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

Liu Fang was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then her voice suddenly became choked with emotion: "Yes... he was wearing that same outfit when he went out to treat the sheep that day, and he also carried a black tool bag containing veterinary tools such as a stethoscope and syringes. When he goes to the countryside to treat patients, he sometimes takes off his shoes and walks on the grass for convenience, but that day he was wearing a pair of black sneakers with a white stripe on the sole."

These details perfectly matched the deceased's characteristics—dark blue overalls, a gray short-sleeved shirt, a black tool bag, the black fabric clutched in the deceased's right hand likely came from the tool bag, and the bare shoes may have been taken by the suspect. Zhang Hui instructed Xiao Li to continue questioning: "Did Zhang Tao have any distinctive physical characteristics? Like scars, birthmarks, or anything like that?"

“He has a 3-centimeter-long scar on the web of his left hand, which was caused by a cow’s horn when he was helping with a calf birth last year,” Liu Fang’s voice grew increasingly agitated. “Have you found him? Has something happened to him?”

Zhang Hui took the phone and gently reassured her, "Ms. Liu, please don't get agitated. We need to verify further. Could you please provide a recent photo of Zhang Tao? Also, we need to collect your DNA sample to compare with the deceased's DNA in order to finally confirm his identity."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Fang quickly sent Zhang Tao a photo—in the photo, Zhang Tao was wearing dark blue overalls and a gray short-sleeved shirt, and the scar on the web of his left hand was clearly visible, perfectly matching the deceased's appearance. Subsequently, Zhang Hui arranged for team members to collect DNA samples from Liu Fang's home and contacted the technical department to prioritize the comparison.

The verification of the other six leads was also underway. After an hour of communication, three leads were ruled out due to "the last location of activity being far away" and "inconsistent clothing," while the other three were ruled out due to "inconsistent age and height." At 3 a.m., the technical department reported: "Liu Fang's DNA sample matches the deceased's DNA sample with a 99.99% match, confirming that the deceased is Zhang Tao!"

Upon hearing the news, the team members in the office all breathed a sigh of relief, and smiles appeared on their tired faces. "Finally found it!" Xiao Li slumped into a chair, rubbing his aching shoulders. "This all-nighter wasn't in vain."

“Yes,” Xiao Chen took out his phone and sent a message to his wife, “Now we can give our family an explanation and also comfort Zhang Tao’s family.”

Looking at Zhang Tao's information on the screen, Zhang Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. From 3 PM to 3 AM, 12 hours of arduous investigation, sifting through over 1200 pieces of information, they had finally confirmed the deceased's identity. He picked up the phone and reported to Lu Chuan: "Team Leader Lu, the deceased's identity has been confirmed. It's Zhang Tao, the veterinarian from Xiangyang Village, 42 years old. He went missing on the afternoon of August 15th while treating the sheep at the pasture, which matches the time of his death. Next, we can investigate Zhang Tao's social relationships and professional connections to find clues about suspects."

Lu Chuan's voice on the other end of the phone was filled with relief: "Good! Thank you for your hard work. Now that we've confirmed their identities, we have a clear direction for the investigation. Please have your team rest for a few hours, and we'll hold a meeting at 8 a.m. to plan the next steps."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Hui looked at his team members, who were tired but excited, and said, "Everyone, go back and rest. We'll have a meeting at 8 a.m. sharp. Thank you all for your hard work today. Without your perseverance, we wouldn't have been able to confirm their identities so quickly."

The team members stood up and packed their things to leave. Xiao Zhao walked up to Zhang Hui and said with a smile, "Team Leader Zhang, next time we have this kind of work, can we apply for some coffee allowance? I've drunk almost ten cups of instant coffee tonight."

Zhang Hui patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "No problem, I'll ask Captain Lu to help us get more benefits. Go back and get some rest, we have a tough battle to fight tomorrow."

The streets were unusually quiet in the early morning, and the team members disappeared into the night. Zhang Hui stood in his office, watching the first light of dawn appear outside the window. He knew that confirming the victim's identity was only the beginning; the investigation into Zhang Tao's social relationships and professional connections would be crucial to solving the case. But he firmly believed that as long as the team members continued their persistence and meticulousness, they would eventually find Zhang Tao's killer and give the deceased and his family justice.

Meanwhile, Zhang Kai in the autopsy room also received news of the deceased's identity being confirmed. Looking at the words "Deceased: Zhang Tao" on the autopsy report, he became even clearer about the direction of his subsequent work—considering Zhang Tao's veterinary profession, perhaps they could find more clues related to the case from his toolbox and the people he came into contact with professionally. The lights of the Criminal Investigation Division, still bright in the early morning darkness, illuminated the path to the truth.

At 8:8 AM on August 17th, the air conditioning in the Criminal Investigation Detachment's conference room blew cool air evenly across every corner. The long conference table was covered with case files from the Caochang murder case—from forensic autopsy reports to crime scene photos and missing persons verification records. Among the layers of paper, the words "Zhang Tao Murder Case" stood out prominently in large red letters. Lu Chuan sat at the head of the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface. His gaze swept over Zhang Kai, Yang Lin, Wang Shuai, Zhang Hui, and others present. After a night of hard work, although the victim's identity had been confirmed, the key suspect remained elusive. This case analysis meeting was precisely to sort through all the clues and find a way to break the deadlock.

“Everyone’s here. Report in turn according to your assigned roles. Let’s start with Zhang Kai and get to the detailed conclusions of the autopsy.” Lu Chuan’s calm voice broke the silence of the conference room.

Zhang Kai immediately stood up and projected the latest autopsy report onto the screen, the professional terminology clearly presented to everyone: "The deceased, Zhang Tao, male, 42 years old, veterinarian of Xiangyang Village, was determined to have died between 10 PM on August 15th and 1 AM on August 16th. The determination was based on the following criteria: rigor mortis had progressed to all joints, with the jaw, neck, and limbs reaching grade III stiffness; combined with the average nighttime temperature of 15°C in the grassland environment, this is consistent with the characteristics of rigor mortis 18-24 hours after death; the rectal temperature was 23°C, and according to the formula for rectal temperature decrease, the temperature decreases every hour after death..." The temperature dropped by 0.8°C, suggesting a time of death approximately 22 hours prior. The cornea showed moderate opacity, the pupil was visible but blurred, and the lens was a pale milky white, corresponding to a time of death between 18 and 24 hours prior. The stomach contents consisted of partially digested rice, beef, and vegetables, approximately 50 ml. The edges of the rice grains were partially dissolved, and the beef muscle fibers showed moderate rupture. This suggests the last meal was 4-6 hours before death, perfectly matching the family's statement that Zhang Tao ate dinner at home at 5 PM on the 15th, further narrowing the time of death to between 10 PM and 11 PM on the 15th.

"What about the cause of death and key injuries? Have you found any direct clues pointing to the suspect?" Lu Chuan pressed, his gaze falling on the "Injury Analysis" section of the report. Zhang Kai pointed to the photographs in the report. (End of Chapter)