Animal Detective

Chapter 131 Teeth Marks
The three of them searched the house thoroughly again.

Especially Zhang Qingpeng's room.

He must have left in a hurry; he left behind quite a few things in the bedside table drawer, such as a razor, a bank card, and some other trinkets.

They also didn't take the bedding, including the quilt on top of the wardrobe.

Shen Xin noticed the takeout packaging on the dining table and in the trash can.

Judging from the order slips, Zhang Qingpeng ordered mostly trendy Chinese-style takeout, such as braised chicken rice and braised pork rice.

The average order value is not high, even with coupons, it's generally around ten yuan.

Wang Lei, however, is different.

He also orders takeout, but mostly stir-fries, such as a common duck blood vermicelli soup, a plate of beef dumplings, and a beef bone.

You could say they ate quite well.

That means Zhang Qingpeng's income is less than Wang Lei's.

So, will there be any property disputes?

Shen Xin thought he could check the two of them's bank assets later.

Just as I was searching, Zhao Tianxing called.

"Don't even mention it, that kid went back to his hometown, Lishui," Zhao Tianxing said dejectedly.

It's on speakerphone.

Zhao Shouchuan was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Did I tell him not to leave Nanjiang for the time being? Did you call him?"

Zhao Tianxing said, "I called and he answered. Guess what he said? He said it was what you said, that he shouldn't leave unless absolutely necessary. And now he needs to leave Nanjiang because his mother is sick and hospitalized. He has to go back to his hometown to take care of his mother. He left yesterday morning and he's already back home."

Lishui is in Yuexi Province, more than a thousand kilometers away.

Zhao Shouchuan raised his eyebrows. His mother was sick and hospitalized, which was indeed a reason for him to leave.

Moreover, there were only some suspicious points surrounding Wang Lei's death, and there was no direct evidence pointing to Zhang Qingpeng, so it did not warrant restricting his personal freedom.

"Brother Xing, have you asked about the cat?" Shen Xin asked.

Zhao Tianxing said, "Why didn't you ask? He said he's usually busy with work and has a lot of things to do. He also said that Wang Lei's cat is a bit timid and usually stays in Wang Lei's room. He doesn't feed it, so he doesn't remember the exact day it went missing. He can't recall exactly how many days it's been."

Shen Xin frowned slightly.

If you're saying there's nothing wrong with this statement, then there's definitely nothing wrong with it.

But if there's really a problem, it's only been a few days, and a live cat has disappeared. He said he didn't notice, which is quite unusual.

Song Shifeng still remembers that fleeting glimpse from six years ago.

Zhao Tianxing continued, "I asked him to come back as soon as possible to assist with the investigation, but he said he couldn't leave for the time being and it might take some time. Then I called him to ask him about something, but he couldn't explain it clearly. After a short while, he said he had something to do and hung up."

"Shen Xin, I feel there's something wrong with this kid; he's deliberately avoiding us."

Shen Xin didn't say anything.

There is definitely a problem, or rather, Zhang Qingpeng is a suspect. But before confirming his suspicion, we should first confirm whether there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding Wang Lei's death.

Shen Xin asked Zhao Tianxing what his thoughts were now.

Zhao Tianxing thought for a moment and said, "I'll go to his company first and check his background. You guys go to the hospital and ask the doctor if there are any other possible causes of death. If there's still time, you can meet Wang Lei's parents."

"And that dog, didn't you say you wanted to compare it with the wound?"

Shen Xin nodded, agreeing with his own thinking: to investigate the external affairs first before discussing Zhang Qingpeng's suspicious points.

Zhao Tianxing drove off in the police car, leaving Zhao Shouchuan to go with him.

Fortunately, nothing too serious happened at his office.

Shen Xin asked him for a set of keys, reattached the seal, and then headed to the infectious disease hospital.

Wang Lei's body is still kept here.

His attending physician's surname is Qian.

He had no outpatient appointments scheduled for today, but upon hearing the purpose of Shen Xin and the others' visit, he personally led the three to the morgue.

"Dr. Qian, is it possible that Wang Lei died from other causes?" Shen Xin asked on the way.

