Reborn in 1995, Criminal Investigation Records

Chapter 128 The Woman Beset by Suspicion

"I think there are still some questions about this case that we can discuss..." Liu Chengyu said cautiously.

He was under immense psychological pressure when he said those words. If you asked everyone present who wanted to solve the case the most, it would undoubtedly be him, the captain of the first brigade. After all, he was the one who made the pledge, and the case occurred in his jurisdiction.

However, his years of professional experience have instilled in him a habit that cases must be thoroughly investigated and resolved, rather than being handled carelessly. In recent years, although Ning'an has not had the highest case-solving rate in Beizhou, it has rarely seen cases being returned to the authorities, ranking among the top three.

It's all thanks to Liu Chengyu's meticulous spirit.

"First of all, I think Dong Youli is still hiding something!" Liu Chengyu spoke first. "According to him, he just wanted to leave evidence to protect himself. I don't think that's very credible. Having been Qiao Songnian's driver for so many years, he should know about the other party's temperament, or his assets, etc."

Zhou Yang nodded. Indeed, if we were to say who knows the boss's secrets the most and who is the boss's closest person, it would undoubtedly be the driver. The driver knows the boss's whereabouts, who he has met, and so on.

"There's one thing I find very puzzling!" Fang Duo put down the testimony about Dong Youli she was holding: "Just now, Zhong Honglan and I were mainly chatting..."

In Zhong Honglan's account, she recounted how she met and fell in love with Qiao Songnian, saying that he appeared during the darkest period of her life, gave her hope, and enabled her to cheer up again.

According to Zhong Honglan's account, her mother was seriously ill and her father was addicted to gambling. She was in a daze every day and often spaced out. Qiao Songnian often went to find her near the school at that time. Sometimes he would just walk around with her without saying a word.

However, in Dong Youli's testimony, the other party said that Zhong Honglan's enthusiasm and youthfulness inspired her. In this respect, one of the two must be lying.

Qiao Songnian might have known, but the other party was already dead!

"I think...I think..." Wang Chao stood up abruptly, then looked around: "I think everyone's doing fine like this, let's continue..."

"Zhou Yang, are you still thinking about Zhong Honglan's major?" Seeing that Zhou Yang was still looking down, Xiao Jiale took the initiative to speak.

"I'm wondering if Zhong Honglan not only wants Qiao Songnian dead, but also Dong Youli is part of her plan!" Zhou Yang shook his head. He was almost certain that Qiao Songnian's death was related to Zhong Honglan, but now he was thinking about something else.

What?

When Zhou Yang said this, not only did Wang Chao and Xiao Jiale be startled, but even Liu Chengyu's expression changed drastically.

The group turned their attention to Zhou Yang, wondering why he made this deduction. They knew that Dong Youli had hired someone to kill someone, and although the attempt failed, he still had the lives of Sun Yan and Qiao Songnian on his hands, making him almost certain to face the death penalty.

They couldn't understand why Zhou Yang would think that Zhong Honglan would make such a conjecture.

"Brother Chao, if—and I mean if—you had a gun today, and you encountered Dong Youli kidnapping Zhong Honglan, would you shoot him?" Zhou Yang didn't answer, but instead threw the question to Wang Chao.

Just as Wang Chao was about to answer, Xiao Jiale interrupted, "Also, our purpose today is to arrest Dong Youli."

Once the atmosphere quieted down a bit, when arresting such vicious criminal suspects, guns were usually used as a weapon.

"If you can't guarantee it, I will!" After a long pause, Wang Chao said with a serious expression.

He meant that he would open fire if he couldn't guarantee the hostages could be rescued.

"Perhaps Zhong Honglan thought the same thing!" Zhou Yang recalled the power struggle in the field: "She just miscalculated. I, a trainee officer, didn't rob anyone, while you, relying on brute force, were dealt with by Captain Liu who wouldn't issue you a gun. Otherwise, Dong Youli might be a corpse right now!"

hiss...

A collective gasp filled the room as they put themselves in Wang Chao's shoes and made the same choice.

Because they don't have Wang Chao's skills, their options are even fewer, namely, to shoot him.

"Really?" Perhaps because she was also a woman, Fang Duo voiced her doubts, but that was all she said.

"Actually, my assumption isn't isolated; you could say I think it's a series of interconnected schemes!" Zhou Yang thought about it more and more and felt that this was a possibility.

First of all, Dong Youli, why didn't you make a phone call? A single phone call could have solved the problem. Why did you have to send a message instead of sending it once? And why did you have to risk sending it twice?

According to Zhong Honglan's confession, the first time, the nanny opened the door and asked her to tell Qiao Songnian and Dong Youli that they were together. Then Zhong Honglan gave the nanny a day off.

Immediately afterwards, a second message was received, instructing them to go to the scene at Dongjiazhai.

This is unreasonable!

Unless it's the first time someone is delivering the message and they see it's the nanny and can only tell half the story, what if the nanny calls the police?

Secondly, it's possible there wasn't even a second time. Zhong Honglan said it was a message passed on by a stranger, not a written document or anything like that.

Is it possible that she understood what it meant just from the nanny's message, and that they had likely discussed it beforehand?

Yes, this speculation has another premise: that Zhong Honglan and Dong Youli are actually connected.

Assuming there is a second instance, and Dong Youli and Zhong Honglan do not have any unknown relationship, then Zhong Honglan's actions upon hearing that her husband has been kidnapped and asking her to rush to Dongjia Village would be even more suspicious.

She went home first to leave her son with her mother, then rode her bicycle to Dongjiazhai. After all, her husband had been kidnapped. Was this calm, orderly, and slow approach the right thing to do?

What if it were someone else?

Either send the child to Qiao Zhemao or someone in the company immediately, since they live nearby.

If she was worried, she could take a taxi home, drop the child off, and have the driver go directly to Dongjiazhai, but she chose neither of these options.

With her professional skills, as long as she gets Qiao Songnian into position, she can use Dong Youli to kill him. Just then, the police will arrive, which will be irrefutable evidence that Dong Youli is the murderer.

As Qiao Songnian's closest driver, Dong Youli knew about Qiao Songnian's health and was aware that he didn't have any asthma, allergies, or other illnesses. Therefore, he felt at ease leaving the man in the morgue, which conveniently gave Zhong Honglan the opportunity.

"Also, Chao, do you remember what Dong Youli said when we first arrived?" Zhou Yang looked at Wang Chao, who was deep in thought.

"Huh?" Wang Chao, whose name was called, quickly stood up and tried hard to remember.

"I remember it was 'Don't keep repeating the same sentence over and over again'..."

"Yes, that's it!" Wang Chao was about to say more, but Zhou Yang interrupted him: "He said, 'Don't keep repeating this one sentence.' Clearly, he's said it many times! Why has he said it so many times?"

Zhou Yang looked around, seemingly waiting for an answer.

"Do you want certain people to hear this?" Xiao Jiale asked uncertainly.