Life and Death Insurance – CH 005

Chapter 5

“You didn’t just go to several bars all night and drink alone, did you?”

“No, I met a girl in red in the middle, and then we drank together. She even took me to those bars.”

“Do you know her name? Where does she live?”

“No.”

Actually, even the woman’s appearance wasn’t very clear to Ling Zhengzhong.

He was already a little drunk when he met the girl. He had originally planned to go home, but he didn’t expect her to suddenly strike up a conversation with him. This strongly satisfied Ling Zhengzhong’s vanity, and of course, he wouldn’t refuse a beautiful woman’s request. So the two drank together for a long time, and then the girl took him to several other bars. The only thing he could remember was that the girl was very beautiful, wearing a burgundy coat, with long, black, satin-like hair, and captivating eyes and lively lips…

“Which bars did you go to? Did any of the staff remember you?”

“The girl recommended the bars to me, saying the atmosphere was nice, so we took a taxi there. I was drunk at the time; how could I remember the names of the bars? Anyway, they weren’t the ones I usually went to, so I guess no one will remember me…”

At this point, Ling Zhengzhong began to get a little unhappy.

“Officer Chu, didn’t you say you called me here to assist with an investigation? But you’re clearly investigating me! I’ve always been law-abiding. You can’t suspect me just because the deceased was my ex-girlfriend! It was just a simple traffic accident—someone hit someone and fled the scene. Why aren’t you investigating the driver but me?”

Chu Feng tapped the table with his finger.

“Mr. Ling, please calm down! The accident happened around six this morning. Witnesses testified that the car involved was…”

“You said it was a black BMW. I do own a black BMW. Does that mean you suspect me of murder? It was just a breakup. Would I kill an ex-girlfriend I only dated for four months—no, to be precise, three months and twenty-eight days?”

Ling Zhengzhong said indignantly. “Calm down? How can I calm down? I, the development manager of Intel Computer Group, am being suspected of murder? If this gets out, how am I supposed to work after this?”

Chu Feng seemed used to the agitated scenes during these interrogations. He calmly asked, “Mr. Ling, where do you usually park your car?”

“The apartment garage…?” Ling Zhengzhong thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“No, after driving to work yesterday, I went out on business with a colleague in the company car. We were out all day, and it was very late when we got back, so I didn’t go back to the company. I asked a colleague to give me a ride home, so my car should still be in the company parking lot.”

Chang Qing stopped writing, looked up at Ling Zhengzhong, then lowered his head to continue taking notes.

Something seemed off…

Based on his experience dealing with businesspeople, Ling Zhengzhong clearly sensed something was amiss with Chu Feng’s questioning, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Mr. Ling, we’ve actually found the vehicle involved in the accident. It’s parked on a secluded roadside not far from the crash site. There’s a lot of blood on the car, and the blood has been confirmed to belong to the deceased. Furthermore, we’ve also found out that the owner of this car is you, Mr. Ling!”

His mind went blank for a moment, almost snapping. Ling Zhengzhong’s mouth was agape before he could utter a single sentence. “God, how could this be…”

The car keys were still with him. How could his car have gotten away?

Seeing Chu Feng staring at him with a cold, mocking smile, Ling Zhengzhong realized the gravity of the situation. He hurriedly reached into his pocket for his house key. The car key was linked to the house key and the two keys to his desk, but he was immediately shocked to discover that only three keys were now on his keychain; the BMW key was missing.

“This is impossible!!”

Ling Zhengzhong shouted, shaking the keychain in his hand, “I drove to work yesterday morning! How could my keys be gone? Someone must have stolen my keys and then my car!”

Chu Feng quickly reassured him, “Mr. Ling, calm down.” He then said to Chang Qing beside him, “Xiao Chang, get Mr. Ling a glass of water.”

A glass of water was immediately placed in front of Ling Zhengzhong. He took it and drank it all in one gulp. After calming himself down, he continued to explain, “Officer Chu, it’s simple. A thief stole my car and drove it into… After injuring someone, he fled. I spent the entire night in bars last night, only getting home to sleep in the early hours of the morning. I was so drunk I could barely stand, let alone drive. Besides, the smell of alcohol on me still lingers; I’m sure you can smell it too…”

“Mr. Ling, you mean someone just happened to steal your car keys, just happened to hit someone, and the person they hit just happened to be your ex-girlfriend? And you just happened to have no one to testify about what you were doing between 5 AM and 8 AM?”

Ling Zhengzhong stared at Chu Feng, gritting his teeth, and said, “Exactly!”

Chu Feng shrugged. “Mr. Ling, I can’t help you with this attitude.”

“What does it matter if no one can prove it? There’s something to prove my innocence. My apartment building has security cameras; they must have captured me taking the elevator.”

“Mr. Ling, we’ve already reviewed the footage. Around 4:30 AM, your apartment’s security cameras did capture someone with a similar build taking the elevator. But that doesn’t prove it’s you. Even if it were, it wouldn’t prove anything. For example, you could have taken the elevator up and then gone down the stairs through the emergency exit to carry out your plan.”

“What plan? Officer, we just broke up. Would I really need to kill someone for that…?”