American Zombie Detective

When Qin Jin came down from the third floor, Alessa had changed into that gothic black dress and was sitting cross-legged on the sofa again.

"Tell me what happened," Qin Jin said, sitting down opposite Alessa, somewhat uninterested. "Let me see what's going on."

Aresa raised her face, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly sniffed twice, as if trying to catch a message in the air. She then put down the doll, went to the window, and turned to look outside.

Two seconds later, Alessa turned around, went back to the sofa, picked up the phone, and dialed Qin Jin's number.

It was a genuine redial, not just a formality:

"Qin, there's been a murder nearby. May I go check it out?"

She began to reenact the situation from when she made the phone call, just like acting now, and Qin Jin accompanied her through it again, as if... they were acting out a play.

The two completed their phone conversation.

After it was over, she returned to the sofa and quietly picked up the plush toy.

Qin Jin understood what was going on. Alessa hadn't done anything; she had just smelled blood and called him.

"On my way back, I passed by that courtyard, but..."

Qin Jin clicked his tongue: "Didn't see it! Later, when you saw this thing... did it fly away?"

Aresa shook her head decisively: "No, I saw Fei."

"Then it must have left through the yard. This thing, tsk tsk, troublesome," Qin Jin rubbed his temples, looking somewhat nonchalantly worried.

"Where are the police? When did they arrive?"

Aresa tilted her head and thought for a moment, then spoke:

"About... five minutes."

"Five minutes? That fast?" Qin Jin raised an eyebrow; he immediately realized:

The person who called the police was very likely the deceased himself. He was killed after making the call, which is why the police arrived so quickly. But how did the paper figure disappear in such a short time?

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Qin Jin noticed that the people across the street had finished their investigation of the crime scene and were beginning to disperse and head towards the surrounding residents. Two of them were heading in their direction.

"Someone's coming later. We don't know anything about this, understand? You can stay silent, I'll handle them."

Alessa nodded, and at the same time unzipped the zipper on Frankenstein's back, stuffed the huge Gru Super Red Hawk inside, zipped it up again, and held it in her arms once more.

The doorbell rang at just the right moment.

Qin Jin, with a lazy and impatient air, went over and opened the door.

Good afternoon, sir.

A middle-aged police officer stood at the door, his deep blue eyes scrutinizing him, while a young officer stood beside him holding a notebook.

The middle-aged officer showed his badge. "I'm Sheriff Davis from the Canyon Precinct, and this is Constable Thompson. Excuse me for bothering you, but were you aware of the murder in your neighborhood?"

"I saw it," Qin Jin shrugged, showing little tension or surprise. "When I came back, I saw you had put up police tape, but... I don't know if it was murder or arson. It's terrifying."

"Yes, very unfortunate."

Detective Davis nodded, his gaze passing over Qin Jin's shoulder and landing on the little girl quietly watching TV in the living room. "And this is...?"

"Oh, this is my sister, Alessa," Qin Jin introduced naturally. "She's a little... shy."

"Miss Aresa."

Inspector Davis nodded slightly inside, but Alessa didn't react at all, as if she hadn't heard him.

"We are visiting the neighbors to see if anyone has noticed anything unusual."

Detective Davis turned his gaze back to Qin Jin, "This afternoon, or yesterday, or the day before, did you see any suspicious people? Or hear any strange noises? Especially this morning?"

Qin Jin shook his head, his expression sincere:

"I'm so sorry, Sheriff, we just moved in last night and haven't found anything... Hey! Alessa, have you seen anything today?"

He turned and called out to Alessa, who glanced at him, then turned her head away again. "You see," she said, "she probably didn't find anything either."

Detective Davis nodded; it was indeed unlikely that newly moved-in residents would provide many clues.

The young police officer next to him, Thompson, also closed his almost blank notebook.

"Alright, sorry to bother you." Detective Davis was about to leave when he stopped in his tracks.

He asked the question casually, but his eyes were fixed on Qin Jin's reaction:

"Oh, right, there's another rather... peculiar question. On your drive back, did you see... um, something that looked like a paper doll?"

"Cardboard doll, paper effigy, or paper cutout?" Qin Jin, with the unique pride of a Chinese American, clearly analyzed these different types of products:

"You know, in the East, these things are made and used differently... Of course, I'm sure I haven't seen any of them here."

Sheriff Davis stared at him for two seconds, seemingly assessing the veracity of his words, before finally nodding.

"Okay. If you remember anything, or see anything suspicious, please feel free to contact us."

He handed over a business card with the police station's phone number and his name printed on it—Mark Davis.

"Definitely." Qin Jin accepted the business card.

After seeing the two police officers off and watching them walk towards the house next door, Qin Jin gently closed the door, the relaxation on his face vanishing instantly.

He strode back to the living room, sat down next to Alessa, and lowered his voice:

"It's confirmed! They knew about the paper figures. It seems the deceased either reported it himself or there were other witnesses."

Aresa held the doll, her little face still expressionless, but her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was trying to think. Finally, she shook her head and then nodded slightly, the movements were very small.

"Unsure?" Qin Jin interpreted her body language.

Aresa hummed in agreement.

Qin Jin remained silent for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest of the sofa.

"We can't just wait. This thing is too strange. We need to take the initiative," he decided, his eyes flashing.

"Let's go take a look around and find out what's going on. If it doesn't work out, we'll move."

Aresa's usually cold eyes lit up for a moment, like two cold obsidian stones suddenly being illuminated.

She was clearly very interested in the suggestion of an "investigation".

The two went outside and, like other curious yet somewhat uneasy residents, paced around the perimeter of the police cordon, their eyes occasionally glancing at the haunted house, searching for the lingering scent of blood in the air.

Alessa's steps suddenly veered off the sidewalk, heading towards the backyard of the haunted house, her target clearly pointing to a dense thicket and the deeper woods beyond.

Although both are zombies, Aresa's sense of smell, hearing, and vision far surpasses that of Qin Jin, an old zombie who has been drinking animal blood for hundreds of years; her senses are much more acute.

They walked along the edge of the woods for a while, the soil beneath their feet becoming damp. A narrow stream flowed nearby, its water making a soft gurgling sound.

However, Aresa stopped by the river, her small nose twitched a few times, then she looked up at Qin Jin and slowly shook her head.

The unique, pungent smell of the paper figures, mixed with the blood of the victims, vanished completely here, as if swallowed by the river or evaporated into thin air.

The trail went cold.

The two returned empty-handed and walked back the way they came.

Qin Jin paused slightly as he passed a police car parked on the side of the road.

His hearing, far exceeding that of ordinary people, keenly detected the somewhat agitated phone conversation inside the car. Although separated by the closed car windows, he heard it clearly:

"...Yes! I've confirmed the situation at the scene, it's the same as the previous two times! Damn it, it's paper dolls again! This is the third time this month!"

"I know you're under pressure, Chief, but I'm under even more fucking pressure! But paper dolls? Tell me, how do I investigate these things? Where do I even begin?"

"What's most infuriating is that these victims all lived alone, and nobody knows what happened before the incidents!"

"Alright! I can only do my best, I can't guarantee anything... Let's put a bounty on it, Chief. I think we need to..."

This is the third case this month? Are they all paper figures?

He loosely pulled Alessa along, moving away from the police car, but the last mention of the bounty made him have other thoughts...

If a reward is offered, then this case might not necessarily be a bad thing, right?