Free Web NovelChapter 299: 293 Chapter Is He the Murderer?_1
Zhou Ning took a photo of the search results and sent it to Xu Dayuan.
Xu Dayuan glanced at the MMS and continued to look at Wang Hongzhan.
"Keep talking. Since you know the child isn’t yours, who’s is he? Surely it can’t be from artificial insemination, right?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head, laughing at himself derisively.
"I’ve been classmates with Dongmei since middle school. To win her love, I could give up my self-respect, I could try to please Ho’s parents, I could travel back and forth between Shen City and Ludong, I could even cross three thousand kilometers to take care of her when she was sick. I did everything I could.
You could call me a simp, but I love her, every part of her. Even though this child is not related to me by blood, he still bears my surname, is registered in my household, and since I can’t have children in the future, isn’t this the best outcome?
What do you want me to say? Should I be angry, or should I hysterically find out who the father is? Divorce Dongmei? No, that’s impossible. It took me so much effort to be with Dongmei. I won’t let go, even if she’s dead, she’s still Wang Hongzhan’s deceased wife."
Wang Hongzhan looked somewhat manic, but his explanation gave Zhou Ning some insight.
Wang Jiahan’s date of birth is July 2, 2009. According to the village committee director’s account, the Wang Family parents died on the 29th day of the 12th lunar month in 2009, and afterwards, they discovered that Ho Dongmei was pregnant.
By that time, Wang Hongzhan was already a year post-surgery, and he must have also been torn, just as he described. Could he give up the woman he had pursued for years?
Having a child would conceal his issue and protect him from being looked down upon. After all, a completely damaged vas deferens was the same as having a vasectomy—function and normal life were not affected.
In the interrogation room, Xu Dayuan extinguished the cigarette in his hand and placed his elbows on the table.
"Do you know who the father of the child is?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head, his eyes filled with confusion.
"I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’ve already prepared to buy a house in Shen City. I was planning to use the one hundred fifty thousand commission I would get after National Day to make the down payment. I just wanted to move to Shen City and put an end to everything in Qindao.
Dongmei agreed, and we picked out Water Bay 1979 together. The location, size, environment—all great—and right beside it is Shen No.1 Primary School, which is the best for education and medical care. As for the unexpected arrival of this child, I think she couldn’t stand the loneliness at the time.
This is my fault, but then again, isn’t it also my fortune? After my injury, I still have a child who is related by blood to Dongmei. I feel lucky."
Xu Dayuan interrupted him. Wang Hongzhan was very shrewd; his argument completely controlled the pace and could easily sway one’s judgment.
"Last year, when did you return to Jiaotuan Village?"
"Last Spring Festival, I was back for over half a month. I flew on the seventh day of lunar January because of that project that needed following up on the eighth. The client wanted to see our presentation. The next time I returned was the morning of August 15th. You can check my purchase records. I think you have specialized technicians for that—it’s not difficult."
As Xu Dayuan asked the question, Mr. Qu had begun looking. There were indeed many travel records for Wang Hongzhan, but in August he returned to Qindao indeed on the 15th.
Zhou Ning took another photo and sent it to Xu Dayuan, who looked at his phone and revealed a smile.
Previously, I thought that Zhang Chunbo’s excuses for Wang Hongzhan were too emotionally driven. But after actually meeting the man, it’s clear he’s indeed very articulate, and his words truly have persuasive power.
Xu Dayuan arched an eyebrow, looking at Wang Hongzhan across from him. The man was also staring at Xu Dayuan, his gaze firm and unflinching. Although he appeared docile and non-aggressive, in reality, he was like a fighter.
"Do you know Wang Hongwen?"
Wang Hongzhan thought for a moment, then slightly shook his head.
"Judging by the name, if he’s from the Wang Family of Jiaotuan Village, he’s one of our ’Hong’ generation. But you know, our family had a bad social status back then. After the incident, we cut ties with our distant relatives and stopped interacting. I don’t remember such a person."
"You must have heard about Wang Chaozu, right? Your great-grandfather’s adopted son and, nominally, your grandfather’s elder brother."
Wang Hongzhan nodded, a look of confusion on his face.
"I know him. He was the first one to rush forward and break my father’s leg, but his family moved away from Jiaotuan Village long ago. Where they went, nobody knows. What does his family have to do with all of this?"
"Wang Hongwen is the youngest grandson of the Wang Chaozu family. Moreover, Wang Hongwen and Ho Dongmei are colleagues, both English teachers at Hai’an Sixth Elementary School. A week before the incident, he visited Ho Dongmei and Wang Jiahan, and he was also seen on the surveillance footage on the night of the incident."
Wang Hongzhan grabbed the desk, his knuckles turning pale and his arms trembling slightly.
"And then what? Is he the murderer? Wait, do you mean, he is Jia Jia’s...
Xu Dayuan glanced at his watch.
"The DNA test results should come out after midnight. We still don’t know the details, but I want to ask you, before your parents died, did they entrust you with anything, like gold bars? Keys? Codes? Did they mention any of these to you?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head and thought hard for a moment.
"They didn’t say anything; just give me a moment to think! That day of the incident, I was delayed and didn’t follow them. My parents didn’t return an hour after going to pay respects to our ancestors, so Dongmei and I were worried. We quickly drove to look for them, and when we reached that small road near Shanxi Village, we saw them lying on the ground, one on each side.
