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

When the lab report showed that the handwriting of the character "Zhao" in the transfer remarks closely matched the handwriting in the ledger, Wang Shuai led his team straight to Zhao Liang's agency. A "Seeking Salespersons" advertisement was pasted on the glass door, the room was piled high with stone sample books, and half a tender document from Yongsheng Construction Company was tucked into the gap of a safe in the corner. "Where's Zhao Liang?" Wang Shuai opened the desk drawer and found a stack of modified quality inspection reports, with glue residue still visible on the edges of the papers.

The landlord poked his head out of the guardhouse: "He said three days ago he was going out of town to buy goods and left a warehouse address." The damp warehouse reeked of glue. Wooden crates labeled "Premium Marble" were neatly stacked on the shelves, but upon opening them, they turned out to be substandard products riddled with cracks. The technician found a half-empty bottle of marble glue in the corner; the production date on the label matched the date of the transaction between Zhou Kun and Yongsheng Company.

"Check Zhao Liang's call records!" Wang Shuai found a note on the warehouse's iron gate, hastily written "Old Zhou, 8 PM tonight, Hongyun Teahouse." When the call records showed that Zhao Liang and Zhou Kun had been in frequent contact before the incident, Zhang Hui pulled up the teahouse's surveillance footage: in the footage, Zhao Liang pushed a black envelope to Zhou Kun, who counted the money, his face darkening, and slammed his fist on the table.

The arrest operation took place at a highway service area. Zhao Liang was loading stones into a truck when he saw the flashing police lights and took off running. Wang Shuai rushed forward and tackled him to the ground on the gravel road: "Why are you running? Don't you want to explain the 50,000 yuan hush money?" Zhao Liang was still arguing as he was handcuffed: "I don't know what you're talking about!" But when the officers found the original quality inspection report from Yongsheng Company in his bag, his face turned deathly pale.

The incandescent light in the interrogation room cast a blinding halo above Zhao Liang's head.

He nervously tugged at his shirt collar, fine beads of sweat appearing on his neck. Wang Shuai pushed a stack of bank statements onto the table, the papers clinking against the metal surface: "On July 5th, Zhou Kun transferred 50,000 yuan to you. What was the purpose of this transfer?"

Zhao Liang's Adam's apple bobbed violently as his gaze shifted between the surveillance camera in the interrogation room and Wang Shuai's cold, stern face. "It's just business dealings. I've worked with Boss Zhou a few times; he buys the goods, and I introduce customers to him." His fingers unconsciously picked at the scratches on the table, stone chips still clinging to his fingernails.

"Cooperation?" Zhang Hui suddenly spoke, his voice like ice, projecting the chat history from his phone onto the wall. On the screen, Zhou Kun's profile picture was clearly displayed: "Fill the cracks in this batch of marble with glue, and give it to the client introduced by Lao Zhao at the price of premium grade. You'll get your share of the profits after it's done." Zhao Liang's face instantly turned deathly pale, his lips moved but no sound came out.

Wang Shuai opened his notebook, the pen nib striking the paper heavily: "According to our investigation, the Yongsheng Construction Company you introduced failed its project quality inspection three times because of this batch of substandard stone. What Zhou Kun gave you wasn't a cooperation fee at all, it was hush money!" The interrogation room fell into dead silence, with only Zhao Liang's heavy breathing echoing in the small space.

"I...I had no choice!" Zhao Liang suddenly grabbed his hair, leaned forward, and the handcuffs dragged on the table with a screeching sound. "Yongsheng is a big client that I finally managed to get. Zhou Kun said that after the glue was applied, it wouldn't be visible to the naked eye, so I..." His voice trailed off. "Who knew it would cause such a big problem? He promised to settle it for me and gave me this 50,000 yuan."

Zhang Hui pulled out Yongsheng Company's quality inspection report and slammed it on the table: "The cracks are more than three times the national standard depth, and rainwater seepage has caused large areas of the wall to peel off. Now the client is suing you for fraud, and you still think it's a small matter?" Zhao Liang stared at the bright red stamp on the report, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably. He suddenly broke down in tears: "I didn't mean to harm anyone! Zhou Kun said that all builders do it this way, and he's been doing it for over ten years without any problems!"

Wang Shuai leaned closer, his gaze sharp as a scalpel: "Where were you in the early hours of July 9th?" Zhao Liang looked up abruptly, tears still on his face, his eyes filled with doubt: "I was out of town buying goods that day, and I was still on the highway at three in the morning. My dashcam recorded it!" He frantically rummaged in his pocket, "I have gas receipts on my phone, and I can also check my service area purchase records!"

Technicians immediately verified the information, and half an hour later, surveillance footage showed that Zhao Liang's truck had indeed appeared on a highway in a neighboring province at the time of the incident. Zhang Hui presented the verification results to Zhao Liang: "Even if you are involved in the stone counterfeiting, it seems that it is indeed unrelated to Zhou Kun's death. But selling inferior goods as superior ones and commercial fraud are enough charges to get you into serious trouble!"

Zhao Liang slumped into his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering to himself, "I shouldn't have listened to him. I knew this would happen." Wang Shuai packed up the documents and prepared to leave, but Zhao Liang suddenly grabbed his sleeve: "Officer, I really don't know anything. But Zhou Kun was really acting strangely during that time. He kept saying someone was following him, and he didn't even dare to go to the delivery station himself."

"Did he say specifically who was following him?" Zhang Hui turned and pressed. Zhao Liang shook his head, his face filled with fear: "He only said those people were not to be trifled with, and told me not to ask any more questions. Once, when he was drunk, he even said that he had something that could bring down anyone who harmed him." The air in the interrogation room froze instantly. Wang Shuai and Zhang Hui exchanged a glance, seeing the same wariness in each other's eyes.

As Zhao Liang was being led away from the interrogation room, he suddenly turned back, his voice trembling with tears: "I've confessed everything I know, and I'll return the 50,000 yuan! Please catch the murderer quickly, I'm afraid those people will come after me too!" The moment the iron door closed, his cries were cut off outside the interrogation room, and only the heavy footsteps of Wang Shuai and Zhang Hui echoed in the corridor.

“The line of selling inferior goods has been broken, but the ‘thing’ in Zhou Kun’s possession and the stalker might be the key.” Wang Shuai stroked his chin, his eyes growing increasingly somber. Zhang Hui pulled up Zhao Liang’s call log, his finger pausing on a frequently contacted number: “This number had 17 calls with Zhou Kun in the three days before the incident, each lasting no more than 30 seconds.” The two men exchanged glances, a shared premonition rising within them—the real contest might have only just begun.

We thought that Zhao Liang's review of the letter would end there and there wouldn't be any major breakthroughs. However, early the next morning, Zhao Liang's side proactively provided a clue and mentioned a person named Lü Shan.

"Lü Shan! It was all Lü Shan's idea! He said the quality control manager at Yongsheng Construction was his childhood friend, and that as long as he bribed him, they could get away with using inferior stone!" Wang Shuai's pen scratched harshly on the notebook. Lü Shan's name appeared on the task force's whiteboard for the first time. (End of Chapter)