Animal Detective-Chapter 69: The Video Recording
No one could have expected the case to take such a turn.
Li Shanjie and Zhang Qin were both taken back into custody.
A few technicians remained at the scene to investigate and collect evidence from Chen Zhongyuan’s body and the crime scene.
The main group returned to the branch bureau.
Shen Xin called into the ventilation duct, and Da Mei obediently ran out.
Feng Kaiwei watched from the side, clucking his tongue in amazement. He asked Shen Xin if he had specially trained Da Mei, or if she was just naturally intelligent and understood people well.
If it was the former, he felt it was a successful model that could be replicated.
When the SWAT team was deployed, they often faced complex terrain.
Some places were difficult for people to access for reconnaissance.
But a cat could come and go as it pleased without arousing the suspicion of criminals. They were perfect reconnaissance agents.
As he spoke, he stared intently at Da Mei.
It seemed like he wanted to... recruit her?
Shen Xin quickly said, "Captain Feng, she’s just naturally good with people. I’ve never trained her."
Feng Kaiwei let out an "Oh," somewhat disappointed. Then, his gaze on Da Mei grew even more intense.
Shen Xin hastily said his goodbyes and left.
By the time he returned to the branch bureau, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the dawn.
But there was no time to rest.
Shen Xin was considering whether he should ask for leave to take Da Mei home first.
He was supposed to be on leave today and officially report for duty tomorrow anyway.
Besides, someone had died. It was a major case, so it probably wouldn’t be his to handle.
However, Chen Chao gestured him over.
"Follow along with this case. It’ll be a learning experience."
He told Shen Xin to go to the case analysis room for a meeting, but first to grab a notebook from the main office and act as the minute-taker.
There was no time to worry about Da Mei then.
’Da Mei will be fine on her own,’ Shen Xin thought. He told her not to run off and hurried to find a notebook.
He arrived at the case analysis room.
It was a large conference room. Lv Youwei was there, his expression grim.
They started playing the video immediately.
The recording began at 12:09 AM.
It clearly showed Li Shanjie entering the supply warehouse first, hiding the video camera, and adjusting the recording angle.
Only then did he bring Zhang Qin and Chen Zhongyuan into the warehouse.
"Earlier, while tracking Li Jiuliang’s van via surveillance, we noted that it entered Mingshi Garden, where Chen Zhongyuan lived, at 10:13."
"Chen Zhongyuan divorced four years ago and has been living alone since."
"At 10:29, the van was filmed leaving."
"Then, at 10:42, the last sighting was in Xia Ba Village."
"After Li Shanjie was imprisoned, Zhang Qin filed for divorce. Once the divorce was finalized, she moved back to her family home in Xia Ba Village."
"This means that after leaving Yongsheng New Village, Li Shanjie immediately went and kidnapped both Chen Zhongyuan and Zhang Qin without stopping."
"The fact that he did it so quickly proves he had cased the locations and done his research beforehand."
Chen Chao interjected with a few words to explain the situation.
Lv Youwei nodded slightly and continued watching.
After Chen Zhongyuan and Zhang Qin were brought into the warehouse, Chen Zhongyuan begged frantically for his life and was beaten by Li Shanjie.
Zhang Qin, however, was unusually calm.
Li Shanjie went over and slapped her, demanding she speak, but she remained stubbornly silent.
From this segment, Li Shanjie appeared to be a typical abuser, while Zhang Qin and Chen Zhongyuan were the victims. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Then, at 1:08, Zhang Qin spoke for the first time.
Her reaction was relatively calm.
She asked Li Shanjie what he was planning to do and rambled on about fragmented memories of their past.
As she spoke, Zhang Qin’s attitude began to shift.
She said she had long forgotten Chen Zhongyuan, that nothing much had actually happened between them, and that now she was past her prime with no one wanting her.
Life was hard, she said, and when she thought back to when she was with Li Shanjie, they had been very happy at the beginning.
