Seeing the suspect's shifty gaze and stuttering speech, it was obvious he was lying.
At 5:40 PM, he definitely wasn't at home!
Han Fei immediately became suspicious of him. If he didn't have something to hide, why would he act this way?
"At home? Is there anyone who can confirm that?" Han Fei stared at him and continued questioning.
"I was home alone at the time..."
"So no one can confirm your alibi then."
After saying this, Han Fei took out a photo of the deceased Zhang Guodong and showed it to the suspect.
"Do you recognize the person in this photo?"
He wanted to judge the suspect's facial expressions for any clues.
Unfortunately, judging from his expression, the suspect showed no abnormal reaction.
After looking at Zhang Guodong's photo, he appeared very confused.
"I don't know him... Officer, what's this about? Who is this person?"
"You don't know him?" Han Fei bluffed, "Didn't you just see him recently in the bathroom on the 13th floor of the TV station building?"
During interrogations, many criminals have tight lips.
Just asking questions won't get any answers out of them.
After all, if you ask a murderer if they killed someone, their answer will definitely be no.
Because murder means prison time.
Only a fool would confess!
One of the police's usual tactics is to bluff, little by little.
They judge from the suspect's expressions whether their guesses are correct.
If correct, they continue speaking, reconstructing and analyzing the crime step by step.
Normally, if an officer can fully reconstruct and analyze the entire incident in front of a suspect,
The criminal's psychological defenses will crumble, leading to a confession.
"TV station building? 13th floor?" The suspect looked even more confused.
He really seemed like he didn't know anything.
"No... Officer, what exactly is this about? The TV station is where my wife works, I've only been there 3-5 times total, and the last time was over two months ago."
"Of course I know that's where your wife works. The man in the photo is your wife's boss, his name is Zhang Guodong. He died today around 5:40 PM in the bathroom on the 13th floor. The surveillance cameras recorded everything," Han Fei continued, staring at the suspect.
"What the hell!"
Hearing this, the suspect's face immediately turned pale.
What did this mean...
Did they suspect he killed the man??
The next second, he explained very emotionally:
"I didn't kill anyone! I can barely kill a chicken, let alone a person... This must be a joke, right? His death has nothing to do with me! I don't even know him! Why would I kill someone I don't know? I'm not crazy!"
Before Han Fei could continue speaking, he spoke again:
"I'll confess, I'll confess everything! This afternoon I was meeting with a client to discuss business. I took him to a foot massage parlor near the company for a quick massage. My client can vouch for me, the massage parlor has surveillance cameras that can prove it too, and masseuse number 38 can also testify!"
He hadn't dared mention this at first because he had done something improper at the massage parlor.
Prostitution is illegal! Unless he was insane, he wouldn't have confessed to this right away.
From Han Fei's words, he realized the police had already listed him as a suspect in Zhang Guodong's murder.
Of course he had to explain and provide an alibi for himself.
After all, murder was clearly a much more serious crime than soliciting prostitution.
Prostitution would at most mean a short jail stay and a fine.
But intentional homicide meant serious prison time!
Han Fei was slightly taken aback.
This guy was at a massage parlor at the time?
No wonder he lied at first! He probably went to a shady establishment, which is why he didn't dare mention it initially.
Beside him, Xu Mo helplessly rubbed his temples.
This couple... they really were two peas in a pod.
Neither of them was any good.
The husband soliciting prostitutes and the wife cheating - what a pair of scoundrels!
"Really, Officer, you can check it out. Everything I said is true! I even have the transaction record here, and you can check my car's GPS too! I really was getting a massage during that time!" the suspect continued explaining.
He was afraid Han Fei and Xu Mo wouldn't believe him and would continue suspecting him of murder.
"Where is this massage parlor you went to?" Han Fei prepared to verify if there was any credibility to this man's story.
"Foot Way, the one on East City Road!"
Han Fei asked Xu Mo to leave the interrogation room to verify whether the suspect's story was true.
...
After some investigation,
Xu Mo returned to the interrogation room. Through the verification, Xu Mo discovered that the suspect indeed hadn't lied.
At around 5:40 PM that afternoon, he really was at that massage parlor.
The surveillance footage and the masseuse could both confirm his alibi.
"What he said is all true. He really was at the massage parlor at that time. He didn't kill the victim, he has a solid alibi," Xu Mo whispered to Han Fei after returning to the interrogation room.
Although Xu Mo spoke very softly,
The interrogation room was very quiet, and the suspect heard every word.
He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Officer, am I cleared of suspicion now? When can I go home?"
"Your case isn't over yet," Xu Mo said. "That massage parlor is not legitimate. You're suspected of soliciting prostitution. We'll have to detain you according to the law. Call your family to come pay the fine."
Hearing this, the suspect immediately deflated.
"No, Officer... You can't let my wife know about this. If she finds out, I'm done for! She'll divorce me! Can't you not notify my family? Can I just pay the fine myself?"
Xu Mo: "..."
Han Fei: "..."
The two exchanged glances, then shook their heads helplessly.
It seemed he knew nothing about his wife's affairs either.
Xu Mo thought to himself that this couple was really something else - each playing around behind the other's back, completely unaware of what the other was doing!
How ridiculous!
Afterwards, Han Fei and Xu Mo left the interrogation room one after another.
Before leaving, Han Fei left the man with one last remark:
"An officer will come deal with your case shortly. If you don't want to call your family yourself, we'll do it for you. It's your choice - either you make the call voluntarily, or we do it."
After they left,
The man in the interrogation chair wore an expression like he had just eaten a fly, looking utterly dejected.
...
Just as they walked out of the interrogation room,
Wang Dachuan excitedly called out, "Captain Han, I found the killer in the surveillance footage!"