Free Web NovelChapter 366: Chapter 351 Start with the Car_2
Zhou Ning covered Mr. Zhao’s mouth, aware that voices here could be overheard. He pulled him into Room 309 and briefly described the situation. Mr. Zhao kept making tutting noises.
"Damn, Fang Qing really is heartless. If he had wanted to help even a little, Fatty wouldn’t be saddled with eight million in debt, struggling for breath all these years. Yet Fang Qing has made a fortune. But how did he think of borrowing money from Lou Sanfeng?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Maybe it’s just as he said, an offhand remark that he didn’t expect Lou Sanfeng to actually lend him the money. Of course, it’s also possible that he’s hiding something, that he has long known Lou Sanfeng took an interest in his sister Fang Yue. He may have felt that someone with such a role and a destitute background wasn’t good enough for their family. It was only after Fang Yue died that he asked for the money."
Mr. Zhao thought for a moment, then nodded at Zhou Ning, seeming to agree with this possibility. After all, with Lou Sanfeng being the prime suspect, anything could be on him.
Indeed, this was a man who had planned two sensational kidnappings in Qindao. Yet upon seeing Lou Sanfeng himself, it was truly hard to imagine how such a person could plan everything so meticulously.
The two didn’t stop moving and had already arrived at the office of Room 309. The door opened with a push, the drawers of the desk and the cabinet behind were all left with the keys in, saving them the trouble.
Approaching the top drawer on the left side of the desk, Zhou Ning put on gloves and gently pulled it open. The first layer was full of medicine and health products—liver protection tablets, eprosartan, Sea King’s tankards, Golden Throat Lozenge, assorted vitamins, and crammed in the back was a strip of blue pills that gave Zhou Ning pause.
Mr. Zhao slapped Zhou Ning playfully and pushed the drawer closed, then opened the one beneath it.
"Enough of that, you don’t even have a girlfriend, don’t be peeping at these or you’ll get styes. A middle-aged comrade in his forties who can’t keep up, it’s understandable. Starting from 2004, relying on such means to make money, do you think he’s any sort of good soul?"
Mr. Zhao made a good point. Zhou Ning then looked into the drawer below, which was empty except for a few notebooks. Opening the top one, inside were slotted several bank cards—Construction Bank, Rural Commercial Bank, Qindao Bank and more.
He flipped through and easily found an account record, beside which was even a bank statement detailing the ins and outs of Fang Qing’s personal account. Sure enough, there was Lou Sanfeng’s name, with Fang Duo’s eighty thousand standing out prominently.
This account originally had over seven hundred thousand, plus the one million borrowed from Lou Sanfeng, and Fang Duo’s eighty thousand; the rest were amounts of thirty or fifty thousand, not from many people. Except for the fact that Lou Sanfeng overpaid by thirty thousand when making the transfer back, the others didn’t pay any interest. The transfer to Zhu Yantao was dated June 10, 2004.
A rough calculation confirmed the amount. This guy indeed made a net profit of 3.48 million. Mr. Zhao kept taking photos, then closed the notebook with a sigh.
"Alright, we’ll have to take this notebook back. The transaction records from eight years ago, we need Director Xu to arrange for someone to check them."
Zhou Ning nodded and helped Mr. Zhao carry the case. Mr. Zhao quickly caught up to Zhou Ning, grabbed the case to take a look at Zhou Ning’s face, and bumped into him.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, you don’t seem right. Don’t be in a rush, everything will come to light when the DNA comparison comes back. Why all this anxiety?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"The evidence chain for the 2000 March 4th kidnapping case seems to be complete. In the bloodstain left by Chen Gang on the table, we found DNA from a close male relative. But for the April 14th, 2004 kidnapping case, the evidence chain is incomplete.
Although we have various pieces of evidence linking the two cases, we still haven’t found the first crime scene of the murder. Even if we can prove that Lou Sanfeng is Chen Gang’s half-brother from the same father, and that he kidnapped Cheng Xinghui, the evidence concerning the Zhu family triple homicide is insufficient."
Mr. Zhao paused, then hugged Zhou Ning by the shoulder. Zhou Ning, perspiring from the exertion, somewhat disdainfully pushed but couldn’t free himself from Mr. Zhao’s firm embrace.
"You can spare me your disdain for my sweat. This is what men smell like. Let me tell you, with the case having reached this stage, I believe it’s all a matter of time. The water board was just a cover for him. If you ask his colleagues from the unit one by one if they think he looks like a thug who killed three people?
