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

Chapter 353 Ten Years of Stealing an Aircraft Carrier

“Oh, twelve years.” Zhou Yi asked as if he had just realized something. “Then it seems that Accountant Fan earned quite a lot in the first fourteen years. He started earning 10,000 yuan a year in the 70s and 80s and was able to save it all without eating or drinking. He became a 10,000-yuan household every year.”

Fan Zhongliang was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe, because what Zhou Yi said was something he really couldn't explain.

Zhou Yi, who had been smiling, suddenly changed his expression and asked in a gloomy tone, "Or is it that Accountant Fan works as an accountant for Zheng Guangming during the day and commits murder and arson for him at night, which is why he has made so much money?"

Startled by his gaze, Fan Zhongliang cried out, "This...this money was stolen..."

"Stolen? Whose was it stolen from? How was it stolen?"

“It’s from the company… I’ve been secretly stealing money from the company, and I’ve stolen about 200,000 yuan over time. I didn’t kill or set fires for Zheng Guangming; I admit I’ve been stealing money from his company,” Fan Zhongliang said impatiently.

Why did you run today?

“I heard that the police came to the company yesterday and took away Mr. Zheng. This morning, someone said that they couldn’t contact the boss’s wife. Everyone in the company is in a panic. Then I heard that the police came to investigate again. I don’t know what happened to Mr. Zheng’s family, but I’m afraid that when you police investigate, you will find out that I stole money from the company. So I thought I would leave and hide for a while.”

Zhou Yi nodded. It sounded reasonable, but in reality, it was completely unreasonable.

An accountant stealing money from the company inevitably involves many accounting issues, which is quite different from stealing a gold bar.

Gold bars are physical objects; if they're missing, they're missing. Whoever finds them in their pocket is naturally the suspect—the logic is simple.

However, a company's finances and taxes are quite complicated, especially when the boss and his family are in trouble. No matter how guilty they feel, they can't just run away immediately. Checking the accounts is time-consuming, laborious, and requires expertise.

His statement was a complete attempt to downplay the issue, a deceptive attempt to evade responsibility and get away with it.

Zhou Yi asked Xia Yu to bring over everything from Fan Zhongliang's bag.

Soon, 80,000 yuan in cash, two deposit slips, and a passbook were placed on the table.

Zhou Yi picked up the passbook and flipped through it, then looked at the deposit slips and the cash, and said coldly, "Fan Zhongliang, you're not being honest."

"Officer, I didn't..."

Zhou Yi interrupted directly, saying, "Do you know what the consequences will be if you resist to the bitter end?"

"80,000 yuan in cash, a 50,000 yuan fixed deposit certificate, a 60,000 yuan fixed deposit certificate, and more than 70,000 yuan in current accounts in your passbook. Judging from the records in your passbook, it was always cash that was deposited."

Zhou Yi flipped through the passbook and said, "Five thousand, ten thousand, eight thousand, six thousand, all deposited in round numbers. Wow, there are withdrawal records here too."

"On February 13th of this year, I withdrew 8,000 yuan."

"Withdraw 20,000 on March 17th."

“Four…” Zhou Yi looked up at him, “From April 11th to the 27th, which was yesterday, he withdrew a total of 80,000 yuan through multiple small withdrawals.”

Zhou Yi suddenly felt something was off about the timing of the withdrawal.

The timing of Fan Zhongliang's first two cash withdrawals was quite subtle.

February 13th, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, is exactly the time when Fu Daqing and Li Youqiang arrived in Anyuan.

As for why it's eight thousand instead of ten thousand, Fan Zhongliang himself has to explain that.

The withdrawal of 20,000 yuan on March 17th coincides with the time of Zheng Guangming's death.

This 20,000 yuan should be the final payment to the two of them.

Strangely, starting from April 11th, he suddenly began making small, frequent cash withdrawals, accumulating a total of 80,000 yuan by yesterday – the 80,000 yuan in cash currently bundled together with rubber bands.

A sudden cash withdrawal is highly likely a preparation for an escape.

As for why he made multiple small cash withdrawals, it's most likely because he was afraid of being monitored by the bank. He's an experienced accountant, so he's definitely very wary of these things.

The question is, what prompted him to do this?

Both the suburban well and Xiaoqiushan Park are relatively remote places, so the discovery of the body did not leak out, and the public was unaware of it.

Moreover, the timing doesn't match.

Zheng Tianlan was taken away yesterday.

What was the key point about the timing of Fan Zhongliang withdrawing the money?
"Fan Zhongliang, come here and explain to me where all this cash came from?" Zhou Yi asked, holding up the passbook in his hand.

"I...I stole it..." Fan Zhongliang said guiltily.

"You mean that, starting from the first cash deposit four years ago, not counting those two fixed deposit certificates, all of this 100,000 yuan was stolen from Guangming Trading Company by you taking advantage of your position?"

Fan Zhongliang remained silent.

Zhou Yi slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Answer me! Yes or no!"

Fan Zhongliang trembled. “Yes, yes, I stole it from the company. I noticed that General Manager Zheng hadn’t been to the company for a long time. Once, there was something that General Manager Zheng needed to sign. Young General Manager Zheng said he could just sign it. I told him that it had to be signed by the company’s legal representative. Then Young General Manager Zheng seemed to be in a difficult position. I suspected that something had happened to General Manager Zheng and that I was afraid that it would implicate me sooner or later, so I started taking money.”

