Chapter 1046 Gao Feng’s Cunning

Did Gao Feng come prepared, or did the other guy really not remember clearly?

For Wang Zhaokai, it was definitely the former!

He felt Gao Feng was lying.

Of course, Gao Feng wasn’t lying all the time; out of ten things he said, nine might be true, and only one was false.

For example, the cause of the conflict between him and Zhao Xiaowan, what they did in the rental room, and so on—those might all be true.

But when it came to the specific description of the killing, Gao Feng definitely wasn’t telling the truth.

Like when Wang Zhaokai asked whether he smashed Zhao Xiaowan’s face with a stone, or hit the back of her head a few times, Gao Feng said that because it had been too long, he might have forgotten.

Could he really forget?

If it had only been a fight, then after nine years, sure, he might not remember clearly; that would be normal.

But killing someone is different!

Wang Zhaokai had handled many homicide cases and interrogated many murder suspects.

Some had killed one person, some had killed several.

But the vast majority remembered their killing process extremely clearly; every detail seemed etched into their brains, and they could recall it all.

Only a tiny number, in crimes of passion, wouldn’t show this pattern.

But in Wang Zhaokai’s judgment, Gao Feng’s killing was definitely not a crime of passion.

Because in the killing process he’d just described, some details were very clear, yet the exact way he killed Zhao Xiaowan was rather vague; that didn’t fit the usual pattern.

Among the offenders Wang Zhaokai had interrogated, it was normal for details unrelated to the actual killing to be vague; and as time went by, that vagueness would only grow.

But conversely, the specific killing details would become clearer and clearer; as time passed, that clarity would feel like something engraved in their minds.

Because for a normal person who’s killed, as long as he isn’t a psychopath, he will, unwittingly or in his dreams, repeatedly recall the details of the killing. The longer the time, the more often he recalls them, and the deeper those details are imprinted. So the passage of time doesn’t make him forget the concrete details of the killing; instead, they become even sharper.

Gao Feng was lying; he must have concealed the specific killing details and woven a lie instead.

"Gao Feng, tell the killing process one more time, starting from when Zhao Xiaowan got off the car in Nangang Village."

Gao Feng seemed a bit puzzled, a bit confused as to why the other side wanted him to repeat it.

After pausing for a moment, Gao Feng said, "Did I... not say it in enough detail just now?"

Wang Zhaokai nodded.

"This is our standard interrogation practice. The details of the killing must be thorough and exhaustive, and to prevent suspects from lying, we have to cross-check their statements before and after."

Of course, Wang Zhaokai wasn’t telling the truth; there was no such rule that statements had to be cross-checked like this. He simply felt that since Gao Feng was clearly lying, then the parts he had fabricated must have been carefully thought out.

Interrogation is essentially applied psychology in practice.

Based on his interrogation experience, if the other party isn’t lying, then that portion of the description usually won’t be exactly the same each time. The meaning is the same, but the way it’s phrased may differ slightly.

But once that portion is a lie, then the earlier and later statements can even be word-for-word identical, because the person has memorized them in advance.

Gao Feng bore no ulterior motives, and he’d never gone through an interrogation before, so he didn’t get suspicious. He continued recounting the killing process he had just described.

"That night I left the rental room with Zhao Xiaowan, and after we got a cab, what I originally wanted was..."

Gao Feng once again narrated the entire killing process from the afternoon of June 26 nine years ago.

"When we got to Nangang, Zhao Xiaowan said she wanted to get out to use the bathroom. After I got out with her, I didn’t expect her to see through my plan to send her back to Dongjiang, and then she just kept running, with me chasing behind."

"On the east end of Nangang Village there’s a pond; it was only when we got there that I finally caught her."

As Gao Feng recounted, Wang Zhaokai compared this with his earlier statement.

Sure enough, although there were some differences in wording in this part, the meaning was unchanged; apart from this section, it was very likely true.

And logically speaking, there was no need for Gao Feng to lie about this part.

Then Gao Feng began to describe the specific process of the killing.

"We were grappling with each other; she grabbed a stone from the side and smashed me in the face with it."

"Actually, at that moment I didn’t want to kill her, I just wanted to wrest the stone from her hand. After I snatched it away, I just hit her a few times with it, but then..."

Wang Zhaokai frowned.

When Gao Feng described the killing process, it was identical to what he had just said, not off by a single word.

That was impossible.

Gao Feng had clearly polished this part of the killing account; what he was giving the police was something he had memorized.

While Wang Zhaokai compared it with the previous statement, Gao Feng continued describing the killing, and in no time he finished recounting the entire process.

"Officer Wang, could I have another cigarette?"

A cigarette?

He could wait a bit.

"Gao Feng, from the way you’re talking, do you think that just because nine years have passed since Zhao Xiaowan was killed, we can only take whatever you say about the killing process at face value?"

Wang Zhaokai narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the changes in Gao Feng’s expression. As expected, when he said this, the other man’s pupils dilated slightly and his face stiffened.

"I’ll give you one more chance. Tell us truthfully the entire killing process from that time. Be honest and you’ll be treated leniently; resist and we’ll be harsh."

"Officer, I didn’t lie; what I just told you is the real process, you have to believe me."

Gao Feng hurried to defend himself.

Wang Zhaokai waved his hand.

"Gao Feng, I’ll show you something. After you look at it, then answer me carefully."

Then, Wang Zhaokai took out a photograph.

The recorder next to him handed the photograph to Gao Feng.

"Do you know what this is?"

The photo was of a skull.

"This is a photo of Zhao Xiaowan’s skull. After her body was dumped into the reservoir by you, what’s left now is only a skeleton."

"But don’t think that just because her body is gone, we’ve found nothing. Take a good look at the wounds on this skull."

"If what you described about how you injured her is true, then there should be marks of stone blows on the facial area of her skull. But look where the wounds in this photo actually are."

"You may have no idea how advanced forensic technology is now."

"Our forensic experts have already done a certain level of scene reconstruction based on the injuries on the skull."

"I advise you to tell the truth. If this time your entire account of the killing doesn’t match the crime scene reconstruction done by our forensic experts, Gao Feng, you need to think very carefully about the consequences!"