"Na?"
"Fang Zheng."
"Gender?"
"Male."
"Age?"
"..."
Outside the interrogation room, Zhou Ping’s face was grim, his arms crossed as he observed the situation inside through a single pane of glass.
"Chief."
Officer Lin spoke softly beside him:
"Based on the clues we have so far, we can only prove that Fang Zheng was present at the scene, but there’s no direct evidence to prove he did it."
"Hm."
Zhou Ping nodded slowly.
"But there was no one else on the mountain at that ti, and Qi Wei and Yuan Xiaolian have a grudge against Fang Zheng, especially since Yuan Xiaolian was disfigured by him," Officer Lin continued:
"They had a motive to kidnap Fang Zheng for revenge, so it makes sense they were killed."
The logic was sound.
But there were also questions.
Fang Zheng was the one kidnapped, how could he have killed the others? And among them were professional rcenaries.
He was just an ordinary person...
No!
Killing six people, how could he possibly be ordinary?
"Fang Jian is Fang Zheng’s uncle," Officer Lin mused:
"Fang Jian was killed in a suspicious way with cold weapons. Maybe... there’s so secret between the two of them."
Zhou Ping remained silent, continually watching Fang Zheng’s expression.
The Public Security Bureau’s interrogation personnel were very professional; reading people was a basic skill. If soone had murdered, they’d surely show it when questioned.
Fear, panic, forced composure...
Or grievance, outrage.
In a closed, unfamiliar environnt and under such psychological pressure, a ntal breakdown would be normal.
But Fang Zheng.
His expression never changed from start to finish, he showed neither anger at being frad nor panic from being exposed.
This was very abnormal!
"Where were you after six o’clock yesterday?"
"I agreed to have dinner and a movie with a friend," Fang Zheng said slowly:
"I had just arrived at East Stone Road when an unfamiliar person threatened with a gun. I didn’t know if it was real or fake, so I followed him into the car just in case."
"Then I ended up at Phoenix Head Mountain."
"Continue," the interrogator said:
"Go on."
"They locked in a wooden cabin. It was getting dark, and while they weren’t paying attention, I secretly ran away."
"They didn’t notice?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Afraid of being caught, I slept at the foot of the mountain and left the next afternoon."
"Why didn’t you report to the Public Security Bureau?"
"I forgot due to the shock."
"Bang!"
The interrogator slamd the table, angry:
"Fang Zheng, I advise you to be honest. How did you kill them last night? How did you handle the bodies? Where’s the murder weapon?"
"I don’t understand what you an." Fang Zheng frowned:
"They’re dead?"
"Bang!"
"Don’t play dumb. You killed them. Do you think you did a perfect job? You underestimate modern forensic technology!"
"So they’re really dead." Fang Zheng remained expressionless:
"That’s good, but I didn’t kill them."
"Do you think refusing to admit it ans we can’t close the case?" The interrogator scoffed:
"Having you confess is for your own good. Fingerprints, blood, weapons, and even testimony from the scene can all be used as evidence to convict."
"Refusing to admit it is useless."
"Impressive." Fang Zheng said with a hint of admiration:
"Then you should be able to catch the killer soon."
"You still don’t confess?"
"If I didn’t do it, why should I confess?"
"There’s evidence proving you were at the scene, and Qi Wei and Yuan Xiaolian have a grudge against you. All the evidence points to you as the murderer."
"Heh..." Fang Zheng chuckled lightly:
"So cases are decided purely on inference now?"
"We found your fingerprints on the bodies!"
"That’s impossible."
"How is it impossible?"
"I didn’t kill them. Even if there are fingerprints, they must have been picked up in the car."
"Your blood is there too!"
"Officer, everything here is recorded. As you told , if you lie, I can sue you for slander!"
The room fell silent.
The interrogator’s face froze.
This was the problem.
No evidence!
All the indirect evidence pointed to Fang Zheng being involved, but so far, no direct evidence had been found.
Not a single piece!
It shouldn’t be that way.
Judging by the scene, there should have been many pieces of evidence after the fight on Phoenix Head Mountain last night; they shouldn’t be that easily destroyed.
But...
The Public Security Bureau searched thoroughly, yet found nothing.
Fang Zheng was confident about this. To erase evidence, he had practically dug up the ground, taking everything he had touched to the Otherworld.
If he could, he would have even packed the bodies.
After cleaning up.
He was now perfectly clean, with no trace of anything from Phoenix Head Mountain.
Just as Officer Lin said, he’s not professional in dealing with clues, but he’s ticulous. As long as things disappear, no one can prove he committed murder.
"Yo!"
Outside the interrogation room, a man sauntered over to stand next to Zhou Ping, raising an eyebrow:
"He’s a tough nut."
"Want to have a go?"
The few people nearby greeted the newcor.
"Chief He."
"Deputy Chief!"
He Jiangdong, one of the two deputy chiefs of the Public Security Bureau, was once Zhou Ping’s main rival for the chief’s position and had a less than favorable reputation.
"No need." Zhou Ping said sullenly.
He knew He Jiangdong’s thods; a beating might follow, but it’s unclear if a forced confession would be genuine, which Zhou Ping disliked.
"With hardheads like him, you need to use certain thods." He Jiangdong lightly patted Zhou Ping on the shoulder:
"I heard..."
"He’s your junior?"
Zhou Ping didn’t respond.
"Impressive!" He Jiangdong gave a thumbs-up:
"Staying calm under pressure, turning the tables, and responding to interrogation with composure, revealing nothing at such a young age, quite remarkable!"
"There’s still no evidence." Zhou Ping said:
"Don’t jump to conclusions."
"Haha..." He Jiangdong laughed heartily:
"Chief Zhou, stop deceiving yourself; who else could it be if it wasn’t him?"
......
The interrogation continued.
Fang Zheng had lost track of ti; in this dimly lit room with no way to asure ti, there was only endless questioning.
"In the last two months, over 30 million was transferred into your bank account. How do you explain that?"
"Jade artifacts I sold,"
"Where did the jade co from?"
"Left to by my uncle."
"Your uncle was just an ordinary businessman, even renting the store. How could he leave you jade artifacts worth tens of millions?"
"I don’t know. You can ask him."
"Bang!"
"Fang Zheng, cut the crap."
"I’m being honest." Fang Zheng raised his head, eyes bloodshot, gritting his teeth:
"You’ve asked this question eight hundred tis, haven’t you?"
"I still say the sa thing!"
"Left by my uncle!"
"I don’t know anything else!"
"I didn’t kill the people either!"
*
*
*
"It’s no good."
Officer Lin shook his head, looking bitter:
"We can’t get anything out of him."
After enduring over ten hours, not just others, even he, assisting from outside, was getting worn out.
"He killed them!"
The interrogator was sowhat hysterical:
"An ordinary person wouldn’t act like him in such a situation; he’s just banking on us having no evidence."
"Search the mountain!"
"In such a short ti, he can’t hide so many things too well; they must be in so corner of Phoenix Head Mountain. Once we find them, we can convict him."
"No evidence ans he didn’t do it." Officer Lin shook his head:
"The mountain’s already being searched, but they say the chances are slim because they found no footprints except near the entrances and exits."
"What about the over thirty million?"
"He paid taxes of more than eight million. The tax bureau had nothing to say, since taxes on antique transactions rely solely on honesty. Fang Zheng gave them enough face."
"Just detain him for now." Zhou Ping gestured to stop the conversation:
"You all take a rest too."
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