"Deputy, please don't call them; it's really not necessary. Let's have a good talk, you ask whatever you want to ask directly from me." The chubby lady led Luke and Xia Hei to a nearby sofa,
"Please have a seat. What would you like to drink? I'll have someone prepare it—tea, coffee, we have both.
The tea is even shipped from back home, costing thousands per pound. My husband usually can't bear to drink it; I'll go pour you a pot."
Luke suddenly felt as if he were back home working on a case, and pointed at the sofa across, "Sit down to talk."
Luke shook the business card in his hand, "I ask what, you answer what, understand?"
"No problem, we just run a small business, nothing illegal, nothing to hide, definitely will cooperate with both of you on the investigation."
"Zhang Wenyan, this is my business card." The chubby lady handed over a business card with both hands.
Luke took the business card and saw, Modish Moms Maternity Center:
Lobby Manager, Zhang Wenyan.
"Who calls the shots in this maternity center?"
"My husband decides on big matters, I decide on the small ones, my husband is not here, you can just talk to me."
Luke observed the chubby lady's figure, thinking inwardly that without some connections, she wouldn't likely be the front desk.
"Do you know Mrs. Kenneth?"
"What's her real name?"
"Ma Yanfang, but later she thought it sounded too rustic and changed her name to Amy Ma."
"Seems like you're quite familiar with her."
"Not really, but the Chinese community here isn't very big, finding out about someone isn't hard."
"What's the relationship between your maternity center and her?"
Zhang Wenyan furrowed her brow, seeming troubled, "Can't really say we have a relationship, just that... how do I put it."
"I know there's a business connection between you, I'm here only to investigate Amy Ma, and I'm not interested in the grey business interests of your maternity center.
You can now make hypothetical statements that won't be used as evidence in court."
Zhang Wenyan let out a sigh of relief, "Actually, it's nothing much, she just helps us bring in clients, and for each client she introduces, she gets a commission."
"How much does she make per client?"
Zhang Wenyan hesitated again.
"Time to stop hiding things now. We're not from the IRS, and we don't care about your tax evasion; we just need to investigate Amy Ma as a person."
Zhang Wenyan still wasn't reassured, "Then why are you investigating her?"
"Amy Ma was kidnapped. We are investigating the people who have a stake in her affairs."
"Kidnapped!" Zhang Wenyan showed a shocked expression, "When did this happen, how do I not know about it?"
"June 19th, between 9 PM and midnight, where were you?"
"At home, that was my husband's birthday, I had invited a bunch of friends over to celebrate, and it wasn't over till after eleven, and by the time I cleaned up, it was midnight."
"When was the last time you saw Amy Ma?"
"At least a half month ago, to be honest, I don't really like associating with her. I mean she isn't young anymore, always dresses up flamboyantly, it's not really my thing to interact with such people.
We only contact due to business reasons, like when there's a client, she would call me."
"Has she been acting unusual lately, or offended anyone?"
Zhang Wenyan thought for a moment, "About a week ago, on June 14th or 15th, someone came looking for her.
Thinking about it now, that person was rather odd.
This man came in, claiming Mrs. Kenneth had referred him, saying his family member wanted to use our maternity center, so I started chatting with him.
Initially, it felt normal, asking about the maternity center's conditions, living environment, food, hygiene, and such, it really seemed like he was interested, even inquiring about the current prices carefully.
After talking a fair bit, he shifted the topic to Mrs. Kenneth, kept asking if I could get in touch with her, wanted me to arrange a meeting with her.
I felt something was off, I thought, hadn't she referred him?
Now why is he asking me about her?
I smelled a rat and didn't agree.
Later, he asked for Mrs. Kenneth's address, I didn't tell him that either.
Eventually, seeing that I wasn't responsive, he left."
"Did he say why he was looking for Mrs. Kenneth?"
"Do you have his photo or surveillance footage?"
"To protect the privacy of pregnant women, there are no cameras inside the maternity center, though outside cameras are installed."
"Can you describe what he looked like?"
"Asian, thick eyebrows, wearing sunglasses, a bit dark, of medium build, about 180 cm tall, looked to be in his early thirties."
As Zhang Wenyan described, Luke compared the man's details with the information from the scene's footprint analysis.
[Shoes, rhombus-patterned leather shoes
Weight, 70-80 kilograms
Age, between 30 and 35 years.]
Zhang Wenyan's description of height, weight, and age were approximately accurate.
Luke pursued further, "What shoes was he wearing?"
Zhang Wenyan, touching her forehead, "I can't remember clearly, it seemed... like leather shoes, maybe."
"How did he get here?"
"Seems like he drove."
"A black car, I can't quite remember the brand."
Luke walked outside, glanced at the camera above the door, "Pull up the surveillance footage, I need to check it."
Zhang Wenyan, though somewhat reluctant, didn't dare refuse and, following Luke's instructions, pulled up the surveillance footage.