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

Chapter 876 Qin Baoguo's Alibi

After listening, Qin Chuan pondered for a moment and then said, "Although we haven't found any key clues yet, we can't be discouraged. We should continue to intensify our investigation into Zhao Hu, while also keeping a close watch on Qin Baoguo. He might still be hiding something. We also can't relax our efforts in monitoring and investigating the national highway; we'll eventually find some clues."

Li Ming nodded firmly: "Director Qin, we will definitely continue our efforts to solve the case as soon as possible."

Li Ming came out of Qin Chuan's office with his brows furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川" (Chuan).

Although the investigation has yielded some clues, none of them point in the right direction, and Wang Liqiang's death remains a mystery.

Back in his office, Li Ming immediately gathered his team members and assigned them the task of launching a new round of investigations into Qin Baoguo. "Xiao Liu, go to the bank and retrieve Qin Baoguo's detailed transfer records, focusing on finding out the source of this 5 yuan. Xiao Wang, you're responsible for investigating the specifics of Qin Baoguo's car sale, including buyer information, transaction time, and location. The rest of you, come with me to visit Qin Baoguo's friends who play mahjong and verify their alibis."

After receiving their orders, Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang acted swiftly. Xiao Liu arrived at the bank, showed his identification to the staff, and explained his purpose. "Please provide all of Qin Baoguo's transaction records for the past month, especially the 5 yuan transfer from five days ago. We need to know the detailed information of the sender and receiver." The staff nodded, skillfully operated the computer, and printed out the relevant records. Xiao Liu carefully reviewed them and found that the sender was an anonymous account, making it impossible to directly verify the identity. "That's strange, an anonymous transfer. It seems the other party is intentionally concealing their identity," Xiao Liu muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wang was also diligently investigating Qin Baoguo's car sale. He contacted the person in charge of the used car market and learned that Qin Baoguo's car had been sold through a brokerage company. "Can you provide the buyer's contact information and the transaction contract?" Xiao Wang asked. The person in charge nodded and quickly found the relevant documents. Xiao Wang discovered that the buyer was from out of town, and the purpose of purchasing the vehicle was vague. "There seems to be something hidden behind this," Xiao Wang frowned, and noted down the information.

Li Ming led his officers to the house of Qin Baoguo's friend. A middle-aged man named Zhang Feng opened the door. After Li Ming showed his identification, Zhang Feng ushered them inside. "Zhang Feng, we're investigating Wang Liqiang's case. We heard that Qin Baoguo was playing mahjong at your house on the night of the incident, is that true?" Li Ming asked. Zhang Feng nodded: "That's right. The three of us played from 7 pm to 2 am that night, and Qin Baoguo was there the whole time, he didn't leave." Li Ming continued to press: "Did he answer a phone call, or leave even for a moment? Even just a few minutes?" Zhang Feng recalled for a moment and said: "He answered a phone call in the middle, but he answered it in the living room, he didn't go out. After the call, we continued playing mahjong."

At this point, another friend who was playing mahjong, Li Hua, added, "Officer, we can testify that Qin Baoguo didn't leave that night. When we're playing mahjong, everyone notices if anyone leaves for even a moment." Li Ming nodded, but still had doubts. "Can you describe Qin Baoguo's condition while you were playing mahjong? Was there anything unusual?" Li Ming asked. Zhang Feng thought for a moment and said, "He seemed fine, just like usual, chatting and laughing. However, he seemed quite short of money; he even mentioned wanting to sell his car to pay off gambling debts."

After Li Ming and his team left, they visited Zhao Gang, a third friend they had played mahjong with, and Zhao Gang's testimony matched that of Zhang Feng and Li Hua. Although Qin Baoguo's alibi seemed impeccable, Li Ming still felt something was amiss. Back at the police station, Li Ming discussed the case with his team. "Although Qin Baoguo has an alibi for the night of the incident, the origin of his 5 yuan is unclear, and his act of selling the car is also suspicious. Furthermore, he said the jade bracelet was obtained by Wang Liqiang from Zhao Hu; there must be more to this story," Li Ming said.

Xiao Liu continued, "When I investigated the transfer records, I found that the transferor was an anonymous account, which is very likely that someone is deliberately covering up clues. Could it be related to Wang Liqiang's death?" Xiao Wang also spoke up, "When I investigated the car sale, I found that the buyer was from out of town and his behavior was also very strange. He seemed unwilling to reveal too much information."

Just as everyone was discussing, Li Ming received news that Qin Baoguo had voluntarily come to the police station. Li Ming and his team immediately questioned him. "Qin Baoguo, during our investigation, we discovered that you received a transfer of 5 yuan five days ago from an unknown source. Moreover, you sold your car, but the proceeds were not used to pay off your gambling debts. What's going on?" Li Ming stared into Qin Baoguo's eyes and asked seriously.

Qin Baoguo's expression changed slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Officer, this 5 yuan was borrowed from a friend. He didn't want anyone to know, so he used an anonymous account. I used part of the money from selling my car to pay off gambling debts, and the rest for emergencies." Li Ming sneered, "A friend borrows money from you using an anonymous account? Do you think we'd believe that? Also, you said the jade bracelet was obtained by Wang Liqiang from Zhao Hu. How did you know that?"

Qin Baoguo nervously rubbed his hands and said, "Wang Liqiang told me himself. He said Zhao Hu owed him money and offered a jade bracelet as payment. I don't know the specifics, but he asked me to find connections to sell the bracelet." Li Ming continued to press, "Where is Zhao Hu now? Do you have his contact information?" Qin Baoguo shook his head, "I don't have his contact information. Wang Liqiang only said that Zhao Hu often goes to casinos, but I really don't know the specifics."

Li Ming felt that Qin Baoguo's story was full of loopholes, but he couldn't find conclusive evidence at the moment. After the questioning, Li Ming and his team analyzed the case again. "Qin Baoguo's words are not very credible, but his alibi is hard to refute. We need to start from other aspects and find a breakthrough," Li Ming said.

Currently, in the investigation of the murder case in Gejiagou Village, all the clues, like converging undercurrents, point to Zhao Hu. However, the police's previous pursuit of Zhao Hu has been like searching for a needle in a haystack, failing to make any substantial progress. Just when the investigation reached a stalemate, Qin Baoguo provided a crucial clue—he knew a man named Tang San, who was Zhao Hu's sworn brother. Li Ming keenly realized that Tang San was very likely to be the breakthrough in finding Zhao Hu.

Li Ming quickly organized police forces to investigate Tang San's whereabouts. After several days of investigation, they finally located Tang San's location—a car repair shop on the outskirts of the city. The repair shop was small, surrounded by piles of old cars and parts, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gasoline.