Chapter 10: The Vanished Her (3)

Chapter 10: The Vanished Her (3)

Meng Siqi and Zhao Leiting exchanged glances, unable to hide their awkwardness, but Teng Fei calmly said, "Actually, I contacted the hospital last night to inquire about my sister's condition, so I already had some understanding."

This wasn't unusual, but what puzzled Meng Siqi was why Teng Fei didn't expose her act right away; she had been quite exhausted pretending.

Zhao Leiting directly showed his badge, "Indeed, we are officers from the City Public Security Bureau."

Teng Fei nodded, a faint, eerie smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Zhao Leiting continued, "Since you know our identities, could we ask you a few more questions?"

Teng Fei glanced at his watch, not in a hurry, "I'm sorry, but I need to rush back. You know about my sister's health condition." With that, he stood up.

Meng Siqi and Zhao Leiting did not need to stop him. At this moment, a man in a suit, seemingly holding flyers or something, approached Teng Fei and said, "Sir, I'm from an insurance company..."

Teng Fei's expression turned cold, as if he had urgent matters, and he quickly waved the man away, "Go, go, go."

"Oh, oh..." The salesman was very accommodating and turned to Zhao Leiting.

After Teng Fei left, the two returned to the bureau to report. By the time they finished, it was time to go home. Meng Siqi packed up and rushed for her bus.

Recently, her mother Ye Xiuhui hadn't mentioned matchmaking again, so she went home whenever possible. After all, sleeping in the office as a girl was inconvenient and exhausting.

As soon as she arrived home, she saw Ye Xiuhui sitting on the sofa, chatting on the phone, munching on sunflower seeds, laughing heartily.

Ye Xiuhui spotted her immediately, spat out a seed shell, and called out, "Come here, get me a glass of water."

The housekeeper Aunt Chang must be out. Meng Siqi didn't indulge her, walked over, picked up her cup, and casually said, "My hands touched a highly decomposed corpse today..."

Ye Xiuhui's expression froze instantly, her cheerful smile suddenly frozen like frost.

Her voice even trembled slightly, "Put it down, put the cup down!"

"Okay, okay." Meng Siqi realized her joke might have gone too far and placed the cup back.

"Go, go, stay away from me," Ye Xiuhui said with a look of disgust.

As Meng Siqi went upstairs, she heard Ye Xiuhui complaining on the phone, "That brat, always causing trouble. This cup is so expensive, it would be a shame to throw it away..."

Meng Siqi pretended not to hear and returned to her bedroom, lying down to rest.

She picked up a book on criminal investigation, as she needed to catch up on knowledge she lacked. She delved into "Criminal Psychology" with great interest.

The next morning, Meng Siqi went to work on time. She ate breakfast at home and walked to the table where Aunt Chang asked, "Siqi, do you want porridge or soy milk?"

"Aunt Chang, why are you alone?" Meng Siqi noticed Ye Xiuhui wasn't in the dining room.

"Sister went out for breakfast."

Out for breakfast? Meng Siqi sensed something. Ye Xiuhui usually complained about the cleanliness outside, so it seemed related to her comment yesterday.

Meng Siqi ate a few bites and caught the bus. Usually, there were no seats at her stop, so she held onto a strap, trying to keep her balance against the pole.

Looking out the window, she noticed an advertisement at one station—a life insurance ad.

For some reason, she thought of Teng Fei. His reaction to the insurance salesman yesterday was unusual, his typically calm face suddenly changing, showing a clear aversion similar to Ye Xiuhui's.

Having just read about criminal psychology, she wondered if Teng Fei, like Ye Xiuhui, feared something. If Ye Xiuhui feared the description of the corpse, what did Teng Fei fear? The insurance salesman? Or the mention of insurance?

The bus soon reached the stop near the bureau, and Meng Siqi arrived with these questions.

She was quiet while thinking, and Zhao Leiting waved his hand in front of her, "Siqi, what's wrong?"

"Zhao Leiting, something seems off with Teng Fei."

"What happened?"

Meng Siqi pondered, "Yesterday, Teng Fei's expression was strange. I think it has something to do with insurance."

"Is this your woman's intuition?" Zhao Leiting rolled his eyes, "Do you have any findings?"

"I'm not sure, but I feel his reaction was odd."

Zhao Leiting calmly suggested, "Let's bring it up with Captain Han. We can't overlook any clues."

Coincidentally, Tang Xiaochuan was at the bank counter that morning. Han Changlin called him directly to check on the insurance matter.

In the morning, Tang Xiaochuan hurried to Han Changlin's desk, "Captain Han, there's something fishy about Teng Fei's insurance."

Meng Siqi and the others gathered around. Tang Xiaochuan displayed a copy of a life insurance policy, explaining, "This is the insurance Teng Fei bought for himself. The beneficiary is himself, but for the accidental death coverage, the beneficiary is his sister, Teng Rong."

There was nothing unusual about a brother naming his sister as the beneficiary for accidental death coverage. Han Changlin took the copy of the insurance policy without saying anything.

Tang Xiaochuan then picked up another copy, explaining, "This is the insurance Teng Fei bought for Liu Yuwei, almost identical to his own, with Teng Rong as the beneficiary for accidental death coverage."

"Why is Liu Yuwei's accidental death coverage beneficiary Teng Rong?" Zhao Leiting frowned, asking first.

Tang Xiaochuan replied, "I was thinking on the way here. Could this be Teng Fei's motive for murder?"

Because his sister needed a large sum for treatment, Teng Fei needed Liu Yuwei dead to use the accidental death coverage to save his sister?

This motive was too twisted!

Meng Siqi felt a chill run down her spine, finding it hard to imagine such a twisted mindset beneath Teng Fei's composed exterior.

