Chapter 61: Chapter 22: Refusal to Acknowledge (Please Collect and Vote for Monthly Tickets)
Luo Fei and his team, with Yang Cheng’s full confession, finally got Zhou Zhi, who had been denying any knowledge, to confess as well.
It was already eight o’clock in the evening.
Zhao Donglai finished interrogating Zhou Zhi and just walked out of the interrogation room.
He immediately called Yang Su, instructing her to arrest Zeng Tianming immediately.
All clues pointed to Zeng Tianming being undeniably involved in Zeng Xiaoguang’s drowning case.
Yang Su and Zhong Jun had been surveilling Zeng Tianming all day. Upon receiving Zhao Donglai’s call, they arrested Zeng Tianming immediately.
At eight thirty in the evening, Yang Su and Zhong Jun brought Zeng Tianming back to the criminal investigation team.
Right away, Zhao Donglai and Yang Su interrogated Zeng Tianming.
In the interrogation room, Zeng Tianming sat on the chair. Under the cold, expressionless gazes of Zhao Donglai and Yang Su, Zeng Tianming appeared very angry.
Outside the interrogation room, apart from members of the criminal investigation team, there was a special individual, Wang Wenying.
Wang Wenying had arrived at the criminal investigation team not long after Yang Su and their team, persistently begging to watch Zeng Tianming’s interrogation process.
Zhao Donglai initially refused her, but Wang Wenying was too persistent. In the end, with no other option, he allowed her to observe, under the condition that she could control her emotions and not act out.
Wang Wenying appeared pale, and in the short two days since they’d last seen her, she had grown visibly thinner. Luo Fei noticed that Wang Wenying’s entire body was trembling slightly.
Anyone facing such a situation would be overwhelmed; her son had just died not long ago, and now her husband was implicated in their son’s death.
In the interrogation room
"Zeng Tianming, you should understand why we brought you here. There’s a saying, ’What you do, Heaven sees.’ Self-inflicted misfortune is hard to survive. I’m asking you now, just answer me," Zhao Donglai said coldly as he looked at the person who appeared respectable in front of him.
Then Zhao Donglai directly asked: "Where were you last Saturday? What did you do?"
"I’ve already told you all this before. What are you doing? Interrogating me? What have I done? Do you actually suspect I killed Xiaoguang? You police are really brainless, aren’t you? Do you think a father would kill his own son?" Zeng Tianming’s expression was both angry and appeared exasperated at the police’s actions.
"There’s no need to say so much. Just answer my question. Answer me, where were you last Saturday? What did you do?" Zhao Donglai asked coldly.
"You police have such bad memories? Fine, I’ll say it again: last Saturday I went to the city, left Ningjiang at nine in the morning, returned from the city at four in the afternoon, and was back in Ningjiang by six in the evening. Is that answer satisfactory?" Zeng Tianming replied with a look of exasperation.
Next to him, Yang Su, who was taking notes and witnessing Zeng Tianming’s arrogant attitude, was beyond angry due to his fiery temper and shouted, "Zeng Tianming! This is the police station, not your home. Behave yourself."
Zhao Donglai spoke coldly, "You’re lying. You said you returned from the city at four, but according to surveillance footage from Yunnv Street, you were there at three twenty last Saturday."
"Impossible, you must be mistaken. I came back from the city at four last Saturday and didn’t return to Ningjiang until six." Zeng Tianming rebutted.
"Mistaken? Who are you trying to fool? Isn’t xxxxxxxx your license plate? Check out this surveillance footage." Yang Su, beside him, presented the prepared surveillance footage to Zeng Tianming.
Zeng Tianming initially thought the police were bluffing, but hadn’t expected them to have actual surveillance footage.
"Oh, I remember now, I got the times confused. The time I returned from the city at four was a different occurrence," Zeng Tianming quickly explained.
"Really? Then explain to us why you were at Yunnv Street at three forty last Saturday, but didn’t return to Ningjiang until six. It only takes twenty minutes from Yunnv Street to Ningjiang. What were you doing for the remaining two hours?" Zhao Donglai asked coldly.
"I ran into a friend on the way back, someone I hadn’t seen in a long time, so we chatted for a bit. I didn’t expect it to be over two hours." Zeng Tianming hastily explained.
Zhao Donglai: "Which friend?"
Zeng Tianming: ".....A very close friend."
Zhao Donglai: "Male or female?"
Zeng Tianming: "Male"
Zhao Donglai: "What’s his name?"
Zeng Tianming: "Uh uh uh....."
Zhao Donglai: "What? You can’t remember the name of a close friend?"
Zeng Tianming: "I couldn’t think of it at the moment, oh, his name is Wang Tao."
Zhao Donglai: "Where does he live?"
Zeng Tianming: "I don’t know? We haven’t been in touch for a long time. Last time was an accidental meeting."
Zhao Donglai: "How did you meet? Where did you meet?"
Zeng Tianming: "Uh..... We met in Xiao...."
Finally, Zeng Tianming got stuck, unable to fabricate further.
"Enough, Zeng Tianming, stop making up stories; your storytelling skills are rubbish." Zhao Donglai interrupted Zeng Tianming, who was in the middle of fabricating a story.
Then Zhao Donglai said coldly, "You killed your own son, Zeng Xiaoguang, last Saturday, and deliberately created an alibi."
"I killed Xiaoguang? Why would I kill Xiaoguang? You said he was my son by blood; what reason do I have to kill my own son?" Zeng Tianming demanded.
"For money. We have arrested Zhou Zhi and Yang Cheng; they have confessed everything. You were dating Zhou Zhi, but little did you know it was a trap set by Zhou Zhi and Yang Cheng. They blackmailed you for fifty thousand using a video of you and Zhou Zhi in bed, threatening to send it to your family and friends if you didn’t pay."
"You were worried they might actually send the video to those around you, so you agreed to pay fifty thousand. But you didn’t have that much money and didn’t dare ask your wife. Then you remembered the million yuan insurance policy you took out on your child last year. Dark thoughts entered your mind, and you planned this heinous murder, personally killing your own son. That was your motive for murdering your own son." Zhao Donglai said coldly.
Zeng Tianming’s face changed, shifting from one emotion to another. Then he shouted at Zhao Donglai, "Yes, I admit, I was set up by those two lowlifes, Yang Cheng and Zhou Zhi, and they did blackmail me for fifty thousand, but I never intended to give them the money, nor did I ever think of killing my own son. So, regarding all the claims that I killed Xiaoguang, they are all your speculations, right? Do you have any evidence to prove I killed Xiaoguang?"
Zhao Donglai’s expression instantly darkened; he hadn’t expected Zeng Tianming to be this stubborn. For the average person, their defenses would have crumbled, and they’d have confessed by now.