Animal Detective

Chapter 345: Being confused doesn’t hurt your brain
Shen Xin closed the file and handed it to Zhao Tianxing, gesturing for him to take a look.

Then he got up to examine the physical evidence.

For example, those underwear.

Lin Zenghui was found naked.

His underwear was actually found at the bottom of the dolphin pool.

Hou Shishi described Lin Zenghui as holding her in the water, playing with dolphins, and surfing.

Then, while diving, the water "accidentally" washed away her underwear.

Then it pressed itself against its own body and teased itself.

In other words, he took it off himself.

Shen Xin glanced at it and put it down.

The underwear found at the bottom of the pool raises a question.

Why didn't Lin Zenghui immediately chase after Hou Shishi after she resisted and fled the scene?

Perhaps because the matter wasn't resolved, he was too angry to chase after her.

It's also possible that he was picking up underwear.

You can't just run out naked.

Shen Xin believes that Lin Zenghui's time of death should be the time when Hou Shishi panicked and left the dolphinarium, which was captured on surveillance footage.

That is, around 11:47.

Either he had already been drowned by Hou Shishi before.

Either the real culprit appears after this time and drowns Lin Zenghui.

Otherwise, Lin Zenghui would definitely have chased after him or left the dolphinarium.

After carefully examining all the physical evidence, Shen Xin had a clear understanding of the situation.

Based on the investigation records and case discussion records, until the very end, the Lishan Branch still leaned towards the conclusion that it was an accident.

They have good reason to draw this conclusion.

First, the so-called blind spot in surveillance was a possible infiltration route, but no signs of climbing over the wall were found.

No obvious footprints were found outside the wall or on the nearby mountains.

They even suspected that someone had hidden in the dolphinarium beforehand.

However, Lin Zenghui's decision to date Hou Shishi was made on short notice. He consulted all the staff at the dolphinarium, but no one knew about it.

That's a random event.

Then, the aquarium staff and security guards on duty at night all had clear alibis.

Most importantly, a thorough search of the scene revealed no trace of a second person.

There were no traces of other people on the body, such as under the fingernails.

If he was forcibly drowned, Lin Zenghui would definitely struggle desperately and might scratch the murderer.

In short, all signs indicate that no one else was present at the scene besides Hou Shishi.

In that case, there are only two possibilities.

One possibility is that Hou Shishi lied.

They devised various theories in an attempt to prove that Hou Shishi was a suspect in the crime.

For example, it is suspected that when Hou Shishi was struggling, she hit Lin Zenghui's nose with the back of her head, using excessive force, causing Lin Zenghui to faint and then drown.

However, the forensic experts determined that this was unlikely.

Moreover, the autopsy proved that Lin Zenghui drowned while fully conscious.

They also conducted lie detector tests.

The lie detector test results showed that Hou Shishi was not lying.

As for the issue of the disparity in strength between men and women, they noticed it immediately after the incident and discussed it, concluding that Hou Shishi would have had little opportunity to commit the crime.

In addition, there is motivation.

This means that all the evidence proves that Hou Shishi is innocent.

pity.

Before the investigation was fully completed, Hou Shishi was accidentally killed by Ye Xinyi.

They created a situation where there was no way to verify the truth.

So, assuming we rule out the possibility that Hou Shishi was lying, the remaining possibility is that she drowned accidentally.

However, many factors prove that Lin Zenghui did not have the possibility of accidentally drowning.

The dolphin pool has a suitable temperature, which is maintained at around 22 degrees Celsius all year round. This water temperature is such that the water is too cold and causes leg cramps.

Everyone can attest that Lin Zenghui is an excellent swimmer.

How could he have drowned by accident?

In other words, at this point in the investigation, all possibilities have been exhausted.

Shen Xin recalled what Qian Hao had said before. His exact words were: "Some unexpected events have occurred, making it impossible to confirm some details, but the overall situation of the case is still clear."

According to the case files, there were no problems with the investigation process in Lishan.

We've checked everything we could.

The final conclusion can be drawn that it was an accidental drowning.

What kind of accident happened remains unknown.

But precisely because Ye Xinyi killed Hou Shishi, and things had escalated to this point, they dared not easily draw any unexpected conclusions.

After a thorough investigation, they still concluded it was an accident, which the family felt was just a way of fooling them.

