freenovelworld Chapter 877 The Cunning Tang 3, New Clues Discovered
Chapter 877 The Cunning Tang 3, New Clues Discovered
Li Ming led his officers cautiously into the repair shop, where they saw a burly man with a face covered in grease repairing a car. Li Ming stepped forward, showed his identification, and said, "Are you Tang San? We're police officers, and we'd like to ask you a few questions."
Tang San stopped what he was doing, looked up, a flicker of panic in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and asked, feigning calmness, "Officer, what do you need me for?" Li Ming said bluntly, "We're investigating a murder case and want to know about your relationship with Zhao Hu." Tang San was taken aback for a moment, then flatly denied it: "Zhao Hu? I don't know that person."
Li Ming had anticipated Tang San's denial, and smiled slightly, saying, "Tang San, you'd better tell the truth. Now that we've found you, we have some evidence. Qin Baoguo has already told us about your relationship with Zhao Hu." Tang San's expression changed slightly, but he still argued, "Qin Baoguo must have misremembered; I really don't know Zhao Hu."
Li Ming gave a wink, and Officer Liu took out his phone and played Qin Baoguo's recording: "Tang San and Zhao Hu are sworn brothers, their relationship is rock solid..." Upon hearing the recording, Tang San's face turned deathly pale, but he still tried to salvage the situation: "Even if we know each other, it doesn't mean I'm involved in the murder case."
Li Ming said sternly, "We didn't say you were involved in the murder case, but your deliberate concealment of your relationship with Zhao Hu is suspicious in itself. Now, you must truthfully confess everything you know." Tang San was silent for a moment, then said somewhat reluctantly, "Okay, I know Zhao Hu, but we're not sworn brothers, just ordinary friends. I really don't know where he is."
Li Ming stared into Tang San's eyes and continued to press, "So, a week ago, did Zhao Hu ask you for 5000 yuan and say he was going back to his hometown for a while?" Tang San was startled, not expecting the police to know this. After hesitating for a moment, he had no choice but to admit, "That's right. A week ago, he suddenly called me, saying he was short of money and asked to borrow 5000 yuan from me, and also said he was going back to his hometown to hide for a while."
Li Ming pressed, "Why did he go back to his hometown to hide for a while? Did he say why?" Tang San shook his head: "He didn't say, and I didn't ask any further. We're not that close; we just occasionally have a meal together. I only lent him the money because he was genuinely in trouble."
Li Ming felt that Tang San's words were half true and half false, and continued to press him: "Tang San, you'd better stop hiding it. This murder case is heinous. If you know about it and don't report it, you should know the consequences." Fine beads of sweat appeared on Tang San's forehead, and his eyes began to dart around: "Officer, that's really all I know. Zhao Hu is a very mysterious person, and he doesn't usually tell me much about himself."
Just then, Officer Wang found a train ticket in a corner of the repair shop. The departure point was the city, the destination was Zhao Hu's hometown, and the date was exactly one week prior. Li Ming walked up to Tang San with the train ticket: "Tang San, what's this train ticket all about? Are you still planning to keep lying?"
Tang San saw the train ticket and knew he could no longer hide the truth. He sighed and said, "Alright, I'll tell the truth. A week ago, Zhao Hu came to me to borrow money, saying he was in big trouble and someone wanted to settle scores with him, so he had to go back to his hometown to hide for a while. I asked him what kind of trouble he was in, but he wouldn't say. He just told me not to worry about it and that he would come back to pay me back once things calmed down. I could tell he was in a panic and wasn't joking, so I lent him the money."
Li Ming pressed further, "Did he say who was looking for him to settle accounts with?" Tang San shook his head, "No. He left in a hurry, took the money and left." Li Ming asked again, "Did he contact you again after he left?" Tang San said, "No, I haven't heard from him since then."
Li Ming felt that Tang San's words were more credible, but he still couldn't completely rule out Tang San's suspicion. In order to further verify the situation, Li Ming arranged for police officers to investigate Tang San's call records and social media chat logs, and also to interview other workers at the auto repair shop.
After some investigation, the police officers discovered that Tang San had indeed not contacted Zhao Hu after he left, and the workers at the auto repair shop also confirmed that Tang San behaved normally the day Zhao Hu came to borrow money. Despite this, Li Ming did not let his guard down; he knew that Zhao Hu's whereabouts remained a mystery and that the case still had many unanswered questions.
Back at the police station, Li Ming and his team analyzed the case again. "Although Tang San has confessed to some things, why Zhao Hu went back to his hometown to hide, and what trouble he got into, are still unknowns," Li Ming said.
Xiao Liu continued, "Could it be related to Wang Liqiang's death? Zhao Hu and Wang Liqiang both participated in gambling, and there might have been some conflict between them." Xiao Wang also chimed in, "Possibly. Maybe Zhao Hu is the murderer. After killing Wang Liqiang, he was afraid of being discovered by the police, so he went back to his hometown to hide."
Li Ming nodded: "In any case, we can't let any possibility go unnoticed. Next, we'll continue investigating Zhao Hu's whereabouts in his hometown, and at the same time, we'll re-examine the case leads to see if we've missed anything."
Li Ming paced back and forth in his office, pondering the next step in the case. The news from the police in Zhao Hu's hometown was like a boulder, shattering the seemingly well-directed investigation. "Zhao Hu didn't go back to his hometown at all? Then where did he go? Has Tang San been lying all along?" Li Ming muttered to himself, his eyes growing increasingly sharp.
Just then, Officer Zhang, who was in charge of checking the highway surveillance footage, rushed into the office, holding a stack of screenshots. His voice was excited: "Captain Li, we've made a major discovery! On the night of the incident, a car from Tang San's repair shop appeared on the highway near the body dumping site!" Upon hearing this, Li Ming quickly walked over to Zhang, took the screenshots, and examined them carefully. The license plate number of the car was clearly visible in the footage; it was indeed a vehicle registered to Tang San's repair shop. "Immediately confirm the vehicle information and its driving trajectory on the night of the incident!" Li Ming decisively ordered.
As the investigation deepened, more clues pointing to Tang San gradually surfaced. Li Ming decided to launch a comprehensive investigation into Tang San, especially his interpersonal relationships. He arranged for police officers to thoroughly investigate Tang San's communication records and social media information, while also interviewing people who had dealings with Tang San.
The officers first arrived at Tang San's auto repair shop. The shop was still filled with the pungent smell of gasoline, and the workers were busy at their tasks. Li Ming led the officers straight to Tang San, who was having his car repaired. Tang San's expression changed slightly upon seeing the police again, but he quickly regained his composure: "Officers, what brings you here again? I've already said everything I needed to say."