Chen Zheng asked after Ms. Gu’s circumstances, and Captain Zhang gave him an address. She was nearing retirement age now, slightly plump, and always greeted people with a smile. She was patient when teaching younger officers.
When she heard that Bin Fa had disappeared, Ms. Gu froze, worry entering her eyes. “I knew this day would come.”
“Because he kept investigating that case?” Chen Zheng asked.
Ms. Gu nodded. She explained that she had spent years living in fear. Bin Fa was a good man in every other respect, but he was too stubborn about his work. Once a case caught his attention, he had to solve it. When they were young, both were so busy that they never found time to have children. After returning from Country M, Bin Fa ignored all other cases and devoted himself to investigating Yunquan Group and its competitors.
She had known then that he would eventually get into trouble. If even his superiors had forbidden the investigation, what was he still doing? They argued almost every time they met. Recalling those years, Ms. Gu said helplessly that the arguments had really been one-sided. She scolded Bin Fa and begged him through tears, while he either stayed silent or offered a few brief explanations.
Eventually, to avoid arguing with her, Bin Fa simply stopped coming home. In anger, she threatened divorce. He looked deeply hurt, but several days later he approached her calmly. “I’ve thought it through. Divorce would be best for both of us.”
Ms. Gu had cried in fury. Once she calmed down, they went together to complete the paperwork. She stayed in the house, and Bin Fa moved out.
“Did Bin Fa ever tell you any details about his investigation? Such as whom he suspected?” Chen Zheng asked.
Ms. Gu shook her head. “He never talked about it. He carried everything on his own.”
“Has he contacted you recently? Have you noticed anything odd around you, such as someone following you?”
“No. I haven’t seen him since he transferred away.” Ms. Gu thought for a moment. “Nothing particularly strange comes to mind.”
Chen Zheng reminded Ms. Gu to be careful and to contact the police immediately if anything happened.
Suiguang City’s streets still retained traces of their former appearance. Chen Zheng walked alone, feeling unsettled. So Bin Fa’s professional decline had begun with the Liang family case. Did that mean his disappearance was connected with the Jinsi Island case too?
Whenever Chen Zheng thought of Liang Yueze, he frowned. Liang Yueze was unquestionably suspicious from Bin Fa’s point of view. After Second Uncle Liang and the twins died, Liang Yueze had suddenly emerged as head of the family.
If Liang Yueze had not been his childhood friend, if Chen Zheng had not witnessed who he once was and who he had since become, he would surely have suspected Liang Yueze of engineering the accident too.
Chen Zheng stopped walking as a thought appeared: You aren’t being objective at all.
It was true. Because he had grown up alongside Liang Yueze, he had ruled him out from the very beginning. Yet if he considered things from Bin Fa’s perspective, perhaps Liang Yueze had been pretending all along.
Pretending he did not want control of the family while secretly coveting it. Pretending to be a loving nephew and brother while ruthlessly killing his relatives.
Chen Zheng covered his forehead. A translucent veil seemed to fall between him and Liang Yueze. Did he truly understand Liang Yueze?
When they were students, the answer had been yes. But after they entered the working world and chose separate paths, and particularly after the Liang family tragedy, Liang Yueze had gradually become a friend Chen Zheng could no longer clearly see.
Liang Yueze did not know the details of every case Chen Zheng investigated, and Chen Zheng did not pry into each of Liang Yueze’s business ventures. They were old friends who had steadily drifted apart.
Chen Zheng instinctively shook his head, rejecting the suspicion he had just entertained. Everyone had witnessed the chaos in Yunquan Group after the tragedy. If Liang Yueze had merely been pretending to be incompetent while secretly plotting, the cost would have been far too high. There had been only a one-percent chance that he could revive Yunquan Group; the other ninety-nine percent led to its rivals devouring it.
Then how had Liang Yueze succeeded? Chen Zheng narrowed his eyes. He did not understand corporate intrigue and had never had the time to examine how Yunquan Group recovered. Asking Liang Yueze directly would have been like rubbing salt into a wound. Adults tended to respect certain boundaries in their relationships, so only now did he realize how miraculous Liang Yueze’s success had been.
Chen Zheng felt he was close to grasping something, but the torn fragments of evidence had yet to come together.
