Detective Liu launched into another case story, but he left out all the opening details—of course we had no clue how it ended.
"This case didn't even register on our radar at first," he said, leaning back in his chair, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur. "It all started when this kid's mom showed up at the precinct, claiming her son had been murdered. Homicide cases are always top priority, right? But wait till you hear the kicker."
"The kid's mom said she'd dreamt he was killed. And since she hadn't been able to reach him in days, she marched right in to file a report."
Jake and I exchanged a look, both of us leaning forward, completely hooked.
"I mean, come on," I said, shaking my head. "You can't open a murder investigation just because someone had a bad dream, can you?"
No way the cops had the time or resources for something that outlandish.
Detective Liu nodded, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "We all thought it was ridiculous—total nonsense. No way we could open a murder case over a dream. But she really couldn't get in touch with him, and nobody else could either. To calm her down, we classified it as a missing person's case instead, just to keep her from hounding us."
"But adult missing persons cases? They're like looking for a needle in a haystack. We searched for a whole month and came up with zilch."
"Then, about six weeks later, she showed up again. Said her son had visited her in another dream. In the dream, he led her to this random dirt mound out in the middle of nowhere and told her that's where his body was buried. He even named the guy who killed him, begged her to go back to the cops, dig him up, and take his remains home so he could finally rest in peace."
Jake and I both leaned forward, our eyes wide. "What happened next?"
Detective Liu pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag before answering. "We still didn't buy it. There was no way we were gonna waste manpower and resources digging up some random hill just because of a dream."
"But there was this old cop—my mentor, actually. While the rest of us laughed it off, he believed her. Flat out. He rounded up a team, drove cross-state with that woman, and took her straight to the spot from her dream to dig."
"You wanna know the craziest part? I'll never forget how freaked out we all were. We actually dug up a body there."
"And DNA testing later confirmed it was her son's remains. Then we followed the kid's dream tip to the letter, tracked down the killer, and closed the case without breaking a sweat. Just like that."
Detective Liu finished his cigarette, a look of wonder on his face. "I've told this story to so many people over the years, and not a single one believed me. They all laughed and said, if ghosts are real and can talk to people in dreams, why don't all the murder victims out there do the same thing? Why don't they just tell their families who killed them?"
Jake leaned in, his curiosity piqued. "Detective, you've actually been through something like this—you must know more than we do. So why didn't all those other victims reach out like that kid did?"
Detective Liu shook his head, sighing deeply. "How the hell should I know? All I can tell you is that case really happened. Every word of it. No exaggeration, no made-up stuff."
"Maybe it's like my old mentor used to say—this place has been around for thousands of years. There are some things you don't have to believe in, but you do have to respect them. Human beings can only see a tiny sliver of what this world is really like. We don't know jack about the big picture."
Jake and I didn't need any more convincing. We'd lived through the weirdness ourselves. But we also knew—if you hadn't experienced it firsthand, you'd never buy a word of it.
"Honestly, I thought you two looked off from the second you walked in," Detective Liu said, giving us a meaningful glance. "You both look like hell warmed over. I was actually worried you two were on something. But for real—you guys need to take this seriously. You gotta find a way to fix this, or it could get deadly."
Jake and I latched onto his words like drowning men grabbing a life preserver. We leaned forward, practically begging. "Detective, we don't know the first thing about this stuff. We have no clue how to fix it. Please—you gotta point us in the right direction. Help us save our own skins here."
Detective Liu nodded. Greedy as he was, the guy had a good heart deep down.
"I'll hook you up with someone," he said. "Old man Zhao Qi—everyone calls him Master Qi. Back when I was with my old precinct, we ran into this kind of weirdness more than once. Every time, he was the one who fixed it. That old guy's got some real skills."
I scrambled to get his contact info, scribbling it down on a napkin as fast as I could.
Detective Liu rattled off the address and phone number, then added a warning. "He's from Northeast China—straight shooter, has a hell of a temper. Soft touch though—hates people who act tough. So you two better be on your best behavior. Be polite. Very polite."
I promised him we would be. When you're begging someone to save your life, you treat them like royalty—no questions asked.
By the time we finished dinner, we'd walked away with more leads than we'd dared hope for. The meal was worth every penny.
I almost forgot one last thing before we left. I turned back, quick as a flash. "Detective—do you have a photo of Li Xiumei?"
Detective Liu shook his head. "She grew up in a rural village. Back in those days, country kids barely ever got their picture taken. She hadn't been home in years, so her family didn't have any recent shots either. But she must have had her photo taken for ID purposes at some point. I can dig around and see if I can track one down for you—but it'll take some time."
We thanked him, then walked him out to his car and watched him drive away before finally relaxing.
"Ethan," Jake said, his brow furrowed with worry, "when Detective Liu was talking about the original owner of that condo—you really think that was your dad?"
Our families had been close for years. He cared about my dad just as much as I did. If this blew up, it would ruin everything.
"I don't know," I said, my voice tight. "But it sure as hell sounds like him. I called Grandpa earlier—his tone was all weird. I'm pretty sure Detective Liu's Guowen Cole is my dad. But there's no way he's a killer. No way."
Jake sighed, running a hand through his hair. "This is such a mess. But we can't let Detective Liu find out Guowen Cole is your dad. If he does, he'll cut us off faster than you can blink. No more tips, no more help."
I nodded, my jaw tight. I knew the stakes all too well.
We made a plan to meet up first thing tomorrow morning to track down Master Qi.
We had to fix this. Fast. Otherwise, we were as good as dead.
Neither of us could drive—we'd both had too much to drink—so we called separate ride-hails.
Jake was too spooked to go home. He headed straight for a 24-hour spa, planning to crash there for the night.
Me? I was heading home.
I had to talk to my dad. Had to find out exactly what his connection to Li Xiumei was. Once and for all.