Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 194 The Murderer Tan Jia 13
Once the thoughts started, they couldn't be controlled. Tan Jia called Zheng Yan and directly inquired about the filing information of the money laundering case.

“I think the murderer must be someone we’ve dealt with before, someone we might know. He likes to take photos secretly, and he might have some skills in surveillance. After killing someone at the guesthouse and staging the scene, he was able to tamper with the surveillance footage in time. He might be the same person who installed the forest surveillance cameras in the internet celebrity’s death case to film the hotel room, and he might also be the one who actually sent me the postcard.”

Her right to communicate is not currently restricted, and the issues discussed are related to the case, so she is not afraid of being monitored and can ask questions openly and honestly.

Zheng Yan also discussed the matter with her under pressure: "Do you think the murderer personally modified the security camera footage at the guesthouse? What if it was someone from the guesthouse? What if the murderer and the person who tampered with the security camera were both people he directed?"

"If it's someone from the guesthouse, let the investigation team test them on-site to see if they have the capability. Besides, they shouldn't be people being manipulated by the murderer. I suspect he's using leverage against higher-ranking individuals. Even if they were manipulated, they wouldn't actually go to the scene to do it. Furthermore, setting up a scene to match the murderer's ideas isn't easy. The best way is for the murderer to do it himself."

Zheng Yan was reluctantly persuaded, and the phone call couldn't last long. He didn't dwell on the details and went straight to the point: "There were more than a dozen people in the money laundering gang that were taken away. We didn't find anyone particularly skilled in surveillance technology, but there were quite a few skilled in money transfer technology. Do you have anyone you suspect?"

"Relatives of the money laundering gang leader. Wife, mistress, son, brother, all are possible, just people who appear to have had no involvement in the original money laundering case."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Zheng Yan said in a low voice, "He has a son."

……

Zhou Qi'an, the 23-year-old son of Zhou Yuan, the mastermind behind the money laundering case, is Zhou Yuan's child with his ex-wife. He is rarely around, and the father and son only have the opportunity to live together for a period of time during longer holidays.

He wasn't arrested along with the money laundering gang for two reasons: first, he had little contact with Zhou Yuan, and none of the gang members mentioned him in their testimonies; second, he was a person with a leg disability.

Tan Jia obtained several photos of Zhou Qi'an from the private investigator hired by Lin Zhiyue.

The young man in the photo is of medium build, thin, and wears glasses. His legs are covered by his pants, so there is no indication that he has a leg disability.

However, according to the information found, his lower leg was amputated due to a car accident when he was a child, and he was in a wheelchair for many years until his father, Zhou Yuan, had some money and fitted him with a prosthesis, which allowed him to stand up and take a few steps.

Lin Zhiyue looked at her profile as she pondered deeply and asked, "Do you think it's him?"

“The probability is quite high,” Tan Jia said without looking up, continuing to look at the photo. “Psychologically speaking, he suffered from disability during the most sensitive period of his life, and may have also suffered from the disdain and isolation of those around him. The probability of him being psychologically abnormal is very high.”

“Looking at Zhou Yuan’s relationship with him, no one mentioned him during the money laundering investigation. It seems that Zhou Yuan had a child with his new wife and a child that his mistress might have, so they ignored him. But I think their relationship is actually very good. Maybe Zhou Yuan feels guilty towards him, or maybe he has some ability to help Zhou Yuan... Look, the investigation report says that he attends one of the top private universities, with tuition fees as high as tens of thousands of yuan a year, which his mother’s financial situation after the divorce simply cannot support.”

Lin Zhiyue: "But his major was tourism management, not cybersecurity, nor computer science or software engineering."

"That's why I said it's only a high probability. Perhaps after discovering Zhou Yuan's crimes, he realized the benefits of secretly filming and started pursuing that path. But there's something strange—"

Tan Jia looked up from the photo, pondering carefully: "He and Zhou Yuan secretly installed cameras in the private room of the party to film the money-power and sex transactions of certain bigwigs, using them as leverage. Why weren't they silenced? Even the most skilled paparazzi are hunted down, let alone those who like to use leverage to blackmail others. Were those incriminating evidence so serious that no one dared to act rashly? That shouldn't be the case." Lin Zhiyue: "Maybe those people didn't even know he was the one who filmed the evidence?"

“It’s possible,” she nodded slowly, then added, “or perhaps, like Zhou Yuan, he’s also working with those people, and someone is protecting him.”

The discussion was almost over, and it was time for dinner.

The Lin family's housekeeper brought in a sumptuous meal, which was placed on the small table beside the hospital bed. Lin Zhiyue served her food and soup, and threw the stack of ugly photos of Zhou Qi'an far away.

Tan Jia didn't pay attention, took a bite of food, and said, "We need to get the investigation team to trace it back to him, and see how the murderer and the people he was driving will react when he is investigated."

This way we can find out if Zhou Qi'an is the murderer, and maybe even discover what they are plotting.

After finishing his meal, Tan Jia thought for a moment and then took the initiative to contact the policewoman in the investigation team.

However, the question wasn't about Zhou Qi'an, but rather about the investigation into the guesthouse staff.

They mentioned before that they had found a suspect, and that annoying Officer Liu was being interrogated. They should have gotten the results by now, right?
The policewoman's name is Wang Zhi. She is the deputy leader of the investigation team. When I received her call, she was still at the crime scene personally collecting evidence.

When Tan Jia asked about the accomplice, he gave a less-than-perfect answer: "The deceased was actually using the original 107 room key, not the guesthouse's master key. The one you have is an extra copy because the previous guest lost their key. But the guesthouse staff forgot to report the lost card as lost and disable its permissions. They claimed that someone found the card and sold it to the deceased."

Tan Jia said sarcastically, "Wow, what a coincidence. The lost room key just happened to be for room 107, I just happened to be checking into room 107, and someone who found the key just happened to patiently wait for a long time until they could use it. This reason can only be believed in one situation—the murderer is a staff member of the guesthouse. You should arrest them all and shoot them."

Officer Wang: "..."

She continued, "Where did the deceased Wen Jinbing's money go? Surely there won't be any results? What if the investigation finds out he donated all the money to do good deeds? And his phone just happened to be broken, so there are no call records, right?"

Officer Wang: "...Do you have any brilliant ideas?"

"I wouldn't call it insightful, but I did provide suspects in my previous statement. I hope you can investigate. With so many leads, surely one of them will lead to a conclusion. Otherwise, people will suspect that your investigation team is just here for research and sightseeing, and oh, and you're also trying to force me to become the murderer to get by."

It was an insult. The criminal investigation team heard her harsh words but pretended not to hear them. Zheng Yan, busy with other cases, didn't even look up and said casually, "Young people may have a bit of a temper, but I believe everyone can understand. Are we finally going to start seriously investigating the murderer? We can provide information."

(End of this chapter)