Zhou Ning flipped through the information again, his brows never relaxing.
Because the content was really too detailed, and it had captured the most crucial points.
The precondition for divorce was money: if it wasn’t paid, she threatened to expose so secrets of her ex-husband’s company, including relevant design drafts and data, for which she had copies.
The twenty million Yuan that Zhang Fangfang demanded as a divorce settlent was later notarized, but the process of obtaining it was illegal and constituted improper acquisition. That didn’t even include the twenty million obtained before the marriage, which, having lasted only a little over forty days, certainly raised suspicions of a sham marriage.
Even disregarding the pre-marital sum, simply classifying the twenty-million divorce settlent as extortion ant the economic sentence started at over ten years. Combined with the suspicion of intentional homicide, a life sentence was not out of question.
In that instant, Zhou Ning suddenly understood. His heart racing with excitent, he turned toward Liu Yongxin and Mr. Zhao.
"I get it now, I know why Zhong Xiaoyan stayed. Her revenge wasn’t necessarily about killing. Xu Qingshu, Kong Wanshan, and Zhang Fangfang, these three were facing economic sanctions and criminal charges, none light. Sentences would range from twelve years to life imprisonnt, and their assets would be almost entirely depleted. This must feel more satisfying than killing them, like a deeper form of revenge!"
Mr. Zhao scratched his head, while Liu Yongxin frowned deeply.
"What about Li Li and Liu iling, then? Their deaths, all the witness and physical evidence we have, point to Zhong Xiaoyan, don’t they?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"In terms of Li Li’s death, our investigation didn’t uncover details of the poisoning, nor did we have fingerprint or DNA evidence. Relying only on Xu Qingquan’s testimony isn’t enough to convict. Besides, he didn’t actually see anything.
He only heard Li Li ntion a suspicion, not even an accurate na. He guessed it was Zhong Xiaoyan, but that’s just his analysis and conjecture."
Having said that, Zhou Ning paused, then looked resolutely toward the Criminal Police Brigade.
"As for Liu iling’s death, let’s wait for the final autopsy report. Maybe there will be so surprises."
...
Five hours later.
Zhou Ning arrived next to the interrogation room. This ti, Xu Dayuan hadn’t called him over, but he ca with his people anyway. Upon entering and seeing Mr. Hu and the others there, he felt a bit unsure how to proceed.
Hu Guangjian saw Zhou Ning and his group, smiled, and gestured to them.
"Co and listen, after following this for so many days, you’re probably the most eager to know the outco. Your Director Xu has personally gone in to ask questions."
Zhou Ning quickly brought Mr. Zhao and Liu Yongxin over to the one-way glass, only to discover that seated in the interrogation room were Xu Qingshu and Xu Dayuan, unexpectedly not questioning Zhong Xiaoyan, which surprised Zhou Ning quite a bit.
Seeing Zhou Ning’s reaction, Hu Guangjian smiled with satisfaction, clapped Zhou Ning on the shoulder, and then spoke up,
"Stop looking so tense – Mr. Xu said, we’ll talk to Zhong Xiaoyan after the test results are back. She’s been planning this for over a decade, her psychological defenses are extrely solid, not even a lie detector can tell, after all, in her heart and in her mind, she sees things differently from us. So, are the test results out yet?"
"I went to the forensic departnt on my way here. Mrs. Cui’s team has extracted DNA from bone remains in a tomb, and they will soon complete a series of tests and comparisons. It includes the report on brake marks from the September 2nd traffic accident in Jingkou District; as soon as the results are out, they will be delivered here imdiately."
Hu Guangjian nodded.
"We’ve looked at the evidence you brought, and Kong Wanshan’s interrogation is also finished. He skipped the nonsense, admitted everything, so let’s all listen together while we’re waiting."
The calmness in Hu Guangjian’s deanor made Zhou Ning give him a second look.
It seed that they had conducted so interrogation before this; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so composed. But Zhou Ning didn’t ask, especially since Liu Yufei and Fang Mu were both present, and everyone was able to remain cool under pressure.
In the interrogation room, Xu Dayuan stood with his arms folded in front of Xu Qingshu.
Within a few days, her third visit to the Criminal Police Brigade, and the treatnt each ti was wildly different.
The first was a civil inquiry in the conversation room, the second, although in the interrogation room, ca without handcuffs, and this ti she was seated straight in the interrogation chair, her hands adorned with ’silver bracelets.’
Xu Qingshu’s expression was numb as she faced Xu Dayuan’s questions, simply shaking her head.
"I’ve said before, no one forced , no one threatened . I just felt guilty after learning that Zhong Xiaoyan was Shi Yun, feeling like I had betrayed their family. If it weren’t for the photos I provided, she and her husband, along with their unborn child, might not have died. Just arrest . Even a death sentence is fine. However you want to sentence , do it. I confirm what I’ve just said."
Xu Dayuan waved his hand, and Mr. Shan already brought the printed statent for Xu Qingshu to review.
"Look it over and see if there are any mistakes. If everything seems correct, sign it and put your thumbprint."
Xu Qingshu didn’t even look at it, took the pen, signed her na on it, and pressed her thumbprint on each page.
Afterward, she was led away. Liu Yongxin watched, sowhat dumbfounded. He knew how arrogant Xu Qingshu had been before, full of disdain during the interrogation. Was this even the sa person?
"After a day, Xu Qingshu changed so much, was she really not coerced by anyone?"
