Are You Crazy? He's only an Intern Lawyer?-Chapter 44 - He Zong Goes to Court, the Blind Detective Gives His Opinion

“That concludes my cross-examination of this witness!”

Seeing that he had achieved the intended effect, Zhang Wei timely withdrew and returned to the defense bench.

“Thank you, Dr.

Zhang!” Tang Chunfeng too sensed a change in the way people were looking at him and quickly expressed his gratitude.

“It’s too early to thank me now; this is just the first move!” But Zhang Wei shook his head.

Although he managed to handle the first move, the prosecution’s attack would not cease.

Moreover, the prosecution still had a trump card up its sleeve!

The very thought of the victim’s son not being on today’s witness list made Zhang Wei feel uneasy about tomorrow’s defense statements.

Clearly, Wang Can was saving the victim’s son for tomorrow to discomfort him.

From the prosecution bench, Wang Can rose to his feet.

“The prosecution calls Vice Captain He Zong of the Martial Association Serious Crime Team 3 to testify!”

Hearing this name, Zhang Wei was not surprised.

As an investigator and the person in charge of the case, it would have been a surprise if He Zong hadn’t appeared.

He Zong took the stand and sat down in the witness box.

Wang Can stood up with a smile and nodded to He Zong.

“Vice Captain He Zong, please introduce yourself.”

“My name is He Zong, the Vice Captain of the Martial Association Criminal Investigation Department’s Serious Crime Team 3, and I am the officer in charge of this investigation.”

“Captain He Zong, could you please tell everyone how the Martial Association apprehended the suspect through the clues?”

“Certainly!”

He Zong began his account: “Around 11 p.m.

last Friday, we received a call from a neighbor living downstairs in the West Wind Community, reporting a suspected argument and commotion with loud and disruptive noises affecting the daily lives of residents.

We responded swiftly and deployed our field staff to the scene, but unfortunately, the murderer had already fled, and the scene was tampered with…”

He Zong’s account contained no surprises for Zhang Wei; it was all in line with the case file records.

After listening, Wang Can nodded in approval and then asked, “Captain He Zong, what did you find at the scene?”

“Blood, a lot of blood!” said He Zong, as if lost in thought, his tone slowing: “According to the report by the first officer on the scene, there was a lot of blood.

The victim had already fallen in a pool of blood with no signs of life.”

“Was anyone else at the scene?”

“Yes!”

He Zong nodded gravely, with a hint of relief: “The victim’s eight-year-old son was there; he hid in a clutter box in his own room, covered himself with a blanket, and that’s how he went undetected by the murderer.

It was a fortunate turn of events amidst the tragedy!”

“Given the murderer’s brutality, if it weren’t for that blanket, he surely wouldn’t have survived had he been exposed to the murderer,” he added.

Upon hearing this, both the jurors and attendees showed expressions of sympathy.

“So, the victim’s son was at the scene?”

“Correct!”

He Zong nodded, “Not only was he at the scene, but he even witnessed the murderer committing the crime, he saw the murderer kill his father right in front of him!”

With his narration, the atmosphere in the courtroom changed.

Many people were imagining what kind of scene a little boy must have gone through.

His own biological father being killed in front of him, while he himself had to hide, with a cruel murderer possibly targeting him at any time.

“Oh, so you’re saying this little boy is the only eyewitness, he saw the murderer!”

Wang Can said, with a smile on his lips, unable to resist asking, “So it is based on his testimony that you locked down the suspect?”

“Yes!” He Zong nodded.

“That very night, we sent the body of the deceased, Chen Mou, to the forensic office, and obtained the DNA comparison report the following morning.

Then, through database comparison, we locked down the suspect Tang Chunfeng.”

“After that, we took a photo of Tang Chunfeng from the system and showed it to the deceased’s son.

The moment he saw the photo, he closed his eyes in fear!”

“After psychological counseling, he finally told us that the murderer was the person in the photo!”

He Zong said this, his eyes fiercely gazing toward the defendant’s bench.

