met free Chapter 985 The clues are lost, a mysterious person appears.
Chapter 985 The clues are lost, a mysterious person appears.
"Really?" Xiao Wang suddenly slammed a stack of evidence on the table. "These are Song Houdong's bank transfer records. Every single transaction matches the time you arranged for him to drive. Also, although the surveillance camera at the back door of the steel mill warehouse was destroyed, we found tire debris from his truck in the corner. How do you explain that?"
Zhou Ming's eyelids twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure: "I admit that we smuggled some steel out to sell. But why would I kill him? Without Song Houdong, where would I find such an obedient driver? Wouldn't that be cutting off my own source of income?" His tone was clear and logical, as if he had been prepared for this all along.
The interrogation reached a stalemate. Li Ming got up to pour Zhou Ming a glass of water and asked seemingly casually, "Where were you between 11:00 and 11:30 on the night of the 15th?"
“I’m taking care of my mother in the hospital, and the hospital’s surveillance footage and the nurses can testify to that.” Zhou Ming took the water glass and drank it all in one gulp.
“But you left for fifteen minutes in between.” Xiao Wang stared intently into the other person’s eyes. “The nurse said you answered a phone call and then rushed out. When you came back, you were covered in sweat and smelled of gasoline.”
Zhou Ming's face turned pale instantly, but he quickly forced a cold smile: "So what? Can't I go out to take care of some personal business?"
"What personal matter requires you to drive out in the middle of the night and make a round trip within fifteen minutes?" Li Ming's voice suddenly became stern. "Your car was near the steel mill during that period, and the mud on the tires perfectly matches the soil around the steel mill!"
Zhou Ming fell silent, his hands gripping the water glass tightly, his knuckles turning white. After a long while, he suddenly slammed the glass down on the table: "Fine, I admit I left the hospital that night, but I didn't kill anyone! I went to see someone..."
"Who?" Xiao Wang pressed.
Zhou Ming gritted his teeth, hesitated for a long time, and finally uttered a few words: "The factory director's wife, Liu Li."
The interrogation room was silent. Li Ming and Xiao Wang exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
“We…we booked a room at the Mingyue Hotel next to the hospital.” Zhou Ming’s voice trailed off. “If word gets out, we’re both finished, so I dare not say anything.”
"Really?" Li Ming stared into his eyes, trying to find a flaw in his subtle expression.
"You can check the hotel's surveillance footage and check-in records!" Zhou Ming suddenly became agitated. "Why would I lie about something like this? That night she suddenly called saying she had an emergency, so I had to sneak out."
Police acted immediately. At the Mingyue Hotel, surveillance footage clearly showed Zhou Ming and a woman walking hand-in-hand into the hotel elevator at 11:15 PM on the 15th. Hotel records also confirmed that the two checked in at 11:20 PM and checked out at 1:00 AM. A hotel receptionist recalled that the woman was indeed Liu Li, the wife of the steel mill manager.
Faced with irrefutable evidence, Zhou Ming's defenses completely crumbled. "I know smuggling steel is wrong, but I really didn't kill anyone!" He buried his face in his hands, his voice trembling with sobs. "Liu Li and I have been together for almost a year, always secretly. That night, she suddenly said her husband had discovered something and asked me to come over immediately to discuss our strategy. I was terrified and ran away without even daring to explain much to the hospital."
Li Ming frowned, lost in thought. If Zhou Ming was telling the truth, then the murderer was someone else. But Song Houdong's death was clearly inextricably linked to the steel smuggling profit chain. "Besides you and Song Houdong, who else was involved in the smuggling?"
Zhou Ming raised his head, his eyes filled with fear: "I don't know... Every time, it's a middleman who contacts me, and I've never even seen who the other person is. I'm only responsible for arranging for Song Houdong to drive, and I don't care about anything else."
The interrogation lasted all night. Although Zhou Ming was cleared of suspicion of murder, it raised even greater mysteries. Just how complex was the network of corruption within the steel mill? Who was that mysterious middleman? And what fatal secret did Song Houdong possess that led to his own demise?
As the morning light streamed through the small window of the interrogation room, Li Ming watched Zhou Ming being led away, knowing that this battle against the mastermind had only just begun.
While Xiao Wang's work made significant progress but failed to yield major results, Xiao Zhou was also investigating some other situations.
Xiao Zhou's fingers flew across the computer keyboard, constantly refreshing Song Houdong's bank statement on the screen. Dusk deepened outside the window, leaving only the sound of the keyboard and the hum of the air conditioner in the office. Suddenly, his fingers stopped abruptly. A transfer record of 30 yuan on the screen pierced his vision like a thorn—the transfer date was three months ago, the remitter's name clearly displayed "Li Dongfeng," and the words "for household use" in the transfer remarks seemed particularly glaring and ironic to Xiao Zhou.
"Something's not right," Xiao Zhou muttered to himself, immediately grabbing the phone to call Xiao Wang. Half an hour later, in the Criminal Investigation Detachment's conference room, the projector displayed Li Dongfeng's personal information on the whiteboard: 28 years old, unemployed, currently residing in an old residential area on Zhenxing Road in Haizhou District, and the younger brother of Song Houdong's wife, Li Mei. In the photo, Li Dongfeng sported flamboyant blond hair, a half-tattoo faintly visible on his neck, a cynical smile on his lips, and a roguish air about him.
“Song Houdong’s wife, Li Mei, didn’t mention this money when she gave her statement.” Xiao Wang frowned and pointed to the transfer record on the bank statement with a laser pointer. “Moreover, you see, the arrival time of this 30 yuan is exactly close to the date of the steel mill’s first transfer for smuggled steel. This is definitely not a coincidence.”
Li Ming crossed his arms, staring at the increasingly complex network of relationships on the whiteboard, and said in a deep voice, "Immediately launch a full investigation into Li Dongfeng. Xiao Zhou, you lead a team to the bank to retrieve the original voucher for this transfer, and confirm the surveillance video and signature during the transaction; Xiao Wang, lead a team to visit Li Dongfeng's residence, investigate his social relationships, and focus on asking if he has engaged in any unusual behavior recently; Xiao Sun, track his communication records and electronic devices to see if he has any contact with suspicious individuals."
The night was as dark as ink. Xiao Zhou, accompanied by two police officers, arrived at the commercial bank Li Dongfeng frequented. Upon hearing it was a criminal investigation, the bank manager immediately cooperated and opened the archives. Under the dim light of a desk lamp, Xiao Zhou carefully flipped through the thick ledgers, the papers rustling softly. Finally, he found the original receipt for the 30 yuan transfer. His pupils constricted sharply—the signature on the receipt was crooked and illegible, completely different from the handwriting on Li Dongfeng's ID card. Even more strangely, on the back of the customer's copy, someone had lightly written the number "790315" in pencil, the handwriting so faint it would be easily missed.
"Send this receipt to the technical department to extract fingerprints and examine the handwriting." Xiao Zhou put the receipt into the evidence bag and turned to the bank manager, saying, "Please retrieve the surveillance footage from that day; we need to see the entire process of this transaction."