manynovel Chapter 12 The Secret of the Hidden Compartment
Chapter 12 The Secret of the Hidden Compartment
The ashes from the burnt paper fell into the ashtray, still a little hot to the touch.
Li Ran stared at the speck of dust for two seconds, then opened the window. The morning breeze rushed in, blowing the dust away completely.
The table was spotless, as if that note had never been there.
He sat down and tapped his fingers on the table.
"Meet me at the usual place tomorrow at noon."
Han Xiuyun still dared to ask him out.
This shows that the chaos at the dock last night didn't sever this supply line. The medicine sank into the river, and the people escaped, but Ah Bing was still able to slip a note into his office, the meaning of which was clear—the goods could still be obtained, and the supply chain remained intact.
Footsteps came from outside the door.
Shen Qiushui pushed the door open and came in, carrying an enamel mug in her hand.
"I just boiled some water." She put the jar on the table, glanced out the window, and said, "Wang Qingnian's car has driven away, but there are two unfamiliar faces at the entrance, squatting at the entrance of the alley across the street smoking, their eyes constantly glancing towards the hospital gate."
Li Ranmo picked up the mug and took a sip: "Any news from Vice Dean Chen?"
"His office light is still on," Shen Qiushui said in a low voice. "The caregiver, Old Zhao, just told me secretly that Vice President Chen asked him to pass on a message to you to come over when you're done with your work."
"Now?"
"Now."
Li Ranmo put down the jar, got up and walked outside.
As he reached the door, Shen Qiushui called out to him.
"Dr. Li."
"Um?"
"That note..." Shen Qiushui looked at him, "was it from Han Xiuyun's side?"
Li Ran nodded silently.
"You've made plans?"
"It's on our date."
Shen Qiushui didn't ask any more questions, only saying, "Be careful."
The door to Chen Qitai's office was ajar.
Li Ran tapped silently.
"Come in."
Chen Qitai sat behind the table, holding a medical record in his hand, but his eyes weren't on it. He pointed to the chair opposite him.
"sit."
Li Ran sat down silently.
Chen Qitai put down the medical record and placed his hands crossed on the table.
"Wang Qingnian isn't here today to check the accounts," he said calmly. "He's here to check on you."
Li Ranmo did not respond.
"He checked your office, the pharmacy, and the entry and exit records—these are all overt." Chen Qitai looked at him. "Secretly, his people are checking other places."
"Where?"
Chen Qitai paused.
"Morgue".
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
Li Ranmo's face remained expressionless.
"What's there to investigate in a morgue?" he asked.
"There's not much to investigate in the morgue," Chen Qitai said. "But there are some places in the morgue where no one goes usually, so you can leave something there that won't be easily discovered."
He stood up and walked to the window.
"Dr. Li, I studied in Germany when I was young, so I know which corners in a hospital can be used to hide things. The secret compartments in the archives, the hidden compartments in the surgical instrument cabinets, and..." He turned around, "...the bricks at the base of the morgue wall are loose."
Li Ranmo pushed up his glasses.
"What does the vice dean want to say?"
"I want to say, Wang Qingnian isn't stupid." Chen Qitai walked back to the table. "Just because he didn't find anything in your office today doesn't mean he won't search other places tomorrow. He'll think of places like the morgue sooner or later."
He sat down and looked at Li Ranmo.
"Some things become unsafe if left in one place for too long. When it's time to move them, you have to move them."
Li Ran remained silent for a while.
"Where to move it?"
"That's your problem," Chen Qitai said. "I'll just remind you of one thing—don't leave any evidence against you. Wang Qingnian is watching you closely now. If you leave one piece of evidence, he'll dare to arrest ten others."
After he finished speaking, he picked up the medical record and began to look through it.
The meaning is clear—you can leave now that you've said your piece.
Li Ranmo stood up.
"Vice Dean Xie reminded me."
He walked to the door and grasped the doorknob.
"Dr. Li," Chen Qitai said without looking up, "it's best to move things at night. There are too many people around during the day."
