Chapter 237: Unexpected Connection to a Robbery Case!

Tang Ye stepped into another Interrogation Room.

His gaze landed on Guo Mingzhou, Deputy Director of the Execution Bureau of the Suiyuan County People's Court.

Guo Mingzhou was around thirty-five years old, with a tall, sturdy build of about 1.75 meters; his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and his entire being radiated a strong professional aura.

Before meeting with Guo Mingzhou, Tang Ye had already carefully studied his file.

Guo Mingzhou had once served in the military, and after retiring, he transferred to the People's Court.

After ten years of tempering, he had grown into a mainstay of the County Court.

In his daily life, he had a good reputation and had once been awarded a Third-Class Merit.

For this interrogation, Wan Ming served as the lead interrogator, while Tang Ye stood to the side, intently observing Guo Mingzhou's every move.

"Director Guo, we invited you here today mainly to assist in the investigation of a case," Wan Ming spoke first.

"What case? Rest assured, I will certainly cooperate fully with your work," Guo Mingzhou responded calmly, with a relaxed expression.

"Three years ago, a vicious case of rape and assault occurred in Suiyuan County, where the victim, Cao Lili, was repeatedly violated by several minors. You were the one who followed up and executed this case at the time, right?" Wan Ming threw out the key question.

Guo Mingzhou nodded slightly, "That's correct, I was indeed responsible for the execution of this case. At the time, the evidence was conclusive, and the perpetrators confessed and accepted their punishment. It was just that, considering they were minors, they were ultimately sent to a juvenile detention center for reform."

Wan Ming glanced at Tang Ye without leaving a trace, conveying a subtle message.

Tang Ye understood, and took over the rhythm of the interrogation:

"Director Guo, the criminal suspect has now changed his testimony. He claims that he confessed to the previous case under duress; in this way, the so-called 'conclusive evidence' from back then becomes questionable."

Guo Mingzhou's brows instantly knit into a "chuan" shape, and he questioned, "You don't mean to suspect that I forged evidence without authorization, do you? How can you question our professional integrity based solely on the one-sided words of a criminal? Your line of thinking is purely groundless speculation!"

Tang Ye continued, "Whether it is groundless speculation, you know best in your heart. Not long after that case occurred, you were promoted to Deputy Director of the Execution Bureau; this timing is a bit too coincidental."

Guo Mingzhou slammed the table, his emotions becoming agitated: "Comrade, are you implying that I was promoted because I helped fake evidence? You are not only insulting my character, but also the seriousness of the organization's promotion of cadres."

Wan Ming coughed at the right moment and introduced him to Guo Mingzhou: "This is Tang Ye, Secretary of the Second Section of the Municipal Government; he is participating in this case investigation under the instructions of Executive Vice Mayor Jiang Jing."

A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Guo Mingzhou's mouth: "Don't use official positions to pressure me. I have a clear conscience regarding my work. I know what you are up to; it is nothing more than wanting me to admit that I was instigated by Secretary Wang to provide false testimony for Wang Liang. You are spreading rumors; you want to carry out political persecution against Secretary Wang! I will report you to the higher authorities!"

Tang Ye's expression was calm: "Director Guo, please don't be in a hurry to get angry. There is something I would like to ask you about. Twelve years ago, your father had a heart attack and urgently needed surgery. At that time, you were still serving in the military; given your family's economic situation, I'm afraid it would have been difficult to afford such high surgical fees. I would like to know how this money was resolved?"

It seemed like a feint to divert the topic.

It had an unexpected effect!

Guo Mingzhou's expression clearly stalled, and his voice tightened slightly: "I borrowed the money from a comrade-in-arms. I have already paid it back later. What does this have to do with the case?"

Tang Ye keenly captured the change in Guo Mingzhou's emotions, and his intuition told him there must be a hidden story here, so he followed this clue and pressed step by step: "Economic problems are often the root of corruption. Can you tell me who this comrade-in-arms is?"

"His name is Ji Datong. After the money was paid back, we had no further contact," Guo Mingzhou answered, appearing composed.

"That's not right. To be able to lend you hundreds of thousands for surgery, the relationship must be extremely deep; how could you not keep contact information? Director Guo, your words are a bit untenable!" Tang Ye keenly discovered the flaw.

Guo Mingzhou tried his best to suppress his inner emotions, pretending to be calm: "Stop beating around the bush; I will not help you politically persecute Secretary Wang. Secretary Wang is a recognized good cadre in Suiyuan County, dedicated to the people and having made outstanding contributions. I will never act as an accomplice to a tyrant!"

The interrogation reached a stalemate, and continuing to ask yielded no further progress.

Tang Ye gave Wan Ming a look, and the two stood up in tacit agreement and left the Interrogation Room together.

"Guo Mingzhou is much more cunning than we expected. On the surface, he is actively cooperating, but as soon as we touch on key issues, he cleverly avoids them, leaving no gaps," Wan Ming frowned slightly, his words revealing a bit of helplessness.

Tang Ye rubbed his chin and analyzed, "The moment we mentioned his father's surgery, his whole demeanor went wrong, and his emotional fluctuations were particularly large. I am certain that there is a big problem hidden here."

Tracing back to the 1990s, the cost of heart surgery was an astronomical figure, and for an ordinary family, it was undoubtedly an unbearable burden.

Yet Guo Mingzhou was able to pay off this huge debt in just a few years; there must have been an unexpected income of unknown origin behind it.

Furthermore, looking at Guo Mingzhou's evasive attitude just now, this money was likely not something that could see the light of day.

"Try every possible way to contact Ji Datong! In addition, find a way to get Guo Mingzhou's detailed file, the more detailed the better," Tang Ye patted Wan Ming on the shoulder.

Not long after, Wan Ming successfully contacted Ji Datong, and after communicating with him, informed Tang Ye of the result.

"Ji Datong said that Guo Mingzhou did indeed borrow money from him back then, but the amount was too large, and his money was just a drop in the bucket. Later, Guo Mingzhou told him that he had scraped together the surgical fees. At that time, in order to raise the surgical fees for his father, Guo Mingzhou even took home leave."

"When did he take his home leave?"

"In May."

Tang Ye fell into silence, his expression complex.

Wan Ming keenly sensed the strangeness in Tang Ye's mood, "What's wrong, any new discoveries?"

Tang Ye said meaningfully:

"Old Wan, I'm afraid we've stumbled upon another big case. If nothing goes wrong, you can use this to earn another great merit!"

"What do you mean?" Wan Ming looked at Tang Ye strangely.

"There is a case that left a deep impression on me. In May of '94, an extremely vicious robbery occurred here in Hanzhou. Five robbers first hijacked a taxi, and then, when a cash-in-transit vehicle was transferring cash, they rushed out and snatched a cash box containing 1.29 million yuan. This case resulted in a tragic outcome of one death and two injuries. At the time, the police only extracted some fingerprints and a few cigarette butts at the crime scene. Those perpetrators were extremely meticulous, and in subsequent investigations, the police simply couldn't find any valuable clues; having no other choice, the case had to be shelved and became a cold case."

Wan Ming widened his eyes, "You mean, it's possible that Guo Mingzhou participated in that robbery?"

Tang Ye picked up a cigarette and sniffed it near his nose.

"Currently, it's just a suspicion; it still needs further verification. You hurry and collect Guo Mingzhou's fingerprints to compare with the fingerprints left at the crime scene back then. If they really match, that would truly be a case of 'planting flowers unintentionally, yet they grow into shade'—an unexpected harvest."