Case 032

"Maybe I remembered it wrong," Liu Zhixin tried to argue.

"Liu Zhixin, do you take us for three-year-olds? Your earlier statement was all recorded on video; you can't talk your way out of this," Li Hui rebuked him.

"I'm being framed," Liu Zhixin insisted.

"How are you being framed?" Han Bin pressed.

"Even if my skin tissue was found under Sun Qifeng's fingernails, it only proves he scratched me. It doesn't make me the murderer," Liu Zhixin replied.

"Liu Zhixin, have you been to Hengding Line recently?" Han Bin asked.

"No."

Han Bin leaned against the table. "Do you want to know how we caught you?"

"I do."

"Footprints," Han Bin stated.

"Footprints?" Liu Zhixin was puzzled.

"The footprints you left at the scene where you abandoned the car are different from Sun Qifeng's," Han Bin explained.

"How can you be sure those are mine?" Liu Zhixin pressed.

"People have different gaits and postures, which means shoes wear differently, just like fingerprints—each is unique," Han Bin said.

"So you found me just because of a footprint," Liu Zhixin muttered to himself.

"At the dumping site, your footprints were everywhere. There's no denying it," Han Bin said sternly.

"Haha, footprints... just because of one footprint..." Liu Zhixin let out a strange laugh.

"Liu Zhixin, leniency for confession, severity for resistance," Han Bin warned.

"Heh, leniency? Severity?" Liu Zhixin shook his head. "Does that even matter to me anymore?"

"Think about your wife. If you don't come clean, she'll keep shouldering the blame. Her charges will be even heavier," Han Bin pressed.

Liu Zhixin held his forehead with his hand, falling silent for a long time.

Just as Li Hui was losing patience and about to urge him on, Liu Zhixin finally spoke.

"It was me."

"Explain yourself."

"I killed both Xing Jianbin and Sun Qifeng," Liu Zhixin admitted.

"Why did you kill Xing Jianbin?" Han Bin asked.

"He deserved it."

"What grudge did you have against him?"

"Sun Qifeng got involved in that pyramid scheme with him. All the money came from loans I gave, and they lost it all. To this day, they haven't paid me back, let alone the promised interest," Liu Zhixin said.

"Didn't Sun Qifeng have a van? Why didn't you take that for repayment?" Li Hui asked.

"That junk van had changed hands so many times; it's worth nothing," Liu Zhixin replied.

"Why did you kill Sun Qifeng?"

"I needed transportation for the crime, but after it was done, the vehicle would lead back to me. I didn't want that," Liu Zhixin explained.

"You're ruthless," Li Hui snorted.

"Was the noodle soup I made good?" Liu Zhixin abruptly changed the subject.

"Why ask about that now?"

"You all ate at my noodle shop, but I don't think you paid," Liu Zhixin said.

"We don't skip out on bills. Team Leader Zeng already paid your wife before the meal," Han Bin replied.

"Thank you," Liu Zhixin said.

"You're still worried about a few bucks at this point?" Li Hui scoffed.

"Running a noodle shop is hard work, especially in the summer—the kitchen feels like a furnace. My hard-earned money was swindled away. That's no different from taking my life," Liu Zhixin said with agitation, slapping his seat. "Those people running pyramid schemes are bloodless wolves!"

"Where's the stolen money?"

"I don't know," Liu Zhixin said.

"At this stage, you still won't tell us where you hid the money?"

"Go ask my wife," Liu Zhixin replied, closing his eyes.

No matter what Han Bin and Li Hui said, he refused to speak again.

Outside the interrogation room, Liu Hui couldn't help but ask, "What's his game? He confessed but won't say where the money is?"

Han Bin sighed. "He's creating an opportunity for his wife to earn merit for turning over the stolen money."

"Ah..." Li Hui opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

...

Once Liu Zhixin confessed, his wife didn't resist anymore either.

In hopes of reducing her sentence, she revealed where the stolen money was hidden.

It was buried in a wooded area of a nearby park.

Two hundred thousand US dollars and three hundred thousand yuan were all recovered. The case was fully solved!

Criminal Investigation Team Three, Unit Two, received commendations from the leadership.

...

"Congratulations, Officer 577533, on successfully solving your first murder case."

"Footprint identification skill proficiency +3; micro-expression analysis skill proficiency +3."

"Awarded 10 merit points."

Han Bin smiled. At last, his hard work had paid off.

This was the most complex and exhausting case yet, but the rewards were substantial.

This single case was enough to pay off the micro-expression analysis skill's installment plan, with plenty to spare.

For the time being, Han Bin could relax, without worrying about the next installment.

...

By the time the case was wrapped up, it was already nine in the evening.

To reward Unit Two, Zheng Kaixuan invited everyone out for dinner.

When it came to deciding what to eat, a heated debate ensued.

Li Hui suggested barbecue.

Tian Li proposed stir-fry.

Zhao Ming wanted hot pot.

Zeng Ping abstained.

Han Bin hadn't had hot pot in a long time and was craving it.

In the end, Zhao Ming's suggestion won by more than half the votes.

Not far from the sub-bureau, there was a place called Nine Gates Hot Pot.

The six of them got a private room, ordered a double-flavored broth, lamb, beef, tripe, fish balls, oilseed lettuce, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and more.

The table was filled with dishes.

Everyone thought about having a drink, but since Zheng Kaixuan, Zeng Ping, and Liu Hui had all driven, they gave up on that idea.

When the broth boiled, Han Bin picked up the lamb, divided it between the two kinds of broth.

"Bin, your way of eating is a bit wild, throwing in the whole plate," Li Hui remarked.

"You have such a big mouth. If you take half with one chopstick, what's left for the rest?" Han Bin retorted.

"Han Bin's right. The lamb tastes best when you eat it in big bites," Zheng Kaixuan said, reaching for his chopsticks. "The meat's done. Let's eat."

Everyone had a healthy appetite. With one helping each, the plate of lamb was gone.

"This place's lamb tastes pretty good," Zheng Kaixuan commented.

"I heard it's from Inner Mongolia," Zhao Ming said.

"Hand-sliced lamb has the best texture," Zeng Ping added with a smile.

"This spicy broth is too hot. Is the owner from Chongqing?" Tian Li quickly took a sip of yogurt.

"That's the way it should be," Han Bin laughed. "Eating hot pot in an air-conditioned room in summer—you can't beat that."

...

"Hello, this is the 110 Emergency Service Center."

"Hello, I'd like to report a crime," came a woman's voice over the phone.

"How can I help you?" the operator asked.

"My son has been beaten to death," the woman sobbed.

"Ma'am, are you saying your son has been killed?" the operator confirmed.

"Yes, please send detectives right away and catch the murderer to avenge my son!" the woman cried.

"When did you discover your son was killed?"

"Just now."

"Where are you located?"

"Xiangcheng International. My son's body is in the greenbelt of the residential complex... sob..." The woman broke down in tears again.

"Ma'am, please don't worry. I'm filing your report now and will dispatch officers immediately," the operator said.

There was no response. It seemed the woman was so overcome with grief that she couldn't speak any longer.