136: The truth behind Yu Meichan's murder and the motive for the murder

Donghai Jiaotong University.

After Gao Ze showed his identification, he smoothly entered. The atmosphere here was still light, cheerful, and peaceful, with smiling students filling the campus paths and sweet couples holding hands by the lake.

"Is Teacher Zhou Jie in?"

Gao Ze arrived at Zhou Jie's office from yesterday, but a quick glance inside revealed that Zhou Jie was not there.

"Officer Gao, you're here. Teacher Zhou went to the chemistry lab to substitute!"

The teachers in the office all recognized Gao Ze. His face was more recognizable than Han Minghan's; whether from online hot searches or just his appearance, people easily trusted him.

"Thank you for letting me know!"

After learning the location of the chemistry lab Zhou Jie went to from other teachers, Gao Ze rushed straight there and indeed saw many students in white coats at the entrance, as well as Zhou Jie holding a glass tube.

Besides them.

There was also a middle-aged man who looked to be over fifty, with a serious expression, like the person in charge of the lab.

"Teacher Zhou Jie, could you please come out for a moment!"

Gao Ze knocked on the laboratory door instead of walking straight in. Donghai Jiaotong University had many academicians with extensive connections, and directly arresting someone would cause them to lose face.

Zhou Jie saw Gao Ze at the door, her eyes clearly stunned. After hesitating for two or three seconds, she still walked out.

"Officer Gao, what do you need me for? Do you still have anything you want to know about Yu Meichan's case?"

"There's nothing more to know. I already know the truth of the entire case and the murderer!" Gao Ze looked at Zhou Jie and said calmly, "Teacher Zhou Jie, will you come to the police station with me, or do I need to handcuff you?"

"Officer Gao... what are you talking about!"

Zhou Jie's face turned flustered, and her body stiffened as she said, "I don't understand. Do you think I am the murderer of Yu Meichan?"

"If I didn't think you were the murderer, would I come looking for you again?"

"Do you want to deny your suspicion as the murderer?"

Gao Ze shook his head slightly and said, "Teacher Zhou, do you know Locard's Exchange Principle?"

This principle states that when objects come into contact, there will inevitably be a transfer of matter. In simpler terms, as long as a criminal suspect commits a crime, they will leave traces on the crime scene, the victim's body, or objectively existing objects!"

"For example, you used ketamine!"

"How do you explain the ketamine in the red wine bottle in Yu Meichan's room?"

Zhou Jie's face turned pale, losing all color, and her hands tightly clutched the hem of her clothes.

Gao Ze continued, "ketamine is a Class A controlled psychotropic drug in Xia. Besides drug dealers and hospitals, only specific laboratories can prepare it. When I came to Jiaotong University, I asked your colleagues in the pharmaceutical department, and they mentioned that the lab had just recently prepared ketamine!"

"But what does that prove?"

Zhou Jie bit her lip and said, "I can indeed enter and exit the lab, but does that prove I killed Yu Meichan?"

"Of course, it proves it. Teacher Zhou, you wouldn't think that flushing the ketamine down the toilet would destroy the evidence, would you?"

Zhou Jie's eyelids twitched, and she almost cried out. How did Gao Ze know she had flushed the ketamine down the toilet to destroy it?

"ketamine is easily soluble in water, but its chemical components do not disappear in water. Even if you flush ketamine down the toilet, as long as water samples are taken from your home's sewer, the chemical components of ketamine in the water can still be extracted!"

"Besides, did you think you had no other flaws besides the ketamine evidence?"

"Do you have an alibi for when Yu Meichan died?"

Gao Ze took out his phone and showed it to Zhou Jie, saying, "Teacher Zhou, can you deny that the person wearing a hat and mask on the screen is not you? Although there are no surveillance cameras inside the building of Guangming Resettlement Community where Yu Meichan lived, there are surveillance cameras at the community's entrances and exits. That night, at 7 PM, when Yu Meichan was killed, the community's surveillance cameras just happened to capture your figure."

"Although you wore a hat and a mask, your figure and height could not be concealed!"

After obtaining the ketamine evidence, Gao Ze repeatedly watched the surveillance footage he got from Han Minghan last night and identified Zhou Jie.

This was an easily overlooked piece of evidence. At the time, most of the attention was drawn to Chen Zhending, who was also on the surveillance, and no one would check the footage from several hours before the surveillance was focused on him.

What was even harder to imagine was that Zhou Jie had committed a home invasion murder.

In other words, when Yu Meichan and Chen Zhending were drinking and flirting, Zhou Jie was hidden in that room, waiting for the two to be anesthetized by ketamine before showing herself to kill.