They dared not draw conclusions, yet they could not continue the investigation.

Over time, it became an unsolved case.

Shen Xin sat back down and looked at Ding Yuwei and the other person.

Ding Yuwei has read the case file and now she has also seen the detailed physical evidence.

Zhao Tianxing, on the other hand, buried his head in the case file, his eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown.

After he finished reading, Shen Xin asked, "Brother Xing, what are your thoughts?"

Zhao Tianxing was taken aback, then pointed to himself and asked, "Does my opinion matter?"

When he was at the branch office, he was a tireless, dedicated worker who would do whatever he was told.

He rarely had the opportunity to express his opinion.

Shen Xin said, "Nonsense, with your intelligence and extensive experience in handling cases, your ideas must be important."

"Get lost."

Zhao Tianxing cursed irritably, then scratched his head and tentatively said, "I can't say for sure. It was probably an accident, but Hou Shishi might also be lying."

"The lie detector isn't always accurate. Maybe she didn't do it on purpose; it was just excessive self-defense."

Ding Yuwei immediately retorted, "Impossible. First of all, the accuracy of lie detectors is actually very high. I don't think an ordinary girl has the ability to fool a lie detector."

"Secondly, there were no obvious impact injuries on the body, and the autopsy results also proved that the deceased drowned while conscious."

Zhao Tianxing stared at him and said, "So you think it was an accident?"

Ding Yuwei's momentum faltered, and she said, "I didn't say that."

As she spoke, she subconsciously turned her head to look at Shen Xin.

Their eyes met, and Shen Xin felt that she probably already had the answer in her heart.

But she couldn't be sure.

Zhao Tianxing turned to look at Shen Xin and said, "Shen Xin, you're the team leader, what do you think?"

"I think?"

Shen Xin leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling for a while, and suddenly asked, "Brother Xing, do you have Yang Zeran's number?"

"Who?"

The topic had jumped a bit too far, and Zhao Tianxing didn't react immediately. Shen Xin sat up straight and said, "Yang Zeran."

Zhao Tianxing paused for a moment, then nodded.

Police officers' numbers are public information, so he naturally had them.

"Give it to me, I'll call him."

Shen Xin asked for the phone number.

Zhao Tianxing asked, puzzled, why he was calling Yang Zeran.

They're not even one of our own.

Shen Xin said, "What a question. He's a top student in criminal investigation at the Public Security University. The details of the case are unclear. Is it okay if I consult him?"

Zhao Tianxing was speechless and took out his phone to find a number.

After getting the number, Shen Xin immediately dialed it.

The call was quickly connected, and Yang Zeran's cold voice came through, asking who it was.

"I am Shen Xin, from the Cold Cases Office. We've met before."

Shen Xin gave a brief introduction, then asked Yang Zeran if he was busy.

This kid is incredibly cold; he just said, "What's up?"

Shen Xin said, "It's like this, I have a case here and would like to ask you for guidance and advice."

When the case was mentioned, the person on the other end hesitated for a moment and asked, "A cold case?"

Shen Xin said, "That's right. If you're free, come to the Lishan branch. I'll be waiting for you here. Oh, and I'll treat you to lunch."

Yang Zeran paused for a moment, then said, "No, what do you want with me about your case?"

Shen Xin immediately said, "What are you saying? You're from the branch team, so you have the responsibility to guide case handling. If there's a case, it wouldn't be a problem for you to take a look at it, would it?"

These words left Yang Zeran speechless.

On the phone, he smacked his lips, seemingly wanting to argue, but unable to find a suitable reason, so he could only say, "Okay, I'll be there in half an hour."

"Well, wait for you."

Shen Xin hung up the phone.

Zhao Tianxing asked curiously, "Shen Xin, why are you asking him? He's not one of ours yet."

Shen Xin said, "It's not like that now, but if it passes the inspection, then it will be."

Shen Xin felt that this case was very suitable.

This is a good opportunity to assess Yang Zeran's professional abilities.

If he had reviewed the case file and hadn't drawn a conclusion immediately, then Shen Xin would really have to question the abilities of this top student in criminal investigation from the Public Security University.

Yang Zeran has a cold personality.

But they are efficient and quick to act. They said they would arrive in half an hour, and they really did arrive half an hour later.

Upon meeting Shen Xin, he adopted a businesslike expression and immediately asked about the case.

