Chapter 47
It seemed like just a blink of an eye, and she and Cui Jiafu were the only ones left in the lounge.
The man was clearly panicking, pacing back and forth near the door. Finally, he looked at Luo Jingyao for help: "Miss Luo, why did the police come to see my wife?"
"They also said there's evidence that she was involved in Xiaoda's death. How...how...how is this possible?"
Watching Cui Jiafu's gradual breakdown, Luo Jingyao opened her mouth with a hint of pity, "Sister-in-law is just cooperating with the investigation. There must be some new developments on the police side. Don't worry, she might come out soon."
"What's the new development? Didn't they say this morning that Zhou Hong admitted to killing Xiao Da? The murderer has been caught, what else is there to say?"
"Maybe there are just some evidences that need to be improved. It's normal for the police to talk to the victim's family. Didn't Officer Lin talk to you this morning?" Luo Jingyao persuaded while pulling out a chair and placing it next to the other party.
"Please sit down first. There's no point in rushing some things."
Cui Jiafu glanced towards the interrogation room again, then sighed heavily and sat down on the chair.
He bent down and held his head in his hands, looking extremely distressed, muttering, "I was about to have a good life, how could it turn out like this?"
Luo Jingyao sat down next to him in silence. She didn't know how to comfort him for a moment, so she could only remain silent.
After a few minutes, perhaps feeling uneasy in the silence, Cui Jiafu took the initiative to break the deadlock: "Ms. Luo, why hasn't anyone come to you to sign yet? Have they forgotten about you?"
She smiled nonchalantly and waved her hand nonchalantly, "I'm not in a hurry. I have a day off tomorrow anyway."
"Oh, actually, I noticed earlier at your house that Tingting seems very filial and is especially protective of you two."
The mention of his daughter distracted Cui Jiafu, who perked up a bit. "When she was very young, her mother and I went to the city to work to make money. She lived with her grandparents since she was little, and she's indeed much more sensible than her peers."
"Later, my parents passed away, and my wife and I returned to the village. At that time, Xiaoda was only a few years old, and Tingting was already in her teens."
"After returning to the village, my wife and I were busy with greenhouse farming and had no time to take care of her studies, so we sent Tingting to boarding school. When conditions finally improved, Tingting went to another province to attend university."
"After all, my daughter is more considerate. She has never blamed me and her mother for those things. I am really satisfied."
The man muttered a lot intermittently, but Luo Jingyao, who was listening on the side, felt a pang of annoyance.
This is another family that is unaware of its preference for boys over girls. No wonder Cui Tingting always looks indifferent when she mentions Cui Da. Her parents put all their hearts on her younger brother. It would be strange if the sister could get close to her younger brother.
But she certainly wouldn't say these complaints out loud. Even though she was already mumbling in her heart, she still had to maintain a polite smile on her face and said a few perfunctory words: "You and your sister-in-law will have good fortune in the future. Since it has already happened, you can only look up and move on."
Cui Jiafu nodded gently: "I understand the reasoning. After this incident, it is impossible for you to say that I don't blame Zhou Hong, but in the final analysis, Xiaoda is also at fault."
"My wife and I owed these two children a lot when we were young, but by the time we discovered Xiaoda had character problems, it was already too late."
"I originally thought that by the end of the year, when the dozens of greenhouses at home were relocated, my family of four would be able to leave the village and live a peaceful life. Who would have thought..."
Dozens!
Luo Jingyao's eyes widened in shock at the number.
Cui Da has enough spare money to lend money at high interest rates. The two-story building where the Cui family currently lives... She has always known that the Cui family is one of the few wealthy families in Bo'an Village, but she didn't expect them to be so rich.
So many greenhouses had to be relocated. She couldn't even imagine how much money that would cost.
"Tingting should be marrying someone from this city, right? In fact, you and your sister-in-law can call her often in the future and ask her to come back and spend more time with you. Even for parents and children, more communication is needed to develop a deep relationship." Luo Jingyao advised sincerely.
She could see that the chasm between the parents and their daughter was deep, but things had come to this point and life had to go on.
"I know." Cui Jiafu rubbed his face with his hands, trying to make himself look more energetic. "Actually, starting this year, Tingting has become much more sensible than in previous years. Maybe she realized how difficult it is for me and her mother after getting married!"
"She actually came back to spend time with us quite often. She even came back to the village specifically for the Double Ninth Festival. Then Xiaoda got into trouble, and she rushed back home to help us with everything after hearing the news."
Um?
If I remember correctly, both Cui Jiafu's wife and Cui Tingting herself said that she rarely went back to Bo'an Village.
And isn’t the Double Ninth Festival the day when Cui Da’s body was found?
Luo Jingyao was startled, but her expression didn't change much. "Really? Tingting was there when the villagers were worshipping in the square that day. Why didn't I see her?"
