sjar Chapter 1036 Unexpected Clues Provided by Zhao Liqiang
Chapter 1036 Unexpected Clues Provided by Zhao Liqiang
Upon hearing Zhang Bing's name, Li Baojun trembled violently and looked up at Xiao Wang in terror: "I...I don't know who Zhang Bing is, I really have nothing to do with his death!" Xiao Wang took a step closer: "Still not admitting it? Someone saw you and Zhang Bing had a conflict. The flame tattoo on your neck is very distinctive!" Li Baojun's face turned deathly pale instantly, his lips trembled, and he couldn't speak for a long time.
Under Xiao Wang's persistent questioning, Li Baojun finally broke down. He cried and said, "I do know Zhang Bing. He discovered that the factory was smuggling waste materials and even threatened to report it. I was just trying to scare him and tell him not to meddle. I really didn't kill him! In the early morning of July 9th, I did go to a neighboring city to deliver goods. I stopped halfway because... because I had a stomachache and needed to find a place to relieve myself. I was afraid of being ashamed if I told anyone, so I lied."
Xiao Wang looked at Li Baojun with suspicion in his eyes. He continued his investigation and discovered that one of Li Baojun's relatives, Zhao Liqiang, also worked in freight transportation and had close ties with Hongyuan Plastics Factory. Xiao Wang decided to start his investigation from Zhao Liqiang and embarked on another journey of investigation. However, the truth of the case seemed to be hidden in a deeper fog, waiting to be revealed.
When Li Baojun stammered in the interrogation room, "Zhao Liqiang might know something," Xiao Wang's pen left long, dark marks on the transcript. This name was like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, creating new ripples on the seemingly stagnant surface of the investigation. He immediately arranged for a comprehensive investigation into Zhao Liqiang.
Zhao Liqiang's personal information was quickly presented to Xiao Wang: 32 years old, a contracted truck driver for Hongyuan Plastics Factory, with two police dispatch records related to traffic disputes. Even more striking was the traffic surveillance footage showing that at 2:17 AM on July 9th, the day Zhang Bing was murdered, Zhao Liqiang's truck appeared near a building materials market just three blocks from the victim's residence. The building materials market should have been quiet at night, but Zhao Liqiang's truck remained there for a full 40 minutes before heading towards a neighboring city.
When Xiao Wang and his team arrived at Zhao Liqiang's rented apartment building, the hallway reeked of a mixture of cheap perfume and instant noodles. They knocked on the door of room 502, and a young girl in a slip dress opened it, rubbing her eyes. The peeling pink nail polish on her fingernails created an eerie contrast with the messy interior. "You're looking for Qiangzi? He's still on a long-distance trip," the girl, named Sun Yao, said, claiming to be Zhao Liqiang's girlfriend. Her eyes darted around as she spoke, frequently glancing at the half-open wardrobe inside.
The investigation team quickly divided the tasks: some retrieved Zhao Liqiang's communication records and driving routes, while others investigated his interpersonal relationships. At the mahjong parlor Zhao Liqiang frequented, the proprietress chewed betel nut while shuffling the tiles: "Qiangzi's been having bad luck lately. He lost over 20,000 yuan last month and even borrowed 500 yuan from me." When asked if she had seen Zhao Liqiang interacting with Zhang Bing, the proprietress suddenly lowered her voice: "I did see him whispering with the factory accountant, saying they were going to pull off a big heist to pay off their debts."
A more crucial clue came from the passenger seat of Zhao Liqiang's truck. Technicians found half a shoe print stained with red soil in the seat crevices. Testing revealed that the red soil composition perfectly matched the soil from the waste disposal area of the Hongyuan Plastics Factory. Meanwhile, deletion records in Zhao Liqiang's phone's cloud backup showed that he deleted multiple call logs with a contact surnamed "Zhang" after the incident. These pieces of evidence gradually pieced together the intricate connections between Zhao Liqiang and the case.
When Zhao Liqiang was summoned to the Criminal Investigation Division, he was wearing faded jeans, and the flame tattoo on his neck was faintly visible as he swallowed. "I was just passing by! My car broke down that day, and I spent some time fixing it at the building materials market." Facing Xiao Wang's questioning, Zhao Liqiang crossed his arms, but his tone unconsciously rose, "My girlfriend can testify; she even video-called me at three in the morning!"
The atmosphere in the interrogation room instantly froze. Xiao Wang pulled up Sun Yao's call logs, which indeed showed a 15-minute video call at 3:02 AM. However, a meticulous technician noticed a 12-second stutter in the video, suggesting the video was likely pre-recorded. When this evidence was presented to Zhao Liqiang, veins bulged on his forehead: "So what? I just don't want anyone to know I'm out fooling around in the middle of the night! I didn't kill anyone, don't make false accusations!"
The investigation reached another impasse. Xiao Wang re-examined the clues and discovered that Zhao Liqiang's bank statements showed he suddenly received a transfer of 5 yuan a week before the incident, with the sender's information deliberately concealed. Meanwhile, interviews with Zhao Liqiang's neighbors revealed that a man wearing a baseball cap had been seen frequently entering and leaving Zhao Liqiang's home a few days before the incident, always leaving with a black plastic bag.
Just when the investigation was at a standstill, forensic pathologist Zhang Lin made a new discovery: the DNA extracted from the skin tissue under Zhang Bing's fingernails, although not a match for Zhao Liqiang, revealed a special component of engine oil. This type of engine oil is extremely rare on the market, and upon comparison, it was found to be the imported model used in Zhao Liqiang's truck engine.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, Zhao Liqiang still refused to confess. He huddled in the interrogation chair, repeatedly muttering "It wasn't me," while Sun Yao cried and made a scene outside the interrogation room, claiming the police were framing an innocent man. Xiao Wang stood in front of the whiteboard, rearranging all the clues, his gaze finally settling on Zhao Liqiang's mysterious 5 yuan remittance. He realized that to break through the case, he had to find the mastermind behind this money, which might uncover a far larger network of interests than he had imagined.
Xiao Wang's eyes were fixed on the bank statement. The 5 yuan remittance was made at 1:37 AM—just within the estimated timeframe of Zhang Bing's murder. The remittance account was a temporarily registered e-wallet, with no apparent real-name information. However, he noticed a subtle symbol, "¤," in the remarks field when the transfer was made. This symbol had appeared in a hidden corner of the truck's cargo compartment in a screenshot from a video Zhang Bing had secretly filmed of smuggling waste.
"Xiao Li, pull up all the accounts that have had transactions with this e-wallet and cross-reference their transaction history for the past three months!" Xiao Wang slammed Mark down on the table, causing the brown liquid in his coffee cup to splash over the rim. The IT department's screen wall began scrolling rapidly, with hundreds and thousands of transaction records cascading down like a waterfall. When an account that frequently received small amounts of money came into view, Xiao Wang's pupils suddenly contracted—the account's registered owner was none other than Wang Zhandang, the current boyfriend of Zhang Bing's ex-girlfriend, Zhang Rui.
Wang Zhandang's personal information was quickly retrieved: 38 years old, deputy manager of the purchasing department of Hongyuan Plastics Factory, who handled as many as 27 waste disposal projects in the five years he worked there.