At this point, the expressions of everyone watching began to turn strange.
Shen Xin furrowed his brow. ’Zhang Qin’s reaction is just too bizarre,’ he thought.
The crucial part was that Li Shanjie was actually swayed by her words.
He was willing to get back together with Zhang Qin, but he proposed that they had to kill Chen Zhongyuan to silence him.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Qin actually agreed.
What followed was the process of Chen Zhongyuan being murdered.
The events that happened afterward had also been filmed by Da Mei during her reconnaissance.
When the video finished playing, the sky outside was completely bright.
Just then, Yang Fuming arrived with breakfast.
Lv Youwei told everyone to eat, and they all took the time to ponder the case while they ate.
"Captain Zhang, in a situation like Zhang Qin’s, could she be considered to have been coerced into committing murder?" Shen Xin asked Zhang Jian next to him in a low voice.
Judging from the video, Zhang Qin did participate.
But Li Shanjie had threatened her.
Zhang Jian took a large bite out of a steamed bun, then shook his head. "It’s tricky. Zhang Qin was held hostage, but when Li Shanjie proposed killing Chen Zhongyuan to silence him, she was supportive."
"Okay, let’s say she was under duress from Li Shanjie and didn’t dare to refuse, or that she was just pretending to agree. But look at the process of the attack."
"She wasn’t forced to strike just one blow; she struck him many times. Can you really say she wasn’t venting her own anger?"
"So, subjectively, I believe she also wanted to kill Chen Zhongyuan."
"Think about it. After Li Shanjie went to prison, she was abandoned by Chen Zhongyuan. How could she not hate him?"
Shen Xin nodded.
Zhang Jian’s analysis was on point.
Even if Zhang Qin could argue that she was coerced...
...the video was right there. When she was hacking at Chen Zhongyuan, she showed no mercy at all.
She even delivered so many blows in one go.
This clearly indicated a subjective intent to kill.
After they finished breakfast, everyone sat down again.
The medical examiner’s office also reported their preliminary findings.
With clear video footage, the situation was very straightforward.
The main point to determine was this: after Li Shanjie delivered the first blow but before Zhang Qin attacked, was Chen Zhongyuan dead or alive?
The branch bureau’s chief medical examiner, whose surname was Tang, thought for a moment before giving his opinion. He said that in a legal sense, Chen Zhongyuan could be considered to have still been alive.
The cervical spine is very tough. Li Shanjie’s blow didn’t kill him instantly.
Therefore, when Zhang Qin attacked immediately after, she couldn’t be considered to be hacking at a corpse.
Lv Youwei and the others nodded. This changed the nature of Zhang Qin’s actions.
"Sun Zhao, what are your thoughts?" Lv Youwei asked.
Sun Zhao said, "Director Lv, to be honest, I’ve never handled a case like this, where the entire murder was recorded from start to finish."
There was no need to even look for evidence; it was rock-solid.
"But something about this feels strange to me. Li Shanjie was yelling about reporting someone. His reaction is off. I think we’ve learned everything we can from the video. We should move on to direct interrogation, starting with Li Shanjie."
Lv Youwei then looked toward Chen Chao.
Chen Chao also nodded in agreement.
"Then let’s interrogate him first."
Lv Youwei didn’t hesitate any longer. He instructed Sun Zhao that even with the video, the case had major points of suspicion that had to be thoroughly investigated.
Only then did he leave.
The specific handling of the investigation was still Sun Zhao’s responsibility.
Once the director left, everyone relaxed considerably.
Sun Zhao stretched, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. "Old Chen, you should handle the interrogation."
Chen Chao nodded.
He called over Zhao Tianxing and went to prepare immediately.
Shen Xin, meanwhile, followed Sun Zhao and the others to the monitoring room next door.
The injuries on Li Shanjie’s face had been treated.
But upon seeing Chen Chao, before Chen Chao could even ask a question, his first words were, "With what she did, can Zhang Qin get the death penalty?"
