Chapter 425: Clearing the Suspicion

Han Fei, with Li Chen, Lao Zhou, and Xiao Zhang, set out for Yi He Xin Cun.

He planned to first investigate that couple, and also check the neighborhood's surveillance to see whether any suspicious residents were near Hao Qi when he was on duty.

The Police Station side was handed over to Xu Mo.

Wang Dachuan and Chen Ke stayed at the Police Station to help Xu Mo investigate the case.

Han Fei's workload was heavy, and Xu Mo's side was equally not easy.

After all, police officers differ from ordinary people; they are professionals who understand interrogation tactics well, and extracting words from a police officer's mouth is far harder than with a layperson.

Even someone like Xu Mo, versed in psychology, finds it somewhat troublesome without truth serum; of course, it's only a bit troublesome and does not mean Xu Mo has no way.

Office.

"Both of you, take the officers who worked with Hao Qi today to the Interrogation Room one by one; I'll question them individually," Xu Mo instructed the two.

"Alright," Wang Dachuan and Chen Ke replied in unison, then left the office.

The two arrived at the outdoor office area.

"Which officers carried out the mission with Hao Qi this morning?"

As soon as the words finished, three police officers stood up.

"Me."

"And me."

"I also went."

For a moment, the other officers' gazes turned to the three, thinking that Team Leader Xu must already have a hypothesis, marking the start of the investigation rhythm.

"Then could the three of you come here? Team Leader Xu has questions," Chen Ke said with a smile.

The three, under the stare of the other officers, followed Wang Dachuan and Chen Ke out of the office area to the Interrogation Room doorway.

At that moment, Xu Mo was already seated inside, waiting.

All three were police officers and understood the interrogation procedure; interrogations must be one at a time, not three together.

Realizing this, the three exchanged glances.

"Who goes in first?"

"I'll go first," one officer stepped forward, and Wang Dachuan pushed open the Interrogation Room door, ushering him in.

The remaining two officers found seats at the doorway; to avoid suspicion, they did not whisper or discuss the case.

"Team Leader Xu," the officer greeted Xu Mo upon entering and conscientiously sat in the interrogation chair.

Without delay, Xu Mo began questioning.

He didn't immediately ask about the case; instead, he posed a question that left the officer a bit puzzled.

"What do you think of Hao Qi as a person?"

"Uh?" the officer was momentarily stunned, then after a brief thought answered, "He... is quite decent, upright and optimistic, helpful, and well suited to be a police officer."

"How is his rapport within your station? Does he get along well with you? Has he ever had a conflict with anyone?"

"His relationships are pretty good; he gets along well with everyone, hasn't had any conflicts... as far as I know, none."

Xu Mo nodded.

He then continued asking.

"Now tell me the entire process of your dispatch today."

"This morning our Police Station received a report..." the officer began.

Xu Mo listened patiently.

After a short while, he finished; his account matched Hao Qi's exactly, with no discrepancies.

"During the mission, did you notice Hao Qi's gun holster?" Xu Mo asked, staring at the officer.

Whether the gun is in the holster is obvious at a glance; an empty holster is easy to spot.

Hao Qi himself might not constantly monitor his waist holster, but the officers working alongside him should, in principle, notice if the holster became empty and when, since they observe him closely from a side angle.

If the time and place of the gun's loss can be pinpointed, it would provide clues and at least narrow the suspect pool.

The officer shook his head, "I didn't notice that."

If a fellow officer's holster were empty, he would certainly have noticed.

"Think it over carefully again."

The officer frowned slightly, recalling the situation.

After a short while, he shook his head again: "I truly have no recollection."

Xu Mo examined the officer for a few seconds, saw no sign of lying, then smiled and said.

"I've finished for now; please call the next person in."

The officer stood, left the Interrogation Room, and called the next person in.

…

Half an hour later.

Xu Mo had questioned all three suspect officers.

"Team Leader Xu, any findings?" Wang Dachuan asked Xu Mo.

Xu Mo shook his head.

He asked the same questions of the three officers, and their answers were essentially identical.

All three thought Hao Qi had good rapport and had no conflicts with anyone at the station.

Meanwhile, from the interrogation, Xu Mo could tell the three harbored no hostility toward Hao Qi, meaning they wouldn't arbitrarily steal his gun and cause his punishment.

Moreover, all three stated they hadn't overly focused on Hao Qi's holster; in other words, they didn't notice when it became empty.

The suspicion on the three has been cleared.

"This makes no sense......", Xu Mo murmured.

Even if they hadn't paid special attention, the fact that the gun holsters carried by the fellow officers had become empty would certainly not be overlooked; after all, this is too important, and once lost, the problem is very serious.

The holsters hold their guns, so they might unconsciously overlook this, because it's normal; but if the holsters are empty, they have no reason to overlook it—even a quick glance would surely reveal the problem, and upon noticing they would at least inquire or give a reminder.

Hao Qi wouldn't wait until returning to the police station to report duty before realizing his gun was missing.

Xu Mo rubbed his temples.

He again recalled Hao Qi, including what the three officers had said: "When we were looking for the complainant's residence, many residents in the community saw our guns at our waists and followed us, wanting to watch the excitement, and we couldn't drive them away."

"So the gun wasn't lost then……When was it lost?", Xu Mo muttered to himself while reviewing the situation at that time.

First, the four officers, including Hao Qi, were the first to rush out armed after receiving the report; the complainant claimed her husband was holding a knife and preparing to strike her.

In such a situation, it is necessary for the officers to go out armed; they need to use their guns to deter the complainant's husband, to prevent him from hurting someone with the knife.

While carrying their issued firearms, to stop a "madman" from hurting someone with a knife, the officers would inevitably draw their guns and confront the complainant's husband; even if they later learned this was a false alarm and that the husband was not insane, before breaking in, Hao Qi should have drawn his gun—or at least made the motion—since they did not know beforehand that the complainant had filed a false report.

Facing a knife-wielding assailant, it is necessary to draw one's gun.

Thinking this, Xu Mo immediately stood up, preparing to go and ask Hao Qi for details about what happened before he entered the complainant's residence.

If he had drawn or touched his gun before entering the complainant's home, that would indicate that, prior to mediating the couple's dispute, the gun was still on Hao Qi's person.

The gun might have been lost while mediating the dispute.

If that were the case, then the community residents would have no suspicion……the suspicion would fall on that couple!