flstandardbreds Chapter 1213 Preparing to Arrest Zhang Baoshan
Chapter 1213 Preparing to Arrest Zhang Baoshan
The police car slowly drove away from the casino. Silence filled the car, broken only by Zhang Baoshan's suppressed breathing and the roar of the engine. Looking at the streetlights flashing past the window, Xiao Zhou recalled Li Kui's honest smile and the devastation his family felt when they confirmed his identity. He made a silent vow: he would make Zhang Baoshan confess to the crime in its entirety, giving Li Kui's family a satisfactory explanation and ensuring that justice was served.
Back at the Criminal Investigation Division, Xiao Zhou immediately arranged for technicians to conduct a comprehensive investigation of Zhang Baoshan's residence, vehicle, and motorcycle. At Zhang Baoshan's residence, technicians found a black jacket and a baseball cap. A small amount of reddish-brown soil was found in the jacket pocket, consistent with the composition of the soil from the Beishan brick kiln. In the motorcycle's trunk, a grayish-brown hemp rope was found, identical in composition to the hemp rope found at the binding marks on Li Kui's wrists. Under the passenger seat of the vehicle, a carbon steel knife was found; the metal shavings on the blade matched the composition of the shavings from the tear in Li Kui's work jacket, indicating it was the tool used to cut Li Kui's jacket.
The discovery of this evidence further solidified Zhang Baoshan's suspicion of committing the crime and marked a crucial step forward in solving the case. Sitting outside the interrogation room, Xiao Zhou looked at Zhang Baoshan inside, knowing that as the interrogation deepened, the truth behind Li Kui's murder would soon surface, and this gripping Beishan brick kiln case would finally receive a just verdict.
The incandescent lights in the Criminal Investigation Division's interrogation room were blindingly bright, casting a direct beam of light on Zhang Baoshan's face, illuminating the panic in his eyes. He sat in a metal interrogation chair, his hands handcuffed to the armrests, the cuffs of his black jacket stained with unwashed reddish-brown mud—the soil unique to the Beishan brick kilns, now like a brand of incriminating evidence, firmly stuck to him. Xiao Zhou sat opposite him, a thick stack of files spread out before him, containing vehicle investigation records, fingerprint comparison reports, surveillance screenshots, and witness testimonies; each piece of evidence was like a sharp blade, ready to pierce Zhang Baoshan's sophistry at any moment.
"Name, age, occupation." Xiao Zhou's voice was calm yet carried an undeniable authority. The pen tapped lightly on the notepad, producing a crisp sound. Zhang Baoshan's Adam's apple bobbed, his head hung low, his bangs obscuring his eyes. His voice was hoarse, as if sanded: "Zhang Baoshan, 42 years old, no stable job." His fingers rubbed repeatedly on the armrest, his knuckles turning white from the pressure, clearly trying to maintain a facade of composure.
"Where were you on the afternoon and evening of August 18th, and what were you doing?" Xiao Zhou went straight to the point, his gaze fixed on Zhang Baoshan. The latter suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, trying to mask his guilt with anger: "I already said, I went hiking in Beishan that day and came back in the evening. It has nothing to do with Li Kui's death! Don't wrong an innocent person!" His shoulders were tense, as if he were ready to fight back at any moment. "Do you have any evidence? Just based on a car and a few words of testimony, you can conclude that I committed murder?"
Xiao Zhou wasn't swayed by his emotions. He took out the first piece of evidence from the case file—a photo of a black Volkswagen Lavida—and pushed it in front of Zhang Baoshan. "Is this your car? At 3 PM on August 18th, you drove this car out of the community. There was a black bag on the passenger seat. What was in it?" The photo clearly showed white scratches on the right side of the car, perfectly matching the suspect vehicle in the surveillance footage. Zhang Baoshan's gaze lingered on the photo for a few seconds before quickly shifting away: "Yes...it's my car, but that bag contained water and snacks for hiking, nothing else!" His voice began to tremble, and his fingers unconsciously dug into the gaps in the armrest. "It's normal for me to bring some food when hiking, is that any of your business?"
“Normal?” Xiao Zhou produced a second piece of evidence—the vehicle inspection record. “We extracted reddish-brown soil from inside the trunk of your car. After testing, it was found to be 100% consistent with the soil on Li Kui’s trouser leg, both originating from the abandoned brick kiln in Beishan. The fingerprints on the car door handles perfectly match the palm print features extracted from the brick kiln. How do you explain these?” He pointed to the identification results on the record, each word like a heavy hammer, striking Zhang Baoshan’s psychological defenses.
Zhang Baoshan's body stiffened visibly, his previously taut shoulders slumped, his head drooped even lower, and his voice weakened: "I... I passed by a brick kiln while climbing the mountain and went in to take shelter from the rain for a while. The mud might have gotten on me then; the fingerprints... maybe they were left when I went there to play before, they have nothing to do with Li Kui..." His explanations became increasingly weak, his eyes darting away, not daring to look at Xiao Zhou, but in his mind he was frantically calculating: as long as he insisted that he had never seen Li Kui, the police would have no direct evidence.
Xiao Zhou saw through his gamble and produced a third piece of evidence—surveillance footage. The footage showed that at 3:20 PM on August 18th, Zhang Baoshan's car was parked near the Beishan Auto Repair Shop; at 5 PM, his red motorcycle appeared on the mining road next to the brick kiln; and at 8:15 PM, the black sedan drove out of the mining road towards the city. "Is that you?" Xiao Zhou pointed to the vehicle in the screenshot. "From the auto repair shop to the brick kiln, and then to the mining road, why does your travel route completely overlap with the location and time of Li Kui's murder? You said you were climbing a mountain, so why did you appear at the remote brick kiln and mining road?"
Zhang Baoshan's breathing became rapid, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, sliding down his cheeks. "I... I got lost and accidentally drove to the brick kiln," his voice trembled with sobs, and he began to stammer, "I saw the brick kiln and thought it was strange, so I went in to take a look, but I didn't see Li Kui... I really didn't see him!" His hands began to tremble slightly, and the first crack appeared in his psychological defenses—he hadn't expected the police to have traced the surveillance footage so clearly.
Next, Xiao Zhou produced the fourth piece of evidence—bank statements and communication records. “On August 17th, you transferred 20,000 yuan to an unregistered ‘ghost account,’ the same account Li Kui received the transfer from on August 17th; on August 18th at 2:30 PM, you called Li Kui using a virtual number, and half an hour after the call, Li Kui went to the brick kiln alone,” Xiao Zhou pointed to the records, “Why did you transfer money to Li Kui? What did you say to him on the phone?”
These words struck Zhang Baoshan like a nerve. He jerked his head up, his eyes filled with terror, his lips trembling as he couldn't speak. "I... I lent him money so he could do me a favor," his lie was full of holes, "We just arranged a meeting time on the phone, nothing else..." But he knew this explanation was completely untenable—who would borrow money from an anonymous account and arrange to meet at a remote brick kiln?