Cui Jiafu didn't notice anything wrong at all: "The first time the police came to look for me, my wife and I were not at home because we had to send her back to the city early in the morning. It was said that there was an emergency at her husband's house and she had to go back to check on it."
The villagers returned to the city early in the morning of the day they reported the incident to the police, which means they were in Bo'an Village on the day of the incident.
"Oh..." Just as Luo Jingyao's mind started to work rapidly, someone knocked on the door of the lounge.
"Ms. Luo, please come with me and sign." The person who came was Pan Chang.
She responded casually, stood up, and walked out of the lounge under the gaze of Cui Jiafu, and followed Pan Chang into a room.
As soon as she entered, Luo Jingyao saw Lin Jiafan with a serious face. He was standing in front of a wall with a huge SLR glass embedded in it.
It was not until she saw that it was Cui Jiafu's wife sitting opposite the glass that she realized that she had been taken to the observation room next to the interrogation room.
"The interrogation was finished so quickly?" Luo Jingyao was a little amazed at the man's speed.
Lin Jiafan said 'hmm' without even turning his head: "Pang Guang and I only asked her one question, and she admitted it."
"The time, location, and weapon used all match."
According to He Mei, Cui Jiafu's wife, Cui Da suddenly returned to Bo'an Village on the day of the incident and left home shortly after. She was afraid that Cui Da would run out and cause trouble again, so she quietly followed him.
He Mei didn't expect to run into Cui Da assaulting Zhou Hong in the back mountain. She hurriedly stepped forward to try to stop him, but Cui Da was determined to deal with Zhou Hong and even attacked his own mother.
The situation was too chaotic at the time. He Mei didn't know what was wrong with her. She only wanted to separate the two people. In a moment of impulse, she picked up a stone and smashed it at Cui Da's head.
When they came to their senses, she and Zhou Hong were both shocked.
In the end, in order to thank her, Zhou Hong offered to take the blame for her.
After listening to Lin Jiafan's general description, Luo Jingyao frowned. She couldn't tell what was wrong, but she felt something was weird.
"So the laboratory found a second person's DNA on the murder weapon?" she asked.
Nodding, Lin Jiafan gave a positive answer: "There is indeed a bloodstain that does not belong to the deceased Cui Da, and it matches He Mei's DNA."
This proves that Cui Jiafu's wife had indeed been to the crime scene. Combined with the other party's confession, the evidence has formed a closed loop and it seems that the case can be closed.
"What did Zhou Hong say?" Luo Jingyao asked again.
"What Zhou Hong said doesn't seem to be that important now. She only confessed to the police based on what they found. She was very shrewd."
Lin Jiafan had long seen through Zhou Hong's true nature, so even if He Mei fired him, he had no intention of retrialing her. He didn't want to be led by the nose by a suspect in the case again, so he had to jump out of the vicious circle created by the other party to look at the problem.
Hearing this, Luo Jingyao thought about it carefully and it seemed to be true.
At first, the police found part of Cui Da's body in Zhou's greenhouse, and Zhou Hong admitted that she was the murderer.
After that, the police found that Fatty Wang was a major suspect in the case, and Zhou Hong confessed that he had participated in the disposal of the corpse.
Now that He Mei has admitted all the crimes, it is estimated that Zhou Hong will definitely agree with this point of view.
The investigation of this case gave Luo Jingyao a feeling of being both smooth and not very smooth.
It was as if everything the police had done so far was within everyone's expectations.
"Officer Lin, you don't seem to believe He Mei's confession, so what are you doubting?" Luo Jingyao withdrew her gaze from the SLR camera window, slightly raised her head and glanced at the man's chin with a little stubble.
"Everything else that He Mei said matched, except for one thing." Lin Jiafan said this, raised his hand and tapped the back of his head: "I asked her how many times she hit Cui Da."
"She initially said one hit, then changed her mind and said two when I confirmed it. Perhaps she noticed something was wrong with Pang Guang and me. She then said she was just scared at the time of the incident and couldn't remember how many times she hit him."
The answers given three times are inconsistent, which is indeed worthy of suspicion.
After sharing his latest discovery, Lin Jiafan lowered his eyelids, and unexpectedly, he met Luo Jingyao's beautiful eyes.
But she was daydreaming at the moment, and her eyes were obviously out of focus.
"Ahem..." Lin Jiafan averted his gaze and coughed twice, trying to regain the attention of the people around him: "What about you? What did you talk about with Cui Jiafu in the lounge just now?"
Blinking her eyes, which had become dry from being in a daze for too long, Luo Jingyao suddenly asked, "Did you know that the Cui family's greenhouse is about to be relocated?"
"Dozens of greenhouses! How much would that cost?"
???
Wait a minute, what's with this envious tone?!
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