Animal Detective-Chapter 81: Broo

Despite their unspoken agreement, things were a bit awkward.

"You could have just told me directly," Shen Xin said.

’We’re colleagues on the same team, after all.’

’It’s as if there’s no trust between us.’

Ding Yuwei nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

Shen Xin didn’t dwell on it and asked her what she wanted to do.

Ding Yuwei thought for a moment, then said, "You interned at a local precinct. You probably know these kinds of people better than I do. I’ll follow your lead."

Shen Xin nodded and led Ding Yuwei upstairs.

He hesitated for a moment before adding, "I know you feel sorry for Liu Yuting and think her mom’s a monster who doesn’t deserve to be a mother."

"But no matter what a scumbag Shi Yanhua is, she’s still her mother. As outsiders, we can offer sympathy and help..."

"...but you need to know how to protect yourself first. You have to have a line you won’t cross."

’Don’t go running back here just to threaten Wang Genping.’

’You’ll be the one who ends up in trouble!’

Ding Yuwei nodded thoughtfully and asked him what they should do.

"Knock politely."

Shen Xin stepped forward and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly.

It was Wang Genping.

"What’s wrong with you people? Why are you back again?" Wang Genping demanded angrily.

There were fresh marks on his face; he’d clearly gotten into another fight with Shi Yanhua.

Shi Yanhua wasn’t there. She had actually gone back to work.

Shen Xin’s gaze went past Wang Genping, landing on the open door of the secondary bedroom.

It contained only a single bed, which was piled with clutter.

Liu Yuting was sitting on a small stool, hunched over the bed as she did her homework.

"So," Shen Xin began, retracting his gaze. "I didn’t get a chance to ask earlier. You’re Wang Genping, right? Can you spell that out for me?"

Wang Genping’s expression faltered. "What do you want?" he asked nervously.

"I’m asking a question. Just answer it."

Shen Xin’s tone was level.

Earlier, he and Ding Yuwei had separated. She had run back on foot, while Shen Xin had driven.

They had ended up arriving at the same time only because Shen Xin had stopped on the way to call Dong Yueming and ask about Wang Genping.

Many small-time hoodlums like him were already on the precinct’s radar.

And sure enough, he had a record.

Coincidentally, Li Dongsheng had dealt with him before and knew more about his situation.

So Shen Xin had called Li Dongsheng as well to ask a few questions.

Wang Genping mumbled something before repeating his name.

Shen Xin nodded, then abruptly changed the subject. "What’s your relationship with Huang Jie?"

"Who?"

Wang Genping started, a flicker of panic flashing in his eyes.

Shen Xin smiled. "Huang Jie. Don’t tell me you don’t know him. I hear you two hang out a lot. Two months ago, he got busted for harboring people. What about you? Clean record?"

At the mention of this, Wang Genping’s face went pale and his legs began to tremble.

"Officer, don’t you go accusing me of things! I’d never touch that stuff. Besides, I don’t even know Huang Jie that well. We’ve just shared a few meals. He probably wouldn’t even recognize me."

As a street hustler, he knew exactly how serious the consequences were for getting mixed up in that kind of thing.

Shen Xin said, "What do you mean, ’accusing’? Watch your words. I’m just conducting a perfectly legal and reasonable inquiry."

Wang Genping nodded again and again, nervously apologizing.

"It’s best if you’re clean. Once you get involved, there’s no turning back. Don’t have any illusions—you see, we know all about you. From now on, just live a good life with your family. And the little girl, she’s so cute, isn’t she?" Shen Xin patted Wang Genping’s arm.

Wang Genping flinched and nodded hastily.

Shen Xin didn’t expect this to completely cow Wang Genping, but it was enough to make him remember that someone was watching him.

"So, if it’s convenient, could I ask the little girl a few questions?" Shen Xin added.

"Of course."

Wang Genping quickly stepped aside.

Shen Xin stepped inside and crouched down in front of Liu Yuting.

He first asked if she felt dizzy or unwell.

She had been hit earlier, and he didn’t know if Shi Yanhua had hit her again after they left.

She shook her head, looking a little nervous.

"Don’t be scared, little one. We’re police officers. Has your mommy ever taught you to find a police officer when you’re scared?" Shen Xin asked with a gentle smile.

Liu Yuting shook her head. After a moment’s hesitation, she said softly, "My mommy taught me that all policemen are bad guys and I should stay far away from them."

’Shen Xin mentally rolled his eyes.’

"Well, your teacher must have taught you that police officers aren’t bad people, right? We’re the ones who catch the bad people," Shen Xin said.

Clutching her pencil, Liu Yuting nodded.

Shen Xin praised her, "Good girl," then asked, "Can I ask you a few questions?"

