novelaction Chapter 1170 Next Step in the Investigation
Chapter 1170 Next Step in the Investigation
He switched to the surveillance footage of the incense and candle stall. The man in the black jacket had his hat pulled low. "At 9:14 a.m. on May 21, the suspect had a silver reflection on his left wrist when he bought incense and candles. His gait matched the footprints at the scene."
“There are too many blind spots in the surveillance.” Xiao Wang pulled up a map of the cemetery’s surveillance system. The blind spots marked in red accounted for one-third of the total area. “The municipal surveillance cameras outside the wall have been broken for half a month, causing the trail to stop. The surveillance camera at the cemetery keeper Old Zhang’s hut only captured the suspect’s back, and his facial features could not be identified.” He sighed and pointed to the last screenshot. “The only clear image is of the suspect climbing over the wall. His movements were swift, and he landed in just 17 seconds, suggesting that he has climbing experience.”
Xiao Zhou laid out Li Chengde's water delivery route map on the table, drawing a straight line between Dongshan Cemetery and Wangyue Residential Area with a red marker. "The deceased's water delivery list for May 20th shows that the last order was for Unit 2, Building 3, Wangyue Residential Area, with an agreed delivery time of 8 pm," he tapped the red dot on the route map. "Returning to the water delivery company from Wangyue Residential Area, Dongshan Cemetery is a necessary route, about 1.2 kilometers away." He pulled up Li Chengde's attendance record; the sign-out record for May 20th was blank. "Company regulations require payment on the same day after a water delivery, but he didn't return that night, and his phone was turned off at 9:17 pm. The last signal base station was near Dongshan Cemetery."
“Zhang Qiang is the key suspect,” Xiao Zhou suddenly circled a name in red pen, and a photo of the building materials store owner popped up on the screen. “Male, 42 years old, 178 cm tall, has a debt dispute of 30,000 yuan with Li Chengde, and threatened Li Chengde in public at the water delivery company last week.” He pulled up Zhang Qiang’s vehicle information. “He owns a red motorcycle, the model of which matches the suspicious vehicle in the surveillance footage, and there is a recent record of modifying the exhaust pipe.”
The air in the meeting room seemed to freeze. Sparrows hopped and chirped on the branches outside the window, their sounds unable to penetrate the heavy atmosphere. "Now there's a crucial question," Li Ming said, tracing two lines on the table with his finger, "Why did the suspect hide the body in the grave? Was it a spur-of-the-moment decision or premeditated?" He looked at Xiao Yang, "Were any digging tools found at the scene?"
Xiao Yang shook his head: "We didn't find a flat-headed shovel, but we found wood chips that look like a shovel handle in a ditch 50 meters from the scene. We're doing a tree species comparison." Zhang Lin suddenly added: "No sleeping pills or alcohol were detected in the deceased's stomach contents or blood, indicating that he was attacked suddenly and without warning." Xiao Wang pulled up Zhang Qiang's call records: "At 1:32 a.m. on May 21, Zhang Qiang called a number for 1 minute and 23 seconds. The caller was his nephew, Zhang Lei, who lives near Dongshan Cemetery."
Li Bing suddenly put down his pen, his chair scraping half an inch off the floor: "I'm inclined to believe it was a crime of passion stemming from a debt dispute," he said, pointing to Xiao Zhou's route map. "Zhang Qiang may have intercepted Li Chengde near the cemetery to collect the debt, the argument escalated, and he killed him. Afterwards, he impulsively decided to dig up the grave to hide the body and chain it to prevent it from being discovered." He analyzed, "The word 'debt' on the tombstone and the broken cypress tree are both expressions of his dissatisfaction with the debt."
Xiao Zhou raised a different opinion: "If it was a crime of passion, why would he carry a shovel?" He pointed to Xiao Yang's crime scene photos, "Digging a grave requires time and tools, which makes it seem more like a premeditated crime." Zhang Lin nodded in agreement: "The strangulation was fluid and the finger marks were evenly distributed, indicating that the suspect had a certain strength and experience, and it doesn't seem like a first-time crime."
