You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 416 Murder to silence witnesses!
An'nan City Public Security Bureau, reception room.

Bai Ying sat behind the coffee table with her legs crossed. There was a glass ashtray in front of her. She took a puff of her cigarette, flicked the ash into the ashtray, and then looked at Yang Jinwen behind the table.

"Xiao Wen, what case is it that requires my help?"

"It's not that we need your help, but rather that you need to cooperate with our investigation."

Yang Jinwen's words were very impolite, so Bai Ying simply threw her cigarette butt into the ashtray, leaned back, squinted, and asked, "Okay, but you have to tell me your dad's contact information. He changed his old number, and I haven't been able to get through to him."

Eh……

Yang Jinwen sighed inwardly and tapped the table with his finger: "Then... you can find him through Secretary Zhang, or I can ask him for you?"

"Secretary Zhang? Who? Zhang Chunxia?"

"Correct."

"Holy shit! Da Chuan is really messing around with her?"

"Uh……"

Clearly, Bai Ying didn't take Zhang Chunxia seriously: "To hell with her, I knew it. Now that this bitch is in charge, she's definitely going to mess with your dad. Fine, she'll win!"

Yang Jinwen tapped the table again: "This isn't about your private life, let's talk about the case."

“Your dad is your dad, and you are you. I will definitely help if I can.”

Sitting next to her, Feng Xiaocai looked up and asked, "Ms. Bai, do you know Zhu Gui?"

Bai Ying leaned back again, adopting a defensive posture: "Why are you asking him?"

Yang Jinwen asked, "What is your relationship with him?"

"Zhu Gui is my adopted younger brother."

Did he obtain the mining and operation rights of the Dannan 'Jiulin Coal Mine' through your relationship with the three Cao siblings?

In 90, he also illegally seized the "Panying" coal mine next to Chenjia Village from the government and clashed with the villagers of Chenjia Village.

Bai Ying's chest heaved, then she crossed her arms and asked warily, "What exactly are you investigating? You need to explain yourself first."

Yang Jinwen stared at her without saying a word.

Bai Ying's tone turned serious: "Xiao Wen, I'm asking you this as an elder. If it's about investigating the coal mine, ask someone else. This is for your own good."

"Zhu Gui is dead."

Bai Ying was startled and immediately asked, "Was he murdered?"

Yang Jinwen's lips curled slightly: "I didn't say he was killed."

"This……"

Bai Ying's eyes were filled with panic, and she hugged herself even tighter.

"Ms. Bai, who has Zhu Gui offended? Did he obtain the mining and operating rights of the coal mine through illegal means?"

"Xiaowen, I'll say it again, it's for your own good to ask someone else."

"Besides Zhu Gui being murdered, his lover Xiong Lili is also suspected of two murders. This case is being handled by a special task force composed of the Qincheng Public Security Bureau and the Provincial Department, and I am the deputy leader of the task force."

Ms. Bai, what is it that you can't say?

"I do not know anything."

Bai Ying simply gave up and stood up.

"I only have one thing to say: Zhu Gui's murder has nothing to do with me. The funds he used to start his business were lent to him by me. You are free to investigate."

He already paid me back all the money in 92; that's all I know.

Yang Jinwen stood up and said, "Ms. Bai, you can't leave until things are cleared up!"

"Trying to stop me?" Bai Ying smiled. "Xiao Wen, you are my friend's son. I still advise you not to get involved in this case."

Besides, instead of asking me, you should ask Cao Xuan; he knows better than I do.

Finally, tell your dad to call me when he has time, and not to keep avoiding me.

Bai Ying tightened her mink vest and stepped out of the reception room.

Yang Jinwen tried to call her back, but He Jinbo, who was outside the door, shook his head.

He walked in and whispered, "Cao Kuan is here."

Yang Jinwen was unwilling: "Are we just going to let her go like this? We haven't even found out about her husband's situation yet."

He Jinbo replied, "I asked around privately, and Bai Ying and her husband each do their own thing and don't interfere with each other."

