Tang Huimin had just eaten breakfast and was about to go to work when the mobile phone in her pocket rang.
When she took out the phone and saw that it displayed the name and phone number of the chief of the detention centre, Gao Feng, she had a sense of foreboding and immediately pressed the answer button and asked.
“Chief Gao, what’s the matter?”
“Commissioner Tang, it’s not good, Yan Zhengkuan is dead.” The melancholy voice of Gao Feng came from the phone.
“Ah? Dead,” Tang Huimin was shocked and asked in surprise, “How did he die?”
“I don’t know, our guards found him dead when they were handing over their shifts.” Gao Feng explained.
“Oh, I see,” Tang Huimin said hurriedly, “You guys send someone to protect the scene first, I’ll lead the police and forensics over here now ……”
After putting down Summit’s phone call, Tang Huimin immediately informed Su Xiaoling, head of the criminal investigation team, to lead several police officers and two forensic pathologists to accompany her to the detention center.
When the two police cars arrived at the gate of the detention center, the director of the detention center, Gao Feng, was standing there early, ready to greet Tang Huimin and her group.
“Director Tang, you’re finally here,” Gao Feng began to complain as soon as he saw Tang Huimin step down from the car, “I prepared a single room for Yan Zhengkuan as you instructed, and sent two guards to stand guard at the entrance, but I never thought this would happen… …”
“What about the two guards?” Tang Huimin asked.
Gao Feng said, “I’ve already had the two of them under control and am going to hand them over to Director Tang to deal with.”
“Very well, take us in and take a look!” Tang Huimin said in a commanding tone.
Under the leadership of Gao Feng, Tang Huimin’s group arrived at the guard room where Yan Zhengkuan was being held. Seeing Yan Zhengkuan lying straight on the bed, Tang Huimin then asked the two forensic doctors to examine Yan Zhengkuan’s body.
After some examination, the two forensic pathologists came to the preliminary conclusion that the patient had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage, resulting in a myocardial infarction and sudden death.
“Is there any possibility that someone might have drugged him?” Tang Hui Min asked.
“That possibility cannot be ruled out,” a forensic doctor replied, “We have taken a sample of the deceased’s blood and taken it back for testing, the results of which will be available soon.”
“Good then, you guys go back first and let me know the lab results as soon as they come out.” Tang Huimin instructed.
The two forensic pathologists nodded their heads and then excused themselves to leave.
After Tang Huimin had the police officers take pictures of the dead, she called the funeral home staff and asked them to come over and transport Yan Zhengkuan’s body to the funeral home for preservation first.
After the call had been made, Tang Huimin said to Gao Feng, “Chief Gao, take us over now to meet the two guards who were on duty here last night, I want to ask them something.”
“Yes, Chief Tang, please follow me!” Gao Feng nodded and bowed in a gesture of invitation.
In order to clear the air with Yan Zhengkuan’s “death case” and to clear his name, Gao Feng deliberately led Tang Huimin and the others into the interrogation room and had the police officers in the detention centre handcuff the two guards and bring them in for interrogation.
“Chief Gao, what do you mean by that?” Tang Huimin saw the two guards being escorted into the interrogation room after being handcuffed and asked Gao Feng, “We are not completely sure of Yan Zhengkuan’s cause of death until the lab results come out, I am merely asking them for some information, I don’t suspect them of being the murderer and interrogating them, huh?”
“Last night, I sent the two of them forward to stand guard at the entrance of that guard room of Yan Zhengkuan, leaving them in charge of his security, but Yan Zhengkuan suddenly died, they were the most suspected, so I had them handcuffed.” Gao Feng acted as if he was being impartial and dealing with public affairs.
“Chief Gao, we were wronged,” one of the guards made an innocent face and defended himself, “Last night, we had been guarding the door of Yan Zhengkuan’s guard room as you had instructed, and had no idea of what was going on inside, so who knew that Yan Zhengkuan would die? ”
“Yes, Chief Gao, we are innocent,” another guard echoed, “We had no idea that Yan Zhengkuan would die in there, if it wasn’t for that colleague who took over this morning who called to inform us, we wouldn’t have known what had happened.”
Tang Huimin scanned the two men’s faces and, not finding anything unusual except for the horrified expressions they both wore, said to Gao Feng.
“Chief Gao, have your subordinates uncuff them, I’ll only ask them two questions.”
“This …… this ……” Summit seemed a little hesitant.
“I’ve already said that I’m just asking them for some information, I don’t mean to interrogate them.” Tang Hui Min firmly said.
“Okay, I understand!” Gao Feng then said to the policemen in charge of the escort, “Uncuff them, Commissioner Tang has something to ask them.”
The two policemen quickly took out the key and unlocked the handcuffs on the wrists of the two guards.
After the two guards were released from their restraints, they moved their wrists.
Gao Feng waved his hand to the few policemen responsible for escorting the two guards and said, “There is nothing more for you here, you can go out!”
A few policemen then left.
To avoid suspicion, Gao Feng also followed them out of the room and closed the door for them. In the room, only Tang Huimin and Su Xiaoling were left, as well as the two guards.
Tang Huimin sat down at the interrogation table, pointed to the two stools on the opposite side of the table and said to the two guards, “Sit down first, I have two questions to ask you!”
One of the guards sat down and asked, “What questions?”
“First question, last night, did you take Yan Zhengkuan out of the guard room where he was being held?” Tang Huimin began to ask the question.
Su Xiaoling, who was sitting beside her, began tapping on the keyboard of the laptop on the table, making a statement.
“Left once.” One of the guards replied, “Yan Zhengkuan said he had to relieve himself, so the two of us sent him into the toilet.”
As Yan Zhengkuan had been brought into the interrogation room by them last night, the suspects held in the two rows of guard cells had seen them when they pa*sed through the corridor of the guard room, and for fear that the matter would be revealed, they had to excuse themselves by saying that Yan Zhengkuan had gone to the toilet.
“When Yan Zhengkuan went to the toilet, did you follow him all the way?” Tang Hui Min continued to ask.
“Yes.” The guard nodded and said, “For fear of an accident, the two of us stayed outside the squatting toilet when Yan Zhengkuan was squatting his bowels.”
“About what time was it?”
“Around four in the morning.”
“How long did it take?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“Did anything happen on your way back to the guardhouse with Yan Zhengkuan?”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
“When we were taking Yan Zhengkuan back to the guardhouse, the power suddenly went out.”
“Something like that actually happened?”
“Yeah, at the time, we felt a bit puzzled too.” The guy deliberately put on an uncomprehending look.
“Was what he said true?” Tang Huimin did not continue to ask him, but said to the other guard, “Is what he said true?”
“It’s completely true.” The guard nodded and said.
“Very well,” Tang Huimin said, fixing her eyes on the expressions of the two men, and seeing that both of them looked natural, she continued, “Then answer my second question ……”
