Chapter 612: A Kindred Spirit is Hard to Find

In the afternoon, Chen Shi recovered and went to the station. Tao Yueyue was also there, having come with the police car and eaten lunch at the station. Now, Xu Xiaodong was accompanying her.

When Chen Shi arrived, Xu Xiaodong, as if granted amnesty, quietly said to him, “Brother Chen, is your daughter an ordinary kid? After talking with her all afternoon, I feel utterly inferior. How does she know so much?”

“Kids are like that; they like to show off whatever they learn. Don’t take it to heart… Besides, your IQ doesn’t even come close to hers.”

“That’s harsh! I’m outta here!” Xu Xiaodong, feeling defeated, walked away.

Tao Yueyue asked, “Uncle Chen, are you feeling better?”

“I’m fine…” Chen Shi raised his right hand. “Just got a scar from that electric shock. It’ll take a few days to heal. You’re really something, kid!”

“I was so scared by myself!” Tao Yueyue cried and hugged him.

Seeing her like this, Chen Shi decided not to pursue the matter of her drawing a turtle on his face. He patted her head, “Thanks for saving my life!”

“Can I keep the stun gun?”

“Sure, but don’t use it on your classmates.”

“Okay!”

“Do you want me to take you home first? We’re about to interrogate a suspect, and it might take a while. It’s pretty boring.”

The interrogation process often lasted several hours. It wasn’t as simple as getting a confession; every detail of the case had to be repeatedly verified. After that, they’d have to reconstruct the crime scene, though Chen Shi never participated in that part.

“I want to watch,” Tao Yueyue said.

“Alright, let’s go!”

This time, Chen Shi and Lin Qiupu were the interrogators. Lin Qiupu felt that Chen Shi always rambled during interrogations and made a mess of the records, so he needed to supervise.

Gong Jianqin was handcuffed to the interrogation chair, still wearing the coat she had on during the crime. Her hair, previously tied up, now fell over part of her face, making her look somewhat despondent. When Chen Shi sat down across from her, Gong Jianqin said, “Turns out you have quite a bit of authority.”

“I don’t have any authority. I’m only here because Officer Lin allowed it… Your hair looks nice!”

“I’ve had it for many years. I’ll probably have to cut it off when I go to jail,” Gong Jianqin said with some regret.

“Ahem!” Lin Qiupu signaled Chen Shi to stop talking nonsense. “Suspect, state your name and occupation…”

After asking the basic questions, Lin Qiupu began interrogating about the first case, the murder of Qin Yi last June. Gong Jianqin didn’t resist much and nodded, “I killed Qin Yi. I was quite nervous the first time I killed someone. Before that, I studied many crime videos. Knives aren’t very efficient for killing; people will struggle when stabbed. But physically, I couldn’t overpower Qin Yi, so I chose a hammer. One blow to the back of the head, and he fell, struggling. I hit him a few more times until he stopped moving. I took his phone because I was afraid of being traced. Then I thought, why not take all his valuables and make it look like a robbery? I pushed his body under his car.”

Chen Shi said, “That was pretty clever. Qin Yi’s body wasn’t found until it started to smell days later. Since it was a busy area, the police focused on local troublemakers, not expecting it to be a saleswoman like you.”

Lin Qiupu shot Chen Shi a glare and whispered, “Can’t you keep quiet?”

Chen Shi made a helpless gesture and handed control back to Lin Qiupu. After questioning all the details of Qin Yi’s case, Lin Qiupu moved on to the second case, the murder of Li Xiaolei this April.

Gong Jianqin, expressionless, said, “Li Xiaolei was a disgusting middle-aged man who often hit on women in service jobs, thinking they were charmed by him. Every time I talked to him, I felt nauseous, but I endured it to sell a house.”

“Was your intention to sell the house? Li Xiaolei had his eyes on unit 1818, but you planned to kill him!”

“No, I initially wanted to sell it. Killing Qin Yi was an impulse. Later, when B phase was about to open, Li Xiaolei wanted to buy it in full. I intended to sell it until I learned more about his character.”

“How did you kill him?”

“He invited me to his place that day. He’d asked many times before, and I always dodged. Once I decided to kill him, I pretended to agree. We had dinner, talked a lot, mostly him rambling. After drinking, his true nature came out, hinting he wanted to sleep with me. I said I liked BDSM. He agreed. I blindfolded him, handcuffed him, and injected him with a prepared syringe. I meant to anesthetize him first, but it was my first time using sodium thiopental, and I miscalculated the dose. He died from cardiac arrest. It saved me a lot of trouble. Afterward, I stripped him, unsure if his clothes held any evidence, and burned them. I poured toilet cleaner on him, feeling no emotions. To me, he was like a cockroach. I wished there was a potion to dissolve him completely.”

Chen Shi said, “I should thank him. If you hadn’t learned to use the drug properly, I might not be sitting here today.”

“Stop interrupting!” Lin Qiupu complained.

When Lin Qiupu continued questioning, Gong Jianqin fell silent. Lin Qiupu urged, “Confess the crime!”

“I want to talk to Mr. Chen.”

“I’m the police. He’s just a consultant.” Lin Qiupu felt his authority was being undermined.

“I want to talk to Mr. Chen!” Gong Jianqin insisted.

Lin Qiupu, helpless, handed control back to Chen Shi. Chen Shi said, “Why do you want to talk to me? Because we’ve met a few times and are somewhat acquainted?”

“Because I feel we have a connection. You might understand me… He’s just an indifferent bystander.” She glanced at Lin Qiupu, whose expression was quite colorful.

“At first, you genuinely wanted to sell me the house, right?”

“Yes, you seemed kind. I thought you’d treat it well.”

“Until I did that thing this morning?”

“I was furious then. Now…” She glanced at her handcuffs. “I think I understand. It was your plan. But if you saw through this, you must understand why those four people had to die.”

Lin Qiupu was utterly confused. Wasn’t it because she wanted the house herself?

“Very few people refer to a house as ‘it.’ To you, it’s a living, feeling entity. Throughout the case, we focused on those wanting the house, seeing it as mere property. But we were wrong. This motive, even for me, is twisted and complex. Miss Gong, in your daily interactions, praising it to others, you fell in love with it!”

Gong Jianqin’s eyes instantly filled with tears, as if she had found a kindred spirit. She bit her lip and nodded.

“What?!” Lin Qiupu’s eyes widened. Outside the interrogation room, the observing officers were also stunned. No one had expected this motive!

Xu Xiaodong sighed, “Does Brother Chen’s mind work like a black hole?”