Animal Detective

Chapter 46 Guilt
Shen Xin was startled, wondering what had gotten into Wu Zhicun.

He didn't even touch him; it was just that the afternoon sunlight cast his shadow on Wu Zhicun.

He called out twice, then muttered again, still shaken, that no one was there, that it was just his imagination, before regaining his composure.

Seeing his reaction, Shen Xin sighed silently. It was true, Wu Zhicun seemed to have lost his mind and was completely obsessed.

But at that moment, Shen Xin's mind went blank as if struck by lightning, and he suddenly thought of something.

"Xiao Shen, what's wrong?" Chen Chao was startled and came over to ask.

He patted Shen Xin on the shoulder, and Shen Xin was startled and suddenly came back to his senses.

"Captain Chen, I just remembered something."

Shen Xin's eyes widened, and he hurriedly said, "I talked to Wu Zhicun before about why he thought his grandson was murdered. He gave me several reasons at the time."

“He said his grandson appeared to him in a dream, which was obviously his imagination. Then he also mentioned Wu Jiawang’s dog, which is why I noticed Lele.”

"But he also gave another reason."

Shen Xin took a deep breath.

When I heard Wu Zhicun say that, I just thought he was talking nonsense.

But now that we know about Gao Jinrui, looking back makes things a bit more intriguing.

“He told me that after Wu Jiawang disappeared, someone was loitering around his house. He also told me that he had good hearing and could hear people’s heartbeats.”

"At the time, I thought he heard the voices of passersby."

Chen Chao nodded seriously; Shen Xin's guess was quite reasonable.

"but……"

Shen Xin turned to look at Wu Zhicun. Wu Zhicun's reaction just now was terrifying.

"Captain Chen, look, let me show you."

Shen Xin had Chen Chao stand at the entrance of the main room, then went into the inner room and repeated what Wu Zhicun had shouted in fright.

This made Zhao Shouchuan, who was watching from the side, shudder.

It's a bit creepy.

Especially the situation deep inside the main room, with three portraits staring at you.

Chen Chao hadn't yet realized what Shen Xin was going to say; he just frowned.

Shen Xin said, "Grandpa Wu is blind, but his hearing is very sharp. He is also old and has difficulty moving around because of his blindness. Over time, his mind must be confused, especially during that period when his grandson had just gone missing. He must have been mentally stimulated."

"But these reactions of his might be genuine, perhaps based on his own experiences."

"So, Captain Chen, what do you think this situation just now resembles?"

Shen Xin countered with a question.

Chen Chao was stunned for a moment, his eyes widening as he realized what was happening, a chilling feeling rising in his heart.

"You mean, after Wu Jiawang disappeared, someone broke into Wu Jiawang's house for some reason and appeared in front of Wu Zhicun, just like you acted out just now, standing next to him and just watching him without saying a word?"

Shen Xin nodded frantically.

That's it!

Wu Zhicun's reaction just now was as if he were lying on the bed in the inner room, and in the darkness, there was a person standing quietly by the bed, watching him.

He was startled awake, but could not see, so he could only scream in panic.

"If that's the case, then who do you think would infiltrate the Wu family?"

Chen Chao subconsciously wanted to say Gao Jinrui's name, but he forcibly held back, waved to Shen Xin, and hurriedly came to the yard.

Zhao Shouchuan understood, silently shuddered, and whispered, "Xiao Shen, you mean that after Gao Jinrui killed Wu Jiawang, he secretly sneaked into the Wu family's house. What was he planning to do? Kill him to cover it up?"

"That shouldn't be the case."

Shen Xin shook his head and guessed, "Perhaps it's guilt."

"That's how it's portrayed in movies and TV shows. An ordinary person accidentally kills someone. That's a human life. Who can take it in stride? They might be going through a lot of inner turmoil."

“His family lived in Jinyang Village. At that time, the police station was making such a big fuss about finding him, so he must have known about Wu Jiawang’s situation. Perhaps out of a sense of guilt, he secretly sneaked into Wu’s house to see Wu Zhicun and silently apologize to him. That probably brought him some comfort.”

Zhao Shouchuan frowned and asked if this was possible, feeling like he was watching a TV drama.

