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

Meanwhile, Wang Shuai was searching for clues in the city hospital's archives. The steel plate in the deceased's right femur was a Johnson & Johnson Synthes series, and only 12 implantation surgeries were performed in the city between March 2020 and December 2021. "Case number 8, Sun Qiang, male, 38 years old, had a steel plate implanted in May 2020 due to a car accident," the nurse pointed to the X-ray in the medical record, "The surgical record shows that the steel plate is 12cm long, a perfect match for the deceased." The home address on the medical record was in a demolition area on the outskirts of the city, and the contact number was no longer in service.

Following the address, Wang Shuai found the temporary resettlement site in the demolition area. The corrugated iron sheets of the prefabricated houses gleamed white under the blazing sun. "Sun Qiang, the one who drives for Didi," the shop owner said, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan. "He was still driving here last year, but I heard he went to drive long-distance routes. I haven't seen him in a long time." She pulled out a WeChat transfer record, showing that she had topped up Sun Qiang's phone credit in October 2022. "He has a crescent-shaped scar on his right finger, which he said was from when he was a child and it got caught in a bicycle chain. It's exactly as you described."

Didi's backend data shows that Sun Qiang's registration information perfectly matches the hospital's medical records. The vehicle is a white Volkswagen Lavida with the license plate ending in "735". "At 5 PM on July 18th, he picked up a ride at the east gate of the city hospital," a customer service representative retrieved the order record. "The destination was a building materials market near the abandoned parking lot, but the passenger canceled the order, and there were no further order records after that. The app shows an 'offline' status." The vehicle's GPS track disappeared at the entrance of the building materials market, and the last uploaded location was at 5:40 PM on July 18th.

Accompanied by community workers, Sun Qiang's wife entered the police station, clutching her husband's driver's license tightly. "He said he was going to pick up a regular customer on the afternoon of July 18th," her voice choked with emotion, her eyes red and swollen. "I called him at 7 pm that night, but his phone was off. I thought it was dead, but I never imagined..." She pointed to the photo on the driver's license; Sun Qiang had a mole on his left eyebrow, a feature that perfectly matched the deceased's. "He had a bad stomach and had to take omeprazole every day. Did you find that during the autopsy?"

A supplementary forensic report confirmed this, finding omeprazole in the deceased's stomach contents at a concentration consistent with the metabolic levels of long-term users. "Sun Qiang's right leg was disabled after a car accident in 2020, causing him to walk with a limp," his attending physician recalled. "The steel plate left unique stress marks in his body, and X-rays served as irrefutable evidence for identification." Wang Shuai compared Sun Qiang's photos with the reconstructed skull of the deceased, noting that the mole on his brow bone, the scar on his right finger, and even the small notch in his left ear all matched perfectly.

The investigation into Li Weiguo ultimately ended with him being cleared of suspicion. Tests on the scrap steel he sold showed that the injuries did not match the deceased's, and the timing of the crime was also inconsistent. As Zhang Hui wrote "Li Weiguo ruled out as a suspect" on the case report, the sunlight outside the window shone directly on the name "Sun Qiang." Wang Shuai's phone received a message that Sun Qiang's Lavida had been found in a ditch 3 kilometers northwest of the junkyard. The car's dashcam was damaged, but rice grains matching the deceased's stomach contents were found on the passenger-side floor mat.

Sun Qiang's Didi order records show that the passenger who canceled the order on July 18th had a local phone number registered to Zhou Lei, a purchasing agent for Hongwei Building Materials. Wang Shuai retrieved Zhou Lei's call records; at 7:7 PM on July 18th, he called Sun Qiang for 2 minutes and 13 seconds. "I did arrange for Mr. Sun to pick me up that day," Zhou Lei said on the phone, "but something came up and I canceled. What happened?" His voice sounded calm, but Wang Shuai noticed a muffled thud of steel pipes colliding in the background.

When the DNA comparison results for Sun Qiang came back, Wang Shuai was checking his bank statements. All 16 STR loci matched perfectly, with a paternity index of 99.99%, confirming the deceased was indeed Sun Qiang. The statements showed he transferred 5000 yuan to his wife every month for living expenses; the last transfer in July was on the 17th, and the last expenditure was 300 yuan for gas at a gas station at 7 PM on the 18th. Looking at the report, Zhang Hui suddenly remembered the batch of scrap steel bars Li Weiguo had sold; the supplier information vaguely mentioned "Hongwei Building Materials." Two seemingly unrelated clues began to intersect at that moment.

As Li Weiguo was released from the interrogation room, the setting sun painted the sky crimson. He walked out of the police station, his steps unsteady, glanced back at the police car, and suddenly quickened his pace, disappearing into the alleyway. Wang Shuai stood by the window, looking at Sun Qiang's photo. This driver, who had driven for Didi for five years, traversing the city's streets and alleys every day, had tragically ended his life in this way. His Lavida was still waiting to be salvaged from the ditch; the dashcam footage might hold the final truth. And what secrets lay behind Zhou Lei's calm phone call? Everything was still waiting to be revealed.

Upon receiving the call, Zhang Hui focused on investigating Sun Qiang's interpersonal relationships.

In Zhang Hui's notebook, Sun Qiang's name was circled three times in red, surrounded by a dense network of relationships. "Start with immediate family," he said, underlining "ex-wife Li Nana" with a highlighter. Morning light filtered through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the pages. "Divorce agreement, property division, recent contact records—nothing can be missed." The technician imported Sun Qiang's call records into the analysis system. On the screen, the connection between Li Nana's name and Sun Qiang in the network diagram was particularly strong, indicating that their calls over the past three months had been as frequent as four times a week.

While visiting Sun Qiang's neighbors, Zhang Hui found Aunt Wang in the community's pavilion. She was fanning herself rapidly with a palm-leaf fan, the cicadas' chirping particularly jarring in the afternoon sun. "The year Sun Qiang divorced was a huge mess," Aunt Wang said, popping a mint into her mouth, the cool air seeping from her lips. "Li Nana insisted on having his Lavida car, saying it was marital property. Sun Qiang refused, saying he needed the car to support the family. In the end, the court ruled in his favor, but he had to pay Li Nana 80,000 yuan in compensation, to be paid in three installments, which just expired last month." She suddenly lowered her voice, "I saw Li Nana loitering around the community entrance a few days ago, whispering something to a strange man. She quickly left when she saw me, acting suspiciously."

Zhang Hui retrieved the divorce decree. The yellowed pages stated: "Divorce was granted on March 15, 2021. Sun Qiang is required to pay Li Nana 80,000 yuan in property compensation, to be paid in full by June 30, 2023." Bank statements showed that Sun Qiang transferred the final sum of 20,000 yuan on June 28, but this money was transferred to an account named "Zheng Baohai" on July 1. "Zheng Baohai is Li Nana's current husband," the household registration system showed. The two registered their marriage in 2022, residing in a resettlement housing community in the suburbs. "His occupation is a construction worker, he has a prior conviction for intentional assault, and was detained for 15 days in 2019 for fighting." (End of Chapter)