Animal Detective

Chapter 117: No Setting Flags

Inside the Criminal Investigation Division’s beat-up Pajero, Zhao Tianxing brought back some late-night snacks.

Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei instinctively pulled out their money, ready to split the cost.

"What are you doing? Put your money away. You looking down on your big bro?" Zhao Tianxing said generously, pushing their hands back.

Shen Xin was surprised.

"Brother Xing, did you win the lottery or find a pile of cash on the street? Since when did you get so generous?"

Zhao Tianxing was usually pretty frugal.

It was mainly because he had a private hobby—playing with RC cars—which was a real money sink.

"So I’m not usually generous?" Zhao Tianxing shot Shen Xin a glare. "Besides, we just got paid today. What’s wrong with a little revenge spending?"

He took a vicious bite of his lamb skewer.

"Oh, that’s right. It’s payday."

Shen Xin murmured in acknowledgment. ’No wonder.’

Seeing that Shen Xin had nothing more to say, Zhao Tianxing asked, "Aren’t you going to check how much you got paid?"

"What’s the point? I rarely look anyway."

Shen Xin really didn’t worry much about his salary.

Zhao Tianxing slapped his forehead. "That’s right. I almost forgot you’ve got a multi-million-dollar inheritance waiting for you."

Shen Xin picked up a skewer of roasted gluten and stared intently at the factory gate across the street. "It’s not that. I’m single, so I don’t have anyone to support. Whatever I earn is enough to spend."

Nanjiang was a well-off area, so police compensation wasn’t bad.

Zhao Tianxing nodded in deep agreement, saying that the moment you got a girlfriend, your money was never enough.

Having said that, he abruptly turned to look at Ding Yuwei.

This left Ding Yuwei completely baffled. She said, "Brother Xing, do you think the person stalking Gao Liyun could be Xiao Hong’s killer? It’s possible our canvassing at the logistics park near the highway spooked him."

’If so, then all those twenty-thousand-step days weren’t a waste of effort. This six-year-old cold case might finally have a conclusion.’

"Hold it."

Zhao Tianxing quickly waved a hand, his expression turning serious. "Don’t you go jinxing it. In our line of work, that never leads to good results."

Ding Yuwei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Brother Xing, you really believe in that?"

"Why shouldn’t I?" Zhao Tianxing adjusted his seat, leaned back comfortably, and said, "Do you know how Yu got that gunshot wound on his arm?"

Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei shook their heads.

Zhao Tianxing said, "It was back when he was out on a case. His wife called to ask if he’d be home for dinner. He told her it was just a small case and he’d be back in a bit. Next thing you know, the suspect had a gun. He took a bullet on the spot and was almost killed in the line of duty. So you tell me, should we be tempting fate?"

’What does that have to do with anything?’ Shen Xin thought. ’That’s just superstition.’

Zhao Tianxing saw Shen Xin’s expression and immediately said, "Shen Xin, you’re thinking this is all just superstition, aren’t you? Let me tell you, it’s not. There’s a scientific basis for it. Take Yu, for example. Thinking it was a small case and he’d be home for dinner, he instinctively let his guard down. And that’s when he got hit."

"So..."

He suddenly sat up straight, patted them both on the shoulder, and pointed across the street. "They’re getting off work."

Workers were starting to stream out of the electronics factory across the street, Hongsheng Technology Co., Ltd.

Shen Xin glanced at his watch. It was just past midnight.

There were quite a few workers. Some drove cars, but the vast majority were on electric bikes.

Soon, Shen Xin spotted Gao Liyun.

After coming out, she glanced around, likely looking for the three of them.

She knew they were on a stakeout.

When she didn’t spot them, she got on her electric bike and started for home.

"Go."

Zhao Tianxing clapped Shen Xin on the shoulder, signaling him to follow.

There wasn’t much traffic, and Gao Liyun rode at a decent clip. Shen Xin kept a good distance behind her.

Her route home cut diagonally through Sanqiao Town, a trip of about twenty minutes.

About two or three minutes after she left the factory, an electric bike suddenly emerged from a side alley and fell in behind Gao Liyun.

Just as Gao Liyun had described, its headlight was off.

The electric bike was a scooter model and looked rather rundown. The late-night air had grown cool, and the rider wore a black jacket and a baseball cap, obscuring his face from behind.

Ding Yuwei looked toward Zhao Tianxing.

Zhao Tianxing narrowed his eyes, studying the man intently, as if checking for any signs of a concealed weapon.

"At the next intersection, wait for the right moment. We’ll make a right turn, cut him off, and then take him down."

’With the three of us, it should be no problem.’

Shen Xin nodded. He timed it perfectly. At the upcoming intersection, just as the man was about to follow the green light straight through, Shen Xin also made a right turn, cutting right in front of him.

It looked just like a driver turning right without noticing the vehicle going straight.

The man slammed on his brakes, nearly crashing into the car. A startled face appeared from under the brim of his cap.

He had a square face with bags under his eyes and looked to be in his forties.

He muttered an indignant curse and prepared to ride off.

"The hell are you cursing at?" Zhao Tianxing threw open his door, got out, and started yelling at the middle-aged man.

He looked just like a driver with a bad case of road rage.

Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei immediately got out as well.

Ding Yuwei, however, was playing the part of "mediator" for Zhao Tianxing.

The middle-aged man laughed in exasperation. "Don’t you watch where you’re going? You nearly hit me, and you think you’re the one with a grievance?"

