Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

"The footprint identification doesn't match either." Yang Sen held up the report. The impression of the size 43 sports shoe extracted at the scene was significantly different from the characteristics of Wang Xuewu's size 39 leather shoes. "And the crowbar we found in the fire escape only had his fingerprints."

The atmosphere of the case analysis meeting was suffocatingly depressing. The red lines on the whiteboard that originally pointed to Wang Xuewu were all erased, and the clues fell into chaos again like a tangled spider web. Lu Chuan stared at the floor plan of the community on the wall, and the red dot of the laser pen moved back and forth between the underground garage and Building 12: "The murderer is familiar with the blind spots of the surveillance and can accurately grasp the time of the crime. He must be very familiar with the community environment."

"But after checking all the owners and property staff, none of them could have committed the crime." Wang Shuai flipped through the thick visit records, "Li Juan's alibi still stands. The testimonies of the taxi driver and the security guard corroborate each other. She was indeed waiting in the car all night."

The conference room fell into dead silence.

The comrades in the Criminal Investigation Detachment have been very busy these days.

Some clues were actually found at the scene of Wang Xuebing's murder, including footprints and a rough analysis of the suspect's physical characteristics. However, despite so many clues, the murderer has not yet been identified.

In addition, during the investigation process, when they were investigating the woman in red, Li Juan, and Wang Xuebin's younger brother Wang Xuewu, when they were about to identify the murderer, they finally determined that these two people had no possibility of committing the crime.

It seemed that the investigation of the case had reached a deadlock.

The weather was hot and humming, and the air conditioner in the Criminal Investigation Team's conference room was humming, but it couldn't dispel the solemn atmosphere in the room. The clues that were originally sorted out on the whiteboard were covered with messy eraser crumbs. Lu Chuan circled the three words "time difference" with a red pen and turned to look at the team members sitting around the conference table: "To complete the murder, clean up the scene, and escape within eight minutes, the murderer must have known the layout of the community and the deceased's daily routine. Now all direct evidence is broken, and we must re-screen every detail."

Wang Shuai flipped through the frayed edge of the visit record book, and suddenly looked up as if remembering something: "Captain Lu, when we visited the property yesterday, a security guard mentioned that the surveillance duty room's shifts were temporarily changed on the night of the incident. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now I think about it." His fingers quickly flipped through the record, "Old Zhang, who was originally on duty, was replaced by a man named Li Yong, who even specifically asked to work two more hours of night shift."

"Li Yong?" Zhang Hui suddenly raised his head from the pile of documents. "This name sounds familiar." He quickly retrieved the computer files and his pupils shrank after a quick search. "Last month, Wang Xuebing's furniture factory fired three employees, one of whom was Li Yong! The reason was that he secretly withheld customer orders. When he was discovered, he was very unhappy and had a big fight at the factory gate."

Lu Chuan stood up immediately: "Check Li Yong's movements and retrieve his communication records for the past six months. Wang Shuai, Zhang Hui, go to the property management again and focus on asking for details about his replacement; Yang Sen and his men search Li Yong's residence and don't miss any clues."

After the meeting, Wang Shuai and his colleagues went to the property management of Jin Taiyang Community immediately.

Inside the property company's office, the old ceiling fan creaked, stirring the hot, stagnant air. The air conditioner made a harsh roar outside the window. Security guard Zhang sat behind a mottled wooden desk, holding a faded, balled rag in his hand, mechanically wiping the tabletop, even though the tabletop was already shiny enough to reflect a person's shadow. Sweat beads hung on his graying temples, sliding down his neck into the collar of his washed-out uniform, leaving dark marks on the fabric.

"That afternoon, Li Yong suddenly came to me and said that there was an emergency at home, and begged me to switch shifts with him." Lao Zhang's voice trembled, his bloodshot eyes were full of anxiety, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down violently. He paused and swallowed, as if he was recalling something terrible. "I think he is usually very honest. He always calls me Uncle Zhang politely when we meet, and brings me a pack of cigarettes during the holidays. That day he was so anxious that his forehead was full of sweat. He shook my hand and I agreed. Who knew..." Lao Zhang's voice suddenly choked, and deep regret and fear appeared on his face. "After his shift, he specially checked all the monitoring equipment, holding a flashlight to shine in the monitoring room, muttering that he was afraid of malfunctions. I didn't think much about it at the time, but now I think about it, that look and that action are really abnormal!" As he said, he wiped his face with his rough palm, as if he could erase that terrible memory.

Wang Shuai sat opposite him, with Li Yong's employment registration form with curled corners spread out in front of him. The paper was yellowed, but the ink was still clear, with the date of employment six months ago clearly visible. His fingers unconsciously stroked the paper, and his brows furrowed more and more. As an experienced criminal policeman, he keenly noticed that this employment time point just happened to be stuck in the critical period when Wang Xuebing's company was expanding its business and recruiting a large number of employees. Is this just a coincidence, or is there a deeper conspiracy behind it? Wang Shuai's heart was alarmed, and he immediately raised his head and asked with a sharp gaze: "Which area is he responsible for patrolling?"

Old Zhang was so shocked by the sudden harsh voice that he trembled all over and almost dropped the rag in his hand. He subconsciously shrank back, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, and then he quickly pointed to the huge surveillance screen on the wall. On the screen, the images of various corners of the community were constantly switching, and the red and blue light spots flickered unsteadily. "It's the area between Building 12 and the underground garage." His fingertips poked the screen heavily, and the muddy nails left a faint mark on the glass surface. "When he first came, he told me that he had lived nearby before and was familiar with the environment here. He also took the initiative to ask to be in charge of this area. I was very happy at the time. I felt that I had picked up a treasure. I thought someone could save me trouble and effort. I didn't expect that..." Old Zhang's voice gradually became lower, full of self-blame and regret, as if he had committed an unforgivable mistake.

Wang Shuai slowly approached the screen, his eyes fixed on the surveillance footage of Building 12. In the footage, the corridors, elevators, and entrances and exits were all in view, and the bright light illuminated every corner clearly. But when his eyes moved to the passage to the underground garage, his brows furrowed again - the light there was dim, the picture was a little blurry, and he could only vaguely see the outlines of vehicles entering and leaving. His mind quickly recalled the situation at the crime scene: the murderer had cleverly avoided all surveillance through the underground garage and entered the building to commit the crime. And Li Yong happened to be in charge of patrolling this area. Was this really just a coincidence?

"Did he do anything special on the day he changed shifts? Besides checking the surveillance equipment." Wang Shuai continued to ask, his voice full of unquestionable majesty. (End of this chapter)