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

Chapter 1008 Suspect Zhang Tao

The dark clouds hung low, seemingly within reach, and the air was thick with dampness, foreshadowing an impending downpour. When Xiao Wang led his team into Yangling Village, their shoes were caked with muddy yellow soil, making each step heavy. This village, surrounded by reeds, was eerily quiet; the occasional bark of a dog added to the oppressive atmosphere.

"Ask every household, don't overlook any detail," Xiao Wang instructed his team. His gaze swept over the mottled mud walls and dilapidated wooden doors, and he had an inexplicable premonition. After visiting more than twenty households, a frail old woman finally provided a crucial clue: "That evening, I saw Dehui pushing his grocery cart towards the old warehouse at the back of the village."

Following the old woman's directions, the group passed through a narrow alleyway and came to a deserted courtyard. In the overgrown yard, three collapsed mud-brick houses stood silently, the faded wooden sign of "Yangling Village Supply and Marketing Cooperative" leaning askew in the mud, blurred by wind and rain. Suddenly, the police dog "Heizi" became restless, barking softly as it rushed towards the warehouse, desperately pulling on its leash.

"Be careful, everyone." Xiao Wang gripped his pistol tightly and pushed open the rusty iron door first. The hinges creaked gratingly, as if telling a story of desolation. A strong stench of blood mixed with the smell of rotting wood and dust assaulted the senses, making everyone want to vomit. Xiao Wang forced himself to endure the discomfort, raised his search lamp, and everyone gasped in shock at the beam of light.

On the mottled earthen wall, dark red bloodstains were splattered, meandering down the brick seams and forming eerie patterns on the surface. Some of the bloodstains had dried, turning a deep brown, while others still gleamed with a damp sheen. "The splatter angle is 45 degrees, consistent with blunt force trauma," Xiao Sun said, quickly pulling out a laser rangefinder to measure the distribution of the bloodstains. His pen scratched across his notebook. "The blood droplets are 2-3 millimeters in diameter, indicating a small contact area with the weapon, possibly a steel pipe or a crowbar."

Old Zhou squatted down and carefully picked up the pebbles from the tire tracks with tweezers, examining them closely: "Judging from the depth of these tire tracks, they were left by a heavy-duty tricycle, and they match the tire treads of Wang Dehui's general cargo truck." He then took out a magnifying glass to examine the traces on the ground, "From the warehouse entrance to here, there are obvious drag marks, which should have been left by a heavy object being dragged."

The investigation proceeded intensively and systematically. With the ultraviolet lights on, the marks on the ground became clearer. A winding drag mark stretched from the center of the bloodstains to the doorway, a full 17 meters long. Old Zhou carefully measured with a ruler, his brow furrowed: "The murderer must have used a rope to lasso the victim under the armpits, dragging him in a semi-upright position." Suddenly, he pointed to the corner of the wall, his voice rising a few decibels: "Look at this!" At the base of the wall covered in cobwebs, half a blurry shoe print was stained with dark red blood, its edges jagged, resembling the anti-slip treads of work boots.

"Extract the shoe prints and compare them immediately," Xiao Wang ordered. His eyes scanned the warehouse, trying to find more clues. In a corner, a dilapidated van sat quietly, its body covered in mud and bloodstains—the very vehicle Wang Dehui usually used for transporting goods. Inside the van, pots and pans were scattered about, the once neatly arranged goods now a chaotic mess, as if they had just survived a fierce struggle.

In the interrogation room, temporarily converted from the village committee office, the lights were dim, the bulbs crackling and flickering overhead. Xiao Wang pushed a photo of work boots from the evidence bag in front of the village secretary, his eyes serious: "Who in the village has bought these shoes recently?" The village secretary stared at the photo, his face pale, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Zhang Tao... I just saw him wearing new shoes last week, saying he bought them at the work boot store in town." He lowered his voice, his expression tense, "That kid is a notorious scoundrel, idle and good-for-nothing, he was even detained last year for extorting money from a vendor."

At three in the morning, Zhang Tao was summoned to the station. This young man in his early twenties, with striking blond hair and an exaggerated earring, sat casually in the interrogation chair, legs crossed, exuding nonchalance: "I was indeed in the village that day, drinking and playing cards with friends until dawn. Go ask them if you don't believe me!" His gaze swept over the criminal investigation flowchart on the wall, and he suddenly scoffed, "Just a pair of shoe prints? There are plenty of people in Yangling Village who wear safety shoes!"

Xiao Wang calmly played the surveillance footage—at 10:17 PM on the night of the incident, Zhang Tao appeared at the village store. "You said you were playing cards, but the surveillance shows you went towards the warehouse," Xiao Wang said coldly, then pulled up the phone's location history. "And your phone was in airplane mode during that time." Zhang Tao's face instantly turned deathly pale, his eyes flickering, but he still forced a smile: "I...I just went to the warehouse to look for something, I didn't see anyone!"

Just then, the expedited test report from the technical department arrived. Xiao Sun pushed open the door, the folder in his hand stained with dark sweat, his expression grave: "The bloodstains in the warehouse match Wang Dehui's DNA, but no biological evidence of Zhang Tao was found at the scene. The shoe prints are similar, but over three thousand pairs of the same style of work shoes have been sold on the market..." His voice trailed off, "We are conducting a second investigation of the warehouse, hoping to find more clues, but currently there is indeed no direct evidence to prove Zhang Tao committed the crime."

There's no other way but to release Zhang Tao now.

However, the other party is highly suspected and must be investigated.

The very next evening, Xiao Wang's phone suddenly rang in the silence. Xiao Li from the technical department spoke with barely concealed excitement: "Team Leader Wang! The home security camera at Li Guifang's house in Yangling Village has captured crucial footage! The camera in her yard caught Zhang Tao dragging his tricycle past on the night of the incident!"

Xiao Wang immediately sprang from his chair, grabbed his car keys, and rushed into the rain. The siren of the police car pierced the rainy night, carrying him and his team straight to Yangling Village. Rain lashed against the windshield, blurring his vision, but his eyes remained exceptionally determined.

When they arrived at Li Guifang's house, the elderly woman, who was over sixty years old, was nervously clutching the hem of her clothes: "I only discovered this today when I was reviewing the surveillance footage. This camera was originally meant to prevent thieves..." Xiao Wang comforted her for a few moments, and then he and his team began to review the surveillance video.

Although the video footage is somewhat blurry, the time stamp shows it was taken at 11:12 PM on the night of the incident. In the video, a figure is seen struggling to pull a tricycle past quickly. Although the figure is obscured by a raincoat, the build and gait are remarkably similar to Zhang Tao's. More importantly, the bulge on the tricycle clearly resembles a human figure.