"I..."

Staring at the figure on Gao Ze's phone screen, Zhou Jie opened her mouth, but the words she had prepared were difficult to utter: "Yu Meichan's death was her own doing!"

"Chen Zhending isn't a good person either. Since they both harmed me, then don't blame me!"

"How so? Can I hear the reason for killing Yu Meichan?"

It seemed that Zhou Jie's motive for killing Yu Meichan and shifting the suspicion to Chen Zhending had a unique and extraordinary underlying reason.

"I graduated from the pharmaceutical department of Jiaotong University with a master's degree, hoping to stay and teach at the university and get a permanent position, but the university has requirements for research achievements and papers!"

Zhou Jie's eyes showed a hint of hatred as she said, "Yu Meichan and I had a very good relationship. As her class advisor, I was very close to her. Even when her personality changed in her sophomore year and she disliked studying, I didn't despise her like others.

But Yu Meichan was too greedy. She wanted money and luxury goods, and she also wanted good grades and a good resume at school!

It would have been fine if she just wanted them, but she even set her sights on my thesis, using Chen Zhending's connections with the school leadership to forcibly put her name on the research results of my thesis, which I had worked on tirelessly day and night. She was the first author, and I was the second author!"

"Officer Gao, don't you think it sounds ridiculous?"

"A girl like her, who was vain, greedy for money, and had barely been in the lab a few times, was often the first author in domestic academic journal papers.

And as a former good friend, she actually stole my achievements!"

"So you duplicated Yu Meichan's property key and committed home invasion murder?"

Gao Ze could understand Zhou Jie's motive for murder. Among the various reasons for murder he had seen, such as crimes of passion or revenge, Zhou Jie's motive was quite unique.

"No, you're mistaken. I didn't secretly duplicate the key to Yu Meichan's Guangming Resettlement Community apartment; she gave me the key herself!"

Zhou Jie smiled coldly and said, "And at that time, Yu Meichan knew I was hiding in the room. In fact, she was the one who called me over that day!"

"Why?" Gao Ze was slightly surprised. Zhou Jie's presence was actually at Yu Meichan's invitation, which differed somewhat from his deduction.

"Because Yu Meichan wanted to get more money from Chen Zhending!"

Zhou Jie said, "Yu Meichan once told me about her relationship with Chen Zhending. That day, she said she was pregnant and asked me if there was a way to make Chen Zhending completely devoted to her, to hand over his property to her, or to let their child inherit it."

"I told her that there was a medical agent method that could achieve this kind of dependency effect!"

"But using this agent method was very dangerous and required professional handling. Yu Meichan believed me, so she gave me the key and let me enter that apartment in advance."

"So I played along, injecting ketamine into the red wine bottle and letting them both drink it!"

Gao Ze glanced at Zhou Jie. Indeed, she was not lying. ketamine, as a narcotic, has extreme addictiveness, but it could make Chen Zhending long-term dependent on Yu Meichan, achieving the goal of mental control.

"Then I killed Yu Meichan and placed the wine bottle in Chen Zhending's hand."

Zhou Jie said, "ketamine has hallucinogenic and mentally stimulating effects. When he woke up, he would only remember having an argument with Yu Meichan before drinking, subconsciously believing he had killed Yu Meichan himself."

"Let's go. Come with me to the police station!"

Looking at Zhou Jie's calm demeanor, Gao Ze knew that a pharmaceutical laboratory personnel like her would not feel much fear about killing. Zhou Jie could also be described as meticulous, applying pharmaceutical theories to the extreme.

More than half an hour later.

Gao Ze brought Zhou Jie to the Jinghai District Criminal Investigation Brigade.

Han Minghan was still interrogating Chen Zhending and Chen Xu, the father and son. Roaring, hoarse voices came from the interrogation room.

"Hey, Han, I'm telling you, I'm not the murderer. How long are you going to keep asking?"

"Damn it, if I get out, I'll definitely not let you off. I'll hire the best lawyer to sue you!"

"Officer Han, I confess, I killed Yu Meichan. Let my son go, he's innocent!"

"........."

"................"

It seemed that Chen Xu and Chen Zhending, the father and son, harbored great resentment and anger towards Han Minghan.

...I wonder how Chen Xu and Chen Zhending will retaliate against Han Minghan after the real culprit, Zhou Jie, is brought in and their innocence is proven.

While Gao Ze was pondering, he asked a Police Officer from the Criminal Investigation Brigade to call Han Minghan out of the interrogation room.

"What? You said Officer Gao caught the murderer of Yu Meichan?"