Animal Detective

Chapter 126: Why Stop the Car

Wenyuan City.

Jinhua District.

"This is it." Shen Xin looked up at the door number.

Building 3, Apartment 901.

Sun Zhao nodded and headed straight upstairs.

After receiving a call from Song Shifeng yesterday and reporting to Lv Youwei, Sun Zhao had decided to come to Wenyuan City to take Song Shifeng’s statement in person.

Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei were with him, along with Zhang Nanhai, a sketch artist from the branch’s technical division.

They hoped to produce a composite sketch of the suspect.

He was home. The door opened quickly after they rang the doorbell.

Song Shifeng was fifty-one, with a square face and a kind demeanor. His wife and daughter were also home.

The family was very polite, saying they were happy to help the police.

"Officer Sun, after we spoke on the phone the day before yesterday, I tried my best to recall the details. But it’s been six years, so my memory isn’t very clear. I just remember he was carrying one of those red, woven plastic bags, you know?"

"He was wearing dark clothes, but I don’t remember the specifics. Homeless people often wear many layers, so it was hard to tell."

"His hair was quite long, probably down to his earlobes, and it was all sticking up and messy."

"Oh, right, I think he had a beard. Hair on his upper lip and on his chin, like a goatee."

Song Shifeng offered these new details.

Sun Zhao nodded repeatedly, thanking him profusely before requesting his help in creating a composite sketch.

Zhang Nanhai was a veteran from the branch. In his forties and wearing narrow-framed glasses, he explained, "Sometimes you think you don’t remember, but your brain has recorded it all. It might just need some prompting to come out. So, we can give it a try."

"Alright, I can do that. I’m just worried I won’t be able to remember anything."

Song Shifeng was very cooperative.

Following Zhang Nanhai’s instructions, he lay on the sofa, closed his eyes, and relaxed. Zhang Nanhai started by having him recall his return to Nanjiang on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month. Using various questioning techniques—mentioning the traffic jam, events after exiting the highway—he reinforced Song Shifeng’s memory, gradually guiding him to the scene of the crime.

The others waited in the dining room.

Song Shifeng’s daughter even asked about Dou Dou.

Apparently, she was a fan.

"So, you’re saying that after Tiger Stripes and Dou Dou... did their thing... she ran a whole thirty kilometers just to show up at your police station?" she asked, incredulous.

Her expression seemed to say, ’With a face like Tiger Stripes, how could he be so popular?’

Shen Xin thought to himself that he was curious too.

Lately, with the relaxed supervision of Tiger Stripes, the dog had occasionally been wandering around the precinct.

And then, female dogs started appearing near the station.

’Dogs must have their own unique sense of aesthetics,’ Shen Xin concluded.

After nearly half an hour, Zhang Nanhai finished and showed the sketch to Shen Xin and the others.

"Just as he said, it was a fleeting glance, too brief. And with so many years having passed, he really doesn’t have a strong impression. But one thing stood out: the transient was probably quite tall. According to Mr. Song, Xiao Hong grabbed him by the collar."

Zhang Nanhai gestured, explaining, "He had to raise his hand high. Xiao Hong was 174 centimeters tall, so I speculate this transient is likely over 180 centimeters tall."

Shen Xin looked at the sketch.

Messy hair, a slightly gaunt face, a wide chin, a prominent brow ridge, and deep-set eyes.

And a beard—a goatee.

"Are we sure about the deep-set eyes?" Sun Zhao had also noticed that detail.

Zhang Nanhai shook his head. "It’s hard to say for sure. But based on his description, I believe so. He said the headlights created a shadow in the eye sockets, which suggests they might be deep."

"I showed him the sketch, and he felt it was a good likeness."

Song Shifeng came over and apologized, saying that was all he could remember.

Sun Zhao quickly assured him that they were extremely grateful.

After all, they had at least confirmed that Xiao Hong had been in a dispute with someone, which gave them a direction for the investigation.

Moreover, the other person wasn’t just some featureless individual but a transient, which was a very distinct investigative lead.

"Mr. Song, regarding the reward money, we’ll contact you again after our investigation progresses," Sun Zhao mentioned as they were leaving.