“Tang Chunfeng is the murderer, his actions are utterly outrageous!”

“Objection!” Zhang Wei knew that it was time for him to stand up.

“The prosecution’s attorney is leading the witness.

Whether my client is the murderer should be determined by the bench and the jury, not the witness.

This is overstepping!”

The judge nodded and tapped the gavel, “The defense attorney is correct, the prosecution’s witness please watch your language!”

He then looked toward the jury, “Please disregard the prior statement from the jury; the defendant Tang Chunfeng is only a suspect, not a convicted murderer!”

“Prosecutor Wang, I’m warning you once, don’t let me warn you a second time!”

“Your Honor, I am very sorry!”

Wang Can admitted his error, but the smile on his lips could not be hidden.

Nevertheless, his questioning had not yet ended, although he had guided He Zong to identify Tang Chunfeng, he knew he must suppress Zhang Wei’s speech.

“Captain He Zong, what do you think about the DNA transfer theory proposed by the defense just now?”

“I think that’s too much of a coincidence!”

Mentioning Zhang Wei’s theory, He Zong showed disdain, “Dongfang Capital has a permanent population of over ten million, and including the transient population, it even exceeds twenty million.

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

In such a large city, the supposed DNA transfer is an extremely low-probability event.”

“So what is your opinion?”

“My opinion and the most likely one is that the murderer…,” He Zong began, but upon noticing the judge looking at him, he quickly corrected himself,

“My opinion is, suspect Tang Chunfeng drove to West Wind Community that night, had a quarrel with the deceased Chen Mou, which escalated into a fight.

Tang Chunfeng was caught by Chen Mou’s reactions, and in anger, he killed him, stabbing Chen Mou more than ten times, which is why his DNA remained at the scene.

This is the best explanation, more reliable than any DNA transfer theory!”

“Hmm, Captain He Zong’s analysis makes sense, after all you do have over twenty years of criminal investigation experience, your opinion must be much more reliable than that of an intern lawyer!”

Wang Can emphasized the words “twenty years”, highlighting them particularly, and also mocked Zhang Wei’s intern status.

“Heh, I don’t even count as an intern, as I haven’t gotten my practice certificate yet!”

But Zhang Wei had thick skin, ignoring Wang Can’s mockery, and even mockingly thought to himself,

“Your Honor, I have concluded my questions to this witness!”

Wang Can returned to the prosecution bench, satisfied with his interrogation, which had also undermined Zhang Wei’s previous arguments; he had achieved his goal.

“Next, let’s see what you can do.

Captain He Zong is an experienced officer; I don’t believe you, a newcomer, can’t handle this!”

Wang Can looked at Zhang Wei, who stood up and walked towards the witness stand, with a sneering smile in his heart.

“Vice Captain He Zong, hello!”

Zhang Wei approached He Zong, greeting him with a smile.

But the three words “Vice Captain” and especially the word “Vice” made He Zong very uncomfortable.

However, uncomfortable as he may feel, he was still the vice captain, and although the captain was nearing retirement age, he had yet to step down.

“Hmph, hello!” He Zong sneered in response.

“Vice Captain He, may I ask, are you familiar with Prosecutor Wang Can?”

“Objection!”

At Zhang Wei’s inquiry, Wang Can stood up abruptly, “It’s irrelevant to the case!”

“How is it irrelevant?

As the deputy team leader in charge of the case, and the prosecutor know each other, can’t I ask an extra question?” Yet Zhang Wei’s expression became strange, as he spread his hands towards the judges.

The judge glanced at Zhang Wei, then at Wang Can, feeling that the question seemed reasonable.

“Objection overruled, the witness needs to answer the question.”

Since the judge had spoken, He Zong had no choice but to respond.

“I’m acquainted with Prosecutor Wang Can, we’ve worked on a few cases together, but our interaction is limited to case investigation, nothing more!”

He Zong said, portraying himself as perfectly calm, as if he indeed had no personal relation with Wang Can.

