Animal Detective

Chapter 136 Dragging it out
In the large conference room.

Chen Chao frowned: "Two dogs?"

Ding Yuwei nodded repeatedly.

Shen Xin then picked up Wang Lei's husky and placed it on the conference table. He then pointed to the paused video on the opposite projection screen and said, "Captain Chen, look closely. Isn't the dog in the video different from this dog?"

The video shows a husky lying on the floor, gnawing on a table leg.

Chen Chao squinted, looked closely, and still shook his head: "Aren't they the same?"

“It’s different.” Shen Xin pointed to the left hind leg of the husky in his arms and said, “Look at the black area on this leg, right here, isn’t it a bit wider?”

"Have it?"

Chen Chao compared them carefully, and as he looked at them, his expression changed. He took a deep breath and said, "Well, you know what, it does seem a little different."

Shen Xin turned the husky's head and said, "And here's the eyebrow. On our side, shouldn't the white stripe between the eyebrows be a little narrower?"

Chen Chao compared the two and frowned.

"You mean Wang Lei actually kept two dogs, one of which was infected with rabies and bit him, and then Zhang Qingpeng lied?"

"Then when the CDC came to the door, Zhang Qingpeng had already disposed of the other dog. At that time, Wang Lei was already unconscious and couldn't speak clearly."

Chen Chao crossed his arms, his expression becoming extremely serious.

“Captain Chen, it’s not two dogs, it’s one. If Wang Lei had two dogs, the neighbors would have known when he took them out for a walk.” Shen Xin shook his head.

Chen Chao was stunned for a moment, his mind racing. He took a deep breath and said, "You mean a substitution, a switcheroo?"

Ding Yuwei, standing beside her, nodded repeatedly, agreeing with the sentiment.

Zhao Tianxing also said, "Captain Chen, although Shen Xin and the others' idea is rather unbelievable, if it weren't for this, there would be no way to explain how Wang Lei got infected."

Shen Xin said, "Captain Chen, although there are still many doubts, there is no doubt that Zhang Qingpeng is hiding something. He is using the excuse of not returning to Nanjiang to avoid our investigation."

"So I think I can go find him directly."

Since calling you is useless, I'll have to come to your door directly.

Chen Chao still looked incredulous, and nodded, saying, "Okay, it's time to make contact."

The next day, Shen Xin and his two companions set off.

According to the mobile phone operator's inquiry, Zhang Qingpeng is indeed in Fushan City, Yuexi.

On the afternoon of November 6th, the three of them arrived in Fushan.

I had contacted them in advance, and the Fushan Criminal Investigation Detachment arranged for a criminal police officer named Zhang Jiqiang to accompany me.

He was in his thirties, with a shrewd and capable air about him. After a few simple pleasantries, he invited the three of them into the car and explained the situation: "We checked, and he does have a college classmate in Fushan, but he's already married."

Zhao Tianxing snorted softly, "He lied again, just as I suspected."

Zhang Jiqiang added, "We found his identity registration information. He's staying at a chain hotel and hasn't checked out yet. Do you want to go directly there, or rest for a bit before going?"

The three exchanged a glance, and Shen Xin said, "Brother Zhang, let's go straight there."

Soon, the car arrived at the hotel.

612.

Go up and knock on the door.

"Who?"

A man's voice came from inside the door.

He must have seen a few people through the peephole, but Zhao Tianxing didn't care and directly revealed his identity.

The room fell silent immediately.

Zhao Tianxing winked at Shen Xin, as if to say that Zhang Qingpeng inside was probably terrified.

"Zhang Qingpeng, open the door quickly! This is the sixth floor, where else can you run to?" Zhao Tianxing continued knocking on the door.

A full minute passed before the door opened.

Zhang Qingpeng bit his lip, looking nervous and uneasy as he looked at the others.

He is 27 years old this year, very young, with delicate features, fair skin, medium-length short hair, and single eyelids. After opening the door, he was so nervous that he didn't dare to look at the people.

Zhao Tianxing joked, "Zhang Qingpeng, how many times have I called you, asking you to come back and cooperate with the investigation? Why did you come to Fushan instead?"

Zhang Qingpeng shuddered and stammered, "I told you, I came to attend my classmate's wedding."

