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

He said to Wang Shuai, "Tomorrow you will lead a team to visit the scrap metal recycling stations and black markets around Heping Road to check if anyone has recently sold a black SUV or bought or sold used mobile phones or car keys; at the same time, go to the Didi driver rest area to find more drivers to learn about Chen Gang's social situation and see if there are any clues that have been missed."

Wang Shuai stood up and nodded firmly: "Okay, I'll go investigate first thing tomorrow morning. No matter how well the suspect hides, there will definitely be some clues left somewhere." He looked at the darkening sky outside the window, knowing that the process of solving the case was full of setbacks. As long as he didn't give up and continued to expand the scope of the investigation, he would eventually find clues pointing to the truth.

At 8 p.m., Wang Shuai sat in his office, organizing tomorrow's visit plan, marking the 12 scrap metal recycling stations and 3 black market locations around Heping Road on a map. He took out Chen Gang's photo, gently wiping it, and silently said to himself, "Chen Gang, don't worry, we won't let you sacrifice in vain. We will definitely find the murderer and bring you justice." The lights in the Criminal Investigation Division were still bright. Although the current investigation had hit a bottleneck, no one had given up and they were still working hard to uncover the truth of the case.

In the old residential complex where Chen Gang lived, the stairwells were filled with the mixed smells of food and dampness. Zhang Hui and his team member Xiao Li climbed to the third floor and stopped at the door of room 302—Chen Gang's former residence. Since his murder, the door had been sealed off by the police, and now the edges of the seal were curled up, giving it a desolate feel. Following Lu Chuan's adjusted investigation direction, Zhang Hui's team focused on investigating Chen Gang's neighborly relations, trying to find overlooked clues in his daily interactions. This investigation finally made a major breakthrough when they visited the neighbors of room 401.

“Chen Gang is a very honest man. He usually leaves early and comes home late driving for Didi. He rarely argues with us,” said Aunt Wang from room 401, opening the door with unwashed vegetables in her hand. “However, about three days ago, on the evening of August 12, I heard him arguing fiercely with Zheng Guobin from room 301 downstairs. They even started fighting. The noise was so loud that my child was scared and cried.”

"Do you know exactly what the argument was about? Were there any other people present at the time?" Zhang Hui immediately took out his notebook, pen tip hovering over the paper, afraid of missing any crucial information. Aunt Wang recalled, "It seems that Zheng Guobin borrowed money from Chen Gang and didn't pay it back. Chen Gang came to collect the debt, but Zheng Guobin not only refused to pay but also said that Chen Gang was 'meddling.' I can't remember exactly what else he said, but I heard something like, 'If you keep pushing me, you'll regret it.' Then I heard the sounds of things being smashed and fighting. I was afraid something bad would happen, so I peeked through the peephole and saw Zheng Guobin push Chen Gang against the wall. Chen Gang's forehead was red."

This information startled Zhang Hui. He immediately had Xiao Li record Aunt Wang's testimony, and then rushed to room 301. Zheng Guobin's door was tightly shut; after knocking for several minutes, no one answered. Grandpa Li from next door, in room 303, poked his head out: "Stop knocking. Zheng Guobin hasn't come back since yesterday morning. I heard he's on a business trip, but nobody knows exactly where." Grandpa Li lowered his voice, "Are you police officers? Is it because of his argument with Chen Gang? Let me tell you, Zheng Guobin is a scoundrel. He always borrows money from people and likes to gamble. He's accumulated a lot of debt. He's had a few conflicts with Chen Gang before, but never this badly."

Zhang Hui pressed further, "Do you know if Zheng Guobin has a car? What color and model is it?" Grandpa Li thought for a moment, "He has a black SUV, I think it's a Changan brand, but I don't know the exact model. The taillight was damaged before and hasn't been repaired. It's parked in the parking lot at the entrance of the community. I haven't seen the car for the past two days, so I guess he drove it on a business trip."

A black SUV with a broken taillight—these characteristics perfectly matched the suspicious vehicle Wang Shuai had previously investigated! Zhang Hui immediately led his team to the community parking lot, where they indeed found a black Changan CS75 PLUS in a corner parking space. The taillight was broken, and there was a noticeable scratch on the rear bumper, exactly matching the characteristics of the suspicious vehicle recorded in the surveillance footage. Zhang Hui had technicians conduct a preliminary examination of the vehicle. A blurry fingerprint was found on the door handle, and a small amount of brown soil was discovered inside the trunk, preliminarily matching the composition of the soil on Chen Gang's trouser leg.

"Xiao Li, immediately contact the vehicle management office to retrieve Zheng Guobin's vehicle registration information and recent driving records; at the same time, check his identity information to see if he has any criminal record, as well as his recent communication records and financial transactions." Zhang Hui gave the order into the walkie-talkie, while he continued to visit other residents in the community to further verify the details of the conflict between Zheng Guobin and Chen Gang.

Mr. Zhang from Room 202 provided more crucial information: "On the afternoon of August 14th, I saw Zheng Guobin talking to a strange man at the entrance of the community. The two looked very nervous, as if they were discussing something. Later, Zheng Guobin drove away, and the strange man also took a taxi and left." Mr. Zhang recalled, "I found it strange at the time. Zheng Guobin rarely interacts with people, especially strange men. Moreover, he was wearing a black jacket and a baseball cap that day, which was different from his usual attire."

This perfectly matches the "man in the black jacket" reported by Didi drivers at their rest stops! Technicians quickly relayed the information: Zheng Guobin, male, 48 years old, has a prior gambling conviction. In 2020, he was administratively detained for 15 days for gambling and has several outstanding gambling debts. His bank statements show a 50,000 yuan transfer on August 10th, with the receiving account being the "ghost account" previously identified. Communication records show that on August 15th at 5 PM, he used an unregistered virtual number to call another virtual number near Heping Road, a timeline that closely matches Chen Gang's murder.

More importantly, Zheng Guobin is 180 centimeters tall and wears size 43 shoes, which perfectly matches the characteristics of the suspect inferred from the on-site investigation; his fingerprint sample, after preliminary comparison, has many similar features to the palm print extracted from the abandoned factory, and also highly matches the fingerprint on the door handle of the black SUV.

At 6 PM, Zhang Hui summarized all the investigation results and reported to Lu Chuan: "Based on interviews and preliminary investigations, Chen Gang's neighbor, Zheng Guobin, is a prime suspect. First, the two had a heated argument three days ago over a debt dispute, during which Zheng Guobin threatened Chen Gang; second, Zheng Guobin owns a black Changan CS75 PLUS with broken taillights and scratches on the rear bumper, consistent with the characteristics of a suspicious vehicle, and the mud inside the car matches the mud found on Chen Gang; third, he transferred 50,000 yuan to a 'ghost account' on August 10th, coinciding with the time Chen Gang received a 50,000 yuan transfer." (End of Chapter)