Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
“You’ll have to ask security about that—”
“Could you ask them now? I’ll call back in ten minutes.”
I hung up.
My second call was to the woman who owned the grocery store downstairs.
“Ms. Zhang, I bought groceries from you around six yesterday evening. Do you remember?”
“Oh, of course! Tomatoes, eggs, a bag of rice. You asked if I had any cilantro—”
“You have security cameras, don’t you?”
“Yes. One outside, one at the register.”
“Please save the footage. Don’t delete it. Someone may come to collect it.”
“What’s happened?”
“Nothing. Just do me this favor, please.”
I hung up.
My third call was to my mobile carrier.
“I’d like the call history for this number between nine and ten last night.”
“We’ll need to verify that you’re the account holder—”
Once that was done, the representative read it out.
At 9:13 p.m., an incoming call from my mother’s number. Duration: four minutes and twenty-seven seconds.
At 9:18, no call recorded.
No further calls through six in the morning.
I entered it all into the notes on my phone.
The door opened.
It wasn’t either of the officers.
It was my mother.
Her padded jacket had faded from washing. Her hair was a mess, her eyes swollen almost shut. Mud still clung to her shoes.
The younger officer followed, looking uncomfortable.
“Your family said they wanted to see you. We—”
My mother was already in front of me, her voice lowered.
“Yanqing! Listen to me. Your brother’s still in there! Just say you were driving. You have no criminal record. Two or three years at most—”
“Would you close the door, please?” I asked the young officer.
He hesitated, then pulled it shut.
We were alone.
My mother kept talking. “Your brother’s only just married. His wife’s pregnant. If he goes to prison—”
“Mom.”
“What?”
“Did you get that driver’s license made in my name?”
Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.
“My photograph. My personal information. A fake driver’s license. Was it you, or was it Yanwen?”
“What license—”
“You put the shoes in the car ahead of time. The ID copy, too. When did you start preparing all this?”
She took half a step back.
“What nonsense are you talking—”
“Mom, you called me at nine thirteen last night. The call records are there. You told me to take the blame for Yanwen. I refused. Four minutes and twenty-seven seconds. The carrier has a record of every second.”
Her expression was changing.
Panic gave way to something else.
“If you make a scene here today, and tomorrow the police find out those things were planted beforehand, you and Yanwen won’t just be dealing with a hit-and-run anymore. Fabricating evidence. Framing someone. Those are separate offenses.”
She stood motionless. One button on her jacket was fastened into the wrong hole.
“Think carefully.”
I leaned back in my chair.
“Call the police in for me. I have something to add to my statement.”
She didn’t move.
She stood there for about ten seconds. Then she suddenly crouched on the floor and burst into tears.
“I’m your mother… he’s my only son… how can you bear to see him go to prison…”
Footsteps sounded outside.
The older officer opened the door and glanced at my mother on the floor.
“Zhao Yanqing, did you know your brother’s car has a dashcam?”
I looked at him.
“Someone removed the memory card. But we’ve recovered footage from the system’s cloud backup.”
My mother stopped crying.
“The person in the driver’s seat is male.”
She didn’t lift her head.
For a few seconds, the office was silent.
The older officer’s radio crackled. He switched it off.
“Zhao Yanqing, you can go. Keep your phone on. We may still need your cooperation.”
I stood.
As I passed my mother, she grabbed my trouser leg.
“Yanqing—”
I looked down at her hand.
Dirt beneath her nails. A split in the nail of her middle finger.
“Let go.”
Her grip tightened.
I didn’t bend down to pry her fingers loose.
I took a step. The fabric slipped free.
The sun was just coming out as I left the station.
On the steps, I narrowed my eyes and drew a deep breath.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Mr. Zhou at property management:
Found the records. Zhao Yanqing, Unit 602, entered by facial recognition at 6:27 p.m. yesterday. No further entries or exits until 6:51 this morning.