Chapter 749: Renee Burns Paper

"Hang on a sec." I quickly grabbed Royce's wrist and took a step back. The ground had a subtle difference in height that you wouldn't notice unless you were really paying attention.

Royce looked at me, puzzled. "What's up? Did you notice something weird?"

I nodded. "Walk back and forth here a couple of times. Do you feel anything off?"

Royce did as I said, walking back and forth a few steps, then shook his head.

"Can't you feel that this part of the pavement is uneven? The height changes a bit." I frowned and asked directly.

Royce widened his eyes and walked back and forth a few more times but still shook his head.

"Aren't all pavements like this? What's the big deal?"

Could I have sensed it wrong?

I couldn't help but walk back and forth again and still felt something was off.

"A pavement with height differences can easily trip someone, especially at night when people can't see clearly and instinctively lift their feet. The height won't change much."

"This makes it easy to trip."

So the girl's death could very likely be a murder.

Royce pursed his lips and deliberately lowered his steps to feel it again, then frowned.

"It does seem a bit uneven, but this isn't the spot where the girl fell."

I was taken aback by his words and turned to look at the area cordoned off by police tape not far away. There was a circle on the ground marking the girl's initial position.

If we could check the ground around that circle, we might discover something different.

Just as Royce and I were about to head over to discuss with the police, we saw Renee approaching from another direction.

Why is she here?

"Are you guys here for the show too?" Renee walked straight toward us.

I stared at Renee's face for a long time, trying to read something from her expression, but it was like trying to climb a mountain.

Today, Renee was wearing a fresh-looking dress, her long hair draped behind her ears, making her look very gentle. But I knew she wasn't as innocent as she appeared.

"Why aren't you answering me?" Renee showed a strange expression. "Could it be something secretive? But in such a public place in broad daylight, that's tough."

I took a deep breath. If I didn't respond to Renee, who knows what she might say next.

"Is there something you need?" I asked, staring at her.

Renee raised an eyebrow. "I do have something, but it doesn't concern you."

What did she mean by that?

I then noticed that Renee's bag contained ghost money. This was beyond strange.

Who would carry such things around in broad daylight?

But Renee didn't seem to think it was odd; she seemed pretty pleased with herself.

"Guess you noticed." Renee turned her bag to the front. "Wanna join me in paying respects to Jasmine Faye?"

"Who are you paying respects to? The girl who fell into the water?" I squinted and asked.

Renee wasn't the type to show kindness to strangers, so this was suspicious.

"Of course, to all the unfortunate souls. Let's broaden our horizons, shall we?" Renee rolled her eyes.

I stared at her for a while, still feeling something was off. This didn't sound like Renee at all.

I glanced again at the ghost money peeking out of her bag, feeling uneasy.

But thinking further didn't lead to any conclusions.

"And today is Jasmine's funeral. I thought you were here to pay respects too."

Renee's words stunned me. I checked the news and realized it was indeed the funeral.

I then noticed there were hardly any people around. The helpful lady from earlier had disappeared.

But there were a few scattered individuals in the distance, occasionally crossing the bridge over the river.

"Seems like you don't care much about this stranger. Stop pretending to be concerned." Renee said this and walked past us.

Royce and I exchanged a glance and decided to follow her.

Honestly, I didn't believe Renee would burn ghost money here.

But she really did.

Renee walked to the intersection ahead, squatted down, took out the ghost money from her bag, and piled it up.

Then she took out a lighter, ignited one piece of ghost money, and placed it on the pile.

Soon, a small fire was burning.

Not only that, Renee was muttering something we couldn't hear, even though we were close.

Could this really be Renee? She never believed in superstitions. Why would she burn ghost money now?

Moreover, the only recent death in this area was the girl. Could Renee be feeling guilty?

The girl's death was related to Renee!

Royce and I stood by and watched Renee burn the pile of paper money.

After finishing, Renee stood up and saw us without surprise. She adjusted her clothes and hair.

"Disappointed you didn't see me mourning, huh?"

I frowned at her words. "Quite disappointed, actually. But are you burning ghost money because the girl's death is related to you?"

Though I didn't want to alert her, I couldn't hold back my curiosity.

Renee looked surprised. "How could you think that of me? I'm not a saint, but I'm not that cruel."

That might not be true. Remembering Renee's past actions made me sick.

"But since you're still here, are you planning to join me for dinner?" Renee asked with a smile.