Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Of course, making this decision, even for an experienced detective like Wei Zheng, wasn’t a sure thing. Several times, he couldn’t help glancing at the lie-detection expert sent down from the province, hoping this renowned specialist would say something in these times of utter cluelessness.

But the expert kept her eyes glued to her computer, ignoring the surrounding chatter. Only after a while did she sense Wei Zheng’s imploring gaze. She looked up and met his eyes, giving a cautious nod.

Deputy Director Wei Zheng immediately caught the expert’s meaning. He rapped the table with his fountain pen, and the conference room instantly fell silent.

“Alright, everyone hold up for a moment. Professor Lin has something to say.”

Lin Zhiwei stood up, took the remote control, walked to the front, and paused the image on the big screen. Then she deftly rewound to an earlier clip.

“Look here,” Lin Zhiwei got straight to the point, enlarging the video to show Pei Yuming’s entire face. “This part is the suspect’s recollection of being taken away by the police at the subway station as a witness. According to the written record and the on-site surveillance footage, the details Pei Yuming described to Captain Cao are very accurate. We can be certain he’s telling the truth here.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, looking at her expectantly.

“Remember, this is a prerequisite.”

Lin Zhiwei pressed play again, circling with a laser pointer as she spoke. “Pay attention to the suspect’s eyes and gaze direction. Almost every time he recalls this incident, he subconsciously looks down to the left. Later, when he’s answering some routine questions from Captain Cao, this movement also appears. Therefore, we can preliminarily conclude that this downward-left glance is a baseline for when he tells the truth-”

The crowd nodded again with understanding.

“But look here,” Lin Zhiwei fast-forwarded to the part where Pei Yuming first claimed he killed someone. “Here, when Captain Cao asks him some details, he also subconsciously glances down-left several times. After that, every time he recounts events from his so-called ‘Flashback’ world, this movement appears as well.”

“You mean…” Deputy Director Zhou Zheng couldn’t help but interject, “he really killed someone?”

“I don’t know. I’m just stating what I see,” Lin Zhiwei shook her head, while also fast-forwarding to where Pei Yuming described killing Lu Dong. “Here, his gaze flows entirely between Captain Cao and the down-left area. If we go by the earlier conclusion, then we can also infer that this entire segment from Pei Yuming is also the truth.”

…

When this conclusion was spoken, the conference room fell utterly silent. Everyone exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief.

“Impossible!” The Chief Medical Examiner was so anxious he spread his hands. “The victims Bai Xue and Lu Dong died of cyanide poisoning. Their bodies had no external wounds, not even scars. How could they have been stabbed to death by him?!”

Lin Zhiwei said nothing. She had read the autopsy report and understood his confusion.

Wei Zheng also couldn’t help scratching his head. This wasn’t his first collaboration with this expert surnamed Lin. Years ago, the specialist had assisted the Municipal Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment in cracking several major cases. He trusted her judgment completely.

Yet her conclusion clearly contradicted the facts. But he couldn’t question her expertise. So, after mulling it over, he tentatively asked, “Professor Lin… is it possible that if he received prior training, his reactions could create the illusion of telling the truth?”
“Theoretically, it’s possible,” Lin Zhiwei frowned and explained, “But people’s subconscious reactions are very fast. Even with training, in some situations there are bound to be noticeable delays. I’ve watched these video clips repeatedly just now, and his reactions show no flaws. Unless he fully believes what he’s saying-that in his world, these things actually happened.”

This hypothesis was even more absurd than Pei Yuming having received professional training, and the meeting room fell silent again.

After a long while, Zhou Zheng probed cautiously, “So you mean…”

Lin Zhiwei licked her lips and weighed her words, “If the suspect isn’t lying and isn’t deliberately toying with the interrogators, then I think changing the interrogation strategy right now might not be appropriate.”

“Then should we just let him keep spouting nonsense like this?” Zhou Zheng was clearly agitated.

“Hey, Old Zhou,” Wei Zheng stepped in to mediate, “Professor Lin is only sharing her observations. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let Lao Cao continue along this line of questioning for now. There’s still time, let’s all keep watching.”

Receiving this directive, Cao Lei made a discreet gesture at the camera, then composed himself and refocused fully on Pei Yuming.

“You just said that your younger brother discovered your wife’s affair with Lu Dong long ago, right?” Cao Lei had keenly spotted a key point in Pei Yuming’s account.

Pei Yuming gritted his teeth and nodded.

“Then why didn’t he tell you?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had the chance to ask him yet.”

“What do you think the reason is? Do you have any guesses?”

Pei Yuming’s lips moved, his expression dark, but in the end he still shook his head.

Cao Lei of course saw he was avoiding the question, and ventured a guess: “Do you suspect your wife said something to your brother?”

Pei Yuming’s cheeks tightened, but he still didn’t speak.

Cao Lei narrowed his eyes and said bluntly, “Do you think they also had an affair?”

“I didn’t say that!” Pei Yuming suddenly looked up and glared at him.

So that was it.

Cao Lei leaned in closer and stated firmly, “Do you hate your brother?”

Pei Yuming clenched his fists, his face showing clear pain and conflict, but in the end he still shook his head.

“Have you ever thought about making your brother disappear? After all, he hid this from you and even helped two outsiders,” Cao Lei continued: “I heard that your brother hasn’t worked since his divorce and relies entirely on you for support. And yet he treats you like this. No normal person could accept that.”

A flash of anger crossed Pei Yuming’s eyes. He said bitterly, “I really never expected that he would help Bai Xue keep it from me. I am so disappointed. In this family, besides my dad, he is the closest to me. Ever since we were kids, he always told me everything right away. I just can’t understand why he would help Bai Xue and Lu Dong on this matter. If I can go back later, I will definitely go ask him immediately.”

Cao Lei pressed his lips together, restraining himself. “You think you’ll be able to go back to the subway car later?”

Pei Yuming nodded.

“What if you can’t go back? Now that your brother was poisoned along with the others, would you feel that he got what he deserved?”

Pei Yuming lowered his head again in conflict, but Cao Lei didn’t miss the flicker of reluctance in his expression. Indeed, if he were to kill his own brother just for hiding the affair, such a motive would clearly lack persuasiveness.

Unless there was something else they hadn’t discovered yet.