Animal Detective

Chapter 96: Is Xiaoguo Dead?

Nanjiang and Lishui are on the border of two provinces, separated by a lake. The driving distance is about 150 kilometers.

A little over an hour later, the trio arrived in Lishui.

Lishui City, Kangshan Branch.

Liu Zaixing, the deputy captain of the branch’s Criminal Investigation Division, received the three of them cordially.

Liu Zaixing likely knew less about Sun Min’s situation than Shen Xin’s group did, so after some brief pleasantries, he immediately took them to the Xinzhu Police Station.

Sun Min’s current household registration was located in Xinzhu Street.

The station chief received them. When he heard they were investigating Sun Min, he narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he’d recalled something. He picked up his radio and told an officer on patrol named Deng Rong to come back.

"The Yutang Alley where Sun Min lives is an old building in what’s now a protected historic district. Deng Rong is the community officer for that area, so he should be more familiar with Sun Min’s situation."

Deng Rong arrived shortly after.

He was a man in his forties, with tanned skin and an air similar to Li Dongsheng’s.

He must have just handled a call; his head was beaded with sweat, and his back was soaked through. He grabbed the chief’s cup from the desk, drained it in one gulp, and then asked, "What did you need me for?"

The chief pointed to Shen Xin’s group and explained the situation.

"Granny Sun?"

He had a strange look on his face. "She’s a woman in her sixties. How could she be connected to a murder case? Besides, she’s paralyzed from a stroke. She can’t move half her body and relies completely on her husband to care for her."

The chief cut Deng Rong off. "Enough with the chatter. These people came a long way to investigate a case. Just cooperate with them."

Hearing that, Deng Rong said no more and gestured for them to leave immediately.

"Wait a moment."

Shen Xin spoke up, stopping Deng Rong. He then asked, "Brother Deng, what’s Sun Min’s family situation like? Does she have children? And did her child... go missing?"

After yesterday’s case analysis meeting, the team had brainstormed potential motives for Li Weiqin and the others.

They had ruled out a crime of passion.

Murder for money was a tentative possibility.

The financial angle was being reinvestigated, but for a little over two million, it seemed the cost-to-reward ratio was off for six people to meticulously hide for three years.

After much consideration, a revenge killing seemed the most likely.

But what was the grudge?

It was Ding Yuwei who, in a flash of inspiration, had mentioned one possibility.

A child!

Guo Chunping’s child had been abducted.

At the same time, Ding Yuwei had also made a connection to how Liu Laibin made his fortune in Jiaozhou.

He had refused to help his relatives get rich, and upon returning, he got involved in gray-area industries like spot gold trading. This suggested his fortune might not have been made through legitimate means.

Ding Yuwei speculated that perhaps he’d made his fortune from child trafficking.

But there were still doubts.

If Guo Chunping knew that Liu Laibin had abducted his child, why did he choose murder instead of calling the police?

Was it because the child couldn’t be found, or had the child died? There were many questions that needed investigating.

But it was worth speculating that Sun Min and the others were in the same situation.

Otherwise, how did a group of people from all corners of the country, with no prior connection to one another, come together to murder Liu Laibin?

Deng Rong was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Elder Uncle Wang’s family did lose a child, but it wasn’t their own child. It was their granddaughter."

"I don’t remember the exact year, because she wasn’t lost here. Their son and daughter-in-law had gone to work in the South at the time, and they lost the child while they were there."

"Their son was working as a scaffolder on a construction site. Because of what happened, his wife became mentally unstable. As for him, he was probably overcome with grief and lost focus. He missed a step and fell to his death."

"His wife seemed to have gone completely mad. Her family came and took her back home. All that was left was the old couple. Their family was truly ruined."

Ding Yuwei quickly nudged Shen Xin with her elbow.

Shen Xin was also shocked.

’I can’t believe we actually guessed right.’

Zhao Tianxing hurriedly asked, "Brother Deng, did Sun Min’s son go to work in Jiaozhou?"

