novelraw Chapter 456 - 272: Key Evidence
Chapter 456 - 272: Key Evidence
Wang Ruigang handed the documents in his hand to the prison warden and briefly explained the situation to him.
"I understand everything. You can take Zheng Wei away."
So, Zheng Wei, who was working on a sewing machine, was called over by the prison guard: "Zheng Wei, someone is here to fetch you, pack up your things, you can leave."
"I can go home?"
Zheng Wei was taken aback. She had applied for a chance at a reduced sentence this year, but wasn’t it supposed to be the earliest by spring?
How come she could suddenly leave?
Could it be that she would actually spend this New Year at home?
Zheng Wei felt delighted inside; surely her good behavior recently had earned her some merit points from the guards, allowing her this early release.
"Thank you, officer, am I really going home?"
"No need to thank me, you can indeed return to Yuncheng..."
"That’s great, I can spend the New Year at home this year."
"You better not get too happy too soon. The ones coming to pick you up are from Yuncheng police. You probably still have other cases, don’t you?"
Those words froze Zheng Wei in place, her smile stiffening on her face, appearing quite menacing.
How could it be? After all these years, how could they find me just when I was about to be released?
This can’t be.
Zheng Wei couldn’t believe that after all these years, the police could still track her down.
She hadn’t left any fingerprints or DNA at the scene; the police had no evidence. As long as she kept her mouth shut, they couldn’t do anything to her.
In that moment, Zheng Wei thought about a lot.
The five years in prison had changed her, making her realize many things.
She used to be too foolish, always quarreling with others.
In hindsight, it wasn’t worth it.
She had planned that after getting out next year, she would earn money properly and make up for what she owed her daughter.
But she hadn’t expected the police to come at this critical juncture.
Following behind the prison guard, Zheng Wei saw several uniformed police officers chatting with the prison warden.
Presumably, they were the Yuncheng police.
"We’ve brought the person."
"Team Leader Wang, I hand her over to you intact."
"Thank you for your cooperation, we’ll be on our way then."
Wang Ruigang took out his handcuffs, cuffed Zheng Wei again, then placed her into the back seat of the car, with a person on each side guarding her.
No one said a word along the way.
Zheng Wei wanted to ask if they’d come for that incident, but she dared not ask directly.
They drove like that, silent, until they returned to Yuncheng.
Once out of the car, Zheng Wei was again locked into an interrogation room.
Wang Ruigang and the others ate a meal, preparing to rest up before the interrogation.
After all, they’d caught her now, and there was no worry of her escaping again, as they were exhausted from the journey.
Meanwhile, on Zheng Wei’s end, her heart grew more anxious.
People sometimes scare themselves.
Particularly when facing the unknown, her heart was even more uneasy, wondering if things were as she feared.
Had the police found any evidence?
Finally, in her anxiety, the interrogation room door opened.
Seeing them, Zheng Wei strangely felt a sense of relief that they finally came to question her.
"I reckon you know what this place is, and have some experience with interrogations. We ask, you answer. Understand?"
"Yes."
Zheng Wei nodded, familiar with this procedure.
"Name?"
"Zheng Wei."
"Age?"
After some routine questions, Zheng Wei cooperated, so Wang Ruigang started with the real questions: "Were you working at the electronics factory in the development zone in May 2013?"
"Yes."
"Do you know Xiaomei?"
These few questions immediately confirmed to Zheng Wei that they were looking for her because of that incident, making her a little nervous.
"No, I don’t."
"Really don’t know her? She worked on the same production line as you, how could you not?"
"It was ten years ago. I can’t remember, have no impression, maybe I knew her."
Zheng Wei pretended to have a bad memory, hoping to muddle through.
"In October of the same year, did you work as a security guard at Yuncheng Middle School?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember why you left?"
"Wasn’t happy working, so I quit."
"Do you know Xiaoping?"
"Which Xiaoping?"
Seeing Zheng Wei still playing dumb, Wang Ruigang was beginning to get emotional: "Zheng Wei, you should be clear about why we’re asking these questions. Don’t you have anything to confess?"
"Confess to what? I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Playing dumb with us, are you? Back in the day, the Yuncheng Case 1 shook the whole city, don’t tell me you weren’t aware? Eleven victims, you had work contact with all of them to some extent. They died, and you don’t know? Still playing dumb?"
"I know, but what does it have to do with me? Are you implying I killed them? Assaulted them? I don’t have what it takes for that."
Zheng Wei continued to feign ignorance, convinced the police didn’t have evidence of her crimes, thinking as long as she didn’t confess, she would be fine.
Wang Ruigang could see right through her thoughts.
"Think you’re being clever?"
"Think we can’t find evidence?"
"Since we brought you here, we’re 100% confident. The net of justice may be wide, but it never misses. Once you’ve done something, traces remain. You remember these items, right?"
Wang Ruigang finished speaking and pulled out the victims’ jewelry that had been retrieved from her home.
Zheng Wei hadn’t anticipated that a moment’s greed would become her downfall.
Her pupils contracted sharply at the sight of what Wang Ruigang displayed, and she immediately realized where the problem lay.
She hadn’t expected the police to have already searched her home.
Back then, she’d brought their valuables home out of sheer recklessness, only to have them turned up by the police.
At the sight of these items, Zheng Wei lowered her head, remaining silent.
She had originally believed the police had no evidence, but in the end, she was too naive.
"Do you know Xiaomei?"
Wang Ruigang asked again.
"Yes."
This time, Zheng Wei didn’t deny it but answered softly.
"On May 12, 2013, at 11 PM, where were you, and what were you doing?"
"I strangled her in the development zone."
"What did you use to strangle her?"
"Pantyhose."
"Why did you strangle her?"
"Didn’t get along, couldn’t stand her."
"Couldn’t stand her, so you killed her?"
"She brought it on herself."
Then Zheng Wei went on to explain her feud with Xiaomei.
In May 2013, both she and Xiaomei worked at the electronics factory in the development zone. They were not on the same production line, but their lockers were adjacent. As Xiaomei was new, she was assigned a locker with a broken lock, and coincidentally, Zheng Wei had lost a pair of pantyhose, suspecting that it was Xiaomei who stole them. This sparked a conflict. Since Xiaomei was younger and quite sharp-tongued, Zheng Wei felt a desire for revenge.
"She accused me of stealing her pantyhose, so I used pantyhose to strangle her. I not only wanted to strangle her but to tear her mouth apart."
Though ten years had passed, it sounded as if the events had transpired yesterday when spoken from Zheng Wei’s mouth.
"And what about Xiaoping? Why her?"
"Her mouth was also filthy. A high schooler, yet with lesser manners than my daughter. At least my daughter knows it’s wrong to curse, but Xiaoping called me a guard dog."
Xiaoping was late for school, and Zheng Wei, following the rules, kept her outside until the class teacher came to fetch her.
Since Zheng Wei wouldn’t let her in, Xiaoping insulted her as a guard dog, repeatedly, which made her hold a grudge.
Having gotten away with one murder already, Zheng Wei’s courage grew. She repeated her first murder method on Xiaoping.
The subsequent victims were killed using the same method, and the conflicts that led to their murders were similarly trivial.
With so many murders on her conscience, Zheng Wei became increasingly indifferent to human life; even minor disputes could be reason enough for her to kill.
Until she encountered Qin Yue, putting an end to her serial killings.