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

Chapter 1274 Locking in the Clues to the Case

Xiao Yang switched to the next photo, which showed fingerprints and fibers in a transparent evidence bag: "The second category is biological traces and remains. The fingerprint of the right index finger extracted from the fire hydrant at the elevator entrance has been processed to obtain a complete pattern and has been entered into the fingerprint database for comparison, but no matching person has been found yet; the three black fibers extracted from the fingerprint were tested and found to be made of cotton blend, which is different from the pure cotton fiber composition of Zhao Baotian's jacket and is closer to the fabric of a sweatshirt or hoodie - which is completely consistent with the characteristics of the 'suspicious person wearing a black hoodie' mentioned by Xiao Zhou, and is speculated to be left behind by the suspect's clothing."

“The third category is the reconstruction of environmental traces and the crime process,” Xiao Yang put away the laser pointer and pointed to the drag marks on the investigation map. “The drag marks next to the body are about 5 meters long and the width is the same as Zhao Baotian’s shoulder width. There are obvious ‘pause and pressure marks’ at the end of the marks, indicating that the suspect had stopped here briefly, possibly due to exhaustion or to observe the surrounding environment; the dark red marks on the steps inside the fire escape door were confirmed by testing to be Zhao Baotian’s bloodstains. The marks are in the form of droplets, pointing from inside the passage to the parking lot. Combined with the contusion on Zhao Baotian’s left ribs, it is speculated that he was attacked in the passage, dragged to the corner of the parking lot after being injured, and finally killed.”

"Can tire tracks narrow down the search area? Besides a hoodie, what other possibilities could the black fibers be?" Li Ming pressed, his finger hovering over the "Volkswagen Lavida" marking on the survey map, his brow furrowed slightly. Xiao Yang nodded: "We've retrieved the vehicle registration records for the Oriental Building for the past month, finding 12 Volkswagen Lavida models. Of these, 3 had no registered owner information and have been handed over to the traffic police for investigation. Although black fibers are a common fabric, combined with characteristics like 'hoodie,' 'dark color,' and 'medium build,' we can rule out workwear and formal attire, focusing on casual outerwear to narrow down the suspect's clothing."

Next, Zhang Lin reported the autopsy findings. The autopsy report on the screen clearly displayed the key data: "The deceased, Zhao Baotian, male, 38 years old, 172 cm tall, weighing 68 kg, was determined to have died between 10 PM the night before the body was discovered and 1 AM the following morning based on three dimensions. The first dimension is rigor mortis and livor mortis. Rigor mortis in the jaw, face, and neck muscles is in the middle stage, the elbow joint is semi-flexed, and there is resistance when pressed, corresponding to 12-18 hours after death; the livor mortis on the waist and back is dark purplish-red, and can be briefly faded by finger pressure, which is in the diffusion stage, consistent with the characteristics of 6-12 hours after death. Combined with the 18°C ​​nighttime temperature in the parking lot, the time of death is revised to 10-14 hours after death."

"The second factor is body temperature and stomach contents. The rectal temperature was 30°C, which is 14°C lower than the ambient temperature. Based on the slowed cooling rate, the time of death was estimated to be 10-13 hours after death. The rice, chicken, and vegetable scraps remaining in the stomach were in a 'semi-empty' state of digestion, which matches Zhao Baotian's wife's statement that 'they ate at home at 7 pm.' Combined with the food digestion rate, the time of death was determined to be 3-4 hours after the meal, that is, between 10 pm and 11 pm, further narrowing down the time range."

"The connection between the fatal injury and the medication is key. Any new findings?" Li Ming's finger hovered over the "Injury Analysis" page of the report. Zhang Lin switched to the injury photos and said in a serious tone, "The fatal injury is mechanical asphyxiation, caused by pressure from a band-like object on the neck—a 0.3 cm wide band-like indentation on the left side of the neck with neat edges and slight bleeding in the local subcutaneous tissue. The fibers extracted from the indentation are consistent with the 'black fine fibers' found by Xiao Yang. It is speculated that the weapon used was the sleeve of the black hooded sweatshirt worn by the suspect, or a separate cotton strip."

He added, "Two other key injuries require close attention: First, the contusions to the 5th and 6th ribs on the left side, corresponding to a hemorrhage in the lower lobe of the lung, indicate that the suspect struck Zhao Baotian's chest with blunt force, such as a fist or elbow, causing him difficulty breathing; second, the abrasions to the finger joints of the right hand, with viable epidermal cells, and dust from parking lot tiles extracted from the abrasion site, proving that Zhao Baotian had offered slight resistance beforehand, using his hands to brace himself against the ground or push the suspect away. The concentration of alprazolam detected in the stomach was 0.1 mg/L, which, although not reaching a toxic dose, was sufficient to slow the reaction speed, which also explains why the signs of resistance were relatively mild—the suspect may have deliberately given Zhao Baotian a sedative when they met, creating conditions for the subsequent attack."

Xiao Wang then reported on the investigation around the building. The investigation area map on the screen marked the eliminated clues with red crosses: "We focused on investigating the 'Science and Technology Innovation Company' on the 15th floor of the Oriental Building and found that the company was a shell company with a fake registered address and the identity information of the contact person 'Chen Feng' was forged. We suspect that it was a misleading clue left by the suspect. We retrieved the building's surveillance footage for the past three days. Apart from a black sedan with obscured license plates that entered at 9:15 and left at 9:50, we did not find any other abnormal vehicles. We visited 20 shops and 15 residents around the building. Only one convenience store owner reported that he saw a person wearing a black hoodie and a mask walking from the direction of the building toward the west of the city around 9:1, but could not describe any more characteristics."

"Any progress on the tracking of the black sedan? Can you refine the physical characteristics of the person in the hoodie?" Li Ming pressed. Xiao Wang shook his head helplessly: "After the sedan left the building, it drove along the main road in the west of the city and disappeared in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras 3 kilometers away, so it is temporarily impossible to track it. The person in the hoodie is about 170 centimeters tall, of medium build, walks steadily, and has no obvious limp. Based on these characteristics alone, the investigation is quite difficult. However, we have already shared the characteristics with the police station in the western part of the city to help expand the scope of the investigation."

Xiao Zhou then reported on the deceased's identity and related clues. A social relationship chart of Zhao Baotian appeared on the screen, with red lines highlighting "conflict targets" and "suspicious contacts": "Through the release of Zhao Baotian's family members, 'Fashion Hair Salon' employees, and the landlord, we have identified three key related individuals. The first is the landlord, Zhang Jianjun, who has a financial dispute with Zhao Baotian. Zhang Jianjun recently had a heated argument with Zhao Baotian over a rent increase, and Zhao Baotian threatened to 'report him to the Housing and Construction Bureau for illegally raising the rent.' Zhang Jianjun is 171 cm tall, of medium build, and owns a black Volkswagen Lavida sedan, but he claims he was 'watching TV at home on the night of the incident and has no alibi,' requiring further verification."

“The second type is Li Wei, a customer with a history of conflicts,” Xiao Zhou paused for a moment, then pulled up the barbershop’s complaint records. “A month ago, Li Wei argued with Zhao Baotian because he was ‘unsatisfied with the haircut’ and threatened to ‘make you pay the price’. Three days before the incident, Li Wei went to the barbershop and had another argument with Zhao Baotian. Li Wei is 170 cm tall, thin, has no fixed occupation, and recently had a large amount of money spent, but he claimed that he was ‘on a business trip out of town on the night of the incident’. We need to verify the authenticity of his itinerary.”