Normally, the reward money would only be paid out after the case was solved and the murderer was caught.

But this was a cold case. Even with a new lead, there was no guarantee it could be solved.

Therefore, before coming, they had consulted Lv Youwei, who had agreed to pay out the reward as long as their investigation confirmed that a transient was indeed present and connected to the case.

Song Shifeng quickly said the money didn’t matter; it wasn’t important. He only hoped the case could be solved and the killer found.

He added that it was remarkable for the police to still be pursuing a six-year-old case so relentlessly.

The group left without delay, heading straight for the train station to return to Nanjiang.

In the station’s waiting hall, Sun Zhao brought up the case, asking Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei for their thoughts.

Ding Yuwei glanced at Shen Xin before speaking first. "Captain Sun, I think we should focus on the motive. Why would a transient kill Xiao Hong?"

"Is it possible that it was a robbery-homicide, but the robber was disguised as a transient?"

Sun Zhao nodded. "Yes, that’s one angle."

It was, after all, the original direction of the investigation.

Saying this, Sun Zhao turned to Shen Xin and asked for his opinion.

He knew Shen Xin was full of ideas and had a flexible way of thinking. In the Wu Jiawang case, for example, most people would never have guessed that Wu Jiawang had been in a car accident.

And in Liu Laibin’s case, his deduction that all six were murderers was a stroke of genius.

Shen Xin shook his head. "There’s one problem: why did Xiao Hong get into a conflict with this transient in the first place?"

Song Shifeng described seeing Xiao Hong angrily grabbing the transient’s collar during an argument.

"Think about it. If you were Xiao Hong, delivering goods late at night, what reason would you have to stop your truck and get into an argument with a transient?"

"Let’s say, as Ding Yuwei suggested, it was a robber disguised as a transient, playing pitiful and flagging down the truck."

"But it was late at night. A stranger flagging you down... back in 2011, I think most drivers wouldn’t have stopped to check."

Back then, robberies on national highways were still quite common.

Many drivers kept crowbars and other makeshift weapons in their vehicles for fear of being held up.

"Besides, Xiao Hong used to be a hoodlum. Even though he’d turned his life around, he doesn’t seem like the type to see a transient waving and kindly stop to ask if he needs help."

Ding Yuwei shot Shen Xin a surprised look.

Once again, she was witnessing his analytical prowess.

And with his analysis, her own theory was starting to look shaky.

Sun Zhao thought for a moment and asked, "So what do you think happened?"

Shen Xin closed his eyes, putting himself in Xiao Hong’s shoes.

’I’m driving my truck down the national highway.’

’Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. I should be at home with my family, but instead, I’m out here hauling freight.’

’I’m definitely not happy about it.’

’But I have to suck it up to make a living.’

’So, what kind of situation would make me stop the truck and get into a fight with a transient?’

As Shen Xin considered this, his eyes snapped open.

"Captain Sun, could this be a possibility? Picture this: Xiao Hong is already in a foul mood. At that moment, a transient jaywalks across the highway. It’s late, and there aren’t many streetlights on that stretch of road."

"Xiao Hong nearly hits the guy. He’s scared to death, but after the initial relief of not hitting someone, wouldn’t his next natural emotion be anger?"

Sun Zhao frowned and interjected, "So he got out of the truck to confront the transient."

"Exactly!"

Shen Xin nodded.

It was a plausible scenario.

Otherwise, there was no reason for Xiao Hong to stop his truck late at night to argue with a transient.

It would be perfectly normal for a wanderer to cross a national highway.

"The transient might have ignored him, but Xiao Hong was furious. He started cussing him out, saying some nasty things, and the transient suddenly stabbed him."

Shen Xin gestured, miming a knife stabbing into his own neck.

Ding Yuwei flinched. Stunned, she asked, "But what’s the motive?"

’There has to be a motive for murder.’

’Killing someone just because they yelled at you and you had a little argument?’

But Sun Zhao’s eyes lit up. "Yuwei," he said in a low voice, "some cases really don’t have a motive."

The human heart is an unfathomable thing.

"A man who’s been a transient for years, eccentric... you yell at me, I’m not happy, I have a knife in my hand, so I stab you. What more motive do you need?"