What they could now be reasonably sure of was that Bin Fa’s disappearance was connected to the case he had pursued. What had he discovered? Had something he learned caused him to vanish, voluntarily or otherwise?
According to Captain Zhang, Bin Fa had initially suspected those who benefited from the tragedy. But fifteen years had passed. His thinking would not have stayed fixed. He must have looked into everyone connected with Yunquan Group rather than concentrating exclusively on Liang Yueze.
Chen Zheng considered meeting Liang Yueze. But in what capacity? As a friend? Then he would still have to raise questions relating to Bin Fa. As a detective? If an official investigation began, Chen Zheng should be the first person to recuse himself.
They needed to approach Liang Yueze through formal channels, and Chen Zheng should not be the one to do it.
When Chen Zheng returned to the Suiguang City bureau, Kong Bing was still sorting documents. “Teacher Chen, I just remembered something I forgot to tell you.”
“What is it?” Chen Zheng asked.
“Remember Liu Haitao, that missing father of Liu Wenran’s we discussed? Country M has confirmed that he and the other murdered people from Hua Country in the mass grave all once worked for Yunquan Group.”
Chen Zheng’s nerves tightened instantly. When Kong Bing first told him of the mass grave discovered on Jinsi Island in Country M, and that DNA had established a parent-child relationship between one of the bodies and Liu Wenran, he had suspected Liu Haitao might have worked for Liang Yubin. Jinsi Island had been deserted back then, and Liang Yubin was the first person who planned to turn it into a vacation destination. Liu Haitao had gone there so early that working for Yunquan Group seemed highly likely.
“So Liu Haitao and the others were working for Yunquan, Yunquan’s bosses met with disaster on Jinsi Island, and the workers were murdered too?” Kong Bing said, goosebumps rising on his arms. “The Yunquan case ruined Bin Fa’s life, and now he’s disappeared. Maybe he learned something, like Liu Haitao did. But I don’t know if what happened to Liu Haitao was connected to what happened to Liu Wenran. Wasn’t Liu Wenran targeted by Heaven-Measuring Ruler? Then Yunquan and Heaven-Measuring Ruler…”
He tangled himself up in his own explanation and scratched his head. “Teacher Chen, how should we investigate from here? Teacher Chen?”
Chen Zheng was thinking that Liang Yueze might have revived Yunquan Group with help from Heaven-Measuring Ruler. Before Second Uncle Liang and Liang Yubin died, Liang Yueze had been a textbook rich playboy, hardly suited to leadership. He had been pushed to the forefront against his will. Even if he possessed tremendous personal determination, the circumstances confronting the company back then had been dire.
With Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s assistance, the situation would have been very different.
Judging from what happened with Bu Yangyun and Huo Xiling, Heaven-Measuring Ruler liked investing in people at their lowest point, helping them cut through obstacles and then claiming access to their connections, success, and anything else it wanted, creating what appeared to be a mutually beneficial outcome.
Who could have been lower than Liang Yueze was then?
Heaven-Measuring Ruler had already helped bring a group of businesspeople to prominence, and its methods had matured since its earliest approaches to Bu Yangyun and Huo Xiling. Perhaps it had been the favorable wind that allowed Liang Yueze to soar.
Chen Zheng’s expression darkened. The more he considered it, the more likely it seemed that Liang Yueze had colluded with Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
If so, what had Liang Yueze given the organization in return? What had Heaven-Measuring Ruler extracted from him and Yunquan Group?
Kong Bing waved a hand frantically in front of Chen Zheng’s eyes. Chen Zheng came back to himself and rose. “Captain Kong, there may not be many leads left here in Suiguang City. Bin Fa disappeared in Zhuquan City. Once you’ve finished the background work here, you’ll still need to go back and trace his movements there.”
“Then what about you? Where are you going?” Kong Bing asked.
Chen Zheng checked the time. “Back to Luocheng to brief Captain Tang.”
“Then I…” Kong Bing began.
“Don’t touch Yunquan Group for now,” Chen Zheng interrupted.
That was exactly what Kong Bing had been about to suggest. “Why? Bin Fa’s disappearance might well be connected to Yunquan Group!”