“Oh, because banks require separate applications and records for large cash withdrawals, I was afraid it would attract your attention later, so I withdrew the cash in small amounts multiple times,” Fan Zhongliang added.

After saying that, he immediately lowered his head.

But after a while, he noticed that the police officer opposite him didn't react at all, so he couldn't help but secretly look up.

He was startled because Zhou Yi was staring intently at him.

So he quickly lowered his head again.

After just this one action, Zhou Yi was certain that he was lying.

Of all these seemingly logical statements, only the last sentence is true: the separate withdrawals were to avoid attracting attention. "Fan Zhongliang, do you think the police don't understand financial matters?"

"I……"

"You started saving money four years ago, which means you have to steal an average of 60,000 to 70,000 yuan from Zheng Guangming's company every year, and at least 5,000 yuan every month, which is ten times the salary Zheng Guangming pays you!"

Zhou Yi sneered, "Not bad, Accountant Fan, you're a peerless master thief. The country is burying talent. If we send you to the other side of the ocean, you can steal missiles in three years, fighter jets in five years, and a whole aircraft carrier battle group in ten years."

Xia Yu, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

But Fan Zhongliang was not happy, because he knew that the lie was quite clumsy. He was just hoping that he might actually get away with it.

This is also a true reflection of the psychology of many liars. Don't think that all criminals are highly intelligent people; many times they are just lying because they are afraid to admit it.

Just like a student reading a novel during class, the teacher on the podium can see it all clearly, but just doesn't bother to care.

"Fan Zhongliang, since you won't tell the truth, then it's my turn to ask. After all, I've already given you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. Don't blame me later."

"Wait...wait...what do you want to ask?"

Zhou Yi was taken aback, thinking to himself, "Do I need to ask you something beforehand?"
Just as he was about to speak, Fan Zhongliang said, "Why don't you let me think about it some more?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi knew that he had lost his composure, realized that the previous lies were too absurd, and was weighing whether or not to tell the truth.

Okay, then I'll give you a little push.

“Sure,” Zhou Yi readily agreed. “I’ll give you five seconds.”

"Five seconds? That's way too short." Fan Zhongliang was stunned.

"five."

"No, it's starting already?"

"Four."

"Wait, wait, I'm not ready yet."

"three."

"No, this is also..."

"two!"

"and many more……"

"one!"

"I said!"

Zhou Yi completely ignored Fan Zhongliang and started counting down on his own.

He knew he had to control the pace of the game and not give the other side any chance to explain.

Zhou Yi slammed his hand on the table and said, "Fine, then I'll give you one last chance to confess."

Fan Zhongliang nodded repeatedly, knowing what it meant to voluntarily confess.

But things aren't that easy. Applying maximum pressure is like slapping someone in the face, while giving the other party a chance to confess is like giving them a sweet treat. But even if you get the sweet treat, you have to prevent them from getting cocky again.

So Zhou Yi added, "Let me remind you of a few keywords, think about them carefully. Fu Daqing, Yang Jian, crematorium."

These words made Fan Zhongliang's eyelids twitch a few times, because Zhou Yiming was clearly telling him that they already knew what he had done, and lying was pointless.

This is the deterrent effect of the statement during interrogation: "What you say yourself and what we say are completely different."

Almost no criminal suspect is unafraid of the law. People assume they are not, but that's only because the guillotine of the law hasn't fallen on their heads yet.

In his previous life, Zhou Yi had seen many serious criminals. When the court announced their death sentences, some cried in fear, some had their legs go weak and couldn't walk, and some even wet their pants.

Even Huang Jinbao, who murdered Chen Yan and other innocent victims, was extremely vicious and boasted when arrested that he was not afraid of death and would be a hero again in eighteen years, finally broke down in tears of fear and regretted his actions when the final verdict was handed down, upholding the death sentence from the first instance.

But what good is that? It's all too late. The victims will never come back. The verdict is just an explanation for them.

Therefore, Fan Zhongliang was no exception. The reason he wanted to think about it again and try to get the chance to "confess" was for the sake of the subsequent sentencing.

Perhaps he still had some hope before, but when Zhou Yi uttered those words, he knew that the situation was hopeless.

He's not going to leave the police station today. All he can do now is try to avoid being executed, whether it's a suspended death sentence or life imprisonment.

He wanted to live, because that was exactly what he did all this in the first place.

“Officer, I confess, I admit it. I hired Fu Daqing to kill Zheng Guangming,” Fan Zhongliang said dejectedly.

"But you can't blame me. If I hadn't killed him, he would have killed me sooner or later."

　First, I must admit my mistake: this case has unknowingly become too long. I laid out too much information at the beginning, and when I tried to rewind, I realized that each piece of information needed to be explained and processed, which made it even longer. This is a bad habit of mine, and I need to adjust it in the future. Except for major cases, I should write more concisely.

　　Now that Fan Zhongliang's case is over, we just need to finish up the details. It should take another four or five days. Anyway, we'll release four chapters on the last day, with at least 12,000 words.

　　Then came the grand project.

　　Thank you for your understanding, readers. I'm learning as I go.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)