The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1263 Launches the Investigation into Liu Jun and Zhao Liang

After the case analysis meeting, Xiao Wang, along with his team members Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang, went straight to Liu Jun's restaurant and Zhao Liang's real estate agency. Their core task was to verify the two men's movements between midnight and 1 a.m. on the day the body was discovered, to confirm whether they had the opportunity to commit the crime.

The first stop was Liu Jun's "Junji Restaurant." The restaurant wasn't open yet at 10 a.m., and Liu Jun was squatting at the entrance arranging ingredients. Seeing Xiao Wang and the others in plainclothes, he paused for a moment, then warmly greeted them: "Officers, are you here for lunch? It's not open yet, why don't you come in and sit for a while?"

“We’re from the Criminal Investigation Division. We need to ask you something,” Xiao Wang said, showing his badge. “You know Li Baowei, right? Something happened to him, and we need to confirm your whereabouts two nights ago.” Liu Jun’s face changed instantly, and the vegetables in his hand clattered to the ground: “Li Baowei? What happened to him? Of course I know him. We had a conflict before over the renovations, but I didn’t harm him!”

"Don't be nervous, we're just conducting a routine investigation," Xiao Wang reassured him. "Where were you two nights ago, last Saturday night? What were you doing? Can anyone testify to that?" Liu Jun quickly recalled, "Last Saturday night... I was playing mahjong with some friends at my house from 7 pm until after 2 am. I didn't leave the house the whole time. They can all vouch for me!"

"Where do you live? What are the names of your mahjong friends? What's their contact information?" Xiao Li took out his notebook to write it down. Liu Jun gave his address and the names and phone numbers of three friends: "My home is in Unit 2, Building 3, Xingfu Community, Room 501. My mahjong partners are Zhang Lei, Wang Hao, and Sun Qiang. They're all old friends I've known for over ten years. You can ask them; I'm definitely not lying to you!"

Xiao Wang immediately arranged for Xiao Zhang to go to Xingfu Community to verify, while he himself took Xiao Li to continue questioning: "When was the last time you saw Li Baowei? Did you contact him before the incident?" Liu Jun shook his head: "The last time I saw him was last month. He came to ask me for the remaining payment for the renovation, we had an argument, and I haven't contacted him since. How could I contact him? I'm afraid he'll come asking for money again!"

At 1 p.m., Xiao Zhang sent a message: "Liu Jun is telling the truth! His three friends all confirmed that they played mahjong at Liu Jun's house from 7 p.m. last Saturday until 2 a.m., and no one left during that time. The surveillance cameras at Liu Jun's house also captured footage of them coming and going. From 0 a.m. to 1 a.m., Liu Jun was playing mahjong in the living room and had no time to commit the crime, so he can be ruled out as a suspect!"

After ruling out Liu Jun, Xiao Wang focused all his attention on Zhao Liang. At 2 PM, they arrived at the "Honest Real Estate Agency" branch where Zhao Liang worked. Inside, Zhao Liang was sitting in front of a computer organizing property listings. When he saw Xiao Wang and the others, his eyes flickered noticeably, and his fingers unconsciously tightened around the mouse: "Officer, did you need something?"

"We'd like to know where you were two nights ago and what you were doing?" Xiao Wang asked bluntly. Zhao Liang's body stiffened for a moment, then he regained his composure: "Two nights ago... I was at home, watching TV with my wife and kids. After that, I went to sleep. I didn't go out."

"Can your wife and children testify? Is there any surveillance footage or call records to corroborate this?" Xiao Li pressed. Zhao Liang's voice lowered slightly: "My wife had a bit of a cold that night, and went to bed after watching TV. My child is only 5 years old and goes to bed early, so he might not remember. We don't have surveillance cameras at home, and he didn't call anyone that night, so there are no records."

This vague answer made Xiao Wang even more suspicious, so he continued to ask, "When was the last time you saw Li Baowei? Did you contact him before the incident?" Zhao Liang lowered his head and said indistinctly, "The last time I saw him was a month ago. He finished the renovation of my house, and we had an argument about the delay in the construction. After that, we didn't contact each other."

"You really haven't contacted him?" Xiao Wang showed Li Baowei's call records. "Two days ago, at 7:15 pm, Li Baowei had a 10-minute call. The other party was a temporary phone number that wasn't registered under his real name. We found that this phone number was purchased at a convenience store near your house last Friday. How do you explain that?"

Zhao Liang's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his hands began to tremble: "I don't know... I didn't buy it, someone else must have bought it, it has nothing to do with me!" His voice grew louder and louder, as if he was trying to embolden himself, but he dared not meet Xiao Wang's gaze.

To further verify the information, Xiao Wang decided to visit Zhao Liang's neighbors and colleagues. Zhao Liang lives in the Sunshine Community. His neighbor, Aunt Zhang, told Xiao Wang, "Two days ago, around 8 p.m., I saw Zhao Liang rushing out of the house, carrying a black bag that looked quite heavy. I didn't see him return until around 1 a.m. when I got up to use the restroom. He looked terrible and seemed very scared. I thought he was going to work overtime and didn't think much of it."

"Did he drive when he went out? What kind of car did he drive?" Xiao Wang asked. Aunt Zhang thought for a moment and said, "He drove a black sedan, I think it was a Volkswagen. I didn't see the license plate clearly, but I know there was a small scratch on the back of the car."

Zhao Liang's colleague, Li Ming, revealed: "When Zhao Liang came to work last Saturday, he was in a particularly bad mood. He even told us, 'I've run into some trouble recently, and something might happen.' I also noticed that he was wearing a pair of size 42 sneakers that day, which were different from his usual leather shoes. The soles of the shoes seemed to have some mud on them. I even joked with him, 'Did you go dig in the dirt?' He didn't dare to reply."

"Did he tell you about his conflict with Li Baowei? Or did he mention wanting to see Li Baowei?" Xiao Li asked. Li Ming nodded: "He complained to us several times, saying that Li Baowei's renovation was delayed, causing him to spend a lot more money, and that he would definitely make Li Baowei pay the price. Last Friday, as soon as I got to work, he asked me, 'Are there many people in Dongfang Park at night?' I thought it was strange and asked him why he was asking that, and he said, 'Nothing, just asking casually.'"

These clues made Zhao Liang increasingly suspicious. Xiao Wang immediately arranged for his team to retrieve surveillance footage from the Sunshine Residential Area and the area around Oriental Park. Sure enough, the footage showed that two days earlier, at 8:30 PM, Zhao Liang drove a black Volkswagen sedan to the vicinity of the east gate of Oriental Park, carrying a black bag, and entered the park; at 12:40 AM, he came out of the park alone from the east gate, the black bag was gone, and his clothes seemed to have something on them; at 1:10 AM, he drove back to the Sunshine Residential Area, staggering as he got out of the car, and looking back from time to time, as if he was afraid of something.