Chapter 81: The Prime Suspect

What Wu Zhiming said was true, and Zhou Jianye acknowledged this. When he had someone summon Wu Zhiming, he had already investigated Wu Zhiming's movements. Between 10 and 12 o'clock, which was around the time of the crime, Wu Zhiming was indeed at the Hilton Hotel in Haixia City. Zhou Jianye's question was merely procedural since Wu Zhiming was a suspect at the moment.

"I discovered something quite peculiar," Zhou Jianye said.

"What is it? Please tell me," Wu Zhiming responded.

"After you left your mother-in-law's house around 8 PM last night, the surrounding surveillance lost track of your car. It wasn't until about 9:30 PM that your car reappeared on surveillance, and then you returned to your company. Around 10 PM, you left your company again. I want to ask, where were you during that one and a half hours?" Zhou Jianye inquired.

"Does this have anything to do with the case you're summoning me for today?" Wu Zhiming asked.

"No, I'm just curious. Under the SkyNet system, it's practically impossible for your car to disappear for over an hour, let alone ten minutes. Upon further investigation, we found that many surveillance cameras along National Road 4399 malfunctioned during that time. Coincidentally, we received a report of a car accident on National Road 4399 last night. A Maybach was set on fire, with two bodies near the car and unidentified blood traces. The car, we discovered, belonged to Ren Xuesong," Zhou Jianye explained.

"Oh! Ren Xuesong, I know him. My car had a minor scrape with his car before, but nothing major happened," Wu Zhiming said.

"So, here's the intriguing part. Ren Xuesong's car was set on fire around 8:30 PM, but he wasn't in the car. Our investigation at the scene revealed signs of a struggle and bullet casings. It seems to be a gang-related vendetta. We summoned Ren Xuesong this morning, but he claimed he escaped early on and was unaware of what happened afterward," Zhou Jianye said.

"Then you should ask Ren Xuesong," Wu Zhiming said with a smile.

"Wu Zhiming, to others, you're the second young master of the Wu family who lay low for twenty years before suddenly rising to prominence. Many believe that during those twenty years, you were merely saving money and building connections. But to me, the events surrounding you are far more complex than what people know," Zhou Jianye said with a smile.

Wu Zhiming smiled back and said, "It's not that complicated."

"Yang Sandao was killed, and the three animal corpses he gave you were found next to his body. Your car disappeared from surveillance for over an hour, during which time Ren Xuesong was attacked. The travel time from where Ren Xuesong was attacked to your company is nearly forty minutes by car. If we calculate from the moment your car disappeared from surveillance, the timeframe matches perfectly with you leaving your mother-in-law's house, reaching the site of Ren Xuesong's attack, and then returning to your company. This morning, the first time Ren Xuesong appeared on surveillance was at an intersection less than 200 meters from your company, where he got into one of his subordinates' cars."

"You recently had a conflict with Song Jingsheng, and today at midnight, Song Jingsheng was brutally murdered. The assailants disguised it as a robbery and took many of Song Jingsheng's jewels."

"Can you explain why everything seems so coincidental?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"Well," Wu Zhiming said, showing a thoughtful expression, "did you know there's a person who was struck by lightning three times? Isn't that a coincidence?"

"Quite a coincidence," Zhou Jianye nodded.

"Someone won the lottery and bought it 99 times. Isn't that a coincidence?" Wu Zhiming continued.

"Very coincidental," Zhou Jianye agreed.

"And someone was killed by ice formed from airplane toilet waste falling from the sky. Isn't that also a coincidence?" Wu Zhiming asked.

"Yes!" Zhou Jianye nodded.

"Can you tell me why such coincidences happen? If you can tell me, then I can also tell you," Wu Zhiming said.

Zhou Jianye looked at Wu Zhiming for seven or eight seconds before suddenly laughing.

"You're right. I can't explain all this, so I can only attribute it to coincidence," Zhou Jianye said.

"Indeed, sometimes in this world, coincidences just happen. But, Captain Zhou, I swear to God, I have nothing to do with Song Jingsheng's death. If you don't believe me, I can help you with one thing," Wu Zhiming said.

"What do you want to help with?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"I can help you find the real culprit, but you must disclose some details of the case to me," Wu Zhiming said earnestly.

