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

Chapter 817: An Analysis from Another Direction - Forensic Autopsy

The criminal investigation team split into several groups, one of which went deep into Zhao Qiang's workplace—the small logistics company.

Upon entering the company, the sounds of ringing telephones and shouts of people moving goods mingled together. The criminal investigation team went straight to the company's office area, found Zhao Qiang's direct supervisor, explained their purpose, and the supervisor immediately arranged for personnel to assist the police.

The criminal investigation team carefully reviewed Zhao Qiang's recent work records and discovered that a week before the incident, he had taken on a large logistics project, responsible for coordinating cargo transportation, dispatching vehicles, and communicating with clients, among other key tasks. The work schedule indicated that the project was demanding and time-sensitive, and the night of the incident was a crucial point in its final stages.

Subsequently, the criminal investigation team retrieved the surveillance footage from the company's office area. The footage, starting in the evening, clearly captured Zhao Qiang sitting at his desk, intently focused on the computer screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard. During this time, he repeatedly got up to discuss project progress with colleagues, sign documents, and occasionally answer phone calls, appearing focused and busy. His movements throughout the evening were clearly documented, with no indication that he left the office area for extended periods.

Another team of criminal investigators went to Zhao Qiang's residence. It was a somewhat old neighborhood, with water stains covering the exterior of the buildings. Accompanied by property management staff, the investigators entered Zhao Qiang's apartment. The interior was simply furnished, with furniture neatly arranged, and there were no obvious signs of a struggle or anything unusual. The investigators carefully searched every room, opening wardrobes and drawers, examining various items, trying to find any clues related to the case, but to no avail.

After two days of arduous investigation, the criminal investigators discovered that Zhao Qiang and the deceased, Song Ming, did indeed have contact. It turned out that the trading company where Song Ming worked had several business dealings with the logistics company where Zhao Qiang worked. The two met during work-related interactions and would occasionally have a few drinks together after get off work. However, as the investigation deepened, a perplexing fact gradually surfaced: there was no obvious conflict of interest between Zhao Qiang and Song Ming. Song Ming worked as an accountant at the trading company, her job mainly involving financial accounting and book management, which had little to do with the core business of Zhao Qiang's logistics company, such as cargo transportation and warehousing. The two had never had any heated arguments at work, their financial transactions were clear, and there were no economic disputes or other conflicts that could have led to a revenge killing.

What made the case even more perplexing was that Zhao Qiang possessed a clear alibi. To further verify this evidence, Qin Chuan personally led a core team of criminal investigators to Zhao Qiang's company again. They not only repeatedly reviewed the surveillance footage but also conducted professional technical analysis of the timestamps to ensure the footage had not been tampered with. Simultaneously, the investigators questioned each of Zhao Qiang's colleagues who had worked overtime with him.

"Was Zhao Qiang in the office the whole night of the incident? Did he ever leave?" a criminal investigation team member asked a young female employee.

The female employee pushed up her glasses and recalled earnestly, "Yes, Brother Zhao was busy with the project all night. Several of us were responsible for different sections, and we kept communicating. He only went out for lunch and stayed here all night. I didn't see him leave."

Another male colleague added, "Yes, we also discussed several key issues together. Zhao Qiang came up with a lot of good ideas, and we didn't finish until very late."

The criminal investigation team also inquired in detail about Zhao Qiang's specific work content and communication details in the office, and the descriptions from his colleagues were highly consistent with the surveillance footage.

In addition to questioning his colleagues, the police also investigated the company's access control system records. The records showed that on the night of the incident, Zhao Qiang's employee card was only used to enter the company once, at the same time as the time he was seen entering the company on surveillance footage, and there were no further records of him leaving the company after that.

To ensure everything went smoothly, the police also analyzed Zhao Qiang's phone call records and social media chat logs. They found that during the time of the incident, his phone calls were mainly for work-related communication with project personnel, and his social media activity consisted mainly of messages in work groups, with no other unusual contacts.

"Director Qin, what should we do? Zhao Qiang's alibi is too solid. We've investigated almost everything we can, but we really can't find any possibility that he committed the crime." The criminal investigation team member in charge of investigating Zhao Qiang reported to Qin Chuan with a tired and somewhat frustrated expression.

Qin Chuan frowned, pacing back and forth in his office, lost in thought.

At this stage of the case, every detail is crucial, and any oversight could lead to the truth being buried.

“Let’s carefully review all the clues again, starting with Zhao Qiang’s alibi, to see if we’ve missed anything. At the same time, broaden the scope of the investigation and re-examine Song Ming’s interpersonal relationships; perhaps we’ve overlooked a key figure,” Qin Chuan said calmly.

Investigating a case requires patience. Now that this lead has been blocked, we need to re-examine it from another angle. While Zhao Qiang's alibi is solid, are there any loopholes? Furthermore, is Zhao Qiang truly innocent? Did he commit any crime? These are all questions that the criminal investigation team needs to determine.

He suddenly thought that the autopsy of the body by forensic doctor Zhang Lin might bring new clues, so he immediately dialed Zhang Lin's number: "Forensic doctor Zhang, how is the autopsy of Song Ming's body going? Go through it carefully again and see if there are any key details that have been missed."

“Director Qin, I was just about to report to you. I’ll check it again carefully and report back to you immediately if I find anything new,” Zhang Lin said firmly.

Inside the autopsy room, the operating lights cast a stark, glaring white glow, and Song Ming's body lay silently on the autopsy table. Zhang Lin, dressed in pristine white scrubs, wearing a mask and gloves, stared intently and calmly. She first carefully examined the wounds on the body's exterior again, precisely measuring the length, depth, and angle of the fatal wound on the neck with calipers, muttering to herself, "The edges of this wound are jagged, with sharp angles, consistent with repeated cutting by a sharp instrument. And judging from the direction of the wound, the murderer applied force from top to bottom."

Then, Zhang Lin picked up a scalpel and skillfully made an incision along the midline of the corpse's abdomen, carefully separating the skin and subcutaneous tissue to expose the abdominal organs. She examined the liver, spleen, kidneys, and other organs in turn, recording as she went: "The liver is normal in color, with no rupture or bleeding; the spleen is normal in size and shape, and its capsule is intact..."

After examining the other organs, Zhang Lin focused her attention on the stomach. She carefully grasped the cardia and pylorus of the stomach with tweezers, removed the stomach intact, and placed it on a tray. Then, she used scissors to cut open the stomach wall, and a sour, putrid odor instantly filled the air.