Animal Detective

Chapter 126 Why Stop the Car

Wenyuan City.

Jinhua Residential Area.

"This is it." Shen Xin looked up at the house number.

Unit 3, 901.

Sun Zhao nodded and went upstairs.

After receiving a phone call from Song Shifeng yesterday, in which he reported on Lü Youwei, Sun Zhao decided to come to Wenyuan City to personally take a statement from Song Shifeng.

Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei followed along, along with Zhang Nanhai, a portrait expert from the branch's technical department.

Try to create a composite sketch of the suspect.

The person was home, and after ringing the doorbell, the door opened quickly.

Song Shifeng is 51 years old, with a square face and a kind appearance. His wife and daughter were also there.

The family was very polite and said they were happy to be able to help the police.

"Officer Sun, after the phone call the day before yesterday, I thought about it carefully again, but after all, six years have passed, so I really don't have a deep impression. I just remember that he was carrying one of those red snakeskin bags."

"Then they were wearing dark clothes, I don't quite remember what kind of clothes they were, those homeless people don't often wear many clothes, so you can't tell."

"And then her hair was quite long, probably down to her ears, and it was sticking up and all messy."

"By the way, he seems to have a beard, on his lips and chin, like a goatee."

Song Shifeng then introduced new developments.

Sun Zhao nodded repeatedly, expressing his gratitude, and then made a request to have a composite sketch made.

Zhang Nanhai is a veteran in the branch office, in his forties, wearing narrow-rimmed glasses. He said that sometimes you think you have no memory, but actually your brain remembers it all. You may need some prompting to recall it, so you can give it a try.

"It's possible, but I'm afraid I won't be able to remember."

Song Shifeng was very cooperative.

As Zhang Nanhai instructed, he lay down on the sofa, closed his eyes, and relaxed. Then, he started with the fact that Zhang Nanhai had returned to Nanjiang on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, and used some questioning techniques, such as asking about the traffic jam and what happened after he got off the highway, to reinforce his memory until he was finally led to the scene of the crime.

The others waited in the restaurant.

Song Shifeng's daughter also asked about Dou Dou.

Clearly, she's a fan.

"So, DouDou was... you know... by Tiger Stripe, and then chased for thirty kilometers to your police station on her own?" she asked incredulously.

Its expression seemed to say, "How can someone as ugly as a tiger stripe be so popular?"
Shen Xinxin said that she was curious too.

These days, after the management of Tiger Stripe has been relaxed, he occasionally strolls around the branch office.

Then female dogs started appearing near the police station.

It can only be said that dogs have their own unique aesthetic sense.

It took Zhang Nanhai almost half an hour to finish before he showed the portrait to Shen Xin and the other two.

"Just like he said, it was a fleeting moment, too short a time, and so many years have passed, he really doesn't have much of an impression. However, one thing is certain: this homeless man must have been quite tall; according to Mr. Song, Xiao Hong was grabbing him by the collar."

Zhang Nanhai gestured and said, "The hand is raised high, and Xiao Hong is 1 meters tall, so I guess this homeless man is probably over 74 meters tall."

Shen Xin looked at the portrait.

Messy hair, a slightly thin face, a wide chin, prominent brow bones, and deep-set eyes.

Then there was a beard, a goatee.

“Is this eye socket really deep?” Sun Zhao also noticed this point.

Zhang Nanhai shook his head: "It's hard to say, but based on his description, I guess that's probably the case, because he said that when the car headlights shone, there was a shadow in his eye socket, so I guess his eye sockets might be deep."

“I showed him the portrait, and he thought it looked quite similar.”

Song Shifeng came over and apologized, saying that was all he could remember.

Sun Zhao quickly expressed his deepest gratitude.

Because it was at least confirmed that Xiao Hong did have a dispute with someone, we now have a direction for the investigation.

Moreover, the other party was not an ordinary person without any distinguishing features; he was a homeless person, which is actually a very distinctive investigative characteristic.

"Mr. Song, we will contact you again regarding the reward after we have completed our investigation." Before leaving, Sun Zhao mentioned the reward again.

Logically, the reward should only be paid out after the case is solved and the murderer is caught.

