kingnovel Chapter 1171 Zhang Qiang Cleared of Suspicion
Chapter 1171 Zhang Qiang Cleared of Suspicion
"Where were you in the early hours of May 21st?" Xiao Wang's notebook lay open on the dusty counter. Zhang Qiang's eyes flickered, and the wrench in his hand clattered to the ground. "I was... watching the shop," he kicked the cot beside him. "A batch of copper pipes went missing recently, and I've been guarding it for several nights." But the surveillance footage from the roller shutter door showed that at 1:05 AM on May 21st, Zhang Qiang left the building materials store on a red motorcycle and didn't return until 7 AM the next morning.
During a visit to Li Chengde's colleagues, Lao Wang from the water delivery company provided crucial information. "Li Chengde said Zhang Qiang owed gambling debts," he said, changing water bottles in the water dispenser, water droplets dripping from the bottle walls onto Lao Wang's trousers. "Three months ago, Zhang Qiang lost money playing mahjong and borrowed 5 yuan from Li Chengde, promising to pay it back in a month, but he's been dragging his feet." Lao Wang pulled out WeChat chat history; at 3:17 PM on May 20th, Li Chengde sent a voice message: "Zhang Qiang said he'd pay part of the money back tonight, let's meet at the entrance of Wangyue Community."
This message made Xiao Wang's heart tighten. He checked the surveillance footage from Wangyue Residential Area. At 8:23 PM on May 20th, Li Chengde's water delivery truck stopped at the entrance of the residential area, and Zhang Qiang appeared on a red motorcycle. The two talked beside the motorcycle for about ten minutes. "Look here," Xiao Wang pointed to the surveillance screenshot, "Zhang Qiang handed Li Chengde a brown paper envelope, "It looks like he's returning money, but Li Chengde shook his head after taking the envelope, and the two seemed to have started arguing again."
Further investigation into Zhang Qiang's nephew, Zhang Lei, yielded more results. This young man with dyed blond hair ran a small grocery store near the cemetery, and the call record from 1:32 AM on May 21st did indeed exist. "My uncle asked me if the dog cage at the back gate of the cemetery was locked," Zhang Lei said, swiping his finger on his phone. "He said stray dogs had gotten into the store and he wanted to catch them to make stew." The grocery store's surveillance footage showed that after the call, Zhang Qiang did not leave the store but instead organized the goods on the shelves until 2 AM when he closed.
The most crucial evidence came from the hospital's medical records. Zhang Qiang's wound on his right hand was inflicted at 3 PM on May 20th—a cut from iron filings while threading a water pipe. The wound morphology on the medical record was a linear scratch, completely different from the lacerated skin tissue extracted from Li Chengde's fingernails. "I can't even hold a kitchen knife with this hand," Zhang Qiang said, holding up his bandaged hand, "How could I have the strength to strangle someone?" Supplementary examination by forensic doctor Zhang Lin also confirmed that the distance between the finger marks on the deceased's neck was 1.2 centimeters wider than the width of Zhang Qiang's knuckles.
The motorcycle inspection also ruled out suspicion. Although Zhang Qiang's red motorcycle had a modified exhaust pipe, its tires were 90/90-16, 2 centimeters narrower than the 90/90-18 tires found at the scene, and there were no chains or shovels in the toolbox under the seat. Vehicle registration records showed that the motorcycle's route on the morning of May 21st only went as far as Wangyue residential area and did not enter the Dongshan Cemetery area.
When Xiao Wang presented Zhang Qiang with evidence such as surveillance footage, medical records, and tire inspection reports, the once arrogant man suddenly became subdued. "I admit I said some harsh words," he said, squatting on the ground and scratching his hair, "but I really didn't kill anyone! That night I did want to pay back less money, but Li Chengde wouldn't agree, and I was so angry that I said those harsh words." He lifted the mattress, revealing a tin box. On the gambling debt IOUs inside, Zhang Qiang's signature matched the handwriting on the envelope perfectly.
As Zhang Qiang was cleared of suspicion, the setting sun cast long shadows across the building materials store. Watching Zhang Qiang change the oil on his motorcycle, Xiao Wang suddenly noticed a fresh dent on the rear rack of his red motorcycle. The blue paint on the dent matched the color of Li Chengde's water delivery truck—this explained the physical contact during their argument, but it wasn't sufficient evidence of murder.
Although Zhang Qiang has been ruled out, new clues have emerged. Li Chengde's colleague mentioned that he had recently been delivering water to a "boss surnamed Liu," and the two also had a debt dispute; although the mysterious motorcycle in the surveillance footage did not belong to Zhang Qiang, Zhang Lei mentioned that a "tall man with a hunchback" often refueled near the cemetery recently, and he was wearing size 43 leather shoes. Xiao Wang drew a new circle in his notebook, listing "boss Liu" and the "hunchbacked man" as new key areas of investigation.
As he left the building materials store, the roar of the cutting machine was still deafening. Xiao Wang glanced back at the "Honest Business Practices" plaque on the roller shutter door and suddenly felt that those four words looked particularly ironic amidst the dust. Although Zhang Qiang wasn't the murderer, his gambling debt dispute undoubtedly pushed Li Chengde to the brink of danger, and the real culprit, hidden in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras, was waiting to be identified by new clues.
The case took a turn when the investigation on Xiao Zhou's side came to a head.
When Xiao Zhou spread out Li Chengde's social relationship chart in the conference room, the afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the "relatives" section. Most of the names circled in red had been verified, leaving only the entry for "brother-in-law Yang Baocheng" hanging there alone, the edges of the page frayed from repeated turning, revealing the yellowed core underneath. "Li Chengde's sister, Li Chunhua, mentioned that her husband and brother have been having a lot of trouble lately," Xiao Zhou said, pointing to the name with her fingertip, her nail leaving a faint mark on the paper. "They said it was over 50,000 yuan, and last month they even fought in her living room, overturning the coffee table."
During a visit to Li Chengde's rented room, an unexpected find was discovered in a cardboard box in the corner. The small, ten-square-meter room reeked of a mixture of disinfectant and sweat. Xiao Zhou squatted on the floor, rummaging through the paper, his fingertips brushing against a stack of yellowed IOUs, the edges of the paper slightly curled from dampness. The bottom IOU was signed "Yang Baocheng," for 50,000 yuan, with a repayment date three months prior; the ink was slightly smudged from water. "This IOU has obvious tear marks," he said, holding the paper up to the light from the window. The edges of the paper were messy, as if it had been repeatedly crumpled. "Look at the angle of the tear; it was pulled forcefully from the upper right corner to the lower left, consistent with the force characteristics of a tug-of-war during an argument." On the back of the IOU, written in red ink, was the phrase "See you in court if you don't repay," the handwriting messy yet filled with anger, and three small holes were poked in the paper at the tip of the pen.
Also in the box was a silver voice recorder, its casing covered in scratches. As soon as Xiao Zhou pressed play, the shrill sound of an argument immediately filled the small room. "Yang Baocheng, you scoundrel! You borrowed my brother's hard-earned money to gamble!" Li Chunhua's cries and curses were mixed with the clatter of things being smashed, like the sound of glass shattering. Then came Yang Baocheng's roar: "It's just 5 yuan! You're making a scene! If you push me any further, don't blame me for being ruthless!" There was a ten-second silence in the middle of the recording, only heavy breathing could be heard. Finally, Li Chengde's voice came through, calm but filled with suppressed anger: "You must pay it back by May 20th, or I'll go to your construction site and tell your boss, let him know you're skipping work every day to gamble."