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

When the body was placed in the refrigerated cabinet, Zhang Kai's preliminary autopsy report was completed: "The deceased died of mechanical asphyxiation caused by strangulation. The time of death was between 10 p.m. on June 13 and 2 a.m. on June 14. There was obvious struggle and resistance before death. After death, the body was thrown into the Beihe River to be hidden." Xiao Lin sorted through the collected samples, including blood, stomach contents, nail crevices, and clothing fibers, which would be sent to the laboratory for further testing.

The smell of disinfectant in the autopsy room gradually overpowered the stench of decay. Zhang Kai removed his gloves, the coolness lingering on his fingertips. The life hidden in the river was slowly revealing the truth of death under the scalpel—a fierce struggle, a cruel strangulation, and finally, a hasty throw into the icy water. His identity, and the suspect's motive, remained like a fog shrouding the Beihe River, awaiting further evidence to uncover. Looking at the night outside the window, Zhang Kai knew the autopsy results would provide crucial directions for the next stage of the investigation; the hope of finding the murderer lay hidden within these cold, professional data.

Meanwhile, Wang Shuai was also carrying out related work. The afternoon sun on the Beihe River embankment was particularly dazzling. When Wang Shuai parked the police car next to the cordon, the tires crunched over the gravel. He held the scene investigation sketch, his fingertips repeatedly tracing the three red dots: "200 meters upstream of the body dumping site," "abandoned dock," and "sand quarry." "We'll split into three groups: one group will check the surveillance cameras along the river embankment, the second group will visit the surrounding villages and fishing spots, and the third group will go to Wanghai Community to retrieve the passenger information for Qin Yanming's last ride."

Auxiliary police officer Xiao Zhang followed behind, carrying the surveillance hard drive case. Sweat streamed down his forehead, leaving dark stains on his police uniform collar. "This awful weather, it's almost 40 degrees Celsius at only 2 pm," he said, opening the trunk of the police car to find bottled water. "The surveillance equipment is all exposed to the scorching sun outdoors. I don't know if we can get a clear picture." Wang Shuai took the bottle of water, and as the cap was unscrewed, water droplets splashed onto the sketch, blurring the timestamp of "10 pm, June 13th".

The first team members were busy under the monitoring poles on the riverbank, the rusty cameras gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "This is municipal traffic monitoring, covering up to 50 meters upstream of the body dumping site," said Xiao Li, a technician, adjusting the equipment. "But the lens angle is too low; it can only capture the riverbank road surface, with blind spots in the reeds." He connected the hard drive to his laptop; the screen displayed intermittent images, and after 9 p.m. on June 13, static began to appear. "The signal interference is severe, possibly due to equipment from a nearby sand quarry."

Wang Shuai leaned closer to the screen, searching for suspicious vehicles in the blurry image. At 10:02 PM on June 13th, a blue sedan drove across the riverbank. The model was similar to the previously suspected Volkswagen Lavida, but the license plate was obscured by trees; only the last two digits, "37," were discernible. "Slow down to 0.5x speed," he pointed to the sedan's rearview mirror, "Look here, the passenger window seems to be rolled down, and a hand is sticking out, like it's throwing something." But the image was too blurry to determine if it was related to the case.

The second group of team members encountered obstacles while visiting surrounding villages. Grandpa Wang from Wanghai Village, sitting on his doorstep weaving bamboo baskets, waved his hands repeatedly upon hearing the words "Qin Yanming" and "taxi," saying, "Never seen him. I go to bed at eight every night, how would I know what's going on on the riverbank?" Aunt Li, hanging clothes to dry in her yard next door, suddenly stammered when mentioning the night of June 13th: "I think I heard arguing on the riverbank, but it was far away, I couldn't tell what it was, I thought it was just fishermen bickering."

Xiao Zhang found several regular anglers at the fishing spot, their parasols lined up along the riverbank. "We weren't here on the night of June 13th," said Lao Zhou, a fellow angler, as he packed up his fishing rods. "That night, there was a strong wind, and the waves were huge, making fishing impossible." He pointed to the reeds on the opposite bank. "But a few days ago, I saw a man in a black jacket loitering around there, carrying a black cloth bag, smoking heavily, and asking me if there were any security cameras on this section of the river."

Wang Shuai immediately asked Xiao Li to retrieve the surveillance footage from the other side of the river, only to find that the area was a blind spot for surveillance, with only an abandoned security camera that had long been out of power. "This suspect is too familiar with the terrain, deliberately choosing places without surveillance cameras," he said, rubbing his throbbing temples. "Continue to expand the search area, focusing on finding people who were active near the river embankment on the night of June 13th, even if they just heard some noise."

At the convenience store near the entrance of Wanghai Residential Area, the owner provided a vague clue. "Around 8:6 pm on June 13th, a man wearing a black jacket bought two cans of beer and a pack of Yuxi cigarettes," the owner pointed to the security camera footage. "He was about your height, a little hunched over, and always had his left hand in his pocket when he paid. He also spoke with a slight out-of-town accent." However, the camera only captured the man's profile, and his hat brim was pulled low, making it impossible to see his facial features. The payment record showed it was an anonymous WeChat payment, and no identity information could be found.

When reviewing the surveillance footage of Wanghai Residential Area, it was discovered that Qin Yanming's taxi did indeed enter the area at 8:25 PM on June 13th and leave at 8:30 PM, but the front passenger seat was empty, and there was no footage of a passenger getting out. "Could it be that the last passenger didn't get in? Or did the passenger get out outside the residential area?" Xiao Zhang wondered. Wang Shuai pointed to the taxi's rearview mirror: "Look here, the rearview mirror is adjusted at an incorrect angle, as if it has been tampered with. It could have been adjusted by the passenger, or it could have been altered by the suspect later."

As evening fell, the team members summarized their findings, but with little success. The surveillance footage along the riverbank only showed a blurry blue sedan, its identity unconfirmed; the witnesses they interviewed either didn't see it clearly or only heard noises, offering no substantial clues; the passenger information for Qin Yanming's last fare was also unavailable, as the taxi's GPS signal had disappeared and never returned. "This case is a bit tricky," Wang Shuai said, sitting on the riverbank, gazing at the golden-shimmering water. "The suspect is too adept at counter-surveillance; no direct clues were left at the scene, and the surveillance footage and witnesses are of little help."

Xiao Zhang handed the visit record to Wang Shuai. It was filled with names and contact information, but most of them were marked "not clearly seen," "not noticed," or "uncertain." "The only ones with any value are the man in the black jacket seen by the convenience store owner and the suspicious person mentioned by the fishing buddy," he sighed, "but both of these clues are too vague to identify."

Wang Shuai stood up, brushing the dust off his trousers: "Send the blue sedan's features to the surrounding police stations, asking them to help identify Volkswagen Lavida models whose license plates end in '37'; also contact the telecommunications company to check cell phone signals near the Beihe River embankment on the evening of June 13th, looking for numbers with frequent calls or abnormal location data." The setting sun cast a long shadow of his, falling on the murky river surface like an inescapable chain. (End of Chapter)