Chapter 13: Missing

~Let’s go! Let’s go to the rooftop~

Ji Zhao, whom they had seen just an hour ago, had disappeared? The golden child, admired and applauded by many, vanished despite being surrounded by people?

Zhao Xiangwan recalled Ji Zhao’s oil painting, which captured the essence of rural wilderness. She sat up straight, sipped her tea, and listened closely to Lu Manning.

“Captain Xu! Oh, Captain Xu is here too.” Lu Manning had known her son was hosting a dinner at her hotel but assumed it was just a gathering of friends. She hadn’t expected Xu Songling, captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, to be among the guests.

“Great!” she exclaimed, relieved. “Since the whole Major Case Team is here, I’ll inform President Ji immediately.”

Ji Jinmao soon arrived, flanked by two tall bodyguards in black suits. Despite his experience handling crises, he was visibly anxious about his only child’s disappearance. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he answered Xu Songling’s questions.

“When did you realize Ji Zhao was missing?”

“Half an hour ago.”

“He’s an adult. Being gone for thirty minutes isn’t necessarily an issue.”

“Ji Zhao is reclusive, avoids strangers, and has a language barrier. He never goes out alone and always takes Luo Yihui with him. He’s obedient and wouldn’t just disappear.”

“Were there any signs of harm at the scene?”

“No.”

“Then this might not qualify as a missing person case.”

“I know, but Ji Zhao isn’t like others. I’m really worried.”

The police typically file a missing person case if there are clear signs of harm, a person disappears with valuables or a vehicle, a minor under 14 is missing for 48 hours, a person vanishes after a major dispute, the cause is unknown and exceeds three months, or other suspicious circumstances arise. ^[1]These are legal criteria for police to initiate a missing person investigation.

Although Ji Jinmao believed his son’s case was serious, there were no evident signs of foul play, and Ji Zhao might have left on his own. The police were unlikely to file a case.

Ji Jinmao calmed himself and explained, “Luo Yihui came to tell me Ji Zhao was missing, and I immediately locked down all hotel exits. If he’s still inside, we might find him. If he’s already left, this was a planned kidnapping, and I’ll have to wait for the kidnapper’s demands.”

Hearing the name “Luo Yihui” again, Xu Songling asked cautiously, “Who is Luo Yihui? Is he trustworthy?”

“He’s my brother-in-law’s son, Ji Zhao’s cousin. One of our own.”

Xu Songling nodded. “If you trust him, that’s good.”

Ji Jinmao hesitated, then his expression darkened. “If Ji Zhao is safe, I’m willing to meet any demands. Money is nothing if it means avoiding disaster.”

His voice trembled as he admitted his worst fear: “I’m afraid… afraid that Ji Zhao…” He couldn’t finish the thought. What if it was a kidnapping? What if a body was found?

Xu Songling reassured him, “Mr. Ji, let’s stay optimistic. Ji Zhao might still be in the hotel. Regardless of whether a case is filed, the Major Case Team is already here. We’ll help you search.”

“Thank you! Thank you!” Ji Jinmao was deeply grateful and detailed how Ji Zhao went missing.

Ji Zhao disliked socializing, so Ji Jinmao organized his exhibitions. At the banquet, Ji Zhao stayed for only five minutes before heading to the top floor with his cousin and assistant, Luo Yihui, using a private elevator.

Half an hour ago, Luo Yihui had rushed to Ji Jinmao, saying Ji Zhao was gone.

“Gone? How could he be gone?” Ji Jinmao had nearly shouted.

Luo Yihui, two years older than Ji Zhao, had been taken in by the Ji family at age six after his parents divorced. Since they were family, Ji Jinmao had trusted him to stay with Ji Zhao.

Luo Yihui explained hurriedly, “It was dusk, and the streetlights were on. Ji Zhao was sitting on the terrace by the pool, silently watching the city lights. I had stomach trouble and left for about ten minutes. Before leaving, I asked Duan Yong to watch him. When I came back, both of them were gone.”

Duan Yong was a Ji family bodyguard.

“Did you check the studio?”

“Yes, he wasn’t there.”

“What about Aunt Feng?”

“She has a cold and stayed inside to avoid infecting Ji Zhao.”

“Where were the staff on the top floor?”

“Ji Zhao dislikes strangers, so they stayed at their posts. They said they didn’t see him.”

“What about the private elevator guard?”

“He didn’t see Ji Zhao come down.”

Ji Jinmao adored his son and protected him fiercely despite his autism. He provided everything Ji Zhao could ever want or need.

The private 2,000-square-meter club on the Four Seasons Hotel’s top floor was exclusively for Ji Zhao. He disliked public appearances and spent most of his time painting in his studio, swimming, or daydreaming in the club.

