eurekapd Chapter 1418 Interrogation Begins, Refuses to Confess
Chapter 1418 Interrogation Begins, Refuses to Confess
Taking advantage of his height and strength, Zheng Jin swung the steel pipe wildly, making it difficult to control for a moment. Xiao Zhou seized the opportunity, rushed forward, and struck Zheng Jin's wrist with his baton. Zheng Jin cried out in pain, and the steel pipe fell to the ground.
Just as the team members were about to handcuff Zheng Jin, he suddenly broke free and ran towards the living room window. The living room window faced the backyard of the community. Zheng Jin pushed open the window and jumped out. "Oh no! He's trying to escape!" Xiao Zhou shouted and immediately led the team members after him.
Zheng Jin jumped from the fourth-floor window, landing on the lawn below. He sustained some injuries but was otherwise unharmed. Ignoring the pain, he got up and ran towards the community's perimeter wall. Hearing the commotion, the pursuit team members immediately surrounded him in the direction he was fleeing. "Stop! Don't move!" the team members shouted. But Zheng Jin ignored them, running desperately forward, trying to climb over the wall to escape.
The community wall was about 2.5 meters high. Zheng Jin ran to the base of the wall, grabbed the top with both hands, and began to climb. Just as he was about to clear the wall, members of the pursuit team arrived. One officer pounced on him and grabbed his legs. Zheng Jin struggled to break free, but another officer immediately stepped forward and struck him in the back with a baton. Zheng Jin cried out in pain and fell off the wall.
The team members immediately rushed forward, pinned Zheng Jin to the ground, and handcuffed him behind his back. Zheng Jin continued to struggle desperately, shouting, "Why are you arresting me? I haven't committed a crime!" But the team members ignored his shouts and firmly restrained him. At this moment, Xiao Zhou and his assault team arrived at the scene. Seeing that Zheng Jin had been successfully subdued, they breathed a sigh of relief.
The team members then pulled Zheng Jin up from the ground and carefully examined his body, finding only minor abrasions and no serious injuries. "Take him away!" Xiao Zhou gave the order, and the team members escorted Zheng Jin towards the civilian vehicles at the east gate of the residential area. Residents inside the community were awakened and opened their windows to see what was happening. Seeing the police escorting someone, they began to discuss the situation. The security team members immediately stepped forward to maintain order, explaining to the residents that it was a normal law enforcement action and that they should not panic.
Around 3 a.m., the team members escorted Zheng Jin into a civilian vehicle and successfully returned to the Criminal Investigation Detachment. The arrest operation was a complete success, with no casualties. Although Xiao Zhou and his team members all looked exhausted, their eyes were filled with excitement and determination. They knew that arresting Zheng Jin was only the first step in solving the case; the subsequent interrogation would be even more crucial. They needed to obtain Zheng Jin's confession, find the murder weapon and related evidence, and thoroughly uncover the truth behind this murder case.
The lights in the Criminal Investigation Division were still bright, and Li Ming was already waiting in the office. Upon learning that Zheng Jin had been successfully apprehended, he nodded and said, “Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Zhou. Your work is outstanding; you successfully identified and apprehended a major suspect. Next, immediately establish an interrogation team and prepare for the interrogation. The interrogation must be conducted strictly according to legal procedures to ensure the legality and validity of the evidence obtained. At the same time, the technical department must immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation of Zheng Jin's residence, searching for murder tools, bloodstained clothing, and other relevant evidence, comparing them with the trace evidence collected at the scene to further confirm Zheng Jin's suspicion.”
Xiao Zhou nodded: "Understood, Captain Li. We are fully prepared and will definitely find out the truth of the case as soon as possible and give justice to the deceased Tian Bin." Xiao Zhou then immediately organized his team to prepare for the interrogation, sorting through case clues and evidence, and formulating an interrogation strategy. Technical personnel also rushed to Zheng Jin's residence to conduct a comprehensive investigation. Within the Criminal Investigation Detachment, a new battle was about to begin.
At 3:30 a.m., Zheng Jin was escorted to the interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. The interrogation room was not large, with walls painted a somber light gray. A metal interrogation table was placed in the center, with a desk lamp on it. The light was precisely focused on the area in front of Zheng Jin, casting a long shadow of him. Xiao Zhou personally presided over the interrogation, while team member Xiao Li was responsible for taking notes. Xiao Wang sat to the side and behind, his eyes fixed intently on Zheng Jin, creating an invisible pressure.
Zheng Jin was handcuffed and sat in the interrogation chair. The minor abrasions on his body hadn't been treated, and the blood on his forehead had already dried. His head was slightly lowered, his hands under the table, his fingers unconsciously curling, but his tense shoulders and the occasional flash of arrogance in his eyes revealed that he had no intention of easily confessing. The only sound in the interrogation room was the faint hum of the air conditioner; the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating.
Xiao Zhou didn't rush to speak. Instead, he picked up the case file on the table and slowly flipped through it, deliberately making the sound of paper rubbing together. He knew that to deal with a suspect like Zheng Jin, who had a prior robbery conviction and was highly aware of counter-surveillance, the first step was to break his psychological balance and make him feel panicked in his silence. A few minutes later, Xiao Zhou put down the case file, looked directly at Zheng Jin, and said in a calm but undeniably authoritative tone: "Zheng Jin, do you know why we're arresting you?"
Zheng Jin suddenly raised his head, a hint of provocation in his eyes, and curled his lips: "I don't know why you arrested me! I didn't steal or rob, did you arrest the wrong person?" His voice was a little hoarse, but he deliberately raised his voice, trying to cover up his inner panic.
"No theft or robbery?" Xiao Zhou sneered, pulled a photo from the file, and pushed it in front of Zheng Jin. "Do you recognize him?" The photo was of the deceased, Tian Bin, in a gentle smile. Zheng Jin's gaze lingered on the photo for a moment, his eyes flickering involuntarily, before he regained his composure and shook his head: "No, I don't know him. I've never seen him before."
"Don't you recognize him?" Xiao Zhou took out a photo of another ledger, the one they found in the cashier's drawer at Hongda Convenience Store. It clearly recorded Zheng Jin's multiple loans. "Then explain why your name is on this list? From March 2024 until the case came to light, you borrowed money from Tian Bin seven or eight times, accumulating a debt of 32800 yuan. You also borrowed 8000 yuan a week before the case was brought to court, which you still haven't repaid. These are all facts, right?"
Zheng Jin's expression changed slightly, and his hands unconsciously clenched into fists, but he still tried to remain calm: "What's wrong with borrowing money? I did borrow money from him, but this is just a normal debt dispute. Does not repaying a loan mean I should be arrested? You police are being so unreasonable!" His tone became agitated, and he leaned forward slightly, trying to use anger to cover up his guilty conscience.
“Of course we won’t arrest you because of a debt dispute,” Xiao Zhou said calmly. “But Tian Bin is dead. He died in the West Suburbs Park around 1 a.m. on the day of the incident. Our investigation found that you went to his convenience store the afternoon before the incident, went towards the West Suburbs Park at 10:30 p.m., and returned to the community from the park at 1:30 a.m., looking flustered and with mud on your body. How do you explain all this?”