"Oh? I didn't expect the head of the Wu family to be a Sherlock Holmes?" Zhou Jianye asked in surprise.

"I'm no Sherlock Holmes. I've just learned a bit about this field," Wu Zhiming said with a smile.

"How do you plan to investigate?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"That's not something I can share with outsiders. As long as you agree, I promise to find the culprit within three days," Wu Zhiming said.

"Three days?" Zhou Jianye looked at Wu Zhiming in surprise. The city's special task force had no leads, yet Wu Zhiming claimed he could solve the case in three days. This was quite bold.

Why was he offering to solve the case? Was it to use the investigation process to eliminate any incriminating evidence against himself, or was he simply trying to clear his name?

However, if Wu Zhiming simply wanted to clear his name and wasn't the real culprit, he could just wait it out. There was no need for him to make a claim like capturing the criminal within three days. Initially, Zhou Jianye didn't think Wu Zhiming seemed like the killer because his motive wasn't strong enough. The incident at Song Jingsheng's birthday party was initiated by Wu Zhiming, not by Song Jingsheng's family causing trouble for Wu Zhiming. It looked more like Wu Zhiming was bullying the Song family, so there was no reason for Wu Zhiming to seek revenge and kill. But with Wu Zhiming's proposal, Zhou Jianye's suspicion of him grew even stronger since Wu Zhiming had no need to go to such lengths.

Zhou Jianye sat back in his chair, leaning against the sofa, and said, "Do you really want to investigate?"

"Yes, to clear my name and also for Old Song. To be honest, I respect Old Song a lot. He's a prominent figure in Haixia City, and his death is a huge loss for the city. Now, many people in Haixia City are in a state of panic. I want to catch the murderer myself and bring peace back to Haixia City," Wu Zhiming said earnestly.

"Alright," Zhou Jianye nodded. "I'll give you three days. If you can catch the criminal within three days, I'll personally apologize to you. Moreover, I can propose to the higher-ups to nominate you for this year's Top Ten Outstanding People Award in Haixia City."

"Deal," Wu Zhiming agreed with a smile.

"What if you find nothing in these three days?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"That's impossible," Wu Zhiming said with a confident smile as he stood up. "I don't undertake tasks I'm not confident about. Alright, Captain Zhou, can you see someone now?"

"Who?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"Song Desheng."

A few minutes later, Song Desheng was seated in Zhou Jianye's office. Wu Zhiming wasn't there; he was in the next room but listening through an earpiece.

"Mr. Song, I'm very sorry for what happened to your family, but I need you to answer a few questions," Zhou Jianye said.

"Go ahead," Song Desheng replied.

"Has your grandfather recently had any conflicts with anyone? Or has your family had any disputes with others?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"Wu Zhiming," Song Desheng answered.

"Wu Zhiming? The boss of Wu Group? I know about that, but it's a minor issue, not enough to be a motive for murder," Zhou Jianye said.

"But Wu Zhiming is a very vengeful person. We once excluded him from our circle, so he developed a vendetta, sneaked into our home, and killed my grandfather and some of my family. It's entirely possible! I suggest taking immediate action against Wu Zhiming!" Song Desheng said through gritted teeth.

"Without sufficient evidence, we can't arbitrarily take action against someone of such influence. Mr. Song, have you prepared the list of jewelry stolen from your family?" Zhou Jianye asked.

"Yes!" Song Desheng took out a document. "Here are the pictures, names, and approximate values of the jewelry. The stolen jewelry is worth at least five billion!"

Zhou Jianye took the document and skimmed through it. "Mr. Song, go home and wait for news. We'll contact you as soon as we have any updates."

"Alright! Officer Zhou, please remember, Wu Zhiming is highly suspicious. I suspect he is involved in this case!" Song Desheng insisted.

"I will keep a close eye on Wu Zhiming," Zhou Jianye nodded, then stood up to see Song Desheng out.

As soon as Song Desheng left, Wu Zhiming walked into Zhou Jianye's office. He unceremoniously picked up the list of stolen jewelry provided by Song Desheng. The reason he wanted to help investigate this robbery and murder case was to confirm whether the earring he was interested in was among the stolen items. Otherwise, he would be foolish to get himself involved in this case.

Zhou Jianye stood by silently, watching.

After skimming through the list, Wu Zhiming noticed that the earring he was looking for wasn't on it. He frowned slightly.