Once Liu Yuting nodded, Shen Xin asked, "Tingting, do you remember your daddy had a parrot?"

Liu Yuting was eight now. When Liu Laibin was killed, she had been four years old, old enough to form memories.

At the mention of Liu Laibin, a smile appeared on Liu Yuting’s face and she nodded enthusiastically. "I remember! The parrot was so pretty, and it could talk! I even named him. I called him Broo."

"Broo, huh? You must have seen that movie, right?"

Liu Yuting nodded excitedly, saying Liu Laibin had taken her to see it.

It was clear that Liu Laibin had doted on his daughter.

But when Shen Xin asked where Broo was now, Liu Yuting shook her head, her expression dimming. "After Daddy died, I never saw Broo again."

She paused, then held up a finger. "I saw him once in a dream."

Shen Xin sighed quietly. That was fine.

’Such a rare parrot wouldn’t have just been gotten rid of.’

"Okay, back to your homework now."

Shen Xin then took out a business card, telling Liu Yuting to hide it. If she ever ran into a problem she couldn’t solve on her own, she could ask a grown-up to help her call him.

As he said this, Shen Xin turned to glance at Wang Genping.

Wang Genping’s expression faltered. He gave an awkward smile but remained silent.

After they left Shi Yanhua’s home, Ding Yuwei couldn’t help but ask, "Shen Xin, why did you ask about the parrot? Don’t tell me... you think the parrot saw the killer?"

She frowned. "Parrots are smart, and they can talk, but I don’t think animals can be considered witnesses in China, can they? Even in other countries, I think their testimony can only be used as supplementary, indirect evidence."

"You’re overthinking it. I was just asking," Shen Xin said, not elaborating. He gestured for Ding Yuwei to get in the car so he could drive her home.

She didn’t live far.

Ding Yuwei didn’t press the issue, but she gave Shen Xin a meaningful look.

She had heard that in the case that got Shen Xin transferred to the Major Crimes Division, he had found the suspect thanks to a dog.

After getting in the car, Ding Yuwei reflected for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

She thought Shen Xin had handled the situation very well.

If it had been her, her first instinct would have been to run back and just threaten Wang Genping.

Looking back, she saw how shortsighted that was.

Shen Xin didn’t say much and just drove her home.

Hengmei Garden.

It wasn’t far from the sub-bureau.

「The next day.」

Shen Xin first reported the results of the previous day’s canvassing to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao didn’t say much. He obviously knew that’s how cold cases were; reopening one didn’t guarantee immediate breakthroughs.

"Don’t overthink it. Just follow your instincts and treat it as practice," Chen Chao added as a final instruction.

He had suggested Shen Xin take on a cold case precisely because of the Wu Jiawang case; he felt Shen Xin had a uniquely creative intuition.

Maybe he could offer some unconventional insights.

The current active cases were all straightforward, not very challenging.

Zhao Tianxing was catching up on sleep; he’d been on an arrest detail the day before and had pulled an all-nighter.

Shen Xin wasn’t in a hurry to head out. Instead, he started by checking the case file transcripts to find the latest information on the persons of interest.

Some of the information was outdated.

The national population database was only started after 2010. It took several years to build and still didn’t have complete coverage.

For example, if someone hadn’t gone to a local precinct to update their information, their file would be incomplete.

Furthermore, a lot of information from before 2010 had never been digitized.

As a result, the information he could find was limited.

Take the cleaner, Sun Min, for example.

She was from Lishui, Pingzhou Province, south of Ningjiang.

She had come to Nanjiang with her husband for work. After the murder in ’13, she continued working in Nanjiang for almost two more years before returning to her hometown of Lishui at the end of ’15. There were no updates to her information after that.

It was a similar story for the accountant, Fan Hui Zhen.

She was from Fushan in Southwest Kang Province. After the murder, her file only indicated that she had returned to her hometown in Fushan.

They were just ordinary people, after all, not criminals with prior records.

So as he went through them one by one, he didn’t find anything unusual.

They were just regular people who had either gone back to their hometowns or moved to other cities.

Four years had passed, after all.

This made it inconvenient for Shen Xin to find and re-interview them; he would have to rely on phone calls.

"Should we start with this Guo Chunping, then?" Ding Yuwei asked.

She was referring to the security manager at Jinhui Mansion at the time of the incident.

He had given a statement about the electrical malfunction and its subsequent escalation.

According to the population database, although Guo Chunping was from Nanqiao in Changxi Province, he had remained in Nanjiang after the murder. His information had been last updated three months ago when he renewed his residence permit.

Shen Xin thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I want to pay a visit to Officer Qin first."

Qin Chuanwang, that is.

’Qin Chuanwang might know what happened to that parrot.’