At that moment, everyone wore a look of concealed sorrow.

This key discovery provided a crucial breakthrough in the case. Everyone looked at Meng Siqi, and Han Changlin nodded, "Feng, your apprentice is impressive. This discovery is valuable."

Feng Shaomin didn't speak but cleared his throat. The expression on his face wasn't as serious as before; instead, it seemed somewhat relaxed.

Meng Siqi felt a bit embarrassed. After all, this discovery was indeed quite lucky.

Zhao Leiting said, "Of course, we in the second team are all elites."

"Tang Chuan, you're just flattering yourself," Tang Xiaochuan said with a smile.

"What do you mean? Is there any falsehood in what I said?"

While they were bickering, Feng Shaomin suddenly said calmly, "However, Teng Fei is an outdoor sports enthusiast. It's reasonable for him to buy insurance for himself. And possibly due to his professional habits, buying the same insurance for his fiancée also seems normal..."

Tang Xiaochuan said, "Brother Feng, I thought the same thing earlier. Because of his outdoor activities, Teng Fei's reason for buying insurance made sense, so we never suspected the insurance. But now the problem is that the beneficiary of the accidental death benefit is Teng Rong."

Feng Shaomin cautiously said, "My doubt lies here too. Liu Yuwei had no family and grew up in an orphanage. She could very well have written Teng Fei's sister as the beneficiary. I think the insurance company must have investigated this at the time."

Feng Shaomin's words once again swayed everyone's thoughts about Teng Fei's motive for murder.

After a moment, Han Changlin spoke up, "I think both of you are right. However, there are still many doubts about this insurance policy. Perhaps we should invite Teng Fei to explain. Also, yesterday we found some information about Teng Fei's financial situation, which needs clarification from him."

Everyone split up to act accordingly. In the afternoon, Teng Fei was finally brought to the interrogation room.

Teng Fei's expression wasn't as tense as expected; he seemed calm, as if nothing had happened. Before the questioning began, he drank some water and even greeted Meng Siqi, calling her "Miss Zheng."

Meng Siqi did not respond. This questioning session was led by Feng Shaomin and Tang Xiaochuan, while Meng Siqi continued to take notes.

Tang Xiaochuan asked directly, "Teng Fei, do you know why we've invited you here?"

"You suspect me of killing Yuwei." When he said this, Teng Fei showed almost no emotion.

"Yes, I hope you can cooperate with our investigation today and answer truthfully. After meeting Liu Yuwei, did you buy her a life insurance policy? Can you explain why the beneficiary of the accidental death benefit is Teng Rong?"

Teng Fei seemed to freeze for a moment. Meng Siqi noticed that his face had tightened slightly, though it was unclear whether it was due to the interrogation or being confronted about the insurance.

Suddenly, he tilted his head, his eyes wandering over the table without looking at anyone. His expression slowly changed from a slight tension to a relaxed one. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Why Teng Rong? Don't you find it problematic?"

Teng Fei's tone carried a hint of emotion: "What's the problem? She had no family; I'm her family. If she died, who else should be the beneficiary?"

This explanation matched Feng Shaomin's guess—perfectly logical. But everyone was prepared, and Tang Xiaochuan continued, "Then, when you wrote Teng Rong's name, what did Liu Yuwei say?"

Teng Fei seemed to be thinking. After a while, he said, "I remember she said that if she really died, she hoped the money could help cure her sister's illness."

This response surprised everyone. Meng Siqi once again recognized the terrifying rationality of Teng Fei.

He told the truth sincerely, without needing to lie, because it was the truth.

After a moment of silence, Tang Xiaochuan moved on, asking, "Teng Fei, in February, you withdrew ten thousand yuan in cash from the bank. Where did you spend this money?"

"I didn't spend it; it was for my sister's medical treatment."

"At the end of March, you withdrew seventy thousand yuan from Teng Rong's bank account. Was this money from Liu Yuwei's accidental death benefit?"

"Yes." He answered without hesitation, as if it were perfectly natural. Liu Yuwei had said that after her death, the insurance money would go to treating Teng Rong's illness, making it logical and requiring no denial.

"On April 10th, the hospital records show your sister's surgery cost ten thousand yuan. But you withdrew eighty thousand yuan in total. Can you explain where the remaining seventy thousand went?"

"Is there a problem with a legal citizen withdrawing and spending money?"

"Please answer truthfully," Feng Shaomin said coldly.

Teng Fei took off his glasses and rubbed his right eye with his hand, then slowly said, "You should ask Doctor Song Ren'ai at the Dali Branch Hospital in Jinyang City about this matter."

"Teng Rong's attending physician? What happened to him?"

"At the time, my sister's surgery cost more than fifty thousand yuan, and I couldn't afford it. So I approached Song Ren'ai. He told me to pay ten thousand yuan to the hospital and give thirty thousand yuan to him to manage, ensuring that my sister's surgery would be fine."

Feng Shaomin and Tang Xiaochuan exchanged glances, and Meng Siqi quickly noted this down.

Following procedure, Tang Xiaochuan asked the third question, "Teng Fei, can you describe in detail your trip to the Qin Dongzi Canyon with Liu Yuwei on March 8th, including who saw you and what happened?"

"This is a map of the Qin Dongzi Canyon. You can draw your route on it as you talk." Tang Xiaochuan pushed the pre-prepared map in front of Teng Fei.

Teng Fei glanced at Tang Xiaochuan, his eyes conveying a hint of "you're being ridiculous." He put on his glasses slowly and picked up the pen.

He circled a spot on the map easily, "This is the entrance. I remember that day, after I bought cigarettes..."

"Hold on, you bought cigarettes?" Tang Xiaochuan asked, seemingly discovering something. "Do you remember which store and what time?"