After a flirtatious interaction, Jian Jing had gained the upper hand.
Originally, she could only secretly observe and discreetly investigate. But now, she was able to openly take advantage of the situation.
This was the benefit of getting everyone involved - celebrities, famous writers, executive directors were all questioned. As an accompanying staff member, why shouldn't she cooperate?
Through listening devices planted on the police, Jian Jing and Zong Ye heard all the questioning.
But since this was a fake case, the questioning of irrelevant personnel was omitted. Only the key figures' situations were described.
First were the female bodyguard and male bodyguard that Zong Ye was suspicious of.
The police asked, "Do you know the poisoned person?"
Female bodyguard: "I don't know him."
They asked again, "Did you notice anyone in conflict with the victim earlier?"
Female bodyguard: "No."
They also asked, "Did you notice anyone lingering around his desk?"
Female bodyguard: "No."
The answers to other questions were the same.
I don't know, I'm not familiar, I didn't notice.
These answers had no value in themselves. What was valuable was her demeanor and choice of words.
When the police asked questions, they observed her, and she also quickly sized them up. Then, a trace of contempt emerged from her brow and eyes.
Very obvious contempt.
It was clear she didn't think much of these people at all. Her answers were concise and to the point. But it wasn't careful, cautious phrasing. Rather, it was the arrogance of someone too lazy to say another word.
At first, Jian Jing couldn't figure out the source of her arrogance. Was it pure disdain, or was it the confidence that they wouldn't discover anything unusual about her? Or was it a murderer's enjoyment of openly mocking the police right to their faces?
But soon, she realized the female bodyguard was not alone.
All the bodyguards questioned had this same arrogance.
The female bodyguard was already quite restrained. The one who had compared the curry to vomit was even more brazen, directly insulting the local police as being like house pets.
There was another one who was just messing with them.
When asked if she had noticed the victim in any disputes, she answered "I think so". When asked who it was with, she then said "I didn't see clearly, who knows" with an air of nonchalance. When they asked again, her answers flip-flopped between "yes" and "no", completely toying with them.
Jian Jing was immediately frustrated, "What the hell?"
Thankfully this was a fake case. If it had been real, encountering suspects like these, she would've wanted to give them a beating.
Zong Ye said, "In their country, the military's status is very high. They only take orders from the king. The police station is much lower status than them. This is probably normal for them."
Jian Jing tried her best to calm her emotions, "So you mean this isn't an act?"
"Yes."
In the Golden Triangle region, high level bosses and low level bosses were very different. High level bosses had legitimate identities and regular subordinates. They were powerful forces unto themselves. Low level bosses needed to cozy up to backers everywhere and were completely different.
The assassination order as a petition made it clear this was not the former. And as the latter, no matter how many people he had killed, it was impossible for him to arrogantly mock the police.
In addition, it would be hard to fake this uniform contempt. The female bodyguard and her colleagues were too similar. It really didn't seem like an act.
Next was the male bodyguard.
Compared to the bodyguards' rampant arrogance, the professional bodyguard didn't have that kind of nerve.
They were more cooperative.
Of course, this didn't mean they readily answered every question, only that their attitude was more proper.
Do you know the victim?
No.
Why are you here today?
I was hired, can't disclose the details.
Did you notice the victim in any disputes with anyone?
No.
Have you interacted with the victim?
I ran into him once in the bathroom.
How was he then?
He seemed normal.
Did you talk?
No, we didn't speak.
After listening, Jian Jing hesitated, "He doesn't seem suspicious either."
The male bodyguard that Zong Ye highly suspected had actually voluntarily told police that he had interacted with the victim once before.
One had to know, Zong Ye had pretended to be a businessman earlier specifically to test him, intentionally going to the bathroom when the other person went.
If he was the assassin, why would he voluntarily bring up this matter?
The less said, the better. Having interacted with the victim before meant at minimum slightly more attention from the police, regardless of suspicion. Yet he had spoken up about it.
Zong Ye could do nothing but sigh, "Let's keep watching for now."
The questioning kept going.
The rest of the bodyguards were questioned one by one, but their responses were shockingly uniform.
Concise, cautious, wouldn't say more than necessary but also didn't deliberately conceal anything. Even the female bodyguard was observant, mentioning that it seemed like the victim had something on his mind. Every so often he would look here and there, as if waiting for someone.
This was of course also bait that Zong Ye had laid, wanting to see if anyone would come investigate further.
The result was indeed that someone had noticed, but they showed no signs of alarm.
It was rare for Jian Jing to feel stymied, "I can't make out who has a problem."
Silence over the earpiece.
"Perhaps our line of thinking has gone into the wrong branch," she said. "Since you can disguise yourself, isn't it possible that the assassin disguised himself as the target couple?"
Their earlier analysis had all been based on the assassin being among the accompanying staff. The high level couple's identities were sensitive, difficult to interrogate or question. Being them was actually the safest option.
Zong Ye pondered for a long time before responding, "We cannot deny that possibility."
"But difficult to verify," Jian Jing spoke the hard truth for him. When even the followers needed the pretext of a case to be questioned, not to mention questioning the high level couple themselves.
They had diplomatic immunity granting them the right to refuse cooperation, and no one could do anything to them.
The two fell silent together.
The police questioning was still ongoing, but each word that passed through her ears was unable to penetrate her mind.
Jian Jing undid her fish bone braid, massaging her aching scalp to relieve the pent up tension in her nerves. To be honest, she felt a little disheartened.
