Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 332 Interrogation of Zheng Tianlan

"Name!"

Zhou Yi questioned loudly.

Sitting opposite Zheng Tianlan, he slumped down like a Shar Pei.

“Zheng... Zheng Tianlan…”

"age!"

……

Zhou Yi's tone was unusually stern, which surprised the police officer in charge of taking notes during the interrogation.

Because he didn't know who Zhou Yi was, he only knew that he had been transferred from another place to assist in the case.

After asking for basic information, Zhou Yi paused for a while, probably for two or three minutes.

He didn't ask any questions, but just stared sharply at Zheng Tianlan.

Zheng Tianlan felt guilty and lowered his head, but after waiting for a long time without any movement, he peeked out and found that Zhou Yi was still staring at him, which made him tremble with fear.

"Do you know why we arrested you?" Zhou Yi asked.

Zheng Tianlan hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"You're putting up a stubborn resistance, aren't you? You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, huh? Fine, then let me ask you, where is Zheng Guangming right now?"

Zheng Tianlan lowered her head and said, "She...she went abroad for an inspection tour."

"Look up at me!" Zhou Yi shouted.

Zheng Tianlan raised her head, her gaze constantly shifting away.

"Say it again, where did Zheng Guangming go?"

"Go...go abroad..."

When did you leave the country?

"March 16th... March 16th."

"Which flight did you take when you left the country on March 16th?"

"I...I don't remember the flight number."

"You don't remember? Don't look down, look at me when you speak!"

"Okay...okay." Zheng Tianlan raised her head again amidst Zhou Yi's reprimand.

"Is it a flight on March 16th?"

Zheng Tianlan nodded and said yes.

Zhou Yi sneered, "Does Anyuan even have an airport?"

Zheng Tianlan was taken aback, then shook her head.

"If there's no airport, how did he get on the plane?"

“He…he went to the provincial capital to take the train,” Zheng Tianlan quickly explained.

"The provincial capital? Then tell me, how do I get to the provincial capital from Anyuan?"

"Driving...or taking the train?"

"How long will it take to drive?" Zhou Yi didn't give the other person any chance to breathe, asking one question after another.

Zheng Tianlan shook her head: "No... I don't know, I've never driven one."

"What about taking the train? You've never ridden a train before?"

Zheng Tianlan shook his head again; it seemed he was indeed a person who was not up to any great task.

"Let me tell you, it takes six hours and sixteen minutes to get from Anyuan to your provincial capital by train. If you drive on the highway, it won't take any less time. And let me tell you something else: there isn't a single flight from your provincial capital's airport to any country."

Zhou Yi pointed at him and said, "So tell me, how did Zheng Guangming manage to fly abroad?"

Upon hearing Zhou Yi's words, Zheng Tianlan was shocked, clearly unaware of what Zhou Yi was talking about.

From his reaction, Zhou Yi sensed some other possibilities.

Under normal circumstances, given his family background, it would be easy for him to live a life of debauchery and extravagance.

If he wanted to, with his family's wealth, he shouldn't be called Zheng Tianlan in Anyuan, but rather Young Master Zheng.

Anyuan's local economy was not good. It used to rely mainly on melon cultivation, but later it developed animal husbandry, which became the main pillar of Anyuan's economic development.

The government's attitude clearly shows that this is the general trend for Anyuan's development.

Perhaps An Yuan also has some shady dealings that Zhou Yi is unaware of, but at least on the surface, Zheng Guangming is considered a wealthy man.

Zheng Tianlan can do whatever he wants in Anyuan, especially since he inherited Zheng Guangming's carefree genes.

But now it seems that this guy has probably never even been to the provincial capital, let alone abroad.

Thinking about it carefully, I think his personality is probably like his mother's—somewhat timid and cowardly. Plus, his family's wealth came relatively late in life, so he probably doesn't have much control over the finances and therefore little say in the company.

“I…I might have misremembered…” Zheng Tianlan stammered.

"You're mistaken? Then who saw Zheng Guangming off when he left the villa on Shangtang Road on March 16th?"

Zheng Tianlan seemed to remember something and immediately said, "I... I gave it to him."

"Where did you send them?"

"Train station... train station..." "What time did you leave home? What time did you arrive at the train station?"

Zheng Tianlan frowned, racking her brains as if she were constipated: "They left around 2:00... so it should be... 3:30..."

"Can't you remember how long it takes to drive from Shangtang Road to Anyuan Railway Station?" Zhou Yi sneered.

Zheng Tianlan did not speak.

“Zheng Tianlan, do you realize that from the very first sentence you uttered after we walked into your office, it was riddled with inconsistencies? I'm warning you, you can continue to provide false testimony, no problem, we have plenty of time to play with you, but every lie you tell will ultimately lead to your own downfall during sentencing!”

Zhou Yi tapped the table and said, "Think about your wife, think about your daughter, do you think it's worth it?"