Li Ranmo opened the door and went out.
The corridor was empty.
He returned to his office, where Shen Qiushui was still there.
"What did Vice Dean Chen say?"
"He hinted to me that the secret compartment in the morgue was no longer safe." Li Ranmo closed the door. "Wang Qingnian might already be keeping an eye on it."
Shen Qiushui's expression changed: "Then what should we do?"
"Move it," Li Ranmo said. "Move it tonight."
"Where to move it?"
Li Ran thought about it silently.
"The surgical instrument sterilizer, the innermost shelf, has a removable bottom panel. I discovered it when I was repairing the cabinet last time; there's a small compartment, but it's sufficient."
"What time tonight?"
"It's two in the morning," Li Ranmo said. "At that time, the caregivers on duty are all dozing off."
Shen Qiushui nodded: "I'll go with you."
At two in the morning, the hospital was eerily quiet.
Only one kerosene lamp was lit in the corridor, casting a dim, yellowish light.
Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui walked one after the other, their footsteps so light they were almost inaudible.
The morgue is at the west end; the door isn't locked, it opens with a push.
It was pitch black inside, with a smell of formaldehyde and dust mixed together.
Shen Qiushui turned on the flashlight she had brought, and the beam swept across.
Three mortuary beds, covered with white sheets, appeared as blurry outlines in the darkness.
Li Ranmo walked behind the innermost bed and squatted down.
He groped around at the base of the wall.
The bricks are loose, but...
He stopped moving.
"What's wrong?" Shen Qiushui asked in a low voice.
"The bricks have been moved," Li Ranmo said. "When I put them back last time, the third brick had one corner facing outwards, but now it's facing inwards."
Shen Qiushui's breath hitched: "Has someone been here?"
Li Ran remained silent, using his fingers to pry the bricks out one by one.
The hidden compartment was revealed.
It was half empty inside.
The white coat that was originally tightly packed was now loosely bunched up.
Li Ranmo took out his white coat and unfolded it.
The two boxes of sulfanilamide powder inside were still there, but...
"Where are the copper coins?" Shen Qiushui asked.
Li Ranmo touched the inside pocket of his white coat.
empty.
His face darkened.
"Someone searched the place, but didn't take everything." He handed the white coat to Shen Qiushui. "The sulfanilamide powder is still there, but the copper coins are gone."
Shen Qiushui took the white coat and touched the fabric.
"Wait." She pointed to the inside pocket. "There's stitching here."
Li Ranmo leaned closer to take a look.
At the bottom of the inside pocket of the white coat, a small lining was sewn with thread of the same color, which could not be noticed unless you felt it carefully.
Shen Qiushui pulled the hairpin off her head and used the pointed end to pry open the seam.
A copper coin fell out and landed in her palm.
There was also a piece of paper folded very small.
Li Ranmo picked up the paper and unfolded it.
It was a copy of the medicine list; the handwriting was a bit blurry, but still legible.
"The items are still there." Shen Qiushui breathed a sigh of relief. "But someone searched the hidden compartment, didn't find the copper coins and the list, and only took the sulfanilamide powder on the surface?"
"No." Li Ranmo looked into the hidden compartment. "The sulfanilamide powder wasn't missing either. Two boxes, one untouched."
He stood up and shone his flashlight into the dark compartment.
"They weren't there to steal anything," he said. "They were there to check if the things were still there. They ransacked the place, but didn't take anything."
Shen Qiushui understood: "Wang Qingnian's men?"
"Probably." Li Ranmo carefully put away the copper coins and the list. "He didn't find anything during the day, so he sent people to search the hidden compartment tonight. They found sulfanilamide powder, so they know there's something hidden here, but they didn't find anything more crucial."
"Then he'll definitely come again tomorrow."
"Yes." Li Ranmo pressed the bricks back in one by one. "So we have to move them now."
The two left the morgue and walked quickly toward the operating room.
The sterilization room is next to the operating room, and the door is locked.
