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

He paused, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "I know he meant what he said. If he really reports it, my auto repair shop will definitely be shut down, and I won't be able to pay off my debts. Then I'll have nothing left. I thought, why not find a way to shut him up? At first, I thought of giving him some money to stop him from reporting it, but I didn't have any money. So I thought of tricking him out and killing him when he wasn't paying attention."

"How did you trick him into coming out? What were the specific steps?" Wang Shuai pressed, his pen rapidly jotting down notes in his notebook.

Wang Qiang took a deep breath, as if recalling the scene: "Six days ago, in the morning, I told Zhang Wanli, 'A customer in the suburbs has a truck that broke down on the road tonight and needs it urgently. Can you go and fix it? The repair cost is 2000 yuan. I'll transfer it to you first as part of your salary.' He was a little suspicious at first and asked me for the customer's specific address. I just made up a random address in the suburbs and had my sister open an anonymous account using her ID card and transfer 2000 yuan to his bank card. When he saw the money arrive, he believed me."

“At 8 p.m., I drove to the auto repair shop to pick him up. He got into my truck with a black toolbox. I deliberately drove towards Beihe, and when we were almost at Yanshitan, I said, ‘The car’s out of gas, let’s get out and check.’ He didn’t suspect anything and got out of the truck with me. While he was bending down to check the gas tank, I took out a prepared hammer from the back seat of the truck and smashed it down on his head.” Wang Qiang’s voice began to tremble, and his eyes were filled with fear. “He screamed and fell to the ground. I was afraid he wasn’t dead, so I smashed it again. He was lying on the ground, bleeding a lot. I panicked and just wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible.”

"And then? How did you get him into the river?" Wang Shuai continued to press.

“I dragged his body to the back of the truck, covered it with a tarpaulin, and drove to the shallows downstream of the Beihe River. I originally intended to throw him into the river, but he was too heavy for me to move, so I found a rope, tied him to a rock, and pushed him into the river.” Wang Qiang’s tears flowed again. “I was afraid his toolbox would leave evidence, so I threw it into the river as well, and the watch on his wrist, which I was afraid had my fingerprints on, so I took it off and threw it away too. After I returned to the auto repair shop, I hid the hammer and rags in a wooden crate in the warehouse, and I also had my wife tell you that I was home that night. I thought that would keep it a secret, but I didn’t expect you to find it anyway…”

"Why use a rag to strangle him? Did you intend to strangle him from the beginning, or did you decide to do so after injuring him?" Wang Shuai noticed the details and further confirmed the course of the crime.

Wang Qiang shook his head, his voice tinged with confusion: "I initially wanted to kill him with an electric hammer, but after I did, he was still moving. I was afraid he would wake up, so I took a rag from the truck and strangled him until he stopped moving. I was so nervous at the time that my mind went blank. I just thought I couldn't let him live, or I would be finished."

The interrogation lasted three hours. Wang Qiang fully confessed to the entire process, from developing the intention to kill out of fear of being reported, to luring Zhang Wanli out with a money transfer, to injuring him with a hammer and strangling him with a rag, and finally disposing of the body and hiding the murder weapon. Every detail perfectly matched the scene investigation and forensic autopsy results. The location of the hammer strike matched the injury to Zhang Wanli's temple, the material of the rag matched the fibers of his neck, the location where the body was disposed of matched the location where it was found, and even his description of "tying stones to the body and sinking it" corroborated the forensic findings of "binding marks on the body."

When Wang Shuai asked him to sign the interrogation record, Wang Qiang's hand trembled violently, and the pen tip left crooked marks on the paper. After he finished signing, he suddenly bowed deeply to Wang Shuai: "I am sorry to Zhang Wanli and his family. I know I was wrong. I am willing to accept the punishment of the law, just to make his family feel a little better."

Looking at Zhang Wanli's remorseful expression, Wang Shuai knew that no amount of repentance could bring Zhang Wanli back to life. He put away the interrogation records and said to the police officer at the door, "Take him away."

It was already dark when Wang Shuai walked out of the interrogation room. Standing in the corridor, looking at the lights outside the window, Wang Shuai knew in his heart that the truth about the Beihe River floating corpse case had finally come to light. Zhang Wanli's soul could finally rest in peace, and his family would finally receive a just outcome. As for Wang Qiang, who chose to take another's life to cover up his illegal actions, he would ultimately pay the price for his cruelty, spending the rest of his life in prison to atone for his crimes.

At this time, news came from the technical department that, based on Wang Qiang's confession, the stones used to bind Zhang Wanli and some toolbox remains were found on the shallows downstream of the Beihe River, further strengthening the chain of evidence. This investigation, which lasted for six days, finally came to a just end in the face of irrefutable evidence and confessions.

Wang Qiang, less than a week after the case was closed, the Criminal Investigation Detachment received another report.

On a crisp early autumn morning, just as dawn was breaking, 52-year-old sanitation worker Zhang Bin pushed his cleaning cart and began his day's work sweeping the drainage ditch in the south of the city. This ditch runs through the old city, its water murky and its banks piled high with garbage discarded by residents. On ordinary days, apart from sanitation workers and recyclers, few people venture near it. Holding a long-handled net, Zhang Bin habitually scooped up plastic bags and scraps of paper floating on the surface. Suddenly, the net struck a heavy object—not the usual feel of garbage.

Thinking it was stuck piece of discarded furniture, he bent down to examine it more closely. He then saw the edge of a dark cloth bag vaguely protruding from beneath the murky surface of the canal. The bag was covered in dark green algae and emitted a pungent, putrid stench—not the smell of rotting garbage, but a fishy, ​​nauseating stench. Zhang Bin's heart tightened. He quickly used a net to pull the bag towards the shore. As the bag slowly drew closer, he could see its shape—it looked like it contained a person, with the outline of limbs vaguely visible.

"Oh my god!" Zhang Bin was so frightened that his hand trembled, and the net fell into the ditch. He staggered back a few steps, his legs going weak and he almost collapsed to the ground. He steadied himself, took out his phone, and his fingers were shaking so much that he could barely press the dial button. He finally managed to dial the police number, his voice trembling with tears: "Hello... police officers! There's a dead body in the Chengnan drainage ditch! It's in a cloth bag, please come quickly!"

An hour later, Lu Chuan's police car arrived along the path beside the drainage ditch and stopped in an open area 100 meters from the location where the incident was discovered. "Seal off the scene immediately!" Lu Chuan opened the car door, his black leather shoes clicking on the gravel, and gave orders to his team behind him. "Use caution tape to cordon off a 50-meter area on both sides of the drainage ditch, prohibiting unauthorized personnel from approaching, especially the mud and weeds along the ditch; don't disturb any traces left behind. Yang Lin and Yang Sen are responsible for the initial on-site investigation, focusing on the material of the bag, the way it was tied, and traces upstream and downstream of the drainage ditch, looking for any items left by the suspect. Wang Shuai and I will go and question the person who reported the incident; the rest of you patrol the surrounding area, checking for witnesses or suspicious persons." (End of Chapter)