Zhao Yu noticed that, when he suddenly mentioned that Feng Kuo was the prisoner who was involved in the jailbreak, Lan Shuping could not help but shiver, and had an awkward expression.
“Yes, it is… It is him!” Lan Shuping said, his voice quiet, and his head bowed low.
“Jailbreak?” Li Beini frowned and said, “What do you mean?”
“You did not watch the news?” Liang Huan said, “There were mobile phone alerts reporting this news too. In the middle of last night, a prisoner from the Yun state escaped from prison, and is still at large!”
“But…” Zhang Jingfeng pondered and said, “This sounds complicated. The prisoner involved in the jailbreak was the murderer of the ‘apartment murder case’. Then… What is the connection with Mr. Lan’s turning himself in?”
At this point, everyone turned their attention to Lan Shuping.
“There is no connection!” Lan Shuping swallowed his saliva and said, with his head bowed. “Turning myself in has no connection to his jailbreak! The real murderer is me!”
“Oh my God, this… This does seem complicated… ” Li Beini pressed a few keys on the keyboard and said, “Feng Kuo was sentenced to death, then he was changed to an indefinite imprisonment. As he was talented in carpentry, he was transferred to the prison in the Yun state. With his good behavior, his imprisonment was reduced from an indefinite term to a finite 19 years. Now, after 10 years, there will be 9 more years before he will be released! Why would he want to jailbreak at this time?”
“He was wronged!” Liang Huan pointed to Lan Shuping and said, “Is the real murderer in front of us?”
“I feel…” said Mao Wei. “That is, I mean, let us not make any wild guesses. Let Mr. Lan continue his story.”
Everyone quietened down after this momentary uproar.
“After I committed the murder, I sobered up,” Lan Shuping continued, “I thought that, since I had already murdered someone, I should not let Feng Kuo off so easily! So, I took the murder weapon and snuck into Feng Kuo’s home, then put the knife in his bedroom drawer.”
“Later, after the incident, the first person whom the police suspected was not me!” Lan Shuping said, with a bulging nose and grimly eyes. “When the police found the weapon, it was futile for Feng Kuo to argue. And although the police interrogated me later on, no one suspected me.”
“So… Since someone has already admitted to the crime, why do you have to surrender yourself?” Mao Wei asked. “It cannot be because our Rongyang branch solved the ‘Mianling kidnapping case’, right?”
“No, I was feeling guilty. I felt sorry for Feng Kuo and the dead Liu Jiao!” Lan Shuping said anxiously. “Officers, please quickly convict me!”
“Well!” Mao Wei said, “Convictions are handled by the courts and procuratorates. We only arrest the suspects, provide the evidence, and investigate the truth. Now that you have admitted to the murder, then I need to put you in prison temporarily, and report to the leader. After receiving approval from the leader, the case will then be reopened for investigation again!”
“So… How long will it take?” Lan Shuping looked anxious.
“It is uncertain how long it would take,” Mao Wei said. “Your situation is rather complicated. Anywhere from ten days to a half a month would be considered as fast.”
“Police officer, I am really the murderer!” Lan Shuping pleaded. “I only want you to speed things up, please?”
“Hey!” Suddenly, Zhao Yu, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. He cleared his throat and asked Lan Shuping in a clear, loud voice, “Did you wear a glove, when you murdered with the knife?”
“What?” Lan Shuping was stunned, as he did not expect Zhao Yu to ask this question.
“I am asking you a question! Did you leave any fingerprints on the knife? Say it!” Zhao Yu said, his voice intimidating.
“Yes… With gloves… Hmm… No… No gloves!” Lan Shuping quickly changed his story. “After committing the murder, I removed the fingerprints on the knife, but Liu Jiao’s blood remained on it. The knife appeared in Feng Kuo’s bedroom, so…”
“Tell me more!” Zhao Yu asked again. “You murdered the man with a knife. So, how many times did you stab her, and where did you stab her?”
“Well… This…” Lan Shuping stammered. “My mind was completely blank at the time, and I could not remember anything.”
“In which part of the house did you stab her? Was it at the entrance, or was it inside the house?” Zhao Yu asked again.
“Inside the house, uh… The entrance… Uh… Inside…” After answering a series of questions, Lan Shuping’s answers appeared to be self-contradictory, and he was now on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
“Enough! You denied that you are a troublemaker!” Zhao Yu stretched his back, as he walked toward Lan Shuping. He asked, “Tell us the truth, Mr Lan! Did Feng Kuo kidnap your wife or… Kidnap your child?”
“Ah?”
Everyone was stunned to hear that question.
In particular, Lan Shuping looked at Zhao Yu, baffled and amazed.
A few moments later, Lan Shuping finally fell on his knees and squatted on the floor.
“Feng… Feng Kuo… Will kill my daughter!” Lan Shuping said with tears in his eyes. “I… I cannot call the police!”
Ah?
Everyone was stunned, as they turned to focus on Zhao Yu.
“Don’t do that, don’t do that!” Zhao Yu proudly said. “If you look at me this way, I will become proud!”
“Senior, you… How did you know?” Li Beini asked.
“Simple, simple! Well, a person who turned himself in should be looking depressed and not anxious!” Zhao Yu said steadily. “This Mr Lan looked as if many things were weighing him down, as he was obviously anxious and restless. Does he look like someone who wishes to turn himself in?”
As Zhao Yu spoke, Mao Wei had already unlocked Lan Shuping’s handcuffs.
“Also, coincidentally, he had to turn himself in after Feng Kuo escaped from prison!” Zhao Yu continued. “To relate the two together, it must be that Feng Kuo had threatened him, which is what made him turn himself in.”
“Senior, come and take a look…” pointing to the file in the computer, Li Beini said. “Liu Jiao died near the entrance of the house. She was stabbed four times on the chest, then fell on her back. This means that the murderer must have murdered her the moment he stepped into the house! And Mr. Lan said that he had a quarrel with Liu Jiao first, before he murdered her, which was obviously not the case!”
“Besides, Feng Kuo’s fingerprints were found on the knife’s handle! And after verification, the knife did come from Feng Kuo’s home. So, Mr. Lan got it all wrong!”
“Sher… Sherlock!” At this time, Lan Shuping was totally convinced of these truths, and said, “It’s no wonder that the major Mianling kidnapping case was solved! You are truly a Sherlock! But…” Lan Shuping frowned worriedly, as he said, “I cannot reveal that my daughter is now in the hands of Feng Kuo. He said that, if… I do not turn myself in, he will kill my daughter. I… I… I… I beg all of you, take me as the real murderer!”
Speaking of this, Lan Shuping actually knelt down to Zhao Yu.
However, Zhao Yu suddenly frowned and said to himself, “Something seems wrong. Feng Kuo escaped from the prison of the Yun state last night. And yet, he somehow managed to kidnap your daughter this morning? How could he have done that, given the distance and short period of time?”
“Theoretically, it is possible,” Li Beini said. “In order to travel from the Yun state to Qinshan, it takes about three hours. Feng Kuo escaped from the prison at 3 a.m., and traveled throughout the night to Qinshan to kidnap Mr. Lan’s daughter. Why wouldn’t it be possible?”
“Ha ha… It is easy to say, but to do it… Would not be so easy!” Zhao Yu shook his head and said, “I bet that even Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible could not accomplish such an earth-shattering feat! Let’s see! This might not turn out as simple as we have first thought…”
“Mr. Lan, this is a kidnapping case!” Mao Wei suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter, and hurried over to pull Mr. Lan up to his feet, saying, “You cannot wait any longer, you have to… Call the police!”