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CHAPTER 14
PART 3
Li Bin and Tan Yong returned to the detective unit one after the other. Upon seeing them, Jiang Ming said, "After I caught Fan Ke, I immediately confiscated his phone to prevent him from communicating with his 'collaborator.' But by the time we caught him, it was already several tens of minutes later. During this time, he might have already spoken with 'that person' or sent messages."
"If that's the case, there should be records on Fan Ke's phone of calls or messages with 'that person'! Even if he deleted them, we can contact the telecom service provider to retrieve the call logs of this number. If we find that one of these numbers matches someone from the 'big family,' we'd almost have the culprit!" Tan Yong said excitedly.
"Yes, that's what I was thinking." Jiang Ming nodded. "I'll contact the telecom service provider now, you guys interrogate Fan Ke!"
"Okay!"
Tan Yong and Li Bin entered the interrogation room of the detective unit, sitting across from Fan Ke, separated by a table. Fan Ke was still wearing the coffee shop's employee uniform, had removed his mask, and had an indifferent expression, empty eyes, giving an air of nonchalance, not showing any fear.
Tan Yong inquired, "Do you know why we arrested you?'
"Don't know."
"What's your name?"
"Fan Ke."
"Isn't it 'A Chao'?"
"That's the name I used while working at the coffee shop."
"Why did you work at this coffee shop?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"Fan Ke, I advise you to be a bit more cooperative and answer our questions honestly. You should know, we police don't just randomly arrest people. We brought you here because we already have evidence of your crime." Tan Yong said sternly.
"Crime?" Fan Ke pretended to be surprised. "What crime did I commit? Is working at a coffee shop a crime?"
"If you haven't committed a crime, why did you escape through the café's restroom window? What was that if not a guilty conscience?"
"Officer, I only realized you were the police when I entered this detective unit's gate. I ran just now because of a misunderstanding, thinking you were people from the underworld."
Li Bin slammed the table angrily, "Fan Ke! Don't be insolent!"
Fan Ke, unfazed, said, "When you entered the coffee shop, you weren't in police uniforms. How was I supposed to know you were the police? Suddenly a bunch of people rushed in, anyone would be scared."
"If you've done nothing wrong, why be afraid?"
"When I used to hang out, I inevitably offended some people. I thought there were some enemies coming, so I escaped through the window."
Both Tan Yong and Li Bin knew this guy was clearly being evasive. Tan Yong wasn't in a hurry, though; the person was already caught, and they could take their time interrogating.
Tan Yong said, "Okay, even if you misunderstood, can you explain why someone from Shanghai came to work at a small café in Li City? Your parents are billionaires; do you need to earn money to support the family?"
"Officer, you can't put it that way." Fan Ke argued, "My parents' money belongs to them. I don't want to be a dependent. Li City is a famous tourist city nationwide. I came here for a trip and coincidentally found a literary café to work in. It's reasonable, isn't it?"
"Well, it does seem reasonable." Tan Yong nodded. "So, you didn't come to Li City for your mother or your girlfriend. It was only after arriving in Li City that you 'coincidentally' discovered your mother and girlfriend were both in Li City. And your girlfriend happens to be the boss of the café you applied to, right?"
Tan Yong gazed at Fan Ke with a penetrating look, smiling on the surface but exerting pressure. He deliberately and naturally mentioned Xia Qi as Fan Ke's girlfriend, indicating he already knew this fact very well, making it seem like he had everything under control, but in reality, it was a clever "ploy" to test the other's reaction. Interrogating a suspect was like this, combining truth and deception. It's said, 'The art of war delights in deception,' and this applies to interrogations too.
Li Bin chimed in, "Fan Ke, a reminder for you. If your following answers don't align with the evidence we have, it means you're not telling the truth during police questioning, and that carries legal consequences."
Clearly startled, Fan Ke remained silent for a while before saying, "Okay, fine, I admit it. I came to Li City to work because of my girlfriend Xia Qi. She owns a café here, and as her boyfriend, I came to help out. It's normal, right?"
Tan Yong felt a rush of excitement—key information was drawn out. Xia Qi indeed was Fan Ke's girlfriend! But he kept a calm exterior, saying, "Do the other two employees at the café know you're a couple?"
"Don't know."
"Why?"
"I don't want to tell them. Whether to disclose our relationship is our freedom."
"Okay, then let me ask you, do you know the current situation of Xia Qi?"
Fan Ke thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure, I haven't seen her these past two days."
"You're a couple, right? Two days without seeing each other, and you don't even ask about each other's situation?"
"We had an argument two days ago and are still in a standoff, so we haven't contacted each other for the time being."
"You had an argument, so you don't care about her life or death?"
Fan Ke lifted his head, looking at the two policemen. "Has something really happened to Xia Qi?"
He definitely knew Xia Qi was dead but didn't dare admit it in front of the police. Tan Yong thought to himself and then said, "More than just your girlfriend, didn't your mother have an incident some time ago? You wouldn't claim not to know about that either, right?"
On this point, Fan Ke didn't deny it. Perhaps he felt denying even this would seem too fake.
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"When did you arrive in Li City?"
"On March 4th."
"After arriving in Li City, where did you stay?"
"At a nearby guesthouse called 'Qiran.'"
"You arrived, and in just six days, your mother was murdered. Then, after another six days, your girlfriend was also murdered. In a short span of just over ten days, two people closest to you were sequentially murdered. Do you want to say you have no connection at all?"
