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

Chapter 1211 Important Clue, Zhang Baoshan

At a used car market in the city, the owner recalled that two months ago, a man wearing a black jacket and a baseball cap sold a black Volkswagen Lavida. "The car had white scratches on the right side, and the owner said he needed money urgently and was selling it at a low price. He didn't provide complete vehicle paperwork, so I found it suspicious and confiscated it." The man's description by the owner closely matched the "man in black" seen by his colleagues at Beishan Auto Repair Shop. However, due to the passage of time, the owner could no longer remember the man's specific appearance or contact information.

At 6 p.m., Xiao Wang and his team returned to the Criminal Investigation Division. Although they had found the suspect vehicle, they were still unable to identify the suspect. "The current clues only prove that the black sedan was the vehicle the suspect used during the crime, and that the suspect switched to a motorcycle on the ring road to escape, but the vehicle's VIN had been ground off, making it impossible to trace its origin; the witnesses could only provide a general description of the man's clothing and vague features, without any clear facial images," Xiao Wang said wearily, sitting in the meeting room. "We need to further investigate the motorcycle's trajectory and the black sedan's previous usage records to see if we can find any information linking the suspect."

Team member Xiao Li flipped through the investigation records: "Could the suspect be a car mechanic, familiar with vehicle modification and trace removal, so he could easily grind down the VIN and wipe away fingerprints inside the car?" Xiao Wang nodded: "That's possible. We can combine Li Kui's identity—a car mechanic—and investigate the Beishan Auto Repair Shop where he works, as well as the surrounding auto repair shops, to see if there are any people who match the characteristics of the 'man in black' and are familiar with vehicle operation."

At 8 p.m., Xiao Wang reported the investigation results to Li Ming: "The suspect black sedan has been found and confirmed to be related to the case, but the vehicle identification number has been ground off, so the owner cannot be identified; the suspect changed to a motorcycle on Huancheng Road and fled, but the motorcycle's trajectory has not yet been found; the characteristics of the 'man in black' provided by the witness are consistent with the suspicious personnel at Beishan Auto Repair Shop, and it is recommended that the next step be to focus on investigating personnel in the auto repair industry."

Li Ming nodded and assigned follow-up tasks: "Xiao Wang, you continue to track the motorcycle's trajectory and expand the surveillance and investigation scope in the city and surrounding areas; Xiao Zhou, you lead the team to visit Beishan Auto Repair Shop again and investigate repair personnel who match the characteristics of the 'man in black,' focusing on employees who recently left the company or have exhibited abnormal behavior; Xiao Yang, the technical department will conduct a comprehensive investigation of the suspect vehicle to see if any overlooked traces or DNA information can be found."

The lights in the Criminal Investigation Division were still bright. Although Xiao Wang's vehicle tracking had made some progress and he had found the suspect vehicle, the suspect's identity remained a mystery. Sitting in his office, looking at the photo of the suspect vehicle, Xiao Wang knew that more clues were needed to solve the case, but he firmly believed that as long as he persisted and followed the clues about the vehicle and the "man in black," he would eventually uncover the suspect's true identity and give Li Kui's family an explanation.

In the residential buildings near the Beishan Auto Repair Shop, the stairwells were filled with the aroma of food mixed with the smell of disinfectant. Xiao Zhou, along with his team member Xiao Li, visited each household in the apartment building where Li Kui had lived before his death. According to the case analysis meeting's plan, they needed to start with Li Kui's interpersonal relationships to dig out clues that might be related to the "troublesome matter," especially those who had recently had conflicts or unusual contact with Li Kui.

“Li Kui is a very honest man. He usually stays in his dormitory except for work and rarely interacts with his neighbors,” Aunt Wang, who lives across from Li Kui, recalled. “However, about a week ago, when I came home at night, I saw him arguing with Zhang Baoshan downstairs at the entrance of the building. They were arguing very fiercely and almost came to blows.”

"Do you know why they were arguing? What exactly did they argue about?" Xiao Zhou immediately took out her notebook, pen hovering over the paper, afraid of missing any crucial information. Aunt Wang tried hard to recall: "It seems to be about parking. Zhang Baoshan always parks his car in Li Kui's parking space. Li Kui told him several times, but Zhang Baoshan not only didn't change his ways, but also said, 'This parking space isn't yours, I can park wherever I want.' That night, when Li Kui came home from get off work, he saw Zhang Baoshan's car occupying his space again, so he argued with him. They started arguing, and Zhang Baoshan even pushed Li Kui, saying, 'If you keep arguing with me, you'll regret it.'"

This information startled Xiao Zhou. He immediately had Xiao Li record Aunt Wang's testimony, and then rushed to Zhang Baoshan's house. Zhang Baoshan lived on the third floor of the building. The door was tightly closed, and no one answered after knocking for several minutes. Mr. Li, a resident downstairs, poked his head out: "Zhang Baoshan left around 8 a.m., saying he was going to the city to run errands, but I don't know where he went exactly." Mr. Li lowered his voice, "Are you police officers? Is it because of his argument with Li Kui? Let me tell you, Zhang Baoshan has a bad temper and is very concerned about his reputation. He's had conflicts with several neighbors over trivial matters before, and he seems to associate with some shady people. He often comes home late at night."

Xiao Zhou pressed further: "Do you know if Zhang Baoshan has a car? What color and model is it? Does he have a motorcycle?" Master Li thought for a moment: "He has a black sedan, I think it's a Volkswagen, but I don't know the exact model. There's a white scratch on the body. It's parked in the parking lot at the entrance of the community. He also has a red motorcycle, which he rarely rides and keeps in the bike shed downstairs."

A black sedan, white scratches, and a red motorcycle—these characteristics perfectly matched the suspect vehicle Xiao Wang had been tracking! Xiao Zhou immediately led his team to the residential parking lot, where they indeed found a black Volkswagen Lavida in a corner parking space. There was a noticeable white scratch on the right side of the car, exactly matching the characteristics of the suspect vehicle recorded in the surveillance footage. Xiao Zhou had technicians conduct a preliminary examination of the vehicle. A blurry fingerprint was found on the door handle, and a small amount of reddish-brown soil was discovered inside the trunk, preliminarily matching the composition of the soil on Li Kui's trouser leg.

"Xiao Li, immediately contact the vehicle management office to retrieve Zhang Baoshan's vehicle registration information and recent driving trajectory; at the same time, check his identity information to see if he has any criminal record, as well as his recent communication records and financial transactions." Xiao Zhou gave the order into the walkie-talkie, while he continued to visit other residents in the community to further verify the details of the conflict between Zhang Baoshan and Li Kui.

Mr. Zhang, who lives on the 5th floor, provided more crucial information: "About two weeks ago, I came home around 11 p.m. and saw Zhang Baoshan talking to a strange man downstairs in the community. The two looked very nervous, as if they were discussing something. They were also carrying a black bag that looked quite heavy," Mr. Zhang recalled. "I found it strange at the time. Zhang Baoshan rarely gets close to people, especially strange men. Also, he was wearing a black jacket and a baseball cap that day, which was different from his usual attire."