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

Chapter 1252 Discovery of a Key Clue

Zhou Ming, who was initially the prime suspect, was ruled out, and the case was back to square one. But he quickly adjusted his mindset and told his team, "Although Zhou Ming is out of the picture, we haven't come away empty-handed. At least we've made it clear that the 'competition among peers' line is not working for now. Next, we need to focus on 'unknown calls' and Zhang Haibin's personal grudges, while also expanding the scope of our search kit. Maybe we'll make some new discoveries."

The team members nodded in agreement. Although the investigation had taken a turn for the worse, they were not discouraged. The police car drove away from the neighboring town, heading towards the Criminal Investigation Division. Xiao Zhou took out his phone and sent a message to Li Ming: "Zhou Ming has been cleared of suspicion. The surveillance malfunction was due to a power outage in the area. The motorcycle, DNA, and call records are all unrelated. The next step is to focus on investigating the 'unknown caller' and Zhang Haibin's personal grudges."

Li Ming quickly replied, "Understood, thank you for your hard work. Hold an emergency meeting when you get back to adjust the direction of the investigation and prevent the case from reaching a stalemate."

As night deepened, the lights from the police car illuminated Xiao Zhou's face. He knew that while eliminating Zhou Ming as a suspect had temporarily put the case at a loss, it had also prevented them from going down the wrong path. Next, they needed to re-examine the clues, starting with the registration history of the "unknown callers" and Zhang Haibin's personal relationships, to find new breakthroughs. As long as they didn't give up, they would eventually find the real culprit hiding deep in the mountains and give Zhang Haibin's family closure.

On the way back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment from the neighboring town, Xiao Zhou's phone kept receiving messages from his teammates—the investigation into the "unknown caller" was still making no progress, and Zhang Haibin's black canvas tool bag had not been found in the surrounding mountains; the case seemed to have reached a stalemate. Just as the car entered the city, team member Xiao Chen suddenly sent a new message: "Team Leader Zhang, when we interviewed Zhang Haibin's colleagues, someone revealed that on the afternoon of August 13th, Zhang Haibin had a physical altercation with Qin Zhangfeng, the deputy manager of the agricultural machinery company, in the office, almost escalating to the point of going to the police station!"

This message instantly enlivened the previously subdued police car. "Contact this colleague immediately and get a detailed understanding of the cause and course of the dispute!" Xiao Zhou replied promptly, a vague feeling that this might be the key to breaking the case. Previous investigations into "competition with peers" and "village disputes" lacked direct connection, while intense conflicts between superiors and subordinates often concealed deeper contradictions and could very well be the motive for the crime.

Back at the branch office, Xiao Zhou immediately met with the colleague who had leaked the information—Li Wei, a technician from the agricultural machinery company. Li Wei sat in the meeting room, looking somewhat hesitant: "Actually, the company doesn't allow this to be spread. Manager Qin said it would have a bad impact and told us not to tell outsiders. But since Zhang Haibin is in trouble, I think I still have to tell you; it might help with the case."

"What exactly happened on August 13th? Why were they arguing?" Xiao Zhou handed over a glass of water, patiently guiding the conversation. Li Wei took a sip of water and slowly said, "That afternoon around 3 PM, Zhang Haibin took a farm machinery repair reimbursement form to Manager Qin for his signature, and somehow they started arguing. We could hear things being smashed outside. Later, we went in to break up the fight and saw that Zhang Haibin had a cut on his lip, and Manager Qin's shirt was torn. The two were still hurling insults at each other. Zhang Haibin said, 'You embezzled the reimbursement money, don't think I don't know,' and Manager Qin said, 'If you keep talking nonsense, I'll fire you.'"

"Embezzled reimbursement funds? What exactly happened?" Xiao Zhou pressed, as this was likely the core reason for the dispute. Li Wei recalled, "Zhang Haibin had told me before that he discovered that Manager Qin had repeatedly falsified agricultural machinery repair records and falsely claimed reimbursements over the past six months, amounting to about 100,000 yuan. He originally wanted to report it to the head office but hesitated for fear of retaliation. That day, it was probably the reimbursement forms that made him finally confront Manager Qin."

"And then? How did they resolve it?" Xiao Zhou continued to ask. Li Wei shook his head: "Later, people from head office came and called them in for a talk. In the end, they said it was a 'work misunderstanding,' and made Manager Qin pay Zhang Haibin's medical expenses. Zhang Haibin didn't mention the report again. But from then on, Manager Qin targeted Zhang Haibin in every way, assigning him the most difficult tasks and deducting his performance bonus. Zhang Haibin told me privately, 'Qin Zhangfeng will definitely not let me off the hook.'"

Having obtained this crucial clue, Xiao Zhou immediately arranged for his team to conduct a comprehensive investigation into Qin Zhangfeng. First, they retrieved Qin Zhangfeng's basic information: Qin Zhangfeng, male, 48 years old, deputy manager of an agricultural machinery company, 174cm tall, medium build, perfectly matching the on-site estimation of the suspect's height as 170-175cm; he owned a black motorcycle, registered as a Honda, with horizontal stripes on the tires, consistent with the tire tracks found at the grassland scene; more importantly, Qin Zhangfeng had served in the military, was skilled in combat, and possessed the ability to commit violent crimes.

Next, we investigated Qin Zhangfeng's whereabouts in the early morning of August 20th. Xiao Zhou found Qin Zhangfeng's wife, who said: "Around 7 pm on the 19th, Qin Zhangfeng said that there was an urgent matter at the company and that he had to go to the agricultural machinery station in the suburbs. He left with his briefcase and did not return until after 4 am. When he came back, he was covered in mud and his clothes were dirty. I asked him what happened, and he said, 'I accidentally fell on the way.' I didn't ask any more questions."

"Did he leave on a motorcycle? Did he take anything else with him?" Xiao Zhou pressed. Qin Zhangfeng's wife recalled, "He did drive a motorcycle and carried a black cloth bag. I don't know what was in it. When he came back, he didn't bring the bag back. I asked him, and he said, 'I left it at the agricultural machinery station. I'll go get it tomorrow.' I haven't heard him mention it since."

This information gave Xiao Zhou a jolt. Qin Zhangfeng's departure at 7 PM on the 19th and return at 4 AM on the 20th closely matched Zhang Haibin's time of death, which was between 2 and 4 AM on the 20th. The mud on his clothes and the missing black cloth bag also corresponded to the clues of "mud traces" and "black canvas fibers" found at the scene. Xiao Zhou immediately arranged for his team to verify Qin Zhangfeng's claim of a "suburban agricultural machinery station." The station staff stated, "Manager Qin didn't come here at all between the evening of the 19th and the early morning of the 20th. We had already closed for the day, and the gate was locked." — Qin Zhangfeng's whereabouts were clearly a lie, further increasing suspicion.

Subsequently, Xiao Zhou led a team to Qin Zhangfeng's office and residence for investigation. In the office drawer, they found a forged agricultural machinery repair reimbursement form with a forged signature of Zhang Haibin and an amount of 5000 yuan. In the corner of the desk, they also found a small amount of black canvas fibers, which matched the fabric fibers found under Zhang Haibin's fingernails.