In solving cases before, even if one or two suspects did not cooperate, they could still use the authority of the police or the persuasion of the cards to coerce some words out of them. But this time the conundrum involved politics, entering an unfamiliar sphere where she was powerless.
An annoying feeling.
In the silence, Zong Ye spoke, "Give me ten minutes."
"Do you have a plan now?"
"No." His calm tone contained a hint of icy sharpness, "But anyhow, doing something is better than nothing. We don't have much time left."
Jian Jing looked out the window.
The wind had quieted and it seemed to be raining less heavily.
The typhoon could pass by at any moment. The high level couple's guaranteed flight would certainly be the first to take off. Zong Ye was not mistaken, there was not much time left for them.
"Think of something," she murmured to herself and closed her eyes.
Twenty minutes later, the high-level lady came out and said to the server, "The bathroom is broken."
The server bowed and apologized, "Sorry, we'll send someone immediately to fix it for you."
"Forget it," the high-level lady didn't seem to want other people barging in. Although unhappy about it, she didn't agree to letting them enter, and directly walked to the external bathroom.
Jian Jing took the opportunity to follow her.
She had already gone to the bathroom once before. But even repeatedly going in a short amount of time wouldn't arouse too much suspicion.
The reason was simple. The VIP lounge's bathroom was just too high-class.
Humidifier, Jo Malone fragrance oils, smart makeup mirror, face steaming machine - meeting every demand a woman could have. The vanity even had a whole set of cosmetics and common moisturizing face masks, allowing one to relax in a rattan chair anytime for a little bathroom spa treatment.
Word was with a request you could even have a Thai masseuse come for a massage.
So in a situation of indefinite flight delays, it was commonplace for women to go rest and freshen up in the bathroom.
Jian Jing tore open a sheet mask and casually grabbed a magazine, flipping through a couple pages. She discovered the person on the front cover was the female celebrity steaming her face next door.
Lucky coincidence.
She casually struck up conversation, "Miss, is this you?"
The female celebrity nodded, her manner not arrogant at all, "Would you like an autograph?"
"I'm not a fan, but I quite like this outfit of yours," she pointed at the magazine and asked, "Do stores in this region have it for sale?"
The female celebrity shrugged her shoulders, "I'm afraid not."
"That was a style the designer tailor made for Asia," the fashion executive director happened to come in to touch up her makeup, immediately answering her question, "See, it has a distinct Thai style."
Jian Jing naturally glanced towards the high-level lady, "Like what she's wearing?"
The executive director nodded.
Suddenly pulled into conversation, the high-level lady's hand applying powder paused briefly before she responded with a friendly smile.
Jian Jing activated her Trust Card and Acting Skills Card, playing a girl curious about fashionable things, "Is your skirt Thai silk? The color looks a lot brighter than regular silk."
The lady replied, "Yes it is."
"A new and classic design, with many elements of Thai tube skirts," the female director had a sharp eye. "This style should be..."
She reported a name that Jian Jing had not heard before, but the high-level lady was already convinced, with a surprised look on her face.
Jian Jing pretended to know nothing about the identity of the high-level lady and asked, "A famous designer? Where can I buy it?"
"She customized it for me," the high-level lady unconsciously joined the conversation.
Jian Jing casually took a face mask out of the refrigerator and handed it over.
The lady hesitated for a moment, probably also had aspirations towards fashion circles and entertainment circles, and did not interrupt the casual chat.
While Jian Jing was outputting her shallow fashion knowledge, she observed the other party out of the corner of her eye.
Just now, she had upgraded her observation card.
[Name: Skill Card - Famous Detective's Observation (Advanced)]
[Content Description: An advanced form of observation that notices details that ordinary people don't notice, with improved perception and acceptance of information.]
[Note: Please note that the observation card is a skill card and must be combined with knowledge cards to maximize its effectiveness. Please do not blindly follow or mythologize this card.]
What is observation?
Observation is a hardware upgrade. If you use a camera as an analogy, the basic observation card is like a black and white camera, which can capture the overall image with the main focus on the overall appearance.
The intermediate observation card has already made a huge leap in quality, similar to a film camera, with greatly improved control over color and detail, able to see information that black and white cameras do not have.
The advanced observation is another step forward.
It's like it has become a digital camera, not only seeing colors, but also seeing pores and textures on people's faces clearly, with a greatly increased degree of acceptance of information, and naturally more and more content observed.
At this moment, every move of the high-level lady can reveal a lot of information.
She is very used to wearing skirts, her pace is neither too big nor too small, neither shy nor rude, her knees are slightly bruised, but a thin layer of foundation has been applied, the heels of her high heels are snugly stuck to the back of her feet, and there are no calluses or red marks caused by friction on the heel - this means that she is used to wearing high heels and matches this pair of shoes perfectly, custom made exactly according to her size.
At first, she paid more attention to female celebrities, but after figuring out the identity of the female director and knowing that she was a heavyweight in the fashion world, her eyes frequently shifted to her.
Obviously, this lady is very interested in the fashion world.
And this is not something that disguise can achieve.
A drug dealer, perhaps to conceal chatting with the female director, but the focus of the eyes will not lie, nor the words that come out of her mouth.
She is not a drug dealer.
After Jian Jing confirmed, she took off her face mask and smiled at everyone, then calmly exited the scene.
Next, she had to confirm the identity of the target. But he was very careful and never left the suite. Except for the airport surveillance when he entered, she hadn't seen him at all.
But it was okay, she had already thought of a way to test.