Chapter 416: Head-to-Head Confrontation

The interrogation paused, and Lin Qiupu stepped out. The officers were in the hallway, and Ji Xingyao, Luo Zuyu’s sister-in-law, leaned against the wall smoking, casting a disdainful look.

Lin Qiupu sensed they had prepared meticulously for today’s interrogation, but now he could only counter each move as it came.

“Who’s going to check on this Su Xiaowei?” Lin Qiupu asked.

Several officers volunteered. He assigned Xu Xiaodong and Xiao Li to bring her in. Not seeing Lin Dongxue around, he inquired about her, and someone told him, “Dongxue went with Chen Ge to investigate.”

“Have we found the eyewitness?”

Old Zhang replied, “I was just about to tell you. I went to the cleaner’s house, but she wasn’t there. None of her relatives or friends know where she is.”

Lin Qiupu’s hopes dimmed further, “Got it.”

Ji Xingyao approached, “Is the interrogation over? Can I talk to Zuyu?”

“What do you think? Letting you stay here is already an exception,” Lin Qiupu replied.

“Fine, I don’t mind,” Ji Xingyao shrugged. “But it’s noon. Zuyu needs to eat.”

“We’ll provide food.”

“Your food is barely edible. Each meal must be prepared by a professional nutritionist. He’s a celebrity, different from you. An extra bit of fat could drop our company’s stock price.”

Lin Qiupu stared at her silently for a moment, then said, “Prepare his food, but we’ll inspect it first.”

“Thank you!”

“And remember, here he’s only referred to as a suspect.”

Ji Xingyao smiled elegantly, “In 24 hours, he’ll be the plaintiff, and you’ll all be defendants.”

After lunch, Su Xiaowei was brought in. She was an artist under Ji Xingyao’s company, not very famous, having only played minor roles in a few dramas. She looked very nervous in the interrogation room. Lin Qiupu asked, “Where were you on the night of July 14th? Who did you meet? What did you do?”

“I… I met Luo Zuyu at a café. We had drinks, then took a walk. I left him at 10 PM.”

“We understand you and Luo Zuyu have no professional connections. How did you know each other?”

“We work at the same company, so we know each other.”

“Alright, tell us exactly what you talked about and where you went.”

Su Xiaowei recounted every detail nervously. Lin Qiupu sensed she was lying but had no way to prove it. After an hour, he told her to go but to remain in Long’an City for further questioning.

Leaving the interrogation room, Lin Qiupu felt powerless. Just then, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue returned. Lin Qiupu eagerly asked, “Any new discoveries?”

Chen Shi said, “There’s someone in the car. Bring him to the interrogation room and do a DNA test.”

Lin Qiupu ordered someone to handle it. Chen Shi said, “Everyone, follow me.”

The officers gathered in a meeting room where Chen Shi had some hotel surveillance footage played. After watching, everyone was surprised. Chen Shi said, “They’ve prepared a set of lies to present at the last moment. We need to disrupt their plan because their story has loopholes. Captain Lin, keep interrogating. I’ll give you the evidence at the right time.”

Lin Qiupu asked, “How confident are you?”

“Not very,” Chen Shi smiled.

“Why are you smiling then?”

“This case is simple: one person killed another, and everyone around them is lying. We need to dismantle each lie. The first lie is the paparazzi photos. They’ve been bought off and refused to give us the originals, making our visit useless. I think we can use some force on them.”

Lin Qiupu pondered, “I think Su Xiaowei might be a quicker breakthrough.”

“Those paparazzi insulted Dongxue and spoke very rudely.”

Lin Qiupu’s attitude changed immediately, “Those bastards. Let’s bring them in. If they don’t cooperate, call in SWAT!”

Old Zhang commented, “It’s so quiet outside today.”

“What do you mean?” another officer asked.

“A celebrity is detained, yet no reporters outside. Strange.”

Chen Shi explained, “We have a trump card—Luo Zuyu tested positive for meth. The state takes this seriously. An artist caught with drugs can’t clear their name. They won’t call the press to avoid exposing this.”

Lin Qiupu considered, “Should we leak this to intimidate them?”

Chen Shi shook his head, “Keep this trump card. If we reveal it now, they’ll go all out against us, launching media attacks with accusations of ‘coerced confessions,’ ‘police brutality,’ and ‘fabricating evidence.’ We can’t win against journalists who don’t need evidence.”

Old Zhang agreed, “Chen’s right. Journalists don’t need evidence. That’s why they fabricated the alibi. Everyone now believes Luo Zuyu was on a date on the 14th.”

Lin Qiupu concluded, “We’ll reveal the drug use after the case is closed.”

“Right, ruin that trash celebrity!”

“Who said that?” Lin Qiupu scanned the room. “Detectives shouldn’t say such things. It would disgrace the entire department if it gets out. Was it you, Xu Xiaodong?”

Xu Xiaodong protested, “Not me. I was drinking water!”

Chen Shi advised, “Keep such thoughts to yourself.”

“I swear it wasn’t me!”

Back in the interrogation room, Lin Qiupu felt his scalp tingle, but having Chen Shi with him was reassuring. It reminded him of working with Song Lang, who could have been a director or chief by now if he were still around. Why wouldn’t this fool Chen Shi join the force?

Chen Shi opened his laptop, “Mr. Luo, let’s watch some surveillance footage.”

Watching the footage, Luo Zuyu sat with his arms crossed, indifferent and confident. He had rehearsed his responses multiple times. His sister-in-law had predicted nearly all the questions, and he was sure the police couldn’t touch him. After all, he’d killed before and escaped the law multiple times. To him, the police were just trash!