Only Qin Guan and Old He were in the room.
Of course, that was only the appearance—ever since being brought into this interrogation room, there had only been one table and the two men confronting each other across it.
But in reality, far more than two people were present—Qin Guan knew this best. On the other side of that window, observing this interrogation the whole time, who knew how many people there were?
Therefore, the moment Qin Guan sat down, he had resolved that no matter what He Zhisheng said or did, he would remain calm, deal with it, and save his energy and focus for tomorrow.
However, at this moment, he was completely in disarray.
The sound of the door closing was loud, like a bomb buried deep in the earth. After the thud, the cement floor beneath his feet seemed to crack, the square room began to sway, and the light overhead distorted inexplicably.
His eyes stared straight ahead, unbelievingly fixed on the wheelchair. His reason, like a castle built on sand, collapsed and crumbled in an instant.
That wheelchair?
After several months, the image of the wheelchair shattering on the day of the accident seemed different from this dilapidated, hideously welded thing before him.
But it also seemed to be the exact same one—identical brand, color, style...
But how was that possible?
"You were certain I absolutely couldn't find it, weren't you?"
Old He sneered. "Indeed, you handled this evidence, the wheelchair, masterfully. After the accident, under the pretext of sparing Xu Ruyi grief, you dismantled it, sold the pieces separately, one part here, another there. The parts you couldn't dismantle, you threw to the old junk collector in Jiayuan Community. Because you knew that old man—anything that went to him, he could find a way to smash into dust, break into tiny fragments, and then sell those fragments one by one. After all, he had plenty of time!"
"Your calculations were brilliant! You didn't need to find a way to destroy the evidence yourself; plenty of people did it for you. Within a week, it was like water entering the sea—that wheelchair was practically vanished without a trace, impossible for anyone in the world to find!"
"What a brilliant plan, Qin Guan! Perfect, and so natural!" Old He said coldly. "Pity... I still found it!"
Impossible.
Qin Guan still couldn't accept it. He wanted to appear natural and relaxed, wanted to open his mouth and say something, wanted to speak smoothly and casually. But his tongue seemed tied; not a single word came out.
Cold.
His handcuffed hands rose to his chest, wanting to hug his arms, because waves of cold air seemed to rush at him from all sides.
The cold wind pierced through his thin prison uniform, needling into his skin like pins, reaching straight to his heart and lungs.
Shudder after shudder racked his body.
He shook his head, mechanically shaking his head amidst the dizziness and swaying—Impossible, not right, it can't be, this is fake, unreal...
"Don't believe it? Hah, you schemed a thousand ways, but you couldn't calculate the human heart!" Old He sneered. "You didn't expect that old man to be greedy. Although you repeatedly urged him to quickly get rid of that wheelchair part, so your wife wouldn't see it and be sad, and although he promised and guaranteed with his mouth that the thing would be reduced to scrap metal within an hour... the fact is, after he took it back, he changed his mind!"
Old He leaned forward, both hands planted on the table, his entire body bearing down on Qin Guan like a mountain.
"He heard people say this wheelchair cost several thousand, even ten thousand yuan when new. He got greedy. So, he had another idea."
Another cold shudder.
Qin Guan licked his parched lips, wanting to say something, but dense needles of cold stabbed straight into his heart. Uncontrollably, a layer of sweat rapidly beaded up on his skin.
He was breaking out in a cold sweat. He could also feel his own body swaying.
Old He stared at those dense beads of sweat, his words relentless. "So, he took it home, hid it in his house, kept it for months. Then he took it to his relative's repair shop! Not only that, he started searching for the other parts you'd thrown away! Because he had quite the business sense—weld it, repair it, even as a second-hand wheelchair, it should still sell for a couple thousand yuan..."
No, impossible, impossible.
Qin Guan kept shaking his head, his body leaning further back. The swaying of the room intensified.
