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

Chapter 1206 Four Intersecting Clues

Xiao Zhou immediately asked Xiao Zhang to retrieve Li Kui's detailed information and his family's contact details. "Li Kui, 40 years old, divorced, has a son studying at a university in another city, and his parents are alive," Xiao Zhang quickly read the information. "He worked at Beishan Auto Repair Shop for 8 years, was very skilled, and usually lived in the shop's dormitory, rarely going home. On August 18th at 3 PM, he sent a WeChat message to a colleague saying 'I'm going out to run some errands, I'll be back later,' and then we couldn't contact him anymore. His phone was always switched off, and nothing was moved from his dormitory. His family was worried something had happened to him, so they called the police."

"Quickly contact Li Kui's family and have them come to the station to identify the body from the photos!" Xiao Zhou made the decision immediately, and Xiao Zhang immediately dialed Li Kui's mother's number. On the other end of the line, the old woman's voice was choked with sobs: "Officer, is there any news about my son? We've been looking for him for a whole day and night, without a trace..." When she heard that they needed to identify the body from the photos, the sobs on the other end of the line intensified instantly: "No...it can't be my son, can it? He was perfectly fine yesterday, how could this be..."

At 5 a.m., Li Kui's parents and younger brother, Li Da, rushed to the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Xiao Zhou carefully handed them photos of the deceased's face and clothing. Li Kui's mother collapsed into a chair after just one glance at the photos, tears streaming down her face: "It's...it's my son! I bought him this last month, a dark blue work jacket. He said it would be more durable for working..." Li Kui's father nodded tremulously, his voice choked with emotion: "That's right, it's Li Kui. His sneakers were bought in town a while ago, white canvas, exactly the same as in the photo. There are even paint marks on the toes from where he accidentally smudged them."

To further confirm the case, Xiao Zhou arranged for technicians to extract DNA samples from Li Kui's family members and compare them with the deceased's DNA. While awaiting the comparison results, the team continued to investigate Li Kui's information and soon discovered four more suspicious clues that were partially related to Li Kui's situation.

First clue: Colleagues at Beishan Auto Repair Shop reported that Li Kui's mood had been unstable for the past two weeks. He often spaced out and mentioned to colleagues that he was "in trouble and might get into trouble," but didn't specify what it was. Second clue: Li Kui's bank statements show a 20,000 yuan transfer on August 17th to an unregistered virtual account. This money was withdrawn on the morning of August 18th. Third clue: Li Kui's phone records show a 10-minute call with an unknown number at 2:30 PM on August 18th, near the Beishan Auto Repair Shop. Fourth clue: Surveillance footage near the Beishan Auto Repair Shop shows that at 3:10 PM on August 18th, Li Kui walked alone out of the repair shop towards the abandoned Beishan brick kiln, and then disappeared from the surveillance footage.

These four clues corroborate Li Kui's disappearance and the circumstances of his death, making him increasingly suspicious. Team member Xiao Wang analyzed: "The anonymous transfer of 2 yuan that Li Kui received is very suspicious. It is very likely that the suspect used money to lure him to the brick kiln; the 'trouble' he mentioned to his colleagues may have been due to discovering the suspect's secret and being threatened; finally, the surveillance footage showed him walking towards the brick kiln, indicating that he did go there voluntarily, and it is very likely that he arranged to meet the suspect there."

Xiao Zhou added, "Li Kui was a car mechanic with calluses on his hands, which matched the characteristics of the deceased's hands. He frequently operated in Beishan and was familiar with the terrain. The suspect chose to meet him at the brick kiln, likely because he took advantage of Li Kui's familiarity with the terrain or thought the brick kiln was remote and unlikely to be discovered."

At 8 a.m., the DNA comparison results came back—the DNA of Li Kui's parents matched the DNA of the deceased with a 99.99% match, confirming that the deceased was indeed Li Kui. This result brought a sigh of relief to everyone in the verification room; the hard work of 14 consecutive hours had finally paid off, and the previous frustration and exhaustion vanished.

"Great! We've finally identified the deceased!" Xiao Li excitedly slammed his hand on the table. "Now that we have Li Kui's identity information, we can investigate his social connections, the source of that 2 yuan transfer, and the unknown number he last spoke to. The subsequent investigation can proceed smoothly!"

Holding Li Kui's file, Xiao Zhou smiled, a smile he hadn't shown in a long time: "Thank you all for your hard work. Now that the deceased's identity is confirmed, we have a clear direction for our investigation. Xiao Wang, you're in charge of retrieving Li Kui's call records and bank statements for the past month, focusing on the virtual account that transferred 2 yuan and the unknown number he last spoke to; Xiao Li, contact all your colleagues at Beishan Auto Repair Shop and get a detailed understanding of Li Kui's recent unusual behavior, especially the 'troublesome matters' he mentioned; Xiao Zhang, come with me to Li Kui's dormitory and the auto repair shop to investigate and look for clues that might be related to the case, such as his work records and information about the customers he's contacted."

The team members immediately sprang into action, and the verification room was once again filled with energy. Watching everyone's busy figures, Xiao Zhou knew that identifying the deceased was only the first step in solving the case; many more clues needed to be uncovered—the source of the 2 yuan transfer, the owner of the unfamiliar number, the relationship between Li Kui and the suspect, whether the carbon steel knives in the brick kiln were related to Li Kui… These mysteries all needed to be solved one by one.

The sunlight outside the window grew increasingly glaring, streaming into the verification room and landing on Li Kui's photograph. In the photo, Li Kui wore a dark blue overall jacket, his smile honest and kind. No one could have imagined that this hardworking auto mechanic would end his life in such a tragic way in his familiar Beishan. "Li Kui, don't worry, we will definitely find your killer and give you and your family justice," Xiao Zhou silently said in his heart.

At 9 a.m., Xiao Zhou compiled the results of confirming the deceased's identity and five suspicious clues into a report and presented it to Li Ming. Li Ming looked at the report and nodded in satisfaction: "Well done, thank you for your hard work! Now that the deceased's identity is confirmed and the direction of the investigation is clear, the next focus should be on Li Kui's 'troublesome affairs,' the 20,000 yuan transfer, the unknown number in the last phone call, and the Beishan Auto Repair Shop. We must find clues about the suspect as soon as possible and break the deadlock in the case."

With the identity of the deceased confirmed, the investigation into the male corpse found in the abandoned brick kiln in Beishan finally saw a glimmer of hope. Although exhausted, Xiao Zhou and his team members were filled with determination – they knew that as long as they followed these clues, they would eventually uncover the truth and bring justice.

The air conditioning in the Criminal Investigation Division's conference room blew cool air evenly to every corner, but it couldn't dispel the heavy atmosphere.