“Bin Fa has already dug himself in too deep. Do you want to end up like him?” Chen Zheng’s tone turned stern, leaving Kong Bing momentarily speechless. “Hey, I…”
“The Provincial Department will make arrangements. If you move now, you’ll alert the people we’re watching,” Chen Zheng said. “Go back and wait for my instructions. You can investigate Bin Fa, but keep the investigation focused on him. Understand?”
Kong Bing nodded. “Fine, fine, I’ll listen to you! I’ll do whatever you say! Why are you snapping at me? Hmph!”
Chen Zheng drove back to Luocheng. Throughout the journey, he tried to reconstruct how Liang Yueze had changed after the disaster that struck his family.
Liang Yueze had stayed in Country M for a long time. After his parents and aunt returned home, he remained there. That meant he must have crossed paths with Bin Fa, who was determined to uncover the truth.
Bin Fa’s first suspect had probably not been Liang Yueze but his aunt, because at the time Liang Yueze had shown no signs of wanting to take over Yunquan Group. What might they have talked about? Had Bin Fa begun watching Liang Yueze only after he returned to Hua Country, dissolved his gaming team, and entered the group’s upper management?
And when had Heaven-Measuring Ruler approached Liang Yueze? Perhaps on Jinsi Island, a pair of eyes watching from the darkness had already settled on him. Perhaps the organization had persuaded him to take over Yunquan Group.
Sweat gradually coated Chen Zheng’s hands on the steering wheel. His childhood friend had long since become someone he barely knew. Ordinary people could give up everything for revenge. What about someone like Liang Yueze, born into wealth?
The first person Chen Zheng looked for on reaching the Mobile Unit was Ming Han. But Ming Han was away, and Lu Hejing said he had gone to Weihai Technology. Chen Zheng caught his breath. “Director Lu, I have something to report.”
Lu Hejing examined him for a moment. “Come to my office.”
In professional settings, Chen Zheng had always treated Lu Hejing as a superior. From his form of address to his manner, no one would have guessed they were related by blood. When Chen Zheng finished laying out the objective evidence, Lu Hejing’s brow was deeply furrowed. Then Chen Zheng added his interpretation. Lu Hejing interrupted. “I remember Liang Yueze grew up with you?”
“Yes. So I may need to recuse myself from what follows. Director Lu…”
Lu Hejing raised a hand. “There’s no one else here. You don’t have to be so formal.”
Chen Zheng blinked. They were alone, but they were discussing official business, not family matters.
“Then analyze it for me as his childhood friend,” Lu Hejing said. “How likely is it that Liang Yueze turned to Heaven-Measuring Ruler?”
Chen Zheng was silent for a moment. “Yunquan Group was in terrible trouble back then. Even if his second uncle and Liang Yubin had still been alive, it would have been very difficult for them to turn things around on their own. Liang Yueze… he was clever in small ways from childhood, but when it came to managing such a huge company, he was effectively a beginner.”
“So he must have had a powerful benefactor,” Lu Hejing said.
“On the way back, I kept wondering whether he decided first to rebuild Yunquan Group, or Heaven-Measuring Ruler approached him first. The second possibility seems more likely. Even the Liang family patriarch and his aunt had given up. Where would he have found the conviction to keep going?”
“But Heaven-Measuring Ruler may also have been the force targeting the Liang family,” Lu Hejing said. “You never paid attention to business, and you were young then. You don’t understand how powerful Yunquan Group had become. It had enormous influence throughout Han Province, across industry and real estate, and it squeezed many smaller firms. Ordinary people didn’t notice, but to its competitors it was a giant bloodsucking beast that needed to be destroyed.”
Chen Zheng frowned. “You mean…?”
“Look at Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s earliest targets: Huo Xiling and Bu Yangyun. They were the opposite of the Liang family. Heaven-Measuring Ruler would never approach a business like Yunquan Group that was already fully grown. It would exploit people like Huo and Bu instead. But how could their businesses grow? Resources were limited. They could only snatch food out of the giant’s mouth.” Lu Hejing placed a report in front of Chen Zheng.
Chen Zheng picked it up. “What’s this?”
“I investigated Yunquan Group’s major projects before the tragedy,” Lu Hejing said. “The company grew under the Liang patriarch, primarily through traditional industry. But after his successor, Liang Yueze’s second uncle Liang Yinfan, took over, he began looking for change. He pursued technology and expansion abroad. Liang Yubin supported that strategy unwaveringly and even clashed with the patriarch over it.”
