Chapter 424: 401
Following the direction of Mr. Qu’s finger, a monitor displayed a flashing red box. Zhou Ning glanced at it and recognized that it was the use of software identification, probably collecting information such as the vehicle’s dimensions, color, frame structure, wheel and tire weight, etc., for analysis.
This car turned directly from the right side of the road into a village path framed by iron bars.
Mr. Qu had already located the exact position of this surveillance camera on another computer, then zoomed in on the map to clearly see the markings of the village.
He then captured the vehicle’s license plate and, after a search, came upon some information.
"Looks like he really went back home. This guy is too cunning. After driving out of the city, he even had the car washed. The mud was gone, and the number plate was taken down. Who could see any similarities? If it weren’t for this software’s trial phase version, we wouldn’t have been able to track him. He did it on purpose, completely covering the front and back of the car with mud so that no one could see the emblem.
The car had a Shen City plate, registration number Guangdong B02288. The display shows that the vehicle’s owner is called Liu Nai Liang, the legal person of a decoration company in Shen City. The car is a black Volkswagen Passat."
Zhou Ning stared at the screen, grabbed the mouse, and zoomed in on the picture. In the process, the edges of the fourth and fifth numerals on the plate had three very fine mud stains, almost imperceptible without close inspection.
Zhou Ning fell silent, then suddenly slapped the table, causing Mr. Qu to jump in fright.
"What’s wrong, Director Zhou?"
"Analyze for me now, this number plate used a magnetic sticker that could change to two 8s, and it’s adhered so tightly. Take a look at what digit could it be normally, or, without changing the first few numbers, what other number combinations might there be for the same model car?"
Mr. Qu was also stunned for a moment, then hurriedly zoomed in on the image. After all, they brought a laptop, so the screen size was limited. He looked at it intently and his face showed some embarrassment.
"I was wrong. I’ll analyze it right away."
At this time, Doctor Cao returned, and seeing everyone still in the autopsy room, looked puzzled and approached.
"What’s going on? Aren’t you going up for the autopsy analysis?"
Liu Yongxin didn’t hide anything and quickly told Doctor Cao about Mr. Qu’s discovery. Of course, he also mentioned the issue with the license plate. Doctor Cao was shocked. Such a discovery had a tremendous impact on the case and could even revolutionize the manner of the trial.
Doctor Cao quickly took out his phone and called Huang Youdao. After ten rings with no answer, he hung up and called Wu Chunming’s phone again.
This time the call connected quickly, and Wu Chunming’s loud voice could be heard without needing speakerphone.
"What’s up, Doctor Cao?"
"Mr. Wu, listen to me. Call Mr. Huang over here quickly. We’re in the autopsy room, and we’ve made a discovery. We found the surveillance footage of Zhang Hongwei returning to Dayao City, but we haven’t analyzed the license plate number yet. Come here for the details. You must hurry. I guess the interrogation right now won’t yield much."
Wu Chunming reacted quickly, his previously lazy tone gone.
"Okay, wait for us. We’ll be there soon."
After Doctor Cao hung up, Mr. Qu was still operating the computer, the screen continued filtering. It was a good thing the final two numbers were the last digits; it reduced the search range significantly. If it were all numbers, that would make 99 possibilities, and of course, if both digits turned out to be letters, there’d be many more combinations.
Mr. Qu searched for all matching license plates, a total of 177. He then searched within those for all 2011 black Volkswagen Passats and narrowed it down further, yielding only four cars.
Zhou Ning showed no reaction when he saw the three private cars, but when he flipped to the last page, one of the owners was listed as Jinbai Li Rental Car Company in Shen City.
Zhou Ning grew excited, placing his hand on Mr. Qu’s shoulder.
"Quick, check if this Jinbai Li Rental Car Company has a phone number."
Mr. Qu hurriedly searched, but had already switched to a different webpage. A brief search pulled up the rental car website’s online reservation page and a chat box that kept sliding across the screen.
Zhou Ning took out his phone and dialed the number. A girl with an accent that was not standard Mandarin answered gently.
"Hello, this is Jinbai Li Rental Car Company. How may I assist you?"
"Hello, I’m with the Dayao City Public Security Bureau from Ludong Province. I need your help to look up some information. Around October 20, 2010, there was a black 2011 Volkswagen Passat with the registration number Guangdong B04409. Who rented this car during that period?"
"Sir, I’m just the inquiry hotline. Customer information is confidential. If law enforcement needs to access it, you will need to go through our company. I hope you understand."
Zhou Ning was using speakerphone, and as he spoke, Mr. Qu had somehow worked his magic on the computer. By the time the girl refused, he had already logged into the website as an administrator and a wealth of information unfolded.
Seeing this, Zhou Ning knew there was no need for further talk. He hung up the phone.
Mr. Qu searched and found the rental information for Guangdong B04409. On October 18, 2012, the registered renter was Zhang Hongwei, with an ID number matching that of the implicated Zhang Hongwei.
The car was returned on the afternoon of October 22, 2012, and a cleaning fee of 100 yuan was deducted.
At that moment, the autopsy room door opened, and Huang Youdao and Wu Chunming walked in.
Throughout the three days Zhou Ning and his team had been there, they had already given Huang Youdao enough surprises. Now, Huang Youdao wouldn’t be surprised if they could figure out which one of the two suspects was the murderer. In his view, Zhou Ning and his team were simply on a different level compared to the Dayao folks.