I was in shock then. I rushed to lift them to take to the hospital, but Dongmei stopped me and told me not to move them. She thought their postures were strange, completely rigid, and if we moved them at that moment, instead of saving them, we would be accelerating their death. She told me to call for help immediately."
I ran to the side to call for an ambulance and traffic police at 120 and 122. Dongmei stayed with my parents the whole time. I went to the intersection to wait for the ambulance. Ten minutes later, when the vehicle arrived, Dongmei shook her head at me, clearly indicating that they were beyond help.
"That’s the situation. When I saw them, my father was already unconscious, and my mother just kept muttering the same sentence over and over ’Check on your dad, check on your dad,’ and she didn’t say anything else."
Xu Dayuan narrowed his eyes, staring at Wang Hongzhan.
"Let me confirm with you again, do you know whether your family, when building the house, created a hidden layer in one of the walls, concealing a safe, and that the gold bars your family received as compensation were all stored inside? You didn’t know anything about it and have never heard your parents mention it?"
Wang Hongzhan shook his head, his face showing confusion and surprise, which eventually turned into disbelief.
"I started boarding at a high school in the city, and in college, because tuition was expensive, I worked summer jobs, and even had to save up for train tickets, so I was really strapped for cash. To be able to visit Dongmei, I only ate two meals a day..."
By the end, Wang Hongzhan’s voice lowered, and he finally leaned over the table.
Mr. Qu moved closer to Zhou Ning, gossip written all over his face.
"Director Zhou, from what you’re saying, Wang’s mother might have given the password and keys to Ho Dongmei before she died, only Wang Hongzhan didn’t know."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"I can’t rule out that possibility, but now there’s no evidence from the deceased, and it’s impossible to know who Wang’s mother actually gave the password and keys to. Let’s wait for the examination results. I’m also at a loss for judgment now."
Mr. Qu sighed deeply after glancing at the interview room.
"This guy is really foolish, why is he so persistent? They say girls are lovesick, but I think he’s even worse."
Zhou Ning didn’t respond.
Wang Hongzhan wasn’t lovesick. It was true that he had feelings for Ho Dongmei, but he wanted to possess her even more. As for the matter of the child, as he said, maybe for him, that was the best outcome since he couldn’t have children anymore.
But could his words be trusted?
Parents on their deathbed, upon seeing their son, would surely confide in him about their final affairs. freeweɓnøvel.com
Telling a daughter-in-law about where the gold bars were hidden, exactly how much wealth they had, and giving detailed information about the password and keys seemed dubious to Zhou Ning.
According to what Wang Hongzhan had said so far, although he has not shown any resentment or dissatisfaction towards Ho Dongmei, all the evidence he pointed out indirectly indicated that Ho Dongmei knew the location of the safe, as well as the password and keys.
Adding the fact of being cuckolded beforehand, and the child not being Wang Hongzhan’s, all suspicions were directed towards Wang Jiahan’s biological father, or someone who had an affair with Ho Dongmei.
As for the murder of the child, these were just internal conflicts over wealth. The killer was the second person aware of the secret, wanting to take all the gold for themselves, which is why they resorted to murder.
Zhou Ning’s brows were tightly furrowed. Initially, he believed that once the DNA comparison results came out, they could determine the nature of the case, but now he felt that wasn’t right.
Wang Hongzhan was too certain. Although he appeared vulnerable and openly displayed his flaws, he still controlled the pace, at times leaving Xu Dayuan unable to change the situation. It seemed that they needed to find the gold bars, not just a part, but all of them, to uncover the truth.
After pondering for a moment, Zhou Ning looked at Mr. Qu, who blinked back when Zhou Ning’s gaze landed on him.
"What’s up, Director Zhou?"
"Check the details of Wang Hongzhan’s car in Shen City, the access records on the highway, can you get that?"
Mr. Qu did a quick search.
"Wang Hongzhan has a 2010 Prado in Shen City. But Director Zhou, we can only retrieve one month’s records for highway entries and exits."
Zhou Ning pressed his lips together, looking towards the interview room.
Wang Hongzhan had gotten up from the table and wiped his face, not raising his head.
"I’m sorry, I lost control of my emotions. My parents’ death was so sudden, I always felt it was done deliberately. But there were no surveillance cameras on that stretch of road, and the nearest household didn’t hear anything. I went door to door in Shanxi Village, but there were no eyewitnesses.
However, according to the traffic police, no brake marks were found on the ground, meaning the vehicle had headed straight for my parents without slowing down, and from the right side of the road directly to the opposite side."
Xu Dayuan handed Wang Hongzhan a cigarette, and as they both smoked, Xu Dayuan asked:
"When you had doubts about the accident, did you get an autopsy done?"
Wang Hongzhan nodded.
"Yes, I had the forensic doctor from the city bureau conduct the autopsy. Not only that, we also retrieved surveillance footage from the surrounding roads at the time. However, we didn’t capture the damaged vehicle passing through, because there was very little surveillance in the village then, and if it used the dirt road next to the fields, we wouldn’t be able to track it."
At this point, Wang Hongzhan laughed.
"Do you know how I felt when I heard Dongmei was pregnant just after my parents were buried and I returned to the old house?"