An electric shock seemed to course through Chen Zheng. “Weihai Technology and Yunyang Tech were heading in exactly the same direction as Yunquan!”
“Exactly. And you’ve seen the result. Weihai grew because the industry became a free-for-all, with no dominant leader,” Lu Hejing said sharply. “If Yunquan Group hadn’t been hit by that tragedy, do you think Huo Xiling would be where she is today?”
Chen Zheng gripped the report so hard its edges crumpled.
“Yunquan Group wasn’t an ally Heaven-Measuring Ruler wanted to recruit. It was an obstacle the organization had to eliminate. As long as Yunquan stood, the companies it was cultivating couldn’t rise,” Lu Hejing said. “That’s why I sent Ming Han to speak with Huo Xiling again. She’s no simple woman. She tells us half of what she knows and hides the rest. Unless I give her a real shock, she won’t say another word.”
At that same moment in Weihai Technology, Huo Xiling’s features stiffened almost completely when she heard the name Yunquan Group.
Ming Han studied her and prompted, “President Huo?”
“Y-Yunquan Group…” Huo Xiling’s gaze swept over the desk. “We were all in the broad technology industry, but we weren’t really competing in the same market.”
“Not now,” Ming Han said. “But back then, before the Yunquan Group tragedy, your development plans were almost identical to the Liang family’s.”
Huo Xiling grew anxious. “Who told you that?”
Ming Han chuckled. “We found out ourselves, of course. President Huo, there’s crucial information you haven’t disclosed. You refused to bring up Yunquan Group before, but now I’ve come to you with evidence. How much longer do you think you can keep it hidden?”
Huo Xiling said nothing.
Ming Han waited, then spoke bluntly. “You and Bu Yangyun once wanted the same thing and faced the same competitor. Yunquan was like a whale in the ocean. If it died, little fish like you would have an endless supply of food. You won. Bu Yangyun won. Heaven-Measuring Ruler won. The only loser was Yunquan. No, the old Yunquan.”
Huo Xiling’s face grew paler and paler, her eyes filling with fear.
“Back then you could never have imagined that Yunquan Group would recover and once again become a giant Weihai couldn’t possibly rival,” Ming Han said slowly.
Huo Xiling buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders trembled faintly.
“I asked whether you and Bu Yangyun had any common enemies, whether the two of you had ever joined forces against someone. You refused to answer,” Ming Han said. “Can I conclude now that whatever you did together was too filthy to admit, and that your former enemy is now so powerful you’re afraid to speak?”
Huo Xiling breathed in deeply. The air scraped through her throat in a ragged, grating sound.
“So Yunquan Group killed my son? To avenge itself on me?” Huo Xiling shook all over. “We killed their sons and grandsons back then, so now it’s our children’s turn to suffer?”
Even when Huo Xiling still lived in the shadow of the male members of her family, she had already set her sights on Yunquan Group. Yunquan and Weihai Technology had not originally operated in the same market, but every major move Yunquan made in those years suggested it was preparing to enter technology.
Yunquan Group had immense financial resources, and Weihai Technology would have struggled to withstand its advance. But Huo Yingzheng, Huo Meishen, and the others in decision-making positions were busy scheming against one another. None realized the enormous crisis Weihai Technology was approaching.
Huo Xiling might have been the first in the Huo family to sense the pressure Yunquan was exerting. Yet she said nothing. Instead, she wondered how to use the coming crisis to her own advantage. She would never warn Huo Yingzheng or Huo Meishen, preferring to wait quietly for the opportunity to tear into them.
Had Jin Chiye and Heaven-Measuring Ruler never appeared, she would never have dreamed of attacking Yunquan Group. Her original plan was to let Huo Yingzheng and Huo Meishen destroy one another, then watch Yunquan devour Weihai Technology. She would take her own project to Yunquan, and once Yunquan controlled Weihai, she would return as its pro-Yunquan champion and seize control of Weihai Technology herself.
But Heaven-Measuring Ruler had shown her that men like Huo Yingzheng were not worthy opponents. She could have far greater ambitions.
She asked Jin Chiye, “What if I compete with Yunquan Group…?”
Jin Chiye smiled. “You’ll end up even worse off than your uncle. You think you’re a match for that uncle and nephew at Yunquan?”
