Chapter 197: The Suspect Escapes

“Are you crazy? I don’t even know her! Why would I lie for her?” The resident raised his voice and pulled out his phone. “Look, it clearly shows that I confirmed receipt at 7:23 PM that day.”

“Confirmation can be done in advance. I’m reminding you, giving false testimony is illegal. Please come with me to assist in the investigation.” Lin Qiupu took out handcuffs.

Seeing the handcuffs, the resident immediately caved. “Officer, officer, let me explain. Just put those away first!”

Lin Qiupu stared into his eyes.

The resident scratched his head. “That night, she called me at 7:20 PM, saying she had fallen and needed to go to the clinic. Hearing it was a girl, I told her it was fine and I could wait. She ended up being an hour late. I was starving and got angry, but she kept apologizing. That’s all.”

“So you forgave her and even lied to the police?” Lin Qiupu’s intimidating gaze made the resident sweat profusely.

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell the truth… I thought she was pretty cute, so I told her if she slept with me, I wouldn’t complain.”

“And then?”

“The next morning, she came over. I guess she kept her word. We did it in that room, but the experience was awful. She didn’t move or make a sound the whole time, like I was violating a corpse…” The resident showed a bit of pride. “Since she kept her promise, I kept mine. I didn’t know it would get this serious. I really didn’t know!”

“Nothing else to hide?”

“No, nothing. I swear!”

Looking at this scumbag, Lin Qiupu felt a rush of anger and wanted to punch him, but he restrained himself. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Scum!”

“Yes, yes, I’m scum. Please don’t cuff me.”

“You will testify in court!”

“Absolutely, absolutely!”

Leaving the resident’s place, Lin Qiupu headed towards the convenience store, his mind racing until a phone call interrupted his thoughts.

A subordinate reported, “Captain Lin, we’ve found the victim’s ex-wife’s children. The boy’s name is now Zhou Jerry, 27 years old, and the girl is Gan Ping, 23 years old.”

“How did you find this out? Is it reliable?” Lin Qiupu tried to keep his voice steady.

“Reliable. We got the information from a real estate agency. The victim wanted to claim his ex-wife’s inheritance and needed the kids to sign a waiver. The agency took a long time to track them down.”

“Alright, don’t leave yet. Stay at the office and await further instructions.”

Lin Qiupu waited near the convenience store. At 8:50 PM, Gan Ping appeared, greeting him with a smile, “Officer Lin, it’s you again. How’s the case going?”

Lin Qiupu walked over, his muscles stiff from the cold. He asked, “How can you stay so calm?”

“What do you mean?”

“You once went by the name Li Mei. Your brother is Li Chao, and your mother is Li Su. The deceased, Zhou Taiyang, was your stepfather.”

“So what?”

“You lied to me. From 7:20 to 8 PM on February 24th, you faked an order. Where were you during those forty minutes? What were you doing? I need you to come with me to assist in the investigation.”

“Assist with what investigation?”

“You know what.”

“Officer Lin, no need. I admit it was me. I killed him! I just did to that old bastard what he did to my mother and me. I knew the truth would come out eventually. From the moment you first walked into the store, I thought maybe you’d catch me… I don’t dislike you. If I have to be arrested, I’d rather it be you.”

Lin Qiupu took out the handcuffs. “Let’s go.”

Gan Ping smiled bitterly. “Let me tell my colleague that I won’t be able to finish my shift tonight. She’ll have to cover for me.”

Lin Qiupu glanced at the store and nodded in agreement.

Gan Ping went inside. Through the glass, Lin Qiupu saw her talking to her colleague. He sighed and took out a cigarette. Because of the strong wind, he had to cup his hands around the lighter. When he looked up, Gan Ping was gone.

Lin Qiupu immediately threw the cigarette and rushed inside. “Where’s Gan Ping?”

“She went to change clothes. Over there, that door. You can find her…”

Lin Qiupu pushed through the shelves and banged on the door. Though he didn’t believe Gan Ping would flee, suspects should never be out of sight.

After half a minute of no response, a sense of dread filled Lin Qiupu. He kicked the door open, revealing a beam of light shining on his astonished face. The changing room had a sealed window, with the wooden boards recently pried open, a crowbar lying discarded nearby.

The store clerk ran over in confusion, “What are you doing? Why did you break the door?”

“Where is she!?”

The store clerk, frightened by Lin Qiupu’s agitation, stammered, “I… I don’t know.”

Lin Qiupu rushed outside. Gan Ping was nowhere to be seen in the crowd. Frustrated, he punched a nearby lamppost and called his team, ordering them to come immediately. The suspect had escaped, and he needed the entire squad to catch her.

The officers mobilized quickly. Lin Qiupu got Gan Ping’s address from the store clerk—an apartment in a nearby low-rent housing complex. He hurried over but found no sign that Gan Ping had returned.

Considering where Gan Ping might go, Lin Qiupu suddenly remembered her mentioning her brother. He called the local police, asking them to look up information on Zhou Jerry.

The results were shocking. The police told him that there was only one person named Zhou Jerry in Long’an City, and he was the actor Jiang Yuqi. Zhou Jerry was the name on his ID, used to avoid paparazzi.

“I once saw him wearing clothes more expensive than my entire wardrobe, riding a shiny luxury car, surrounded by admirers.”

Gan Ping had said that accurately.

Gan Ping’s phone had a photo of Jiang Yuqi. Lin Qiupu had thought she was just a fan, not considering other possibilities.

Jiang Yuqi? Lin Dongxue had mentioned that Jia Xingyun and Jiang Yuqi were close friends. So Jia Xingyun was also involved in this case. Suddenly, all the clues connected in Lin Qiupu’s mind.

Lin Qiupu jumped into his car and sped to Jiang Yuqi’s residence in Long’an City, but it was too late. Jiang Yuqi’s butler told him, “Mr. Jiang received a call ten minutes ago and left in a hurry.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Lin Qiupu called his team, asking them to try tracking Jiang Yuqi’s phone. Ten minutes later, Jiang Yuqi’s phone was successfully traced. He was moving quickly along Zai Fu Road…