Chapter 412: The Suspect

Without sufficient time for prior planning and preparation, this ambush could not have been so perfect. If it weren’t for Qian Duoduo carrying a pistol and her excellent marksmanship, the terrorists might have succeeded!

This narrowed down the scope of “Seventh Master’s” position considerably. He could only be a naturalized citizen who knew the itinerary of the Cang or the young chiefs in advance!

“Good!” Liu Fuqing’s breathing became heavy. “Don’t be hasty. Let’s think carefully. Which naturalized citizens could have known the young chiefs’ itinerary in advance…”

“The maids, secretaries, and guards of the chiefs’ families, as well as some staff from the General Office. Oh, and it’s possible the girls from the theater troupe also knew…” Yang Cao listed them off, a hint of disappointment gradually appearing on her face. “That’s quite a few people.”

“No, no, it’s already very few. I’ll have someone compile a list based on this scope immediately.”

The list was quickly compiled. Liu Fuqing compared it with the list of those already detained for “assisting with the investigation” and circled the names of those still at large, handing it to Yang Cao.

“Arrest all these people to assist with the investigation. For now, just monitor the ones with checkmarks.”

“Why not arrest them all for assistance with the investigation?”

“The ones with checkmarks are staff close to the chiefs. We have no direct evidence to prove their suspicion,” Liu Fuqing said. “It’s not easy to explain a direct arrest. Let’s monitor them first. We’ll screen the ones we’ve already arrested.”

The screening process was tedious and complex. Although the scope had been narrowed, there were still dozens of suspects. Most of them had already been detained to assist with the investigation, and their testimonies were readily available. The two began to screen them one by one to see if they had any connection with the arrested terrorists.

The screening continued until nightfall, with no results. Liu Fuqing had someone bring in bento boxes and strong tea, and they continued the screening. However, the result was still nothing. No one had any connection with the known terrorists.

Yang Cao became a little impatient. “Why don’t we just arrest those with checkmarks and interrogate them?”

Liu Fuqing pondered for a moment. “Let’s not be hasty. Let’s see if there are any other suspicious points.”

He began to list every terrorist attack that had occurred in Lingao yesterday and then started looking for connections with these “suspects.”

A few hours later, Yang Cao made a discovery. “This Wang Qisuo, he’s a bit strange.”

“How so?” Liu Fuqing was getting old, and working day and night like this was taking its toll. He had just drunk his fourth bottle of “energy drink” for the day.

“Of the three attacks, he was involved in two of them.”

Liu Fuqing took the material and looked at it. “He’s a soldier of the Garrison Battalion. Nothing strange about that. Hmm?” He frowned. “He’s not a soldier of the escort company. Why is he serving as a guard for a chief?”

“He was temporarily transferred. This has been confirmed. But there’s one strange thing. His testimony says he was originally assigned to the Cang to serve as a guard for the chiefs.”

“Didn’t they say there were no guards on the Cang? And how did he end up as a guard for the folk orchestra?”

“Yes, he said Young Chief Qian kicked him off, which is why he went to the folk orchestra to be a guard.”

“That does make sense…”

“It makes sense, yes, but how did he know the folk orchestra’s itinerary?”

“The itinerary is announced and arranged in the escort company a day in advance. If he works in the escort company, it’s not strange for him to know these things.”

“It all makes sense, but I feel there’s something wrong here,” Yang Cao said, pondering for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “That’s not right. It’s true he knew the folk orchestra’s itinerary, but how did the terrorists know it too?!”

It was like a sudden enlightenment. Liu Fuqing also became energized. “That’s right! He’s the only one who knew both the Cang’s itinerary and the folk orchestra’s itinerary!”

This major discovery instantly enlivened the dull atmosphere in the office. Yang Cao reached for her cigarette case, but it was empty. She didn’t have time to ask for more. She picked up a pencil, stuck it in her mouth, and began to rummage through the pile of materials on the table.

After a while, she pulled out a red-covered folder from a pile of documents and quickly flipped through it. Suddenly, she handed the folder to him. “Look at this!”

Liu Fuqing took it and saw that it was the case file for the attack on the Cang. It contained the testimonies of the parties involved, the on-site investigation report, and various other materials.

“Look at this one,” she pointed. “The testimony of the party involved.”

The testimony recorded the three young Elders’ recollections of the attack. They had all seen it, and there was nothing new.

“Look at Elder Lin’s testimony. There’s this sentence: ‘Qian Duoduo clearly said the guard also thought it was safer to go by water than by land, but it wasn’t safe at all!’.”

“Who is this guard?” Liu Fuqing immediately became alert. The safety of an Elder’s itinerary was not something a guard could casually comment on. Only the on-duty officer of the escort company and the cadres of the General Office’s transportation department had the authority to assess whether an itinerary was safe.

