sjar Chapter 1007 Confirming the Identity of the Deceased
Chapter 1007 Confirming the Identity of the Deceased
Old Wu was startled by the barrage of questions. His hand trembled, spilling some tobacco. "Well... everyone calls him Old Wang. He looks to be around forty, and his accent suggests he's from out of town. I really don't know his real name or where he's from." He suddenly remembered something, bent down, and pulled out a crumpled ledger from under the counter. "Last month he bought a case of instant noodles on credit, and I think he wrote a name on it!"
On the yellowed paper, the three characters "Wang Dehui" were written crookedly, and the contact number was just a scribbled four-digit number starting with "138". Xiao Wang immediately had his team take a picture and send it to the technical department, while he began visiting each household in the village. The rain was getting heavier, and they braved the rain, traversing the muddy paths, asking the villagers for news of Wang Dehui.
"Wang Dehui is such an honest man!" Aunt Li, who was sewing shoe soles at the entrance of the village, sat under the eaves and pointed to the threshing ground not far away. "Every time he comes, he helps me fix the leaky aluminum pot and refuses to accept any money. From what I've heard from him, it seems that he rents a warehouse in the west of the city to store his goods."
Following the clues, Xiao Wang and his team found Wang Dehui's temporary residence in a dilapidated warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The rusty iron lock opened with a gentle twist, and a stench of musty and plastic packaging filled the air. In the dimly lit room, a thin quilt covered a faded cot, and under the pillow was a crumpled ledger detailing the purchases and sales of goods over the past three years; a dozen cardboard boxes bearing the words "Dehui Department Store" were piled in the corner, and a worn-out USB drive was hidden at the very bottom.
"Team Leader Wang, there are encrypted files on the USB drive!" Technician Xiao Zhang held up the evidence bag, his eyes full of excitement. "But it'll take some time to crack it."
It was late at night when they returned to the police station, but the Criminal Investigation Division was still brightly lit. After the technicians' efforts, the files on the USB drive were finally opened, but they only contained lists of goods and customer contact information—nothing of any value. Looking at the densely packed tables on the screen, Xiao Wang wearily rubbed his temples.
Further investigation confirmed that Wang Dehui was indeed a businessman from out of town, running a small business on his own. He was known for his low-key nature and rarely got into arguments. Local shopkeepers described him as "honest and reliable" and "quiet." After a round of interviews, aside from confirming the deceased's identity, the case made no substantial progress.
When the case analysis meeting was held again, the clues listed next to "Wang Dehui's" name on the whiteboard were pitifully few. Li Ming stared at the exhausted team members, his tone heavy: "Although confirming the victim's identity is a major breakthrough, there's still a long way to go. Why was Wang Dehui killed? Who is the murderer? What was the motive? These mysteries await our unraveling. Everyone, stay focused and start investigating Wang Dehui's social relationships and business dealings again, leaving no detail overlooked!"
After the meeting, Xiao Wang stood by the police station window, gazing at the drizzling rain outside. Confirming Wang Dehui's identity was just a small step in a long process of solving the case; the real challenge had only just begun. He knew that behind the shrouded mystery of the case lay hidden secrets, and their task was to unravel the threads and reveal the truth to the world.
Three days after confirming Wang Dehui's identity, Xiao Wang's notebook was filled with new clues. He led his team back to Qingyang Village, this time with the goal of delving deeper into the deceased's interpersonal relationships.
Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, Xiao Wang found Grandpa Zhao, the villager who often chatted with Wang Dehui. "Wang Dehui is a very amiable man, but lately, I've noticed he always seems preoccupied," Grandpa Zhao said slowly, taking a puff of his pipe. "About a month ago, I saw him arguing with Liu Fugui from the neighboring village; it was quite a commotion."
"Who is Liu Fugui?" Xiao Wang immediately asked.
"The village thugs always bully honest people. They've heard that Wang Dehui sells his goods cheaper in the village, stealing business from his relatives, so they've always held a grudge."
After noting down this clue, Xiao Wang visited several of Wang Dehui's long-time clients. Mr. Zhang, who runs a restaurant in town, revealed another suspicious person: "About two weeks ago, a man claiming to be a wholesaler came to see Wang Dehui, and the two talked for a long time in the warehouse. When Wang Dehui came out later, he looked extremely unwell. I asked him what happened, and he only said he was in trouble."
After making inquiries from various sources, Xiao Wang learned that the mysterious wholesaler was named Li Qiang, who ran a daily necessities wholesale store in the West City Wholesale Market. Even more coincidentally, some of the goods found in Wang Dehui's warehouse were purchased from Li Qiang.
Just as the investigation reached a stalemate, the technical department brought new information. After recovering the data from Wang Dehui's phone, they discovered that his last call was to a man named Zhou Qiang. Zhou Qiang was from the same hometown as Wang Dehui; the two had previously been business partners but had fallen out due to disagreements over profit sharing.
At this point, three suspects emerged: Liu Fugui, who had a business conflict with Wang Dehui; Li Qiang, a wholesaler with a potential dispute over interests; and Zhou Qiang, a former business partner. Xiao Wang immediately convened a meeting to launch a full investigation into the three.
"Liu Fugui has a history of fighting and brawling, and his whereabouts were unknown on the day of the incident." Team member Xiao Chen reported, "Furthermore, according to villagers, he has been frequently inquiring about Wang Dehui's whereabouts in the village recently."
"Li Qiang's wholesale department's accounts were chaotic," another team member added. "We discovered that his transactions with Wang Dehui were suspected of price gouging, and it's very likely that he killed Wang Dehui to silence him in order to expose him."
As for Zhou Qiang, the investigation revealed that he was in poor financial condition recently and had repeatedly tried to borrow money from Wang Dehui without success. Even more suspiciously, after Wang Dehui disappeared, he suddenly paid off all his debts.
Xiao Wang wrote the three names on the whiteboard and drew a line connecting them in red: "From now on, closely monitor these three people's every move. Find out their whereabouts before and after the crime, retrieve nearby surveillance footage, and interview all possible witnesses. Remember, any detail could be the key to solving the case!"
The investigation proceeded intensively. Xiao Wang and his team worked day and night, searching for breakthroughs among various clues. However, as the investigation deepened, new problems kept emerging. Although Liu Fugui had a motive, villagers testified that he was playing cards in a neighboring village on the night of the incident; Li Qiang's accounts were suspicious, but there was no direct evidence linking him to the case; Zhou Qiang's financial situation suddenly improved, but he claimed the money came from lottery winnings.
Clues appeared one by one, only to disappear one by one. Xiao Wang stood by the office window, looking at the city under the night sky, his brow furrowed.