Unexpectedly, Chen Chao nodded in agreement, saying, "It's possible. Murder is a really big deal for ordinary people. The psychological pressure can crush a person. Over the years, I've seen several people turn themselves in because of the immense psychological pressure."

"Under such immense psychological pressure, people can do anything irrational. For example, as Xiao Shen said, he knew that Wu Jiawang only had one grandfather, and they depended on each other for survival, so he thought of coming back to see his grandfather on Wu Jiawang's behalf."

"Anyway, Wu Zhicun is blind, so he can't see him."

Zhao Shouchuan grinned and remained silent. Chen Chao thought for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and said, "Xiao Shen, do you think that if Gao Jinrui really did infiltrate the Wu family, he might have touched something, like rummaging through Wu Jiawang's belongings?"

Shen Xin paused for a moment, then shook his head, feeling it was unlikely.

It's estimated that Gao Jinrui was scared away as soon as Wu Zhicun shouted.

"Not necessarily. In that case, we can also check Wu Jiawang's belongings," Chen Chao said.

In any case, according to the normal procedure, Wu Jiawang's belongings should be reinvestigated.

He went back into the main room and asked Wu Zhicun where the things Wu Jiawang had left behind were.

Wu Jiawang's death has never been confirmed, and Wu Zhicun may have kept all his belongings.

Wu Zhicun muttered to himself, completely ignoring what was happening.

At this moment, Zhao Shouchuan said, "I remember now, the community came several times and even helped him clean up. Wait a minute, let me ask him."

He ran out to make a phone call.

He returned shortly afterward, nodding and confirming that the community had indeed cleaned it up.

He pointed to He Cuimei's room next door and said that this room used to be where Wu Jiawang lived.

Then, when they first went missing, Wu Zhicun refused to let them touch anything in the house, saying that Wu Jiawang would come back.

“But when they renovated his house a few years ago, they built up the door to the main room and opened another door. They also packed up all his things. Director Li from the community said that she came over to help pack up at the time. Then, according to Wu Zhicun’s request, all his things were put in the box in the inner room.”

Chen Chao immediately went into the inner room.

In the far corner of the inner room, there was a large black box.

It should be one of those old-fashioned large trunks used as part of a dowry.

Chen Chao stopped Shen Xin from opening the box and told him to get a pack of disposable gloves from his car. Only after putting them on did he open the box.

Shen Xin also put on a pair and looked at the items inside.

There were clothes, Wu Jiawang's books, and toys.

There were few toys and the clothes were old-fashioned, showing that the grandfather and grandson were living in dire poverty at the time.

"Move them out," Chen Chao called out, and simply moved the boxes out to check them.

Shen Xin asked what he was looking for.

Chen Chao shook his head. He didn't know what he was looking for either, only that he was looking for something unusual.

That's unusual.

Shen Xin took things out one by one, but suddenly stopped when he picked up a medicine box.

The small medicine box contained sodium hyaluronate eye drops.

The seal on the medicine box had been torn open.

Shen Xin instinctively reached to hand it to Chen Chao, but suddenly stopped, glancing at the production date of the eye drops.

December 2010, 1.

This is a bottle of eye drops from seven years ago.

"Team Leader Chen."

Shen Xin quickly called out.

"What's wrong?" Chen Chao looked up.

Shen Xin showed him the production date of the eye drops and said, "Look at these eye drops, they're seven years old, and they were taken from Wu Jiawang's house. Wu Jiawang's eyes are fine, he doesn't need eye drops."

As he spoke, Shen Xin quickly took out his phone to check the effects of sodium hyaluronate eye drops.

"This is for treating dry eye syndrome; it's for Wu Zhicun."

How did it end up here?

Chen Chao examined the medicine box and said, "Could it have been accidentally brought in?"

As he spoke, he opened the medicine box and took out the medicine bottle inside.

The kind of common medicine.

The sealing ring is still there; it has never been used.

But Chen Chao's eyes widened suddenly, because on the bottle of eye drops, there were two, no, one and a half, faint brown fingerprints, as if they were dirt or dust.

In an instant, Chen Chao's heart pounded wildly.

(End of this chapter)