Animal Detective

Chapter 308 - 255: A Simple Case

"Then who do you think it was?"

Captain Liu pressed.

That was a very specific question.

Shen Xin had his own ideas, but he knew he couldn’t be the one constantly showing off in front of his superior.

You have to give the captain a chance to shine, to guide you, right?

So, Shen Xin tossed the question back. "Captain Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Baoqing chuckled. "You brat, trying to test me now."

But he didn’t mind in the slightest. He pointed to the snapped fishing rod on the ground nearby. "I’ll bet it was his wife."

Shen Xin immediately gave him a thumbs-up.

"Captain Liu, your experience is truly something else. I was thinking the exact same thing."

"You see, this rod obviously didn’t snap from the strain of a fish. So, under what circumstances would Huang Weili break his own fishing rod?"

"Maybe he got angry because he didn’t catch anything, but he’s a veteran angler. It’s unlikely he’d throw a fit just because he got skunked."

"So, I suspect Huang Weili didn’t even break this rod himself. Someone else did."

"Take the wife you mentioned, for instance. She might have come here, they got into an argument where she accused him of always fishing and not caring about her, and then she snapped the rod in a fit of rage."

"And in the heat of the moment, it became a crime of passion."

There were plenty of domestic disputes caused by men’s fishing habits.

Liu Baoqing nodded. That was one part of the reasoning.

The main reason was that a large percentage of crimes of passion occurred between spouses.

Especially when infidelity was involved.

Watching the forensics team carefully process the fishing rod, Liu Baoqing said, "Xiaoshen, wanna bet? Guess if they’ll be able to lift a complete fingerprint off that."

Shen Xin replied, "Captain Liu, if you’re putting it like that, then I’m sure they can."

Liu Baoqing laughed, fully aware that Shen Xin was just humoring him, but he wasn’t the least bit annoyed.

’What can I say? I genuinely like this kid.’

"Xiaoshen, let me ask you something else. Have you noticed a potential problem with our theory?" Liu Baoqing probed again.

Shen Xin thought for a moment. "Captain Liu, are you referring to the fact that if the killer was Huang Weili’s wife, she’s a woman, so she might not be strong enough?"

Wang Xiao Jin had said the killer knocked Huang Weili out in one blow, which would have required considerable force.

And judging by where the folding chair was knocked over, Huang Weili had been about a meter from the water’s edge.

There were drag marks on the ground, but at the edge of the bank, the mud under the birch point showed no obvious signs of impact from a body.

An adult man weighs well over a hundred pounds. He’s not light.

If he were simply dragged and rolled into the water, the bank would surely show signs of tumbling and impact.

But there were none.

That suggests the killer must have performed some kind of throwing motion.

And a woman might not have been able to do that.

"Exactly."

Liu Baoqing’s eyes lit up. He praised him, "Shen Xin, you’ve got some sharp observation skills, kid."

Shen Xin was quick to be modest.

"Just take the compliment," Liu Baoqing said with a chuckle. "We’ve got good leads on this case. I have a feeling we’ll crack it quickly."

Shen Xin nodded.

The murder had taken place out in the wild, but the killer had barely tried to clean up the scene, leaving behind a wealth of evidence.

Just then, someone on the road across the way called out to Captain Liu.

There was someone else with him.

Shen Xin walked over with him and saw the person trailing behind from a distance.

He was carrying a tackle box. Shen Xin had seen him before; he was one of the regulars who fished at the reservoir, but he didn’t know his name.

The person who had called out was a colleague from the CID, Zhong Yu.

He pointed at the fisherman and said, "Captain Liu, we’ve got a witness. He was fishing here yesterday and saw something."

Liu Baoqing extended his hand and asked for the man’s name.

The man was in his thirties, with short hair, an average build, and stood about five-foot-nine.

He stared blankly into the distance at the spot where Huang Weili’s body had been discovered.

Snapping out of it, he introduced himself as Xu Rulin.

Liu Baoqing asked: "Did you come fishing last night? When did you arrive, and when did you leave?"

Xu Rulin didn’t answer right away. With a look of disbelief, he asked, "Was it really Lao Huang who died?"

Liu Baoqing asked: "Were you very close with him?"

Xu Rulin nodded, then shook his head. "I wouldn’t say we were close, but we both fished here often and could strike up a conversation. We even had drinks together a couple of times."

"I got here a little after six yesterday evening and fished until almost ten. I had to leave then because something came up."

Liu Baoqing glanced at the tackle box next to him and asked: "You fished yesterday, and you’re here again today?"

’He fished until almost 10 p.m. yesterday, and now he’s back at 8 a.m.?’

Xu Rulin didn’t seem to catch the underlying meaning in Captain Liu’s question. He just nodded and said, "I left too early yesterday. Didn’t get my fix."

The explanation was plausible enough.

Liu Baoqing went on to ask what he had seen.

Xu Rulin pointed toward the western bank of the reservoir. "I was fishing over there yesterday. It was around a little after nine, I think."

He recalled the details carefully and nodded. "Yeah, that’s right. By then, it was just me, Lao Huang, and Lao Zhao. Lao Zhao was over on the south side."

He pointed again to the south side of the reservoir.

"Around that time, a woman came looking for Lao Huang. I’d never seen her before. When we get together, we just talk about fishing, not family stuff."

"Then the two of them started arguing. The woman was yelling pretty fiercely, and eventually, she snapped Lao Huang’s rod."

Shen Xin’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly exchanged a look with Captain Liu.

’We really guessed right. The rod was broken by someone else.’

’I just wonder if that woman was Huang Weili’s wife.’

Xu Rulin continued, "Lao Huang didn’t seem to want to argue with her and mostly ignored her. After making a scene, she stormed off."

"Lao Huang even waved at us, like he was embarrassed we had to see that."

