National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 734 - 677 Interrogation

Chapter 734: Chapter 677 Interrogation

Interrogation room.

Han Xu was tied up in the interrogation chair, his hands, feet, and back all securely locked in place.

With his back to the clock, all he faced were three police officers sitting on edge and the camera, with iron bars in between. The windowless, enclosed room wasn’t stifling hot but had a kind of damp basement smell.

Han Xu guessed that this must be in the basement.

Therefore, the possibility of escaping, like in the movies, by opening a window or bursting through a door was virtually non-existent. He would need to overcome three police officers, open the iron bars, and the locked door to reach the outside basement, not to mention the unknown conditions outside...

After daydreaming for a few seconds, Han Xu then said, "I’ve already said, yes, the person was indeed killed by me, and I acted alone without any accomplices."

The interrogation officer, without changing expression, said, "Alright, then tell us where you hid the body."

"Some I threw into a pond, others I buried. Haven’t you found them all?"

"We have found them, but what if we got it wrong? So we need you to verify," said the interrogation officer, as if making casual conversation, but essentially he was trying to get Han Xu to relax.

He didn’t believe Han Xu’s confession.

Normally, criminals like Han Xu should be relatively easy to interrogate.

People have a desire to confess, and murder is essentially a form of "victory" from a position of superiority.

Boys, youths, middle-aged, or elderly men — if they win a fight, they get excited and talk up their victory, even bragging about it multiple times. Serial killers might be nervous or even involved in some benefit disputes the first time they kill, but subsequent murders definitely involve psychological elements. This is one of the foundations of psychological profiling.

Criminals like Han Xu, who previously would have kept silent to avoid punishment, should realize by now that there is no escaping and might as well vent emotions—often a characteristic of such offenders.

However, Han Xu didn’t do so.

He calmly looked at the interrogation officer and said, "You’ve found them; I’m under no obligation to verify for you."

"Do you think this is a negotiation? Take this seriously!" the police officer beside him immediately barked, playing the classic tough cop.

Han Xu, unaffected, let out a chuckle and leaned back, "Those who tried to be tough with me, I’d wrap a towel around their neck, and snap..."

Han Xu revealed two teeth, smiling like a rogue taxi driver soliciting passengers at the airport.

"We’ve seen enough of these tricks. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll send you back to detention," said the interrogation officer. He was very anxious inside, but it didn’t show on his face.

Those who often go to detention know that being brought in for questioning is actually more interesting than staying inside. The preparation and back-and-forth disrupt the routine life in detention, and paradoxically, it relaxes the inmate a bit, akin to enjoying a brief May Day holiday. Tired? Very. Fun? Not at all. Would you go again? Definitely!

In addition, there are specific systems within detention facilities, mandating a live-by-the-rule lifestyle, such as the commissary snacks. Once purchasable with ample cash, they’ve now become regulated commodities exchanged via a point system where you have to meet certain point criteria to buy a certain amount of goods. And of course, those points are earned by good behavior, which includes attitude and performance during interrogations.

The smile involuntary faded from Han Xu’s face.

He generally navigated the world with an honest man’s persona, driving his 3.2-meter box truck around the city was no easy job. He often had to help with moving goods, earning a hard-earned income. When dealing with clients, he occasionally had to give a smile.

Compared to this, a ferocious disposition was rarely exhibited by him. In fact, during his murders, he always strangled from behind, as direct confrontation wasn’t that easy.

"You just said that you threw some bodies into a pond, whose bodies, which pond?" the interrogation officer asked again.

Han Xu’s evasive answers had been completely futile.

For the police officers, the most basic interrogation skill was to ask for details, and fabricating details was very difficult.

...

The surveillance room.

Li Haochen silently watched Han Xu’s interrogation, comparing it to the profile he had created.

At that moment, Li Haochen realized that what most affected his judgment was the assumption that the murderer was working alone. In fact, he had also considered the possibility of a group committing the crime, but various pieces of evidence suggested that this was unlikely. For instance, the three bodies buried in the grave at different times did not fit the pattern of a group crime.

In addition, the body dumped in the sewage pond exhibited a level of randomness, and if it had been a group crime, even if they were not more careful, the accomplices would not have let you dispose of the body so sloppily. Digging another hole by two or three people wasn’t that big of a deal.

No matter how Li Haochen thought about it, he never anticipated that the murderer and his accomplice would act separately.

As for exactly how they operated... Li Haochen couldn’t help but look toward Tao Lu and ask, "Han Xu’s master, the chef, have we found him?"

"We found him. He’s still working at the restaurant, and it’s crowded with customers right now," Tao Lu glanced at his watch, feeling considerable pressure. Mei Gangzou, Han Xu’s master, had been under police surveillance since yesterday, but Tao Lu had not agreed to arrest him.

From his appearance, Mei Gangzou seemed to be just an ordinary chef, with barely any overlap in his social circles with Han Xu. And a preliminary investigation into him had not yielded any solid evidence.

Although there were many text messages between Han Xu and Mei Gangzou, the content of the messages was mostly simple phrases, making it very difficult to prove any partnership in crime. They couldn’t just arrest him because he was acquainted with Han Xu.

Tao Lu’s strategy was to wait for the news of Han Xu’s arrest to reach Mei Gangzou and then gather evidence based on Mei Gangzou’s actions.

Of course, this involved enormous risks.

The primary concern was that if Mei Gangzou fled and succeeded, Tao Lu would be directly accountable for both the credit and the blame. Furthermore, even if Mei Gangzou did not run but simply chose to end his own life, Tao Lu, who made the decision, would still bear responsibility.

Therefore, the most correct action now was to arrest and then interrogate him. Even if the interrogation failed and they couldn’t prosecute Mei Gangzou, Tao Lu would have followed procedure.

However, facing the most significant murder case Zhengguang Bureau had cracked in recent years, Tao Lu was not prepared to deal with it perfunctorily.

He resisted the opinions from above and focused solely on waiting for Mei Gangzou’s move.

"He should know that Han Xu has been arrested by now," Li Haochen frowned and said, "When we captured Han Xu, we didn’t conceal it."

"He probably firmly believes that Han Xu won’t betray him," Tao Lu glanced at the surveillance room.

Li Haochen said, "Indeed, he hasn’t. If it weren’t for the issue with the bull’s knife, we wouldn’t even have guessed that others were involved in this series of murders. To be honest, if I were to carry out this case, I would prefer to work alone. This master, Mei Gangzou... I wonder what he taught and where he got his teaching experience from."

The expressions of everyone present were somber, and many actually shared Li Haochen’s speculation. Without having killed anyone, how could you become a master?

And Mei Gangzou was already 47 years old. It was unknown when he started killing, when he stopped, or if... he never stopped?

Tao Lu’s gaze was especially complex.

He had just corroborated 10 bodies with Huang Qiangmin, and a single apprentice like Han Xu had committed 6 murders!