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CHAPTER 7
PART 4
What Su Xiaotong didn't know was that the questions she had in her mind were also realized by Tan Yong about an hour after leaving Li Xueli's house.
During the first hour, like everyone else, Tan Yong's initial joy of inheriting the fortune temporarily clouded his judgment. After settling down, he regained his composure and began to think critically.
At this moment, he was in a Western restaurant with his wife and daughter, celebrating the impending windfall with steaks. However, as he realized this critical question, his appetite vanished.
"Motive. That's the motive..." he muttered to himself.
"What?" his wife, Dou Hui, sitting beside him, didn't catch his words clearly.
"It's nothing; I just remembered something suddenly," Tan Yong said, putting down his knife and fork. "I might need to go see Captain Jiang right away."
"Now? At least finish your steak; it's over a hundred yuan per serving," Dou Hui said.
"Alright," Tan Yong agreed, but his mind was no longer on the food. He abandoned the elegant way of cutting the steak into small pieces and instead, like eating a Shandong pancake, took large bites.
"Dad... your eating manners are quite unsightly, aren't they?" Tan Yali looked around with embarrassment. "Others might think we're uncultured bumpkins. Who eats steak like that?"
Tan Yong had finished a piece of steak in no time, wiping his mouth with a napkin while chewing. He said, "You all take your time; I need to attend to some work."
Saying that, he got up and left, heading outside the Western restaurant. Once on the street, Tan Yong dialed Captain Jiang Ming's phone and asked, "Captain Jiang, where are you?"
"Isn't it the weekend today? I'm at home."
"I have something I want to report to you right away."
Jiang Ming paused slightly. "Alright, come to my house."
After hanging up the phone, Tan Yong hailed a taxi and provided the driver with the address.
A little over ten minutes later, he arrived at Captain Jiang Ming's home. Jiang Ming was about the same age as Tan Yong, and they had been colleagues in the Criminal Investigation Division for nearly twenty years.
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A few years ago, Jiang Ming had been promoted to the position of Captain due to solving a major case and had become Tan Yong's superior. Tan Yong harbored no jealousy or dissatisfaction about this; instead, he felt somewhat ashamed, as he had been a police officer for many years but had never cracked a major case.
Two years ago, the homicide at the 12th floor of Yuehai Bay remained unsolved, even after Jiang Ming entrusted him with the investigation. Now, with the Gong Yamei case, which was related to the same apartment, on his hands, Tan Yong couldn't find peace. Instead, he wanted to find Jiang Ming quickly and report the current situation to him.
It seemed like Jiang Ming and his wife had just finished lunch, as she was still tidying up the dishes. Tan Yong exchanged greetings with his sister-in-law and made small talk. Jiang Ming took him to the study, lit a cigarette, and sat down. "Speak here; what's the matter?"
"Well, it's like this. I've previously investigated the Gong Yamei case with Li Bin, and we were able to conclude that it was him who killed her. However, we didn't know the killer's identity or motive. But this morning, after attending Gong Yamei's funeral, something happened that made me suddenly realize the motive behind the murder."
"Oh, what motive?"
Next, Tan Yong explained the situation with the lawyer reading the will to Jiang Ming. After hearing it, Jiang Ming was greatly surprised. He didn't even smoke; he snuffed out the cigarette in the ashtray and said, "Gong Yamei distributed over 200 million yuan of her estate, evenly among nine of her close friends, including you?"
"Yes."
"One person gets over 27 million?"
"Right."
"Old Tan, you've hit the jackpot!" Jiang Ming exclaimed.
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Tan Yong couldn't discern all the emotions in Jiang Ming's tone; perhaps there was a mix of various feelings. He hesitatedly said, "I don't know why she included me in her will. I only occasionally attended their gatherings. And, for the most part, it's because of the case from two years ago."
"Old Tan, you don't need to explain that to me. We police officers are also human beings and have the right to make friends. As long as Gong Yamei's will is voluntary and legal, you should openly and honestly inherit this fortune. The right to inherit is a legal right of every citizen, including police officers."
"Yes, thank you for understanding, Captain Jiang. But what I want to say is not about this."
"Right, let's get back to the main point—the motive of the killer in murdering Gong Yamei—do you believe it's related to this inheritance?"
"Yes, from the perspective of benefiting from this, it's clear that after Gong Yamei's death, these people in the 'big family' would gain something. So, I believe it's highly likely that the killer murdered Gong Yamei to inherit the fortune quickly."
"But you just said earlier that when the lawyer read the will, everyone was surprised, indicating that they didn't know about the will. In your usual interactions with Gong Yamei and the others, you've never heard them mention the topic of a will."
"Yes, but that could be superficial. Perhaps someone among them already knew in advance that Gong Yamei intended to leave her estate to everyone and was merely pretending not to know."
Jiang Ming nodded and said, "Indeed, this provides a motive for the crime. And based on your previous investigation, on the night of the incident, all the members of the 'big family' had no alibis."
