The visit of the prison in Qingcheng had been meaningless for Captain Luo. The news he got about the conversation between Ding Shenghuo and Zhuang Yaobai did not provide any clues as to whether the thief was planning anything. The guards reported, the thief had behaved very inconspicuously since the case was closed. Further investigations and checks on the inmates with whom Ding Shenghuo was in closer contact also led to dead ends.

Li Anfu was talkative and extremely cooperative, but had no useful information. His online video chat account, which he had used to communicate with Monsieur, still existed. When the police investigated old records on the man's computer, they discovered, that Li Anfu had never spoken to the real Monsieur. The internet network to which Li Anfu had belonged was dead. That was the end of that lead. 

When Luo Jian sought a direct conversation with Ding Shenghuo, the thief acted relaxed and calm. There was only one thing on Captain Luo's mind on the way back to the police office. The thief's final words. 

"How is Wenjie? Is he having a good vacation? I'm curious to see how long he'll be able to lead a normal life."

Not only the questions, but especially the last sentence, haunted Luo Jian until the evening, which he spent in his office as usual. There, he made himself comfortable on the sofa and thought about the case. He hadn't actually intended to involve Wenjie any more than necessary. After the conversation with Ding Shenghuo, he felt it was important to talk to the young man. 

Surely Wenjie, his friends and Zhuang Yaobai had already returned from a day trip. It didn't take long for the young man to answer the phone. 

"Captain Luo ... Is there any news?" 

His tone sounded different from the last time, rushed and out of breath, as if he had been running. 

"Can't I just call you?" Luo Jian asked with the intention of calming him down. 

"Shouldn't you ... work on the case?" There it was again, a slight halt in his flow of speech. 

After Wenjie immediately brought up the case and was clearly not in the mood for small talk, Luo Jian got straight to the point of his call. "You're right, I'm calling about the case. I want to find out if everything is all right with you. Have you been able to speak to Ding Wei yet?"

Wenjie remained silent. Luo Jian could hear noises in the background. "Do you want to ... talk to him? ... He ... Is standing next to me."

No. That wasn't necessary. But before he could say anything in reply, he heard Ding Wei's voice.

"Captain Luo?" His tone was much clearer. "What do you want to talk about? Does it concern my father?"

"Should I know something about him? He's been acting very inconspicuously lately," Luo Jian replied. 

Ding Wei swallowed audibly. "If you think I've heard of him. I haven't. It's just..." Time passed. 

Luo Jian waited patiently. 

"He certainly doesn't intend to stay in jail for ten years. And he probably won't leave us alone, if he manages to get out early. That's all."

"Mmm .... we'll keep an eye on him. Don't worry."

"Is there anything else? Has the investigation yielded anything useful yet?"

The young man was just as curious as his friend. Well, he couldn't blame them. After all, it concerned Wenjie. "Take care of yourselves, but don't forget to enjoy your vacation. Can you hand the phone over to Wenjie again?"

"Yeah, sure." There was a crackle on the line. 

Shortly afterwards, Luo Jian heard the sound of footsteps moving away. Then a door closed. Then Wenjie was back on the line. 

"I've gone over to the kitchen so we don't disturb the others. We're watching a movie. What else would you like to discuss with me?" 

Now he suddenly sounded much more composed. Luo Jian was tempted to blame his previous behavior on the film they were watching. If it wasn't for that nagging gut feeling that told him that Wenie was hiding something from him. 

"Good, then you can talk to me openly now. Wenjie, we're friends. If you have something on your mind, tell me."

All he could hear on the other end of the line was deep breathing.

"Your reaction tells me that something is wrong. I'm in the office, it's late, I have time for you. If it makes you feel better, I'll share the results of our investigation with you." 

The young man stayed on the line and listened to him. After he didn't speak, Luo Jian decided to reveal the status of the investigation to him. Perhaps he would then confide to him, what was bothering him so much. He was glad, that Wenjie didn't stall him and hang up. Then he would really worry. 

"Hm..." Wenjie finally said. "Did you check the guards too?"

No. They hadn't. Why would they? Luo Jian frowned. "You think Ding Shenghuo is blackmailing or bribing the guards?"

"Possibly. It's clear that he won't talk to my father about escape plans. He's already betrayed him once. And guards are inconspicuous informants. The police wouldn't think of investigating them for the time being. But Captain Luo, Ding Shenghuo doesn't know the position on the Weiqi board. If he's involved in this, it means he's working with Xu Zhengqing again. That, or Xu Zhengqing set it all up to throw us off the scent."

Wenjie's second assumption had already crossed Luo Jian's mind. However, Ding Shenghuo had tried to betray Xu Zhengqing in the past. Monsieur had certainly not forgiven him for almost killing Wenjie. That reduced the likelihood of Mr Xu getting involved with the thief again. But it couldn't be ruled out completely. 

"Have you also checked the additional numbers on the stones, that my father drew in afterwards? Perhaps they reveal something about the date. I can imagine, the date points to the eruption. It's also possible that this isn't about the paintings, the police seized. They're in a good state of preservation and aren't on display anywhere at the moment, are they?"

"That's right. The artifacts and paintings have been handed over to the state museums, but so far they are being kept under lock and key. As far as I know, no exhibitions are planned so far." No one knew where exactly they were stored. What if this case was only superficially about theft? Was Wenjie the real target? Should he have focused more on monitoring him to protect him in the best possible way?

to be continued ...