Animal Detective

Chapter 406 Guo Jinhua's Tumultuous Fate
Poisoning cases are different from ordinary crimes of passion; they are highly premeditated.

This case is one such example.

On June 28, Fu Lanting showed signs of poisoning, with bruises and purpura appearing on her body.

These are the symptoms of poisoning from bromadiolone, a hemorrhagic rat poison.

Then, on September 7th, I went for my third visit, which lasted for more than two months.

Therefore, there is sufficient reason to reasonably suspect that the murderer poisoned the victim multiple times.

In this situation, there must be an extremely strong motive for murder.

Therefore, the task force initially focused on the motives and conducted a comprehensive investigation into the social relationships of the two individuals.

We investigated every single case where a conflict had occurred.

They even considered that the murderer had a conflict with Guo Jinhua and his wife many years ago, and then something unexpected happened, such as going to jail, and then committed the crime after being released.

In his youth, Guo Jinhua could be considered somewhat ignorant and incompetent.

He drove a taxi, had money, went to bars with his friends, got into fights, and even had conflicts with passengers, resulting in complaints.

So it's possible that he made some enemies during that period.

However, all were investigated and no problems were found.

Fu Lanting's social connections are even simpler; she comes from an ordinary family, makes tofu at home, and runs a small business.

She didn't do well in school and didn't get into university.

Because her father favored boys over girls, he didn't let Fu Lanting continue her studies and kept her at home to help out.

She had a relationship when she was young, but it didn't last.

Later, as she got older and became an old maid, her parents started to worry.

Her acquaintance with Guo Jinhua was somewhat romantic.

2009 years.

Once, Fu Lanting drove her van to the wholesale market to buy soybeans. While reversing, she didn't pay attention and bumped into Guo Jinhua, who was also buying seasonings at the market.

Guo Jinhua did not take the opportunity to extort money from Fu Lanting. His magnanimous attitude left a deep impression on Fu Lanting.

Because of this, the two gradually got in touch.

They got together and married 10 years later.

Therefore, after the investigation, Fu Lanting did not find any suspects with strong motives.

Investigating the motive was one aspect; on the other hand, the task force focused on investigating the rat poison.

This area was investigated the most thoroughly, and the most manpower and resources were used.

However, there was no clear suspect at the time.

Bromadiolone is also a major ingredient in rat poison. There are too many brands on the market, and the time span is too long. How much was sold and to whom was it sold? The case has been investigated and listed as an unsolved case.

Finally, there's the method of poisoning.

The task force made a certain assessment and concluded that the poison was in the noodle shop.

Guo Jinhua lived with his parents, so if he had poisoned them at home, it would have been impossible to do so precisely, and it didn't affect Guo Kaitai and his wife.

The task force sealed off the venue and took samples from every corner for toxicological testing.

To this day, the Tingyang branch has sealed off a large amount of physical evidence from the scene, to be used for future investigations after technical updates.

The task force considered many methods of poisoning.

For example, every morning before five o'clock, someone will come to deliver noodles, ingredients, etc.

At that time, the couple hadn't come to the store yet, so the ingredients would be temporarily left at the entrance of the roller shutter door.

In other words, the suspect had the opportunity to poison the victim at that time.

There are security cameras in the store, but they only cover the dine-in area.

There was nothing in the kitchen or outside the shop.

But if they choose to poison people in this way, it won't just be Guo Jinhua and his wife who suffer.

The kitchen has a back door with a regular lock.

The task force also suspected that someone might have broken in and poisoned certain foods.

Because the couple eats almost all their meals at the restaurant.

However, the same problem arises: if poisoning is carried out in this way, innocent people will inevitably be harmed.

Moreover, poison should have been detected at the scene after the incident.

But it didn't.

They had also considered the possibility of accidental ingestion, which was similar to Ding Yuwei's previous idea: the shop's cat might have accidentally eaten bait mixed with rat poison, which could then contaminate other food, leading to the couple accidentally eating it.

As for why it wasn't detected afterward, there are explanations for that.

Fu Lanting is a clean person. Every day after closing, she spends a considerable amount of time cleaning the kitchen and dining area thoroughly.

This is also the main reason why the couple's business is doing well; it's very clean.

Secondly, the task force also considered the possibility of on-site poisoning.

Guo Jinhua, having previously driven a taxi, has a habit of drinking tea and often carries a water cup to drink water.

It is possible that someone might deliberately poison the water when the two are not paying attention.

Bromadiolone is soluble in water. If it is the mother liquor, it does not have a special odor and may not be noticeable when mixed into tea.

This method of poisoning is daring, but it's also possible.

Therefore, another investigation was conducted on all customers who had been in contact with the suspect before the incident.

The store's surveillance hard drive is small and needs to be overwritten every seven days.

The incident occurred on the 11th.

Symptoms of poisoning appeared on the evening of the 7th.

However, the toxicity is slow-acting, so the exact time of poisoning needs to be determined earlier.

Therefore, it is possible that the poison was released before surveillance coverage began.

They even went directly to the kitchen to poison people.

