Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 555 Interrogation
Knocking on the door to the battalion commander's office, Nie Chaofan resumed his usual composed demeanor.

"Old Nie, how's the case going?" The captain looked up from behind his desk, asking expectantly.

Nie Chaofan walked over and stood opposite him, placing the documents on the desk and pushing them towards the other person: "We have some leads. We have identified two suspects, both from the same hometown as the deceased. The deceased had come to Dongzhou in their truck."

The captain raised an eyebrow, also thinking of the extremely high probability that the crime in the archery case was committed by an acquaintance.

"Tell me about it." The captain glanced at the documents without touching them, stubbed out his cigarette, took out another cigarette from the pack, lit it, and waited for Nie Chaofan's report.

Nie Chaofan recounted the results of his investigation that day.

The captain remained calm and did not continue discussing the case: "Your captain just happened to take his annual leave this time, so I won't call him back. Hmm, you're handling this case all by yourself, is it too much for you?"

Nie Chaofan opened his mouth as if to say something, but the captain raised his hand to stop him.

“Old Nie, you’re not young anymore, I know what you’re thinking. It hasn’t been easy getting through all these years. Sigh, being the brigade leader sounds prestigious, but even if I were to get you a deputy section chief position, I wouldn’t have the authority to make the decision.”

The captain looked somewhat melancholy, while Nie Chaofan remained silent.

The newly appointed young director was extremely powerful. On his first day in office, he froze all personnel appointments across the bureau. He then took control of all personnel transfers, leaving even the local deputy director, who used to have some influence with previous directors, with only the power to make suggestions.

The captain waved his hand to clear the smoke from his eyes: "Hey, let's not talk about that. Old Nie, you're in charge of this murder case. I'll just lend my name to help you out and shield the other deputy captains. Hmm, you can write the commendation report yourself, and I'll submit it. If you don't get a second-class merit, I'll go to the streets and make a scene to get one for you!"

Nie Chaofan, who was over forty years old, looked at the captain in front of him who was about to retire but addressed him respectfully as "Old Nie" like the other young police officers in the team. He felt a warmth in his heart and bent down to express his gratitude, but was stopped by the other man.

The captain chuckled and said, "Go ahead and do it. If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."

Nie Chaofan stood tall, his eyes revealing a resolute determination amidst the swirling smoke.

At this moment, he didn't feel old; he was still the criminal investigator who had solved countless cases over the past twenty years.

"Yes!"

interrogation room.

Nie Chaofan led his team out in the morning, and in the early hours of the next day, with even darker dark circles under his eyes and deeper wrinkles, he brought the suspect back.

Zhao Zhiguo and his nephew Zhao Hui.

Once all the formalities were completed, Zhao Zhiguo, who had a criminal record, was thrown into the interrogation room as the principal offender.

The interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Division is located on a mezzanine between the first and second floors. It is said that in order to make more room for case handling in the limited space, the captain at the time shamelessly begged many companies for sponsorship.

Apart from being a few tens of centimeters lower in ceiling height than a normal floor, making it feel cramped, this mezzanine is no different from other mezzanine floors.

However, according to the captain, the interrogation place should have a depressing atmosphere.

The interrogation rooms at the Criminal Investigation Department are somewhat different from those at the local police station.

Considering that the suspects who can enter the interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Department are all guilty of serious crimes, the facilities there are higher than those in the police station and similar to those in the detention center.

There is an iron railing in the middle of the room, and an iron gate on the right side of the railing.

A single tiger bench stood alone in the center of the room, near the iron bars on the side. Each armrest of the bench had an iron ring, and the legs, fixed to the ground, were also fitted with foot rings, designed to bind the interrogated person's hands and feet, rendering them completely immobile.

The interrogation table is located on the side of the iron railing closest to the corridor. The tabletop is 20 centimeters above the ground, and the chair on it is also a high stool, designed so that the investigator sitting on it can look down at the suspect. Computers, printers, and other equipment are placed on the table for investigators to use in taking statements.

A panoramic camera was installed on the ceiling directly above the interrogation table to monitor the entire interrogation process from all angles, recording video and audio simultaneously. This footage would be burned onto discs and submitted along with the case file when the case was transferred to the prosecutor's office. "Sit down!" Xiao Ma gestured towards the tiger bench.

"Why should the government sit in this chair?" Zhao Zhiguo asked with a fawning smile, bowing his head. He was reluctant to sit down and looked at the tiger bench with some resistance.

"Sit down when I tell you to!"

Xiao Ma forcefully pushed Zhao Zhiguo onto the tiger bench with both hands, then fastened the handcuffs and ankle bracelets, twisting them as tightly as possible.

"Government. What are you doing? Why? Why?" Zhao Zhiguo seemed to have suffered a great shock, his eyes filled with uncontrollable fear, and his whole body was visibly trembling.

"What are you doing? Don't you know what you've done?!"

Xiao Ma glared at Zhao Zhiguo and then kicked him in the shin.

"Ouch!"

Zhao Zhiguo let out a miserable howl, his memory of being arrested and imprisoned a few years ago for the crime of causing trouble came back to him, and his whole body trembled even more violently.

Nie Chaofan, holding a thick volume of documents, sat on a high-legged interrogation chair, looking down at Zhao Zhiguo in silence.

The walls were upholstered, a black screen displayed a beeping electronic clock, a bench that restricted movement, and a ceiling height much lower than that of a normal room.

The silence was unsettling, with two detectives staring at him with long faces.

Everywhere Zhao Zhiguo was under pressure.

Having been imprisoned for the second time, Zhao Zhiguo knew what he was about to face, and fear filled his mind.

Without saying a word, he broke down, his face covered in snot and tears, banging his head against the small metal table in front of him.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! What happened! What happened?! Tell me! Tell me!"

"You've arrested the wrong person! Government! You must have arrested the wrong person!"

"I want to go home! I want to go home!"

"woo woo woo woo."

Xiao Ma rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining as he stared at the prisoner. His excited expression was a far cry from the anger he had shown when he first saw Wang Xia's naked corpse the day before.

The police officer who was about to solve the case and the suspect who was about to confess were perhaps the only reflections in his mind at this moment.

Nie Chaofan, sitting high on the interrogation chair, coughed authoritatively. In this room, he was the god who ruled over everything.

"Tell me, what's your name?"

-

The door slammed shut, and there was no sound coming from inside.

Only the nameplate hanging by the door, bearing the words "Interrogation Room," trembled slightly.

As the sun sets, a dim, golden light streams through a row of windows in the corridor, signaling that evening is approaching.

(End of this chapter)