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

Between 8 PM and midnight three days ago, no one entered or left the factory area. Surveillance footage from the dormitory area showed employees resting and chatting inside, with no unusual behavior. Surveillance footage from the surrounding factory area also did not detect any suspicious individuals, consistent with Mr. Wang's report; no valuable clues were found. Subsequently, Zhang Hui led his team to record the personal information and contact details of three employees: Zhang Qiang, Li Wei, and Chen Hao. After saying goodbye to Mr. Wang, they proceeded to the next company for investigation.

Over the next few hours, Zhang Hui led his team to investigate several large businesses and construction sites in the vicinity. At each site, they spoke with the responsible persons in detail to understand the circumstances of the missing employees, retrieved surveillance footage, and compared it one by one. However, most businesses and construction sites reported that no employees had recently gone missing, and the surveillance footage did not reveal any suspicious persons. Only one small construction site reported that an employee had recently argued with the site foreman over wage settlement issues and subsequently resigned. After resigning, there was no further contact, and the employee's whereabouts were unknown.

Zhang Hui immediately took the matter seriously and inquired in detail about the departing employee's specific information. According to the site manager, the employee's surname was Sun, his given name was Sun Hao, he was 35 years old, from Shandong, about 170 cm tall, and of slender build. He usually dressed casually, mostly in light-colored T-shirts and sweatpants. He came to the construction site at the end of last year to work as a carpenter. Recently, he had a heated argument with the site foreman, Zhao Lei, over a wage settlement issue, which even escalated into a physical altercation. He then went through the resignation procedures, but his wages were never settled. After leaving the site, he was never contacted again, and no one knew where he went.

Zhang Hui carefully recorded Sun Hao's information and found that his age, height, build, and clothing characteristics did not match the deceased's. The deceased was about 175 cm tall, of medium build, and wore a black long-sleeved T-shirt and dark blue jeans, while Sun Hao was only 170 cm tall, thin, and usually wore light-colored clothing. Furthermore, his departure date was a week prior, which did not match the deceased's death date of three days prior, initially ruling out Sun Hao as the deceased. However, Zhang Hui did not completely abandon this lead. He believed that Sun Hao had a conflict with the construction site foreman and had disappeared after leaving the company. Although not the deceased, he might know some other suspicious information or have other connections to the case. Therefore, he recorded Sun Hao's personal information and contact details, as well as the information of the construction site foreman, Zhao Lei, intending to further verify and investigate.

Subsequently, Zhang Hui led his team to retrieve the surveillance footage from the small construction site, focusing on the footage from 8 pm to midnight three days prior. The footage showed that no one was on duty at the construction site three nights ago, only the security personnel at the entrance. No suspicious persons entered or left the construction site, and no one matching the characteristics of the deceased or the suspect was found. No valuable clues were discovered.

Around 4 a.m., Zhang Hui's enterprise investigation team completed its investigation of large enterprises and construction sites. They then joined Zhao Peng's team to summarize their findings. Zhao Peng's team was responsible for investigating small workshops, farms, and small shops. After several hours of investigation, they found no missing persons matching the deceased's characteristics. Most business owners reported no recent abnormalities, and surveillance footage showed no suspicious individuals. Only one small shop owner reported that around 9 p.m. three days prior, a man wearing a black coat and a mask bought a pack of cigarettes at the shop. He was about 175 cm tall and of medium build. Because of the mask, his face was obscured. After buying the cigarettes, he walked along the dirt road at the west end of the village towards Lucao Gou Village and never returned.

Zhang Hui's eyes lit up. The man in the black coat and mask had a height and build that closely matched the suspect's characteristics deduced from the scene investigation. Moreover, the time he bought the cigarettes was exactly between 8 pm and 12 am three days before the victim's death, and the direction he was walking was also in the direction of Lucao Gou Village, where the scene was located. This was undoubtedly a very important clue to the suspect.

“Boss, think back carefully. Besides wearing a black coat and a mask, what other characteristics did this man have? For example, his hairstyle, body proportions, accent, gait, or what brand of cigarettes he bought, and whether he paid in cash or by mobile payment?” Zhang Hui asked urgently, instructing his team members to take detailed notes. “Also, can your store’s security cameras clearly capture his appearance? Can they capture details such as his clothing and gait?”

The shop owner thought carefully for a moment and slowly said, "I remember he had short hair, was of medium build, neither fat nor thin, and walked normally without any obvious limp or tiptoeing. His accent wasn't our local accent; it sounded a bit like a southern accent, but I couldn't tell exactly where. He bought a pack of cheap flue-cured cigarettes, the kind that costs three yuan a pack, and paid in cash with a five-yuan bill. I gave him two yuan in change. As for the security camera, I have one in my shop, right by the entrance. It should have captured his face, but because he was wearing a mask, it only captured his eyes and forehead, not his face. However, it clearly captured his clothing and walking posture. You can check the footage."

"Great, boss, thank you so much! This clue is very important to us," Zhang Hui quickly thanked the shop owner. "Could you please take us to retrieve the surveillance footage? We need to carefully examine the details of this man. Also, could you please give us the cash he paid for the cigarettes, as well as the change you gave him? We need to extract his fingerprints and DNA to see if we can find any clues related to the suspect."

“Okay, no problem, officer. I’ll take you to retrieve the surveillance footage right away,” the shop owner nodded hurriedly, leading Zhang Hui and the others to the shop’s monitoring room. Inside, there was only one monitor, and a security camera mounted at the shop’s entrance, clearly capturing the area around the entrance. Following Zhang Hui’s request, the owner retrieved the surveillance footage from around 9 PM three days prior. The footage was clear, showing a man wearing a black jacket, a mask, and short hair entering the shop, buying a pack of cigarettes from the owner, paying in cash, and then turning and leaving, walking along the dirt road at the west end of the village towards Luchao Gou Village. (End of Chapter)