"That's correct."
"It's challenging, though. While narrowing down the suspects to this extent, without surveillance footage or concrete evidence, how can we determine who the killer is?"
"That's exactly the difficulty of this case."
"Old Tan, you frequently interacted with them, right? Based on your knowledge of them, are there individuals among them who are solely driven by profit and willing to go to any lengths?"
Tan Yong sighed and said, "I don't know if it's because I'm too dull to see through people's true nature or if some people are just exceptionally good at masking their true selves. In my view, the members of the 'big family' seem to have good character and morals; otherwise, I wouldn't have become friends with them. So, I can't fathom who among them would commit such a crime for money. Except..."
"Except what?"
"There's a couple who moved here from Jingzhou just last month. They've known Gong Yamei and the others for less than a month. Under these circumstances, it's suspicious that Gong Yamei included them in her will. I've only met this couple a few times, and I don't know them well."
Jiang Ming furrowed his brow in thought for a moment. "So, this couple moved to Yuehai Bay just a month ago, and Gong Yamei's murder occurred in such a short time frame. She also included them in her will in that short period, and there's no evidence to prove their absence on the night of the crime, this indeed appears very suspicious."
"But what I can't understand is how they could have known about the will. Gong Yamei wouldn't likely have disclosed such information to people she had just met, right?"
"Could it be that they already knew about the will before coming to Li City? Perhaps they learned about it from a lawyer. In other words, they came here with this specific intention."
Tan Yong thought for a moment with his mouth agape and remained silent. Jiang Ming asked, "Do you think this possibility exists?"
"Are you saying that they deliberately joined the 'big family,' gained Gong Yamei's favor, had her add their names to the will, verified it through a lawyer, and then found an opportunity to murder Gong Yamei? If that's the case, it would mean this was a premeditated plot from the beginning, and the lawyer might also be their accomplice," Tan Yong said.
"This possibility does exist, right?"
"Yes."
"In that case, I believe we should investigate this couple's past, see if they have any prior criminal records, and determine if they had any previous connections with Gong Yamei or the lawyer."
"Alright, I understand. I'll contact the Jingzhou City Public Security Bureau to gather information about their past!" Tan Yong stood up from his chair.
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"Wait a moment, Old Tan."
"Is there something else, Captain Jiang?"
Jiang Ming pondered for a moment. "Haven't you realized one thing about this case?"
"What is it?"
Jiang Ming gazed into Tan Yong's eyes. "You are also involved in this case."
Tan Yong and Jiang Ming stared at each other, momentarily not grasping the meaning of the statement. When Tan Yong finally realized it, he stood up abruptly from his chair with a furious glare at Jiang Ming, his tone changing, "Lao Jiang, what do you mean? Are you implying that because I'm also one of the will's beneficiaries, theoretically, I could be a suspect? Is that what you're saying?!"
Jiang Ming sighed and quickly patted Tan Yong on the shoulder, urging him to sit back down in his chair. He said, "Why are you getting so worked up? I've known you for how many years? Do you think I would have the slightest suspicion about you? But according to the rules, in a situation like this, you should recuse yourself. Whether you're suitable to continue handling this case or not will need to be determined by me reporting it to Director Chen. You can't expect me to keep this from Director Chen, can you?"
"It's only right to inform him, but I can't understand what there is to recuse. Whether it's you or Director Chen, the entire police department, from top to bottom, so many people—anyone who questions me on this matter is an insult to my character!"
At this moment, Jiang Ming's wife opened the door slightly and asked quietly, "What are you two talking about? Why are you arguing?"
"Who's arguing? We're discussing work! Close the door; it's none of your business!" Jiang Ming waved his hand, signaling his wife to close the door.
The two fell silent for a moment. Jiang Ming patted Tan Yong's leg and said, "Old Tan, don't get worked up, listen to me. Our criminal investigation team, including the police department, knows that no one would doubt your character because we know you. But think about it, what about the ordinary people? What will they think? You frequently visit that house in Yuehai Bay, attend their gatherings. People who know you understand that you're responsible and committed to solving cases, as well as providing more protection for that neighborhood. But for those who don't know you, what will they think when they see you have a good relationship with Gong Yamei and then become one of the beneficiaries of a massive inheritance? Some malicious individuals might gossip behind your back. Have you considered the potential impact on your reputation?"
"Is this my fault? Did I make Gong Yamei write my name into the will?" Tan Yong said angrily.
"Of course not. But the issue is that you can't explain this to people, and misunderstandings are inevitable. Of course, you can choose to disregard these rumors, but whether you are still suitable to investigate this case or not, I don't have the final say. Let Director Chen consider and decide. I'll report to him in person tomorrow and then let you know the outcome."
Tan Yong contemplated for a long while, then stood up, opened the door without saying a word, walked out of Jiang Ming's house, and left. Jiang Ming watched his departing figure, sighed helplessly, and shook his head.
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