Betrayal of Wisteria ✓

6

Officer Gong sat in the break room with Officer Pan. His hands had a firm grip on the desk as he spoke to her through gritted teeth, "She's been through enough!" He barked. "The last thing she needs is for you to tell her she's a suspect when she's not!"

"You know damn well that girl didn't do it!" Were his final words as Officer Pan nodded.

"And maybe she didn't," She agreed. "But she knows something. Maybe she was an accomplice."

"It's been reported that Qi Qiao was raped before she was murdered. I know women are capable of rape, but male sperm was found in her — from multiple guys." Officer Gong pointed out. "Everyone knows Zhen Jie doesn't hang out with anyone. She's always at school or at home whereas the girls that bullied Qi Qiao are known for being with males all of the time."

"Tell me, Officer Pan... is this really the right case for you? You seemed to have overlooked those small, obvious details and immediately jumped to accuse Zhen Jie because she was the last person to see Qi Qiao." His voice was laced with accusation an confidence, as if he'd recognized key points that Pan did not. "Qi Qiao left Zhen Jie's place around two or three. Autopsy reports said she died later that night. Zhen Jie's neighbors never reported seeing Zhen Jie leave her home after that."

"They also haven't reported seeing her leave with a guy every day after you drop her off," Officer Pan spat. A smirk crept onto her face when she saw Officer Gong's smile drop. "You didn't know?"

"You're supposed to be protecting her but you didn't even know she's been living with someone else..." She continued. "Ever since she's become a suspect again, we've had officers sitting outside of her apartment complex. He sneaks into her place before you arrive, and when you leave, so do they."

"And that's not all either... he's been wanted for a few years. He's a criminal himself... but you want to put it past your precious Zhenjie Xu." The paleness that took over Officer Gong's face did little to tell how he was feeling. Officer Pan could tell if he was paling due to being upset that he'd failed to notice the obvious, or if it was because he too was guilty and had been helping Zhen Jie get away with murder.

Either way it went, Zhen Jie was not the only person Officer Pan had her suspicions about. Gong was also on her radar. The way he took up for Zhen Jie was not normal for a police officer when the evidence blatantly pointed towards a person. She could understand him standing even ground, but not immediately rushing to defend Zhen Jie.

"This is why you can't work the case. You let your personal relationship with her fuck up everything." Officer Gong retorted. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to catch on in the beginning. We thought he was just her boyfriend or someone that she snuck out with. The boy's smarter than he looks."

"He kept his distance from her from the start. He was discreet about going to her home — but as he grew more attached he stopped. Especially when he nearly attacked someone outside of her apartment." Being pulled out of Officer Pan's briefcase were documents and photos of Yi Zhao. Some of them included Zhen Jie, some were of him at her home, and others were of him as a youngster — his mugshot also making an appearance. "That's when we saw his face... it wasn't until earlier today when we realized who he was."

"You know, I never suspected that Zhenjie Xu killed Qi Qiao. I think she lured Qi Qiao away for her little friend, Yi Zhaohui to rape and kill." She continued organizing the papers on the table, sliding a witness statement in front of Officer Gong. "Someone recently informed us of his intimate relationship with the deceased. He even assaulted her before and we pulled the camera. We have the footage."

"Another statement said he'd get upset with her if she didn't want to perform sexual acts with him and he'd sometimes force her to." Gong's hand twitched as he picked up a photo of Yi Zhao and Qi Qiao. It was a snapshot from surveillance footage that explicitly showed Yi Zhao standing over Qi Qiao. Her hair had fallen over her face and she cupped her knee in her hand as if she'd scraped it. Though Yi Zhao's face was not depicted clearly, his expression was obviously one of distress.