latelenovela Chapter 1473 The Deceased Li Baoquan
Chapter 1473 The Deceased Li Baoquan
The three people in the conference room immediately stopped their discussion and turned their gazes to Xiao Wang. Li Ming stood up and quickly walked to Xiao Wang: "Don't rush, tell me slowly, who is the deceased? How was it determined?" Xiao Wang spread the file on the conference table and pointed to a page of information: "After adjusting the comparison parameters, I cross-referenced the deceased's fingerprints and DNA information with a missing person case in a county under Nancheng's jurisdiction three years ago, and the result was a perfect match. The deceased's name was Li Baoquan, male, 43 years old, originally a repairman at the Nancheng County Machinery Factory, who went missing on May 17th three years ago. The person who reported the case was his wife, Zhang Yanyan."
Xiao Yang immediately picked up the file and examined it carefully. The file included a photo of Li Baoquan before his disappearance. Although three years had passed, the facial contours and features closely matched the deceased. "The file shows that Li Baoquan worked as a mechanic at the Nancheng County Machinery Factory before his disappearance, which perfectly matches our previous speculation that the deceased might have had mechanical-related work experience!" Xiao Yang's tone was filled with excitement. "His height was 172 centimeters, and his weight was 63 kilograms, which basically matches the autopsy data. His teeth also correspond perfectly, and the DNA comparison results are a 100% match, enough to confirm that the deceased is indeed Li Baoquan."
Xiao Sun leaned over and quickly scanned the file: "The person who reported the case is his wife, Zhang Yanyan, and the time of disappearance is three years ago, in May? No, the autopsy determined that Li Baoquan's time of death was between 11 p.m. and midnight a few days ago. Does this mean that he was murdered three years after he disappeared? Or is there something hidden in the previous disappearance report?" This question instantly cooled the excited atmosphere in the conference room. Everyone realized that this case might be more complicated than they had imagined.
Xiao Wang nodded and added, "I've contacted the Nancheng County Public Security Bureau and verified the details of this missing person case. Three years ago, when Zhang Yanyan reported the case, she said that Li Baoquan left for work that morning and never returned. His phone was switched off, and his whereabouts were unknown. The Nancheng County police conducted an investigation at the time, interviewing Li Baoquan's colleagues and neighbors and retrieving surveillance footage from the surrounding area, but they found no clues. The case was ultimately classified as a missing person case and was not filed. They also did not collect DNA samples from Zhang Yanyan or her family members for comparison, which is why our previous comparisons were unsuccessful."
Li Ming frowned, tapping his fingers lightly on the table: "To be murdered suddenly after being missing for three years is clearly illogical. Either Zhang Yanyan's report back then was false, and Li Baoquan was under control or in hiding for those three years; or Li Baoquan had been living alone since his disappearance and was only recently found and murdered by the killer. In either case, his wife Zhang Yanyan is a prime suspect, and something must have happened during those three years that we don't know about."
"Immediately establish a special task force to conduct a comprehensive investigation into Li Baoquan's interpersonal relationships, focusing on his wife Zhang Yanyan, relatives, colleagues, and individuals with whom he had conflicts before his disappearance." Li Ming immediately issued the order: "Xiao Wang, you are responsible for retrieving Li Baoquan's bank statements and call records before his disappearance to verify his financial situation and social interactions; Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, you lead a team to Nancheng County to visit Li Baoquan's former colleagues and neighbors to understand his living conditions, interpersonal relationships, and marital relationship with Zhang Yanyan before his disappearance; at the same time, contact Zhang Yanyan to verify her whereabouts and understand her connection to Li Baoquan's disappearance and death."
"Understood!" Everyone immediately sprang into action. The case, which had been stalled for many days, finally took a crucial turn with the confirmation of the deceased's identity. Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, carrying the files, drove quickly to Nancheng County, while Xiao Wang immediately contacted banks and telecom operators to retrieve Li Baoquan's relevant information. The office returned to its busy pace once again.
Two hours later, Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun arrived at the Nancheng County Machinery Factory. The factory had already replaced some of its management personnel, but most of Li Baoquan's former colleagues were still working there. Upon learning of Li Baoquan's death, his old colleagues all looked surprised. "Li Baoquan? Didn't he disappear three years ago? How could he have been murdered?" said Wang Jianguo, Li Baoquan's former team leader, his voice filled with disbelief.
Xiao Sun took out Li Baoquan's photo and asked, "Master Wang, do you remember Li Baoquan's condition before he disappeared? What was his work and interpersonal relationship like at the factory? Was his relationship with his wife Zhang Yanyan good?"
Wang Jianguo sighed and recalled, "Li Baoquan was a rather introverted person. He didn't talk much, but he was a very hard worker with good skills. He was well-liked in the factory and hadn't made any deep grudges against anyone. However, before he disappeared, he was in a very bad state. He was often distracted and couldn't concentrate on his work. Sometimes he would hide in a corner, smoke, and sigh. When we asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't say, only that it was something to do with his family."
"Is it something at home? Did he have a fight with his wife?" Xiao Yang pressed.
“It should be.” Wang Jianguo nodded. “Once, when we were working overtime, Li Baoquan received a call from his wife. The two of them had a fierce argument on the phone. After Li Baoquan hung up, he looked very upset and even smashed the wrench in his hand. We later heard that his relationship with Zhang Yanyan had always been bad. Zhang Yanyan disliked him for not earning enough money and for being introverted. They often argued. Six months before he disappeared, the two of them had already started sleeping in separate rooms and seemed to be discussing divorce.”
Xiao Sun and Xiao Yang exchanged a glance, further confirming the clues about their marital discord. "Do you know if Zhang Yanyan had close contact with anyone else at the time? After Li Baoquan disappeared, did Zhang Yanyan come to the factory to look for him or inquire about his whereabouts?" Xiao Sun asked.
“I’m not too sure about that,” Wang Jianguo said. “Zhang Yanyan rarely comes to the factory, and we don’t have much contact with her. After Li Baoquan disappeared, Zhang Yanyan came to the factory once to ask if we had seen him, but she never came back after that. I heard that she moved away not long after and no longer lives in Nancheng County.”
The two interviewed several of Li Baoquan's former colleagues who had been close to him, and the information they obtained was largely consistent. Before his disappearance, Li Baoquan's relationship with his wife, Zhang Yanyan, was extremely strained, with frequent arguments. Zhang Yanyan was reportedly hostile towards him, and there were rumors that she was having an affair, but the specific man was unknown to the colleagues. Furthermore, Li Baoquan's financial situation before his disappearance was modest; bank statements showed that his monthly salary was deposited on time, with no large expenditures or debts, and no unusual financial transactions, ruling out the possibility of him being murdered due to debt disputes.
Afterwards, Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun went to the neighborhood where Li Baoquan and Zhang Yanyan used to live. The neighborhood was old and lacked a proper surveillance system; most of their former neighbors were still living there.