Zhao Tianxing laughed and said, "Really? Which classmate is it? Yang Zhi? His child can already walk. Are you here for his second wedding?"

Zhang Qingpeng's expression suddenly changed.

"Tell me, what exactly did you come to Fushan for!" Zhao Tianxing suddenly shouted.

Zhang Qingpeng shuddered in fright; judging from his expression, his mind seemed to have gone blank.

"I...I'm here to attend another classmate's wedding," Zhang Qingpeng explained.

Zhao Tianxing asked, "Really? Which classmate? Name, date of marriage, and location?"

Zhang Qingpeng fell silent. Zhao Tianxing didn't waste any words either, saying, "Alright, since you won't talk about it here, let's find somewhere else to talk."

Zhang Qingpeng shuddered again, his legs even felt a little weak.

We borrowed the interrogation room of the Fushan Criminal Investigation Detachment.

Upon entering the interrogation room and sitting on the cold chair, Zhang Qingpeng became visibly more flustered.

Zhao Tianxing presided over the hearing, and Ding Yuwei took notes.

This is equivalent to a formal message.

Shen Xin watched the interrogation process from the monitoring room next door.

Zhao Tianxing started from the outside, focusing on specific time points.

For example, on what day did the cat get lost?

"I don't know, it's been missing for a few days now, probably after the 20th, I can't remember exactly, but it's not my cat," Zhang Qingpeng said, changing his story.

You could tell he was very flustered; his legs were shaking uncontrollably.

Zhao Tianxing pressed on, asking, "Are you sure it's after the 20th? Think it through."

Zhang Qingpeng immediately changed his tune, saying it might be before the 20th.

"Is it before or after?"

Zhang Qingpeng cracked his knuckles and gritted his teeth, saying, "That was before, back when Wang Lei wasn't sick yet."

"is it?"

Zhao Tianxing slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "We found the cat's body. It died in the corner of Wang Lei's balcony. Judging from the state of decomposition, it had only been dead for a few days at most. And you're telling me it was lost before the 20th?"

Zhang Qingpeng shuddered violently, his face turning pale. He hurriedly said, "Then...then I must have remembered wrong. He disappeared after the 20th. I was busy taking care of Wang Lei those days and couldn't remember clearly."

Zhao Tianxing laughed: "So from what you're saying, you two have a pretty good relationship?"

Zhang Qingpeng nodded slightly and said, "We've known each other for several years, and we've always had a very good relationship."

Zhao Tianxing said, "But your neighbor didn't say that. Didn't you have a big argument in mid-September?"

Zhang Qingpeng's expression changed again, and his legs trembled even more violently.

After a long pause, he said, "Friends can argue too."

“Yes, friends can argue.” Zhao Tianxing nodded slightly, then changed the subject, asking Wang Lei about shooting short videos.

Zhang Qingpeng answered with more composure.

"I don't care what kind of content he films, and I don't know anything about it."

"Really? Then what happened with the things he deleted from his computer?"

Zhao Tianxing asked about the deleted video.

Zhang Qingpeng, whose body had relaxed slightly, immediately tensed up and quickly said, "I don't know about him deleting the video."

"Video? I didn't say that what was deleted was a video!" Zhao Tianxing immediately pressed.

Zhang Qingpeng's expression changed drastically.

In the monitoring room, Shen Xin silently observed Zhang Qingpeng's reaction.

He has very poor mental fortitude.

Logically, it should be easy to break through their psychological defenses, but the problem is the evidence.

Most importantly, evidence that can prove what he did.

Shen Xin suddenly thought of something.

That is, after the incident, Zhang Qingpeng left Nanjiang without permission.

If he intended to flee...

At that time, if he really wanted to escape, he had many options.

You could even buy a plane ticket and travel abroad.

But he just went back to his hometown.

When I try to contact him, I can get through.

However, he kept making excuses and delaying his return to Nanjiang.

This behavior is a bit unusual.

If they really wanted to run, they would have just run away, disappeared without a trace, and simply hidden away.

There's no need to get into a scuffle with the police here or make excuses; that will only increase suspicion against you.

So his motivation for doing this is rather strange.

It felt like they were deliberately stalling for time, as if they thought they would be safe once they had a certain amount of time left and that the police couldn't do anything to them.

(End of this chapter)