Chapter 259: Chapter 232: Case Closed, You’re Under Arrest (Part 3)

Her question snapped Zhou Hui out of his stupor. As if brought back from the dead, he abruptly turned and bolted.

It was the pure, instinctual flight of an animal facing danger.

But he only made it a single step before collapsing to the ground.

His legs had gone so weak they had no strength left.

Liu Jie lunged forward, instantly pinning Zhou Hui’s back with his knee.

He grabbed Zhou Hui’s arm, wrenching it back into a lock, and Zhou Hui immediately let out a squeal like a stuck pig.

If Zhou Hui had surrendered peacefully, Liu Jie might have felt a bit awkward using force.

But now, he’d given Liu Jie the perfect excuse.

Li Jing screamed in terror, "What are you doing? Why are you arresting my husband!"

Ding Yuwei quickly stepped forward to block Li Jing from rushing over.

Lai Yong stepped forward and snapped a pair of handcuffs tightly onto Zhou Hui.

"Take him away!"

Liu Jie ordered coldly.

Shen Xin followed behind, watching Lai Yong and another officer haul Zhou Hui away. His legs were as limp as noodles; they were practically dragging him.

This time, they didn’t return to the Qingyuan Town Police Station, but went straight to the Songling Branch.

Seeing their destination, Zhou Hui, who was in the car, grew even more panicked. His face turned deathly pale, and he began to tremble, insisting he hadn’t killed anyone.

No one paid him any mind.

Upon arriving at the Songling Branch, they completed the necessary paperwork and took him directly to an interrogation room.

Because the case involved Lishui, Wei Wenbin was also present.

Liu Jie prepared to conduct the interrogation himself.

He had led the investigation back when it first happened, and it had turned into a cold case on his watch. It was only right that he be the one to finally close it.

Wei Wenbin was a bit younger, not yet forty.

His face lacked the rugged look typical of a veteran on the criminal investigation front lines. His skin wasn’t dark, but rather fair and clean, giving him a somewhat scholarly air.

In the observation room, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Shen Xin.

He said he’d heard Shen Xin’s name before.

Seeing Shen Xin’s confused expression, he smiled and said, "You came to Lishui for a case last year, didn’t you? Lao Liu from the Kangshan Branch told us about it. To be honest, cracking a case like that was pretty incredible."

’He must be talking about the Liu Laibin case, the one where Ding Yuwei and I came to Lishui to investigate that cleaning lady, Sun Min.’

"This time around, I heard from Liu Zhi that as soon as you got on the case, you identified the suspect by using the victim’s dog. That’s really impressive."

Wei Wenbin beamed and gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up.

In front of his superiors, Shen Xin’s guiding principle was humility, so he repeatedly insisted it was just a fluke.

Just then, the interrogation began in the next room.

Zhou Hui was still clinging to a sliver of hope. The moment it started, he began shouting that he was being framed and that he hadn’t killed Han Xiaolong.

"Let’s put aside whether or not you killed Han Xiaolong for a moment. Let me ask you, what is your relationship with Yang Maocai?"

Liu Jie quietly watched Zhou Hui’s reaction, but his words were like a sharp blade, piercing Zhou Hui and making him tremble to his core.

He stammered, "Who... Yang Maocai? I... I don’t know him."

Liu Jie turned his laptop screen toward Zhou Hui and played a surveillance video.

"On the 19th, you went to Yang Maocai’s house carrying these bags. Don’t tell me this isn’t you."

Zhou Hui’s eyes widened.

’He knew it. The sudden installation of surveillance cameras in the village had been suspicious. Now he was sure—the police had ordered them installed.’

His eyes darted around frantically before he said, "Oh, him. We’re from the same village. I went to see his parents. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

This was clearly a prepared excuse.

Liu Jie shook his head. "Of course not. But I am curious... where were you on the night of August 26, 2014?"

"A long time ago, can’t remember? That’s fine. I’ll give you some time. Think hard."

The arrest warrant had been issued by the procuratorate, which meant the chain of evidence was already strong enough to secure it.

At this point, any denials from Zhou Hui were meaningless.

Instantly, another layer of cold sweat beaded on Zhou Hui’s forehead. He began to stammer, unable to speak coherently.

Seeing him speechless for a long moment, Liu Jie said, "Why don’t I help you remember?"

"On August 11, 2014, you went to the Nanlin Ruijie Auto Repair Factory—the shop where you regularly serviced the company flagship store’s vehicle. You paid the owner, Zhang Ping, a two-thousand-yuan referral fee."

"You used the excuse that you needed to haul goods and were afraid of being stopped by traffic police. You had him use his connections to find a broker. This broker then transferred ownership of a Wuling Sunshine minivan, registered to Zhang Ping, into the name of Yan Pengfei."

"You paid the broker a three-thousand-yuan fee."

"As for Yan Pengfei, he died in March 2014, but his ID was never deregistered. The broker had been repeatedly using Yan Pengfei’s identity for used car transactions to accommodate clients who wanted to buy vehicles without officially transferring ownership."

Even now, that minivan has yet to be scrapped or deregistered. It remains registered in the name of this man, who has been dead for four years.

"Most importantly, we found the van."

Liu Jie showed him a photo of the minivan after it had been recovered.

The moment he saw the photo, Zhou Hui’s face turned the color of ash.

Liu Jie continued, "On the 16th, the vehicle transfer was completed. Zhang Ping contacted you and told you to pick up the van, but you didn’t. You told him to keep it at his shop and that you’d get it when you needed it."

"On the 23rd, you withdrew twenty thousand yuan in cash from your bank."

"On the afternoon of the 24th, you called Zhang Ping and said you were coming to get the van that night. He washed it and left it inside the shop for you."

"A little after 8:00 PM, you drove your Lexus to the shop. You left it there, claiming it needed maintenance, and drove off in the minivan."

"So you tell me, why did that same minivan show up on Zhangqing Road three hours later and run down and kill Yang Maocai?"

Fragments of a bumper were recovered from the crash site. A comparison confirmed they belonged to that minivan.

"And don’t tell me someone else was driving."

Liu Jie played the surveillance footage that had been saved from that year.