Chapter Thirty-Nine: Rat Poison

After inquiring about Liu Yuxiang’s situation, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan politely declined the enthusiastic invitation from Lu Jun and his wife to stay for dinner. As they prepared to leave, the couple insisted on seeing them out, their warmth so overwhelming that both officers felt somewhat out of place.

“No matter how outrageous my brother was, no matter how much of a disappointment he became, he was still family. It pains me that he was killed, and seeing you work so hard to solve the case while we, as relatives, can do nothing to help—it feels like we’re only adding to your burden,” Lu Jun said, unable to keep the polite words from his lips after failing to persuade the police to stay.

“It’s nothing, really. This is just our job. No need for such courtesy. We hope to give you an answer as soon as possible,” An Changpu replied, courteous as always.

Lu Jun’s expression grew somewhat awkward as he tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You don’t need to report back to us. You know, we haven’t interacted with my brother’s family for a long time before he died. Now that he’s gone, there’s even less reason. If there’s anything to explain, go to Ding Mulan and her daughters.”

An Changpu smiled at him, and as Lu Jun spoke, his gaze inadvertently swept over something placed at the corner of the small storage room outside in the yard.

“Oh? Is this rat poison?” He abruptly changed direction, stepping off the brick path and heading straight for the storage room. He bent down to examine the half-empty plastic bag at the wall.

“Yes, yes, it is rat poison!” Lu Jun hurried after him.

An Changpu straightened up, still smiling, and with a hint of embarrassment he said, “Would it be too much to ask for some rat poison? I’m sorry, but recently there have been rats in the Public Security Bureau building. These days, it’s almost impossible to buy rat poison in the city, and it’s not convenient to place mousetraps inside.”

“Of course! That’s no problem at all,” Lu Jun agreed promptly and turned to his wife, who was following behind. “Go to the back room and fetch a new bag for the officers.”

Lu Jun’s wife responded immediately, lifting her feet to go get the rat poison, but An Changpu waved her off, indicating she needn’t hurry. He took a plastic bag from his pocket, bent down, and carefully scooped the remaining half bag into it.

“No need for a whole bag, this is enough,” An Changpu thanked the couple for their kindness.

Lu Jun watched An Changpu wrap up the rat poison, his expression tinged with suspicion, and asked, “Why didn’t you touch the bag with your hands? Why did you wrap it so tightly in plastic?”

“Well, you can never be too careful, right? This is rat poison. I don’t want to accidentally get it on my hands and then touch my mouth,” An Changpu replied, helplessly. “You know how careless we men can be sometimes. With other things, it’s not so bad, but with rat poison, it’s not worth the risk.”

Lu Jun laughed, clapping An Changpu on the shoulder. “You’re a funny one! Rat poison these days isn’t like it used to be; it’s not that toxic. When we were young, it was different. I’ll tell you, you can barely kill a rat with it now. If a person got some on their hands, or even ate half a bag, they wouldn’t die—at most they’d have a bout of vomiting and diarrhea.”

“Ha! That’s quite the story,” An Changpu teased.

Lu Jun blushed, rubbing the back of his head as he shook it. “What story? It’s just that a woman in our village once quarreled with her husband and tried to kill herself with rat poison. She ate more than half a bag and didn’t die. That’s how I know.”

An Changpu chuckled, thanked the couple once more, then got into the car with Qin Ruonan. They waved goodbye and drove off.

“You suspect this rat poison is connected to Lu Min’s death?” Qin Ruonan had watched quietly from the side. No matter how relaxed or casual An Changpu’s excuses sounded, the intention and the details made it clear to her that the request for rat poison was about far more than dealing with rodents. Besides, the Public Security Bureau building was crowded every day and had no food to attract rats.

An Changpu was forthright with his partner. “Didn’t Dr. Zhao say that Lu Min had traces of toxins in his system when he died? It looked like someone had poisoned him, but not enough to kill. Considering Lu Min’s social circle, the most accessible toxins would be rat poison or pesticides.”

“But Lu Jun and Lu Min had a poor relationship. They’d fallen out twice, nearly coming to blows. With that kind of animosity, do you think he would have had the opportunity to poison Lu Min?” Qin Ruonan was skeptical.

“I understand your point, and I’ve considered it. If Lu Jun wanted to poison Lu Min, he’d need someone’s help—with their relationship so broken, the chances of success would be slim.”

“So you plan to take it back to test, first to see if the toxins match, and second to check whose fingerprints are on the bag?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s hurry and get it to the lab!” Qin Ruonan said eagerly. But as soon as she finished speaking, a clear rumble echoed from her stomach. With no music playing in the car, the sound was especially loud.

Her face flushed deep red. An Changpu, mindful of her dignity, barely managed to suppress his laughter. He glanced at her and sighed softly. “Your stomach is smarter than your brain—it knows what’s most important right now.”

After that rumble, Qin Ruonan could hardly deny her hunger. She remained silent to ease her embarrassment.

On the way, An Changpu received a call. The preliminary investigation into Lu Ji’s business was complete: it turned out Lu Ji’s ventures had never prospered. He’d switched trades three or four times, none successfully, and more than that, his conduct was far from honest. He often teamed up with idle men from Jiangkou District to gamble in underground mahjong parlors. Sometimes, the meager income from his small shop wasn’t enough to cover his gambling debts.

Hearing all this, An Changpu couldn’t help but shake his head. He thought silently that the world was indeed full of all sorts. In Lu Min’s family, not a single relative seemed trouble-free—and that was truly headache-inducing.