Van Garrow answered the police's questions slowly and calmly, showing no sign of impatience or panic. He originally thought he would be at the public security bureau for a long time, playing a game of cat and mouse with these police, but to his surprise, the questioning was over in just over an hour.
"Mr. Van, once you fill out this form, you can leave. Until your suspicion is cleared, please don't leave the city." Zhuang Zhen handed over a form. He had already guessed that there were no problems with Van Garrow for the time being, otherwise he wouldn't have voluntarily come to the public security bureau for questioning. Regardless of what the police asked, all he needed was to say "coincidence" and that would be enough to evade everything. Without concrete evidence, even if they kept him at the public security bureau, they would have to release him after twenty-four hours.
"Okay." Van Garrow picked up the pen and completed the form.
The female officer responsible for taking the statement stretched her neck to look, her eyes widened as she saw the beautiful handwriting of Van Garrow, who was supposed to be uneducated. He also had a particularly artistic style, using traditional Chinese characters which, although they couldn't be verified, looked very skillful.
"Officer, is this all right?" Van Garrow handed over the completed form, with his phone number and address mentioned, making it convenient for the police to contact him at any time.
Zhuang Zhen took the unbelievably neat form, looking somewhat surprised, then nodded and said, "You can go."
"Could you please personally take me to the parking lot?" Van Garrow asked with a smile, then looked at the blushing female officer, speaking very gently, "Also, may I borrow an umbrella from you?"
Zhuang Zhen gave a faint "hmm," while the female officer quickly said, "I just bought an umbrella today, it was delivered recently, it's both rainproof and sunproof. Wait here, I'll go get it for you." With these words, she ran off. It took more than a minute before she returned, holding a very beautiful umbrella with a little paper and plastic package debris still attached to the handle, seeming like it had just been taken out of the package.
Van Garrow took the umbrella, showing a very genuine smile. "Thank you, you've been a great help, I'll buy you an even better one in the future. The umbrella is very beautiful, you have a good taste." He graciously nodded, removing the paper and plastic debris with his porcelain white fingertips and throwing them into the trash can, every movement exuding a gentlemanly elegance.
Faced with him, the female officer couldn't recall any of the scandals she had read online, nor could she associate the words "murderer" with him in any way. But Zhuang Zhen wasn't deceived by his calm appearance. He knocked on the interrogation room's door and urged, "Mr. Van, I will see you out."
"Sure, thank you!" Van Garrow bowed several times, then smiled softly at the female officer and slowly left.
The female officer was captivated by his charming smile, standing dumbfounded, and watching him and Zhuang Zhen walk down the stairs. A young male officer came out from the adjacent monitoring room, bumped into her shoulder, and sourly said, "Came back to your senses! He's already gone!"
"What's wrong with looking? Can't I enrich my cultural life?" The female officer rolled her eyes.
"Enrich your cultural life? Can't you see? He's a typical playboy, all fine clothes and food, just as it's written online. It's a fine sunny day, spring season, comfortable temperatures, no need for sun protection at all, why would he need an umbrella? Just to complement your beauty maybe! He's playing tricks even in the police station, he's so audacious! I'll go check his whereabouts from last night and catch him red-handed!" The male officer swore resolutely.
The female officer didn't bother with him and went to the window, stretching her neck to look down, but was temporarily blinded by the shiny flashes of lights. It turned out that, at some point, a large crowd of reporters and fans of Gao Yize had gathered outside and were making a commotion. Because of the strong sound isolation in the interrogation room, she didn't hear anything.
"No wonder Van Garrow asked the head to escort him to the parking lot." The female officer muttered softly. Words barely out of her mouth, she saw Van Garrow and Zhuang Zhen walk out of the main entrance on the first floor.
"Hey, be careful!" The female officer had a broad view and noticed several fans hiding in the green belt next to the main entrance, preparing to throw a few rotten eggs, and she immediately warned them.
Zhuang Zhen was extremely alert and skilled; almost in an instant, he noticed the incoming projectiles and took evasive action. Realizing that Van Garrow was standing next to him, he reached out to shield him. In the split second of his turning motion, Van Garrow had already opened the umbrella, shielding himself and the tall officer, and as a result, the rotten eggs hit the umbrella with a muffled sound and had no impact at all.
The entire process of the egg throwing and shield was seamless, as if it had been rehearsed between the two. Zhuang Zhen shot a thoughtful glance at Van Garrow. This man's reflexes were even faster than those of a special forces soldier.
The unsuccessful attackers wanted to make another attempt, but had already been stopped by the arriving police. Regardless of Van Garrow's current status as a suspect, the police were duty-bound to protect his personal safety.
Zhuang Zhen firmly protected Van Garrow, walking swiftly to the parking lot. Van Garrow showed no urgency at all and even lifted his head to smile at the female officer standing by the window. He silently mouthed a "thank you" to her.
The female officer held her hot cheeks, murmuring, "So he wanted the umbrella for this!" After a few seconds, she was surprised once again, "Eh, but wait! How did he know someone was going to throw rotten eggs at him?"