The answer is certainly negative. You know, when Mrs. Fei took Lou Sanfeng downstairs just now, I observed him carefully. He does indeed walk with pigeon toes, but his movements are cautious, his steps steady, without any signs of panic or insecurity. I got the feeling he was particularly self-assured.
"Such a tenacious individual, who also served in the military, has been enduring in silence for so many years, working as a minor clerk at the unit for over a decade. There must be many secrets he holds. I think if they ought to proceed with the interrogation, then let them do so. From the trace evidence aspect, we should definitely conduct a thorough investigation. For example, we can look into his vehicle, residence, garage, old house, and so on."
Zhou Ning paused in his steps and nodded towards Mr. Zhao.
"That makes sense. I’ll mention it to Director Xu; we don’t have to rush back now. Let’s call Mr. Yang and have Mr. Zeng take them to Lou Sanfeng’s house. We’ll start with the vehicle inspection!"
Zhou Ning, holding his notebook, returned to Office 301.
After briefing Xu Dayuan on the findings and showing the bank statements, Xu Dayuan nodded and sent a message to Tao Zhenshan. Then he turned to Fang Qing.
"I’m informing you now that you must not leave the city for the next two months. We may summon you at any time or require your presence to assist with the investigation. Do not discuss today’s questioning with anyone. If you’re suspected of collusion or affecting the investigation of the case, we can arrest you at any time. Do you understand?"
Fang Qing no longer resisted. Sitting opposite Peng Enxin, trying to use work as an excuse was simply impossible, especially with the issue of the house still at hand. Aware of his own guilt, he merely nodded.
"Understood." ƒrēewebnovel.com
"That’s good, then. You may leave now. In order not to affect your subsequent work, we won’t take you away from here. This is the most protection we can offer, and I hope you understand our good intentions. Alright, you can go back to your office now."
Fang Qing didn’t waste words, stood up and left. Reaching the door, he subconsciously leaned on the frame.
Xu Dayuan stood up, shook hands with Peng Enxin and expressed his gratitude with polite words. Peng Enxin, aware of all the insider information he had heard, quickly vowed not to disclose the details of the conversation or any information about Lou Sanfeng.
The three of them then went downstairs. Just as they reached the bottom, Xu Dayuan’s phone rang. Tao Zhenshan had taken screenshots of the bank statements of Lou Sanfeng, Fang Qing, and that Quanshan guy and sent them over.
Glancing at the content, Xu Dayuan’s brows did not relax.
Zhou Ning caught a glimpse and noted the various amounts. Clearly, Fang Qing hadn’t lied about this issue, but seeing the amount in Lou Sanfeng’s account, he was also taken aback.
Because in Lou Sanfeng’s account, there had consistently been around 1.1 million yuan. The date of deposit was also screen-captured separately; this was government compensation for requisitioned property, disbursed in October 2002, with clear remarks indicating it was the sort of compensation for government requisition.
"Lou Sanfeng’s father was forcibly retired due to illness in 2000, and he passed away at the end of the same year. His wife also died early, leaving him alone in the family. However, according to our analysis, this person could potentially be the murderer. So, where has the ransom from those two cases gone?"
Mr. Zhao, tilting his chin up, leaned over.
"Director Xu, you’ve only asked Tao Da to check the transactions made to the account in the past. You should carefully check all the bank accounts under his name, as well as the financial transactions. The two ransoms combined amount to 8.9 million. It’s unlikely he’s keeping it all in cash, right? Besides, back in those days, the yuan was the old blue version, and now we use the red notes. Is he keeping them stashed away, perhaps?"
Xu Dayuan shook his head.
"Let’s detain the person first and investigate step by step. The most crucial thing is to wait for the DNA test results. If it matches, there’s no hurry for the rest—it’s just a matter of time. Are you going back to the municipal bureau?"
After pondering for a moment, Zhou Ning looked at Xu Dayuan and said,
"No, Mr. Zhao and I will first inspect Lou Sanfeng’s vehicle. As for his house, I’ve sent Mr. Zeng to take Mr. Yang and others there. That’s the property he openly owns; chances are slim that we’ll find any clues there, but one by one, we must still check. Perhaps we might find some other leads at these places.
Hiding such a historically symbolic triangular bayonet and being familiar with the various routes by the seaside to conceal and murder three victims, transport and dispose of bodies without detection, he must have some concealed place. Of course, it would be perfect if we could find the murder weapon too."
