Free Web NovelChapter 808: Chapter 430: Making the Dead ‘Speak’
Hearing these words, Li Xiang felt like he was hit by an electric shock, suddenly bouncing up half an inch from his chair and then heavily falling back into it.
His hands trembled uncontrollably, his voice suddenly rose sharply, filled with a piercing tone that suggested his secret was exposed, "What do you mean?!"
"Are you saying... she was killed?"
"Impossible! The water was so rapid at the time, I barely survived crawling ashore myself, almost ended up in that river with her!"
Jiang An didn’t respond immediately, instead, he quietly watched every tiny twitch on Li Xiang’s face with eyes that seemed to pierce the soul.
The air in the interrogation room seemed to freeze, leaving only Li Xiang’s heavy breathing.
After 2 minutes, Jiang An leaned forward slowly, "Let me ask it differently."
"Are you sure, in the course of her death, you didn’t perform any... ’extra’ actions on her?"
"For instance, did you touch her while she was struggling?"
"Extra? What do you mean by extra?"
Li Xiang’s emotions completely lost control, he waved his arms, almost shouting.
"I’ve said everything I should say! I was struggling to survive myself, what could I possibly do? What more do you want me to say?!"
Qin Feng, sitting at the back, was filled with even more doubts, his eyebrows knitted into a knot.
He instinctively tightened his grip on the notebook, his mind in turmoil: Why did the interrogation suddenly change direction?
Wasn’t he just admitting to conspiring to murder the man earlier?
Why suddenly turn and question the cause of the woman’s death?
Could it be... that woman didn’t accidentally drown but was killed by him too?
That doesn’t make sense, they were obviously partners, why would there be a sudden infighting?
Unless... an unforeseen dramatic event happened in the river that day that we’re unaware of...
Despite the turbulence inside, Qin Feng’s face remained unmoved.
Then, Jiang An slowly stood up, walked step by step to Li Xiang, towering over him, speaking word by word, "You say you both fell into the water, you luckily survived."
"Whether what you say is true or not, I remain skeptical."
"However," he deliberately paused, intensifying his tone, "the corpse will never lie."
"We found critical evidence on the woman’s body."
"On her shoulder, there are slight but very distinct subdermal bleeding points, and signs of hair being pulled out from the scalp area."
"This damage pattern is highly unusual in a natural collision in such a rapid river."
Li Xiang seemed to have his throat squeezed, his voice dry: "What... what do you mean?"
"Are you suggesting I pulled out her hair, injured her?"
"It was so chaotic, I myself was bruised all over from the collisions!"
"I’ve seen your injuries," Jiang An coldly interrupted him, "your injuries are consistent with flow impact and struggling characteristics."
"But her injuries are different." He turned around, "In my years of forensic examinations, there’s a rule: every injury must correspond to a specific injuring tool and process."
"I’ve handled traffic accidents and water flow accidents, where the injuries usually result from impacts and friction."
"But like hers, with clear pressured bruises on the shoulders accompanied by tearing and hair loss in specific areas... this cannot be explained by accident."
Jiang An abruptly turned back, his eyes blazing, staring at Li Xiang whose face instantly turned pale.
"Such injuries could only be formed in one scenario."
"When she fell into the water, driven by survival instinct trying to reach the shore, someone underwater pinned her shoulder with one hand."
"While the other hand fiercely grabbed her hair, forcefully pressing her into the water until she suffocated and drowned!"
The interrogation room was deathly silent.
Jiang An’s voice was forceful and authoritative, leaving no room for doubt: "The person who deprived her of life at her last moment was you."
"Li Xiang, am I right?"
Opposite him, Li Xiang seemed drained of all strength, his pupils widened, his face devoid of color, left only with pure shock and undisguisable fear.
He opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound, his whole body stiff on the chair.
After a long time, Li Xiang sat in the chair, his hands unconsciously rubbing together, beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, yet he forced a smile.
He slowly lifted his head, his gaze wandered before finally landing on Jiang An’s face, his voice feigned ease.
"Officer, I really don’t understand why you would think this..."
"Your analysis just now was logically tight, the plot was intricate, if it were in a TV series, I’d surely stand up and applaud."
"But reality isn’t acting! Think about it, I teamed up with her to finally eliminate her husband—the man who had been tormenting her."
"We had planned everything well, waiting for the heat to pass before escaping to a place where no one knows us to start anew..."
"I loved her so much, I even committed murder for her, how could I possibly harm her at the last moment?"
Speaking to this point, his voice choked, his eyes floating towards the corner of the interrogation room and its camera. freewebnovel.cσ๓
After a brief pause, he stressed his tone: "She once told me directly, as soon as that person was gone, we could be together forever."
"This sentence carried me through the toughest moments."
"Every night now, when I close my eyes, I can remember the light in her eyes when she said that..."
"You say, how could I personally destroy the future we had fought so hard to achieve?"
Jiang An silently observed every subtle change in Li Xiang’s expression.