The male officer watching the commotion on the second floor sneered, "Being pelted with rotten eggs or even feces is a routine occurrence in the entertainment industry, right? It's always good to be prepared."
The female officer thought it made sense, so she put the question aside. However, recalling Van Garrow's gentle and beautiful smile, she still had a blush and a racing heart. People in the entertainment industry were indeed different from ordinary people, with their exceptional demeanor and appearance!
Zhuang Zhen was truly capable. Single-handedly, he defended against the crowd outside, both reporters and anti-fans, with his iron-like arm. He opened the car door, pushed the suspect in, closed the door tightly, and grabbed the wrist of a sudden attacker, subduing them with expert moves, cuffing them, in a swift series of actions as if following a pre-programmed routine. He had become so powerful that he could handle any unforeseen circumstances even with his eyes closed.
Van Garrow quickly left the public security bureau, and as he turned the corner, he looked back with great interest. In his view, Zhuang Zhen had already taken the sudden attacker into the station, scaring off a bunch of people with a cold and composed expression.
Zhuang Zhen pressed charges against a rioting fan for assaulting a police officer, and the rest of the fans quieted down. After dealing with the chaos outside the building and responding to the reporters' inquiries, he returned to his office and asked, "Have you checked Van Garrow's alibi evidence?"
"Sir, this is the surveillance video we brought from the Patterson Club; we've checked it. Van Garrow was indeed there from 7:30 to 9:00 PM last night." A police officer pointed at the computer screen and said.
Zhuang Zhen nodded without surprise, "Hmm, I thought so. Continue to investigate his recent movements, especially his financial transactions. Although his alibi stands, it doesn't mean he's not a suspect. A person like him doesn't need to get his hands dirty to kill someone. Also, assign two people to monitor him around the clock to see if he has any contact with suspicious individuals. With just that painting, he is the focus of our investigation. I don't believe there are such bizarre coincidences in the world."
"Okay, sir." The officer nodded in agreement and promptly began investigating Van Garrow's financial transactions.
The evidence currently gathered by the special task force was not extensive. Because there was no surveillance on the top floor of the building, and the surveillance in the elevator and stairwell indicated that on the day of the incident and several days before, aside from Gao Yize, no one else had gone up. In other words, no one knew what exactly happened to Gao Yize, and the identity of the killer remained a mystery. The only certainty was that Van Garrow was the prime suspect and the breakthrough in this case.
Zhuang Zhen turned the computer screen around and personally looked at the surveillance footage from the Patterson Club.
The female officer who had been taking the statement earlier hesitated and said, "Sir, Van Garrow's accounts have already been frozen by the Van family. How could he have had the money to hire a hitman? I think we should explore other avenues and not just focus on Van Garrow; it might be better to start with the experiences of the deceased himself."
"Only the overt accounts have been frozen, he may still have secret accounts. But you're right, we can pursue multiple leads, which would be more efficient. You and Xiao Luo can investigate Gao Yize's social relationships, and later we will have a meeting to sort out the case." Zhuang Zhen agreed with his subordinate's point and then turned his attention back to the surveillance video.
The young man lounged lazily at the bar, one hand supporting his forehead, the other twirling a wine glass, looking very lazy. He was extremely quiet and patient, sitting still for hours. During that time, some people tried to strike up a conversation with him, and some invited him to go out, all of which he politely declined. As soon as nine o'clock arrived, he immediately put down the wine glass and left, as if he had only spent money to space out. When he reached the door, he suddenly looked up at the surveillance, revealing a smile that could be described as gorgeous.
Zhuang Zhen paused for a moment before he pressed the pause button, staring at the smile for a long time. His intuition was very keen, so he was certain that the momentary glance from Van Garrow was not accidental, and it was intentional. It was as if he consciously looked at the camera, transcending the barriers of time and space to gaze at the present him. In other words, he might have known that the police would come looking for his alibi evidence and had already prepared for it.
Zhuang Zhen tightly twisted his dark eyebrows and repeatedly looked at the smile from Van Garo. Finally, he confirmed that he was indeed challenging the policeman who came to gather evidence.
Zhuang Zhen had never seen such an arrogant suspect before. With a stern face, he walked to the case summary board and prominently circled Van Garo's name with a red pen. This person knew in advance that Gao Yize would be killed and had already prepared an alibi. His suspicions were the greatest! This was definitely an outrageous case!
Van Garo returned to his apartment, immersed himself in piercingly cold water, and then checked the latest news on the internet with a calm and indifferent expression. His appearance at the police station was widely reported by the media, and although there was no consensus on the case yet, the netizens had already decided that he was the murderer of Gao Yize, clamoring for him to be brought to justice. Some even tried to find his whereabouts and use vigilante methods against him.
These hateful words and malicious curses seemed to greatly please Van Garo. He chuckled softly and then opened his Weibo account, and with his fingertip, slowly typed the words - The second one.