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

Chapter 895 Suspect Zhang Dongfeng

Li Ming nodded and continued pacing around the room. He walked to the window, looked outside, and pondered the murderer's escape route. There were no signs of forced entry on the window, indicating the murderer had likely left through the door. But how could the murderer have left without leaving any traces or fingerprints? This puzzled Li Ming greatly.

Just then, Li Ming suddenly realized that although there were no useful clues left inside the house, perhaps the neighbors outside could provide some information. He decided to visit the neighbors himself.

Li Ming arrived at his neighbor's door and gently knocked. After a while, an elderly woman with gray hair opened the door.

"Hello, ma'am. We are police officers investigating a case and would like to ask you some questions," Li Ming said with a smile.

The old lady looked a little nervous and asked, "Officer, what happened?"

Li Ming patiently explained, "You know Lin Yueyue from next door, right? She's had some trouble. We wanted to ask if you've noticed anything unusual about her lately, or if you've seen her hanging out with anyone?"

The old lady thought for a moment and said, "Lin is usually quite cheerful, I haven't seen her act strangely. However, about 7 days ago, I saw her bring a man back."

Li Ming's eyes lit up, and he pressed on, "Grandma, could you describe the man in detail? What did he look like? What were he wearing?"

The old lady shook her head: "I didn't see it clearly. I just glanced at it briefly when we passed each other on the way down the stairs. The man was tall, wearing a black coat and a hat, but I couldn't see his face clearly."

Li Ming continued, "Did you hear what they said, or see them do anything unusual?"

The old lady frowned as she recalled, "I only heard Lin say 'Come in' to him, and then she went inside. I didn't pay attention to anything else."

Li Ming thanked the old lady and then visited several other neighbors. But everyone's accounts were similar; they only knew that Lin Yueyue had brought a man home, but they didn't know anything about the man's specific characteristics.

Back at Lin Yueyue's rented apartment, Li Ming convened a brief meeting with the technical staff.

“Although not many useful clues were left at the scene, the neighbors’ testimonies told us that Lin Yueyue brought a man home before the incident. This man is very likely the murderer. Our next step is to focus on investigating men who match this description. At the same time, we will re-examine the clues at the crime scene to see if we have missed anything,” Li Ming said.

Sunlight streamed through the hotel lobby's glass windows, illuminating the slightly worn carpet. Li Ming, accompanied by Officer Zhao, entered the hotel where Lin Yueyue had worked. Upon learning their purpose, the hotel manager's expression changed slightly, and he quickly instructed the staff to cooperate with the police investigation.

"Lin Yueyue's situation is so sudden, we can't believe it," the manager said, shaking his head. "If there's anything we can help you with, just let us know."

Li Ming nodded and said, "We want to talk to Lin Yueyue's close colleagues to learn about her usual situation, especially her interpersonal relationships."

After a moment's thought, the manager said, "Then you can look for Xiaoli. She's closest to Lin Yueyue and works at the front desk."

Li Ming and Xiao Zhao arrived at the front desk and saw a young woman busy at work. The manager introduced her, "Xiao Li, these two are police officers investigating Lin Yueyue's case. Please cooperate." Upon hearing this, a hint of sadness flashed in Xiao Li's eyes, and she stopped what she was doing.

"Xiaoli, don't be nervous. We just want to ask how Lin Yueyue usually gets along with her colleagues. Has she been particularly close to anyone, or had any conflicts with them?" Li Ming said gently.

Xiaoli bit her lip and said, "Yueyue is a nice person and gets along well with everyone. But..." She hesitated for a moment.

Xiao Zhao quickly pressed, "But what? Just say whatever comes to mind; it's very important for us to solve the case."

Xiaoli took a deep breath and said, "I've noticed that Yueyue has been getting very close to Deputy Manager Zhang lately. Sometimes I see them chatting alone in the staff break room, and they look very intimate. Once, I even heard Deputy Manager Zhang call Yueyue very affectionately, which doesn't seem like a normal superior-subordinate relationship."

Li Ming and Xiao Zhao exchanged a glance, and Li Ming pressed on, "What's this Deputy Manager Zhang's full name? What kind of person is he usually?"

Xiaoli replied, "His name is Zhang Dongfeng. He is quite respected at the hotel and has strong professional skills, but he is sometimes quite strict with his subordinates."

After leaving the front desk, Li Ming said to Xiao Zhao, "This Zhang Dongfeng is very suspicious. We need to investigate him thoroughly. Let's find out about his work situation and social connections first."

After some investigation, the police obtained Zhang Dongfeng's basic information. Li Ming decided to interrogate Zhang Dongfeng. In the police station's interrogation room, Zhang Dongfeng sat in a chair, looking nervous, constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Zhang Dongfeng, we are investigating Lin Yueyue’s death. As her colleague, there are some things you need to tell us truthfully.” Li Ming stared intently at Zhang Dongfeng.

Zhang Dongfeng swallowed hard and said, "Lin Yueyue and I are just ordinary colleagues. I am heartbroken that she has suffered such a thing."

Xiao Zhao scoffed, "Ordinary colleagues? From what we know, your relationship is anything but ordinary. You often spend time alone with her in the staff break room, and you even call her affectionately. How do you explain that?"

Zhang Dongfeng's face turned deathly pale instantly. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Okay, we did have a bit of an ambiguous relationship. But it really has nothing to do with her death."

Li Ming pressed further, "How long has this relationship lasted? Have you ever had any disagreements?"

Zhang Dongfeng replied, "It's been about half a year. We haven't had any major conflicts, just occasional bickering over trivial matters."

Li Ming continued, "Where were you on the night Lin Yueyue disappeared? What were you doing?"

Zhang Dongfeng quickly said, "That night I was having dinner with some friends, from 7 pm to past 10 pm, and the restaurant staff can all testify to that."

After the interrogation, Li Ming and Xiao Zhao immediately went to the restaurant Zhang Dongfeng had mentioned to verify the situation. A restaurant waiter recalled, "That's right, Zhang Dongfeng and some friends ate here that day. They ordered a lot of food, drank alcohol, and stayed from around 7 p.m. until after 10 p.m. During that time, Zhang Dongfeng seemed to go out to answer a phone call, but he came back quickly."

Leaving the restaurant, Xiao Zhao said somewhat dejectedly, "Captain Li, it seems Zhang Dongfeng has an alibi." Li Ming frowned, "Don't jump to conclusions. Although he has an alibi, we can't rule out the possibility that he had accomplices or committed the crime through other means. Let's continue to investigate, starting with Lin Yueyue's financial situation, and see if she has had any unusual financial transactions recently. Maybe we can find new clues."