Her expression collapsed as though a balloon had been punctured.
“Of course, I’m talking about fair competition.” Jin Chiye smiled even more brightly. “If you work with Heaven-Measuring Ruler, you should stop worrying about fair competition.”
Her eyes lit up again. “You mean…?”
“We’ll find a way to clear obstacles and create opportunities at an appropriate time and in an appropriate manner,” Jin Chiye said. “Whether you can seize the chance depends on you. I should warn you that you’re not the only one eyeing Yunquan Group. You’re all waiting for a whale fall, but not everyone will get to share the feast.”
After that, Huo Xiling kept a close watch on Yunquan Group’s movements. She learned that Liang Yinfan and Liang Yubin had visited Country M repeatedly. Yunquan Group had enormous ambitions. Though Country M was racked by war, the first signs of peace had appeared. Whoever invested there first stood to become the greatest beneficiary of the country’s reconstruction.
Jin Chiye had not shown himself for a long time, and she had no way to contact him. Just as her unease deepened, earthshaking news arrived: Liang Yinfan and Liang Yubin had died in a traffic accident on Jinsi Island in Country M.
Her first thought was: Heaven-Measuring Ruler did it!
To ordinary people, it might look like an accident, but to her there was no doubt it was something else.
Her opportunity had arrived. Yunquan Group would sink into the abyss. Never mind entering the technology sector, it might not even survive in its traditional industries. This was the chance Jin Chiye had promised. If she failed to seize it, someone else would trample over her to do so, and all her previous efforts would have been wasted.
She staked everything on that moment, capturing Yunquan Group’s prospective market in technology while coldly watching other companies divide up its traditional businesses. She wondered if those firms were working with Heaven-Measuring Ruler too. How many people like her had the organization helped?
Jin Chiye had warned her not to ask about matters that were not her concern. The organization had its own plans, and she needed only to consider what benefited Weihai Technology.
During this period she noticed Bu Yangyun, who was also taking a share of the spoils from Yunquan Group’s decline.
Later, they met at a banquet. To her mild surprise, Bu Yangyun planned to abandon the domestic market and develop his business in Country G.
“Why?” she asked, puzzled.
Bu Yangyun was still an elegant, handsome man back then. Gazing into the distance from a terrace, he joked, “If I stayed, wouldn’t I have to compete with you? I’d rather not compete with a lady.”
After a moment of thought, Huo Xiling said, “You’re afraid of Heaven-Measuring Ruler.”
Bu Yangyun smiled. “A person ought to have something to fear and prepare for trouble before it arrives. Otherwise, how could you go far?”
She understood him. An organization like Heaven-Measuring Ruler was terrifying. It lurked in darkness, stirring the evil impulses people kept buried deep inside. What it demanded was harder to surrender than money.
Heaven-Measuring Ruler could assist her, Gu Qiang, and Bu Yangyun, and it could also assist others who had powerful desires. Would she someday become the next whale fall?
But she was different from Bu Yangyun. Her roots were in Hua Country, and taking her business overseas was not an option she seriously considered. Nor did she believe Bu Yangyun could escape Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s shadow simply by going to Country G. If the organization could reach Hua Country from Country K, its tentacles could extend anywhere in the world.
After the Jinsi Island incident, she consciously reduced her contact with Heaven-Measuring Ruler. Her business was flourishing, and she no longer needed its help as she once had. She also wanted gradually to distance herself from it.
She had expected that to be difficult, but Jin Chiye appeared less and less frequently. Over the past few years, Heaven-Measuring Ruler had all but vanished from her world. It was Yunquan Group’s recovery that once again unsettled her. After years of decline, Yunquan had somehow pulled through. Its current head, Liang Yueze, proved no less capable than the late Liang Yinfan and was far less ostentatious, managing affairs in a manner reminiscent of the Liang patriarch.
The Liang patriarch had cared about ordinary people’s livelihoods and created employment for countless people at the bottom of society. When Liang Yinfan held power, he had gradually streamlined the company. Liang Yueze had initially done much the same, but later invested heavily in charitable activities and organized Han Province’s largest labor-placement program, creating work opportunities for vast numbers of ordinary people.
