Consoling Shelter (#Completed)

chapter 13

"No matter how many times you question me, my reply will be the same as always. That is, NO, I didn't murder him."

Shen Wei answered stubbornly, being stared at by the police officers surrounding him. He is sitting on a chair, his hands cuffed to the table in front of him. He is exhausted with the constant interrogation that is continuing for several hours for now, which is shadowed in his entire self.

The officer sitting opposite Shen Wei suddenly slammed the table with his fist which startled him, his heartbeat racing for a moment.

"Don't make us lose our patience, Shen Wei. There's no use in denying it now. Even the fingerprint in the murder weapon matched with yours."

"So what if the fingerprint is mine?"
Shen Wei became restless. He doesn't know how to convince these people.

"I... Of course, I carried it with me... But somebody else stabbed him."

"And you want us to buy that? Whom else will carry a knife with them without the intention to murder?"

Of course, I intended to kill him. But thank God, someone else had done it for me. Shen Wei thought internally, but he can't say that out loud here.

"Look officers, I went there. True. I carried the knife with me. True.
But when I entered his room, he was already lying on the floor with his eyes wide open. I realised he was dead. I got frightened and stumbled down. Then I dashed out of the room with my life. I didn't notice that I dropped the knife and I didn't know how he got stabbed after I left. But now I know, l made the big mistake of my life. I should have called the police the moment I saw his body. I was just too scared and stupid at that time to talk it out even to my boyfriend."

This is what Shen Wei is repeating more than a hundred times. He can't explain anything more than this, which was what happened. He could only hope for his Yunlan to come and save him now.

"You are keeping up with your damn stubbornness huh?" The man shouted at him in anger.

Shen Wei furrowed his eyebrows in frustration."Why don't you guys believe me? Cheng Xin was already dead when I entered his room. You guys are deadset on making me the culprit and too lazy to find the real criminal."

The man interrogating Shen Wei seemed to lost all his boundaries. He raised from his chair and rolled his sleeves up furiously looking at Shen Wei. The man barged forward and grabbed his collars in anger as Shen Wei widened his eyes in anxiety.

"So, you are starting to blame us now!? You won't spit anything out without a good dose of beating." Shen Wei closed his eyes fearing for a punch that could land on him anytime soon as the man raised his fist to strike him, but a stern voice stopped those hands mid-air.

"Don't hit him." 

.........

Zhao Yunlan was pacing back and forth in his office while five people are gathered around the computer screen, replaying the CCTV footage over and over, which is showing a familiar figure to all of them.

"Boss, this is nuts. Apart from Shen Wei, nobody is going in or out of the room around the time of the murder." Lin Jing said eying between his boss and the screen.

"The dead body is found by the room boy around eight in the morning who came to clean the room. Since the time of death is around midnight, it rules out the possibility of him being the suspect." Chu Suzhi remarked.

"Hey boss, are you sure Shen Wei didn't kill him?" Lin Jing once again uttered questioningly which resulted in Zhao Yunlan glaring at him as if there is a fair chance that a similar murder could happen anytime soon.

"Hahaha... Of course not... Ain't he an angel?... How could he kill anyone... hehehe..." Lin Jing shivered and conceded fearing his wrath.

"Hmm... The CCTV couldn't capture this killer. Shen Wei didn't see him. Then... Would it possibly be a Ghost??" Daqing asked excitedly as if he found something, his cat eyes glittering with amusement.

"G - G - G - G - G - GHOST!!!" Little Guo shrieked and jumped to the arms of Chu Suzhi, who didn't wait for another one second to drop him down to the floor. "Ouch!" Guo rubbed his throbbing back while others laughed by muffling their sounds.

Zhao Yunlan is getting impatient with each second. He wanted to scream at these jerks who are joking at the expense of his troubles when he is standing on fire.
"Seems like I was living with blockheads only." Yunlan gritted his teeth and sighed, then turned towards the information collector of the group.

"Cong Bo, did you manage to find something on this guy?"

"Yes, Boss. This Cheng Xin guy was a bastard, playing and sleeping around, making enemies everywhere. But recently, he collided with Gu groups, suiting a case file in the court in the name of land acquisition against each other. It seemed like both parties suffered a huge loss."

"Good Cong Bo. At least someone here is being useful." Yunlan said to Cong Bo, while others glared at him with jealousy fleeing out of their eyes.

Yunlan pondered something in his head for a few minutes and then he spoke.
"The CCTV did not capture the culprit because, I think, either there is a secret passage which could lead to his room or, the video is tampered with. Let's go and check the damn hotel room to dig some clues." Everyone nodded in agreement filled with awe about his intelligence. It didn't take twenty minutes for them to reach the hotel.

...................

Chu Suzhi and Lin Jing are in stare down competition with the hotel receptionist.

"What do you mean you can't let us in? Do you have any idea who we are?" Chu asked with his ever condescending voice.

"We - we are sorry sir. But that room is sealed by the police and is under surveillance. We can't let outsiders in there." The receptionist was slightly trembling, fearing the two men hovering over her. Zhao Yunlan realised this kind of conversation won't work here, so he was about to talk appeasingly when he heard someone speaking.

"Threatening won't work here, mate. There are some procedures you should follow if you want something your way. Like asking permission from the concerned authorities?"

Everyone turned towards the source of sound and saw a tall, handsome man in uniform walking towards them. As he approached them, he pulled out his hands for a handshake.

"I am Han Chen, senior inspector of police, who is in charge of this case from now on."

Yunlan also extended his hands to return the handshake.

"And I am Zhao Yunlan, boyfriend of Shen Wei."

"Of course, I know you. In fact, who doesn't know the CEO of Zhao Associates?" Han Chen smirked.
"And what are you doing here anyway, instead of hiring a lawyer and bail him out?"

"Mr Han Chen, I have already hired a lawyer for him. But I can't wait that long for the court to summon his case. I need to prove his innocence as soon as possible."

"Hmm... What a coincidence. I got stressed too when I saw a beauty in distress in my office. Then I also felt this 'need' to save him from whoever wanted to frame him. So I took charge of this case. Then let's work together, right Mr Zhao?" Yunlan grunted annoyingly.

Seriously, Zhao Yunlan is not liking this Han Chen guy at all. Who is he to call his Shen Wei a beauty anyway! Only he is allowed to do so. But he just has to bear with this guy's cockiness to save his beloved, as their goals are the same, or so he believes.

They were walking towards the crime scene when Daqing whispered to his ears.
"Hey, Lao Zhao. Do you think we can trust him?"

"I don't know yet lazy cat. Just follow him for now."

...............................

I think I laid out all the clues clear and flat? Now Yunlan just has to save Shen Wei by connecting the dots from here and there, with the help of Han Chen. Since this ain't a detective novel, I am gonna save Shen Wei immediately, as Yunlan promised him😉. Sorry if this feels kind of rushed😅.

And please tell me guys, if my writing gets boring or unbearable.

Thank you for reading...💕💕