“Really?

Since there’s no personal relationship, why did one phone call bring you out?”

“Objection, the attorney is leading the witness and discussing irrelevant issues, disturbing the witness, and so on…”

Wang Can looked towards the judge, hoping he would stand up for justice.

“Objection sustained, Lawyer Zhang, please ask your questions properly.

Do not think that because you are a newcomer, you can be so presumptuous!”

The cold glint of the judge’s glasses served as a warning to Zhang Wei.

“Sorry, Your Honor, I didn’t articulate my question clearly.

Please allow me to rephrase!”

Zhang Wei quickly admitted his mistake but then approached He Zong for a confrontation.

“Because the Martial Association did not provide the case files with credibility, I went to inspect the crime scene yesterday morning.

I met Sister Wang from the Martial Association Field Staff at the scene and after explaining my reasons, I was allowed access.”

“I only investigated the scene for about 10 minutes, but by the time I came out, an unexpected event occurred.

I was detained by the Serious Crime Team 3 on the grounds of tampering with the scene, and then I was held in the Martial Association Detention Room for an hour without any appearance from anyone from Team 3.

I have reason to believe that this was done deliberately to trip me up!”

Zhang Wei said, looking at He Zong, “Vice Captain He, why did you do this?

I was merely investigating the case.

Why did you detain me in the Martial Association Detention Room?”

“Objection!”

Wang Can knew he couldn’t let Zhang Wei continue and quickly stood up to interject.

“The defense’s question is irrelevant to the case, all speculative and without factual basis; he is attempting to harass the witness.”

“How is my question irrelevant?

Before I was taken away, I clarified my identity, as well as the reason for being at the scene, yet Team 3 still took me away without asking for any clarity.

This is simply a smear on the judicial system, a disgrace to public trust and judicial fairness…”

“Enough!”

Seeing that both sides were starting to argue, the judge finally interrupted.

“Lawyer Zhang, and Vice Captain He, come here!”

He didn’t call Wang Can, fearing that he would continue to argue with Zhang Wei; instead, he summoned He Zong and Zhang Wei for a consultation.

“Vice Captain He, is what the defense attorney saying true?”

“Of course not, our investigations at the Martial Association follow a standard procedure!”

He Zong naturally denied it.

“Is that so?

Then I’m going to submit this phone call record!” Zhang Wei was prepared, pulling out a call log.

“What’s this?” both the judge and He Zong asked simultaneously.

“Being inexplicably detained for over an hour, how could I not make some preparations?

This is a list of Vice Captain He Zong’s call records for the past month.

One record stands out in particular, time-stamped at 6 am yesterday, coinciding with a call to Prosecutor Wang Can.”

Zhang Wei said, looking at He Zong, “Vice Captain He Zong, won’t you deny it?

If we ask the telecommunications operator to retrieve the call recording from that time, wouldn’t it prove whether what you say is false or not?”

At these words, He Zong’s complexion turned ugly.

If the operator really retrieved the recording, he would be finished!

“He Zong, what did you say on the phone yesterday, tell the truth!” The judge also turned serious, demanding an answer.

“I…

I made a call to Wang Can and mentioned that someone went to the scene, but there wasn’t much else said.

Wang Can said someone might tamper with the scene and asked me to take a look…”

“Oh, that’s strange.

Why, if you suspected someone would tamper with the scene, did you wait downstairs instead of going up to check?”

Zhang Wei sneered, clearly realizing that He Zong was still holding something back.

“He Zong, do you understand your position?

You have been sworn in!” The judge’s voice completely cooled.

He Zong glared at Zhang Wei viciously but eventually admitted, “I understand!”

“From now on, you must answer Zhang Wei’s questions accurately, or I will personally issue a search warrant for the telecom operator to provide the call recording!”

The judge warned, letting Zhang Wei continue his questioning.

“Thank you, Your Honor!”

Zhang Wei naturally expressed his gratitude, then returned to the front of the witness stand, and He Zong sat down again.