Huo Xiling had followed Liang Yueze’s movements for a time, but his attention seemed entirely focused on business. He no longer appeared interested in the case in Country M. Perhaps, she thought, the deaths of Liang Yinfan and Liang Yubin had not been bad for Liang Yueze. Otherwise how could he have risen to power? She had even wondered whether Liang Yueze himself had cooperated with Heaven-Measuring Ruler, which might have helped him eliminate rivals within his family.
By the time Huo Xiling finished, her face was white as paper. She looked uneasily at Ming Han. “Last time, you said Bu Yangyun had disappeared. H-has he been found?”
Ming Han remained calm. “What’s this, are you starting to worry about yourself? Bu Yangyun’s missing, Gu Qiang died long ago. Do you think you’re next?”
Huo Xiling shot to her feet, her arms trembling as she braced herself against the desk. “Is it Heaven-Measuring Ruler? Or the Liang family?”
Ming Han had no intention of giving her an answer.
Back in Lu Hejing’s office, Chen Zheng fell silent after listening to Ming Han recount the conversation. Ming Han studied his profile, rubbing his own earlobe with his fingers.
“I thought Yunquan Group recovered because Liang Yueze turned to Heaven-Measuring Ruler when he had nowhere left to go,” Chen Zheng said. “But it was Weihai and Yunyang that were allied with Heaven-Measuring Ruler back then. And Heaven-Measuring Ruler was responsible for the Jinsi Island case. Now it seems a series of people who benefited from that case are being targeted for revenge…”
“Yet the one carrying it out is still Heaven-Measuring Ruler,” Ming Han said. “It attacked me and is suspected of killing Huo Yewei. But this Heaven-Measuring Ruler might not be the same organization Huo Xiling once knew.”
Chen Zheng said, “If we use Jin Chiye to represent the Heaven-Measuring Ruler that contacted Huo Xiling and Bu Yangyun, and the Mr. Jin mentioned by Hao Le to represent the current one, what happened in between? An internal split? The old faction withdrew and a new one took over?”
Lu Hejing reminded them, “Our attention has always been on the current Heaven-Measuring Ruler. It’s the one Han Qu infiltrated too.”
“Huo Xiling’s reasoning makes some sense,” Ming Han said. “If Yunquan Group hadn’t suffered that tragedy, Liang Yueze would never have become its leader.” He glanced at Chen Zheng as he spoke.
Chen Zheng refused to let his personal relationship cloud his thinking. “I’ve also wondered whether Liang Yueze was putting on an act when he suffered back then.”
“And what’s your judgment now?” Ming Han asked.
Chen Zheng paused. “I think it’s highly unlikely Liang Yueze had ties to Heaven-Measuring Ruler back then.”
“Why?”
“I don’t think the life he leads now is the one he wanted.”
“And what are you basing that judgment on?” Ming Han asked.
“Friendship, perhaps. Certainly not police evidence. But what I’m about to say is from a detective’s perspective,” Chen Zheng replied. “After the Jinsi Island case, something must have changed inside Heaven-Measuring Ruler. Yunquan Group’s recovery was a watershed. Whether Liang Yueze had been linked to Heaven-Measuring Ruler from the start or became linked to it later, he’s someone we need to investigate closely next.” He added, “But I’m not suited to participate in that investigation.”
Both Ming Han and Lu Hejing looked at him. Chen Zheng smiled. “What’s wrong? Don’t look at me like that. I can work on other assignments.”
“What assignments?” Ming Han asked.
Chen Zheng sighed. “We still have no news of Director Bin. I won’t deal directly with Liang Yueze, but there’s nothing wrong with my participating in other Heaven-Measuring Ruler cases, is there?”
“You’re going to participate in the investigation of Liang Yueze too,” Lu Hejing suddenly said.
Chen Zheng was surprised. “But…”
“If you withdraw now, it will only make whoever’s watching you suspicious,” Lu Hejing said. “Don’t forget that your reactions matter greatly to Han Qu, especially at this critical moment.”
Chen Zheng immediately understood. The Mobile Unit had lost contact with Han Qu. Something might have happened to him.
“Old Tang and I will work out how to investigate Yunquan Group,” Lu Hejing said. “You two should be ready to act at any time.”
That very afternoon, news arrived from Junan City. The missing Lin Dong had unexpectedly appeared at Weimo Mountain Resort and claimed that Liu Qing was dead. He said he knew where her body was.