Chapter 534: Zhang Rui’s Confession

When Zhang Rui bluntly said “let Lin Hui die,” Lin Dongxue thought, a ten-million-yuan fortune indeed pushes people to extreme actions.

Zhang Rui fell silent. Chen Shi slammed the table and repeated his previous question.

Finally, Zhang Rui slowly began, “I followed Lin Hui and figured out who her lover was.”

“Did you follow her on September 10th?”

“Yes, that day I saw her come down with a bag and head towards the bank. But strangely, she never came out of the bank. I suspected a trick, went back to her lover’s place, and found no one there. I realized she might have led me away on purpose.”

This testimony differed from Lü Hao’s. Chen Shi suspected Zhang Rui might be lying.

He continued, “What happened next? Did you continue following Lin Hui?”

“I’m not the police, I don’t have those resources. Once I lost her, I went to Li Xiang and told him we lost her and maybe the money too. We were depressed and spent the night drinking. I comforted Li Xiang, saying that if Lin Hui disappeared, after two years she’d be declared dead, and he’d get both houses, so it wasn’t all bad.”

“You comforted Li Xiang?” Chen Shi sneered. “That would benefit Li Xiang, but what about you?”

Zhang Rui got agitated, “I did think about killing for the money, but the cost was too high. Even if I got the money, I wouldn’t live to spend it. I’m not reckless! I was upset about the money, but I didn’t kill anyone!”

“Did you notice anyone else following Lin Hui?”

“I think so. I guessed they were private investigators hired by that corrupt official. They had more people, I was alone, so I knew about them, but they didn’t know about me.”

“Did you go to Green Community on September 10th?”

“What’s Green Community? Never been there!”

“How do you explain this?” Chen Shi showed him a printout from the surveillance footage.

Zhang Rui’s eyes widened, “That’s not me. I haven’t worn that trench coat since last winter. Who wears a trench coat in this weather?”

“We’ll find more evidence to make you talk.”

“Hey, I didn’t kill anyone!” Zhang Rui shouted.

The interrogation paused. Chen Shi asked Old Zhang to take some of the case evidence back. Chen Shi seemed unhappy. Lin Dongxue asked what was wrong, and Chen Shi said, “Something doesn’t add up.”

“Suspects denying the facts isn’t new. We’ll find evidence to make him confess.”

There were no surveillance cameras where Li Xiang was killed. The police searched Zhang Rui’s place, finding some gun diagrams, the trench coat, and a bottle of cyanide hidden in a drawer.

The corrupt official was handed over to the disciplinary committee, but he stubbornly denied ever hiding ten million yuan, claiming the house purchase was just an investment.

In the evening, Old Zhang returned with important news: a hair from Zhang Rui was found in Lin Hui’s car, proving he lied about not having close contact with her before she disappeared.

They went to a hot pot restaurant for dinner. Chen Shi was unusually silent. Lin Dongxue and Xu Xiaodong enjoyed their lamb, but seeing Chen Shi quiet, Lin Dongxue said, “Stop thinking about it. The case is solved.”

Old Zhang raised his beer, “Chen, work’s done. Stop overthinking.”

Xu Xiaodong said, “The case is now in Lieyang’s hands. We did them a favor. Tomorrow, we go back.”

Lin Dongxue said, “I’ve already booked my ticket. Come on, let’s drink!”

Back at the hotel, Chen Shi said he wanted to go for a walk. He found a quiet spot and pulled out a cigarette from his wallet. He felt he needed a bit of nicotine to activate his brain cells but didn’t want to break his promise to Lin Dongxue.

Chen Shi held the cigarette, fiddling with his lighter, indecisive. A fellow hotel guest saw him and joked, “Practicing to play the trombone?”

Chen Shi ignored him. Staring at the cigarette, he suddenly thought of something and rushed back to his room.

Lin Dongxue had just showered and was lying on the bed watching TV, feeling particularly relaxed after days of running around. Seeing him rush in, she was surprised, “Weren’t you going to buy a drink?”

Chen Shi held up the cigarette, “I swiped this from Old Zhang’s pack during dinner.”

“What!?” Lin Dongxue laughed. “Why did you do that?”

“The point is, he didn’t notice. His pack was almost full, so he didn’t miss one.”

“So?”

Chen Shi looked serious, “The corrupt official won’t admit to the money. Li Xiang only learned about it later. So only Lin Hui knew the exact amount. It might have been ten million, or ten million and one hundred thousand.”

“You’re saying Lin Hui took part of it… Weren’t we not going to think about it anymore? Why are you obsessing?”

“Because something doesn’t add up. According to the timeline, at 6 PM Lin Hui got the money and encountered Zhang Rui. At 7 PM, she had the money in her car. At 8 PM, she mysteriously disappeared on the highway… How did she get injured, and how did Zhang Rui’s hair end up in the car?”

“A reasonable assumption is that she encountered Zhang Rui between 7 and 8 PM.”

“Zhang Rui had a gun and was in the car. Yet, Lin Hui survived? Isn’t that strange?”

Lin Dongxue crossed her arms, thinking, “Maybe he shot her while she was parked, reaching through the window, but she didn’t die immediately.”

“To leave hair in the car, he’d have to stick his head inside. That seems odd.”

“Maybe it was hair from his sleeve.”

“There was a big dog in the passenger seat. Did you see the dog? It’s huge!”

“Maybe he reached in from the driver’s side.”

Chen Shi shook his head, “At such close range, she’d hardly survive. Plus, all our assumptions require that Lin Hui didn’t resist, the dog didn’t bark, and no one noticed. Lin Hui would’ve done everything to shake off Zhang Rui, not let him get close. That’s the most realistic scenario.”

Lin Dongxue shook her head, “Many details are unknown to us. Once Zhang Rui talks, we’ll know.”

“Or if we find Lin Hui!”

“Hey, if you don’t shower soon, I’m going to sleep. Today was exhausting.” Lin Dongxue urged.

“Alright, alright, let’s take care of that first.”