Silent Testimony - Chapter 49

Li Hewei successively received the latest information sent by Wang Cen and presented the table: “Jiao Yong, the assets under your name are indeed fine, but what about Chen Guiyan’s? There is a villa in Puchen valued at 650,000 yuan, and bank transactions totaling 830,000 yuan. Also, every time you travel, regardless of accommodation or other expenses, you use cash.”

“From July 28th to August 17th, you and Chen Guiyan spent 20 days vacationing at a five-star B&B in Mengcheng. The accommodation fee was 898 yuan per night, totaling 17,960 yuan.”

“On June 15th, your 40th birthday, you held a lavish banquet in Wanyang and Luocun. Not including cigarettes, liquor, and other expenses, it cost 15,000 yuan.” A “Dam Dam Feast” (baba xi) is popular in the townships of Shujiang, where tables are typically set up in the fields or courtyards to host relatives and friends. Li Hewei played a recording, “Listen carefully, you should recognize his voice.”

“Oh, Boss Jiao is particularly generous. He paid directly in cash and even gave me two packets of Zhonghua cigarettes.”

Wang Cen’s voice: “How many tables?”

“Fifteen tables over two days. The standard was quite high. I usually charge 600 yuan per table for lunch and dinner, but he raised it directly to 1,000 yuan and asked for added seafood.”

Li Hewei pressed the pause button and asked him, “Did you hear clearly?”

In the face of concrete evidence, Jiao Yong’s mouth seemed frozen shut, but his teeth could not stop chattering, making a rattling sound.

“You are suspected of operating a casino. Do you have accomplices?”

Accomplices. Jiao Yong’s mind flashed back to the words Jiao Yang had instructed him on last night. As if finding the only hope of survival in a desperate situation, he suddenly sneered at Li Hewei: “Qian Gang, I work for him, and I get a 10% cut each time.”

“For example, last night, after deducting expenses, I took 87,000 yuan in commission, Liu Yang got over 5,000, Second Sister-in-Law got over 3,000, and the other brothers each got 800.” Jiao Yong raised both hands. “I admit to organizing gambling, but Qian Gang is the boss.”

“Where is he?” Li Hewei’s expression was calm, maintaining a gentle facade, like a deep pool that was impossible to fathom.

Jiao Yong was unsure if she had other evidence, so he could only feign innocence: “How would I know?”

“When was the last time you contacted Qian Gang?”

“I look for him every day, but the phone is unreachable.” Jiao Yong suddenly slammed his hand on the table, “Perhaps Qian Gang murdered my niece and fled out of fear of the crime!”

“Oh? So you know Qian Gang hired someone to kill her.” Li Hewei’s eyes narrowed. “What was his motive?”

“You police should investigate that!”

“Could Jiao Yang also have been involved in the crime, colluding with Qian Gang to run the casino?”

Jiao Yong swallowed twice, leaned back, crossed his arms, and wore a look of impatience: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Body leaning back, arms crossed, eyes darting.” Based on his body language, Li Hewei affirmed Qiu Wan’s guess, curved her lips, and mirrored Jiao Yong’s posture, “These actions of yours just now are clear signs of guilt and resistance, proving that I am right.”

Jiao Yong avoided her gaze: “You’re talking nonsense. Xiaoyang runs e-commerce and earns money legally.”

“Is that so? I still cannot figure out why Qian Gang would kill her. A crime of passion? Qian Gang and his wife have a harmonious relationship, so probably not. A revenge killing? They jointly contracted a coal mine but did not fall out at the time, so that doesn’t make sense. Therefore, it can only be murder for financial gain—a conflict of interest.”

“You are all just guessing, and you have no evidence.”

Li Hewei scoffed lightly: “Evidence? I’ll tell you, there is no such thing as a perfect crime. No matter how meticulously planned, there are always some details that might be overlooked. For example, you thoroughly cleaned the factory premises inside and out, but you just happened to forget your habit of spitting everywhere.”

As her words fell, the previously quiet interrogation room seemed to have the air sucked out, and the pressure dropped sharply.

Li Hewei knew Jiao Yong would not confess Jiao Yang’s involvement for the time being. She threw a pen and paper to him: “I also need a rest and do not want to continue this back and forth with you. Sign it.”

After completing the handover, Li Hewei rubbed her shoulders and neck, slowly walking into the temporary office.

Seeing her enter, Wang Cen turned her head and said, “That interrogation was truly excellent. I thought you only knew how to paint; it turns out you have hidden depths.”

“I learned it from books,” Li Hewei sat back at her workstation, scanned the surveillance video displayed on the computer screen, and asked her, “Sister Wang, are you still watching?”

“Yes, Qian Gang is missing, and we haven’t found a breakthrough.”

Xiao Zhou yawned: “I’m so sleepy. Coffee isn’t even helping.”

Wang Cen reached back to press her lower back: “Let’s continue.”

“Sister Wang, you just finished your confinement month; you should rest more,” Li Hewei clicked on an uncompressed file. “I will watch the last two videos to help you.”

Wang Cen politely refused: “No need. You’ve been busy from morning until night, too.”

“Wait until Sister Qiu comes back, and she’ll arrange things.” The moment Li Hewei finished speaking, Qiu Wan pushed the door open and walked in. She was travel-stained, her light blue shirt was rolled up to her elbows, the hem tucked into her trousers, and a thin layer of sweat dampened her forehead.

Wang Cen was curious: “Team Leader Qiu, why are you in such a rush?”

“Cold sweat. I nearly got into a car accident.” Qiu Wan was speeding at the limit when a truck was driving toward her in the left lane, and the car behind it suddenly attempted to overtake. Fortunately, she slammed on the brakes just in time.

