Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 90 The Case of Burning the Corpse 8
Zheng Yan realized something was wrong.

When Tan Jia inquired about the Zhou family in Sanlin Town, he asked about whether Zhou Qiaoan was working on a construction site to raise money. At that time, Yu Lan did not answer directly, only saying that her family was in financial difficulty.

They naturally assumed it was true.

They even went so far as to investigate which construction site Zhou Qiaoan was working on, only to find out it was all fake!
As they emerged from the interrogation room, Tan Ming asked in bewilderment, "Why did the Zhou family conceal Zhou Qiaoan's true identity? Did they want to leave him with a good reputation since he's dead? Or were they planning to use Zhou Qiaoan's death to obtain some compensation, and therefore disregard these conflicting reports?"

Zheng Yan pondered: "Let me recall the scene when we questioned Yu Lan at the Zhou family. At that time, Yu Lan's reaction was slow and calm. She cried calmly, and neither her daughter-in-law, son, nor grandson showed any sadness."

When they entered the Zhou family's home, they could see the family's exhaustion and misery, so they didn't think anything was wrong.

Now, considering Zhou Qiaoan's true colors and reflecting on the situation, it seems that Yu Lan and the others were not simply exhausted and powerless, but rather indifferent.

He was a terrible person, someone who didn't contribute to his family. He's dead, so be it. It would be a good thing if he could get some compensation back.

They went back to their office to get a drink of water while they were discussing.

Tan Ming continued, "So they really don't care, or were they prepared for Zhou Qiaoan's death?"

These are two completely different directions.

If they're just indifferent, the police can't do anything about it. But if they know something about it, it means their family is connected to the arson case, making them murder suspects.

Zheng Yan thought for a moment and asked first, "How is the investigation into Wan Anliang going? Have you still not found any connection between him and Zhou Qiaoan?"

If Wan Anliang is indeed the number one murderer, there must be some conflict or connection between him and Zhou Qiaoan, right? But they haven't found any connection yet.

Xiao Chen led a group to Wan Anliang's company and home to conduct an investigation. When he called Wan Anliang, Wan Anliang had just finished learning about Wan Anliang's schedule for the past two days.

"He was supposed to take the high-speed train to Yuncheng on the day of the incident to attend some kind of special meeting, but he seemed to have received a phone call and then changed his ticket to the train the next morning. Judging from the time, he had plenty of time to commit the crime."

"But," he also checked the surveillance footage at the exit of Guilingpo, and he still remembered it, "the surveillance footage did not show him driving in or out of Guilingpo."

Zheng Yan: "Can we find out who called him? That could very well be the reason for the deviation in his itinerary."

"The investigation is still ongoing. There's another issue: Wan Anliang's business trip was actually a deliberate move by the Market Supervision Bureau to temporarily remove him from the area. The plan was to conduct a special investigation into the recent complaints against him in the next few days. However, this morning, all those who had previously filed complaints against him withdrew their complaints."

"What a coincidence?"

Zheng Yan tapped the tip of his pen on the notebook, lost in thought for another half minute.

He then said to Xiao Chen on the other end of the phone, "Investigate those who withdrew their complaints. We still can't contact Wan Anliang?"

"Yes, he's not answering the phone. I guess he saw someone mention in the comments section of Zhang Wenwu's 'Mystery Case Investigation' video that the hit-and-run driver had been arrested but the case was still not closed, and guessed that we had found out more, so he panicked."

Wan Anliang initially believed that the police would pin the blame for Zhou Qiaoan's death entirely on the driver, since the person was indeed burned by the driver, and he did not cause any death.

Now that they've started investigating him, he's probably panicking and won't dare show his face.

Xiao Chen added, "I'm applying to check his phone location and spending records. Nowadays, people don't carry much cash when they go out. I don't believe he can hide and not eat or drink."

"Yes, while visiting Wan Anliang's relatives, friends, and colleagues, we should also investigate his relationship with other members of the Zhou family. The Zhou family may know about Zhou Qiaoan's death. We haven't been able to find the relationship between the murderer and the victim, so perhaps we're going in the wrong direction."

Xiao Chen expressed surprise: "Huh? Is it another case of middle-aged or elderly people acting rashly for the sake of a woman?" "...Couldn't it be some other conflict of interest? Go investigate!"

The office was filled with the sounds of people discussing clues, making and receiving phone calls, and occasionally a few loud shouts of shock and anger.

Tan Jia was sculpting dough in the corner, treating it all as background noise as humanity strives for progress. When he successfully sculpted a corpse covered in flames, he looked up and gave a satisfied smile.

It was worth the countless videos she watched; she finally recreated the scene she had imagined.

Zheng Yan glanced at it briefly: "You actually did it? Is this what I saw in my dream?"

"Yes. It's a pity that dough figurines can't capture the distorted and ethereal feeling of 'The Scream'. Painting would probably be more expressive."

Speaking of painting, if Lin Zhiyue could inherit her dreaming ability for free, with his excellent visual ability and painting skills, he should be very suitable for this profession.

Zheng Yan also thought of Lin Zhiyue's paintings, but she didn't have the same idea as Lin Zhiyue.

That young master was injured eleven years ago and is still a bit mentally unstable. How can he compare to Green Wolf, the commissioner? Look at his composure; he can still entertain himself by sculpting dough in a noisy and chaotic place.

Seeing this made him want to pick the person up and give them some work.

"The Zhou family didn't tell the truth. What do you think? Use your brain, which hasn't been smoothed out by the case, to think about it."

Tan Jia carefully adjusted the details of the clay sculpture, looking at the "Zhou Qiaoan" in his hand, and said seriously: "It depends on what kind of person Zhou Qiaoan is in their hearts. Middle-aged women are usually the ones who are bullied in marriage and family. The sunk costs they have paid for more than ten or twenty years make them not very motivated to fight back. Unless something unbearable happens, they will basically not go so far as to kill someone."

Zheng Yan pondered: "So either Yu Lan and the others have nothing to do with Zhou Qiaoan's death, or something unbearable has happened in their family."

Recalling Yu Lan's performance yesterday, he leaned towards the latter.

"But what major event could happen to the Zhou family? Their thirty-year-old son is mentally ill and needs to be kept on a leash. It's said that this matter is related to Zhou Qiaoan... Could it be that his grandson's illness was also caused by him?"

Tan Jia said slowly, "It's possible, but it might not be related to revenge, but rather to money. I remember they said that the child had bilirubin encephalopathy. Is that a very serious disease?"

Zheng Yan really didn't know, so he specifically asked Lao Li and got a positive answer.

"It's very urgent. If it's not treated in time, it will cause irreversible damage to the child's nervous system. Treatment requires a blood transfusion, followed by long-term rehabilitation training."

But the Zhou family couldn't afford that much money, and judging from their son's condition, they probably wouldn't be able to have another child, so...

Zheng Yan thought of a very common problem, but one that he had never thought would happen in this case.

"Murder for insurance money."

Could it be that way? Would Yu Lan really be driven to this point?

He immediately ordered Tan Ming to take people to Sanlin Town to investigate again, preferably by interviewing people in the surrounding area to piece together what had happened to the Zhou family over the years.

Tan Ming quickly sent back a message—

"The Zhou family has obtained a death certificate for Zhou Qiaoan and is on their way to file a claim."

It really was murder for insurance money!
(End of this chapter)