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

Li Wei's shoulders trembled violently. He lowered his head, his voice trembling with sobs: "I was wrong... I shouldn't have stolen! The cart wasn't loaded with cardboard boxes; it contained shampoo and laundry detergent that I stole from the logistics park warehouse. I wanted to take them outside the wall so my fellow villagers could take them to town to sell and earn some extra money..."

"Stealing?" Yang Sen took out his notebook and quickly wrote down the details. "How much did you steal? How long did you steal it for? What were you doing between 3:00 PM and 3:40 PM yesterday? Did you see anyone else near the west wall?"

Li Wei wiped away his tears and confessed haltingly: "I stole about 20 bottles of shampoo and 15 bottles of laundry detergent yesterday afternoon when the warehouse manager wasn't looking. At 3 p.m., I pushed a handcart from the freight area toward the west wall, intending to pass the items to my fellow villager through a gap in the wall. But when I got to the gap, I didn't see him, so I put the items in the bushes and waited for him while smoking nearby. After about 20 minutes, he still hadn't returned. Afraid of being discovered by the security guards, I moved the items from the handcart back to the storage room in the freight area, thinking I'd find another opportunity to smuggle them out today... I really didn't kill anyone! And I didn't see anyone else around the wall!"

To verify Li Wei's confession, Wang Shuai immediately arranged for his team to go to the logistics park warehouse to check the theft details, while also contacting the "fellow villager" Li Wei mentioned. Soon, the team members reported that 20 bottles of shampoo and 15 bottles of laundry detergent were indeed missing from the logistics park warehouse, consistent with Li Wei's confession; and Li Wei's fellow villager stated that he had something urgent to attend to yesterday afternoon and was unable to go outside the logistics park wall to pick up the goods, which also corresponded to Li Wei's statement.

“We can’t rule out Li Wei as a suspect yet,” Yang Lin said, looking at Li Wei. “We need to collect your footprints and compare them with the size 42 shoe print found in warehouse number 13. We also need to search your residence to see if there is any evidence related to the case. If you really didn’t kill anyone, this evidence will clear your name.”

Li Wei nodded hurriedly: "I'll cooperate! I'll definitely cooperate! I'll do anything you ask as long as it proves my innocence!"

Yang Sen took out the footprint extraction tool and had Li Wei stand on the white footprint extraction paper, gently pressing his feet. Li Wei was wearing a pair of black sneakers, size 41, which did not match the size 42 shoe print found in warehouse number 13. Yang Sen compared the extracted footprint sample with the shoe print sample previously extracted from the warehouse and found that there were significant differences in the texture and size of the two—Li Wei's sneakers had a wavy texture, while the shoe print in the warehouse had a diamond pattern; Li Wei's footprint size was 41, one size smaller than the shoe print in the warehouse, and the wear on the soles was also different.

“The footprint comparison results are inconsistent,” Yang Sen put away the sample. “Li Wei’s footprints do not match the suspicious shoe prints found in warehouse No. 13, so we can preliminarily rule out the possibility that he left those shoe prints.”

The three then took Li Wei to his residence for a search. Li Wei's residence was small, with only one bedroom and a cramped kitchen. The room was filled with clutter, and the air was filled with a musty smell. Yang Sen and Yang Lin divided the work: Yang Sen was responsible for searching the bedroom, while Yang Lin was responsible for searching the kitchen and balcony.

Yang Sen found Li Wei's blue work pants in the bedroom closet. Upon inspection, the work pants were found to be made of pure cotton, which did not match the "cotton-polyester blend" fiber material identified by the technical department. On the shoe rack below the closet, there were three pairs of shoes: a pair of black sneakers, a pair of cloth shoes, and a pair of sandals. No size 42 work shoes were found, and there were no shoes with diamond patterns.

Yang Lin found several cigarette butts in the kitchen trash can. The brand of the cigarette butts was "Baisha," which was different from the "Hongtashan" brand cigarette butts found in warehouse number 13. In the corner of the balcony, there was a flowerpot filled with yellow soil, which was completely different from the brown soil at the gap in the west wall. No coal ash was found either—which did not match the technical department's identification of "brown soil containing coal ash."

“No evidence related to the case was found at the residence,” Yang Lin said, putting away his investigation tools. “The work pants are not the right material, there are no size 42 safety shoes, the cigarette butts are different brands, and the soil composition is incorrect. Combined with the footprint comparison results, we can rule out Li Wei as a suspect in the murder.” Upon hearing this, Li Wei seemed to breathe a sigh of relief instantly. His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground: “Thank you… thank you for clearing my name! I will never steal again, and I will definitely be a good person!”

Wang Shuai looked at Li Wei and said seriously, "Although you didn't kill anyone, stealing property from the logistics park is still illegal. The police will deal with your theft later. Think carefully, did you hear any unusual noises or see any suspicious people near the west wall yesterday afternoon? Even the smallest detail could help us with the case."

Li Wei tried hard to recall, his brows furrowed: "When I was smoking by the wall, I thought I heard a 'bang' from the direction of warehouse number 13, like something falling to the ground, but I didn't pay attention at the time, thinking that the wind had blown things over from the shelves... That's all, I didn't see anyone suspicious."

"A 'clang' sound?" Yang Lin and Yang Sen exchanged a glance. "Around when did we hear that?"

“It must have been around 3:10,” Li Wei thought for a moment. “I had just arrived at the wall when I heard that sound. It was about 50 meters away from me, and I couldn’t hear it very clearly.”

This information gave the three men a glimmer of hope—3:10 was exactly the time they had predicted when the suspect would move the body to warehouse number 13. The "clanging" sound was likely the sound of the suspect accidentally hitting a shelf or other object while dragging the body.

"Are you sure it was around 3:10?" Wang Shuai pressed. "Was the sound coming from the direction of warehouse number 13?"

Li Wei nodded: "I'm sure! I glanced at my phone at the time, it was 3:10, and the sound was coming from warehouse number 13, there's no mistake!"

Subsequently, Wang Shuai arranged for his team members to take Li Wei back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment for further processing of his theft. He, along with Yang Lin and Yang Sen, returned to the South Suburb Logistics Park and, based on the clue provided by Li Wei that "he heard an unusual noise from the direction of warehouse No. 13 at 3:10", re-examined warehouse No. 13 and the surrounding area.

“Li Wei’s suspicion has been cleared, which means there was another person near warehouse number 13 around 3:10,” Yang Lin said, scanning the shelves in warehouse number 13 with a searchlight. “The ‘clang’ sound was likely made when the suspect dragged the body and it hit the shelves. We’ll focus our search on the shelves in warehouse number 13 to see if there are any signs of impact.” (End of Chapter)