Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 197 Doubt (Fourth update, 10,000 words)

"Is it possible that the initial corpse and this tomb-robbing murder case were not committed by the same person?"

Nie Guoqiang proposed an idea over the phone.

Sun Chang glanced at the dozens of police officers handling the remains and questioned, "But the initial hands and feet were found in the tomb. Along with them was the head of a second body. If it wasn't the same person, why put the remains together with someone else's murder? Isn't this deliberately escalating the case, increasing the police's workload, and courting disaster?"

"That's the problem. Oh, wait a minute. There's a typo here; didn't you see the minus sign inside the parentheses?"

Nie Guoqiang paused for a moment, seemingly instructing someone on their homework, and Sun Chang also heard a silly "oh oh" sound.

After a long pause, Nie Guoqiang continued, "First, we need to confirm one thing: who brought the hands and feet of the corpse into the tomb? Was it the murderer of the first corpse? Wu Laosan, who denied killing anyone? Or the murderer of the second corpse, who is still hiding in the shadows? Among these, Wu Laosan is the least suspicious, because such an act would be redundant for him, and logically he would have no need to dismember the body or any reason to separate and hide the corpse. This guy is very likely, as he confessed, just a tool for burying the corpse."

After a pause, seemingly tapping the table again, Nie Guoqiang continued, "Now there's another question: Did Wu Laosan know that the other part of the body was thrown into the grave? No! It should be said, did he know that besides the victim's head that he needed to dispose of, there were also remains belonging to another victim in the grave? If he was unaware of the remains of the first body, or if the first body wasn't even at the scene, the case becomes clearer. I propose a hypothesis: could the two cases be just a coincidence? Or perhaps the perpetrator of the first body discovered Wu Laosan's act of disposing of the body and used him to mislead the investigation?"

"You mean, there might be a sequence to events?"

Sun Chang suddenly realized and tried to understand Nie Guoqiang's meaning, saying, "If this series of murders was indeed committed by different murderers, it is very possible that the murderer of the first body deliberately framed them after witnessing Wu Laosan and his gang throwing the body's head into the grave?"

"We can't rule out this possibility, right?"

Nie Guoqiang chuckled, coughed, and said, "That's it for math. Next up is English. Zhuangzhuang, you can't keep being so careless. How about we have your mom attend the next parent-teacher meeting?"

Sun Chang heard wails coming from the other end of the phone.

She sighed silently and said in a low voice, "Chief, is it really appropriate for you to talk about cases, especially brutal dismemberment murder cases, in front of children?"

Lin Ge, standing nearby, shook his head speechlessly. Having such an unreliable father was truly bad luck for Nie Zhuangzhuang. He wondered if, after hearing so much awful stuff, Nie Zhuangzhuang would have nightmares and wet his pants that night.

"Alright then, Sun Chang, tell the police over there what I'm thinking, and leave the rest to them."

Nie Guoqiang seemed to suddenly realize something and quickly coughed to end the conversation. After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but add, "If my deduction is correct, then the first murderer is likely someone who knew or was acquainted with Wu Laosan. Wu Laosan's act of throwing the corpse's head into the grave was undoubtedly very cautious and careful at the time. It's highly unlikely that the murderer was able to witness or know that he did this; it was probably not just a coincidence that he happened to see it."

Sun Chang nodded, and after Nie Guoqiang finished explaining, he told the person in charge at the scene his deduction.

The person in charge did not stubbornly resist others' intervention. Instead, after listening carefully to Nie Guoqiang's case analysis, he did not hesitate to send people to visit the surrounding villages and conduct a more detailed investigation into Wu Laosan's interpersonal relationships.

However, these are all long-term tasks, and it is difficult to get a good result when you are unlucky.

The forensic team's analysis of the two bodies wouldn't yield detailed conclusions in just a day or two. Conclusions that could be easily reached would only be icing on the cake, offering little real help in solving the case.

That's how cases are. If you're lucky, you close the case on the spot; if you're unlucky, it can drag on for a year or two and become a backlog. You can only pray that one day you'll stumble upon another case or another person, and some important clue will suddenly pop up out of nowhere.

