Chapter 230 - 230 Suspicion
230 Suspicion
“What’s wrong?” Shen Yin snatched the cell phone from his hand. After reading the last sentence, she looked up at the panicking Zhang Nan in bewilderment. “She clearly asked you for help. This message has also been read. Why would you say that you didn’t know anything?”
The last message in the chat log showed that Zhao Lu had sent a message to Zhang Nan at 8:36 p.m. saying that she thought she was being followed and that she was very frightened.
However, Zhang Nan did not reply.
After reading the message, Wu Zheng slammed the table and asked coldly, “What did you do after Zhao Lu left last night? Did you see this message?”
“I-I didn’t see it. I really didn’t see it.” Only then did Zhang Nan feel afraid. He stared blankly at the tea leaves bobbing in the cup. He shook his head repeatedly in fear and said, “I really didn’t see it. I was out drinking last night. At that time, there were many people in the bar who can be my witness. I really don’t know anything!”
Wu Zheng immediately got up and called Zou Sheng. Based on the time and place Zhang Nan provided, he asked Zou Sheng perform a detailed investigation to see if Zhang Nan was telling the truth.
At this moment, Zhang Nan was staring at the coffee table in a daze. He muttered to himself in horror, “You can’t blame me for this. She was careless. Even if I saw this message, I wouldn’t have been able to rush over in time. You can’t blame me. This has nothing to do with me. Her death has nothing to do with me!”
“Enough!” Shen Yin stood up in frustration and rubbed her temples. After sorting out her thoughts, she sat back on the sofa and asked, “Tell me honestly, did the two of you quarrel when Zhao Lu suggested going back to school last night?”
Zhang Nan raised his head in a daze. After a while, he slowly nodded and said, “We quarreled. I did not want to let her leave, but she insisted on going back. In a fit of anger, I let her take a taxi to the school bus stop. Then, I went to drink with my colleagues.”
The doubts in Shen Yin’s heart gradually resolved and she continued to ask patiently, “The mall where you met yesterday was more than an hour’s drive from Zhao Lu’s school, so why did she tell you that she was being followed and not her roommates who were much closer to her?”
“How would I know?” Zhang Nan also sensed that something was wrong.
He had had many girlfriends and was very experienced in this area.
Logically speaking, after they had just quarreled and he had abandoned her, Zhao Lu would not have sent him a message to tell him that she was being followed.
On the contrary, the first person she should call for help should be her classmate or teacher from the school closest to her. There was no reason for her to tell a male friend she had made on the Internet. He was far away and she had only met him once.
There could only be one reason for her to do this, and that was because Zhao Lu believed that Zhang Nan could help her.
If that was the truth, then the identity of this murderer became intriguing.
Zhang Nan came back to his senses. He gulped and forced himself to calm down. His eyes were wide as he thought carefully. “I-I met Zhao Lu on a dating app. I work, she goes to school, and we usually don’t have any interactions. We don’t know anyone in common either. I really can’t figure out why she sent me a message!”
“I’ve found it!” Wu Zheng took the surveillance footage of the bar sent by Zou Sheng and pointed at the woman sitting beside Zhang Nan in the booth. “Who is this person?”
“She’s a girl I just met.” Zhang Nan lowered his head in shame. However, he only felt guilty for a moment before he suddenly raised her head and said, “Last night, we exchanged contact details. She touched my phone! She must have read the message!”
In the surveillance video, Zhang Nan had one hand on the girl’s shoulder and was holding a glass of wine in the other hand. He was chatting happily with his colleague, who was sitting opposite him and only the back of his head could be seen. It was exactly 8:30 pm.
Shen Yin checked the time in the surveillance video and saw Zhang Nan handing the phone to the girl beside him. Their heads were very close. After whispering a few words, the girl placed the phone back in front of Zhang Nan and stood up to leave the booth.
Wu Zheng cut out a clearer segment of the footage and sent it to Zou Sheng to ask him to find this woman. Then, he glared at Zhang Nan with a judgmental expression. “If you had read that message, you might know who the murderer is. Zhao Lu might have been saved!”
“It’s none of my business! It’s her fault for disobeying me!” Zhang Nan shouted hysterically.
Compared to Zhao Lu’s death, the possibility that the murderer had been right beside him terrified him more.
Wu Zheng snorted coldly. He really did not want to talk to Zhang Nan anymore. He walked back to Shen Yin’s side and suppressed his anger. He said in a low voice, “Let’s go back to the police station for a meeting first. Zou Sheng should have already gotten the results of his investigation.”
“Wait!” Shen Yin raised her hand to intercept Wu Zheng’s words. Her eyes were fixed on the surveillance video as she dragged the progress bar back to the scene of a man sitting beside Zhang Nan.
She glanced at the time in the upper right corner. It was 11 pm. She grabbed Zhang Nan’s collar, and asked coldly, “Tell me, who is this person?”