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

"So Deng Tianfang was an alias!" Wang Shuai slammed his hand on the table excitedly. "Deng Chengzong is his real name!" Zhang Hui couldn't hide his excitement either: "The Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau also provided an important clue. Deng Chengzong has an older sister named Deng Chengying, who is married in our city's Chengbei District. Her exact address is unknown, but according to her household registration information, Deng Chengying's husband is the owner of a hardware store near Beifang Square!" This news was like a thunderbolt, instantly breaking the deadlock in the manhunt. Beifang Square was precisely the place where Deng Tianfang (Deng Chengzong) got into the car—this was no coincidence!
Lu Chuan immediately convened an emergency meeting to deploy the next steps: "Wang Shuai, you immediately lead the team to the North Square and conduct a comprehensive investigation of Deng Chengying and her husband's information around the surrounding hardware stores; Zhang Hui, you are responsible for liaising with the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau to further verify Deng Chengzhong's detailed situation, especially his relationship with his sister Deng Chengying, and his activity trajectory after his release from prison; the technical department, immediately retrieve the surveillance footage around the North Square and focus on investigating whether Deng Chengzhong has appeared in the area within the past month."

Wang Shuai didn't dare delay and immediately led 10 team members to drive to Northern Plaza. Northern Plaza is the core commercial area of ​​the northern district, surrounded by numerous shops, including nearly 20 hardware stores. Wang Shuai divided the team into 5 groups, each responsible for 4 hardware stores, and they checked them one by one. The investigation required meticulous attention to detail; they not only had to ask the shop owners for their identity information, but also check the shops' business licenses, rental contracts, and even retrieve the shops' surveillance footage to search for Deng Chengying and Deng Chengzong's whereabouts.

"Excuse me, is the owner of this shop named Deng Chengying?" Officer Li asked as he entered "Chengxin Hardware Store," located in an alley west of North Square, after showing his police ID. The shop owner, a middle-aged man of about 45, noticed a slight flicker in his eyes upon hearing the name "Deng Chengying," and subconsciously glanced back at the back of the shop. Officer Li keenly observed this subtle movement. "Officer, what do you need her for?" the shop owner asked, feigning composure.

“We’re from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division, investigating a case. We need Deng Chengying’s cooperation to get some information,” Xiao Li said seriously. The shop owner hesitated for a long time before slowly saying, “Deng Chengying is my wife. She…she’s not in the shop right now; she’s gone back to her parents’ home.” “Back to her parents’ home? Which parents’ home? When did she leave?” Wang Shuai walked in at this moment and pressed for details. Seeing Wang Shuai’s imposing presence, the shop owner dared not hide anything any longer: “It’s her parents’ home in Qing County, Jiangcheng City. She left yesterday morning.”

Wang Shuai immediately instructed his team to retrieve the shop's surveillance footage and conduct a detailed interrogation of the shop owner. The owner, Zhao Jianguo, had been married to Deng Chengying for 15 years and had a son and a daughter. According to Zhao Jianguo, Deng Chengzong was Deng Chengying's younger brother. Three years ago, after being released from prison, he stayed at the shop for a while, but the two had an argument over trivial matters, and Deng Chengzong left, with little contact afterward. Until about two weeks ago, Deng Chengzong suddenly came back, saying he had found a job and wanted to stay at his sister's house for a few days. Deng Chengying, feeling sorry for him, agreed, letting him stay in the attic on the second floor of the shop.

"Deng Chengzong lives in the attic. What time does he usually go out? What does he do?" Wang Shuai asked. Zhao Jianguo recalled, "He always went out very late, returning around one or two in the morning. He never said what he did, and I didn't dare ask. He was very withdrawn and had a bad temper. He rarely spoke at home, and sometimes he would even yell at thin air." "The night before last, the night Zhang Tiancheng was murdered, did Deng Chengzong go out? What time did he come back?" Xiao Li pressed. Zhao Jianguo thought for a moment, "The night before last, around 10 p.m., he said he was going out to buy something and went out. He didn't come back until after 2 a.m. When he came back, he looked terrible, and he seemed to be covered in dirt. I asked him what was wrong, but he ignored me and went straight up to the attic."

This timing perfectly coincided with the time of Zhang Tiancheng's murder! Wang Shuai's heart tightened, and he immediately led his team to the attic on the second floor of the shop. The attic was small, about 10 square meters, simply furnished with only a bed, a wardrobe, and a table. The team immediately conducted a thorough search of the attic. Under the bed, they found a pair of mud-covered sneakers, size 43, which perfectly matched the footprints found at the crime scene; in the corner of the wardrobe, they found a dark coat, and in the pocket of the coat was a half-burnt "Chunghwa" cigarette butt, the same brand as the cigarette butts found at the scene; on the table was an ID card with the name Deng Chengzong on it.

Technicians immediately extracted DNA from the mud on the sneakers and the cigarette butts, sending the samples to the laboratory for comparison. Meanwhile, Wang Shuai instructed his team to retrieve surveillance footage from the area around Northern Plaza, focusing on tracking Deng Chengzong's movements before and after the incident. The footage showed that at 10:30 PM the night before last, Deng Chengzong walked out of the back door of Chengxin Hardware Store, along the west alley to the taxi stand at the east gate of Northern Plaza. His subsequent movements perfectly matched the trajectory of the previously identified suspect! After the incident, at 2:15 AM, Deng Chengzong walked out of the urban village at the intersection of Binhe East Road and Jiankang Street, heading east along Xingfu Street, eventually returning to Chengxin Hardware Store.

Around 5 p.m., the technical department reported that the composition of the mud on the sneakers matched perfectly with the mud around the crime scene, and the DNA on the cigarette butts matched the DNA extracted from the cigarette butts at the scene and the DNA from the hair extracted from the rented house! The evidence was irrefutable; Deng Chengzong (alias Deng Tianfang) was indeed the murderer of Zhang Tiancheng!
However, Deng Chengzong had already disappeared. Zhao Jianguo confessed that yesterday morning, Deng Chengying received a call from her family saying that her elderly mother was ill, so she hurriedly returned to Jiangcheng City. Not long after Deng Chengying left, Deng Chengzong also packed a few simple belongings, saying he was going to work in another city, and then never returned. Wang Shuai immediately deduced that Deng Chengzong had likely sensed something and fled in advance, and the direction he fled was most likely Jiangcheng City, either to find his sister Deng Chengying or to escape from Jiangcheng City.

Upon receiving the report, Lu Chuan immediately convened a meeting to formulate an arrest plan. Attendees included leaders of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, Wang Shuai, Zhang Hui, the head of the Special Police Detachment, and key personnel from the Technical Section. At the meeting, everyone first conducted a comprehensive analysis of Deng Chengzong's basic information, personality traits, and escape route. "Deng Chengzong, 42 years old, has a prior theft conviction, possesses extremely strong counter-surveillance awareness, is withdrawn and irritable, and has a certain degree of aggression," Wang Shuai explained. "Based on the clues currently available, Deng Chengzong has most likely fled to Jiangcheng City. His sister, Deng Chengying, lives in Dengwei Village, Liubao Township, Qing County, Jiangcheng City, where he is likely hiding." (End of Chapter)