Why do police officers prefer criminals who return to the force?
Firstly, such people are unlikely to have strong mental fortitude; their paranoia and suspicion will easily give them away. Secondly, their return to the crime scene makes it easier for them to leave behind more evidence, giving the police more opportunities to catch them.

On the contrary, the most troublesome cases for the police are those random killings or professional killers who commit the crime and then flee. Police forces all over the world struggle with these cases because there are so few clues available at the scene. It's only thanks to the advanced surveillance systems that these cases are easier to solve.

The excavation and collection of the body were completed that same evening.

Although a lot of useful information and evidence have been obtained, the breakthrough in solving the case still likely lies with Wu Laosan. Furthermore, at the previous crime scene, near the cemetery, forensic experts have successfully extracted several DNA samples from instant noodle containers and mineral water bottles left at the scene, providing crucial evidence to help identify the suspect.

On the contrary, instant noodles and bottled water did not find corresponding purchase points as easily as in the movie.

It's always difficult to keep detailed records of something that's consumed in such large quantities. A city's daily consumption of bottled water is no less than six figures, and distributors generally don't scrutinize sales records carefully. Relying on such records to identify suspects is undoubtedly a pipe dream.

Regardless, once this case was designated as a special task force, it had ample manpower and resources. With everyone mobilized, the number of leads gathered would only increase, and catching the perpetrators would be just a matter of time.

Lin Ge helped find the body and was lucky enough to catch a criminal suspect, so he could be considered to have completed his mission.

His achievements were beyond reproach, and the Public Security Bureau, unlike other departments, placed greater emphasis on ability and competence. Lin Ge demonstrated his capabilities, which earned him better treatment, even a private room in a hotel.

This was a privilege that neither Qian Wei nor Sun Chang received, but the two of them made no attempt to hide their habit of using Lin Ge's room.

When Sun Chang came out of the shower, she saw Lin Ge holding her phone and video chatting with someone else! On the other end were two lynx cubs wailing and barking, trying to get close to their godfather but unable to fit into the phone frame. The person holding the phone was a young trainer, looking embarrassed and trying hard to be patient.

"Mimi, when did you sneak a peek at my phone's unlock code?"

Sun Chang casually complained, then dried his hair and sat down next to Lin Ge, leaning close to Lin Ge's head to watch the two little creatures on the screen. Unsurprisingly, the two little ones were locked in a cage, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Bear with it for a few days! Once you get used to it, just accept your fate. Anyway, there's no way I can get you out of this cage."

Lin Ge, utterly devoid of conscience, comforted the two lynx cubs. After all, these two fools brought this mess upon themselves. If they had stayed in their den, none of this trouble would have happened. But conversely, the freedom of the wild could never compare to the comfort of having enough to eat and shelter now. Speaking of which, these two little guys probably haven't forgotten how their mother died, have they? The wild may seem free, but when food is scarce, eating carcasses is sometimes unavoidable…

Huh?
"Excuse me! Beautiful lady, do you own this cat?"

The young zookeeper, who had been looking impatient while tending to the two lynx cubs, was immediately captivated when Sun Chang appeared. Like a lotus emerging from clear water, Sun Chang, with her rosy cheeks from her bath, instantly charmed him.

Without hesitation, this guy grabbed his phone and pointed it at himself, trying his best to show off and attempting to video chat with the beautiful woman on the other end.

"Put your phone down, I want to see the baby lynx!"

Sun Chang didn't tolerate this guy at all, and without any politeness, she put on a stern face and didn't give him the slightest bit of a friendly look.

"Okay... okay."

The zookeeper awkwardly put the phone back in its place.

Sun Chang finally felt relieved when he saw the two baby lynxes.

After interacting with the unfortunate little guys for a bit, Sun Chang turned to Lin Ge and smiled, "Mimi, when we go back in a few days, let's go to the zoo to visit them, okay? Hey? What are you doing?"

Sun Chang was taken aback by Lin Ge's thoughtful expression with his eyes narrowed.

(End of this chapter)