Afternoon sunlight slanted through the glass window, casting diamond-shaped patches on the floor. Su Li gripped the steering wheel with one hand, maneuvering the police car into a parking spot with a squeal of tires grazing the line. In the backseat, Ji Mo wrestled with the seatbelt, treating the buckle like some intricate puzzle, his fingers tracing the metal for a hidden catch.
"We're here. Stop fiddling! Hit the red button!" Su Li leaned over, her hair brushing his nose. A faint mint shampoo scent mingled with the car's lemon air freshener, stirring a memory of the citrus groves behind his old sect's gate.
Ji Mo hesitated, then pressed the button. With a click, the belt released. He looked up, meeting Su Li's face inches away. Her skin glowed a healthy wheat tone in the sunlight, faint freckles dotting her nose vividly.
"Modern mechanisms… quite clever," he said with a sheepish grin.
Su Li rolled her eyes. "It's a seatbelt. Saves lives." She shoved the door open, heat washing over them. "Follow me. Don't wander off."
The station's glass doors gleamed, reflecting blinding sunlight. Ji Mo froze before the automatic doors, eyeing the sliding gap warily until Su Li yanked him forward. "Stop gawking. The door won't bite." She dragged him toward the front desk.
Old Wang peered over his newspaper, his gaze lingering on Ji Mo for two seconds. "Yo, Xiao Su, this your cosplay boyfriend?" He winked, the paper rustling mischievously.
Su Li's mouth twitched. "Shut it. I'm here to report on the dock case." She patted the folder under her arm, its edges creased from her grip.
"Chief says go straight to his office," Wang drawled, folding the paper slowly. "Oh, and Chen Ming was just there."
Su Li's nails scraped the counter sharply.
The chief's office was frigid, the air conditioner humming like summer cicadas. The chief signed papers without looking up, sweat beading on his forehead. Chen Ming stood nearby, jingling car keys, a faint smirk on his lips.
"Old Lady Li's cat is missing. Take Ji Mo and check it out," the chief said, his pen scratching. "Chen Ming's handling the dock case follow-up."
"Li's cat?" Su Li's voice shot up an octave. "I'm criminal investigations, not a beat cop!" She slammed the desk, splashing tea from the chief's cup. "Lost pets are for community officers!"
The chief glanced up, his eyes flicking to Ji Mo, who was staring at the digital calendar's blinking numbers, oblivious to the argument. "Orders from above: get him used to modern life," the chief said, lowering his voice and tapping the desk. "Think a murder scene's the place for a lesson?"
Chen Ming jangled his keys, whistling. "Su, want me to take it? Dock case is nearly wrapped."
Su Li tossed her report onto the desk, papers scattering. "I want extra fieldwork pay."
The chief sighed, pulling an envelope from a drawer. "Taxi fare."
By 2 p.m., they were in a quiet corner of the old town. Old Lady Li clutched a photo of her tabby cat, framed in faded peachwood, the glass polished to a mirror sheen. Her gnarled fingers traced the frame's edge repeatedly.
"Officer, my Tiger Girl is so well-behaved…" Li's voice trembled, echoing down the alley. "Never stays out overnight, always back by seven for dinner… I sleep with her every night. Something's wrong!"
Neighbor Aunt Zhang leaned out her window, munching a cucumber half. "Maybe the cat's off on a date? Didn't it flirt with Old Man Li's female cat the other day?"
Li scoffed. "That fat ham of a cat, seducing my Tiger Girl?"
"'Tiger Girl'… isn't she female?" Ji Mo muttered, confused.
Li's throat rattled with phlegm. "Who says Tiger Girl has to be female? It's that tailor Zhang who stole her!"
"You suspect Tailor Zhang?" Su Li pulled out her notebook, pen tapping the page.
"Definitely him!" Li fumbled in a tin box, producing a blue-and-white yarn ball, her hands shaking like dry twigs. "Tiger Girl's favorite toy. Found it in his trash!" The yarn bore dark red stains, glinting oddly in the sunlight.
Just days ago, witnesses had seen Tiger Girl at Zhang's doorstep, licking her paws and eyeing his fragrant braised pig's feet.
Ji Mo crouched, nose nearly touching the yarn ball. He inhaled deeply. "Fishy scent, rust… but no pig's feet."
Su Li stomped his foot, her hiking boot grinding into his cloth shoe. "Be quiet." She forced a professional smile at Li. Ji Mo's eyes watered from the pain.
As Su Li bagged the yarn ball as evidence, she noticed the brownish stains—possibly blood.
Jinxiu Tailor Shop, the only tailor in south town, was a rare relic of the era. The air smelled of fabric and mothballs. The sewing machine's clatter stopped when Su Li flashed her badge.
Tailor Zhang, in his fifties, wore black-rimmed glasses, a center-parted hairstyle, and a navy Mao suit, a tape measure dangling around his neck. His shop was a neighborhood fixture, his skills top-notch, but he was a quiet loner, a perennial gossip target.
Zhang pushed up his glasses, sweat trickling into his collar. "I hate cats. Li's keeps coming here," he said, rubbing a scabbed scratch on his wrist, blue thread caught in his nails. "They steal my fabric, but I didn't take her cat."
Ji Mo touched the hem of an unfinished cheongsam on the counter.
"Don't!" Su Li snapped, but Ji Mo held up a blue fiber, studying it in the light.
"Lady Su," he said, "it matches the yarn ball."
Zhang's needle pricked his finger, blood blooming on the pale fabric like a tiny red flower.
"You okay?" Su Li frowned.
"Fine. Happens all the time in this trade," Zhang said through gritted teeth, his eyes darting to a corner wardrobe.
By evening, after canvassing neighbors, Su Li and Ji Mo returned to the station. In the forensics lab, under harsh fluorescent lights, the yarn ball's blue-white fibers showed a distinct cross-weave under the microscope.
Technician Xiao Zhou chewed a lollipop, the stick rolling between his teeth. "Matches Zhang's fabric exactly." He tapped the keyboard, pulling up a spectral analysis. "But here's the kicker—"
A benzodiazepine peak danced on the screen.
"Common in pet sedatives," Zhou said, spinning his chair. "But this concentration could knock out a German shepherd."
Su Li turned the evidence bag, plastic crinkling. "Sedating a cat's not illegal, unless…"
Moonlight slipped through the blinds, casting a soft glow on Ji Mo's lashes. His hair swayed in the night breeze. "I believe… the cat was killed," he said softly.
"You think you're Conan?" Su Li quipped, picturing the anime detective.
"What's… Conan?" Ji Mo asked.
"A kid who brings death wherever he goes." Su Li rolled her eyes, then resumed discussing case details with Zhou.
Ji Mo listened, half-understanding, until his stomach let out a long, loud grrr that echoed in the lab. Su Li glanced up, catching his embarrassed look, and smirked. Her watch read 7 p.m.
"That's it for today," she said, closing her file. "We'll pick up tomorrow, Zhou."