Evidence 099

There was no more seafood to be had.

Even though Xiazai was reluctant, under the threats of the four men he had no choice but to give in and lead them back to his rental room.

“Gentlemen, how should I address you? If you all move in the same circles, we may even know some of the same people,” Xiazai probed cautiously.

Smack.

Zhao Ming gave him a sharp slap on the back of the head. “A small-time thief like you thinks he can call us brothers?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.” Xiazai spoke with forced deference, his eyes darting uneasily around.

Zeng Ping reached out and patted the back of his neck. “Behave yourself and don’t even think about running. Save yourself the trouble, and save us trouble too.”

“Understood, understood.”

When they reached the gate of the courtyard outside the rental house, Xiazai stopped. “Gentlemen, could I call Young Master Luo first?”

Smack.

Li Hui struck him on the head as well, barking, “Cut the nonsense. Hand over your phone now.”

Rubbing the swollen bump on the back of his head, Xiazai said miserably, “I know I was wrong, sir. I’ll get it right now.”

The rental place was a three-story self-built house, and Xiazai merely leased one room in it.

He led the four men into the back courtyard, where all sorts of odds and ends were piled in disorder. Xiazai walked to the foot of the wall, dug into the ground along the base, and pulled out a black plastic bag.

Li Hui put on gloves and snatched it away. Inside were two iPhones, a gold necklace, and a pair of earrings.

“You sure know how to hide things.”

“Just making a living.” Xiazai pointed at the black bag. “The phones were what Young Master Luo wanted. The gold necklace and earrings are mine.”

Zeng Ping ignored him and asked instead, “How did you get to know Luo Xinghua?”

“Back when I was working the nightlife scene, I ran errands for Young Master Luo a few times. We met a few times, and that was that.”

“How did he tell you to handle this?”

Xiazai hesitated, studying the four of them. “You four don’t seem like people from the underworld. Who exactly are you?”

Now that the stolen goods were in hand, there was no need to keep up the act. Zeng Ping took out his police ID.

“Police.”

Xiazai went weak in the knees and nearly sat down on the ground.

This time, not only was the money gone, but his freedom was gone too.

…

Yuhua Branch Bureau.

After Xiazai was brought back to the bureau, his fingerprints and DNA were collected, and he was taken straight to the interrogation room.

With the evidence firmly in hand, Xiazai was not hard to break. He soon confessed, and even volunteered to testify against Luo Xinghua, hoping to earn leniency through meritorious cooperation.

The tech unit cracked the passwords on the two phones with ease.

Han Bin examined both devices himself. He first looked at He Shirui’s phone and found a video taken on a yacht. Besides He Shirui, Luo Xinghua was also in it, and He Shirui looked very happy at the time.

Although the video could not prove that Luo Xinghua had killed He Shirui, it at least showed that the two of them had indeed been on the yacht, which counted as indirect evidence.

Han Bin then opened the other phone. Judging from the pictures in it, he inferred that it was very likely Tang Yu’s phone. After a careful search, he found an audio recording of a call.

At the start of the recording came the sound of waves, followed by Tang Yu’s voice. “Hello, Shirui. Are you having fun on the yacht?”

As soon as Tang Yu finished speaking, a man and a woman could be heard arguing.

“Luo Xinghua, let go of me. What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Shirui, what do you think I’m trying to do? Surely you know how I feel about you.”

“Xinghua, I know you’re good to me, but don’t you think this is moving too fast?”

“If two people like each other, that’s enough. Why think about so much?”

“I just broke up with my boyfriend. I need some time to move on.”

“Boyfriend, huh? Don’t tell me you still can’t forget Mao Yiran.”

“How do you know his name is Mao Yiran?”

“I also know he came to Qindao, right?”

“You… Tang Yu told you that?”

“Don’t worry about who told me. Just answer me: are you choosing Mao Yiran, or are you choosing me?”

“Xinghua, listen to me. I know you’re good to me, but after all these years together, we had even gotten to the point of talking about marriage. It isn’t something I can just set aside.” He Shirui was crying.

“Then what am I? What about all the things I’ve done for you?”

“I remember it all. I know you’re a good person, and I’ve always thought of you as a friend, but I…”

“Enough. Are you giving me the good-guy speech? If you don’t like me, why come out alone with me?” Luo Xinghua demanded.

“I’ve never even been on a yacht before. I just wanted to see what it was like. I…” He Shirui was crying again.

“Stop crying!” Luo Xinghua’s voice had turned impatient. “I’ll ask you one more time: Mao Yiran, or me?”

“Don’t force me. I haven’t decided yet. Give me some time, okay?”

“That again? Are you messing with me on purpose?” Luo Xinghua said angrily.

“I’m not messing with you…” He Shirui was just about to explain when she suddenly cried out in panic, “Let go of me! You can’t do this. I already called…!”

Luo Xinghua seemed not to give her the chance to finish. The two of them struggled together.

“Ow, you vile woman, you bit me!” Luo Xinghua screamed in pain, and then came a loud splash.

“Help me!” He Shirui cried out.

“Spare me.” Luo Xinghua spat. “Once I shoved you in, I never intended to save you.”

“Help… I can’t swim…”

“He Shirui, you deserve it!”

As though trying to steel himself, Luo Xinghua said, “This is the sea. Screaming won’t help. No one can save you.”

“I’m going to call Tang…” He Shirui’s voice came in broken fragments, already swallowed by the roar of the waves.

…

After hearing the recording, everyone in Team Two sucked in a cold breath.

After a brief silence, Zeng Ping said, “This should be the call He Shirui made to Tang Yu before she died, and Tang Yu recorded the conversation.”

“From the recording, it sounds like just before she died, He Shirui tried to warn Luo Xinghua that she had called Tang Yu. It’s a pity the accident happened too suddenly. Tang Yu was shoved into the sea, and with the waves so rough, there was no chance for her to speak properly,” Li Hui sighed.

“No wonder Luo Xinghua went to so much trouble to have someone steal the phones back. What’s in there could cost him his life,” Zhao Ming said.

“These two phones were originally in Tang Yu and Xiang Hongbo’s hands. That five hundred thousand yuan should have been extorted from Luo Xinghua by the two of them,” Zeng Ping analyzed.

“With the evidence in that recording, can we convict Luo Xinghua?” Zhao Ming asked.

Han Bin set the phone on the table. “We’re still missing one supporting piece of evidence.”

“What evidence?”

“A bite mark.”

Zeng Ping stood up. “No time to waste. Move in and arrest him now. Once Luo Xinghua’s injuries have healed, we’ll lose a crucial piece of evidence.”

“If we arrest Luo Xinghua, what about Xiang Hongbo and Tang Yu?” Li Hui worried that they might alert the enemy.

Zeng Ping hesitated for a moment, then his expression hardened. “Bring them all back at once.”