Li Ming suddenly made a decision: "We'll split into four groups to investigate." He counted on his fingers, "The first group, led by Xiao Zhou, will thoroughly investigate Zhang Qiang's activities on May 21st, focusing on verifying his alibi from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., and searching his residence and motorcycle; the second group, led by Xiao Yang, will expand the scope of the crime scene investigation, focusing on finding flat-headed shovels and possible murder weapons, and expediting DNA comparison on the chain; the third group, led by Xiao Wang, will retrieve surveillance footage of Zhang Qiang's nephew Zhang Lei, verify their phone conversations, and check if there are any records of shovels being sold at nearby scrap metal collection stations; the fourth group will visit Li Chengde's social connections, especially those he has recently been in contact with, to verify the details of the debt dispute."
As dawn broke, it gradually filled the conference table, casting interplay of light and shadow on everyone's faces. Li Ming emptied the remaining tea from the enamel mug, the clanging sound startling everyone. "Pay special attention to Zhang Qiang's right hand for any injuries," he emphasized. "The skin tissue under Li Chengde's fingernails likely came from the suspect; this is crucial evidence." He put Li Chengde's photo into a file folder; the water deliveryman's smile in the photo gradually blurred in the shadows. "This honest and hardworking water deliveryman can't just die like this, without any explanation."
When the meeting ended, Xiao Zhou's notebook was filled with four full pages, each entry marked with a question mark and an exclamation mark. Xiao Yang carried the crime scene photos towards the technical department, the motion-activated lights in the corridor turning on with his footsteps, illuminating the four gilded characters "Enforcing the Law for the People" on the wall. Zhang Lin took off his gloves, which were stained with iodine, the smell of formaldehyde still lingering on his fingertips. He remembered the black mole on Li Chengde's left scapula, hidden by clothing—this concealed feature might be the final piece of evidence to confirm the body's identity.
Zhang Qiang's summons was filled out, and Li Ming signed his name in the issuing section. The sound of the pen gliding across the paper seemed to herald the impending confrontation. The soil of Dongshan Cemetery holds too many secrets, and at this moment, sunlight pierces through the clouds, illuminating the path leading to the truth.
Xiao Wang took a picture of Zhang Qiang's file on the passenger seat. In the photo, the building materials store owner was smoking, his beer belly making his black T-shirt shine. The shadows of the plane trees outside the car window swept past the words "30,000 yuan debt dispute" on the file. He rubbed his throbbing temples, started the police car, and drove towards Wangyue Community—the last place Li Chengde delivered water to, and also the location of Zhang Qiang's building materials store.
"Zhang Qiang? He has a really bad temper." Old Li, the security guard at the entrance of Wangyue Residential Area, leaned against the door frame of the guardhouse, the enamel mug in his hand bearing the faded words "Model Worker." He gestured towards the building materials store: "Last Wednesday afternoon, Li Chengde came to collect his money, and the two of them argued so much at the store entrance that they almost came to blows. Zhang Qiang pointed his finger at him and yelled, 'You just wait and see.'" The security guard suddenly lowered his voice, "I heard Zhang Qiang say he was going to find someone to 'teach Li Chengde a lesson,' but at the time I thought it was just something he said in anger."
The roller shutter door of the building materials store was half-open, and the cutting machine inside was emitting a piercing roar. When Xiao Wang lifted the curtain, dust rushed towards him. Zhang Qiang was squatting on the ground threading a water pipe, his right hand wrapped in gauze. "Officer? What do you need me for?" His voice was tinged with the smell of metal shavings, and the dark red blood seeping through the gauze was particularly glaring. Xiao Wang noticed that he was wearing size 42 work shoes, and the tread pattern on the soles clearly did not match the size 43 shoe print found at the scene.