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

But the excitement didn't last three minutes. Zhou Jianguo rubbed his eyes and pointed out the flaw: "Liu Yuan's disappearance record says 'severe allergy to nuts,' but the forensic report says that there were nut fragments in the deceased's stomach contents. That's impossible." Zhang Hui's shoulders slumped, and he drew an X over "Liu Yuan's" name, the tip of the X tearing the page.

As dawn broke outside the window, message number 987 popped up. "Ma Chao, male, 36 years old, lawyer, went missing on May 11th," Xiao Zhao's voice trembled with tears. "Height 171cm, weight 64kg, within the estimated range, and he also wore a watch on his left wrist!" Zhang Hui zoomed in on the photo. The man's fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, and he did appear well-maintained. But upon closer inspection, Zhang Hui noticed a problem: "Ma Chao's right little finger is crooked, while the forensic report states that the deceased had all four limbs intact, without any deformities." Another clue was ruled out. Zhang Hui shook his head helplessly and added a large question mark next to "Ma Chao's" name.

Zhou Jianguo suddenly remembered something and pulled out the supplementary report from forensic doctor Zhang Kai: "There were trace amounts of leather fibers under the deceased's fingernails, possibly due to frequent contact with leather goods." He entered the keywords "30-40 years old," "missing after May 12," "170-175cm," and "contact with leather goods" into the system, and the results instantly narrowed down to 42. Zhang Hui's gaze swept across the screen and suddenly stopped at the 31st result: "Zhang Lihui, male, 37 years old, owner of Xingguang Luxury Goods Store, missing on May 12, height 172cm."

The man in the photo was dressed in sophisticated casual wear, with a stainless steel watch on his left wrist—the same model found at the scene. He had a small black mole behind his right ear, which was faintly visible despite the low resolution of the photo. "Starlight Luxury Store," Xiao Zhao flipped through the files, "mainly selling high-end leather goods and watches, which matches the 'handling of leather goods' characteristic!" Zhang Hui's heart began to race. He continued to check Zhang Lihui's details, discovering that he had disappeared on the evening of May 12th, and was last seen after his luxury store closed.

"Wait!" Zhou Jianguo suddenly pointed at the screen. "The surveillance footage from Zhang Lihui's shop shows that around 10 p.m. on May 12th, he closed the shop and left, carrying a black leather bag. The footage shows him getting into a black car, and then there's been no trace of him." This timeframe overlapped with the forensic doctor's estimated time of death. Zhang Hui's spirits lifted, and he immediately asked Xiao Zhao to retrieve more information about Zhang Lihui.

According to records, Zhang Lihui's Starlight Luxury Goods Store was doing well and was quite well-known locally. He was known for his meticulous grooming and elegant attire, which aligned with the forensic doctor's assessment that the deceased "might have a respectable profession." Furthermore, Zhang Lihui's friend mentioned in the police report that he always wore a stainless steel watch on his left wrist, saying it held special significance and he never took it off.

However, it wasn't entirely certain yet, Zhang Hui frowned in thought. He asked Xiao Zhao to check Zhang Lihui's dental records to see if they matched the information in the forensic report. After some effort, the dental records were retrieved, showing that Zhang Lihui had undergone root canal treatment on his lower left second molar three years prior, and the forensic report mentioned a filling in the same location on the deceased, with a completely identical shape!
A suppressed cheer erupted in the office. Zhou Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts: "More than 1000 pieces of information, it wasn't all for nothing!" He counted the names of those who had been ruled out. "Of these 30-plus suspects, eight fit the height and age range, but only Zhang Lihui matched all the characteristics—height, age, time of disappearance, the watch he was wearing, dental records, and his profession involving handling leather goods."

Zhang Hui pulled up Zhang Lihui's call log. The last call was at 10:15 PM on May 12th, from a number ending in 6789, with the owner listed as "unknown." "This unknown number is suspicious," Xiao Zhao said, scrolling through the call log. "Before this, Zhang Lihui had several calls with this number, all at night." Zhang Hui stared at the location of the Starlight Luxury Store on the map, more than 50 kilometers from the valley where the body was found. "Notify Team Leader Lu," he grabbed the walkie-talkie, his voice hoarse with excitement, "Major discovery! The deceased may be Zhang Lihui, the owner of the Starlight Luxury Store, who went missing on the night of May 12th!"

As morning light streamed through the window, illuminating the three characters "Zhang Lihui," Zhang Hui suddenly noticed his social media account. The latest post, published at 5 PM on May 12th, read: "I have an important appointment tonight, concerning the future of the shop." The accompanying photo showed a glass of red wine, with the silhouette of a black sedan vaguely visible in the background—somewhat similar to the black sedan he was seen getting into in the shop's security footage.

"An important appointment?" Zhou Jianguo stroked his chin. "Could it be with the owner of that unknown number? Maybe they're business partners, or there's some shady deal going on." Zhang Hui's fingers tapped on the words "luxury goods store owner": "Luxury goods stores deal with a variety of people, from the wealthy to thugs. Could Zhang Lihui have offended someone because of some deal?"

As the first rays of sunlight pierced the roof of the office building, Zhang Hui pasted Zhang Lihui's photo in the center of the whiteboard, connecting it one by one with the clues found at the scene in the mountain hollow using red lines: charred fragments of clothing, a stainless steel watch, leather fibers under fingernails… each line coiled like a snake toward the hidden killer. "Notify the technical department," he grabbed the walkie-talkie, "immediately conduct a precise DNA comparison between Zhang Lihui's sample and the victim's!"

The coffee cups in the office were empty, and the ashtrays were piled high, but everyone's eyes shone with light. Zhang Hui gazed at the gradually brightening sky outside the window and suddenly recalled Zhang Lihui's social media signature: "Every luxury item has its story." And the life burned to a crisp in the mountain valley, after sifting through more than 1000 pieces of information, gradually revealed its story, bringing a breakthrough to this perplexing case.

The next morning, the blinds in the Criminal Investigation Division's conference room sliced ​​the morning light into diamond-shaped patches. Lu Chuan's enamel mug spun halfway around the table, the tea stains spreading across the bottom like an abstract map. "Everyone's here, let's begin." His gaze swept over the officers present. At the top of each officer's open file was a photograph of Zhang Lihui's charred body, its surface gleaming bluish-gray in the morning light. The acrid smell of the mountain valley seemed to waft into the conference room along the lines of the photograph.

Yang Lin stood up first, and a 3D model of the Wolf Valley immediately appeared on the projector screen, with a size 42 sneaker print highlighted in red. "There are three types of key traces extracted from the scene," he said, tracing an arc on the model with his laser pointer. "The first is the back-and-forth footprint extending from the valley entrance to the body. The size 42 rubber-soled shoe print shows 15% greater pressure on the forefoot than the heel, a stride length of 70 centimeters, estimating a height of 170-175 centimeters, a steady gait, and no obvious staggering." (End of Chapter)