When Zhu Gui was murdered, her husband, Li Xiuyuan, was abroad. While it's possible he killed her, he's not a strong suspect.

Yang Jinwen, however, did not think so, because it could not be ruled out whether it was a hired murder. The shooter was a professional and had a very calm and cruel personality.

Zhu Gui is a coal mine owner with considerable wealth, and the people he knows are fully capable of hiring such gunmen.

The most feared aspect of homicide investigations is random killing, and the same goes for hiring a hitman, because these involve issues of the chain of evidence.

Although there was a conflict of interest with the financial backer behind the crime, no evidence linking them to the mastermind could be found at the crime scene.

Moreover, the gunman could easily escape. Once he fled to another province or even abroad, the case would become a dead end, impossible to investigate further!
Therefore, the investigation of this case must delve into Zhu Gui's interpersonal relationships.

To Yang Jinwen's surprise, Bai Ying refused to cooperate.

Furthermore, he was warned not to pursue the matter any further.

This indicates that there is something very serious behind this case, or that there are certain people who are difficult to touch.

Yang Jinwen thought he would visit Bai Ying privately to ask about the situation, since she was at the Public Security Bureau and there were many things that were inconvenient to disclose. He followed He Jinbo to another reception room.

"Mr. Cao, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." He Jinbo greeted the person sitting in the chair after entering the room.

Cao Kuan wore gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, giving him a refined and scholarly appearance, and also wore a string of Buddhist prayer beads on his left wrist.

"Team Leader He."

“Deputy, deputy,” He Jinbo said modestly, pointing to Yang Jinwen: “This is Captain Yang from Qincheng Public Security Bureau, Yang Jinwen.”

Cao Kuan extended his hand and said with a smile, "A handsome man indeed, I've long admired your name, Captain Yang, hello."

Yang Jinwen shook hands with him politely and asked, "Just the two of you?"

“Uh…” Cao Kuan looked at He Jinbo.

He Jinbo immediately said, "Captain Yang, it's already a great favor that President Cao is cooperating with our investigation. Just ask whatever you want."

Yang Jinwen nodded, and after they sat down, he asked, "What is your relationship with Zhu Gui?"

After hearing this question, Cao Kuan looked at Cao Rong sitting next to him.

"Captain Yang, why are you asking about him?"

"Answer the question: What is your relationship with him?"

Seeing his unpleasant tone, Cao Rong said, "You should ask President Bai about that."

"Bai Ying has already confessed. She said that Zhu Gui and Cao Xuan have a very good relationship."

Cao Rong blinked: "My second brother?" Cao Kuan, an old hand, knew that Yang Jinwen was trying to get information out of him, so he quickly said: "Well... my younger brother and Zhu Gui are just acquaintances, and their relationship isn't that good."

"Captain Yang, you need to tell me exactly what you're investigating about Zhu Gui, so I can cooperate."

Yang Jinwen stared at him: "You didn't know Zhu Gui was in trouble?"

"Something happened? What could possibly happen to him out of the blue?"

"What do you say?"

"How would I know? We're not even that close." Cao Kuan chuckled twice.

"Zhu Gui made such a fortune through your connections, Mr. Cao, it doesn't make sense for you to say you're not familiar with him."

Seeing Yang Jinwen's aggressive attitude, Cao Kuan immediately changed his expression and asked very seriously, "Captain Yang, what exactly is going on? If you don't explain clearly, I won't know anything."

Yang Jinwen leaned forward to meet his gaze: "Zhu Gui was killed. Do you know who killed him?"

“This…” Cao Kuan swallowed hard, his eyes widening in shock.

"So, Mr. Cao, is there anything you need to tell me?"

"No...no." Cao Kuan avoided Yang Jinwen's gaze.

Yang Jinwen pressed further, "Really not? Just because you don't know doesn't mean Cao Xuan doesn't know, so where is he now?"

----------

Three o'clock in the morning.

Qincheng, Xingye District, Dafuhao Nightclub.

The walls of the gate were flashing with dazzling neon lights, illuminating the two luxury cars parked in front of it.

Two greeters came out of the nightclub, ran to the car, and helped open the car door.

