The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1454 Interrogation of Zhou Qiang, New Discoveries

Zhou Qiang's body stiffened visibly. He remained silent for about half a minute before slowly raising his head, his eyes filled with a hint of grievance: "Officer, I really didn't do anything wrong. On the night of October 25th, I went to pick up goods, not to drink. I have a friend who runs a building materials business. That night, he asked me to help him move a batch of tiles from a warehouse in the suburbs to a construction site in the city. I worked from 8 p.m. until after 1 a.m., with two porters accompanying me. They can testify for me."

"Handling goods? What friend? Which warehouse? Which construction site? What are the movers' names?" Xiao Wang immediately pressed, recording every piece of information Zhou Qiang provided. Zhou Qiang took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down: "My friend's name is Zhao Jianjun. He's a building materials wholesaler. His warehouse is in Xinglong Storage Park on the outskirts of the city, and the construction site is the second phase of the Jinxiu Garden residential complex in the south of the city. The movers were hired by Zhao Jianjun; one is named Li Yong, and the other is named Wang Hao. They are both temporary workers who work at the storage park year-round."

Xiao Wang glanced at Li Ming, who nodded slightly. Xiao Wang immediately arranged for his team to go out and verify the information Zhou Qiang had provided: "Check the surveillance footage from Xinglong Warehouse Park on the evening of October 25th, contact Zhao Jianjun, Li Yong, and Wang Hao to verify whether Zhou Qiang participated in hauling goods that night. At the same time, retrieve the surveillance footage from the construction site of the second phase of Jinxiu Garden residential complex to confirm the vehicles and time used to transport the tiles."

The interrogation continued, and Xiao Wang shifted the topic to the white van and Zhang Tao: "Why was your white van, license plate number xxx376, in front of the convenience store on the south side of Heping Road around 11 PM on October 25th? Do you know Zhang Tao?" Mentioning the white van and Zhang Tao, Zhou Qiang's eyes flickered again, but his tone remained firm: "The white van is indeed mine, but on the night of October 25th, Zhao Jianjun borrowed it to haul goods. I was driving his small truck. I don't know any Zhang Tao; I've never heard of that name."

"Don't you recognize him? Then why is there a witness who identified you as having a heated argument with Zhang Tao in the alley behind the Heping Road vegetable market around 9 PM on October 25th?" Xiao Wang presented the testimony of Liu, a stall owner at the vegetable market, observing Zhou Qiang's reaction. Zhou Qiang's face instantly turned red, and he abruptly raised his head, loudly protesting, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I arrived at Xinglong Storage Park at 8 PM on October 25th and was hauling goods until after 1 AM. How could I possibly have gone to the vegetable market to argue with someone? The witness must have mistaken me for someone else! I'm on the heavier side and have short hair; there are plenty of people with those features. You can't assume it's me just because of that!"

Zhou Qiang became agitated, his voice growing louder: "Officer, I admit I've made mistakes before, with convictions for theft and disorderly conduct, but I've reformed and haven't done anything illegal or criminal since. You must have arrested the wrong person this time; you must find out the truth and clear my name!" Xiao Wang calmly looked at Zhou Qiang, unaffected by his emotions: "We won't wrong an innocent person, nor will we let a guilty person go free. As long as you're telling the truth, we will definitely find out the truth. But if you lie, you will bear the consequences."

During the subsequent interrogation, Zhou Qiang consistently denied knowing Zhang Tao, and even more so denied killing Zhang Tao. Regarding the white van appearing in front of the convenience store on Heping Road, he insisted that Zhao Jianjun had borrowed the vehicle to transport goods, and that he didn't know the specific route. The interrogation lasted for more than two hours, and Zhou Qiang's confession did not contain any obvious loopholes. His emotions also changed from initial panic to increasing firmness, and he even actively asked the police to verify his alibi as soon as possible.

At 7 PM, the team member who went out to verify the information brought back preliminary news: "Team Leader Wang, we found Zhao Jianjun. He confirmed that he did indeed ask Zhou Qiang to help him transport goods on the evening of October 25th, and borrowed Zhou Qiang's white van. He also arranged for two movers, Li Yong and Wang Hao, to assist. Zhao Jianjun also provided a cargo transport document with Zhou Qiang's signature, dated 8:15 PM on October 25th." "What about the surveillance footage from Xinglong Warehouse Park? Did it capture Zhou Qiang?" Xiao Wang asked. "Yes, it did. The surveillance footage shows that Zhou Qiang entered the warehouse park at 8:05 PM on October 25th, and then worked with the movers loading and unloading tiles until around 10:30 PM, when he drove Zhao Jianjun's small truck loaded with tiles away from the warehouse park. The white van was driven by another mover, Li Yong, who followed behind."

"What about the surveillance footage from the Jinxiu Garden Phase II construction site?" "We retrieved it as well. The footage shows Zhou Qiang and Li Yong arriving at the site in two vehicles at 11:20 PM, then starting to unload tiles until 1:10 AM, after which the two left the site together. This perfectly matches the time Zhou Qiang stated." The team member added, "We also found Li Yong and Wang Hao, and their testimonies are consistent with Zhao Jianjun's. They can all prove that from 8 PM on October 25th to a little after 1 AM, Zhou Qiang was with them hauling and unloading goods and never left."

This result instantly made the atmosphere in the interrogation room heavy. If Zhou Qiang's alibi was true, then he couldn't possibly be the murderer of Zhang Tao; all the previous clues had pointed in the wrong direction. Xiao Wang immediately reported this to Li Ming, whose brows furrowed deeply: "Continue to verify, ensure every detail is accurate. Meanwhile, send the black jacket and sneakers retrieved from the abandoned factory, as well as Zhou Qiang's fingerprints and footprints, to the forensic department for comparison with the physical evidence collected at the scene."

At 8 PM, the technical department reported the preliminary comparison results: "Team Leader Li, Team Leader Wang, no bloodstains or human tissue residue were detected on the black jacket retrieved from the abandoned factory, and the fiber composition does not match the acrylic fibers extracted from the scene. Zhou Qiang's fingerprint sample does not match any of the fingerprint samples extracted from the scene, including the blurry fingerprint on the kitchen knife." "What about the footprints? What are the footprint comparison results?" Xiao Wang asked anxiously. "Zhou Qiang's footprint sample has been extracted and is being compared with the footprint samples extracted from the scene. The results are expected in half an hour."

Half an hour later, the footprint comparison results came out, striking all the investigators like a bolt from the blue: "Zhou Qiang's footprint characteristics do not match any of the footprint samples extracted from the scene, and no footprints belonging to Zhou Qiang were found at the scene." This result completely ruled out Zhou Qiang as a suspect, and all previous clues came to an abrupt end.

In the interrogation room, Xiao Wang informed Zhou Qiang of his alibi and the comparison results. Zhou Qiang immediately became agitated, his eyes reddening.