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

Chapter 1308 Suspect Li Dahai

"Captain Li, the deceased's identity has been confirmed. His name is Chen Wannian, a bus driver. Before he went missing, he went to ask Li Dahai, who was riding an electric tricycle, for money. Li Dahai is a prime suspect!" Xiao Zhou said excitedly.

Zhang Lin added, "The autopsy results showed that the deceased died of mechanical asphyxiation, about 8 days after the death, which coincides perfectly with the time of Chen Wannian's disappearance. Moreover, the fibers of the deceased's clothing are consistent with the fibers extracted from the scene, further confirming his identity."

Looking at the good news the two men brought, Li Ming's face broke into a long-lost smile: "Great! We've finally identified the deceased and found clues about the suspect! Xiao Zhou, you immediately lead a team to find Li Dahai's whereabouts, focusing on his fruit stall and residence; Zhang Lin, you prepare the autopsy report and cooperate with the technical department to complete the chain of evidence. Let's catch Li Dahai as soon as possible and give Chen Wannian's family an explanation!"

Sunlight streamed through the office windows, dispelling the fatigue of the night. Xiao Zhou looked at the investigation records in his hand. Although his hard work that night had almost been in vain, he had finally found a crucial clue. He knew the task ahead would be even more challenging, but as long as he could catch the murderer, all the effort would be worthwhile.

Soon, Xiao Zhou and his team set off for Li Dahai's fruit stand. On the way, he received a message from one of his team members: Li Dahai, male, 50 years old, has a fruit stand in the Chengdong vegetable market. He usually delivers goods by electric tricycle, but he hasn't set up his stand for the past few days, and his whereabouts are unknown.

"It seems Li Dahai really has a problem!" Xiao Zhou gripped the steering wheel and sped up. He firmly believed that with the confirmation of the deceased's identity and the emergence of clues about the suspect, the truth behind the Dongshan Park corpse case would soon be revealed, and justice would ultimately prevail.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Xiao Zhou and his team drove to the Chengdong vegetable market. According to their preliminary investigation, Li Dahai's fruit stall was located at the west entrance of the market and usually opened at 6 a.m., but it had been empty for the past few days, covered with a thin layer of dust, clearly indicating that it hadn't been in business for a long time. When the surrounding stall owners saw Xiao Zhou and his team in police uniforms, they gathered around and started talking amongst themselves.

"Officer, are you here to see Li Dahai? He hasn't been to his stall for several days. I heard he owes a lot of money. Has he run away?" Sister Wang, who sells vegetables nearby, chimed in, her eyes full of curiosity. Xiao Zhou nodded and asked, "When was the last time you saw Li Dahai? Was there anything unusual about him when he was at his stall, like he was depressed or getting into arguments?"

Sister Wang recalled: "The last time I saw him was last Saturday. He closed his stall very early that day, leaving around 3 pm. He didn't look well when he left and told me he was going back to his hometown for a few days. As for the argument, he had a fight with a supplier a few days ago, it seemed to be about the payment, but they didn't fight."

Xiao Zhou inquired with several nearby vendors, and the information they received was largely consistent—Li Dahai hadn't reappeared after closing his stall last Saturday, saying he was going back to his hometown before leaving, and that he had indeed recently had disputes with several people due to financial problems. "It seems Li Dahai is deliberately hiding, but this doesn't directly prove he's the murderer; we need to find him in person to verify," Xiao Zhou told his team. He then contacted the household registration department to retrieve Li Dahai's hometown address and family information.

At 2 PM, Xiao Zhou and his team drove to Li Dahai's hometown—Lijiazhuang, 80 kilometers from the city—based on the household registration information. The village was small, with a cement road running through it. Led by the village officials, Xiao Zhou and his team quickly found Li Dahai's house. The gate was ajar; clothes were drying in the yard, and the sound of a television could be heard from inside.

"Who is it?" A middle-aged man's voice came from inside the house, and then Li Dahai came out. He was wearing a gray coat, his hair was messy, and when he saw the policeman at the door, a hint of panic flashed across his face, but he quickly forced himself to calm down: "Officer, is there something you need?"

Xiao Zhou showed his identification and said in a serious tone, "Li Dahai, we are from the Criminal Investigation Division. We want to know about your whereabouts around last Sunday and your relationship with Chen Wannian."

Upon hearing the name "Chen Wannian," Li Dahai visibly trembled, his eyes darting away: "Chen Wannian? I... I know him, we're friends, what's wrong?"

"He's missing. We suspect you're involved in his disappearance. We hope you'll cooperate with the investigation and truthfully tell us where you were and what you did last Sunday." Xiao Zhou stared into Li Dahai's eyes, not missing a single change in his expression.

Fine beads of sweat began to appear on Li Dahai's forehead. He rubbed his hands together, his voice trembling slightly: "Last Sunday... I went back to my hometown last Saturday night and spent the whole Sunday in the village helping my mother with farm work. Many people in the village can testify that I have never been to the city, let alone seen Chen Wannian."

"When did you go back to your hometown? How did you get back? Is there anyone who can vouch for you?" Xiao Zhou pressed, while teammate Xiao Li took notes.

“Last Saturday afternoon around 3 pm, after I finished selling at the vegetable market, I rode my electric tricycle to the long-distance bus station, parked it in the parking lot near the station, and then took the 4:30 pm bus back to my hometown. On Sunday morning around 6 am, I started helping my mother plant corn in the field. I bought some things at the village store at noon, and had dinner with my neighbors in the evening. They can all testify to this.” Although Li Dahai’s tone was nervous, his answer was clear and organized, as if he had been prepared in advance.

To verify Li Dahai's account, Xiao Zhou left one team member to watch over Li Dahai while he and the other team members visited neighbors and the shop owner in the village. Grandpa Wang from the Linju Bureau confirmed that he did see Li Dahai working in the fields last Sunday morning and even greeted him at noon. The shop owner also recalled that Li Dahai came to buy soy sauce and salt on Sunday noon and they chatted briefly. Surveillance footage from the long-distance bus station showed that at 4:10 PM last Saturday, Li Dahai parked his electric tricycle in the parking lot, then entered the station and boarded a bus to leave the city at 4:30 PM.

"It seems Li Dahai was indeed at his hometown last Sunday and didn't have time to commit the crime," said team member Xiao Li, somewhat dejected. "Does that mean our previous leads have gone cold?"

Xiao Zhou was also somewhat surprised, but still calmly analyzed: "Although Li Dahai has debt disputes and is suspected of evading capture, all the evidence proves that he was not in the city last Sunday and had no time to commit the crime, so we can temporarily rule out his suspicion. However, he mentioned that he parked his electric tricycle in the long-distance bus station parking lot. We need to verify this to see if his vehicle has been borrowed by anyone or if anyone else has touched his vehicle."

On Sunday morning, Xiao Zhou led his team to the long-distance bus station parking lot to retrieve the surveillance footage from Saturday to Sunday.