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

In the photo, Zhang Wanli is wearing blue overalls, and the brass watch on his wrist is clearly visible, perfectly matching the characteristics of the brass fragments found during the autopsy. Subsequently, Zhang Hui arranged for team members to collect DNA samples from Liu Fang's home, and simultaneously contacted Tongda Auto Repair Shop to verify Zhang Wanli's situation.

Wang Qiang, the owner of the auto repair shop, said on the phone: "Zhang Wanli is indeed a mechanic in our shop. He is very skilled, but he is a bit stubborn. He and I had an argument over wages. I owed him three months' wages and he said he would sue me in the labor department. We had a few words, but I didn't expect him to get into trouble."

The verification of the other four suspicious leads was also underway. Team member Xiao Chen made four phone calls in a row to confirm the information one by one: "The missing person Zhao Wei you mentioned, although he is 45 years old and 174cm tall, works in the catering industry, not in the repair or construction industry, so he is ruled out; Li Gang, although he is a construction worker, did not carry any tools or wear any metal jewelry when he disappeared, so he is ruled out; Wang Hao disappeared 10 days ago, 4 days before his death, so he is ruled out; Sun Ming is 172cm tall, 3cm shorter than the deceased, so he is ruled out."

At 4:40 a.m., the technical department reported: "Liu Fang's DNA sample matches the deceased's DNA sample with a 99.99% match rate, confirming that the deceased is Zhang Wanli!"

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 sore eyes. "This all-nighter wasn't in vain."

“Yes,” Xiao Zhao took out his phone and sent a message to his wife, telling her about the child’s situation. “Now that the victim’s identity has been confirmed, the investigation will have a direction. I hope we can find the murderer as soon as possible and give Zhang Wanli’s family an explanation.”

Looking at Zhang Wanli's information on the screen, Zhang Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. Eight hours of arduous investigation, from 8 PM to 4 AM, sifting through over 1000 pieces of information, had finally confirmed the deceased's identity. He picked up the phone and reported to Lu Chuan: "Captain Lu, the deceased's identity has been confirmed. It's Zhang Wanli, a mechanic at Tongda Auto Repair Shop, 46 years old, 175cm tall. He went missing six nights ago after leaving home to 'repair a customer's truck.' He was carrying a toolbox and wearing a brass watch. He had recently had a wage dispute with his boss. Next, we can investigate Zhang Wanli's social relationships, the wage dispute, and the last customer he contacted to find clues about the suspect."

Lu Chuan's voice on the other end of the phone was filled with relief: "Great! You've worked hard. Now that their identities are confirmed, the case will be much easier. Arrange for your team to rest for a few hours first. We'll have a meeting at 8 a.m. to plan the next steps. Don't overwork yourselves."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Hui looked out the window at the gradually brightening dawn. He knew that confirming the deceased's identity was only the beginning. Zhang Wanli, as a mechanic at the auto repair shop, had crucial clues in his case regarding his last contact with a "suburban customer" and his wage dispute with his boss. He organized Zhang Wanli's relevant information, highlighting keywords such as "finding the last customer," "investigating the details of the wage dispute," and "examining social connections," in preparation for the morning meeting.

In the office, some team members were dozing off in their chairs, while others were eating instant noodles to replenish their energy. Zhang Hui looked at everyone, his heart filled with gratitude: "You've all worked hard. Take a rest first; we have a tough battle to fight this morning."

Sunlight streamed through the office window, marking the start of a new day. Zhang Hui knew that as long as he followed Zhang Wanli's leads, he would eventually find his killer, give the deceased and his family a just explanation, and expose the evil hidden beneath the surface of the Beihe River.

At 8 a.m., the door to the Criminal Investigation Division's conference room had just opened when the rich aroma of coffee mingled with the rustling of papers wafted out. On the long conference table, the case files for Zhang Wanli were stacked according to categories such as "Crime Scene Investigation," "Autopsy Report," "Identity Verification," and "Vehicle Investigation." Each document had colorful sticky notes on its edges, marking key information such as "tire tracks," "brass fragments," and "wage dispute." Lu Chuan sat at the head of the table, his eyes bloodshot from staying up all night. His fingertips tapped lightly on the table. Confirming the victim's identity was only the beginning. Finding the last contact with the "suburban client" and clarifying the contradictions behind the wage dispute were necessary to uncover the complete truth behind Zhang Wanli's murder.

"Everyone's here. Report in turn according to your assigned roles, starting with Yang Lin. Explain the new findings from the expanded investigation thoroughly, especially details that relate to the suspects or the crime process." Lu Chuan's voice broke the silence. His gaze swept over Yang Lin, Wang Shuai, Zhang Kai, Zhang Hui, and the others present. Each of them had their notebooks open, pens poised to doodle.

Yang Lin stood up and projected the scene investigation map onto the screen. The red dot of the laser pointer landed on the key traces as he spoke: "After expanding the investigation area, we found three types of core clues that need to be supplemented in the upstream and downstream of the Beihe River. The first type is tire tracks. In the shallow mud 300 meters downstream, we extracted a 25-centimeter-wide horizontal striped tire track. After comparison, it matched the tire model of the electric vehicle/motorcycle. The waterweed debris stuck to the edge of the track was exactly the same as the composition of the material in Zhang Wanli's fingernails. Moreover, the reeds next to the tire track showed signs of being crushed, suggesting that it was left by the suspect when he transported the body on an electric vehicle/motorcycle. 200 meters upstream, next to the rocky beach, we found a 30-centimeter-wide vertical striped tire track. The wear of the tread matched that of a common tire for a small truck/SUV. The mud next to the track showed obvious signs of compaction, and the detection of canvas fibers consistent with the material of Zhang Wanli's toolbox indicated that the small truck had stopped here and was directly related to the transport of the body."

“The second category is fibers and powder,” Yang Lin switched to the next photo, which showed brown fibers and white powder in a transparent evidence bag. “In the reeds next to the tire tracks downstream, five brown canvas fibers were extracted, which are completely consistent with the canvas composition of Zhang Wanli’s black toolbox; in the mud of the rocky beach upstream, a small amount of white powder was found, which was tested to be a commonly used grease in auto repair shops, and the type of grease was completely matched with that in the warehouse of Tongda Auto Repair Shop. As a mechanic, Zhang Wanli often carried this type of grease in his toolbox. It is speculated that the toolbox was damaged when the body was moved, and the grease leaked and mixed into the mud.”

Yang Lin put away the laser pointer and added, "The third category is footprints and cigarette butts. The size 41 men's athletic shoe print found on the upstream rocky beach is completely consistent with the shoe print characteristics on the downstream shallow beach, with a stride length of 78 centimeters and a stride width of 17 centimeters, further confirming that the suspect is 170-175 centimeters tall and weighs 65-70 kilograms. In the poplar grove next to the shoe prints, two new 'Yellow Crane Tower' cigarette butts were found. The teeth marks on the filters are consistent with the cigarette butts found at the scene before, and the DNA detected on the inside is different from the DNA of the skin tissue fragments found under Zhang Wanli's fingernails, suggesting that they were left by the same suspect, proving that the suspect stayed and observed here before and after disposing of the body." (End of this chapter)