“Oh, you must be careful.”

Qiu Wan nodded, then turned to ask Li Hewei, “Are there any loopholes in Jiao Yong’s statement?”

Li Hewei told her everything.

“Qian Gang is certainly involved, but Jiao Yong pushed the main responsibility onto him. Currently, we can’t find the person involved, so we can’t verify the truth of the statement,” Qiu Wan sat down, pressing her thumbs against her temples. “It’s probably half-true, half-false.”

Wang Cen rubbed the back of her hand, thinking: “What should we do now? What about Qian Gang’s car? Are there any updates from the used car market?”

Qiu Wan shook her head: “No. Qian Gang and his car suddenly vanished without a trace.”

Li Hewei’s brows furrowed: “What about Jiao Yang?”

“My old classmate is very smart, and nothing she says has any flaws,” Qiu Wan sighed. “But her subtle expressions betrayed her. She knows everything about the underground casino, at least.”

“Qian Gang’s disappearance has nothing to do with her?”

“Perhaps, but she should be informed.” In their two conversations, Jiao Yang’s attitude toward Qian Gang was markedly different. Qiu Wan guessed that Jiao Yang might have sensed some abnormality afterward.

“Should we continue to review the surveillance footage?” Li Hewei was moving the mouse.

“Yes. It’s 11 o’clock now. Let’s work hard for another half hour, and we’ll go back to the guesthouse to rest at 11:30.” As she spoke, Li Hewei next to her suddenly gasped, “Quick, look! Qian Gang’s car!”

“Which surveillance?”

“The Agricultural Bank across from the convenience store.”

The three stared intently at the video. They saw Qian Gang get out of the car to buy cigarettes at the convenience store. A person was sitting in the back seat, but because the window was covered with privacy film, their appearance could not be seen clearly.

Qiu Wan urgently asked, “Does the convenience store have surveillance?”

Xiao Zhou checked the surveillance notes: “No, but the hotel next door does.”

“Pull it up.”

“Okay.” Xiao Zhou searched for the video, signaling them to come over.

Qiu Wan instructed: “Scroll to 11:52 PM on the 22nd.”

Li Hewei called for a stop.

“The man in the back is wearing a hooded jacket and is turned sideways. This is tough.”

Li Hewei suddenly spoke: “Zhang Dalu.”

Xiao Zhou was stunned: “What? Zhang Dalu?”

“Zoom in on the video screenshot, look at his side neck.” Li Hewei had a habit of observing the suspect’s appearance and features. She was responsible for recording during Zhang Dalu’s interrogation yesterday and had memorized the few moles on his face and the obvious birthmark.

Qiu Wan compared the images with Zhang Dalu’s file: “A brown, circular birthmark?”

“Yes.”

Xiao Zhou couldn’t help but exclaim: “My goodness, three cases are intricately intertwined.”

Wang Cen raised a question: “Didn’t we say Qian Gang contacted Chen Han directly? How does Zhang Dalu intersect with him?”

Qiu Wan’s expression was unwavering: “Two possibilities. First, they also know each other. Second, Zhang Dalu was working both sides.”

Li Hewei agreed: “I lean toward the latter. Didn’t Zhang Dalu say Chen Han temporarily asked him for help?”

Qiu Wan analyzed: “Is it possible that Qian Gang has already been murdered, and Zhang Dalu thought killing one or two people made no difference? So he simply took the blame and waited at home for the police to come?”

“Hmm.”

Wang Cen slammed her fist on the table: “Let’s interrogate him. He has incredible audacity.”

Zhang Dalu was brought into the interrogation room for the second time. The cold walls sealed the space into a square iron shell, and the light overhead was dazzling, illuminating every corner even in the deep night.

He sat behind the central single table, his hands restrained by silver handcuffs.

Qiu Wan was in the main interrogator’s seat opposite him, her expression stern: “Zhang Dalu, where were you after 11 PM on the 22nd?”

Zhang Dalu curled his lips: “I killed Qian Gang.”

In the monitoring room, Xiao Zhou next to Li Hewei’s eyes widened: “My God, he actually confessed.”

“Listen to what he says next.”

In the interrogation room, Qiu Wan asked him, “What was the motive for the murder?”

“I just couldn’t stand him. I was in the car, and he looked smug and arrogant, like a rich upstart.”

“Is it that simple?” Qiu Wan threw the newspaper-wrapped cash at him. “The 100,000 yuan found at Chen Han’s house—where did the 50,000 for your mother’s surgery come from?”

Zhang Dalu pursed his lips: “I borrowed it.”

“Borrowed from whom? Relatives? Online lenders?” Qiu Wan’s words were sharp. “Also, where is Qian Gang’s body?”

Zhang Dalu closed his eyes, saying nothing.

“Even if you don’t talk, we can find out.” Qiu Wan sent a private message to Xiao Zhou: [Check the source of the 50,000 cash for Zhang Dalu’s mother’s surgery.]

[It’s a bit tricky. Although his mother had surgery at a Class A hospital, the hospital’s daily bank transactions are close to a million yuan.]

[I know it’s tricky, and three days have already passed. I’m just trying to scare him.]

Qiu Wan looked up and smiled faintly: “So, who did you borrow the money from? Confess sooner, don’t waste each other’s time.”

“I’ve already admitted to the murder. Why do I need to explain who I borrowed the money from?”

The atmosphere reached a stalemate. Qiu Wan mentioned the names of her suspects, testing his reaction: “Jiao Yang?”

“Or, since the evidence is already conclusive, perhaps the self-confessed Jiao Yong, who is suspected of running a casino and is unable to protect himself?”

Zhang Dalu’s eyes trembled, and he suddenly opened them.