The person we met was the HR manager of this company. When the two deceased were mentioned, Manager Huang said, "Those two guys, I've wanted to fire them for a long time. They always argued over trivial matters at work, which affected our tasks. It's the first time I've encountered such a couple with such a terrible relationship. I would have divorced long ago, but it was evident that the man loved his wife very much; even though she wanted a divorce, he never agreed. They argued frequently, but then they'd have a period of peace. I don't understand them at all."
"When was the last time you saw them?" I asked.
"It was at that celebration banquet. Because Fang Leshan signed a big deal, I felt it was necessary to celebrate, so I invited the company's employees to dinner. Who knew that at the banquet, Yan Yeman, his wife, would start yelling at someone right away."
"You should know why she was yelling, right?" Liu Yuning asked.
"Yes, it's because this client was originally handled by Yan Yeman. It had been over three years, but Fang Leshan managed to secure it in just a week. Although Fang Leshan was in the wrong first, they are husband and wife, so doesn't it make a difference who signed the deal? They probably wanted to divorce again, otherwise, they wouldn't act like this. Of course, I don't know the specifics; it's their own business. At the company, I only concern myself with work; I don't have time for anything else."
I could tell that Manager Huang was being sincere and had no reason to lie. It seemed the problems with this couple had surfaced long ago. I suddenly thought of something and asked Manager Huang, "Do you have a six-foot-tall, burly man in your company?"
"No, our employees are generally like me. Even the security guards wouldn't be that tall. The one you just described is rare, right?" Manager Huang answered as a matter of fact.
I continued to ask, "What were the dishes served that day?"
Manager Huang had someone check the menu with the hotel and then listed all the dishes one by one. Since they had eaten a newly launched set menu, it was easy to find.
When the menu was in my hands, I found it matched what we had found in the victims' stomachs. It should be correct. I felt it was pointless to continue asking questions. Now we could only confirm that they had indeed eaten here and had an argument. Their marital relationship was not good. The manager's reaction was normal; he should not be a suspect.
Next, we interviewed other colleagues from the company, both those who had good and bad relationships with the deceased. One of them seemed to be from the same hometown as Fang Leshan, a man in his early thirties named Liu Chengping, who held a supervisory position in the company and was Fang Leshan's fellow townsman and superior.
We learned from several company employees that they had a good relationship. Moreover, Fang Leshan's performance had always been mediocre. We didn't know why Liu Chengping still gave him such a high base salary. Liu Yuning and I found this supervisor and said, "Mr. Liu, we heard that your relationship with the deceased Fang Leshan is not simple. Is that true?"
"Please don't listen to their gossip. Although we are from the same hometown, in a workplace like this, it all depends on performance. Without performance, even if it were my own father, I would treat them the same!" Liu Chengping's expression became a little strange as soon as he spoke. This guy was trying to hide something from us.
"Is that so? But we've learned some information that says Fang Leshan's salary is the highest among everyone. Wasn't his performance not good?" Liu Yuning directly retorted.
"This, where did you hear that from? I didn't!" Liu Chengping still tried to deny it.
I sneered, "Mr. Liu, if we didn't have solid evidence, we wouldn't say this. We just investigated the finance department, and we have the data clear in our minds. You'd better confess. Why did you do that? Did Fang Leshan have some leverage over you?"
As soon as the word "leverage" was mentioned, Liu Chengping indeed became a little nervous, but he immediately masked his emotions with a smile. "No, I admit I gave him a base salary of 2,000 yuan more than others, but that's not too much. Isn't a base salary of 10,000 yuan for a salesperson quite normal? This has nothing to do with me being his fellow townsman, and he doesn't have any leverage over me!"
"Heh, if that were the case, others wouldn't have any objections. You don't have to say anything now, but we will continue to investigate. It's best for you to confess now, otherwise, if we find out, the nature of the situation will be different. You should understand the meaning of 'aggravating the offense' very well."
I stared at Liu Chengping with the stern gaze characteristic of a detective, directly challenging his sight. He dared not meet my eyes and waved his hand, showing an extremely impatient expression. "If you have nothing else, please leave. I have other things to attend to and no time to accompany you!"
This guy was quick to show us the door, clearly not wanting to be questioned further. I let him leave for the time being and then went to the corridor. Fang Leshan had another good friend in the office next door. They were in the same department. This guy seemed to be Fang Leshan's college classmate, and they were the best of friends in the company.
I asked Liu Yuning to interview Yan Yeman's close colleagues, so we split up.
I went to Wu Yuanzhou's (Fang Leshan's good friend) workplace and sat opposite his desk, saying, "I heard you had a very good relationship with the deceased. Is that true?"
"That's right, but in reality, after we started working, we didn't interact much. After all, we both have our own families, so we don't gather or drink as frequently as we used to." Wu Yuanzhou casually explained their relationship, as if these were ordinary matters.
"When was the last time you saw Fang Leshan?"
"It was at that banquet. Didn't Manager Huang tell you earlier?"
Wu Yuanzhou looked at me with a hint of impatience.
"Mr. Wu, I hope you can cooperate fully. Please answer patiently whatever we ask, understand?"
"I understand, but can you police officers ask everything at once? Lately, you've made me so distracted that I can't even focus on my work. I keep making mistakes."
"Are you that nervous? Is it not your family that's in trouble?"
"What do you mean by that? I just can't concentrate when something else is going on, is that not allowed? Are you going to suspect me just because my emotions are not right?"
I could see that Wu Yuanzhou had a bad temper. Usually, when people try to conceal their lies, they either act nonchalant or become extremely angry. Wu Yuanzhou was clearly the latter.