“Well asked.” Zuo Yan continued, “I can tell you clearly that I certainly have evidence, and it is very solid evidence.”

As he spoke, he fiddled with his phone a few more times and opened an audio file.

Seconds later, a man's voice came from the phone's player—

“I am Pat Miller, it's six o'clock in the afternoon on October 12th, and in an hour, I will be meeting with Sam Herbert…”

Zuo Yan only played the first few sentences before immediately pressing the stop button.

And Sam… just hearing the beginning of this, his face involuntarily changed.

“The reason you have the confidence to say what you just said is undoubtedly because you believe you haven't left any evidence of interacting with Miller.” Zuo Yan was not surprised by the change in Sam's expression, he just continued calmly, “Indeed… Miller is very cautious. In order not to leave a call record, the first time he came to you, he used the method of 'suddenly striking up a conversation with you in a public place'; and later, each of your appointments was arranged by 'leaving coded messages on a public online message board to arrange a time and place'.”

“Most of your meeting locations were chosen in crowded business centers, where the surveillance equipment is installed and managed by the businesses, which is different from the police surveillance installed on the streets… Businesses usually don't keep surveillance footage for too long; the cycle for clearing video files is as short as a week, and no longer than two months; therefore, even if the scene of your meeting was captured by a camera, you don't have to worry about the footage being saved for too long.”

“I have to say, this method of 'talking face-to-face' is very good, greatly increasing the efficiency and security of your work… including in the crucial link of 'paying', you also deliver cash face-to-face, without involving bank transfers.”

“Everything you did… almost left no trace.”

“However… precisely because of this, the cautious Miller would inevitably leave a backup plan; after all… after the event is completed, he still has to get a 'final payment' from you. In case you try to deny the debt or attempt to silence him, he needs to be prepared. Otherwise… he would have taken the blame for you for nothing.”

“So, Miller this evening, before meeting with you… pre-recorded this audio, telling the whole story of the deal between you from beginning to end; if anything unexpected happens later, for example… you want to deny the final payment, then he can use this recording, 'recorded before the incident', to threaten you…”

“Hold on.” At this time, Feng Bujue interjected, “Miller himself is also involved in the case, if he hands the recording over to the police… wouldn't he be going down with Sam?”

“Not exactly 'going down together'.” Zuo Yan looked at Brother Jue and replied, “If Miller takes the recording to the police and confesses, considering the content of the recording and the circumstances of the confession, he is very likely to be lightly sentenced as an 'accomplice'; and Sam… given the fact that he was declared a fraud in the will lawsuit that year, plus a clear motive and planned crime, this 'principal offender' may never get out of prison in his life.”

The above answer was not Zuo Yan reciting Victor's mental monologue, but what he himself was saying. Because before coming to this room, Victor had already broadly gone over the whole case in Zuo Yan's mind, so Zuo Yan could deal with these immediate questions himself, which was a kind of tacit understanding between him and Victor.

“Similarly…” After a slight pause, Zuo Yan added, “If Miller is caught during the commission of the crime, this recording can also be used as evidence to reduce his sentence; it is better to be prepared.”

“Hmm… I see.” Feng Bujue heard this, put on a thoughtful look, and nodded thoughtfully.

He's acting…

In fact, Brother Jue didn't understand this only after hearing Zuo Yan's words, he had already thought of it himself; but… in order to keep the case going until chapter thirty-three, Feng Bujue asked some such questions at the right time.

And from the perspective of Zuo Yan and Victor, Feng Bujue's questions were also reasonable and could help them explain the case and the behavioral logic of each party involved more clearly, so they patiently answered.

“Eh?” Just after his contemplation, Feng Bujue seemed to suddenly remember something again, raised his tone and asked, “Then how did you get this recording? Did Miller carry this recording with him?”

“Take a closer look, Brother Jue.” Zuo Yan smiled and raised the phone in his hand, “This is not my phone.”

Feng Bujue had long discovered that the phone Zuo Yan was holding at the moment was different from the one he had previously given to Doister, he was just asking knowingly.

“This phone is Miller's.” Zuo Yan continued, “Of course, he didn't carry it with him when he committed the crime, otherwise… Mr. Herbert would definitely have discovered the recording before all of us.” As he spoke, he glanced at John, implying that the other party had searched the body before the police arrived, “About an hour ago, the police, having confirmed Miller's identity, found this phone through a search of his residence on the island; and ten minutes ago, I unlocked the phone's screen with the thumbprint of the corpse and discovered the recording just now.”

“Oh… I see…” Feng Bujue said, “This is indeed a safe method; in case Miller is caught by someone other than the police before or after the crime, and the recording isn't on him, he isn't afraid of the evidence being destroyed; and once he is officially arrested by the police, he can let the police go to his residence to find the phone.”

“Unfortunately… Miller, despite his meticulous calculations, didn't expect that he would die…” Two seconds later, Zuo Yan took over the conversation again. At this time, his tone had a subtle change, and it seemed that Victor had come back online, “Fortunately, he has left enough information for me to deduce the truth of the case.”

As he spoke, he once again turned his gaze to Sam.

At this moment, Sam's face was pale and green, and the cold sweat on his back had already soaked his close-fitting clothes.

Faced with Zuo Yan's gaze, Sam did not speak, he knew very well… at this moment, the more he said, the more mistakes he would make. Although when he heard the recording, his heart had already felt despair about the situation, on the edge of the cliff called "collapse", he still grabbed a branch called "luck", barely supporting himself without slipping.

“Hmph… you’re pretty quiet now.” Zuo Yan said coldly, “After I've proved that you didn't 'not understand what I was saying', and that 'you and Miller do know each other'… isn't it a bit embarrassing for you to act like this?”

Victor was aggressive, while Sam continued to remain silent.

“Alright… in any case, we can finally start talking about your motive…” Zuo Yan paused, then said, “As I said before, your real motive… is not 'John stole the inheritance that should have belonged to you', but… 'John, this bastard who has no blood relation with you, killed your father, and stole the inheritance that should have belonged to you.'”