Chapter 796: A Guilty Man Confesses

Lin Qiupu was slightly startled. Could it be that someone planted the ashtray found at the scene to frame Liu Feng?

He continued calmly with his questioning, “Where did you hit him with the ashtray?”

“Officer, although I’m rough, I know my limits. That ashtray is heavy enough to kill. I just picked it up to scare him, didn’t actually hit him,” Liu Feng grinned. “If I had, it would be a different story, I get that.”

Lin Qiupu sneered, “Knowing the law didn’t stop you from assaulting someone. Come clean, why did you hit Mr. Shen?”

“For protection money!”

Liu Feng’s previous narrative had been smooth, but this statement seemed subtly hesitant. Lin Qiupu deduced that this reason was likely false.

“Protection money?”

“Yeah, I was short on cash and didn’t want to borrow from my buddies, so I thought I’d squeeze some money out of this honest boss! I used to do this kind of thing all the time when I was a small-time thug.”

“Did you act alone?”

“Yeah, by myself.”

“Did anyone see you?”

Liu Feng thought for a moment. “His apprentice saw me. I yelled at him and he ran away scared.”

“Listen, Liu Feng. I believe part of what you just said is true, but mixing truths and lies won’t help you. Don’t interrupt me!” Lin Qiupu snapped. “Let me tell you the truth. Mr. Shen is dead, beaten with an ashtray, and your fingerprints are on it. Someone saw you commit the crime, and you have no alibi.”

Liu Feng’s face turned pale. “I didn’t kill anyone! Why would I kill him?”

“What good does it do to say that now?”

“You can check my computer. It has browsing history.”

“That kind of thing can be faked easily. Tell us the real story. Did someone tell you to pick a fight with Mr. Shen?”

Gritting his teeth, Liu Feng stayed silent for a whole minute. Lin Qiupu slammed the table, urging him to speak. Suddenly, Liu Feng lifted his head, face covered in sweat but with a determined look. “I killed him!”

Lin Qiupu was taken aback. He thought the kid would keep denying it, but here he was, admitting it outright.

“How did you kill him?”

“With the ashtray.”

“Why did you kill him?”

“No reason. I just didn’t like him.”

“After you killed him, did you take something from the scene?”

Liu Feng shrugged. “I was too panicked to notice.”

“Where is it now?”

“Search my place. Whatever you find is what you get.”

Lin Qiupu glared. “Liu Feng, now you’re swinging to the other extreme. You’ll admit to anything I say?”

“You say I killed someone, and I can’t prove otherwise. You decide!”

The interrogation was temporarily halted. Lin Qiupu had the assistant bring in the apprentice to identify the suspect. Lin Dongxue said, “Brother, I don’t think he’s the killer.”

“Me neither. The motive just doesn’t add up. But he’d rather admit to murder than reveal why he went after Mr. Shen.”

“Must be instigated by Lie Guoxiao!”

“But why would Lie Guoxiao punish Mr. Shen? He just bought a painting from him a few days ago.”

“Right, you asked me to check Mr. Shen’s communication records before he died.” Lin Dongxue handed over a list of numbers, indicating calls between Mr. Shen and someone surnamed Wei, an auction house operator.

“I’ll visit this auction house owner,” Lin Dongxue said.

Lin Qiupu nodded. Lin Dongxue’s investigative skills were now agile and proactive. He remembered his second year in the force when he could only say things like “suicide can be ruled out” or “Captain, what should I investigate next” like a naive kid, following Song Lang around all day.

Lin Qiupu sighed, paid a visit to Peng Yuejue, who had bought an ashtray identical to the murder weapon. He had marked the fingerprints on it with ink. “You’re just in time. I did an experiment. The fingerprint positioning suggests the killer held the ashtray this way and struck on the opposite side. The body hasn’t been dissected yet, but we found some glass shards in the wound. We’re trying to see if they fit together. If so, this ashtray is undoubtedly the murder weapon.”

“Any technical doubts?”

“There’s only Liu Feng’s fingerprint on the ashtray. Normally, the owner’s fingerprint should be there too.”

“Liu Feng confessed. Though not sincerely, we need to investigate everything.”

Peng Yuejue picked up his coffee cup. “This case is moving quickly.”

“When Captain Song was around, we solved cases even faster than this.”

Peng Yuejue’s hand froze in mid-air.

“I’m sorry for mentioning him in front of you.” Lin Qiupu sat down. “Captain Peng, I have a ridiculous idea to discuss with you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you think Chen Shi is like Song Lang?” Lin Qiupu whispered.

Peng Yuejue’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Why would you think that? I’ve been friends with Song Lang for many years and know him well. Chen Shi is far from him.”

“All right, with your confirmation, I’ll drop it.”

“I’ve told you not to mention Song Lang in the Second Division.”

“My apologies…” Lin Qiupu left, leaving Peng Yuejue staring at the door for a long time before his subordinates called him back to reality.

In the afternoon, the apprentice was brought in. Gazing through the one-way mirror at Liu Feng, he confirmed, “It’s him!”

“I have one more question. On May 12th, during the day, did he come to the shop? What did he do then?”

“Oh, that matter. He beat up Mr. Shen.”

“How did he do it?”

“I heard a commotion from upstairs, saw him wielding the ashtray, ready to hit the boss. He saw me, yelled at me, and I ran upstairs scared.”

“And then?”

“About half an hour later, he left. I asked the boss what happened. He said the guy was a ruffian, didn’t want to talk about it. Our boss has a good character, usually doesn’t associate with such people, don’t know why this punk came looking for trouble.”

Lin Qiupu had him take another look and sent a police officer in to have Liu Feng stand up and walk a few steps.