Dr. Qian immediately shook his head: "Impossible. The test results are right here. It shows that the patient is carrying the rabies virus, and all the symptoms match up: encephalitis caused by damage to the nervous system, respiratory depression caused by autonomic nervous system disorder, and multiple organ failure."

"These are typical symptoms, which means that his cause of death was rabies."

Shen Xin said "Oh," and then it was the same as before, the final cause of death was rabies.

"Dr. Qian, is it possible, for example, to collect the saliva or blood of the rabid dog and then apply it directly to the victim's wound or inject it into his body, so that Wang Lei could be infected with the rabies virus?" Shen Xin thought for a moment and then asked.

Dr. Qian looked at Shen Xin with a strange expression, then said, "I can only say this: the method you described is theoretically possible, but in practice it's very difficult, or rather, almost impossible." "For example, if you mix it into his rice, he won't get infected after eating it. You'd have to do what you said, cut a gash in his body, and then smear the infectious agent on it. But the problem is, would a living person be so obedient as to let someone just cut a gash and smear saliva on him?"

Shen Xin smiled wryly, thinking to himself that the idiot lying in there didn't even know to get a rabies vaccine.

As they were talking, the four of them arrived at the morgue.

Dr. Qian silently put on double gloves and handed over a pack of face masks.

His action made Shen Xin involuntarily tense up.

Suddenly, I remembered that Ding Yuwei had looked up some information on her phone before, saying that the bodies of sick dogs and cats could still be infectious for one or two days after they died and decomposed.

Wang Lei died on the afternoon of the 25th, and today is the 27th, just two days later. He might still be contagious.

Thinking of this, Shen Xin quickly put on gloves and a mask.

Even though I had specifically gotten a rabies vaccine because of Da Mei and the bullies.

Dr. Qian added, "Actually, if you come tomorrow, you won't see the body. According to regulations, rabies patients must be cremated within 48 hours, and this body hasn't been moved yet."

Ding Yuwei immediately nudged Shen Xin and asked if they should call the team's forensic doctor over to conduct an autopsy before the body was cremated.

Or simply halt cremation altogether.

"Let's ask Captain Chen later." Shen Xin didn't dare to make the decision himself and wanted to see the body first.

Wang Lei's body was kept separately.

Zhao Shouchuan didn't even come in, saying he hadn't received the rabies vaccine.

Can understand.

"Did you call?" Shen Xin turned to ask Ding Yuwei.

Ding Yuwei shook her head slightly.

Shen Xin's expression changed, and he quickly told her to leave. This girl thought it was a joke.

"It's okay, I'll go get it done in a bit," Ding Yuwei said, and then asked Dr. Qian if the hospital offered rabies vaccines.

Dr. Qian nodded and led the two to the freezer.

Remove the tray containing the body.

Wang Lei's body was placed in a double-layered, impermeable body bag.

Dr. Qian carefully pulled it open.

This wasn't the first time Shen Xin had seen a corpse, but seeing Wang Lei's pale, bloodless face still made him frown.

I dealt with him personally a month ago.

A living, breathing person, so young, and just died like that.

Shen Xin certainly wouldn't perform an autopsy; he mainly wanted to look at the wound on the man's chin.

Including the incubation period and the onset of symptoms, he was bitten at least 15 days ago, so the wound could have healed normally within that timeframe.

“It should be here.” Dr. Qian pointed to Wang Lei’s left chin from a distance.

Shen Xin lowered his head, stepped back a distance, and examined the area carefully.

Indeed, there were two wounds, one above the other, on the left side of his chin.

But it has healed, and now there are only marks.

Things become clearer after death.

The top one or two centimeters long is a line, which should have been torn by the upper teeth biting together.

The one below is shorter, but it matches.

Shen Xin tried gesturing.

It wasn't bitten by a cat anyway.

And the dog, it doesn't bite head-on either.

In that case, there should be four, or even more, wounds. It's more like Wang Lei was squatting there, very close to the dog's mouth, when the dog suddenly bit him.

Wang Lei instinctively tried to dodge, but he didn't manage to avoid it completely. He was grazed by the dog's two upper and lower canine teeth on the left side, which caused a cut.

Then it becomes impossible to identify.

Only by biting down firmly can the teeth marks be compared.

(End of this chapter)