met free Chapter 1397 Suspected Person Zhang Baode
Chapter 1397 Suspected Person Zhang Baode
"Where's Zhang Baode?" Xiao Wang asked. Liu Mei's eyes reddened: "He had a fight with me three days ago and left, saying he was going out to clear his head. He hasn't come back yet, and we can't get through to him on the phone." Xiao Wang took out a photo of the deceased's clothes and physical characteristics and explained: "Do you think these clothes belong to Zhang Baode? What was his height and build like? Did he have any special markings?"
Liu Mei examined the photo carefully and shook her head: "These clothes aren't his. He usually wears work clothes. He's about 178 centimeters tall, of medium build, pretty much as you described. He has a birthmark on his left wrist." Xiao Wang immediately had his team record this feature. The deceased didn't have a birthmark on his left wrist, but to be on the safe side, they decided to verify it further. "Has Zhang Baode offended anyone? Has he been to the North Suburbs landfill?" Xiao Wang continued to ask. Liu Mei thought for a moment: "He's a repairman, usually quite honest, and doesn't have any enemies. He occasionally goes to the scrap yard near the landfill to collect old parts, and he's been to the landfill a few times." This information further increased the suspicion on Zhang Baode—he was familiar with the landfill environment, his physical characteristics closely matched the deceased, and he disappeared around the time of the incident.
To confirm whether Zhang Baode was the deceased, Xiao Wang explained the situation to Liu Mei, requesting that DNA samples be collected from her and Zhang Baode's parents for comparison with the deceased's DNA. Liu Mei initially resisted: "You suspect something happened to Baode?" Xiao Wang patiently explained, "We're just conducting a routine check. Collecting samples is to eliminate suspicion and to find him as quickly as possible." After Zhang Fugui's persuasion, Liu Mei finally agreed. Subsequently, the team collected blood samples from Liu Mei and Zhang Baode's parents and immediately sent them to the technical department for DNA comparison.
While awaiting the DNA comparison results, Xiao Wang led his team to conduct a comprehensive investigation into Zhang Baode's social relationships and recent activities. They visited Zhang Baode's fellow repair shop owners, neighbors, and friends, learning that Zhang Baode was introverted and not very talkative, but his skills were good and his business was doing fairly well. He had indeed been arguing frequently with Liu Mei recently due to family matters, but no conflicts or debt disputes with others were found. Zhang Baode's friend said that he had seen him three days ago at noon; at that time, he was in low spirits and said he wanted to go for a walk, without specifying where he was going.
The team also retrieved surveillance footage from the area surrounding Zhangjia Village and along the route to the northern suburban landfill. Due to extremely low surveillance coverage around the village, with only an old-fashioned camera at a small shop at the village entrance, the footage showed that three days prior, at 12:30 PM, Zhang Baode walked alone out of the village and headed northeast along a country road, the direction leading to the northern suburban landfill. He was wearing blue overalls and carrying no belongings, which did not match the deceased's black T-shirt, but the possibility of him changing clothes along the way could not be ruled out. Furthermore, the team found a pedicab in Zhang Baode's repair shop; the tire tread pattern was similar to the tire tracks found at the scene, but after comparison, the vehicle identification number and detailed features did not match, ruling out the possibility that the pedicab was abandoned at the scene.
On the afternoon of the fifth day of the investigation, the technical department reported the DNA comparison results: the DNA samples of Zhang Baode's family members were not related to the deceased's DNA sample, and Zhang Baode was not the deceased. This result weighed heavily on Xiao Wang and his team once again. After five days of hard work, searching six villages, and interviewing hundreds of people, the crucial lead they had painstakingly found had gone cold. The team members all looked exhausted, their eyes filled with disappointment. "Don't be discouraged, everyone. The investigation itself is a process of eliminating incorrect options. At least we've confirmed that Zhang Baode is not the deceased, and we've also ruled out the missing persons in the surrounding five villages as suspects," Xiao Wang comforted them. "Next, we'll review the leads we've gathered, focusing on the tricycle mentioned by the scavenger, which he saw at the landfill entrance three days ago, and the blurry figure seen by the garbage truck driver."
Afterwards, Xiao Wang led his team back to Lijiacun and Sunjia'ao, finding the scavenger and garbage truck driver who had previously mentioned seeing the suspicious tricycle and blurry figure, and conducting more detailed questioning. The scavenger recalled, "The tricycle was very dilapidated, and there seemed to be something covered in the cargo bed, wrapped in canvas, but I couldn't see what it was. The rider was wearing a hat and had his head down, so I couldn't see his face." The garbage truck driver added, "That figure lingered at the landfill entrance for about ten minutes, and then went into the alley next to it, which leads to the back gate of the landfill. It was too dark at the time, so I could only see that it was a man, about 175 centimeters tall, of medium build."
However, this information was too vague to pinpoint specific individuals. Xiao Wang's team then checked nearby scrap yards, hardware stores, and convenience stores, asking if anyone had recently purchased folding knives, canvas, or similar items, but found nothing. In addition, the team checked the scrap yard that Zhang Baode mentioned frequently visiting to collect old parts. The scrap yard owner stated that Zhang Baode did come often, but he hadn't seen him three days prior, nor had he seen any other suspicious individuals.
By the seventh day of their investigation, Xiao Wang's team had once again reached a stalemate. They had visited over 500 households and more than 700 people, investigated 62 missing or suspicious individuals, and collected 15 DNA samples, all without identifying the deceased. The only clues they gathered were vague descriptions of a tricycle and figures, failing to pinpoint any specific suspects. During this time, the team overcame numerous difficulties, including inclement weather, complex road conditions, and language barriers, with some elderly members only speaking their local dialect. Some team members even developed gastroenteritis due to continuous sleepless nights and poor meals, yet they persisted in their posts. But reality was harsh; despite their tremendous efforts, the investigation made no substantial progress.
On the seventh evening, Xiao Wang led his team back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment to report the results of their investigation to Li Ming. "Team Leader Li, the investigation of the six surrounding villages is complete. We identified 62 suspicious individuals, all of whom have been ruled out. Zhang Baode, whom we focused on, has physical characteristics and activity patterns similar to the deceased, but DNA testing shows he is not the deceased, and the lead has gone cold." Xiao Wang's voice was weary. "The only valuable lead we collected was vague information provided by a scavenger and a garbage truck driver, which we cannot verify further at this time."
After listening to the report, Li Ming remained silent for a moment. Looking at his tired team members, he said, "You've all worked hard. The investigation is a tedious and arduous task. No results don't mean our work is meaningless. At least we've eliminated a lot of false leads and narrowed down the scope of our investigation."