Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

The police car drove away from Xingfu Lane, heading towards the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. Inside the car, Zhou Ming was sandwiched between two officers, his head bowed, his hair disheveled, and his breathing heavy. He would occasionally raise his head, glaring at the officers with resentful eyes, muttering, "I didn't kill anyone...you must have made a mistake..."

At 8 PM, Zhou Ming was taken to the interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Division. The interrogation room was small, with a harsh white light. A metal table was placed in the center, with an interrogation chair and two other chairs on either side of the table. Zhou Ming was handcuffed and sat in the interrogation chair, his hands fixed to the armrests. He lowered his head slightly, staring at the ground, his fingers unconsciously curling.

The interrogation was conducted by Wang Shuai and investigator Xiao Chen. The two entered the interrogation room and sat opposite Zhou Ming. Wang Shuai turned on his body camera and calmly asked, "Name?"

Zhou Ming did not look up and remained silent.

"We're asking you a question, your name?" Xiao Chen raised his voice.

Zhou Ming slowly raised his head, a hint of provocation in his eyes: "Don't you all know? Zhou Ming. Why ask these useless questions? I didn't kill anyone, just let me go."

“Zhou Ming, male, 42 years old, a local resident, was sentenced to three years in prison for theft and was released in 2018. He is currently a business manager at a foreign trade company, right?” Wang Shuai read out Zhou Ming’s basic information, his eyes fixed on his face.

Zhou Ming's body stiffened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure: "So what if it is? That's all in the past. What does it have to do with the murder case you're talking about?"

"Whether you have connections or not is not up to you. The reason we arrested you is because we have sufficient evidence to suspect that you are involved in the murder case at the unfinished building in the northern suburbs on November 19th," Wang Shuai said seriously. "You know the deceased, Zheng Kaibin, right?"

Upon hearing the name "Zheng Kaibin," Zhou Ming's eyes visibly flickered, and his breathing became somewhat rapid. However, he quickly concealed it, shaking his head: "I don't know him. I've never heard of this name before."

"Don't you recognize me?" Wang Shuai sneered. "Then where were you between 2 and 3 a.m. on November 19th? What were you doing?"

Zhou Ming raised his head and said with a firm look in his eyes, "I slept at home. I worked overtime until very late that day, and went home and went to sleep. I didn't get up until after eight o'clock in the morning."

"Can anyone prove it?" Xiao Chen asked.

“I live alone, so no one can prove it,” Zhou Ming shrugged. “But I do sleep at home; you can check my home security camera footage.”

“We’ve already checked, and there are no security cameras installed at your rented place. Moreover, according to the surveillance footage we retrieved from the surrounding area, at 2:30 a.m. on November 19th, you were wearing a black hooded jacket and a mask, entering through a gap in the fence on the northwest side of the unfinished building in the northern suburbs, and then exiting through the same gap at 3:30 a.m. How do you explain this?” Wang Shuai presented the first piece of evidence.

Zhou Ming's face instantly turned pale. He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to explain, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time. After a while, he stammered, "That...that's not me. You've mistaken me; there are many people who look alike." "Mistaken?" Wang Shuai picked up a photo from the table and pushed it in front of Zhou Ming. "This is a screenshot from surveillance footage, technically enhanced. Look at these clothes, these shoes—aren't they exactly the same as what you usually wear? And this height, this build—do you think we'd mistake you?"

Zhou Ming looked down at the photo, his eyes filled with panic. His fingers gripped the armrests of the interrogation chair tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. "This...this really isn't me." His voice trailed off, his confidence waning.

"Not you? Then take a look at this." Wang Shuai pulled out another forensic report. "We retrieved a size 42 striped rubber-soled shoe print from the scene of the unfinished building incident. After comparison, it matches the sole pattern of a pair of rubber-soled shoes found in your home perfectly. What do you say about that?"

Zhou Ming's body began to tremble slightly. He dared not look at Wang Shuai anymore, and lowered his head again, staring at the ground. Silence fell in the interrogation room, broken only by Zhou Ming's heavy breathing.

After about five minutes, Wang Shuai spoke up: "Zhou Ming, we know you are resisting, but resistance is useless. The evidence is right in front of you. You'd better confess honestly and try to get leniency."

"I didn't kill anyone... I really didn't kill anyone..." Zhou Ming kept repeating this sentence, his voice trembling with tears.

"You didn't kill anyone? Then why did you burn your clothes at the garbage dump in the urban village the day after the crime?" Wang Shuai continued to press. "We found fragments of incompletely burned clothing at the garbage dump, and after testing, the fiber composition of these fragments matched the fibers extracted from the crime scene perfectly. Didn't you burn the clothes to destroy evidence?"

Zhou Ming suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with fear: "I...I didn't burn the clothes...You're framing me..." He became agitated and struggled to stand up, but he was firmly locked in the handcuffs and couldn't move at all.

"You're being framed?" Xiao Chen said coldly. "We also found an unregistered mobile phone in your rented apartment. The number on this phone belongs to the same carrier and the same batch as the number of 'Lone Ranger,' who contacted Zheng Kaibin's anonymous social media account. Moreover, we recovered the chat history between Zheng Kaibin and 'Lone Ranger.' They agreed to trade a list of foreign trade clients at 2:11 AM on November 19th at an unfinished building in the northern suburbs. This list happens to be the important client list that your company lost. You're being held accountable by the company because of this lost list and are facing unemployment, isn't that right?"

A barrage of evidence struck Zhou Ming like a hammer blow. His face turned deathly pale, his lips trembled, and he could no longer utter a word of defense. His body slumped in the interrogation chair, his eyes vacant and filled with despair.

Looking at Zhou Ming's state, Wang Shuai knew that his psychological defenses were on the verge of collapse. He softened his tone: "Zhou Ming, it's no use for you to argue now. We have all the evidence, including your DNA. We extracted a small amount of skin tissue fragments from the crevices of the dagger handle at the crime scene, and after DNA comparison, it matched your DNA perfectly. This is irrefutable evidence."

“DNA…match…” Zhou Ming murmured to himself, the last glimmer of hope in his eyes extinguished. His shoulders trembled slightly, and he began to sob softly.

"Speak, explain everything clearly." Wang Shuai's tone was urging.

Zhou Ming raised his head, looking at Wang Shuai with bloodshot eyes, tears streaming down his face. "I...I didn't mean to kill him...he forced me..." he finally spoke, his voice hoarse. (End of Chapter)