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

"I... I don't know..." Wang Tingting's voice became smaller and smaller. Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she raised her head with tears in her eyes, "Okay, I'll tell you the truth... I did borrow money from a loan shark and owed a lot of money. The debt collectors called me every day to threaten me. I really had no choice but to borrow money from Haiyan..."

Wang Shuai and Xiao Chen looked at each other and motioned for her to continue.

"A few days before Haiyan disappeared, I asked her to borrow money, saying that I urgently needed 10,000 yuan to make ends meet, otherwise something would happen." Wang Tingting said with tears in her eyes, "She was very hesitant at the time and said she would think of a way. Two days later, she told me that she had borrowed the money and asked me to go and get it. We met three days before she disappeared. She gave me the money and told me to pay the debt quickly and not to touch those things again... I asked her where the money came from, but she didn't tell me. She just told me not to worry about it and asked me to deal with my own affairs quickly..."

"Did she tell anyone about borrowing money? For example, her boyfriend Zhao Yang?" Wang Shuai asked.

"She said she didn't tell anyone else and asked me to keep it a secret. She said Zhao Yang would be worried if he knew..." Wang Tingting wiped her tears. "After I got the money, I paid back part of the loan shark, but it was still not enough... After Haiyan disappeared, I was very scared. I was afraid that the debt collectors would find me, and I was also afraid that this matter had something to do with me. So when you asked me before, I didn't dare to tell the truth. I was afraid of causing trouble..."

Wang Shuai looked at Wang Tingting crying in front of him, but he did not relax, but became more solemn. Although Wang Tingting admitted to borrowing money, there are still many doubts in her words: Where did Zhang Haiyan's money come from? Did Wang Tingting really only borrow 10,000? Is there a deeper connection between her and the loan shark? These questions need further investigation.

It was still raining when he left Wang Tingting's house. Wang Shuai sat in the car, looking at the blurry rain outside the window, and kept sorting out the new information in his mind. Wang Tingting's clue seemed to have made new progress in the case, but it might also be a new mystery. He knew that the next investigation would be more critical, and he had to start with the clue of Wang Tingting and the loan shark, and dig deeper to uncover the truth behind it.

The conference room was filled with smoke. Lu Chuan stood in front of the whiteboard and circled the three words "Wang Tingting" with a red marker. The projector alternately displayed Wang Tingting's bank statements and loan shark collection records. The numbers jumped on the screen like restless notes.

"Wang Tingting's loan records show that she borrowed a total of 150,000 yuan in half a year, and the repayment sources were mixed with multiple anonymous accounts." Zhang Hui threw a stack of reports on the table. "In the latest debt collection phone recording found, a male voice threatened to 'cut off his arms and legs'. The time point was exactly three days before Zhang Haiyan disappeared."

Wang Shuai held the coffee cup until his knuckles turned white. "Wang Tingting admitted that she took 10,000 yuan, but her account suddenly had an extra 80,000 yuan in cash after the incident. The source is unknown." He pulled up the surveillance screenshots, which showed Wang Tingting walking into the ATM wearing a baseball cap. "The money arrived the day after Zhang Haiyan's death. The cash was deposited without leaving any trace."

Yang Sen pushed his glasses up and drew a red line on the anatomical diagram with a laser pen. "The deceased Zhang Haiyan's stomach contents contained glutinous rice, and the breakfast shop downstairs from Wang Tingting's house happened to sell eight-treasure porridge. We compared the surveillance footage and found that Zhang Haiyan had indeed been to that shop at 7:10 a.m. on the day she disappeared."

"Wait," Zhang Kai suddenly interrupted, holding up the autopsy report. "The angle of the blow to the victim's occipital fracture shows that the murderer was between 175 and 180 cm tall, and Wang Tingting is only 162 cm tall. From a mechanical point of view, it is extremely unlikely that she committed the crime alone."

Lu Chuan tapped the whiteboard: "This shows that there is an accomplice. Among Wang Tingting's loan sharks, there is a gangster named 'Scar Li', who is 178cm tall and has a criminal record for intentional injury." He switched to another file, "Scar Li's brother works at the Jiya Laundry Factory, responsible for escorting goods at night."

There were gasps in the conference room. Zhang Hui stood up suddenly. "The perchloroethylene cleaning agent that Yang Sen had detected in the body dump was used in large quantities in the laundry factory! And Scar Li's truck pass showed that his car had entered the logistics park near the construction area three times during the crime scene." "Apply for a search warrant immediately!" Lu Chuan's voice penetrated the smoke. "Wang Shuai and his men control Wang Tingting, Zhang Hui investigates Scar Li's driving trajectory, and Yang Lin and Yang Sen re-investigate the freight channel of the laundry factory. Remember, the murderer is likely to use the laundry factory's transportation chain to move the body."

Heavy rain slammed against the iron roof of the Jieya Laundry Factory. Yang Lin squatted in the corner of the freight elevator, and the ultraviolet light illuminated a vague bloodstain. "Tissue residue was found in the gap of the elevator rail," he took a sample with a cotton swab, "Preliminary judgment is human blood, and DNA comparison is being done." Yang Sen raised the metal detector, which beeped rapidly in the corner where the dirty clothes basket was stacked. After lifting the wooden board, a bloody hammer was revealed, with the word "Li" engraved on the hammer head.

Meanwhile, Wang Shuai stared at the surveillance screen in the interrogation room. Wang Tingting curled up in a chair, her nails digging deep into her palms. When Yang Sen threw the photo of the hammer in front of her, she suddenly broke down and cried: "Scar Li forced me to do this! He said he would kill me if I didn't pay him back, and he also said he could help me 'solve' the problem of Zhang Haiyan..."

"Tell me in detail!" Zhang Hui's voice was like an icicle.

"Haiyan found out that I was borrowing from loan sharks and said she would tell Zhao Yang. I begged her not to tell anyone..." Wang Tingting was trembling all over. "When Scar Li found out, he said that as long as I asked Haiyan out, he would help me pay off my debts. That morning I asked her out for coffee and gave her a drink mixed with chloroform... Later, Scar Li drove her away. I knew nothing, really!"

"Where is the body thrown?"

"He said he would use the laundry factory's truck to transport it to the sewer, without anyone noticing..." Wang Tingting's voice was drowned out by the crying, "The 80,000 yuan was the hush money he gave me, I dared not refuse it..."

At this time, Zhang Hui's intercom rang: "Scar Li was arrested at the suburban toll station, and a bloody tarpaulin was found in the trunk of the truck!"

The light in the interrogation room was glaringly pale. Li Chenggang was handcuffed to an iron chair. The nickname "Scar Li" seemed particularly ironic at this moment. The hideous scar on his face trembled slightly with the twitching of his facial muscles, but his eyes revealed a ruthless look.

Lu Chuan and Wang Shuai sat opposite him, one on each side. In the evidence bag spread out on the table, the bloody waterproof cloth was clearly visible, and the words "Zhang Haiyan DNA match successful" on the sealing label were particularly eye-catching.

"Li Chenggang, I know why I brought you here." Lu Chuan's voice was low and cold. "The bloodstains on the waterproof cloth have been confirmed to be Zhang Haiyan's. The evidence is irrefutable. You'd better tell the truth." (End of this chapter)