Li Ranmo took out a piece of metal, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it.
With a click, the lock opened.
It was very hot inside; the sterilizer was still radiating warmth.
Li Ranmo walked to the innermost cabinet and opened the cabinet door.
There were some pliers and scissors on the bottom shelf, covered with gauze.
He took out the equipment and felt around the edge of the base plate with his fingers.
There is a very hidden buckle.
With a press, the base plate pops up, revealing a hidden layer about the width of a palm underneath.
Li Ranmo put the copper coins and list inside, pressed the baseboard down, and then put the instruments and gauze back in their original positions.
"Alright." He closed the cabinet door.
The two left the disinfection room and locked the door.
As soon as I turned the corner of the corridor, I heard footsteps coming from downstairs.
It was very light, but there was more than one person.
Li Ranmo pulled Shen Qiushui aside and slipped into the nearby doctor's on-call room.
The door was ajar, and the two people hid behind it.
The footsteps went upstairs, heading towards the morgue.
Shen Qiushui peeked out through the crack in the door.
Two dark figures, each holding a flashlight, walked very quickly.
He is one of Wang Qingnian's men.
They did indeed come.
The two men went into the morgue and closed the door.
About ten minutes later, the door opened again.
The two walked out quickly, their faces obscured in the dim light, but their movements revealed a sense of urgency.
They went downstairs, their footsteps fading into the distance.
Shen Qiushui breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm gone."
Li Ranmo came out of the duty room and looked in the direction of the morgue.
"Wang Qingnian will be furious tomorrow."
The next morning, just as dawn broke.
Deputy Section Chief Sun arrived with his men. This time, instead of looking for Chen Qitai, they stormed into the morgue.
Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui were on the second-floor corridor, looking down through the window.
Deputy Section Chief Sun stayed inside for less than five minutes before coming out with a dark expression.
He stood in the courtyard and looked up at the building.
They met Li Ranmo's gaze.
Li Ranmo pushed up his glasses, turned around, and left.
Deputy Section Chief Sun stood in the courtyard for a while, then left with his men.
During the morning rounds, Chen Qitai called Li Ranmo aside.
"The morgue was bustling this morning," Chen Qitai said.
"I've heard about it," Li Ranmo said.
"Deputy Section Chief Sun missed him," Chen Qitai said, looking at him. "His face was very pale."
Li Ran remained silent.
Chen Qitai smiled.
"The things were moved in a timely manner."
After he finished speaking, he patted Li Ranmo on the shoulder and left.
Shen Qiushui came over from the nurses' station, holding an envelope in her hand.
"Just received it." She handed the envelope to Li Ranmo. "It's from our informants at the dock. Wang Qingnian has shifted his surveillance focus to the dock area, increasing manpower at Piers 3 and 5."
Li Ranmo opened the envelope; inside was a note, the handwriting very messy.
"Wang is keeping a close eye on the docks; see you at the teahouse."
There was no signature, but Li Ran acknowledged the handwriting.
It was Abing.
Han Xiuyun also received word of it.
"We can't go to the old place anymore," Shen Qiushui said. "The dock is now full of Wang Qingnian's men."
"Then let's go to the backup contact point." Li Ranmo burned the note. "City God Temple Teahouse, second floor, third seat by the window."
"When?"
"This afternoon," Li Ranmo said, "I'm going to ask Vice Dean Chen for leave, saying I'm going out to buy something."
"That's too risky." Shen Qiushui frowned. "Wang Qingnian's men might be following you."
"Then let them go," Li Ranmo said. "I'll meet with Ah Bing, hand over the second batch of medicine lists, and then leave. There are too many people in the teahouse; they won't dare to do anything reckless."
Shen Qiushui wanted to say something more.
Li Ranmo waved his hand.
"The medicine cannot be stopped. The front lines are waiting for it; we can't afford to wait."
After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards Chen Qitai's office.
Shen Qiushui stood in the corridor, watching his back.
Outside the window, the sky darkened, as if it were about to rain.