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

The clinic owner came over, wiping his sweat. "Surveillance footage can only be saved for three months. It was already overwritten!"

Wang Shuai's face suddenly darkened. At this moment, a nurse who was sorting out the sundries beside him suddenly said, "Wait! I remember this person! Every time he came, he wore a black cap and a mask, and only said that he had a toothache, and he didn't talk much. But one time when he answered the phone, I heard him talking about 'the progress of the construction site'"

"Construction site?" Wang Shuai's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"

"Sure!" the nurse recalled. "He spoke in a very fierce tone, saying, 'If you delay the work any further, you won't get any wages.' He also had a lot of calluses on his hands, and there was always dirt between his nails that couldn't be washed clean."

This clue gave Wang Shuai a boost. He immediately contacted Zhang Hui and said, "Get a list of contractors for all construction sites in the west of the city in the past three years, and focus on finding those between 38 and 40 years old who have had root canal treatment on their right teeth!"

At the same time, the technical department sent a message: the fingerprint extracted from the receipt had no matching record in the national fingerprint database. However, through enhanced processing, it was found that the edge of the fingerprint had irregular wear, which was consistent with the characteristics of long-term wearing of gloves.

Zhang Hui responded quickly: "There was a foreman named Zhang Baode at the construction site of Sunshine Garden in the west of the city. He was 40 years old and suddenly lost contact three years ago. His ex-wife remembered that Zhang Baode's upper right tooth often hurt and he said he wanted to see a doctor, but he never came back."

Wang Shuai immediately led the team to the residence of Zhang Baode's ex-wife. It was a shabby rental house with a lot of debris piled up in the corners. When his ex-wife Li Mei saw the police, her eyes instantly turned red: "I knew he must have been in trouble"

"When was the last time you saw Zhang Baode?" Wang Shuai asked.

"In early December 2022," Li Mei said, choking up. "He received a phone call that day, and his face looked very bad. He said he had to deal with an urgent matter at the construction site, and then he left. I called him, but couldn't get through. I went to the construction site to look for him, and the workers said he hadn't been there for many days."

"Has he any enemies?"

Li Mei shook her head: "He was just a small contractor. Although he had a bad temper, he had never offended anyone. However." She hesitated, "Before the accident, he was very anxious. He always said that someone was watching him and that he would take me and my daughter away from here when he made enough money."

Wang Shuai took out the facial reconstruction of the deceased and asked: "Take a look, does this person look like Zhang Baode?"

Li Mei stared at the picture and her body began to tremble: "The nose, mouth, and these eyes are his. It must be him! There is a mole behind his right ear. Have you seen it?"

This detail cheered everyone up. Wang Shuai immediately contacted Zhang Kai: "Check behind the right ear of the deceased to see if there is a mole!"

Half an hour later, Zhang Kai's voice came from the phone: "Found it! There is a melanin nevus with a diameter of 3 mm behind the right ear, and the position and size are consistent!"

The news of the confirmed identity came, and the entire criminal investigation detachment was in an uproar. Lu Chuan immediately convened an emergency meeting: "Since it is confirmed that the deceased is Zhang Baode, let's start by investigating his social relations and economic dealings. The sudden disappearance of a contractor must have some unspeakable secrets behind it." Wang Shuai volunteered: "I will take people to investigate the 'Sunshine Garden' construction site that Zhang Baode was in charge of, to see what he was doing during his last period of time."

The autumn rain was drizzling down, and Wang Shuai led his team members through the mud and walked into the temporary board house of the "Sunshine Garden" construction site. The roar of machines and the shouts of workers on the construction site were intertwined, and the air was filled with the smell of cement and steel bars.

Pushing open the door of the supervisor's office, Supervisor Lao Zhou was sitting at the table sorting documents. He looked up and saw the police with a puzzled look on his face: "Comrade police, are you here to investigate Zhang Baode again? I told the truth last time. I really didn't find anything wrong with him."

Wang Shuai nodded, pulled a chair over and sat down: "Old Zhou, let's talk about this in more detail. Was there any problem during the construction of this section that Zhang Baode was in charge of? Material supply, workers' wages, every aspect, think about it carefully."

Old Zhou scratched his head and leaned back in his chair. "The materials are supplied according to the contract. I haven't heard of any disputes. As for wages, Zhang Baode is a righteous man. He has never owed workers money and always pays them on time. There really aren't any problems. He is very serious and responsible at work. He can complete the assigned work on time and with quality. He also cooperates well with our supervisors. Any problems are communicated and solved in a timely manner."

"Does he have any conflicts with Party A or other construction teams?" asked team member Xiao Li.

Lao Zhou waved his hand and said, "No, no, Zhang Baode is a very good person. He has a good relationship with the leaders of Party A and they often have meals and chat together. I haven't heard of any conflicts with other construction teams. Everyone sees each other on the construction site and they are all in harmony."

After leaving the supervisor's office, Wang Shuai and his team came to the workers' rest area. A dozen workers were sitting together eating lunch. When they saw the police coming, they put down their bowls and chopsticks. A dark-skinned, honest-looking worker stood up and asked timidly, "Comrade police, what do you want from us?"

Wang Shuai walked over with a smile: "Don't be nervous, everyone. I just want to ask about Zhang Baode. You work with him, so you should know him best."

"Brother Baode is such a good man!" another worker said eagerly, "Whenever we have a headache or fever, he would give us an advance on our wages without saying anything. Once, my elderly family member was sick and needed money urgently, and Brother Baode not only lent me money, but also told me to go back and take care of him first, so I don't have to worry about work."

"Yes, yes," another worker echoed, "Brother Baode is also very dedicated to his work. He helps us move bricks and cement, and never puts on airs like a contractor. With him around, we all work harder."

"Has he had any abnormal behavior recently? Like being in a bad mood, arguing with others, etc." Wang Shuai asked.

The workers all shook their heads. The first worker to stand up said, "No, Brother Baode was always cheerful. A few days before he disappeared, he was joking with us, saying that he would take us out to a restaurant for a good meal after the project was completed. Who would have thought that he would suddenly disappear without a trace."

Wang Shuai also visited the design company and building material suppliers. At the design company, chief designer Chen Gong flipped through the drawings and said with regret: "Zhang Baode understood the drawings very thoroughly. He would communicate with us if there were any problems during the construction process, and his suggestions were very professional. We had a pleasant cooperation, and I never thought he would encounter such a thing."

The boss of the building materials supplier also praised Zhang Baode highly: "Boss Zhang is a trustworthy person. He always pays on time for every purchase and never defaults. We feel assured when doing business with him. We all feel sorry for him if something happens to him." (End of this chapter)