“Vice Captain He, continuing with the previous question, did you speak with Prosecutor Wang Can and under his direction come to trouble me, hindering my investigation of the case?”

Faced with Zhang Wei’s question, He Zong really wanted to object, but the call record was in the opponent’s hands—any rebuttal would lead the other party to present evidence for a counterargument.

It was a dilemma for him.

“Yes…

yes!” He struggled to squeeze out these few words through gritted teeth.

“It seems Vice Captain He and Prosecutor Wang are in quite a collusion together~”

“Sorry, I retract the question!”

Zhang Wei sneered, but as Wang Can was about to explode, Zhang beat him to it.

“Let’s change the subject.

I wonder, have you ever heard of the term ‘blind detective,’ Vice Captain He?”

“Blind detective?” He Zong shook his head; he truly hadn’t heard of it.

“It’s quite easy to understand.

An experienced veteran from the Investigation Department told me that when the department identifies a suspect, they will use all resources to investigate whether the suspect is guilty, yet at the same time, they may overlook some evidence that could prove the suspect’s innocence.

This is called a blind detective.

They can find the evidence they want to see but fail to see evidence that may not fit their investigative direction,” Zhang Wei explained, walking back to the defense bench and picking up a document.

“Vice Captain He, apart from investigating the profession of the deceased Chen Mou, did you look into his social relations and his background?”

“We’ve investigated all of that, but found no points of suspicion.”

“You’ve investigated, yet I feel the investigation wasn’t accurate enough!”

Zhang Wei directly contested He Zong’s testimony and opened the document: “According to my investigation, Chen Mou worked in the grey market, responsible for unlocking and selling stolen cell phones.

Chen Mou earned not much money from his lock-repair skills, but over the years, he had saved a considerable amount!

When I visited Chen Mou’s workplace, through interviews and investigations, I found that he had conflicts with many people.

This included competitors jealous of his business and hoodlums coveting his money, and even a few who became enemies over unequal sharing of loot.

Did you not investigate these people?”

Zhang Wei looked at He Zong, questioning him word by word: “As an investigator of the Martial Association and the leader of the Serious Crime Team 3, shouldn’t you thoroughly investigate all possibilities?

All I know is that human life is paramount; you can’t just focus on my client because you found DNA evidence and ignore other possibilities.

In my eyes, doesn’t that make you exactly like the blind detective I described?”

“Vice Captain He Zong, even I, an outsider, have uncovered so much, yet you, as the deputy leader of the Serious Crime Team, have completely failed to investigate these people.

Why is that?

Could it be that the methods of the Martial Association Investigation Department are inferior to those of an outsider like me?”

“I object!” Seeing Zhang Wei growing more impassioned as he spoke, Wang Can finally couldn’t help but burst out.

“Sorry, Your Honor, I apologize for becoming agitated because of Vice Captain He Zong’s level of investigation!”

Zhang Wei quickly apologized, but his point was made.

Hearing Zhang Wei’s words and combining them with some of He Zong’s earlier statements, the jury and those in the hearing gallery began to doubt He Zong’s testimony.

The seeds of doubt had been planted!

“One last question, Vice Captain He.

The people on this list I hold in my hand, have you at the Martial Association really investigated them, have you conducted a systematic review of everyone on it?”

“This…” He Zong could not answer, but the answer was clear.

They had already found a suspect; why spend manpower and resources to check so many others, thereby increasing their workload?

Zhang Wei, however, was not intending to let He Zong off the hook and continued to press: “With so many having animosity toward the deceased, even murderous intent, why didn’t you investigate?

How do you work?”

He Zong felt he had never been so frustrated in his life, being reprimanded by a rookie lawyer.

But with the investigation list in the opponent’s hands, he couldn’t fight back.

“You don’t need to answer that question because I already know the answer.

My questioning is over!”

Zhang Wei looked at He Zong’s livid face and walked back to the defense bench without turning back.