lcionline Chapter 1518 Narrowing Down the Suspects
Chapter 1518 Narrowing Down the Suspects
"But I remember that he had a fellow villager who also worked on this construction site, I think he was a bricklayer, named Li Dequan. The two of them were often together, sometimes they would go to the convenience store to buy things, or eat together. But recently, I think I saw the two of them arguing a lot, sometimes quite fiercely. I don't know the specific reason for the argument. Three days ago, when I saw Zhang Baoqing come back, it seemed like he had just exchanged a few words with Li Dequan downstairs, and then Li Dequan stormed off, and Zhang Baoqing went upstairs looking pale."
"Li Dequan? Fellow villager? They often argue?" Xiao Wang's eyes narrowed, and she immediately became wary. This Li Dequan was very likely the key figure in this case, or even the suspect. She quickly pressed on, "Aunt Wang, think about it carefully again. What does Li Dequan look like? How old is he? What clothes is he wearing? Does he speak with a Henan accent? When was the last time he and Zhang Baoqing argued? Was it a very heated argument?"
“Li Dequan is about 40 years old this year, a little shorter than Zhang Baoqing, about 170 centimeters tall, a bit overweight, with a faint scar on his face below his right eye. He speaks with a Zhoukou, Henan accent, just like Zhang Baoqing,” Aunt Wang recalled carefully. “Their last argument was three days ago in the afternoon, around 4:30, downstairs in this building. They were arguing fiercely. I was downstairs buying groceries at the time and heard them arguing loudly, it seemed to be about money. I didn’t hear clearly what kind of money it was, but I heard Li Dequan scold Zhang Baoqing for being disloyal and cheating him out of his money, and said he wouldn’t let Zhang Baoqing get away with it. Then he stormed off towards the construction site, and not long after, Zhang Baoqing came back, looking very upset.”
"Also, I remember Li Dequan always carries a fruit knife with him, saying he uses it to peel fruit. But I think that fruit knife is a bit long and looks very sharp, it doesn't seem like it's just for peeling fruit," Aunt Wang added, her tone tinged with worry.
"Carrying a long fruit knife? Arguing over money? And threatening Zhang Baoqing?" Xiao Wang's suspicions deepened. Combining the clues provided by Grandpa Liu and Grandma Wang, three days ago in the afternoon, Zhang Baoqing and Li Dequan had a heated argument downstairs over money, during which Li Dequan threatened Zhang Baoqing. Afterwards, Zhang Baoqing went to the convenience store, bought water and cigarettes, and walked towards the ditch, while Li Dequan stormed off. Zhang Baoqing never reappeared afterward, and the deceased was indeed Zhang Baoqing, the fatal wound a stab wound from a single-edged sharp weapon. All of this pointed to Li Dequan—he had a motive, harboring resentment because he had been cheated out of money by Zhang Baoqing; he had a weapon, a long fruit knife he carried, a single-edged sharp weapon; he had the time of the crime, which closely matched the time of the victim's death. Moreover, he and the victim were from the same hometown and he knew the victim's whereabouts.
"Aunt Wang, thank you so much! The clues you provided are crucial to us and have been a huge help," Xiao Wang said quickly. He then instructed his team to meticulously record every detail Aunt Wang described, including Li Dequan's physical characteristics, the fruit knife he carried, and the reason and process of his argument with Zhang Baoqing. "Aunt Wang, if you remember anything else or see Li Dequan again, please call us immediately. Please don't disturb him and be careful."
"Okay, okay, no problem, officer, I definitely will." Aunt Wang nodded hurriedly, a hint of nervousness on her face. "Officer, you must catch the murderer as soon as possible. It's too terrible. He actually killed someone near our community."
"Don't worry, Aunt Wang, we will catch the murderer as soon as possible and restore a safe environment for everyone," Xiao Wang said solemnly. Then, he and his team members got up and left Aunt Wang's house, walking quickly downstairs.
After leaving the residential building, Xiao Wang immediately contacted the team members responsible for visiting the construction site to inquire about their findings. He also instructed them to focus their investigation on Li Dequan at the Xingfu construction site, confirming Li Dequan's identity, address, and whereabouts over the past three days, especially his whereabouts after the argument three days prior. He repeatedly told the team members not to disturb Li Dequan and to closely monitor his movements.
Afterwards, Xiao Wang called Li Ming again, reporting the latest findings of his investigation with urgency and excitement: "Team Leader Li, good news! We have confirmed the identity of the deceased. The deceased's name is Zhang Baoqing, male, 41 years old, from Zhoukou, Henan. He worked as a cook at the Xingfu construction site and lived on the third floor of the third building in the old residential area on the west side of the small road north of the ditch."
"In addition, we have discovered a major suspect named Li Dequan, a man around 40 years old, from Zhoukou, Henan Province. He is from the same hometown as Zhang Baoqing and also works as a bricklayer at the Xingfu construction site. The two are often together, but recently they have been arguing fiercely over money. Three days ago, in the afternoon, the two were arguing fiercely downstairs in Zhang Baoqing's apartment building. Li Dequan threatened Zhang Baoqing that he would not let him off the hook. Afterwards, Zhang Baoqing went to a convenience store, bought water and cigarettes, and walked towards the ditch. He has not been seen since."
"Furthermore, Li Dequan usually carries a long fruit knife with him, which is a single-edged sharp weapon and matches the characteristics of the victim's fatal wound. Moreover, he had a motive for the crime, harboring resentment because he was cheated out of money by Zhang Baoqing; he had the tool for the crime and the opportunity to commit it, making him a very strong suspect. Currently, we have arranged for team members to go to the Xingfu construction site to investigate Li Dequan's identity information, accommodation location, and whereabouts, closely monitoring his movements without alerting him."
Upon hearing this, Li Ming's heavy heart finally dissipated, and a look of relief appeared on his face. His tone also became firm: "Good, good, Xiao Wang, you did a great job! This Li Dequan is indeed a very strong suspect, and now the case has finally made a major breakthrough."
"Listen carefully, take the following measures immediately: First, continue to have team members closely monitor Li Dequan's movements, find out his accommodation and activity patterns, and ensure that he does not escape or destroy his tools of the crime. Do not alert him. Once you discover any signs of him escaping, arrest him immediately."
"Second, verify Li Dequan's detailed identity information as soon as possible, retrieve his household registration information and criminal record, investigate his social relationships, confirm the specific conflict between him and Zhang Baoqing, whether he was deceived by Zhang Baoqing over money, and further solidify his motive for committing the crime."
"Third, arrange for team members to go to the Xingfu construction site, visit the workers and the person in charge, and ask them if they have seen Li Dequan and Zhang Baoqing arguing in the past three days, if they have seen Li Dequan carrying a fruit knife, and if they have noticed any unusual behavior from Li Dequan after the argument three days ago. Collect more clues about Li Dequan and solidify his suspicion of committing the crime."