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

Upon hearing the name "Li Yongbao," Zhao Lei's expression became flustered again. He rubbed his hands together and slowly said, "Officer, yes, Li Yongbao did borrow 10,000 yuan from me and hasn't paid it back yet. I did urge him to repay the money, and I did threaten him. Three days ago, I did go to his house to collect the debt. Because I'm short on cash lately and urgently need money, that's why I urged him to repay the money. I only threatened him in a moment of anxiety. I didn't really want to hurt him, much less kill him."

"Oh? You didn't think about killing him?" Wang Shuai said calmly. "Then let me ask you, three days ago in the afternoon, after you went to Li Yongbao's house to collect the debt and were chased away by Liu Mei, where did you go? What did you do? Is there anyone who can testify to that? Also, between 8 pm and midnight three days ago, where were you? What did you do? Is there anyone who can testify to that?"

Zhao Lei recalled for a moment and said, "Three days ago, in the afternoon, after Liu Mei kicked me out, I went home and stayed there watching TV and smoking. I didn't go out at all. My wife can testify that she was with me the whole time. Between 8 pm and midnight three days ago, I was also at home with my wife, watching TV and sleeping. I didn't go out at all. My wife can also testify to that. In addition, our home security cameras can also capture me. You can check the security footage."

"Is your wife home now? We'd like to ask her about the situation and verify what you said," Wang Shuai said. "Also, could you please take us to retrieve your home's security camera footage, focusing on the footage from the afternoon and evening three days ago, to confirm your movements? Also, could you please show us the clothes and shoes you wore on the afternoon and evening three days ago? We need to compare and investigate them."

“My wife is home now, you can ask her for information,” Zhao Lei nodded and said, “I’ll take you to retrieve the surveillance footage right now. The clothes and shoes I wore three days ago, in the afternoon and evening, are in the house. I’ll go get them for you now.”

Subsequently, Zhao Lei led Wang Shuai and others into the house and found his wife. Wang Shuai and the group members verified Zhao Lei's activities with his wife. Zhao Lei's wife stated that three days ago, after Zhao Lei was driven away by Liu Mei, he returned home and had not gone out since. He stayed home all night, watching TV and sleeping with her. She could testify for Zhao Lei.

Meanwhile, Zhao Lei also brought the clothes and shoes he wore three days earlier, on the afternoon and evening. The clothes were a black jacket, dark pants, and black cloth shoes, which matched Liu Mei's description. After comparison by Wang Shuai and his team members, the material and style of the black jacket did not match the black jacket worn by the suspicious man reported by the convenience store owner. The shoes were cloth shoes, which did not match the size 43 diamond-patterned rubber-soled shoes found at the scene. Therefore, the connection between the clothes and shoes and the case was ruled out.

Subsequently, Zhao Lei led Wang Shuai and others to the monitoring room and retrieved the surveillance footage from the afternoon and evening of three days prior. The footage was clear, showing that after being chased away by Liu Mei three days ago, Zhao Lei returned home and did not go out again. Between 8 PM and midnight, he also stayed at home, watching TV and sleeping with his wife, without going out. This matched the account given by Zhao Lei and his wife, and no abnormalities were found.

In addition, Wang Shuai carefully observed Zhao Lei's height, build, behavior, and accent. Zhao Lei is 170 cm tall, slightly overweight, speaks with a local accent, does not wear a mask, and walks somewhat clumsily. These characteristics do not match the suspect's description inferred from the on-site investigation: height 176-179 cm, medium build, southern accent, wearing a mask, walking steadily, or the suspicious male characteristics described by the shop owner. Furthermore, after comparison, Zhao Lei's fingerprints and DNA do not match those of the suspect extracted from the on-site investigation, thus initially ruling out Zhao Lei as a suspect.

But Wang Shuai didn't let his guard down completely. He continued to question Zhao Lei, trying to understand the details of his financial dispute with Li Yongbao, as well as Li Yongbao's other interpersonal relationships. "Zhao Lei, think back carefully. Besides borrowing money from you, has Li Yongbao borrowed money from anyone else? Has he had any financial disputes or other conflicts with anyone else? When he was on the construction site, what were the specific conflicts he had with his foreman and fellow workers? Do you know any specific information about his foreman and fellow workers?"

Zhao Lei recalled for a moment and said, "Besides borrowing money from me, Li Yongbao also borrowed 20,000 yuan from Sun Hao. I know this because when Li Yongbao borrowed money from me, he mentioned that he had also borrowed money from Sun Hao, totaling 30,000 yuan, to build a house. As for whether he has any financial disputes or other conflicts with others, I don't know. He is rather introverted, not good at communicating with people, and rarely interacts with outsiders, so he shouldn't have any grudges with anyone."

“I don’t know the specifics of the conflicts he had with the foreman and his fellow workers when he was on the construction site,” Zhao Lei continued. “He only mentioned it casually when we were drinking during the Spring Festival. He said that he had trouble getting his wages at the construction site, and the foreman often delayed paying him. He had argued with the foreman a few times when he went to ask for his wages, and he had also had disputes with some fellow workers over work. But I don’t know which fellow workers, what the foreman’s name was, or which construction site he was on. He didn’t go into details.”

While listening attentively, Wang Shuai quickly took notes. The information Zhao Lei provided was consistent with that of Liu Mei, and no new valuable clues were offered. Afterwards, Wang Shuai and his team said goodbye to Zhao Lei and went to Wangjiawan Village to find Sun Hao, verify his information, and investigate any suspicions against him.

Upon arriving at Wangjiawan Village, Wang Shuai and his team met with the village officials, identifying themselves and explaining their purpose: to learn about Sun Hao and find his whereabouts. The village officials, upon learning their purpose, quickly said, "Sun Hao? I know him. He's a villager of ours, 37 years old, about 168 centimeters tall, thin, and has a rather volatile temper. He often clashed with villagers when he was at home. Last spring, he went to work in another city with Li Yongbao and hasn't returned or contacted his family since. He only has an elderly father who is bedridden and in poor health; we don't know his whereabouts either." (End of Chapter)