"Fuck, you’d better watch your mouth." Ignoring Ding Yuwei’s "attempts" to hold him back, Zhao Tianxing angrily advanced on the man.

Just then, Shen Xin rounded the front of the car.

"What do you think you’re doing—"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Shen Xin lunged forward. He and Zhao Tianxing teamed up, yanking the man right off his electric bike and forcing him to the ground.

The move was seamless and decisive.

The man only realized what was happening when his face was pressed to the pavement. He began to struggle violently, yelling, "What are you doing?"

"Don’t move."

Shen Xin had already deftly pulled out his handcuffs and snapped them on the man’s wrists.

As soon as the man was cuffed, Zhao Tianxing immediately began patting him down, searching for weapons.

"Who... Who are you people?" Once the handcuffs clicked shut, the man was utterly dumbfounded.

"We’re the police. What’s your name?"

Seeing Zhao Tianxing give a slight nod, Shen Xin hauled the man to his feet.

Just then, Gao Liyun, having seen her follower get stopped, had apparently turned around and come back.

When she got a clear look at the man, Gao Liyun gasped, "Zhang Shiquan?"

Her face was a picture of astonishment.

"You know him?"

Shen Xin was taken aback.

Gao Liyun nodded. "He’s the electrician at our factory."

Stunned, Zhao Tianxing immediately asked, "Why were you following her?"

"Following?"

Zhang Shiquan looked equally bewildered. He quickly tried to explain, "I wasn’t following her! I was..."

He trailed off, stammering.

"Spit it out!"

Zhao Tianxing ordered in a low voice.

Zhang Shiquan snuck a glance at Gao Liyun before saying, "I was just worried that something might happen to her, going home alone so late. So I followed behind to keep an eye out. I really wasn’t trying to stalk her."

"Is that all?"

The explanation seemed plausible, but Zhao Tianxing clearly wasn’t buying it completely.

"It’s true, I swear! I just..." Zhang Shiquan stammered, unable to finish.

Seeing his reaction, Shen Xin had already figured it out.

He cursed silently.

’What century is this guy living in? Using a move like this to pursue a woman, following her from afar just to make sure she gets home safe. The last time I saw a scene like this was in some old period drama.’

Gao Liyun was clearly stunned as well. "Officers," she said, "could this be a mistake?"

Now that they had him, they couldn’t just let him go based on a few words.

With the connection to Xiao Hong’s murder, they needed concrete evidence to prove Zhang Shiquan had nothing to do with the case.

They brought him to the nearby Sanqiao Town police station, borrowed a room, and conducted an interrogation.

Shen Xin already had a feeling this was all going to be a waste of time.

And sure enough, Zhang Shiquan had only arrived in Nanjiang in 2015. When the murder occurred in 2011, he was thousands of miles away and had no connection to the city whatsoever.

The reason he was following Gao Liyun was just as he’d said. He had a secret crush on her, but being divorced, he was too timid to pursue her directly. Worried for her safety when she went home alone late at night, he had resorted to tailing her in secret.

A little after two in the morning.

Zhang Shiquan was given a lecture and then released.

As he left, he kept looking back every few steps.

Gao Liyun ignored him, apologizing profusely to the three officers for wasting their time.

"Sister Gao, please don’t say that," Shen Xin said. "It’s good that you’re so vigilant. If anything like this happens again, please contact us directly."

This had been a false alarm, but what if the killer really had been spooked and decided to go after Gao Liyun?

It was a real possibility.

"Tell you what, we’ll give you a ride home."

Shen Xin offered to escort Gao Liyun home.

In truth, he wanted to see her house.

Gao Liyun lived in an old, private residence built years ago. Since this part of Sanqiao was considered a township, it was unlikely to be slated for demolition and redevelopment anytime soon.

But it had a courtyard, which made it quite a comfortable place to live.

She tiptoed, afraid of waking her child and mother-in-law.

The house was sparsely furnished. A memorial portrait of Xiao Hong hung on an inner wall.

Shen Xin tried asking a few questions about Xiao Hong and the circumstances of the murder.

Her answers were perfectly consistent with the case file.

He asked Gao Liyun to recall if Xiao Hong had made any enemies in his youth, but she said he hadn’t.

That was to be expected.

Sun Zhao had handled the case personally; he would have investigated every possible lead.

「By the time they left Gao Liyun’s house, it was nearly three in the morning.」

Zhao Tianxing stretched lazily and said to Ding Yuwei, "See? I told you. You can’t go around jinxing things. Look at this mess."

Ding Yuwei was silent.

Shen Xin sighed.

’Thinking back, Zhang Shiquan’s "stalking" was far too conspicuous for a calculating murderer.’

’I probably just got so excited about finally getting a lead that I overlooked the obvious.’

It seemed the more reliable approach was still to canvass for witnesses and try to find drivers who were near the crime scene at the time.

That meant they had to post the reward.

’Speaking of which, how many followers does the account have now?’

He had been so busy with work and the stakeout that he hadn’t had a chance to check.

Shen Xin pulled out his phone and logged into the account. He was shocked to see that their "Paw Patrol" account had already amassed over 80,000 followers.

It had gained tens of thousands of followers in just one day.

The video featuring Dou Dou had blown past ten million views, with over two hundred thousand likes.

Shen Xin sucked in a sharp breath. The account had actually gone viral.