Guo Chunping’s son had gone missing in Jiaozhou’s Qinggang City.

"That’s right. Jiaozhou was developing rapidly back then, so everyone went there." Deng Rong nodded, then asked with a strange expression if they still wanted to go to Sun Min’s house.

"Yes."

Shen Xin said, standing up.

Since things had come to this, they definitely still needed to speak with Sun Min.

On the way to Sun Min’s house, Shen Xin immediately updated the case’s group chat with the information about Sun Min.

"Holy shit, so Xiaoding really guessed right," replied their colleague, Old Ma.

His message brought everyone else out of the woodwork.

Sun Zhao also sent a message: "Shen Xin, this case is four years old, and Guo Chunping is also dead. It will be difficult to find direct evidence. For now, make contact with Sun Min. Use the excuse that you’re reopening the case to take a new statement from her."

"Don’t rush this case. We need to take it slow. This will give us time to make a breakthrough with the clues."

"Oh, and don’t forget to get their signatures."

During the case analysis meeting, besides brainstorming the motive for the murder by Li Weiqin’s group of five, they had also discussed the issue of the money.

Back when Qin Chuanwang was investigating, he had also focused on the company’s financial transactions.

The company had a contract with Sun Kai’s company, along with transfer records. The finance department even had reimbursement forms from Li Weiqin for treating clients to dinner.

It was clear that Li Weiqin’s group of five had gone to great lengths to fabricate the existence of this Sun Kai.

The problem was, while it all seemed fine at the time, re-examining it now would reveal many holes.

For example, the company seal on the contract could be forged, but what about the signature?

Who signed it? They couldn’t have conjured a real Sun Kai out of thin air, so someone must have signed for him.

Who was this person?

If they compared the signature on the contract with the handwriting of the six individuals, could they confirm who signed it?

There were also records of treating clients to dinner and expenses at KTVs. Couldn’t they investigate those too? Although four years had passed, maybe someone would remember what happened back then.

Finally, there was the bridge loan.

Assuming the accountant, Fan Hui Zhen, was involved, it meant she used her professional knowledge to pull some strings, open foreign accounts, and transfer the money out.

In that case, they could find a more skilled accountant to re-examine the books. They could even reopen the investigation into the foreign accounts.

Previously, their resources were limited, but with the nation’s development in recent years, conditions were much better.

So, a novel was ultimately just a novel. You could fabricate a perfect scene, but in reality, there would always be traces left behind.

Shen Xin replied, "Got it." Before long, they arrived at Yutang Alley.

Lishui had many ancient towns, and thus, many old houses.

Yutang Alley was one such old district, the kind with small bridges over flowing streams and bluestone-paved ground.

Deng Rong led the three of them along the small alley, greeting people as they went. After many twists and turns, they soon arrived at their destination.

It was an old house with a small courtyard, located just off the main street.

There was no telling how old the brass clasp on the door was.

With a CREAK, he pushed the door open and went inside.

"Uncle Wang, it’s me, Xiaodeng! Are you home?" Deng Rong called out.

Soon, a white-haired old man with a hunched back emerged from the main house.

He was still holding a bowl in his hands. He looked at the four of them in confusion and asked what was going on.

Deng Rong pointed to Shen Xin’s group and introduced them. "Uncle Wang, these three are colleagues from Nanjiang. They’re here to ask Granny Sun about a few things. Is it a convenient time?"

Shen Xin keenly noticed that when Deng Rong mentioned Nanjiang, the bowl in the old man’s hands trembled.

He seemed dazed, staring fixedly at the three visitors for a long while before suddenly speaking. "So, you’ve finally come knocking. What about Xiaoguo? He isn’t really dead, is he?"

Shen Xin and the others were utterly shocked.

’Is this... a confession?’

’The key question is, how did he know Guo Chunping was dead?’

The old man looked up, sighed, and waved the three of them over. "Alright, come in and have a seat. Let me finish giving my wife her medicine, and then I’ll tell you everything."