Almost two hours have passed since Zheng Tianlan was brought back, and he has been in a state of high tension, which is extremely exhausting for him.

When Zhou Yi mentioned his wife and children, it was like a needle piercing through his already tense state of mind.

He deflated like a punctured balloon and started sobbing like a wronged little wife.

The police officer in charge of taking the statement was a little confused and looked at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi remained calm, letting him cry as he pleased.

After crying for a while, Zhou Yi got up and went over to him, placing a few tissues in front of him—the kind of tissues you find on the tables in the city bureau's canteen.

The deputy police officer was somewhat surprised. Was it something he happened to have in his pocket, or something he had prepared beforehand?
"Have you thought it through? If you have, let's be frank and talk things out, okay?" Zhou Yi asked gently.

Zheng Tianlan, who was wiping away tears and snot, nodded.

"Where is your father, Zheng Guangming, now?"

With a sob in her voice, Zheng Tianlan said, "I...I don't know."

"Again?" Zhou Yi glared at him angrily.

"No, no, I really didn't know. Huang Yanli told me that my dad was kidnapped by that woman named Bai Xiuxiu."

"Kidnapping?" Zhou Yi was taken aback. How did this kidnapping come up again? "Tell me everything from beginning to end!"

Zheng Tianlan said that on the morning of March 17th, he called his father, Zheng Guangming, because there was something at the company that he needed to confirm, but his mobile phone was switched off and he couldn't get through.

So he called the villa's landline again, but no one answered.

He then called Huang Yanli, but Huang Yanli said she had taken her child back to her parents' home and didn't know Zheng Guangming's whereabouts.

Zheng Tianlan didn't pay much attention that day, assuming that her father had gone out partying again and was drunk or something, since such things had happened before.

It wasn't until the next day, when he still couldn't get in touch with Zheng Guangming, that he realized something was wrong. He went to the villa, only to find no one there.

He drove to Huang Yanli's parents' house and said he wanted to call the police. Only then did Huang Yanli pull him into the study and tell him the "truth".

Huang Yanli said that the woman named Bai Xiuxiu approached Zheng Guangming with ulterior motives. They set a trap, kidnapped Zheng Guangming, and demanded a ransom of 500,000 yuan.

Zheng Tianlan was terrified upon hearing this and immediately picked up the phone to call the police.

But Huang Yanli stopped him and told him it was too late.

Zheng Tianlan was stunned for a long time before she reacted and asked her what she meant by "too late".

Huang Yanli said that Bai Xiuxiu's kidnapping call came the night before last, that is, in the middle of the night on March 16th. The call was made to the home landline, and it was Zheng Guangming's mobile phone.

At first, she didn't realize it was a kidnapping call. She thought it was Bai Xiuxiu calling to provoke and annoy her. After all, she had slapped Bai Xiuxiu twice when she caught them in the act at the company, and she knew her husband hadn't broken off contact with this woman.

So not only did she not take the other person's words seriously, she also insulted them on the phone, even telling them that if they had the guts, they should kill Zheng Guangming right now, then she would have to thank them properly.

She was so terrified when she heard Zheng Guangming's screams on the phone that her mind went blank and she immediately hung up.

Zheng Tianlan said that Huang Yanli's exact words were that she didn't know how much time had passed before she came to her senses and hurriedly dialed Zheng Guangming's number, but it was already unreachable.

She then realized something was wrong; her husband might really have been kidnapped, or even killed.

She was so frightened that she didn't sleep all night. She took a kitchen knife and stayed up all night watching over her sleeping son.

The next day, she immediately took her son back to her parents' home, which is why no one answered when Zheng Tianlan called the villa the following day.

When Zhou Yi heard this, he frowned and asked, "Didn't you ask her why she didn't call the police?"

These words were completely different from what Huang Yanli had told them today.

Moreover, Zhou Yi found it too unbelievable; kidnapping was not such a simple matter.

The question now is whether Zheng Tianlan is lying to the police, or whether Huang Yanli is deceiving Zheng Tianlan.

Zheng Tianlan said aggrievedly, "I did ask. I asked you why you didn't call the police immediately?"

What was her answer?

“She said…she said…” Zheng Tianlan hesitated.

Zhou Yi slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Stop beating around the bush, just say it!"

"She said...it would have been better if my dad had died..."

"why?"

"Because...because she said my dad was having affairs with women everywhere and would eventually have another child to claim a share of the inheritance. And...and he's not good to us either, always saying that all the money in the house is earned by him."

"Is that why?"

"And... my dad... looks down on me, always calls me a good-for-nothing, says my whole family lives off him and uses his money, and he controls what I spend, as if I owe him for the rest of my life!" Zheng Tianlan became more and more agitated as she spoke, and it was clear that these words were a genuine expression of her feelings.

"Even if what you said is true, what does that have to do with not calling the police?" Zhou Yi questioned.

(End of this chapter)