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

"Of these three, two are men aged 40-50, between 176-180cm tall, and disappeared 5-7 days ago. However, one is a courier and there is no record of him 'carrying tools' or 'wearing a brass watch'; the other is a construction worker who, although carrying tools, disappeared 8 days ago, one day before his death. However, both are somewhat suspicious and need further verification."

"Immediately contact the contacts for these four leads and focus on verifying Li Shengli's situation!" Zhang Hui made a decisive decision. "Xiao Li, contact Li Shengli's wife, Zhao Lan, and ask her about Li Shengli's specific clothing when he left work six days ago, the style of his tool bag, and whether his brass watch had any special markings; Xiao Chen, contact the contacts for the other three leads and confirm the detailed information of their missing family members to rule them out as suspects; the rest of you, continue to organize Li Shengli's relevant information and see if there is any other related information."

Xiao Li immediately dialed Zhao Lan's number. The phone rang for a long time before being answered. Zhao Lan's voice was sleepy and anxious: "Hello? Who is this? What's wrong so late?"

"Hello, we are from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division. We would like to inquire about your husband, Li Shengli," Xiao Li said, trying to soften her tone. "What clothes was he wearing when he left work six days ago? What did his tool bag look like?"

Zhao Lan on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, then her voice suddenly choked up: "Yes... that night he was wearing the red chef's uniform from 'Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant' after get off work, with a black jacket over it. He was carrying a black canvas tool bag with the words 'Sichuan Cuisine' embroidered on it, containing his usual wrench and screwdriver. His brass watch on his left wrist had a scratch on the dial, which he accidentally made last year when he was repairing the range hood. I even replaced the watchband for him; it's a brass chain."

These details closely match the autopsy findings and the results of the on-site investigation—height 178cm (consistent with the deceased), carrying a wrench and screwdriver (consistent with the source of the brass fragment on his left wrist), a brass watch (consistent with the material of the fragment), and having eaten around 7 PM (consistent with the time of his last meal in his stomach). Zhang Hui instructed Xiao Li to continue questioning: "Besides the wage dispute with the restaurant owner, has Li Shengli recently made any enemies with anyone else? Did he mention going anywhere after get off work six days ago?"

“He hasn’t had any conflicts with anyone recently, except for arguing with his boss,” Zhao Lan’s voice grew increasingly agitated. “That night, he called me before leaving get off work and said, ‘The boss wants me to fix the smoke extraction equipment in the suburbs, and I’ll go home after I’m done.’ I told him, ‘It’s too late, I’ll go tomorrow.’ He said, ‘The boss is in a hurry, and I can get part of my salary after I finish fixing it.’ But he never came back. Have you found him? Has something happened to him?”

Zhang Hui took the phone and gently reassured her, "Ms. Zhao, please don't get agitated. We need to verify further. Could you please provide a recent photo of Li Shengli? 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, Zhao Lan quickly sent Li Shengli a photo—in the photo, Li Shengli was wearing a red chef's uniform, and the brass watch on his left wrist was clearly visible, with scratches on the dial matching the description perfectly. Subsequently, Zhang Hui arranged for team members to collect DNA samples from Zhao Lan's home, and at the same time contacted the owner of "Sichuan Flavor Restaurant" to verify Li Shengli's situation.

Restaurant owner Zhou Ming stammered on the phone, "Li Shengli is indeed our chef, very skilled, but a bit stubborn. We argued because I owed him three months' wages, totaling 1.5 yuan. He said he was going to report me to the labor department. We exchanged a few words, but I didn't take it seriously. I never expected him to get into trouble." When asked about the "suburban smoke extraction equipment," Zhou Ming suddenly changed his story: "I didn't ask him to fix any smoke extraction equipment. All the equipment in the restaurant is fine and doesn't need repair. Did he make an appointment with someone else?"

The verification of the other three suspicious leads was also underway. Team member Xiao Chen made three phone calls in a row to confirm the information one by one: "The missing person you mentioned, Zhang Qiang, although he is 45 years old and 177cm tall, is a courier and did not carry any repair tools, so he is ruled out; Wang Hai, a 47-year-old construction worker, although he carried tools, disappeared 8 days ago, one day before his death, so he is ruled out; Sun Ming, 49 years old, 176cm tall, is a driver and did not wear a brass watch, so he is ruled out."

At 5:30 a.m., the technical department reported: "Zhao Lan's DNA sample matches the deceased's DNA sample with a 99.99% match, confirming that the deceased is Li Shengli! In addition, the brass fragment on the deceased's left wrist is completely consistent with the watch strap material described by Li Shengli's wife, further confirming his identity."

Upon hearing the news, the team members in the office all breathed a sigh of relief, smiles appearing on their tired faces. "Finally found it!" Xiao Li slumped into a chair, rubbing his sore eyes. "This all-nighter wasn't in vain. Now I can finally get a good night's sleep, right?"

“Yes,” Xiao Zhao took out his phone and sent a message to his wife, telling her about the child’s situation. “Now that the deceased’s identity has been confirmed, the investigation will have a direction. At least we know that we need to find the restaurant owner who had a wage dispute with Li Shengli, and the ‘suburban smoke exhaust equipment’ that he was going to repair. If we investigate around these two clues, we should be able to find the suspect soon.”

Looking at Li Shengli's information on the screen, Zhang Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. From 11 PM to 5:6 AM, over six hours of arduous investigation, sifting through more than 1500 pieces of information, 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. He is Li Shengli, a chef at 'Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant' in the south of the city, 46 years old, 178cm tall. He went missing six days ago after 'going to the suburbs to repair exhaust equipment,' carrying repair tools and wearing a brass watch on his left wrist. His family has confirmed this, and the DNA match is correct. Next, we can investigate Li Shengli's wage dispute and the exhaust equipment he was supposed to repair in the suburbs, looking for 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 9 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. Li Shengli's wage dispute, the mysterious "suburban smoke extraction equipment," and the restaurant owner Zhou Ming's change of story—these could all be key clues in the case. He organized Li Shengli's relevant information, marking keywords such as "investigating Zhou Ming's whereabouts," "finding the specific location of the suburban smoke extraction equipment," and "investigating Li Shengli's social connections," in preparation for the morning meeting. (End of Chapter)