"Have you called him?" Wang Shen pressed.
"Of course I called. It's strange, though. I used to be able to get through to him occasionally, but his phone has been off these past few days." The woman frowned, then shook her head and took out another cigarette from the pack.
From the woman's words, Wang Shen vaguely sensed that Xiao Lin seemed to be on guard.
Before Wang Shen could ask anything, the woman suddenly seemed to remember something. She immediately put down her lighter, but the cigarette remained between her index and middle fingers. For the first time, her expression turned serious. Staring at Wang Shen, she asked, "Officer, you just said that dead guy was involved in a murder case, and that it might be related to me?"
After listening to the woman's words, Wang Shen and Liang Zichen both guessed what she was worried about. Wang Shen didn't answer her question, but simply nodded slightly.
The woman's eyes darted around, and she continued, "Officer, I swear I knew nothing about what that bastard did. Whatever you want to ask, I'll tell you the truth. I have absolutely nothing to do with those murders or anything like that. I'm a perfectly respectable woman."
When Liang Zichen heard the words "respectable woman," the previously serious atmosphere was instantly shattered. Liang Zichen couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The woman turned her gaze to Liang Zichen, then frowned deeply. Liang Zichen immediately waved his hand and said, "I'm so sorry, I was choked by your smoke. Please forgive me for making that kind of laugh when I'm choked."
The woman rolled her eyes at Liang Zichen, then turned her gaze to Wang Shen.
"Do you know where else Xiao Lin might go?" Wang Shen ignored this little incident and continued to ask the woman.
The woman thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Our relationship has been broken for a long time. Before this, apart from this house, I didn't find him anywhere else."
Upon hearing the woman's reply, Wang Shen frowned, wondering where Xiao Lin might be hiding. Suddenly, a question flashed through Wang Shen's mind.
Wang Shen looked at the woman and asked tentatively, "How long have you been married?"
The woman's expression turned somewhat surprised upon hearing Wang Shen's question, and she countered, "Officer, will this question help clear my name?"
Wang Shen nodded firmly.
The woman sighed and replied helplessly, "It's been almost five years."
Five years? Wang Shen pondered this timeframe. He flipped through several pages of his notebook, glanced at the information, and then looked up at the woman, asking, "Was Xiao Lin acting strangely one night three years ago?"
Wang Shen deliberately spoke in a very cryptic manner. In fact, Wang Shen wanted to ask about the events of the night Han Mo had the accident three years ago.
"You mean June 18th, three years ago?" Unexpectedly, the woman with a poor memory still vividly remembered that night three years ago.
Upon hearing the date, Wang Shen and Liang Zichen's eyes lit up. Wang Shen nodded and said, "It's this date. Why do you remember it so clearly?"
"That was the day that writer died." The woman said this casually, but it stirred up quite a ripple in the hearts of Wang Shen and Liang Zichen.
"Coincidentally, that bastard was also that writer's assistant back then," the woman added.
"So, was there anything unusual about Xiao Lin that night?" Wang Shen asked the most fundamental question directly.
Upon hearing Wang Shen's words, the woman looked at him with surprise and asked, "What? Did that bastard kill his boss?"
“We just want to understand the situation,” Wang Shen said coldly.
The woman understood Wang Shen's meaning, pouted slightly, and didn't ask for any more details. She lit her cigarette again and said, "That bastard didn't do anything strange that night except come back a little late."
"Do you remember what time Xiao Lin came back that night?" Wang Shenwei frowned slightly and asked.
The woman thought for a moment and said, "It was probably around three in the morning."
"A little after 3 a.m.?" Wang Shen was surprised by the time. He remembered that Han Mo's accident happened before 11 p.m. Even if you start counting from midnight, it had been more than four hours since Xiao Lin got home. So what had Xiao Lin been doing during that time?
"Why do you remember this time so clearly?" Wang Shen looked at the woman, wanting to confirm the truthfulness of her words once again.
"It's all my fault for being too sentimental back then." After saying this, the woman sighed heavily.
Upon hearing this, Liang Zichen curled his lip and rolled his eyes at the woman in return.
Could you explain it more clearly?
The woman glanced at Wang Shen and nodded. "We had been married for over a year, and our relationship was pretty good. He usually came home on time every day. Sometimes, even if he couldn't come home on time, he would text me to tell me what was wrong. But that one night, I didn't receive any messages from him, and he didn't answer my calls. So I waited in the house until he came home."
"Did you ask him where he went after he came back?" Wang Shen asked, looking at the woman's expression.
"I asked, but he didn't say. So later I figured it out, what can a man do? Coming home so late and not replying to a single message, where else could he be?" The woman finished speaking and laughed self-deprecatingly.
The woman smoked, falling silent. Wang Shen finished writing the last few words in his notebook and closed it. Wang Shen and Liang Zichen exchanged a glance and then nodded slightly.
Wang Shen stood up from the sofa first, looked at the woman and said, "Let's call it a day then. If we need your help again in the future, we will come to you again."
Seeing Wang Shen about to leave, the woman immediately stubbed out her cigarette, stared at him, and asked, "Have I been cleared of suspicion?"
Wang Shen didn't answer, but simply walked towards the door. The woman followed behind him, finally asking, "Officer, that bastard committed murder. So, when I go through with our divorce, will the property division be in my favor?"
Upon hearing the woman's words, Wang Shen stopped and turned to look at her, replying, "Whether Xiao Lin has committed a crime or not has not yet been definitively determined. I hope you won't spread this matter, otherwise it might cause trouble."
Wang Shen's expression was very serious, even a little cold, as he spoke. The woman, seeing the expression on Wang Shen's face, seemed frightened. She dared not ask any further questions, but stood still, nodding and watching Wang Shen and Liang Zichen leave.
"Captain Wang, this woman shouldn't be a suspect, right?" Liang Zichen asked this question while waiting for the elevator.
"So far, there seem to be no problems. But we've learned our lesson the hard way, so we need to be more cautious this time. Have someone investigate this woman, including her social connections." With that, Wang Shen stepped into the elevator.
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