Since there was no surveillance camera directly facing the back door, a comprehensive review of nearby surveillance footage was conducted to search for anyone with suspicious activity.

But in the end, it was not found.

In other words, none of the three investigation directions yielded any results.

When the investigation reached a dead end, it was gradually classified as an unsolved case.

After leaving the branch office, seeing that he still had time, Shen Xin decided to go to Guo Jinhua's house again.

His home is located on Tingyang Old Street, a detached house with its own courtyard and a glazed tile roof.

It used to be a decent house, but now it looks a bit old. Ding Yuwei had come once before, patiently knocking on the door, and only after a long while did she hear dragging footsteps.

Then the door opened.

It was Guo Jinhua who opened the door.

This was the first time Shen Xin had met Guo Jinhua.

The photos of Guo Jinhua in the case file are from when he was young, with the side-parted medium-length hair common in that era.

He has a square face, a straight nose, deep-set eyes, and double eyelids; he's considered quite handsome.

Therefore, Fu Lanting's appearance should also be a factor in her willingness to marry him.

But Guo Jinhua is now ravaged by illness.

His face was thin with prominent cheekbones, and he had shaved his head for convenience.

He suffered nerve damage, and half of his body was stiff. He came out using a four-legged walking aid.

His mouth was also crooked, making his expression somewhat frightening.

He's quite tall, over 1.8 meters, but now he's wearing a loose hospital gown that he can't quite fill out.

He also had a urine bag hanging from his waist.

When I arrived, Ding Yuwei told me that his kidney disease had become increasingly severe in recent years and had developed into uremia.

"Officer Ding..."

Guo Jinhua speaks with a lisp and with difficulty, and he greets Ding Yuwei.

Seeing that he was swaying badly, Ding Yuwei stepped forward to support him and then introduced Shen Xin: "This is our team leader."

Guo Jinhua nodded in greeting, making a strenuous effort to say hello.

Guo Kaitai and his wife are not at home.

The family's only livelihood is that noodle shop. One person can't handle it all, and hiring someone wouldn't make them any money.

Only the elderly couple can manage it.

Guo Jinhua is still barely able to move around at home, so she can manage.

"I'm dragging them down..." Guo Jinhua said with difficulty, meaning that he had no chance of recovering and that living would only be a burden to his parents.

Shen Xin quickly comforted them, "Don't say that. As long as you're alive, they have hope for the future."

Guo Kaitai is just over sixty years old.

"Can I just take a look?" Shen Xin asked.

Guo Jinhua nodded, indicating that Shen Xin could do as he pleased.

The old houses used to be two-story buildings.

Now that Guo Jinhua has difficulty moving around, she has moved downstairs to live in a room with her parents so that it is easier to take care of them.

Inside was the kitchen, covered with leftover food.

Shen Xin glanced around briefly and then went up to the second floor.

The room inside is Guo Meijing's room. It's quite well-preserved; the bed, desk, wardrobe, etc., are just covered with cloth.

But it was covered in a thick layer of dust, so it must have been sitting untouched for years.

Shen Xin lifted the cloth covering the desk; everything was as it had always been, neatly tidied.

I glanced through it briefly; nothing special.

I did find a diary.

I did a quick flip through it.

I don't write every day; it's just a simple record of daily life.

Between the lines, Shen Xin could sense that Guo Meijing was living a very happy life.

Even during illness and treatment, I would record happy moments.

She directly calls Fu Lanting "Mom," which shows that they have a very close relationship.

The records likely extend to about 14 years later.

I looked around at other places, but didn't find anything special. She was just an ordinary girl with some bad luck.

Then they went to the room of Guo Jinhua and his wife in front.

My first impression was that everything was neat and tidy; everything was arranged in a very orderly manner.

Their wedding photo still hangs on the wall.

Fu Lanting isn't particularly beautiful, but she has a pleasant appearance and is a family-oriented, virtuous wife and loving mother type of woman.

I looked around but didn't find anything.

Also normal.

The task force has investigated, and if there are any omissions, it would be a mistake.

After going downstairs, I chatted with Guo Jinhua for a while longer.

Time has passed, and after three years of surviving, the torment of illness seems to have extinguished Guo Jinhua's anger. Trembling, he laments that he may not live to see the day when the murderer is found.

I'm just grateful that the police haven't given up on the investigation after all this time.

Despite his physical limitations, he personally escorted the two people away.

"Shen Xin, what do you think?"

After getting in the car, Ding Yuwei asked.

Shen Xin glanced at Guo Jinhua, who was struggling to close the door not far away, and shook his head slightly.

I didn't see anything special about it.

He was just an ordinary man whose life was full of twists and turns.

"Let's go."

Shen Xin started the car and drove away.

I was originally planning to go to Hutang and visit Fu Lanting's house.

However, there wasn't enough time, so we had to give up.

Since we're already here, we might as well check out the small park next to the Jinzhu Vegetable Market.

Yesterday, I paid the price of two sausages to ask those two cats to help me find the tabby cat that Guo Jinhua kept.

No, it also promised Da Mei's beauty.

I don't know if anyone has noticed.

The cat route is a hopeful one; we have to give it a try.

(End of this chapter)