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

"Has he been acting strangely lately? For example, has he been in close contact with strangers?" Wang Shuai pressed. Old Wu frowned and tried hard to recall: "I didn't notice anything unusual, except that a while ago, he mentioned that someone was watching his shop. I thought he was joking at the time and didn't take it seriously."

After completing their rounds of interviews, Wang Shuai and Zhang Hui sat wearily in the police car. The air conditioning was on, but it couldn't dispel their frustration. "We've asked so many people, and they all say he has a bad temper, but there's no real lead," Zhang Hui said, scratching his head in frustration. Wang Shuai stared at the densely packed notes in his notebook, his brow furrowed. "Let's go through it again carefully. There's definitely something we've overlooked. He said someone was watching his shop; that's very suspicious. We'll continue to investigate this lead tomorrow."

As the sun set, its afterglow bathed the streets. Wang Shuai and Zhang Hui watched the hurried pedestrians outside the car window, their hearts filled with helplessness. Although their day's investigation had revealed Zhou Kun's mean-spirited nature, they hadn't found any significant clues related to his death, and the case seemed to have reached another impasse. But they knew that no matter how difficult it was, they couldn't give up; the truth must be hidden somewhere overlooked, waiting for them to discover it.

The seventh day after the incident.

Autumn rain slanted across the windowpanes, dampening the faded security bars on Li Huili's windows. Wang Shuai and Zhang Hui stood at the door, and as they pressed the doorbell, soft footsteps echoed from inside. The door slowly opened, revealing Li Huili, wrapped in a faded knitted sweater, her eyes sunken, her face etched with weariness. Upon seeing the police badge, her fingers trembled slightly, her fingernails still clinging to unwashed facial debris.

"You're asking again." She stepped aside to let the two into the house. In the living room, there was a half-eaten bowl of noodles, and the television screen flickered with a silent soap opera. Zhang Hui noticed several moving boxes piled in the corner, with the words "Zhou Kun Building Materials Store" printed on the packing tape.

“Ms. Li, what do you know about Zhou Kun’s financial situation?” Wang Shuai took out his notebook, pen nib hovering over the paper. Li Huili sat down on the faded fabric sofa, wiping her hands with the corner of her clothes, her throat feeling choked up: “He never lets me manage the money. I don’t even know the password to the family bankbook. I only remember that last year he secretly mortgaged the house, saying he wanted to expand the shop.” She suddenly covered her face, her shoulders heaving violently. “I argued with him, saying the risk was too great, but he wouldn’t listen at all.”

Zhang Hui squatted down, his gaze level with hers: "Has he offended anyone in his business dealings? Like defaulting on payments, or having conflicts with competitors?" Li Huili lowered her hands, her eyes blankly staring at the ceiling, tears still clinging to her eyelashes: "He's a sharp-tongued man, he doesn't mince words. Old Wang from the building materials market, because of a batch of goods with quality issues, the two got into a fight in the market, it even ended up at the police station." She suddenly sat up straight, her voice rising, "But Old Wang is an honest man, he wouldn't go so far as to kill someone!"

Wang Shuai noticed a faded photograph on the coffee table. Young Zhou Kun and Li Huili stood by the sea, their faces beaming with smiles. "Haven't you and Zhou Kun ever had a good relationship?" The question froze the air. Li Huili's fingers gripped the edge of the sofa tightly, her knuckles turning white. "The first few years of our marriage were okay, but later all he cared about was money. When I was sick and hospitalized, he said he was busy at the shop, so he just sent me some money and didn't even show his face." She choked back tears. "When our daughter was taking the college entrance exam, I begged him to pay more attention to the child, but he complained that we were interfering with his earning money."

The rain outside was pouring down, the raindrops pattering loudly against the awning. Zhang Hui glimpsed half a ledger peeking out from under the bedroom door and was about to ask about it when Li Huili suddenly sat up and hurriedly shoved the ledger under the bed: "That's the shop's revenue record; he wouldn't let me touch it." Wang Shuai and Zhang Hui exchanged a glance, and Zhang Hui softened his tone: "Ms. Li, this might be key to solving the case. Could we take a look?"

A half-minute silence followed before Li Huili finally relented, trembling as she took out the ledger. The title page read "Special Expenses in 2023," the handwriting messy. Wang Shuai quickly flipped through the pages, his pupils suddenly contracting—the July 5th entry clearly stated, "Hush money 50,000 yuan, Zhao." The remaining words were blurred by water stains and illegible. "What is this?" Wang Shuai pushed the ledger in front of her. Li Huili's face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling so much she couldn't speak. After a long pause, she managed to squeeze out, "I don't know. He came home looking terrible that day and locked himself in his study all night."

"Zhao what? Think carefully!" Zhang Hui pressed urgently. Li Huili buried her face in her hands and wept bitterly, "I really don't know! He never told me these things. Later I asked him, and he said not to ask around, and if I didn't want to live, then keep asking!" She suddenly grabbed Wang Shuai's wrist, her nails almost digging into his flesh, "Officer, I have nothing left now, I just beg you to catch the murderer."

As they left, the rain showed no sign of stopping. Wang Shuai clutched the rain-soaked ledger, gazing at the neon lights reflected in the puddles on the street. Li Huili stood on the balcony, her figure slender, watching the police car disappear into the distance. Zhang Hui started the car and muttered, "This 5 yuan hush money might be the breakthrough. But who exactly is this 'Zhao'?" The windshield wipers swung back and forth, the road ahead blurred in the rain, new clues and mysteries, like the autumn rain, swirling in their minds.

Wang Shuai projected a water-stained photo of the ledger onto the white wall of the conference room. The ink smudges following the character "Zhao" resembled an unhealed wound. He tapped on the list of dozens of people with the surname Zhao on the whiteboard, his voice filled with a do-or-die determination: "Start investigating from the building materials market, ask every household. We must find this 'Zhao' this week!"

Cement dust danced in the sunlight at the building materials market as Wang Shuai and his team visited each shop. The owner of the third stone shop, upon hearing the surname "Zhao," warily pulled down his shutter: "Old hands in the real estate brokerage business are shrewd. Who knows if you're here to check taxes?" Wang Shuai pulled out his credentials and pointed to the business license on the wall: "Last month, someone reported you for selling inferior goods as superior ones. If you cooperate with the investigation now, we can try to get leniency." The owner's face changed drastically, and he finally relented: "Speaking of brokers with the surname Zhao, Zhao Liang from the east end of the market recently made a fortune and bought a new car."

By reviewing Zhou Kun's building materials store's bank statements, Wang Shuai discovered 23 transactions to different accounts over the past six months. However, in the remarks section of the 50,000 yuan transfer on July 5th, the words "Final payment for stone materials" were faintly visible, smeared off. Staring at the blurred writing on the electronic receipt, he suddenly remembered the records in the ledger under Li Huili's bed and immediately contacted the technical department: "Use a spectral analyzer to reconstruct the transfer remarks, focusing on comparing the stroke characteristics of the character 'Zhao'!" (End of Chapter)