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

"Do you know if anyone who used to work in the coal mines had any enemies because of the mines, or if anyone was so familiar with the mines that they could accurately find hidden dumping sites for bodies?"

Grandpa Zhang thought for a moment: "Most of the people who used to work in the coal mine have left, and there are very few left in the village. If we're talking about people who are familiar with the mine, the former mine manager, Old Liu, is one. He worked in the mine for over 20 years and knew every tunnel in the mine like the back of his hand. But Old Liu passed away last winter from illness. There's also someone named Zhao Gang, who used to be a blaster in the mine. He was also very familiar with the mine's structure. He left the village about five years ago and I heard he went to work in another place. I don't know if he's come back now."

"Zhao Gang? Do you remember his basic information? Such as his height, build, personality, etc." Wang Shuai asked quickly.

“Zhao Gang is about 175 centimeters tall, with a stocky build and a rather irritable temper. He used to get into arguments with people a lot when he worked in the mine. He was about 35 years old when he left the village, so he should be 40 now,” Grandpa Zhang recalled.

Wang Shuai's heart skipped a beat. Zhao Gang's height and build were very similar to the stranger Zhou Mingqiang had mentioned. Moreover, he was familiar with the mine and had a volatile temper. Could he be the suspect? But he had left the village five years ago, and it was uncertain whether he had returned. This lead needed further verification.

At 7:30 p.m., it was completely dark, and lights were on in every household in the village. Wang Shuai and his team met at the village entrance to summarize their findings—they had visited 32 households in Dongshan Village and obtained three suspicious leads: a man in dark blue overalls carrying a black bag who appeared on the morning of 10 days ago; a white van parked on the road at the foot of the mountain a week ago; two men arguing at the village entrance 5 days ago; and Zhao Gang, mentioned by an old miner as being familiar with the mine. However, these leads were scattered and did not form a complete chain of evidence, nor did they uncover any major clues directly pointing to the suspects or the deceased.

"Brother Hui, these clues are too fragmented; we can't connect them at all. The man in work clothes, the white van, the two arguing people, and that Zhao Gang—which one is related to the case? We have absolutely no clue," Xiao Li said, somewhat frustrated.

Wang Shuai frowned, a sense of anxiety creeping into his eyes as he looked at the interview log in his hand. He had initially hoped that interviewing the villagers would yield some crucial clues, such as someone having seen the suspect moving the body or someone recognizing the deceased, but the results had been far from satisfactory. He mentally processed the clues: Could the man in the dark blue overalls be the deceased? If so, what was in the black bag he was carrying? If not, what was he doing in the mine? The white van was likely the murder weapon, but without a license plate, it was impossible to trace; whether the two people arguing at the village entrance were related to the case needed further confirmation; although Zhao Gang matched some characteristics, he had left the village many years ago, and it was uncertain whether he would return.

“Although the clues are scattered, they are not entirely useless.” Wang Shuai composed himself and said to his team members, “Tomorrow, we will first verify Zhao Gang’s situation, contact his family, and see if he has returned recently; then we will visit the area around the highway at the foot of the mountain to see if any other villagers have seen that white van, and if we can find more information about the van’s characteristics; in addition, we will expand our search area and go to Xishan Village next door to see if the villagers there have also seen suspicious people or vehicles.”

At 8 p.m., Wang Shuai led his team back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment and reported the findings to Lu Chuan. Lu Chuan nodded after listening: "These clues, though scattered, are all potential breakthroughs. We must verify Zhao Gang's case as soon as possible, and we must also focus on investigating the white van. In addition, the technical department has begun testing evidence such as cigarette butts and fibers; preliminary results should be available tomorrow. Hopefully, we can find more clues from the evidence."

Wang Shuai walked out of Lu Chuan's office, looking at the dark night sky outside the window, and silently made up his mind: no matter how complex the case or how hidden the clues, he would persist in investigating. The victims in the mine were still waiting for the truth; only by finding the murderer could he give the victims and their families closure. He believed that as long as he verified and connected these scattered clues one by one, he would eventually be able to unravel the mystery and reveal the truth to the world.

At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, the cold lights in the forensic autopsy room of the Criminal Investigation Detachment illuminated the space meticulously, the stainless steel autopsy table reflecting a chilling luster. The body, transported from an abandoned mine shaft in Dongshan Coal Mine, had been carefully placed on the autopsy table. The coal dust and dirt adhering to the outer layer had been preliminarily cleaned, but the dark blue overalls still clung tightly to the body, emitting a pungent odor mixed with the dampness of the mine. Forensic pathologist Zhang Kai, wearing a dark blue autopsy gown and double-layered latex gloves, stood beside the autopsy table, his gaze sweeping over the overall shape of the body. Behind him, his assistant, Xiao Chen, had arranged the autopsy tools in order on a tray, the whiteboard open, the pen poised to record.

"Xiao Chen, first record the basic external characteristics of the corpse, paying special attention to rigor mortis, livor mortis, and the degree of skin decomposition. These are the core criteria for determining the time of death. The mine environment is special, damp and cold, which may affect the decomposition process. We will need to combine multiple indicators to make a comprehensive adjustment to the time later." Zhang Kai's voice came through the protective mask, calm yet with an extreme control over details.

Xiao Chen nodded and stepped forward, gently measuring the body with a soft ruler. His pen tip slid quickly across the record board: "Teacher Zhang, the deceased is male, about 170 cm tall, of medium build, and his age is preliminarily estimated to be between 35 and 45 years old; the skin is light green, there are scattered putrefactive veins on the face and neck, a small amount of cadaveric green in the lower right abdomen, and slight putrefactive bubbles at the elbow joint of the left upper limb—judging from the degree of putrefaction, the time of death should be quite long, but the exact time needs to be combined with other characteristics."

Zhang Kai crouched down, gently pressing his fingers against the upper limb muscles of the corpse to feel the firmness of rigor mortis. He then turned the corpse over to examine the livor mortis on its back: "Rigoletto is distributed throughout all major joints. The jaw joint, neck muscles, and limb joints are all in a state of rigidity, but the finger joints have shown slight signs of relief. The livor mortis is located on the back, buttocks, and the back of the limbs, and is dark purplish-red in color. It only fades slightly after being pressed, indicating that the livor mortis is basically fixed but has begun to spread. Based on the characteristics of skin decomposition, the preliminary judgment is that the time of death is between 5 and 8 days, but further verification is needed based on the condition of the internal organs, stomach contents, and the degree of corneal opacity." (End of this chapter)