sjar Chapter 945 Suspect Zhou Dehai
Chapter 945 Suspect Zhou Dehai
However, just when the team thought a glimmer of hope was appearing, another "Lao Feng Xiang" gold shop provided contradictory clues. The shop manager pulled up the surveillance footage: "Fifteen years ago, a lady did come and buy a similar ring, but she registered under the name 'Li Xiulan,' and it was a wedding anniversary gift for her husband." In the footage, a simply dressed middle-aged woman stood in front of the counter, repeatedly comparing the engravings on the inner ring, and finally left satisfied.
Li Ming spread Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Xiulan's files all over the table, his brow furrowed. The household registration system showed that Zhang Zhiyuan's permanent address was in the shantytown in the west of the city, and his occupation was listed as "individual freight driver"; while Li Xiulan's registered husband, Zhang Yuncai, was a dark-skinned, honest-looking middle-aged man in his file photo, and his driver's license copy bore the official seal of "Dongchuan City Second Freight Company". "Find the textile factory's freight contracts for the past twenty years, and focus on checking Zhang Yuncai's driving records!" Li Ming shouted into the walkie-talkie, his voice echoing in the corridor of the criminal investigation detachment.
Sewage flowed freely in the alleyways of the shantytown in the west of the city. Li Ming and his team knocked on the door of Zhang Zhiyuan's former neighbor's house. The old woman, her face full of wrinkles, huddled beside the coal stove, her cloudy eyes staring at a photo of a ring: "This ring? Zhiyuan always wore it, saying he found it on a long-distance trip! He died in a car accident three years ago, clutching this ring tightly until his death..." The old woman suddenly lowered her voice, "But I heard him mutter after drinking that the ring was stained with blood and was a hot potato."
The investigation into Zhang Zhiyuan has essentially reached this stage. Since he died in a car accident three years ago, no matter what happened, his remains could not possibly be the same as those from 15 years ago, so this lead has been completely cut off. However, besides this, the police have another lead: Li Xiulan.
In the interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Division, Li Xiulan huddled in a stainless steel chair, her nails digging deeply into her palms. Her floral apron was still stained with water from the market, and a centipede-shaped scar on her neck glowed faintly red under the incandescent light. Li Ming gently pushed a gold ring in front of her, the vine-like pattern on the ring reflecting a cold light: "Sister Li, take a closer look. Is this your husband's ring?"
Li Xiulan's pupils contracted sharply, her trembling fingers hovering over the evidence bag, hesitant to touch it. The rainy night fifteen years ago suddenly resurfaced in her mind—Zhang Yuncai, covered in blood, bursting through the door, his left hand clutching a jewelry box tightly, drops of blood seeping from between his fingers onto the faded floor tiles. "This...this 'ZY' engraved on the inner ring, it's his initials..." she suddenly coughed violently, a wheezing sound coming from her throat, "But when he left, the ring was clearly on his finger..."
Xiao Zhang handed her warm water, and Li Xiulan's hands trembled as she held the paper cup. Memories from fifteen years ago slowly unfolded with the steam: "November 3rd, 2008, Yun Cai said he was going to the textile factory to pick up one last shipment. He left exceptionally early that day, before dawn, without even having breakfast." Her voice suddenly choked with emotion. "Around ten o'clock that night, I received a call from an unknown number. The caller said Yun Cai's truck had overturned in the suburbs, and all the goods were destroyed..."
Li Ming opened his notebook: "Did you go to the accident scene?"
“I rushed there like a madwoman,” Li Xiulan said, her nails digging into her flesh. “On the way there, I was just hoping everyone was alright, but when I got there, all I saw was an empty truck, its front end smashed into a tree, the windshield shattered like a spider web. I searched the whole area, but I couldn’t find Yun Cai, nor the goods…” She suddenly looked up, her eyes bloodshot. “The police said it might be a hit-and-run, but I don’t believe it! Yun Cai has been driving for twenty years and has never had a mistake!”
Zhang Lin walked in carrying the DNA test report and gently placed it on the table. Li Xiulan's eyes were stung by the words "99.99% paternal lineage match," and she trembled violently. "We extracted complete DNA from the teeth of the skeleton, and it matched your daughter's sample successfully," Zhang Lin said softly. "This skeleton belongs to your husband, Zhang Yuncai."
Li Xiulan's body went limp instantly, tears streaming down her face: "I knew... I knew he wouldn't come back..." She suddenly grabbed Li Ming's wrist, her nails almost digging into his skin: "Please tell me, how did he die? Was someone murdering him? Was he in a lot of pain when he passed away...?"
Li Ming gently withdrew his hand and continued to ask, "You said Zhang Yuncai was covered in blood the night before he disappeared. Did he say what happened?"
"He only told me to take the child and leave quickly, shoved the bankbook into my hand, and ran out," Li Xiulan sobbed uncontrollably. "I grabbed his sleeve and asked if I'd gotten into trouble, and the look in his eyes when he turned back..." She suddenly covered her face, her sobs becoming suppressed and desperate, "That look was like a farewell. When I chased after him, he had already disappeared into the alley..."
Xiao Zhang pulled up the textile factory's freight records from that year: "On November 3rd, Zhang Yuncai transported a batch of imported dyes, worth over a million yuan. The person who signed for the receipt was Zhou Dehai, the head of the security department at the time. Do you know this person?"
“Zhou Dehai…” Li Xiulan’s voice suddenly turned icy cold. “I’ve looked for him! After Yuncai disappeared, I went to the textile factory to make a scene, but he said he hadn’t seen Yuncai and even had the security guards drag me out.” Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. “The way he looked at me that day… it was like he was looking at a dead person!”
Li Ming pushed Zhou Dehai's photo towards him: "Is this the person?"
Li Xiulan stared at the photo, then suddenly grabbed a paper cup from the table and smashed it against the wall. The plastic cup bounced to the ground, splashing water onto the socket in the corner: "It's him! He said Yun Cai ran away with the goods, but Yun Cai isn't that kind of person! Even if he were to die poor, he wouldn't take a single needle or thread from someone else..." She suddenly fell silent, tears slowly streaming down her wrinkles, "That day after I got home, I found this in a hidden compartment in the wardrobe."
She pulled a yellowed notebook from a faded cloth bag, with half a copy of a shipping manifest tucked between the pages. The ink on Zhou Dehai's signature in the receipt section was still wet, and the goods description was heavily circled in red pen—"Imported dye." Inside, in hasty handwriting, it read: "October 25th, two boxes of goods are missing from the warehouse. Section Chief Zhou said he misrecorded the quantity..."
The case investigation has taken a dramatic turn, with the sudden verification of the identity information putting the investigation on the fast track.
In fact, everyone fell into a misconception when the case was first investigated.
Because the remains were found in the basement of the old textile factory, the police naturally assumed the deceased was an employee of the factory. However, no one expected that the deceased wasn't an employee, but rather a truck driver with business dealings with the factory. Regardless, the investigation has now confirmed the deceased's identity. This means that investigating the deceased's network of contacts will provide crucial leads and clues for solving the case, such as the information obtained through Zhang Yuncai's wife regarding Zhou Dehai, the head of the security department at the old textile factory.