"Actually, we all understand."

He sighed. Perhaps his own family wasn’t too supportive of his fishing habit either.

Liu Baoqing said, "So, to be clear, this woman came around nine-something, they had a fight, and then she left."

"And you left a little before ten, so what about this Lao Zhao? Do you know his full name? Do you have his contact information?"

That meant this Lao Zhao was the last witness.

"Yes."

Xu Rulin quickly took out his phone.

His name was Zhao Cunyong.

The call went through immediately.

After they identified themselves and asked some questions, they learned he hadn’t left until after 11 p.m. last night.

But when he left, he just waved at Huang Weili from across the reservoir.

Huang Weili waved back in response.

He also didn’t ask when Huang Weili was leaving.

He hadn’t encountered anyone unusual on his way down the mountain; he just got on his e-bike and rode off.

Over the phone, upon learning that Huang Weili had drowned, his tone was one of shock and disbelief.

All in all, his reaction seemed normal.

Liu Baoqing had Zhong Yu take Xu Rulin to give a more detailed statement. At the same time, he asked, "Haven’t we reached Huang Weili’s family yet?"

They had learned Huang Weili’s identity as soon as they ran the license plate number.

Zhong Yu said: "We’ve contacted his wife, Hu Yueqin. She’s on her way."

Liu Baoqing asked again: "What exactly did she say? What was her reaction?"

Zhong Yu thought for a moment. "She said she didn’t go home yesterday, so she didn’t know if Huang Weili had been home either. I told her Huang Weili had been in an accident and asked her to come to the scene. Her reaction... she sounded surprised and asked what kind of accident."

"Based on her reaction alone, it seemed pretty normal, but it’s hard to say for sure."

Liu Baoqing nodded and told him to go wait down below. When she arrived, he was not to rush into revealing the details of Huang Weili’s death, but to question her first.

"Understood."

Zhong Yu understood and turned to leave.

Liu Baoqing stared at the reservoir for a while longer, then led Shen Xin down the mountain.

On the way, seeing Shen Xin silent and lost in thought, he asked him what was on his mind.

Shen Xin shook his head and said it was nothing.

Liu Baoqing, however, seemed to have guessed his thoughts. He said with a smile, "Don’t tell me you think this case is too simple, kid."

He’d heard from Chen Chao that Shen Xin had a knack for solving difficult, puzzling cases.

And none of those could ever be described as simple.

Shen Xin quickly denied it.

’But I have to admit,’ he thought, ’compared to the other cases I’ve worked on, this one is much more straightforward.’

Liu Baoqing clapped Shen Xin on the shoulder. "Actually, the vast majority of cases are just like this. They’re not that complicated."

"Take this case. Huang Weili’s phone and other valuables are still on him, so we can pretty much rule out a robbery-homicide."

"And if it isn’t about money, the motive is usually emotional. With cases like these, if you investigate the victim’s personal relationships, you can usually clear them up pretty fast."

Shen Xin nodded. ’That’s true.’

’Either way, as things stand now, Hu Yueqin is looking more and more like the prime suspect.’

’She was here, they argued—it’s possible she got swept up in her emotions and came back to kill him.’

’The timing works, too.’

’Zhao Cunyong left after eleven, leaving Huang Weili all by himself.’

’It matches the time of death Wang Xiao Jin estimated.’

When they reached the foot of the mountain, a crowd had already gathered.

In particular, a large group from the K-9 base seemed to have come out to gawk, all crowded behind the police tape.

Li Jiahui saw Shen Xin from afar and waved at him.

Shen Xin said a quick word to Captain Liu and walked over.

’This is a New District Branch case,’ Shen Xin thought. ’I just know Captain Liu, so I was able to get a look and chat a bit.’

’They’re the ones in charge of the actual investigation.’

As soon as Shen Xin came over, the whole group surrounded him.

Li Jiahui asked curiously: "Shen Xin, what’s the situation? I heard them say someone died up on the mountain."

Shen Xin nodded, glanced at Li Mo, and said in a low voice: "It was Lao Huang who died."

"Who?"

Li Mo’s eyes went wide. He nearly shouted, his voice urgent, "We just saw him yesterday!"

Shen Xin gestured for him to calm down. "Alright, that’s enough rubbernecking from you all. Go on back. The dogs still need their morning run."

But no one moved. They all just kept staring, their eyes glued to the scene.

Shen Xin shook his head to himself. Just as he was about to head back to the base and get on with his day, he saw a Mercedes pull up at the intersection in the distance.

Then, a woman got out of the car and walked over quickly.

’That must be Huang Weili’s wife, Hu Yueqin.’

The moment he saw her, Shen Xin immediately felt that his earlier doubt—the one about a woman not having enough strength to knock Huang Weili out with a single blow and toss him into the water—was probably no longer an issue.

The woman, Hu Yueqin, looked to be nearly five-foot-eleven.

She was wearing boots with a medium heel, so there wasn’t much inflation to her height.

She also had a large frame. Getting out of the car, she strode over quickly, wearing sunglasses and radiating a powerful aura.

The immediate impression was that this woman was formidable, not the least bit delicate or demure.

’So she probably did have the strength to knock Huang Weili out with one blow and dump him in the reservoir.’

At the same time, Shen Xin noticed that Xu Rulin, who was still giving his statement, had also seen Hu Yueqin. He immediately pointed at her, nodded, and said something to the officer.

’No doubt about it, then. It was Hu Yueqin who came here last night and argued with Huang Weili.’

’With an attitude like that, she definitely seemed like the type who would snap his fishing rod on the spot.’

’And by that same token, the suspicion that she left and came back to murder Huang Weili was even stronger.’

Shen Xin watched in silence. ’If Hu Yueqin really is the killer,’ he thought, ’then this case is almost too simple.’