However, this is an unsolved case. Although there are clues, it is still uncertain whether it can be solved.

So when we came here, we asked Lu Youwei for his opinion, saying that as long as the investigation confirmed that there were indeed homeless people at the time and that they were related to the case, then we would issue a reward.

Song Shifeng quickly said that money didn't matter, it wasn't important, he just hoped the case could be solved and the murderer found. He said it was remarkable that the police were still pursuing the case after six years.

Without hesitation, the group left and headed immediately to the train station to return to Nanjiang.

Inside the waiting hall, Sun Zhao discussed the case, asking Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei what their thoughts were.

Ding Yuwei glanced at Shen Xin and spoke first: "Captain Sun, I think we should pay attention to the motive. Why would a homeless man kill Xiao Hong?"

"Is it possible that, for example, it was still a robbery and murder, but the robber disguised himself as a homeless person?"

Sun Zhao nodded: "Yes, that's one direction."

Because that was the direction the investigation was determined back then.

As he spoke, Sun Zhao looked at Shen Xin and asked him what he thought.

He knew that Shen Xin was very insightful and quick-witted. In the case of Wu Jiawang, for example, most people would never have guessed that Wu Jiawang had been in a car accident.

Then there's Liu Laibin's case, where it's speculated that all six people were the murderers—a truly inspired deduction.

Shen Xin shook his head and said, "There's a question: why did Xiao Hong have a conflict with this homeless man?"

Song Shifeng described seeing Xiao Hong angrily grab the homeless man by the collar, and an argument ensued.

“Think about it, if I were Xiao Hong, delivering goods late at night, for whatever reason I would stop my truck and argue with a homeless man.”

"If what Ding Yuwei said is true, then the robber was a homeless man in disguise, pretending to be pitiful and stopping the car."

"But it was late at night, and a stranger flagged down the car. In the environment of 11, I think most drivers wouldn't have stopped to check."

In those days, robberies were still quite common on national highways.

Many drivers keep weapons such as crowbars in their cars year-round, just in case they encounter robbery.

"Besides, Xiao Hong used to be a hoodlum. Although he has reformed, it's not like he would stop his car just because a homeless person is waving at him."

Ding Yuwei glanced at Shen Xin with some surprise.

She witnessed Shen Xin's analytical abilities once again.

However, based on Shen Xin's analysis, his own guess was somewhat untenable.

Sun Zhao thought for a moment and asked, "Then why do you think that is?"

Shen Xin closed his eyes, immersing himself in Xiao Hong's situation.

I was driving my car on the national highway.

Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and I should be celebrating it with my family, but instead I have to go out and haul goods.

I was definitely very unhappy.

But for the sake of survival, they had no choice but to keep it to themselves.

So, what kind of situation would cause someone to stop their car and argue with a homeless person?
As Shen Xin was thinking, he suddenly opened his eyes.

“Captain Sun, do you think it’s possible that Xiao Hong was furious, and at that moment, a homeless man crossed the road, late at night, and there weren’t many streetlights along the national highway.”

"Xiao Hong almost hit someone. He was scared half to death. While he was relieved that he hadn't hit anyone, wouldn't he normally be very angry?"

Sun Zhao frowned and interjected, "So he got off the bus and argued with the homeless man."

"Correct!"

Shen Xin nodded.

This is a fairly appropriate scenario.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for Xiao Hong to stop his car late at night and get into an argument with a homeless man.

It's quite normal for homeless people to wander around and cross national highways.

“The homeless man may have ignored him, but Xiao Hong got very angry and started swearing. He swore at Xiao Hong, and the homeless man suddenly stabbed him.”

Shen Xin gestured and plunged a knife into his own neck.

Ding Yuwei was startled, and in her astonishment, she asked, "Then what was the motive?"

There needs to be a motive for murder.

Just because he was scolded and they had a couple of arguments, he killed someone?

Sun Zhao's eyes lit up, and he said in a deep voice, "Xiao Ding, some cases really don't have any motive."

The human heart is a very difficult thing to fathom.

A homeless man, who had been wandering for many years and had an eccentric personality, was attacked by a knife. He was upset when the other man insulted him, and since he had a knife, he stabbed the other man. What motive was needed?

(End of this chapter)