Animal Detective
Chapter 243 - 228: Male-Female Relationship
When Shen Xin called, Liu Jie was indeed in a meeting.
The meeting was being led by Liang Zhen, the captain of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. The topic was police conduct and discipline.
That was why Liu Jie dared to drop everything and run out of the meeting.
Liang Zhen quickly grabbed him.
He had a side part, high cheekbones, a thin face, and monolids. His eyes were especially sharp.
Pulling Liu Zhi outside the conference room, Liang Zhen asked, "Was that the young officer from Nanjiang? What’s wrong? Did something happen?"
He had heard Liu Jie call out "Xiaoshen," so he knew who was on the line.
"It was him," Liu Jie nodded and said. "But it’s not bad news, it’s good news. The kid says he has a major discovery. He might have identified a suspect in the Han Xiaolong case."
"Oh?"
Liang Zhen was surprised. "That can’t be right. Didn’t he just get here the day before yesterday?"
He arrived the day before yesterday, which means he only had yesterday.
He had to review the case files, examine the physical evidence, visit the scene, and interview the people involved. It would be impressive enough just to get through all that in one day.
And in that one day, he managed to identify a suspect?
’Is this a joke!’
Liu Jie said, "I find it strange too, but he said he found something. That’s why I’m rushing over to see what’s going on."
Liang Zhen didn’t ask any more questions. He knew this case was a thorn in Liu Jie’s side. He waved his hand, signaling for Liu Jie to hurry along.
He told him to keep him updated if anything came up.
Watching Liu Jie hurry away, Liang Zhen stood in place for a moment.
He hoped Shen Xin wasn’t just grandstanding for attention.
But if he wasn’t, then finding a major clue in a single day... ’This kid’s abilities are a little frightening.’
No wonder the folks in Nanjiang valued him so highly.
He hadn’t thought to ask where Shen Xin was during the call, so Liu Jie first charged over to the Songling Branch to find Ding Junbao.
"Where’s Shen Xin?" he demanded the moment he arrived.
Ding Junbao was in his office with Lai Yong, discussing an arrest plan. He was startled when Liu Jie burst in and asked, puzzled, "Xiaoshen is in Qingyuan. What’s wrong?"
’Could something have happened? Did he call Liu Jie?’
Ding Junbao shot to his feet.
Liu Jie had instructed him to give Shen Xin his full cooperation.
’If I’m not on the scene, does that count as not giving my full cooperation?’
’But the thing is, I have my own cases.’
Besides, Shen Xin had just arrived. It should take him two days just to get familiar with the case, right?
Liu Jie turned and left, tossing a sentence over his shoulder as he walked out the door: "Xiaoshen found a suspect."
Those few words made Ding Junbao’s mind go blank.
’You’ve got to be kidding me. He just went to Qingyuan yesterday and he’s already found a suspect?’
"Lai Yong, what’s going on?" Ding Junbao asked, looking at Lai Yong anxiously.
’Did you leave something out when you briefed me?’
"I have no idea."
Lai Yong’s eyes were wide as he said urgently, "That’s not right. How could he have found a suspect? All he did yesterday was look for the dog. He didn’t do anything else."
Ding Junbao didn’t have time to ask more questions. He snatched his car keys and followed him out.
Lai Yong cursed under his breath and hurried to catch up.
The three of them rushed over to Qingyuan Town in a frenzy.
After another call to Shen Xin on the way, Liu Jie hurried to the town’s health clinic and met him.
Shen Xin was waiting at the entrance of the clinic.
"Xiaoshen, what’s going on?" Liu Jie asked as he rushed up to him.
Ding Junbao and Lai Yong were right behind him, just as anxious.
The two of them had shared a car. On the way, Ding Junbao had thoroughly grilled Lai Yong again about everything Shen Xin did the day before.
He thought Lai Yong might have missed something.
But after asking again, he was even more confused.
It was just as Lai Yong had said: Shen Xin had only been looking for the dog.
He knew Shen Xin had solved cases with the help of small animals before, but could finding the dog Han Xiaolong raised really lead to identifying a suspect?
’It seems a bit childish, doesn’t it?’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Shen Xin took out his phone and showed it to Liu Jie.
He had taken a photo of a medical record.
"Liu Zhi, it’s this guy, Zhou Hui. Look, at 10 AM on July 12th, he came to the health clinic for a rabies shot."
"Yesterday evening, at the village supermarket, I was walking Han Xiaolong’s dog and ran into this Zhou Hui. The dog had a very strong reaction to him."
"How should I put it?"
Shen Xin thought for a moment before saying, "It was just like in Wu Jiawang’s case, when Lele saw Gao Jinrui and reacted immediately."
"So I speculate that on the night of the incident, on the 11th, Han Xiaolong’s dog was also at the scene. It was protecting Han Xiaolong and probably attacked the suspect."
"We figured the suspect might come in for a rabies shot the next day. We checked this morning, and we found him."
"I asked Luo Limei, and she said the dog and Han Xiaolong were inseparable. That also supports the theory that the dog was at the scene."
"Most importantly, the dog reacted when it saw Zhou Hui."
"Therefore, Zhou Hui should be considered a person of great interest."
Liu Jie looked at the photo, his brow furrowing as he sank into thought.
Ding Junbao and Lai Yong leaned in for a look as well.
Lai Yong pursed his lips in thought and said, "Liu Zhi, I think Xiaoshen’s speculation is logically sound."
"The dog and Han Xiaolong were inseparable. On the night Han Xiaolong was killed, the dog must have been at the scene. So it’s very likely that it attacked the suspect."
"It would be natural for the suspect to get a rabies shot, and the timing, in particular, is too much of a coincidence."
Liu Jie nodded repeatedly.
Shen Xin’s logic was flawless.
Furthermore, Shen Xin had said that Han Xiaolong’s dog had a strong reaction when it saw Zhou Hui.
He turned his head and asked Ding Junbao if he remembered Zhou Hui.
He himself had no memory of the man.
During the original investigation, they had truly investigated every single person in Wuba Village.
But Zhou Hui had never been among the suspects they identified.
Ding Junbao also shook his head, saying he didn’t remember him.
"Check the interview records immediately," Liu Jie ordered.