Chapter 591: Suspicious Actions
KK sat in a car eating a burger, intently listening to the “broadcast” when a knock on the window startled him. He turned to see it was Chen Shi.
KK opened the door, and Chen Shi got in. The radio inside the car played a man’s voice: “Okay, I’ll submit the materials by Friday. Thanks for the heads-up.”
“What’s this?” Chen Shi asked.
“He’s on the phone,” KK replied.
“Who is he?”
“That despicable teacher. Didn’t you tell me to follow him? I planted a bug in his bag. Slipped it in when I brushed past him. Am I not awesome?” KK grinned.
“You really go to any lengths! You know wiretapping is illegal, right?”
“I know, but do you think he’d dare report us?”
“Why not? The more unscrupulous someone is, the better they know how to use the law to their advantage,” Chen Shi shook his head. “Find an opportunity to retrieve the bug. If it’s discovered, it’ll become evidence against us.”
KK shrugged. “You didn’t have any solid evidence against this guy anyway. Wasn’t he unindictable for murder? I’m helping you!”
Chen Shi sighed, recalling the image of Cao Rui’s death. Letting Yan Ke go unpunished had been a heavy blow. “Get rid of the bug as soon as possible. And next time you want to bug someone, tell me first! By the way, if you’re going to wiretap, why not bug Zhou Tiannan?”
“I tried. Planted bugs in his house, but they got discovered. I’ve been to his place three or four times and found nothing. The old fox is too cunning.”
“Any leads on Yan Ke?”
“No, but I saw him at a hardware store yesterday, acting all shady with a bag.”
They sat quietly for a while. KK said, “Chen Ge, I read the papers. This case has got you all in a tizzy, huh? Want me to take out Zhou Tiannan? Then the police can search his place legitimately.”
Chen Shi gestured for KK to keep it down. “Forget about breaking the law. Don’t even think about it!”
“Just saying… If I had superpowers, I’d make him disappear. Problem solved!”
Chen Shi checked his phone. Lin Dongxue had sent a message: “We’ve caught the man in the black hat.”
Chen Shi patted KK’s shoulder. “Gotta go. Keep me posted if anything comes up.”
At the station, the man in the black hat was sitting silently in the interrogation room. Chen Shi asked, “Where was he caught?”
“Xiaodong spotted him skulking around while investigating the last group of suspects and brought him in.”
“Great job, Xiaodong!”
“This guy’s tight-lipped. We don’t even know his name yet.”
In the interrogation room, Lin Qiupu slammed the table. “Name, occupation!”
The man smirked. “What crime did I commit? Why am I being detained?”
“We suspect you’re involved in Qu Jing’an’s death.” Lin Qiupu showed him a photo. “Want to deny this is you?”
The man sneered. “Is drinking coffee a crime now?”
“Cut the act. The people you met directly participated in the murder plan. Are you claiming innocence?”
The man shrugged. “So what if I chatted with a taxi driver, and he killed someone the next day? Does that make it my fault? What’s wrong with having coffee with friends?”
“Friends? You call them friends?”
“Internet friends!” the man retorted.
“Stubborn mule!” Lin Dongxue muttered. She noticed a tech officer approaching. “Xiao Zhou, did you identify him?”
“Got it from his fingerprints. His name is Zhang Wei, previously a suspect in a wife-murder insurance scam…”
“Let me guess, released due to insufficient evidence?” Chen Shi said.
Xiao Zhou nodded. “Correct, insufficient evidence. I’ll bring the report to Captain Lin.” He headed into the interrogation room.
Chen Shi said, “Looks like this guy has received ‘favors.’ He’s not the mastermind, just a messenger, and he won’t spill anything. Zhou Tiannan must have leverage over them.”
Despite Lin Qiupu’s efforts, the man refused to talk, so they sent him to the holding cell. Lin Qiupu ordered a search of Zhang Wei’s home. Chen Shi doubted they’d find anything.
“Even if it’s futile, we have to try. We finally caught a suspect,” Lin Qiupu said. “By the way, the signing ceremony for Qu Jingli is set for tomorrow at his new company building. You guys guard the place tonight. No suspicious persons allowed inside.”
“Are we officially protecting Qu Jingli now?” Chen Shi asked.
“We know Zhou Tiannan wants to take out the Qu brothers. We can’t let him get killed under our watch.”
Chen Shi, Lin Dongxue, and other officers went to the site. The new building was not yet in use, completely empty. The building manager showed them Qu’s office, already set up with some furniture.
Chen Shi instructed the officers to park far away and hide inside the building. The stakeout was dull and tedious. Chen Shi kept yawning until a colleague’s voice crackled over the radio: “Spotted a suspicious person!”
“Describe him,” Chen Shi said.
“A man with a bag, acting suspiciously… He just took out wire cutters. Should we arrest him?”
Chen Shi pondered whether to play along but decided arresting him wouldn’t tip anyone off. “Grab him!”
By the time Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue arrived, the man was already subdued, lying on the ground, wailing. He had a bag with wire cutters, wrenches, and a receiver.
Chen Shi demanded, “Who sent you?”
The man was terrified. “A man in a black hat.”
“What did he want you to do?”
“Connect this to the wires.”
“Just that?”
“Yes, that’s all I know.”
Lin Dongxue said, “I’ll take him in and have this device analyzed.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Back at the station, they examined the receiver. It had a fuse and resistors. It seemed designed to cut power upon receiving a signal.
The device was likely meant to cause a blackout, but this was just a piece of Zhou Tiannan’s plan.
Just then, a colleague called, excited, “We caught another suspect at the building, and he had a detonator!”
“What?” Lin Dongxue was shocked. “No explosives?”
“Just the detonator.”
Chen Shi contemplated, “Zhou Tiannan plans to make a big move. Is he going to bomb the place and kill Qu Jingli?”
Lin Dongxue frowned, “How many people would die in that case?”