Then, two men came out drunk, and four scantily clad hostesses carefully helped them up.

"Mr. Zhang, did you have a good time tonight?"

"Happy, happy." The man casually grabbed the woman's buttocks.

"I haven't had enough fun yet," the woman said sweetly. "Mr. Zhang sings so well, I really want to sing 'Sweet Honey' with you again."

“Okay, come sing at my house.”

"I would like to, but I'm afraid Mr. Zhang's wife won't like me."

"Naughty." Mr. Zhang took out a men's handbag from under his arm, unzipped it, counted out four hundred-yuan bills, and gave one to each of the four women.

"Take it."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang." The women were overjoyed.

Zhang Man walked over and helped his companion up: "President Cao, how are you? You're not drunk, are you? Do you need someone to drive you?"

"No...no need, I can drive...very well." Cao Xuan sat up and ran his hands through his hair.

He had a slicked-back hairstyle, his hair was shiny and had a lot of mousse on it.

"Wait, I'll give you a tip."

He shouted at several women, exhaling a strong smell of alcohol.

"Thank you, Mr. Cao." The women smiled broadly and quickly ran to help him up.

"Mr. Cao, let me help you."

"Mr. Cao, please take your time."

Cao Xuan walked to the car, bent down and climbed inside, taking his handbag from the passenger seat.

"Come on, come on, two hundred each."

Cao Xuan unzipped his jacket, took out a wad of cash, and gave two bills to each woman. He even gave some to the henchman who helped drive the car from the parking lot and the nightclub's greeter.

"President Cao is so generous!"

"Thank you, Mr. Cao."

Cao Xuan nodded in satisfaction: "The girls at the nightclubs in this provincial capital are... better than those in Annan. The women my nightclub hires always have such a sour face, like we owe them money."

Zhang Man laughed and said, "President Cao, why not poach a few of them? I think these girls are all quite good; they're really skilled at playing musical instruments."

Cao Xuan hiccuped and waved his hand, "I'm tired of this, it's boring. I only come here to drink with you, Boss Zhang. Otherwise, I would never come to these places."

I'm telling you, if you want to play, then play, hehe, I'm not telling you..."

Zhang Man licked his lips: "No, please..."

"That guy, I can't tell you his name, he's a very powerful person, he likes..."

As Cao Xuan spoke, he held onto the car door, glanced at the four women counting the money, and waved his hand, saying, "These older women... they're not interesting..."

He spoke incoherently, his eyes somewhat glazed over from being drunk, but they seemed to be recalling something...

Just then, Zhang Man suddenly saw out of the corner of his eye that someone was walking out of the shadows on his left.

The person was in the dark, and his face was not visible, but after a moment, he quickly stepped forward.

He was wearing a military green cotton-padded jacket, a brown scarf around his neck, and his lips and nose were covered. He also wore a baseball cap.

He had his hands in his pockets, and above his left side was the neon sign above the nightclub's entrance.

Standing five meters away in the neon lights, the person quickly raised their right hand.

Zhang Man warily dodged to the side.

"Bang! Bang!"

The piercing gunshot cut through the noise, and just seconds later, shouts erupted!
"Ah, murder!"

"Someone is coming!"

"Run, run!"

The group immediately erupted in chaos, scrambling and tumbling as they ran into the dance hall.

Zhang Man also wanted to run, but the man was already close by, so he quickly lay down next to the car and tried his best to crawl under it.

He clutched his head, looked up, and saw Cao Xuan holding onto the car door with both hands, shot in the chest, blood gushing from two holes, but he hadn't fallen yet.

Upon seeing a person's shadow on the road, he suddenly lowered his head.

A pair of brown men's leather shoes came into view, and then Zhang Man heard two more gunshots. He buried his face in the ground, his body trembling with fear.

"Bang! Bang!"

After the gunshot, Cao Xuan's body slid to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes staring blankly ahead.

The pair of brown leather shoes standing in front of his head paused for a few seconds, as if checking something, then lifted their feet and quickly moved away!

(End of this chapter)