“It’s Wang Qisuo,” a faint smile appeared on the corner of Yang Cao’s mouth.

“Show me the escort company’s escort plan!”

“Here it is.” Yang Cao had already prepared the material. “Look, according to the escort company’s plan, he has been serving as a guard for Lin Ziqi and Zhang Yunmi for the past few days. According to the plan, they were supposed to take a carriage to the Feiyun Society to pick up Qian Duoduo and then go to the stadium together, but they changed their itinerary.”

“But Qian Duoduo said it was her idea to take the Cang. Even if Wang Qisuo is Seventh Master, he wouldn’t have had time to inform them.”

“No, Qian Duoduo’s testimony is very clear. She proposed this plan to Lin Ziqi and Zhang Yunmi the day before. It’s very likely that Wang Qisuo already knew about it at that time,” Yang Cao’s eyes gleamed. “Since he knew the Elder had a plan to change the itinerary, why didn’t he report it to the escort company’s headquarters?”

“Perhaps Qian Duoduo wasn’t sure if they would go by water at that time.”

“Perhaps. But why did he disregard discipline and baselessly say that ‘the waterway is safer than the land’? It’s clear he was trying to persuade Qian Duoduo and the others to take the boat,” Yang Cao said. “Qian Duoduo refused to have him as a guard on the boat. It was more than half an hour after they set off that he finally sent a telegram from Bopu to the escort company headquarters to ask for instructions. The new order the escort company gave him was—” Yang Cao took out a document from her side:

“‘Report immediately to the Dongmen Market command post and await assignment.’”

“Yes, that’s the normal procedure.”

“And then it gets strange. He didn’t rush to the command post to report, but went directly to the folk orchestra…” Yang Cao put down the document. “He himself said he met them on the road. The problem is, if he was returning to Dongmen Market from Bopu, it’s impossible to meet the folk orchestra by taking the main road—he deliberately took a detour to meet them—his mission didn’t include escorting the folk orchestra at all, yet he was so familiar with their itinerary…”

Liu Fuqing’s eyes widened. His gaze involuntarily shifted to the large-scale map of Lingao on the wall. That’s right!

He could no longer suppress his excitement. “We didn’t even notice that just now!”

“Because an Elder vouched for him,” Yang Cao sneered and picked up another report. “This is the oral testimony of Elder Dongfang of the folk orchestra. He said that he ‘was very brave during the attack and promptly fired at the assassins.’ By the way, Chief Okamoto also said so, that he ‘fought selflessly’.”

“If he is Seventh Master, why would he stop the assassins? He could have directly assassinated the Elders around him, and the chances of success would have been much greater.”

Yang Cao knew that every one of Liu Fuqing’s counter-questions was a test of her reasoning. Both Wu Mu and the deputy director had repeatedly said, “Although our work does not require evidence for conviction, we must be meticulous with evidence when handling cases.”

“Because he wants to continue to lie low in Lingao!” Yang Cao said. “His return to Dongmen Market, his sniping of the assassins, were all to clear his name, even to build merit for himself. Not only could he continue to lie low, but he might even be promoted! Besides, I think he himself is very clear that with the protection of the guards, those few martial artists had no chance of succeeding. Whether he fired a shot or not, the outcome of the assassination would not have been any different. Besides, even if the assassination had succeeded this time, he himself would have certainly died.”

Liu Fuqing nodded. “I’ll go and report this to Director Wu right away!” He grabbed his coat from the chair. “Apply for further investigation of Wang Qisuo. You go and check the latest testimony!”

The spotlight shone on Lin Ming’s face. He tried to close his eyes in agony, but his eyelids were pried open.

The interrogator’s voice sounded again: “Do you have any other accomplices in Lingao?!”

He said weakly, “No, I really don’t. I came to Lingao alone…”

“Think about it again,” the interrogator’s voice was cold and merciless. Lin Ming gasped for breath. Since being brought to this interrogation room, his sense of time had become confused. The endless, repetitive questioning, the glaring lights, being blindfolded and having water dripped on his face… He had thought the Australians would torture him, just like his Jin Yi Wei colleagues, but no instruments of torture had been used. Just the questioning itself was already unbearable.

“Think about it again. Your sister-in-law said there are.”

“What?!” He weakly raised his head, secretly telling himself to stay calm. He had played this trick before.

“Li Yongxun is your sister-in-law, right? You see, you were willing to come to Lingao and take risks for her, even going to the trouble of disguising yourself as a sailor and suffering so much. It’s clear that your feelings for her are not what a brother-in-law should have…” The interrogator’s voice was faint, but every word struck deep into his heart.

“How old is she, only twenty, right? The age of a flower. She was living a good life here with us. You came looking for her, and what did you bring her? Do you know where she is now?”

“Where is she?” Although he knew this was the Aussie’s psychological warfare, Lin Ming couldn’t help but ask.