Impossible. The day after he threw it to the old man, he had pretended to pass by and chatted with him. At the time, the old man had even kicked the tiny fragments at his feet and said, "Look, that's the wheelchair. I took care of dismantling it in no time."
"He lied to you, said he smashed it all up!"
Old He laughed. "Lawyer Qin, such a clever man like you could actually be deceived? This should be called 'the net of heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through'! He kept most of the wheelchair! And the smaller parts—I found them! You probably forgot what era this is! This is the era of mobile payments! Buy a fart and it's done with mobile payment! As long as it's mobile payment, I can find the people! Find the people, and I can retrieve the parts one by one! Even if he'd already installed them on a car or a roof, I could still take them apart one by one!"
Old He smacked the table hard.
Full of imposing force, resolute and decisive.
This man was capable of it—Qin Guan breathed rapidly, watching Old He's face spin and distort before him. When he had inquired about this He guy, colleagues had told him: this guy isn't too smart, his rank isn't high, stubborn, a one-track mind. They said he solved cases like an ox, using clumsy methods, regardless of whether the path was right, digging straight to the bottom.
He had dug out the wheelchair.
Searching, tracing back part by part, then piecing it together—If, if Qin Guan could be calm and collected now, he would think about the flaws in this. But he had lost his reason.
"This wheelchair was smashed on the spot in that car accident. But the places it shouldn't have broken, didn't break! Right here!"
Old He turned, grabbing the wheelchair's armrest firmly.
"Here! This is its brake mechanism! You tampered with it right here! It was you who did it in the park! The minute before your father-in-law left you, you personally damaged this mechanism!"
"So, that's why your father-in-law's wheelchair caused the accident!"
"You, Qin Guan!" Old He glared, pointing his finger at Qin Guan's nose. "You are the murderer who killed your father-in-law!"
"No! No! I didn't, I didn't!" Qin Guan shook his head frantically.
"It was you! This is the physical evidence! And I have witnesses! Someone saw you arguing fiercely in the park, saw you tamper with the wheelchair!" Old He's attack grew fiercer.
"No! Impossible!" Qin Guan shook his head numbly, his mind rapidly recalling that day—he had checked the surroundings before he acted! Not a single person was around! No one!
"I said I have witnesses, so I have witnesses. And not just one!" Old He suddenly lowered his voice.
"I get it!" Professional sensitivity made Qin Guan suddenly see the light. "You... you secretly found someone to give false testimony!"
Click! At the same time, Old He suddenly pressed a switch under the table—Qin Guan knew that was the microphone switch. Once turned off, everything said in this room would be inaudible outside.
He stared at Old He in terror.
In that instant, he understood everything!
The reason for being brought to this room, Old He bringing up his crazy mother and drunkard father, his in-laws—this man couldn't beat him in the Qi Min case, so he was resorting to dirty tricks!
"I know! You found someone to impersonate a witness! You fabricated evidence! This wheelchair must be fake too! You... you, as a police officer, you are knowingly breaking the law!"
"Yes, I would find someone to give false testimony, Qin Guan," Old He laughed. "This trick I learned from you. A witness? Find someone, coach them properly, and it's done! As long as the physical evidence details match up, you're done for..."
"The physical evidence, the physical evidence is fake too!" Qin Guan's eyes widened as if he had heard the most unbelievable news. Immense terror and his already shattered reason made him struggle like a drowning man, gasping for help. "Fake! This evidence is fake! I'll report you!"
"This physical evidence is REAL!" Old He roared. "I found it myself!"
"Fake! I've never seen it!"
"Real! Same brand, same color and style!"
"Fake! You forged it! You saying that proves it's fake!"
"Real! Look at this brake mechanism on the armrest! You did it! You sabotaged it!"
"Fake! The real one wasn't like this!" Qin Guan waved his hands wildly, roaring with beast-like urgency. "The armrest mechanism on the real one—I twisted it off! After I broke the brake mechanism, I threw that switch away!"