Animal Detective-Chapter 95: Seven Stabs

Sun Zhao was dumbfounded.

Chen Chao was practically hopping with agitation. "That... what was that train story called again?"

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t remember.

Ding Yuwei immediately supplied, "Murder on the Orient Express!"

"Yes, that’s it!"

Chen Chao nodded vigorously. If, as Shen Xin said, Sun Kai didn’t exist and was just a fabrication by five of Liu Laibin’s employees, then this case was almost identical to Murder on the Orient Express.

He had seen the movie, so he knew the plot.

One after another, realization dawned on everyone present.

Shen Xin nodded as well.

It was this very novel that had given him the inspiration.

Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain it.

"Captain Sun, Captain Chen, I have another bold theory. Guo Chunping. Could he have been a participant, too? Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why he committed suicide."

Suddenly, everything clicked into place for Shen Xin.

If Sun Kai didn’t exist, then the team’s earlier theory—that Sun Kai had bribed Guo Chunping to alter the surveillance footage—was pure fantasy.

And yet, Guo Chunping had actively followed Shen Xin, and then, right after being questioned, he’d chosen to kill himself.

Neither his motive nor his actions made any sense.

There was only one other possibility: he was also involved, and he chose to commit suicide to protect the others.

With him dead, the investigation would stall, Sun Kai would once again become the sole suspect, and the group of five, including Li Weiqin, would be safe.

"Besides, Guo Chunping liked to read novels. I think this whole method might have been his idea."

It was doubtful anyone could dream up such a murder plot without having read the novel.

Chen Chao pointed at Shen Xin and nodded repeatedly.

Following Shen Xin’s theory, everything made perfect logical sense.

"Then what’s the motive?" Sun Zhao countered.

Murder requires a motive.

Let alone a premeditated murder involving six people.

And according to the files, someone like Li Weiqin had joined Liu Laibin’s company back in ’11 and stayed for over two years.

What kind of motive would someone harbor for that long?

With that, his tone suddenly shifted, and he asked, "Shen Xin, what’s this about the parrot yelling ’asshole’?"

He was so caught up in Shen Xin’s incredible theory that he had almost forgotten to ask what made him think of it in the first place.

After all, the idea that Sun Kai was fictional was still just Shen Xin’s speculation.

Shen Xin’s mind raced, and he immediately came up with an explanation.

The "asshole" part was easy to explain; Tingting could corroborate that.

"The key is Sun Kai."

Shen Xin pointed at the actor. "Broo has obviously remembered the scene. He recognized Liu Laibin, but when I asked him if Sun Kai was there at the time, his answer was very clear: he wasn’t."

As he spoke, Shen Xin walked over to the actor playing "Liu Laibin" and, from a distance, asked Broo if the "asshole" was there at the time.

"Here, here!"

Broo hopped back and forth on its perch, squawking, "The asshole’s here! All the assholes are here!"

Sun Zhao sucked in a sharp breath.

If that was the case, then Shen Xin’s theory was perfectly reasonable.

"Looks like we need to reinvestigate those five." Sun Zhao’s brows were tightly knit.

The way this case had evolved was completely beyond his imagination.

A full six murderers.

He had truly never handled a case like this before.

"Xiaoshen, nice work."

Sun Zhao gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up.

Using a parrot to find a breakthrough in the case was nothing short of brilliant.

Just then, Ding Yuwei suddenly interjected, "Shen Xin, there’s a problem."

Waiting until all eyes were on her, Ding Yuwei continued, "If this case really is an imitation of the novel, then in the novel, everyone is a murderer, and each one stabs Rechter, the victim. But in our case, even including Guo Chunping, there are only six people."

"But Liu Laibin was stabbed a total of seven times. That’s one extra stab wound."

Shen Xin froze.

She was right.

Chen Chao sucked in a cold breath. "You don’t mean... there’s another killer?"

He felt this was getting a bit ridiculous.

Zhao Tianxing said, "Could it be that someone hated Liu Laibin so much they stabbed him an extra time? Or maybe they lost count during the act. I remember the autopsy report. The seven wounds on Liu Laibin weren’t just from the same weapon; they were also inferred to be from someone with the same dominant hand. And based on the depth, it was almost certain they were all inflicted by a single person."

"And among the five, three are women. Like the janitor, Sun Min, who is quite old. So maybe one person did all the stabbing on behalf of the others and just wasn’t paying attention and stabbed one too many times."

Zhao Tianxing’s theory, however, sparked a question in Shen Xin’s mind.

’If it really was Li Weiqin and the other four...’

’When the time came to act, did they actually do the deed themselves?’

’And in the end, how would a case like this even be sentenced?’

Shen Xin shook his head and pushed the thought aside. That was for the courts to decide; it had nothing to do with him.

The important thing now was to find out what was going on with Li Weiqin and the others, and what motive they had to conspire to kill Liu Laibin.

Sun Zhao thanked Shen Xin’s parents one last time, then led everyone to hurry back to the division headquarters for another case analysis meeting.

Lv Youwei was in attendance.

After hearing the report, he too was shocked speechless. After a long moment, he asked, "Are you confident about this?"

He hadn’t read the novel *Murder on the Orient Express*.

But Lv Youwei felt that it was, after all, a novel. And many novelists, when writing, deliberately consider whether the murder methods in their stories are feasible in reality.

They make adjustments to avoid real-life copycat cases.

Most importantly, novels take place in a completely fictional environment, and many plots are overly logical.

But reality is often illogical. Trying to copy a crime from a novel would be extremely difficult.

Sun Zhao said, "Director Lv, to be honest, this is the first time I’ve handled a case like this. But given the current circumstances, with Guo Chunping dead and the trail completely cold, I think even without Xiaoshen’s theory, we would have to start with Li Weiqin and the others and investigate them all over again."

"Also, Liu Laibin... something seems very off about how he made his fortune."

Lv Youwei thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Alright, proceed as you see fit. We’re tackling difficult cases now, and our opening move must be a resounding success."

With that, he got up and left.

But when he reached the door, he added, "Xiaoshen, do you have a copy of that novel? Lend it to me to read later. My god, a copycat crime based on a novel... this is a first for me."

After seeing Director Lv off, Sun Zhao immediately assigned tasks.

Shen Xin was assigned a task as well.

He, Zhao Tianxing, and Ding Yuwei were assigned to go to Pingzhou Lishui and investigate the janitor, Sun Min.

This was Shen Xin’s first time traveling for a case.

’I don’t mind, but the main issue is Da Mei, Evil Bully, and the others.’

Shen Xin considered sending them home for Shen Shuang to look after, but quickly abandoned the idea.

’Shen Shuang can barely take care of themself.’

His mom didn’t like small animals, and as for his dad, he was busy with social engagements all day. Where would he find the time for a few cats?

Boarding them at a pet store or hiring a pet sitter for house calls didn’t feel right, either.

’I’ve worked so hard to build up their affection; I can’t risk losing it all.’

After weighing his options, he contacted Zhang Qian and asked her to help by coming over to feed them once a day.

Zhang Qian readily agreed, saying she was planning on taking the orange cat she had picked out.

’Perfect,’ Shen Xin thought. ’Da Mei is already sick to death of those three kittens.’

After arranging for the cats’ care, the trio set off early the next day for Lishui.