By the time Su Li and Ji Mo reached Old Lady Li's house, it was 9 p.m. A dim yellow bulb lit the yard, where Li stood wrapped in an old blanket, clutching a yarn ball, her face ashen.
Ji Mo lingered behind Su Li, glancing at the sky. "This light is too weak," he murmured. "If an evil entity lurks, it could hide easily in the shadows."
Su Li shot him a glance but didn't respond. She took the yarn ball, examining it under the light. It was nearly identical to the one from Tailor Zhang's trash—red bloodstains, a few cat hairs clinging to it.
"When did you find this?" Su Li asked.
"Just now, when I came to lock the gate. It was right in the middle of the yard." Li's voice trembled with tears. "Officer Su, is my Tiger Girl… is she already…?"
Su Li patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out. Go rest, we've got this."
Ji Mo watched her comfort the old woman, awkwardly raising a hand to mimic her, then dropping it with a sheepish look.
After sending Li inside, Su Li and Ji Mo searched the yard. The muddy ground held faint footprints, as if someone had hurried through.
Ji Mo crouched, studying them. "Shallow prints, uneven steps… they left in haste, or were startled by something."
Su Li snapped photos of the prints for shoe sole comparison. Ji Mo moved to the yard's corner, tugging a scrap of fabric from the fence.
"Lady Su, this cloth…" he said. "Didn't the pharmacy owner mention a man in this material?"
Su Li nodded, her mind racing. If Zhang was involved, why leave yarn balls repeatedly? A taunt, or a frame job? What about Xiao Zhao's red paint? And those midnight cat yowls—Li's cat, or another?
Back at the station, well past midnight, Su Li sat at her desk, staring at the new yarn ball and fabric scrap. She opened her computer, pulling up community resident files for more clues.
Ji Mo sat beside her, watching her work, then frowned. "This… mechanism box, it truly stores everyone's secrets?"
"It's a computer, not a mechanism box," Su Li said, chuckling despite herself. "You'll get used to it after a few looks."
While scanning Xiao Zhao's file, Su Li found a minor note: years ago, his mother borrowed money from Li for his medical treatment, but repayment disputes soured their relationship. It was little-known in the neighborhood, but Su Li recalled Li saying she thought Zhao was "crooked."
"Lady Su," Ji Mo said, rubbing sleepy eyes, "could Xiao Zhao be targeting Li for revenge over that old grudge?"
"Maybe," Su Li replied. "But why use sedatives? And all these yarn balls? That's not a simple revenge plot."
She opened Zhang's file. He'd moved to the neighborhood five years ago after a failed tailoring business elsewhere. Reclusive, he barely socialized, but no one pegged him for animal cruelty. Rumors mentioned his yard, piled with fabric, attracting stray cats to steal his drying fish.
Su Li closed the files, a bold theory forming: Li's cat's disappearance might not be isolated. Someone could be exploiting Zhang's loner status and Zhao's motive to orchestrate a misdirection. The yarn balls were like false maps, leading the police astray.
At dawn, Su Li and Ji Mo headed to Zhang's house. After pounding on the door, they heard slippers dragging. Zhang opened it, his face darker than usual, eyes tinged with panic.
"Officer Su, what now? I told you, I'm not involved with the cat!" His voice shook, fingers gripping the doorframe.
Su Li's tone was ice-cold. "We have a search warrant. This isn't a chat—it's a full search of your house and yard."
Zhang's face blanched, lips twitching as if to speak, but he stepped aside.
The backyard was cluttered with discarded fabric and crates, a faint rotting stench in the air. In a corner, Ji Mo fixated on a wooden door hidden under fabric piles, secured by a rusty lock. Su Li, alert, followed his gaze and pried it open. A staircase descended into darkness, cold air rushing up. Flashlight in hand, Su Li went down, Ji Mo close behind.
The basement was small, damp, and reeked of chemicals. The flashlight beam revealed heaps of old fabric and yarn, with worn wooden crates in the corner. Su Li's pulse quickened as a faint meow echoed, seemingly from a crate.
"Lady Su, that crate's alive!" Ji Mo pointed to a locked one in the corner.
Su Li pried it open. Inside, a black cat lay curled, eyes half-open, weak. Yarn tangled its body, stained with red paint matching Li's yarn balls. Ji Mo knelt, stroking it gently. It breathed faintly but was alive. Su Li called for the cat to be rushed to the community vet.
Zhang was brought to the basement. Seeing the cat, his face crumpled, sweat beading. "I… I didn't hurt it! It wandered in, I just locked it up to protect my fabric!" His words tumbled out in a panic.
"Explain the cat, the yarn ball's red paint, and the sedatives. Now," Su Li said coldly.
"I caught a few strays, kept them down here. Not to hurt them, just to scare them off… The yarn balls were bait, the red paint was an accident, not blood! The sedatives… I bought some before, just to quiet them, not harm them!"
Su Li frowned. Zhang's confession cleared some questions, but gaps remained. Li's cat was still missing, and the black cat raised new mysteries.