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

Chapter 1092 Detailed On-Site Investigation Discoveries

The exploration in the middle of the pond yielded a new discovery. Xiao Yang's probe touched a hard object underwater, "It looks like a wooden plank." He signaled to Yang Cun for help, and the two of them worked together to drag the 1.2-meter-long pine plank ashore. There was a 3x4-centimeter dent on the plank, and dark blue fabric fibers were stuck to the edges. "There are drilled holes at both ends of the plank, spaced 30 centimeters apart, which looks like they were used to fix heavy objects."

Li Ming stared at the dent on the wooden board: "Measure the depth and angle, and compare it with the back of the body to see if there are any corresponding injuries." He turned to Xiao Wang, "Investigate Zhang the carpenter's social connections, especially whether he has any conflicts with Erzhuzi. Also, notify the hydrological team to measure the depth and direction of the pond's current to see which direction the body might have drifted from."

Yang Cun, three meters underwater from the body, detected an unusual signal using a metal detector. "60 centimeters deep," he said, parting the silt to reveal half a rusty iron hook, a fragment of a gray sweater hanging from its tip. "The texture is coarse wool, not the same material as the blue cloth jacket on the body." The hook was bent at a 120-degree angle, with obvious wear marks on the inside, as if it had been dragging heavy objects for a long time.

Xiao Wang's notebook was already half full, while Old Li continued rambling, "I contracted this pond. Last year, during dredging, they dug up copper coins from the Republic of China era. At the time, some people said there was something buried underneath." He suddenly lowered his voice, "A while ago, Widow Zhao from the east end of the village cried and said that her husband had gone out to work and hadn't been heard from for three months. He was wearing a blue cloth jacket..."

As the mist on the water gradually dissipated, Xiao Yang was directing his team to use buoys to demarcate the salvage area. "Don't move the body yet," he told Li Ming. "Wait until the divers have examined the underwater environment. The fibers on the plank and the sweater fragments on the hook need to be taken back to the lab for compositional comparison." In his investigation kit, three evidence bags were already neatly arranged: one containing blue cloth, one nylon rope knot, and one rusty iron hook.

Li Ming gazed at the cornfield across the pond, the sound of the morning breeze rustling through the leaves mingling with the distant barking of police dogs. "Xiao Wang, go verify the identity of Widow Zhao's husband," he said, gesturing with his finger along the dent in the wooden plank. "Focus on his height and weight, and whether he was wearing a blue cloth jacket. Xiao Yang, send photos of the wooden plank and the iron hook to the technical department to see if we can reconstruct the trajectory of the force."

As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the water's surface, Yang Cun suddenly stepped on something hard in the mud. He carefully dug away the mud, revealing the toe of a black rubber shoe. The size 42 sole was embedded with reddish-brown clay—a perfect match to the marks on the pond embankment. "There's a piece of worn rubber on the heel," he measured with a ruler, "and it's the same width as the drag marks; it must have been left by the perpetrator."

When Xiao Wang closed the notebook, Lao Li's liquor was already empty. "Zhao Widow's husband was called Sun Lao Si, a bricklayer," he circled the name on the villagers' list, "He broke his leg last year while building a house at Zhang the carpenter's house, and he walks with a limp—which matches the gait characteristics shown by the indentations on the pond embankment." In the distance, the splashing sound of divers entering the water could be heard. Xiao Wang knew that as the body was retrieved, more secrets would surface, but at this moment, the clues scattered around the pond were already beginning to take shape in the morning mist.

Li Ming's leather shoes sank into the mud by the pond, leaving a half-palm-deep footprint. He wiped the rain from his face and pointed to the dense reeds on the bank: "Xiao Yang, take the technical team and set up a warning line along the edge of the pond for fifty meters, focusing on checking the reed beds and the embankment slope. Xiao Sun, come with me to the central scene, and be careful to protect any possible footprints and drag marks." Rain slanted across the water, the ripples gradually engulfing the edge of the floating body.

Xiao Yang squatted by the reeds, a multi-band light source in his hand emitting a bluish-purple glow. "Senzi, come and take a look at this," he said, picking up a clump of grayish-black fiber with tiny mud particles attached to its surface with tweezers. "It's about 8 centimeters long, with a single fiber diameter of 15 micrometers, and it shows a clear fluorescent reaction at a wavelength of 450 nanometers, like some kind of synthetic fiber." He put the fiber into an evidence bag, labeling it "Sample A-01, 3.2 meters east of the location where the body was found, attached to a reed stem."

Xiao Sun was using a laser rangefinder to measure the position of the body: "The body is in a prone position, with the head 1.7 meters from the north bank embankment and the feet facing southeast. Above the water, it is visible that the body is wearing a dark coat with tear marks on the hem." He squatted down and drew shallow grooves in the silt with his fingers. "There are two suspicious pressure marks on the bank, which are oval in shape, with a major axis of 28 centimeters and a minor axis of 15 centimeters. There are fallen plants at the edges, as if the body had been crushed by a heavy object."

"Are there any footprints around the indentation?" Xiao Yang adjusted the angle of the light source, and the beam swept across the wet mud, revealing several messy shoe prints. "These are size 43 sneaker prints. The forefoot pattern is wavy, and there is obvious wear on the heel. They should have been left by the person who reported the incident—he said he tripped and fell while running over." He carefully poured a mixture of plaster powder and water onto a relatively clear shoe print. "But next to this shoe print, there is a half-blurred outline, like the edge of some kind of rubber boot."

Xiao Wang helped the complainant, Lao Zhang, into a tent outside the police cordon. Steam rose from the hot water in the enamel mug. "I cast my net around 5 a.m.," Lao Zhang said, his hands still trembling, the holes in the net dangling from his knees. "When I pulled in the third net, it felt incredibly heavy. When I pulled it up… I saw a black head floating on the surface. I was so scared I threw the net away." He pointed to the willow trees on the east side of the pond. "Last Wednesday night, I heard a noise over there, a 'splash,' and I thought a stray dog ​​had fallen into the water."

"What time exactly on Wednesday night?" Xiao Wang had already drawn a simple map of the pond in his notebook, marking three fishing net placement points. "Around 11 PM," Old Zhang recalled, clicking his tongue. "When I got up in the middle of the night, I saw a flashlight beam under the willow tree; it shone a few times and then went out. I've contracted this pond; usually, no one comes except for fishermen. Recently, the heavy rains have caused the water to rise, and even fewer people are fishing." He suddenly lowered his voice, "A while ago, Li Laosi from the west end of the village got into a fight around here, saying he wanted to 'drown' the other person in the pond. I wonder if it's related to this."

Xiao Yang's voice came from the reeds: "Drag marks found!" Xiao Sun rushed over immediately and saw two parallel shallow grooves in the silt, about 10 centimeters wide and 45 centimeters apart, extending to the water's edge and ending abruptly. "There are traces of plant debris being cut in the grooves, the cuts are fresh," Xiao Yang said, picking up a broken reed leaf with tweezers. "The direction of the fiber tear is consistent with the direction of dragging, so it should have formed within the last three days." He had the technicians take samples from the bottom of the grooves, and the fine fibers mixed in the silt were similar in composition to the grayish-black fibers previously found.