The staff included a housekeeper, two cooks, two cleaners, and two security guards at the elevator. Everyone knew Ji Zhao well. Yet, with so many people around, how could two individuals simply vanish?

The private elevator goes directly to the top floor, with guards stationed upstairs and downstairs. Since Ji Jinmao confirmed that the elevator security guard did not see Ji Zhao, it means he could not have been taken through the elevator.

He Mingyu asked, “What about the stairs?”

Xu Songling quickly calculated: The hotel guest rooms are three meters high, with 20 steps per floor. The lower three floors, which house restaurants and banquet halls, are five meters high with 33 steps each. At a moderate pace of one step per second, it would take six minutes to descend from the rooftop. If it was a kidnapping, escaping via the stairs before Ji Jinmao reacted was entirely possible.

If Ji Zhao had already left the hotel, the situation became more complicated.

Zhu Manning said, “The 16th floor has guest rooms. To prevent ordinary guests from accessing the 17th-floor club, there’s an iron fence at the stairwell entrance that requires a key.”

Xu Songling asked, “Who has the key?”

Zhu Manning replied, “I have one, and the housekeeper, Sister Feng, has another. There’s also an emergency splitting axe at the stairs to break the lock if needed.”

Xu Songling asked, “Are there any signs of tampering?”

Zhu Manning shook her head. “I don’t know. Luo Yihui searched the top floor but didn’t find Ji Zhao or Duan Yong, so he went to inform President Ji. I thought Xiaopeng was dining here, so I rushed over and didn’t check upstairs.”

Zhu Feipeng asked, “Could someone have used equipment to transport him off the roof?”

Xu Songling decided immediately, “Let’s check the rooftop. If they used equipment, there would be traces.”

Though it was a holiday, the urgency of the situation put the police into action. Xu Songling commanded efficiently:

“Zhu Feipeng, Zhao Xiangwan, come with me to the rooftop.”

“Yes!”

“He Mingyu, contact the station and request a police dog.”

“Yes!”

“Liu Liangju and Ai Hui, investigate the hotel guests.”

“Yes!”

“Huang Yuande and Zhu Kang, question the hotel staff.”

“Yes!”

A moment ago, they were dining, joking, and drinking. Now, they straightened up and swiftly followed their captain’s orders.

The Four Seasons Hotel’s rooftop had an expansive view.

In the early 1990s, high-rises were rare, making the 17-story Four Seasons Hotel stand out among six-story brick buildings. The rooftop was a lush garden with hedges, flowers, and bamboo trellises. A white 2,000-square-meter building sat among the greenery, while a swimming pool with clear blue water shimmered in the southwest corner.

Zhu Feipeng, though from a wealthy family, was stunned by the Ji family’s extravagant rooftop villa.

Xu Songling, wearing white gloves, checked the terrace edges and top-floor windows. “No signs of ropes or harnesses,” he confirmed.

He then examined the stairwell’s iron fence, pulling the padlock. “It’s unlocked. Someone opened it.”

Ji Jinmao clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. Panic flickered in his eyes.

[The door is unlocked! Ji Zhao went down the stairs? Where is he? My son may not speak, but he understands everything. He is gentle, well-behaved, and never causes trouble. Damn it! Who took him? What do they want?]

Suppressing his fear, Ji Jinmao shouted, “Where’s Aunt Feng? Where’s the key? Why was the fence unlocked?”

Despite the search, time slipped by with no clues.

Ji Zhao had vanished like a feather carried away by the wind.

Zhao Xiangwan observed carefully.

The chef had been in the kitchen. Cleaning staff, fearful of the police, truthfully reported they hadn’t seen Ji Zhao before his disappearance.

Housekeeper Feng Ma, drowsy from cold medicine, arrived late.

She said, “I caught a cold and avoided Ji Zhao. I stayed in my room and didn’t see anything. My key was in my pocket the whole time. Was the fence opened? Was it locked? I don’t know. I was sick and unaware.”

Her eyes were red, likely from tears, and she yawned repeatedly—a sign of exhaustion. Her nasal tone and unfocused gaze suggested illness, but she avoided Xu Songling’s eyes.

Her respectful attitude contradicted her defensive body language—arms crossed, toes pointed inward.

Something was off.

Zhao Xiangwan took a deep breath, tuning into her thoughts.

[Why does Ji Zhao, that cripple, get everything, yet no doctor checks on me? I have to serve him, even when sick! If he wandered off, so what? Why should I get out of bed to deal with this?]

Time was crucial. Zhao Xiangwan stepped forward. “Captain Xu, can I question her?”

Xu Songling glanced at her and nodded.