Shen Xin asked him to sign the record of retrieving the case file first, and then handed the case file to him.

He pushed the evidence box over and said, "The evidence is all here. Take a look."

Yang Zeran glanced at Shen Xin, wondering what Shen Xin was up to, but since it was a case, he sat down and began to read the case file seriously.

He reads very quickly.

Then he would get up from time to time to examine the physical evidence and make comparisons.

It only took about ten minutes to review the case file.

He then picked up the physical evidence and examined it carefully.

After reading everything, he pondered for a moment, then looked at Shen Xin with a strange expression and asked, "What are you thinking?"

Before Shen Xin could speak, Zhao Tianxing interjected, "Don't worry about us, this is a test for you."

考？
Yang Zeran paused for a moment, glanced at the case file again, and said in a deep voice, "Actually, the conclusion reached by Lishan is not wrong. Hou Shishi is not suspected of committing the crime."

“There is no second murderer, but I believe Lin Zenghui's death was not an accidental drowning; he was probably…”

At this point, Yang Zeran paused, biting his lip, his gaze hesitant.

Shen Xin pressed for details about what happened.

Yang Zeran gritted his teeth and said, "Yes... he was dragged into the water by dolphins and drowned."

After he finished speaking, his expression became somewhat unnatural, as if he were embarrassed.

Ding Yuwei looked at Shen Xin.

Zhao Tianxing immediately said, "No, you can't assume the dolphin killed him just because he was bitten on the arm."

"Why didn't he feed the dolphins properly, or did he mistreat them?"

These words made Yang Zeran's expression even more unnatural.

He seemed to feel that this conclusion was inappropriate, but he gritted his teeth and said, "I know this conclusion is absurd and sounds unlikely."

"But the evidence is right here. There were no traces of a second person at the scene, and the autopsy results also proved that Hou Shishi had no possibility of committing the crime."

"No suspects with a motive were identified in the deceased's social network."

"Therefore, after eliminating all the impossible scenarios, what remains, however incredible, is the truth."

"The deceased was drowned by dolphins."

Yang Zeran looked up, his gaze resolute.

Zhao Tianxing rolled his eyes at him and said speechlessly, "Tell me the truth? Are you Sherlock Holmes?"

Yang Zeran glared at Zhao Tianxing, ignored him, and looked at Shen Xin, asking Shen Xin what he had to say.

"I think you're right."

Shen Xin immediately began to applaud.

As expected of a top student, he immediately drew a conclusion after reviewing the case file.

In fact, Shen Xin had this idea when he saw the autopsy report.

After reviewing all the case files, Shen Xin became even more certain that it was the dolphins that dragged Lin Zenghui to his death.

As Yang Zeran said, once all the impossible scenarios are eliminated, what remains, no matter how unbelievable, must be the truth.

Furthermore, Shen Xin can confirm that Gao Kun and the others must have also considered this possibility.

He's been handling cases for over a decade, so he's incredibly experienced. He's encountered all sorts of bizarre and unusual cases; there's no way he wouldn't have thought of something like this.

But they dare not draw that conclusion.

Before the investigation was even completed, Ye Xinyi had already run over and killed Hou Shishi.

If they were to have another case where a dolphin was the final killer, how would both families feel?

Ding Yuwei must have also considered this possibility.

She had gone through several animal cases with me, so it was impossible for her not to have this kind of keen insight.

"No."

Zhao Tianxing let out a strange cry and widened his eyes, saying, "Shen Xin, you also think it was the dolphins who killed them? Why? How can you prove it?"

Shen Xin looked at Yang Zeran and said, "That's right, it's about how to prove it. Yang Zeran, can you help me think of a way to prove that it was the dolphins that killed Lin Zenghui?"

My own investigation actually involves two steps.

The first step is to verify Yang Zeran's logical analysis ability and his decisiveness in speaking the truth.

The second step is how to prove it.

This step will definitely stump him.

But it just so happens to be one of his strengths, which is a good opportunity for him to showcase his abilities in front of Yang Zeran.

That way, he won't become arrogant and disrespectful to me, the team leader.

Therefore, Shen Xin felt that this case was particularly suitable, achieving just the right balance of being bewildered but not mentally taxing.

Sure enough, Yang Zeran was completely dumbfounded when this question was posed.

(End of this chapter)