Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 108 The Army of Justice 10
The criminal investigation team arrived at a residential area on Jiefang South Road and caught Qu He and a man in his thirties red-handed in a room.

The two seemed surprised to be discovered and panicked, retreating and shrinking into a corner, with Qu He even lowering her head to cover her face.

As soon as Tan Jia entered, she stared at the man, comparing him to "her" in her dream. Although she didn't know if his face looked like that, his tall and thin figure, his subconscious avoidance of gaze, and his cowardly demeanor all fit the profile of the murderer in her dream.

He's a fool who would kill someone in a fit of extreme tension and panic, making his own situation even worse.

Zheng Yan had someone pull the two of them apart, and he also stared intently at the man.

The hair is dark brown, and it's not immediately clear whether there are any scratches on the body.

He gave Tan Ming a look, signaling someone to immediately check the shoe cabinet by the door.

Then she turned to Qu He, whose eyes, red from crying for her son, were still swollen, and whose expression was tense and uneasy.

"Ms. Qu, it seems you lied during the previous interrogation. Didn't you say you didn't know who the suspect was? Why did you leave your husband and sneak here to see this person? Who is he to you?"

Qu He hesitated, unable to speak.

"Can't tell? Then let your husband identify him, or let Jin Xiangyuan come. He probably really wants to know who killed his mother and son. Your son is underground, and he probably wants to know too."

Mentioning the tragic death of Jin Zixuan inevitably brings to mind the horrific corpse seen just two hours earlier, covered in slash marks—something parents would find absolutely unbearable.

Qu He was consumed by pain, turning to look at the man opposite her with a distorted expression.

"It's him, it's him! I told him what I bought for the child, that Jin Xiangyuan made money, and he even went to the Jin family... Why did you do this? That's my son too!"

The other person avoided her gaze, lowered their head, and remained silent.

But now he doesn't need to say anything; what Qu He has told them is enough for them to understand the matter.

It turns out this was her affair partner, named Zhao Qingxiang.

Zhao Qingxiang was originally a friend of Jin Xiangyuan. Three or four months ago, Qu He met him when she visited the children at the Jin family home. Not long after, they started dating and would meet here every few days.

Qu He offered many explanations to cover up the immorality of her infidelity, saying that although she had been loving with all three of her husbands, she only knew what it felt like to be in love after meeting Zhao Qingxiang, and that they had a spiritual connection.

That's why, besides their passion, they also discuss life, or in short, they complain about life together.

For example, Qu He would complain to him about Jin Xiangyuan's lack of ambition and incompetence, call Jin Da Niang an old hag, talk about how well she can provide her son with a comfortable life now, and talk about why Jin Xiangyuan didn't work hard when they were together a few years ago, when he was making a lot of money from his steamed bun shop...

Although she had flaunted her money and valuable jewelry to many people, she only spoke about it in such detail to Zhao Qingxiang. Furthermore, she knew that Zhao Qingxiang was the only one in Jin Xiangyuan's family who had a lot of cash.

After she finished speaking, she cried and said, "I didn't tell the truth at the police station because I wanted to get to the bottom of things with him. I remembered that I had only told him these things, but I didn't believe he would really do these things. He has no grudge against the Jin family, and he even took my son out to play. But as soon as I walked in the door, I realized something was wrong with him..."

"His expression was so obvious that he was startled when I opened the door. He was so agitated. When I asked him, he couldn't answer at all. He just knelt down in front of me and kept saying sorry and that he didn't mean it."

Zheng Yan asked her, "Do you know why he stole things?"

Qu He shook her head blankly: "Maybe, they want to help me get revenge?"

"You really think you two are soulmates in true love? Do you know he's a habitual thief? He's committed eleven thefts in three years, all targeting vulnerable groups like the elderly and children. You think he's a loyal lover, but he thinks you're a golden informant delivered right to his door."

Qu He was incredulous. Tan Jia watched her expression and body language. Putting everything else aside, her pain and confusion were very real, as if her mind was being disrupted by her son's death.

Just like when Jin Xiangyuan saw that pool of blood on the day of the incident.

"Captain Zheng," Tan Ming shook his head at them after searching the shoe cabinet, "didn't find it."

Zheng Yan looked again at Zhao Qingxiang, who was standing silently in the corner with his head down, wearing slippers.

The shoes with the shoe print weren't in the shoe cabinet, and they weren't being worn either. Where could they have gone? Were they thrown away? Or burned?

He asked directly, "Zhao Qingxiang, you should know why we've come to your door. Between 3 and 4 a.m. yesterday, you broke into Jin Xiangyuan's home, specifically apartment 302 in building 3 of Xiangfu Community. You were caught by the elderly and children who were home alone, so you grabbed a kitchen knife and hacked them to death. Afterward, you fled with cash and jewelry worth 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. By comparing your silhouette with the surveillance footage, we also discovered that you had committed eleven other thefts before."

Zhao Qingxiang moved his lips, as if he wanted to refute.

“Don’t even think about making excuses,” Zheng Yan said preemptively. “We found your hair at the scene, tested your DNA, and there was your shoe print at the scene. One of the victims left scratch marks on you, which is enough to confirm your identity. Not to mention Qu He’s testimony; she identified you as the murderer.”

When the scratches were mentioned, he instinctively shrank his neck. Xiao Chen walked over and lifted his collar to take a look.

"What a coincidence, there really are scratches."

There was truly no way to defend himself. Zhao Qingxiang breathed his last, and his head drooped even lower.

Zheng Yan continued, "What about the clothes and shoes stained with blood?"

He didn't speak, probably because he felt that since the DNA was already there, it didn't matter whether he acknowledged it or not.

But the police need these things as evidence.

Xiao Chen led his team to search the entire house, using ultraviolet flashlights to detect the blood-stained shoes and clothes, but they couldn't find any. However, they did find some very faint marks on the bathroom floor, as well as burn marks.

I guess they burned the things.

“And headlamps,” Tan Jia suddenly said, “those things aren’t easy to burn, are they?”

Holding up his headlamp, Zhao Qingxiang suddenly looked up, his expression one of surprise and uncertainty.

How did you know there were headlamps?

He would only put on his headlamp for a few minutes while stealing, and would immediately take it off and put it in his bag before entering and after leaving. The surveillance cameras could never capture it, and so far, only the two dead men have discovered this detail.

Tan Jiafeng casually shifted his gaze, as if this secret was very easy to investigate, common knowledge in the police station, and nothing to be surprised about.

Zheng Yan calmly replied, "You committed twelve crimes, leaving behind more clues than you can imagine. You should just confess honestly."

Actually, there was no need to explain. Zhao Qingxiang never thought anyone would discover the headlamp, so he didn't hide it very well and just casually put it in a drawer.

In less than five minutes, the item was placed in front of him, and when the ultraviolet light shone on it, large areas of it reflected fluorescence.

There was no room for argument now. Zheng Yan questioned, "Look, this is the evidence. You stole things, but to avoid being recognized, you brutally murdered an elderly person and a child—two lives! How much were the stolen goods worth? Do you think tens of thousands of yuan can buy you out of the death penalty? Where are the goods? Hand them over and return them to their rightful owner!"

(End of this chapter)