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

Chapter 1363 Investigating Zhao Yonghong

"We found an IOU in the wardrobe drawer, written by Zhao Yonghong to Zhang Jianguo, for 7 yuan, with the loan date being July 10, 2022, exactly three years ago," the investigators reported. "We also found a pair of size 41 wavy-patterned sneakers, the sole pattern of which perfectly matched the footprints found at the scene. The soles also contained a small amount of reed fiber and red soil, consistent with the environmental characteristics of the crime scene."

However, the fingerprint comparison results from the technical department poured cold water on everyone's hopes: "Team Leader Wang, Zhao Yonghong's right thumb fingerprint only overlaps with the whorl-shaped fingerprint feature points extracted from the abandoned dock by 5 points, which does not meet the identification standard of 12 matching points, so it is ruled out that it was left by the same person." Xiao Sun's voice was filled with disbelief, "We compared it three times, and even retrieved Zhao Yonghong's previous fingerprint files. There were indeed obvious differences. The fingerprint at the scene was not his."

This result brought the investigation to a standstill. Just then, Xiao Zhou, who was in charge of the outer perimeter search, reported: "Team Leader Li, Zhao Yonghong has been found at a fishpond on the east side of Qingling Lake. He was sleeping in a shack by the fishpond. We have apprehended him and are on our way back to the team." Xiao Zhou was an experienced veteran investigator. After receiving the task of finding Zhao Yonghong, he did not limit himself to surveillance tracks, but instead focused on investigating Zhao Yonghong's lifestyle habits. He eventually learned about the secret fishpond that Zhao Yonghong frequented from his old fishing buddies.

At 10 p.m., Zhao Yonghong was escorted to the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Contrary to expectations of panic, Zhao Yonghong appeared remarkably calm. Facing the bright lights of the interrogation room, he squinted and spoke frankly: "Officers, I know you've brought me here because of Zhang Jianguo, but I really didn't kill him. I admit I owe him 7 yuan, and I admit I went to Qingling Lake on the night of July 10th, but I went fishing at a fishpond near the reed marshes and didn't see him at all."

Xiao Zhou, who was in charge of the interrogation, placed the IOU and a photo of the wrench collected at the scene in front of him: "You owe him money, and he came to collect the debt before he died. You say you've never seen him, but who can prove that? This wrench was taken from the auto repair shop by him, and it ended up at the crime scene. How do you explain that?"

“I really didn’t see him!” Zhao Yonghong raised his voice. “I did go to Qingling Lake on the evening of July 10th, but I went to Lao Yang’s fishpond to fish. I stayed there from 6 pm until 1 am. The fishpond owner, Yang Ming, can vouch for me. I knew Zhang Jianguo was looking for me to pay a debt, so I deliberately avoided the road to the abandoned dock, just to avoid running into him arguing. As for that wrench, I’ve never seen it before. He only ever brings IOUs when he asks for debts; he’s never mentioned bringing any tools.”

To verify Zhao Yonghong's statement, Xiao Zhou contacted the fishpond owner, Yang Ming, overnight. Yang Ming confirmed, "On the evening of July 10th, around 6 PM, Zhao Yonghong did indeed come to my fishpond to fish. He rented my fishing spot and bought my bait, staying until around 1 AM. He didn't leave his spot except to go to the toilet. I and two other anglers can testify to this." Yang Ming also provided Zhao Yonghong's fishing records and payment receipts, the dates of which perfectly matched Zhao Yonghong's statement.

Xiao Zhou pressed further: "You said you hadn't seen him, but did you hear any unusual noises in the reeds on the night of July 10th? Like arguments or fighting?" Zhao Yonghong thought carefully for a moment and shook his head: "The wind was quite strong that night, the reeds rustled, and there were frogs croaking, but I didn't hear anything unusual. However, when I was fishing, I did see a red motorcycle drive by on the path next to the reeds, going very fast, around 9 p.m. The rider was wearing a helmet, so I couldn't see his face."

This new clue cheered Xiao Zhou up, but Zhao Yonghong's next words dashed his hopes: "I really didn't know Zhang Jianguo was dead. I only found out about the murder at Qingling Lake today while I was hiding in the fishpond shack listening to the radio. The reason I'm hiding is because I heard that Zhou Jianjun was arrested, and I'm afraid you'll hold me responsible. After all, I owe Zhang Jianguo money, and we had a fight before."

To further verify, Xiao Zhou arranged for his team to investigate the area around the fishpond. At the fishing spot mentioned by Zhao Yonghong, they found his footprints and cigarette butts. The DNA from the cigarette butts matched Zhao Yonghong perfectly. Furthermore, the surveillance footage around the fishing spot (installed by Yang Ming for security) showed that Zhao Yonghong was indeed active near the fishing spot from 6 pm to 1 am on July 10th, only leaving briefly three times to go to the toilet, each time for no more than 5 minutes. He simply did not have enough time to go to the abandoned dock to commit the crime.

“Zhao Yonghong’s alibi is valid.” Xiao Zhou said helplessly at the case analysis meeting. “It takes at least 40 minutes to travel from the fishpond to the crime scene. He didn’t have time to commit the crime, and the fingerprints at the scene were not his. We can basically rule out his suspicion.”

The trail went completely cold. Just when it seemed the real culprit, the one who locked the roof, had been ruled out, the crucial evidence at the scene—the whorl-shaped fingerprints, the 41-yard footprint, and the brass button—once again went nowhere. Li Ming looked at the clue diagrams plastered on the wall, tapping his fingers lightly on the table: "Re-examine all the clues, don't miss any details. Zhang Jianguo left Liu Changgen's house at 9:7 PM on July 10th to collect a debt at the abandoned dock. If he wasn't looking for Zhao Yonghong, then who was he? And who was riding the red motorcycle Zhao Yonghong saw?"

Xiao Yang took out the list of physical evidence from the scene again and analyzed it one by one: "The copper alloy button belongs to Zhou Jianjun, but his footprints don't match; there is grease residue in the fingerprints at the scene, which points to people working in the machinery industry, but it's neither Zhou Jianjun nor Zhao Yonghong; the red motorcycle—we didn't find any relevant clues during the previous investigation, so it may be an unlicensed vehicle. The brown foreign matter under Zhang Jianguo's fingernails, besides the silt, also contains a small amount of paint particles, which are dark blue, a detail we overlooked before."

"Paint particles?" Li Ming's eyes lit up. "Zhang Jianguo repairs agricultural machinery, and the paint he usually deals with is mostly silver-gray or green. Dark blue paint is uncommon. Could it be from the motorcycle? Zhao Yonghong said the rider was wearing a helmet, so we couldn't see his face. Perhaps the vehicle was damaged, and the paint peeled off and stuck to Zhang Jianguo."

Xiao Wang added, "Zhou Jianjun and Wang Lei mentioned that Zhang Jianguo, besides Zhao Yonghong, also had a conflict with a scrap collector. Two months ago, Zhang Jianguo helped a scrap collector repair his tricycle, but the other party didn't pay him, and the two had a fight. Zhang Jianguo said he would 'smash his scrap station.' The scrap collector's name is Li Laosi, and he also operates around Qingling Lake. I heard he's not exactly a clean shopper."

"Investigate Li Laosi immediately!" Li Ming decisively ordered. "Focus on whether he has a red motorcycle and whether he has been in contact with dark blue paint. Also, collect his fingerprints and footprints and compare them with the physical evidence at the scene. In addition, expand the scope of the investigation of the red motorcycle and retrieve the surveillance footage from all intersections around Qingling Lake from 8 pm to 10 pm on July 10. Even if the images are blurry, we must carefully examine them."