn from your big sister!"

While waiting, I looked up the school's number online and called to inform them that the student was with us at the police station now.

After about half an hour, two policemen hurried over. I specifically told them that if the girl asked, to say her parents and grandma died from gas poisoning, so my benevolent lie wouldn't be exposed. Huang Xiaotao added that all medical, accommodation, transportation and meal expenses could be reimbursed, just remember to keep the receipts and she would have Leader Liao approve the reimbursement.