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

Chapter 1412 A Turning Point Appears in the Case: The Victim's Identity

The atmosphere in the Criminal Investigation Division's conference room was heavy. Li Ming, Xiao Wang, Xiao Zhou, Zhang Lin, and other core members sat around the conference table, analyzing the current progress of the case. "The forensic doctor has determined the time and cause of death, and the technical department has conducted a comprehensive examination of the traces and physical evidence at the scene, but without any breakthroughs; Xiao Wang's team reviewed a large amount of surveillance footage and found a suspicious motorcycle, but it was ultimately confirmed to be just a theft, unrelated to the murder; Xiao Zhou's team expanded their investigation scope but also found no clues related to the deceased," Li Ming summarized. "Currently, the biggest difficulty in solving the case is that the deceased's identity is unknown, and there are no direct leads pointing to the suspect."

Zhang Lin added, "We have collected the deceased's teeth and bone samples and sent them to professional institutions for DNA sequencing and identity comparison, hoping to confirm the deceased's identity in this way. However, this method takes time and may not yield results in the short term." Xiao Zhou said, "We will continue to increase our outreach efforts, focusing on investigating the floating population and migrant workers around the West Suburbs Park to find out if there are any missing persons whose characteristics match the deceased."

Xiao Wang said, "We will readjust our surveillance and investigation strategy, expanding the investigation radius to 5 kilometers, focusing on vehicles and people leaving old alleys around 1 a.m., as these alleys have weak surveillance coverage and are likely the main escape route for the suspect. At the same time, we will contact the transportation department to retrieve taxi and ride-hailing order information during the time of the incident to find possible witnesses."

Li Ming nodded: "Okay, let's proceed according to this plan. Everyone must be patient and confident. Although the case is progressing slowly, as long as we focus on the crime scene and rely on physical evidence, we will definitely find a breakthrough. I believe the truth will eventually come to light, and justice will never be absent." After the meeting, each team immediately threw themselves into their new work. The lights in the Criminal Investigation Detachment shone brightly throughout the night, and the team members performed their duties diligently and systematically, awaiting the dawn of a solved case.

Just as Xiao Wang's team was stuck in a stalemate in tracking the motorcycle clues and the forensic examination work had made no breakthrough, a turning point in the case quietly appeared on the investigation line led by Xiao Zhou. Following Li Ming's instructions, Xiao Zhou led the second investigation team to conduct a thorough search of the five surrounding residential communities, centered on the West Suburbs Park, focusing on missing persons within the past week, especially those matching the deceased's characteristics: male, 30-40 years old, approximately 172 cm tall, and of medium build. These five communities were Huifeng Community, Wanghe South Road Community, Xingfu Jiayuan, Changsheng Community, and Binhe Community, all permanent residential communities within 1-3 kilometers of the park, with a mix of transient and permanent residents, making the search quite challenging.

"We divided into five groups, each responsible for one community. We focused on checking the information of permanent residents and renters registered with the community's property management. At the same time, we visited densely populated places such as convenience stores, farmers' markets, and express delivery stations in the community to inquire if there were any missing persons matching the characteristics." Xiao Zhou made it clear at the mobilization meeting before the investigation that "the visits must be meticulous. We must not only register the basic information of the missing persons, but also record key details such as the time of their disappearance, the last place they were seen, and their social relationships. Once a suspicious clue is found, it must be reported immediately." In order to improve the efficiency of the investigation, Xiao Zhou also coordinated with the technical department to compile the physical characteristics and clothing information of the deceased into an investigation manual, which was distributed to each team member to facilitate comparison and verification during the visits.

The investigation officially began the following morning. Xiao Zhou personally led a team to Huifeng Residential Complex, the closest to Xijiao Park, a mere 15-minute walk away. Its back gate leads directly to a path on the north side of the park, resulting in frequent foot traffic and making it a key area for the investigation. Huifeng Residential Complex was built in 2010 and comprises 12 residential buildings with approximately 800 households. The complex boasts comprehensive amenities, including convenience stores, barbershops, and a farmers' market. Xiao Zhou's team first visited the property management office, retrieving the past month's entry and exit records and rental information register, and then meticulously checked each record.

"Manager Li, could you please assist us in checking if any men aged 30-40 have gone missing in our community within the past week, or if any residents have been away from home for extended periods and cannot be contacted?" Xiao Zhou handed the deceased's description information to Li Jianjun, the community's property manager. Li Jianjun carefully examined the information, frowning as he pondered, "Officer Zhang, we have a large number of residents in our community, and I can't remember them all right now. I'll have the clerk retrieve the repair and complaint records for the past week, and also contact the building managers of each building to assist in the investigation; that will speed things up." Subsequently, the property clerk compiled the relevant records, and Xiao Zhou's team communicated with the building managers one by one, initially identifying five missing persons who fit the age range. However, after contacting them by phone and verifying with their families, it was confirmed that these individuals were only temporarily away for work or business trips, and were not missing.

Around 10 a.m., Xiao Zhou led his team to the community's central farmers' market, a major shopping destination for residents with high foot traffic and rapid information flow. The team split into two groups: one questioned vendors, while the other distributed screening manuals to shoppers. "Auntie, could you please take a look? Have you seen this man? A man in his 30s, about 1.7 meters tall, medium build, wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt and dark blue jeans," team member Xiao Wang asked an auntie buying groceries, holding the screening manual. The auntie carefully looked at the information in the manual and shook her head: "I haven't seen him. Our community is so big, there are so many people coming and going every day, I can't remember clearly." Similar responses kept appearing in the early stages of the investigation, slowing down the process.

“Team Leader Zhang, asking everyone one by one is too inefficient, and many residents are wary of strangers and unwilling to talk much,” said team member Xiao Li anxiously. Xiao Zhou thought for a moment and said, “Let’s adjust our strategy. We’ll focus on visiting the regular shops in the community first. These shop owners have been operating in the community for years and are familiar with the residents. Their shops are also places residents frequent, so we might get some results.” Subsequently, Xiao Zhou’s team shifted their focus to the 12 regular shops in the community, including 3 convenience stores, 2 barbershops, 4 snack shops, 2 fruit shops, and 1 hardware store.

They visited several shops near the east and west gates of the residential area, but failed to obtain any valuable clues. At 12:30 pm, Xiao Zhou led his team to the Hongda convenience store next to the central square of the residential area.