"Has Xia Qi really been murdered?"
"Okay, stop pretending, you know it very well."
Fan Ke didn't perform the shock act anymore, just calmly said, "Indeed, I have no connection. I have a poor relationship with my mother; we've been estranged for over a year, and we haven't been in contact since. I heard about her murder from Xia Qi. As for Xia Qi, I just found out she was also murdered."
"You seem very calm upon learning your girlfriend was murdered, no emotional fluctuations at all."
"If I showed too much emotion, wouldn't you accuse me of acting? What exactly do you want from me, Officer?"
"Do you know why they were murdered?"
"I can probably guess."
"For what reason?"
"My mother's inheritance."
"You know your mother had over two hundred million in inheritance, right?"
"Yes."
"And your mother didn't plan to leave this inheritance for you, but for the 'person who was genuinely good to her.'"
Fan Ke didn't speak, which was as good as an admission.
"So, to get this inheritance, you planned to have your well-behaved and understanding girlfriend, Xia Qi, come to Li City to win your mother's favor, hoping she would leave the inheritance to Xia Qi."
Fan Ke admitted outright, "Yes, that's right. But that's not illegal, is it?"
"It's not illegal, but murder is."
"Officer, what do you mean? Do you think I killed my mother and my girlfriend? What reason do I have to do that?"
"Simply to acquire the inheritance as soon as possible."
"Do you know, my mother already had hypertension-related heart disease, she could have died of heart failure anytime, and she had other illnesses; she wasn't going to live much longer. Besides, even if I had a bad relationship with her, she's still my mother. How could I possibly kill her for money? I wanted her inheritance, but waiting a few more years wouldn't have made a difference. Did I need to come to Li City specifically to plot against her?"
Fan Ke argued convincingly, leaving Tan Yong momentarily speechless. Fan Ke continued, "As for Xia Qi, it's even more unlikely. I've already admitted that I brought her to Li City to get close to my mother and gain her favor for the inheritance. So, why would I kill her? If she's dead, I wouldn't get a single cent of the inheritance, right?"
"That's not necessarily the case. The 'partner' you found isn't just Xia Qi alone. Her death doesn't matter; there's another person who could inherit, and as the number of people decreases, the share of inheritance only increases."
"Officer, you're reminding me of legal responsibilities, can you just say whatever you want? If you think I've found another 'partner' besides Xia Qi, then why don't you point out who that person is?"
Tan Yong was momentarily speechless. He knew this guy was confident that the police hadn't found this person; hence, he dared to speak so boldly. He changed the subject, saying, "Anyway, you have the motive and the potential to commit the crime, making you a major suspect in this series of cases. We can detain you."
"Officer, don't think I know nothing about the law. Without solid evidence, even if you suspect me, you can only detain me for 24 hours at most."
"Right, but as long as you're a major suspect in this case, we have the right to restrict your movement, requiring you to stay in Li City during this period to cooperate with the investigation. And during this time, we can summon you multiple times, each for 24 hours. If you're not bothered, be prepared for that." said Li Bin. The implication was, 'don't think we can't deal with you.'
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"So, if I can prove that I absolutely couldn't be the perpetrator in these two cases?"
"Then present the evidence."
"The day my mother was killed, it should have been on the night of March 10th. Right, that day, I posted on my social media." Saying this, Fan Ke took out his phone, found the social media post from that day, and showed it to the two policemen. "That day, I was at the coffee shop all day, got off work past nine in the evening, went for supper with two colleagues from the coffee shop, continuing until past midnight."
Li Bin took Fan Ke's phone, and together with Tan Yong, they looked at the photos. These were taken in a barbecue restaurant, showing the environment, dishes, and some people around, including the two coffee shop colleagues. The photos might not have been taken that day, but questioning those two colleagues and the restaurant staff could verify Fan Ke's statement. Li Bin told Tan Yong, "I'll confirm it later."
"Thank you, officer," Fan Ke said with a somewhat smug tone. "By the way, as a handsome guy like me, wherever I go, I attract attention. That night, the boss lady even specially served us two dishes for our drinks. You can ask her; she'll surely remember it."
"So, on March 16th, two nights ago, what were you doing?"
"After work, I went back to the guesthouse. That night, the boss and a few guests were drinking in the courtyard, and they invited me to join them. From around ten o'clock, we drank until past two in the morning; I was with them the entire time, leaving only for a minute or two to use the bathroom. The boss and those four or five guests can all testify."
Tan Yong and Li Bin exchanged a glance. Fan Ke spoke so convincingly; it was unlikely he was making it up. If what he said was true, it meant he had solid alibis for both of these cases. As for the 'poisoned chicken soup incident,' it was even more impossible because Fan Ke wasn't present at that time. Of course, he could have orchestrated these events, but proving he was the mastermind required evidence.
"Officer, please confirm what I said as soon as possible and restore my innocence," Fan Ke said.
"Don't use this act; whether you're innocent or not, you know in your heart!" Li Bin rebuked.
"Officer, are you so certain that this matter must be related to me? Don't forget, in that so-called 'big family,' there are still so many people. Among them, wouldn't someone be greedy or have evil intentions? Xia Qi's death didn't benefit me, but it did benefit those people. Please investigate properly, and find out who among these people is the real culprit."
"Of course, we'll investigate, don't worry," Tan Yong said sternly.
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