Qiao Guang’s reaction was visibly uneasy. He seemed to want to deny it but kept stammering and couldn’t get the words out, sweat breaking through his forehead in successive layers.
“Even if you were far away in Qianguan City, you could have hired someone to do the killing. You didn’t have to act personally.”
“I didn’t. I’m being wronged.” Qiao Guang’s face flushed red. “Yes, I admit it — Luo Baomei and I had no real affection for each other. I do like to drink, and I have hit her when drunk. But you can’t conclude from that alone that I would have her killed. Hiring an assassin? Even if I treated her badly, I wouldn’t go to such extremes. If I wanted to be free of her, I could simply divorce her — wouldn’t that be simpler?”
“You had her killed because of Leng Yu and Fan Dongping.” Zheng Yun’s sharp gaze locked directly onto Qiao Guang, and through those thick lenses he caught a flicker of guilt and fear in the man’s eyes.
“What — what are you talking about? I don’t know anyone by those names.” Qiao Guang lowered his head and began avoiding Zheng Yun’s eyes.
“You used your position at work to provide Leng Yu and Fan Dongping with stomach medicine, in exchange for their special services to you. And the person who arranged the connection between you was Luo Baomei.” Zheng Yun’s tone was sharp and severe. “There’s no point denying it. We found residual amounts of WAKAWOTO in the residences of both Leng Yu and Fan Dongping, and the batch numbers on the bottles match those taken from your company’s warehouse. Do I really need to lay the evidence out in front of you?”
Qiao Guang slumped with a deflated air, running both hands through his hair and leaving his previously neat style in disarray.
After a long pause, he spoke in a hoarse voice. “I did have some involvement with Leng Yu and Fan Dongping, but I haven’t been in contact with either of them for a long time. Officer, you’re also a man — you must understand that a woman loses her appeal after a while. Once you’re tired of her, it’s natural to end things. Otherwise, she clings on endlessly, and I can’t stand that. I’ll also admit that Luo Baomei was the one who introduced them to me. That woman would do anything to keep me from divorcing her. She happened to hear that Leng Yu had a younger brother with stomach problems who couldn’t afford medicine, and seeing that Leng Yu had some looks about her, she told her there was a way to get the medicine. After Luo Baomei brought Leng Yu to my home and I showed her the medicine, she willingly went along with the arrangement.”
Qiao Guang drew a long breath, and the tension in his nerves seemed to ease slightly. “After being with Leng Yu for a time, I grew bored. Luo Baomei noticed my disinterest and went back to the school to find someone new. That time she found Fan Dongping. Fan Dongping’s situation was similar to Leng Yu’s — I gave her medicine, she provided me company. Officer, this isn’t illegal, is it? It was mutually willing, and I even provided compensation. Surely your bureau isn’t so idle that you’d concern itself with something like this?”
Seeing that Zheng Yun remained silent, Qiao Guang threw up his hands. “All right, if Leng Yu and Fan Dongping reported me to the Military Police Bureau, I’ll accept it. Whatever compensation they want, I’ll pay. But claiming I killed Luo Baomei — that I cannot accept. Murder carries the penalty of execution.”
—
After Zheng Yun left the interrogation room, Shi Ting had already been listening from the observation room for quite some time.
“Seventh Brother, Qiao Guang won’t confess. What do we do?”
“He didn’t kill anyone,” Shi Ting said.
Qiao Guang hadn’t even known that Leng Yu and Fan Dongping were dead. Judging from his demeanor and tone, he hadn’t been lying.
As for Luo Baomei’s death, he had no motive and no opportunity. The claim that he hired someone was also weak — there would have been no reason for such a hired killer to specifically choose room 104 as the crime scene, nor to subject Luo Baomei to abuse.
After eliminating one possibility after another, a sudden flash of insight struck Shi Ting’s mind. Though it came and went in an instant, he caught it firmly.
—