Animal Detective

Of course, there were also the related suspects.

In total, about twenty photos were posted on the board.

Next to each photo were notes from the relevant investigation.

Because the time of the poisoning couldn’t be determined, some people’s alibis couldn’t be confirmed either.

"Alright, who wants to go first? Share your thoughts."

Shen Xin looked at the three of them.

Zhao Tianxing’s head was in the clouds, a dazed look on his face.

Ding Yuwei twirled her pen, her eyes fixed on the whiteboard, not saying a word.

As for Yang Zeran, he was staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

He asked again, but the three still didn’t respond.

"Brother Xing, you start us off," Shen Xin said.

Zhao Tianxing jolted, looked at Shen Xin, and said, "Can I not start us off?"

Seeing Shen Xin shake his head, Zhao Tianxing thought for a moment, pointed at all the photos on the whiteboard, and then said, "Well, the suspect isn’t among any of these people."

Everyone on the board had been thoroughly investigated; none of them had a strong motive for the poisoning.

It had to be someone else.

Ding Yuwei said softly, "But the problem is, if it’s not these people, then there’s no one left."

She looked toward Shen Xin.

Shen Xin nodded slightly and crossed his arms.

Just as Ding Yuwei had said, the couple’s social circle wasn’t complicated.

They were just an ordinary married couple.

You could say that these were all the people they had any connection to.

If it wasn’t one of them, it couldn’t possibly be a complete stranger.

Like a random customer.

Someone who found a big cockroach in their food one day, got angry, and decided to spend over two months poisoning them.

That’s completely irrational.

If someone were that angry, they would have grabbed a knife and killed the couple on the spot.

Shen Xin gazed at the board.

They had been investigating the case for many days, extending the work of the original task force and conducting every possible inquiry.

In truth, Shen Xin had been nursing an idea for a while.

But he didn’t dare commit to it.

"Lao Yang."

Shen Xin kicked Yang Zeran under the table, asking him for his thoughts.

Yang Zeran glanced at Shen Xin, stood up, and looked as if he was about to say something.

But the words died on his lips. He swallowed them and sat back down.

He decided not to speak.

But a moment after sitting down, he frowned and stood up again.

Zhao Tianxing said, exasperated, "Lao Yang, just spit it out already."

Yang Zeran shot him a glare and said, "I’ve had a realization recently. When we’re working a case, we can’t take too much for granted."

"In other words, there’s always a gap between our ideas and reality. Some ideas seem perfectly reasonable and logical in our heads."

"But in the real world, that logic doesn’t always play out."

"Take, for example, how we investigate a case. We follow the standard procedure, centering our investigation on the victim."

"We look for a motive, identify logical suspects, and then try to piece together what happened."

"But the reality we construct is one born from our own imagination."

At this point, Zhao Tianxing interrupted him again. "My dear philosopher Yang, what on earth are you trying to say?"

Yang Zeran raised a hand, signaling for him to be quiet, then looked at Shen Xin.

Their eyes met, a silent exchange passing between them.

Yang Zeran said, "Shen Xin, this case is strange. We’ve come up with several ways the crime could have been committed, and they’re theoretically possible."

"But only in theory. Is it possible that, in reality, it wasn’t that complicated?"

Shen Xin nodded slightly. He felt that he and Yang Zeran were on the same page.

Shen Xin said, "Just like you said, we take it for granted that the case must unfold a certain way, that it has to be logical. But in reality, that might not be true."

Yang Zeran’s eyes brightened. He was sure that Shen Xin had arrived at the same conclusion he had.

Ding Yuwei was completely lost. She asked what the two of them were getting at.

Shen Xin looked at Yang Zeran, gesturing for him to speak first.

Yang Zeran shook his head, motioning for Shen Xin to go first.

He was being modest.

An idea struck Shen Xin. He pointed to a notebook and said, "How about we write it down and see if we’re thinking the same thing?"

Yang Zeran nodded, picked up a pen, and quickly scribbled in his notebook.

Shen Xin also quickly wrote a few words.

"Together?" Yang Zeran asked.

Shen Xin nodded and turned his notebook around.

On Yang Zeran’s notebook across from him, two large words were written in stark letters.

Guo Jinhua!

Followed by a question mark.

Ding Yuwei quickly turned her head to look at Yang Zeran’s notebook.

Shen Xin’s notebook also had the name Guo Jinhua written on it.

Zhao Tianxing was baffled. "Wait, what are you two getting at?"

Yang Zeran gave a knowing smile and gestured for Shen Xin to explain.

Shen Xin swiveled his chair to face the board. "Actually, my idea is quite simple," he said.

"We’ve investigated every social connection this couple had and came up with nothing."

"We can’t determine the time of the poisoning or the method used."

"Especially the method—poisoning someone for over two months without being discovered."

"So, is this a method we haven’t thought of, or is it some kind of high-concept, elaborate scheme from a classic mystery novel?"

"Like Lao Yang said, some things seem logically sound, they make sense in theory."

"But when you apply them to the real world, the chances of them actually happening are minuscule."

"So, in this case, we have no suspect with a motive, and we’ve investigated everyone connected to them."

"We haven’t found the poison, and we can’t figure out a plausible method of administration."

"So if we eliminate all these impossibilities, one possibility, however improbable, becomes the most reasonable one."

"That they poisoned themselves."

Shen Xin pointed to the two photos in the middle of the board.

Yang Zeran nodded.

Ding Yuwei’s eyes widened.

Zhao Tianxing’s jaw dropped. After a long moment, he blurted out, "Shen Xin, are you saying it was a suicide?"

Ding Yuwei was horrified and gasped, "You mean, they decided to commit suicide because their child got sick and passed away?"

"No."

Shen Xin shook his head. "It’s still a homicide. Guo Jinhua killed Fu Lanting."

"It’s simple. Fu Lanting is dead, and Guo Jinhua is alive."

If there has to be a killer, it must be the one who’s alive, not the one who’s dead.

"Like I said, their social circle was simple, with no suspects who had a motive."

"But if the suspect is the person sleeping next to you, doesn’t that suddenly make sense?"

"We can’t figure out the poisoning method because it seems so difficult to pull off. But if the person administering the poison is someone close to the victim, doesn’t that become plausible?"

"You’re probably thinking that Guo Jinhua was a victim himself. He was poisoned too and suffered severe long-term effects."

"But again, he lived, and Fu Lanting died."

"No one’s stupid enough to actually kill themselves. So that only leaves Guo Jinhua."

"However illogical it seems, given the circumstances, it’s the most logical explanation."

Shen Xin recalled the reactions of Sun Zhao and Chen Chao.

Chen Chao had said that back then, he had an idea but never dared to commit to it.

Thinking about it now, Shen Xin felt that the two of them had probably considered this possibility as well.

But it was too counter-intuitive.

Moreover, a special task force had been established for the case at the time, and it was getting a lot of attention.

Imagine investigating all this time, only to accuse the victim of being the killer.

Especially with no evidence to support such a theory. Who would dare to reach that conclusion lightly?