sjar Chapter 1089 A Turning Point in the Case: A Major Clue
Chapter 1089 A Turning Point in the Case: A Major Clue
Watching everyone busily working, Xiao Zhou felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Faced with this challenging case, everyone was giving their all, and this teamwork and perseverance filled him with confidence in solving it. He quickened his pace, preparing to check Wang Kaisheng's call records and medical records. He believed the truth lay hidden in these details, waiting to be uncovered little by little.
When he entered the information center, technician Xiao Li was debugging the equipment. "Brother Hui, we found a frequently contacted number in Wang Kaisheng's call records. It called seven times in the last three days, and the last time was half an hour before he went missing." Xiao Li pointed to the screen. "This number is not registered under a real name, and we can't find the owner's information, but the signal was last seen in the suburbs of Tianchuan, not far from that highway service area."
Xiao Zhou's eyes lit up; this was very likely the number of the lame man. "Check the cell tower location of this number and see if we can find his exact location." His voice was tinged with excitement. "Also, retrieve Wang Kaisheng's medical records and see if his condition has worsened recently."
The lights in the information center came on, illuminating Xiao Zhou's focused face. He knew that every detail could be key to solving the case, and that every effort they made was in pursuit of justice for the deceased. This long investigation, though fraught with hardship and challenges, was one inextricably linked to perseverance; the truth would eventually be revealed.
The service area's monitoring room was like an airtight iron box. The air conditioner's outdoor unit emitted a hoarse roar, but it couldn't wipe the sweat from Xiao Zhou's forehead. He stared at the limping man's back on the screen, his fingertips repeatedly dragging the monitoring progress bar—three days ago at 2:03 a.m., Wang Kaisheng's Jiefang truck had just parked in the parking space when this man in a black hoodie rode his motorcycle and blocked the front of the truck.
“Enlarge his motorcycle license plate.” Xiao Zhou’s voice was hoarse; he hadn’t slept for thirty-six hours straight, and his throat felt like it had been rubbed with sandpaper. Technician Xiao Li pulled up a high-resolution screenshot. The last two digits of the license plate were obscured by mud, but the prefix “冀R?7” was clearly visible. “Check the registration information of all motorcycles in the Langfang area with a 7 at the end of their license plates,” Xiao Zhou sent the screenshot to the work group, “focusing on men with a right leg disability or a prior robbery conviction.”
In the surveillance footage, Wang Kaisheng clutched his stomach as he got out of the truck, his movements slow and deliberate—typical symptoms of a stomach ulcer flare-up. The limping man suddenly pulled a utility knife from his pocket, the blade gleaming coldly under the streetlight. "What are they arguing about?" Xiao Zhou told Xiao Li to turn up the volume; the muffled sounds of arguing came through the loudspeaker, "...I can't give you the goods...I can't explain it to the boss..." Wang Kaisheng's voice was broken, followed by a sharp metallic clang, like the hook on the truck's tarpaulin being torn off.
At 3:17 a.m., Xiao Li suddenly shouted, "Found it! Ji R?73521, registered person Li Baotian, 41 years old, from Anci District, Langfang. Ten years ago, he was sentenced to eight years for robbing a truck. After his release, he worked odd jobs in a logistics park. Last year, he broke his right leg in a motorcycle accident, which matches the characteristics of a limp!" He pulled up the household registration photo. The man on the screen had a scar on his right eyebrow, which matched the scar that was faintly visible in the reflection of the surveillance footage.
Xiao Zhou grabbed the walkie-talkie: "Xiao Wang, take two teams to Li Baotian's address in Anci District. Be careful to stay hidden. He has a history of violence and may be carrying a weapon." He stared at the man dragging a blue tarpaulin in the surveillance footage. "Also, check Li Baotian's call records to see if they are related to Wang Kaisheng's mysterious number."
When the arrest team arrived at the rented bungalow of Li Baotian, the morning light was shining through the dilapidated window onto the motorcycle in the corner of the yard. The seat was still covered in reddish-brown clay, perfectly matching the soil composition outside the gravel plant's wall. Xiao Wang gestured for silence, and the team members dispersed in a fan shape to surround him. The moment they broke down the door, they found the person inside scraping mud from the soles of his shoes with a utility knife—the blade's width perfectly matching the cuts made from the bone fragments.
When Li Baotian resisted, his old injury to his right leg slowed him down by half a beat. As he was pinned to the ground, he was still yelling, "That guy deserved it! He owes me!" Xiao Wang noticed a fresh scratch on his left wrist, with dark blue fibers stuck to the scab, the same material as the tarpaulin on Wang Kaisheng's truck.
The incandescent light in the interrogation room cast a long shadow of Li Baotian, the scar on his right eyebrow glistening under the light. "Do you know Wang Kaisheng?" Xiao Zhou pushed a screenshot of the two arguing in front of him; in the photo, a utility knife was pressed against Wang Kaisheng's neck. Li Baotian's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his gaze drifting to the iron bars in the corner: "No, I don't know him. I just want to borrow some money from him."
"You need a utility knife to borrow it?" Xiao Zhou picked up the bloodstained utility knife. The bloodstains on the blade matched Wang Kaisheng's. "You robbed his truck at the service area, killed him, dismembered him, and dumped his body at the gravel plant, thinking you could get away with it?" He suddenly raised his voice. "We found fragments of blue tarpaulin under your motorcycle seat, and they match perfectly with what we found at the gravel plant!"
Li Baotian's fingers dug into the wood grain of the interrogation chair, his knuckles turning white. "The steel he was transporting was ordered by my boss. I just wanted to help my boss pick it up first..." Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Zhou interrupted him: "Which boss? You haven't had a proper job since you got out of prison. Last year, you owed 300,000 yuan in high-interest loans because of gambling. This batch of special steel in Wang Kaisheng's truck can sell for 500,000 yuan on the black market, right?"
The surveillance footage continued playing crucial footage: when Li Baotian shoved Wang Kaisheng into the truck cab, the latter's silver watch snagged on his hoodie, leaving a crescent-shaped hole in the fabric from the notch in the crown—a detail that perfectly matched Zhou Lan's description. "He was still alive when you severed his limbs with a utility knife," Xiao Zhou's voice was icy cold. "The blood clots in the intermuscular grooves prove he lived for less than two hours after the limbs were severed. Hearing his screams, didn't you even think about stopping?"
These words were like a key, unlocking Li Baotian's taut nerves. He suddenly slumped into his chair, the chains dragging on the floor with a grating sound: "He shouldn't have called the police to arrest me! If he hadn't reported me ten years ago, I wouldn't have spent eight years in prison!" His voice trembled with tears, the scar on his right eyebrow contorted with agitation. "After I got out, I wanted to live a good life, but loan sharks were harassing me every day, so I had no choice but to target his batch of steel... After he recognized me, he called me a convict and said he wanted to put me back in..."
The air conditioning in the interrogation room suddenly stopped, and the stuffy air was filled with the smell of sweat. Li Baotian confessed that after he strangled Wang Kaisheng unconscious at the service area, he originally intended to steal the steel directly, but Wang Kaisheng suddenly woke up and bit off half of his ear. In a moment of panic, he stabbed Wang Kaisheng in the neck with a utility knife. Fearing that his actions would be exposed, he then decided to dismember and dispose of the body.