flstandardbreds Chapter 1309 Clearing Suspicion, New Clues
Chapter 1309 Clearing Suspicion, New Clues
Surveillance footage showed that Li Dahai parked his electric tricycle in the parking lot at 4:10 PM last Saturday, and no one approached his vehicle until 10:00 AM Monday, nor was there any sign that it had been driven away. "Li Dahai's electric tricycle remained parked in the parking lot, unused. The tire tracks found at the scene were likely left by another vehicle," Xiao Zhou said thoughtfully, looking at the surveillance footage.
Subsequently, Xiao Zhou interrogated Li Dahai again, asking him if any other friends or relatives knew about his debt dispute with Chen Wannian, or if anyone had ever borrowed his electric tricycle. Li Dahai recalled for a long time and said, "I have a distant cousin named Zhao Gang. He came to the city to see me some time ago. He knew that I owed Chen Wannian money and asked if he could borrow my electric tricycle for a few days, but I didn't agree because that vehicle is my main tool for purchasing goods."
"Do you know any basic information about Zhao Gang? Where is he now?" Xiao Zhou's eyes lit up, and he felt that Zhao Gang was suspicious.
"He seems to be working at a construction site in the city. I don't know the exact address, only his phone number. I haven't contacted him recently." Li Dahai provided Zhao Gang's phone number, and Xiao Zhou immediately asked his team to check Zhao Gang's identity information and whereabouts.
After investigation, it was found that Zhao Gang, male, 35 years old, had no fixed occupation, had been convicted of theft, and was currently working at the Dongfang Jiayuan construction site in the city. He had been seen loitering near Chen Wannian's home several times in the week before the incident. "Zhao Gang has a criminal record and had been paying attention to Chen Wannian before the incident; he is a prime suspect!" Xiao Zhou said excitedly, immediately leading his team to the Dongfang Jiayuan construction site.
However, when they arrived at the construction site, they learned that Zhao Gang had resigned and left three days earlier, and his whereabouts were unknown. The site manager said that Zhao Gang did not give a reason when he resigned, but only took his wages. Moreover, during his time at the construction site, he had borrowed money from his coworkers and mentioned that he was "going to do something big so that he would never have to worry about money again."
"It seems that Zhao Gang is a major suspect and shows signs of fleeing!" Xiao Zhou immediately reported the situation to Li Ming, requesting the issuance of a notice for assistance in the investigation, the arrest warrant for Zhao Gang, and the investigation of possible hiding places.
In the phone call, Li Ming instructed: "Immediately organize police forces to investigate the residences of Zhao Gang's relatives and friends, as well as the places he used to frequent. At the same time, retrieve surveillance footage from various intersections in the city to track his whereabouts. In addition, re-examine the clues from the crime scene investigation to see if there are any traces related to Zhao Gang that have been overlooked. We must catch Zhao Gang as soon as possible and find out the truth of the case."
At 5 p.m., Xiao Zhou and his team split into several groups to search the residences of Zhao Gang's relatives and the internet cafes and card rooms he frequented, but they found no trace of him. Surveillance footage also showed that Zhao Gang had left the city three days prior on a long-distance bus to a neighboring city, but his exact destination was unknown.
"Although we haven't found Zhao Gang yet, we've ruled out Li Dahai as a suspect and identified Zhao Gang as the new suspect, giving the investigation a new direction," Xiao Zhou told his team. Although he was a little tired, his eyes were full of energy. "Next, we will continue to investigate Zhao Gang's whereabouts on the one hand, and on the other hand, we will re-examine the crime scene to look for traces related to Zhao Gang. I believe that it won't be long before we catch him and give Chen Wannian's family an explanation."
As the sun set, Xiao Zhou led his team back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment. On the way, watching the streetlights gradually illuminate the scene outside the window, he silently resolved—no matter where Zhao Gang fled, they would bring him to justice, clear Chen Wannian's name, and uphold the dignity and justice of the law. Meanwhile, the technical department of the Criminal Investigation Detachment was working overtime, further analyzing the fiber and tire tracks collected at the scene, hoping to find clues related to Zhao Gang and provide more support for solving the case.
On Monday morning at 9 a.m., the atmosphere in the Criminal Investigation Division's conference room was more somber than the previous two times. Three days had passed since the incident, and although a new suspect, Zhao Gang, had been identified, he had already fled, and the case remained in a critical breakthrough phase. Li Ming sat at the head of the table, his fingers lightly tapping the surface, his gaze sweeping over the team members present: "I've called everyone here today to summarize the latest developments from all sides, sort out the existing clues, and determine the next priorities for the investigation. We can't let Zhao Gang remain at large; we must find him as soon as possible and give the victim's family and society an explanation. Let's start with the crime scene investigation. Xiao Yang, have you made any new discoveries?"
Xiao Yang stood up and projected the updated on-site investigation report onto the screen, with the newly added markings and photos standing out prominently. "Team Leader Li, we conducted a second investigation of the crime scene and the surrounding 50-meter area. Under the bushes at the edge of the eastern lawn, we found a piece of black plastic. According to the technical department's testing, the material is polyethylene, which is consistent with the protective plastic material at the bottom of the electric tricycle's cargo bed. In addition, in the woods 10 meters away from the planting pit, we extracted a blurry footprint of a size 42 sneaker. The sole pattern is wavy, consistent with the footprint characteristics found previously. Furthermore, two dark gray cotton fibers were found adhering to the footprint, which perfectly match the composition of the cotton quilt fibers extracted from the scene."
He clicked the mouse and switched to a close-up photo of the plastic fragment: "This piece of plastic has obvious cracks at the edges, and there are fresh friction marks at the break, suggesting that it was recently detached from the electric tricycle's cargo bed. It is very likely that the friction between the cargo bed and the bushes caused when the suspect was transporting the body. Combined with the tire tracks of the electric tricycle found earlier, it can be basically confirmed that the suspect used the electric tricycle to transport the body and the murder tools."
"Can the plastic fragments pinpoint the specific brand or model of the electric tricycle?" Li Ming asked, his fingers quickly scribbling on his notebook.
Xiao Yang shook his head, his tone tinged with regret: "Polyethylene protective plastic is used in electric tricycles of multiple brands, and the fragments are small with no obvious brand markings, so we can't pinpoint the specific model for now. However, the technical department is comparing the thickness and texture of the fragments with common electric tricycle parts on the market, and we expect to have preliminary results tomorrow."
Li Ming nodded, gesturing for Xiao Yang to sit down, then turned to Zhang Lin: "Zhang Lin, is there any additional information regarding the autopsy, subsequent toxicology tests, and DNA comparisons?"
Zhang Lin opened the autopsy report and said in a calm voice, "Captain Li, the toxicology test results for the deceased Chen Wannian are clear. No toxic components were detected in his blood, liver, or kidneys, completely ruling out the possibility of death by poisoning. In addition to confirming the deceased's identity, DNA comparison also yielded trace amounts of skin tissue fragments deep under his fingernails. After testing, these fragments did not belong to the deceased and showed partial matching sites with Zhao Gang's prior criminal DNA data. Although it is not a complete DNA profile, it is enough to prove that Chen Wannian had physical contact with Zhao Gang before his death, further confirming Zhao Gang's suspicion of committing the crime."