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

Xiao Chen quickly retrieved the high-definition surveillance footage of that section of road. After technical processing, the license plate number gradually became clear – “AXXXX73”. “Found it! License plate number AXXXX73, owner information shows Li Bing, male, 45 years old, lives in Chengdong Community, less than 1 kilometer from Chengdong Vegetable Market!”

"Immediately verify Li Bing's identity information and see if he has any connection with the deceased Tian Zheng!" Wang Shuai's tone was filled with excitement; the clues had finally made a breakthrough. After checking the police system, team member Xiao Zhang's eyes lit up: "Hey buddy! We've found something! Li Bing has a vegetable stall in the East City Market, next to Tian Zheng's pork stall. The two know each other and have done business together before—last year, Li Bing bought pork wholesale from Tian Zheng for his restaurant!"

This discovery gave Wang Shuai a jolt of excitement: "Neighboring stalls, business dealings—that's a connection! Li Bing is a prime suspect! Contact Li Bing immediately to verify his whereabouts on Tuesday night and the status of his black Volkswagen Lavida!"

At 1:30 p.m., Wang Shuai and his team arrived at Li Bing's vegetable stall. It was the busiest time at the market, and Li Bing was busy weighing vegetables for customers. When she saw Wang Shuai and the others in police uniforms, a fleeting look of panic crossed her face, but she quickly regained her composure: "Officer, is there something you need?"

"Li Bing, we'd like to ask you something: who was using your black Volkswagen Lavida sedan, license plate number 京AXXXX73, on Tuesday night? What were your movements that night?" Wang Shuai got straight to the point, his eyes fixed on Li Bing's expression.

Li Bing paused for a moment, her eyes darting away, but she tried to keep her tone natural: "My car? Tuesday night... I think I drove it out by myself once, but I can't remember exactly where I went. Maybe I went to a friend's house."

"I don't quite remember?" Wang Shuai pressed. "Think carefully again. Where were you between 7 pm and 9 pm on Tuesday? Did you lend your car to anyone?"

Faced with Wang Shuai's questioning, Li Bing's forehead began to bead with sweat. He put down the scale in his hand and rubbed his hands together. "Officer, to tell you the truth, I didn't drive out on Tuesday night. I lent the car to my brother-in-law, Sun Zhengjun. He said he needed to go to the suburbs to run some errands and borrowed the car from me. He only returned it to me on Wednesday morning."

"Sun Zhengjun? Your brother-in-law?" Wang Shuai's heart skipped a beat. "What did he borrow a car to run in the suburbs on Tuesday night? Did you ask him where he went specifically? Does he know Tian Zheng?"

Li Bing shook her head, her tone tinged with uncertainty: "I didn't ask much. He just said he needed the car urgently, and since we were relatives, I lent it to him. As for whether he knows Tian Zheng or not... I'm not sure. I've never seen them together, but my brother-in-law occasionally comes to the market to see me, so he might have seen Tian Zheng at the stall."

To verify Li Bing's statement, Wang Shuai immediately instructed his team to retrieve evidence of Li Bing's whereabouts on Tuesday night. Through surveillance footage from Li Bing's apartment complex and testimonies from his friends, it was confirmed that Li Bing had been playing cards at a nearby card room from 7 p.m. Tuesday to early Wednesday morning, and had never left during that time, providing a solid alibi and ruling out his involvement in the crime.

"It seems Li Bing wasn't lying after all. He didn't have the time to commit the crime. The real suspect is his brother-in-law, Sun Zhengjun!" Wang Shuai led his team out of the market and immediately convened a temporary team meeting. "Sun Zhengjun borrowed the black sedan that matched the tire tracks at the scene, and his whereabouts on Tuesday night are unknown. He has the means of transportation and the opportunity to commit the crime. Moreover, he occasionally goes to the market to see Li Bing, giving him the opportunity to contact Tian Zheng, suggesting they may know each other. Next, we need to focus on investigating Sun Zhengjun's identity, social relationships, his specific whereabouts on Tuesday night, and whether he has any conflicts or interests with Tian Zheng."

Team member Xiao Zhang immediately checked Sun Zhengjun's information through the police system: "Sun Zhengjun, male, 38 years old, no fixed occupation, has a prior conviction for theft, was released from prison two years ago, and currently lives in a village in the western part of the city. According to his call records, at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, he called Li Bing to ask if he could borrow the car; around 7 pm, he took the car keys from Li Bing's house; afterwards, until 8 am on Wednesday, his cell phone signal was seen around the unfinished Huijiayuan building, after which he drove back to Li Bing's house to return the car."

"The cell phone signal was detected near the unfinished building! That matches up!" Wang Shuai said excitedly. "Sun Zhengjun borrowed a car on Tuesday night and likely drove to the vicinity of the unfinished building to commit the murder of Tian Zheng and dump the body. Immediately send people to Sun Zhengjun's residence to conduct interviews, and at the same time retrieve his call records and financial statements to see if he had any direct contact with Tian Zheng or any unusual financial transactions recently. In addition, contact the technical department to correlate Sun Zhengjun's information with the black polyester fiber extracted from the scene to see if he had clothing of similar material."

At 3 PM, Wang Shuai and his team arrived at the urban village in the west of the city where Sun Zhengjun lived. This was a cluster of low, dilapidated houses, a mixed and transient population. Through interviews with Sun Zhengjun's neighbors, they learned that he was currently experiencing financial difficulties, frequently being harassed by debt collectors, and was known for his volatile temper and frequent arguments. "Sun Zhengjun drove out around 7 PM on Tuesday night and didn't return until Wednesday morning. He looked terrible and locked himself in his room for a long time; we don't know what he was doing," a neighbor recalled. "He's rarely home, doesn't have a proper job, and we occasionally see him associating with shady characters."

Meanwhile, the technical department reported: "Team Leader Wang, we investigated Sun Zhengjun's criminal record and recent activities, and found that he was sentenced for theft two years ago. Since his release, he has had no stable income and has a history of gambling, accumulating considerable debt. In addition, we found a black polyester tracksuit he had discarded near the house he previously rented. After testing, the fiber material and dyeing process of the tracksuit are completely consistent with the black polyester fibers extracted from the abandoned building site!"

"Great! The fibers match!" Wang Shuai clenched his fist excitedly. "Sun Zhengjun has a motive—he's financially strapped and heavily in debt, and may have had a conflict with Tian Zheng over money; he has the tools—he borrowed a black car that matches the tire tracks at the scene; he has the timing—his whereabouts were unknown on Tuesday night, and his cell phone signal was detected near the unfinished building; and there's crucial evidence—the discarded black polyester tracksuit matches the fibers found at the scene. His suspicion is now very clear!" (End of Chapter)