Hu Guangjian folded his arms, shaking his head slightly as he spoke:
"Didn’t you all just hear, no one coerced her. Perhaps she was frightened by a nightmare about Mr. and Mrs. Shi, or maybe her conscience was pricked. The process is not important. The evidence we obtained from Zhong Xiaoyan’s house, together with the accounts of Kong Wanshan’s company, have completely matched up.
In addition, although Kong Wanshan’s case is still under trial, the financial staff of his company and several key departnt managers have already confessed. The evidence points out all the skimping of materials and bribery, all of which are true. Of course, there are also parts that were not recorded.
The number of people involved is greater than the list, and the amount of tax evasion is far larger than the previous estimates. After all, the years calculated are different. This problem has existed since the company was established. Comrades from the Discipline Inspection Commission have already intervened in the investigation, and the evidence involves detailed information about the recipients of bribes, tis, places, and amounts."
While he was speaking, a police officer walked in. He was from the second team and had been showing up a lot these past few days. He ca in carrying a box and nodded imdiately upon seeing Mr. Hu and Peng Da.
"Mr. Hu, boss, I’ve brought the perfus from Zhong Xiaoyan’s house, though there are quite a few."
Zhou Ning realized what they intended to do and quickly spoke up:
"According to what Xu Qingquan said, Zhang Fangfang also had the sa perfu. I think we should get Zhang Fangfang’s box and let Wang Weili help identify it as well."
Hu Guangjian nodded.
"If you’ve all thought it through, then go ahead. Zhang Liwei is next door. Set everything up on the table, mark them, and then have him co over for identification."
The officer left, and a long table was set up in the adjacent room. Different items were placed on both sides of the table: bags of valuable goods, perfus, clothes, toiletry bags, etc. There were all sorts of items, each marked with a number.
Soon, Wang Weili was brought in. He looked nervous. Even though Xu Dayuan followed on one side, trying to relax him, the atmosphere inside the interrogation room was not one that could be compared to any ordinary place.
"Wang Liwei, take a look and sll each one. Can you determine which scent you slled at the scene of the accident? Just relax and carefully sense them. If you can’t sll it, it’s okay. If you’re certain one of the scents is the sa or similar, just call out the number."
Wang Liwei took a deep breath, walked up to the long table, and carefully picked up each item and brought it to his nose to sll.
A few minutes later, he ran to the door, stood there for a while, then ca back to confirm again before taking a piece of paper from Mr. Shan and writing down a few numbers.
"I’m an uneducated man, and my writing isn’t good. To tell the truth, it’s been a while, and I can’t be certain, but among these items, apart from that shower bag, they all seem to have a hint of the scent from that early morning. It’s faint but fragrant, almost imperceptible, yet it never fades."
Xu Dayuan glanced at the numbers on the paper and then looked at Wang Liwei.
"Do you think these two are the most similar?"
"Mhm, these two are the most similar."
"Thank you. Mr. Shan, find soone to take Wang Liwei back ho, rember to send him ho. Inform the village committee that the local police station will later present Wang Liwei’s family with the ’Most Beautiful Family’ award."
Wang Liwei smiled, nodded slightly at Xu Dayuan, and quickly left with Mr. Shan.
Xu Dayuan lifted the piece of paper with the numbers 4 and 8 to the single-sided glass and walked up to the long table, pulling out the papers beneath numbers 4 and 8, turned them over, and revealed that one of the items was Zhong Xiaoyan’s perfu, which was the niche brand ntioned by Xu Qingquan.
The other was Zhang Fangfang’s clothing, a sun-protective long-sleeved jacket.
Everyone understood that the human testimony regarding the scent had now narrowed down to two suspects. Of course, there were definitely more people nationally using this brand of perfu, and it was not limited to just the two of them as Xu Qingquan had said.
At this mont, Xu Dayuan had co to the observation room and placed a tablet in front of Hu Guangjian.
"Previously when we interrogated Xu Qingquan at the hospital, he said that during the car accident, Ma Liang had pinned down his head and both hands. Even though his head was hit by the seat, he was conscious the entire ti. He heard footsteps and a cold finger with a ring-shaped scar placed under his nose.
As for the face, he didn’t dare to lift his eyes to look, and this was why Xu Qingquan was convinced that Zhong Xiaoyan wanted to kill him. I asked him which finger it was, he said it was the index finger, but was not sure whether it was the left or the right hand. And these two photos, they are of Zhang Fangfang and Zhong Xiaoyan’s hands."
As he spoke, the tablet was laid in front of several people, displaying four photos side by side, all showing extended hands, with two palms facing up and two facing down. It could be seen that there were scars on the index finger of the left hand and the index finger of the right hand, both faint and slightly white. Not as pronounced as Xu Qingquan had described.
"What did they say?"
"Zhong Xiaoyan’s explanation is consistent with Xu Qingquan’s description; the scar was from a fish line cut when she was a child, and with the years, it has beco very faint. As for Zhang Fangfang, she said that she was cut by the ring of a pull-tab during this year’s Spring Festival by a mischievous child."
Zhou Ning fell silent, intently scrutinizing the two photos, suddenly feeling like he had been tricked.
The photos were just taken; there were no scars from cuts on the sides of their palms that could match the ones Liu iling had on her face and neck, as well as the female DNA extracted from there. Thinking of this, he frowned slightly and felt a bit panicked. He took out his phone and dialed Cui Lili’s number.
"Hello, Mrs. Cui, this is Zhou Ning."
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