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

Chapter 955: Clues Gone, Case Analysis

"So, the position of deputy factory director was already decided beforehand?" Xiao Zhou couldn't help but ask, his tone full of resentment.

Liu Jianguo gave a wry smile: "The competition in the factory is just a facade. In the past few years, Chen Yanhua has helped me with a lot of tricks in raw material procurement. I promised her the position of deputy factory director and also let her get a share of the project. We are in the same boat."

Xiao Wang frowned and pressed, "Does Li Dejun know about your affairs?"

Liu Jianguo's face turned deathly pale instantly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead: "Last month, he suddenly became unusually attentive to the purchasing accounts and even spoke with suppliers privately. I warned Chen Yanhua to keep Li Dejun in check, but..." His voice trailed off, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.

To verify their claims, Li Ming immediately assembled three investigation teams. The first team, led by Yang Sen, was responsible for retrieving Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua's communication records, bank statements, and hotel check-in information from the past six months. The second team, led by Xiao Zhou and Xiao Wang, went deep into the cement plant to conduct secret interviews with employees. The third team was responsible for verifying the procurement projects mentioned by Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua, checking the information with each supplier.

On Yang Sen's computer screen, densely packed data scrolled continuously. His team, using technical means, recovered deleted communication records from Chen Yanhua's phone, discovering that she and Liu Jianguo had regular weekly calls, ranging from ten minutes to half an hour. More importantly, on the 5th of each month, large sums of money transferred between multiple accounts, these accounts being nested within a chain, ultimately all pointing to Liu Jianguo's cronies. However, a careful examination of the records before and after the incident revealed no unusual fluctuations.

“These fund flows are too complicated, as if they were handled by professionals.” Yang Sen analyzed while marking key data. “But at least for now, there were no sudden fund movements before and after Li Dejun’s death.”

Xiao Zhou and Xiao Wang's investigation at the cement factory wasn't without its challenges. Initially, the employees either avoided them or remained silent. It wasn't until they found an elderly accountant nearing retirement that they finally made their way to the factory. The accountant led them to a grove of trees behind the factory, cautiously surveyed their surroundings, and then lowered his voice to say, "The relationship between Director Chen and Factory Manager Liu is an open secret in the factory. In the past two years, the factory's procurement costs have inexplicably increased, and everyone knows why. But Director Li is a stickler for logic; if he really finds out something, he'll definitely expose it."

"Did Li Dejun discuss his discovery with you?" Xiao Wang quickly asked.

The old accountant shook his head: "He only told us to wait for his news, saying he would definitely give everyone an explanation. I never expected..." The old man's voice choked up, "He was a good leader, he shouldn't have ended up like this."

The third investigation also yielded findings. They visited more than a dozen suppliers, three of whom admitted to providing Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua with false quotations, with prices 30% to 50% higher than the market price. However, these suppliers all stated that they were forced into this situation; if they did not cooperate, they would lose the cement plant as a major client.

“The chain of interests between Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua is already very clear,” Li Ming summarized at the case analysis meeting. “But at present, there is no evidence to suggest that they are related to Li Dejun’s death. Their alibis for the time of the incident are rock solid, and there are no abnormalities in communication records and financial transactions.” He looked at the clues on the whiteboard that had become messy again. “Continue to dig deeper, focusing on investigating Li Dejun’s last movements before his death, as well as any key evidence he might have come into contact with.”

Two days later, the investigation into this lead was basically completed.

Li Ming convened an analysis meeting in Anqing.

On the projection screen in the conference room, the interwoven charts of fund flows and the network of relationships resembled a complex spiderweb, while the light from the incandescent bulbs shone on the tense faces of everyone present. Li Ming stood in front of the whiteboard, his marker heavily circling the names of Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua, yet drawing a faint wavy line between them.

“The power-for-sex transactions and transfer of benefits between Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua have been basically investigated, but the existing evidence shows that they did not have the time to commit the crime.” Li Ming’s voice echoed in the silent conference room. “More importantly, although Li Dejun noticed the accounting problems and raised objections, he always remained at the stage of verbal warnings and private investigations, and did not submit any substantive evidence to the group’s audit department.”

Xiao Zhou opened the thick investigation record book, his brow furrowed: "According to the feedback from the cement plant employees we interviewed, Li Dejun had vaguely mentioned the abnormal procurement costs at the workshop meeting, but afterwards he only met with a few suppliers individually, and there were no detailed records in his work notes. His 'all bark and no bite' approach seems more like he was testing the reactions of all parties."

"The result of the test has probably made some people restless," Xiao Wang added, showing a photo on his phone. "This is the encrypted USB drive we found in Li Dejun's office. The technical department is working on cracking it, but the initial inspection found that it only contains raw material procurement data from the past three months, without any indicative documents."

Yang Sen adjusted his glasses and distributed a stack of analysis reports to everyone: "Tracing the funds of Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua shows that there are at least three hidden accounts involved in the distribution of the spoils. The account holders are all unemployed, clearly scapegoats. Moreover, we found in the cement plant's procurement contracts that, in addition to raw material purchases, there are premiums in multiple projects such as equipment maintenance and engineering outsourcing, and the amount involved may far exceed our current estimate."

Li Ming wrote three more unfamiliar names on the whiteboard: "According to Yang Sen's investigation, these three are the head of the equipment department, the director of the logistics department, and the financial manager, respectively. Although they have no direct communication records with Liu Jianguo and Chen Yanhua, their private accounts have had financial transactions with those hidden accounts over the past two years." He connected these names with Li Dejun's name in red pen, "Li Dejun's investigation may have touched the core of the entire interest group."

Suddenly remembering something, Xiao Zhou quickly flipped through the documents in his hand: "Captain Li, we also discovered a detail during our investigation. A week before Li Dejun was murdered, he submitted a 'Production Efficiency Improvement Plan' to the group headquarters. On the surface, it was about optimizing the production process, but it involved changing suppliers and re-bidding. This might be his real 'trump card.' Once the plan is approved, the entire chain of interests will be cut off."

A brief silence fell over the meeting room, broken only by the hum of the projector.