At four o'clock in the afternoon, Gong Jingfan came back, sweating all over. He woke up the sleeping big guy by hitting him with a bag of KFC food.
The big guy rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up. He was as happy as a dog that got a bone. He took out a piece of fried chicken from the bag and took a bite, saying, "Officer Gong, you really keep your word. It smells so good... Big brother, do you want a piece?" The last sentence was addressed to Di Zhen next door.
"No, thanks!" Di Zhen replied.
"Your crazy promise made me run myself ragged!"
Lao Gong didn't look very happy. "Zhang Mu doesn't have any real estate. The antique shop you mentioned belongs to his friend, and the dog kennel on the outskirts has nothing to do with him. He only has an inherited house, and he's up to his ears in gambling debts!"
"No... That can't be right!" The big guy blinked his eyes and said, "Second Brother Zhang always seemed so rich. The Buddhist beads, the thick gold chain, and the watch he wore were all worth hundreds of thousands. He even smokes Chinese luxury cigarettes (Huazi) and always talked about engineering projects and tenders."
Di Zhen couldn't help but complain, "Guys who hang out on the streets all dress like this. They're broke but still try to look posh!"
Lao Gong said, "Zhang Mu is just a good - for - nothing hooligan!"
"Officer Gong, I suggest you look into who Zhang Mu has offended," Di Zhen said.
Lao Gong raised his eyebrows. "Why should we look into that? This isn't a murder!"
"If you think so, then I've got nothing more to say."
Di Zhen's sarcastic tone annoyed Lao Gong. He snapped at Di Zhen, "Do you really think you're a master detective? With so many policemen, if there was even the slightest suspicious sign, we'd surely investigate it to the end!"
"You didn't even notice such a big red flag!" Di Zhen murmured, then sat back on the iron bed with a sneer.
"What are you mumbling about!" Lao Gong knocked on the railing. Di Zhen was too lazy to respond and just lay down.
"Hey, Lao Gong, it's time for the meeting!" His partner Wang Bing came to find him.
Lao Gong left the detention area. When he reached the door, he considered going back to ask Di Zhen for his thoughts, but his pride stopped him. He thought, Can't the police find out the truth?
Three days passed in a flash. The test results of the samples they brought back gradually came out. The body fluids and hairs left at the scene were confirmed to belong to an adult West African cheetah. Moreover, there were some bloodstains on the hairs of the samples, which were identified by DNA to match the deceased.
On the forensic science side, after the autopsy, it was determined that the wounds on the deceased's neck and abdomen were made by a 12 - cm arc - shaped sharp weapon. The meticulous forensic scientist Gu Qingming conducted experiments with silicone and simulated cheetah teeth and confirmed that the wounds were exactly the same, 100% caused by cheetah teeth.
However, no human tissue was found in the leopard's feces. Lao Gong brought back a large amount of leopard's feces that day, and it took the forensic department a lot of time to examine them. They suspected that they might have mixed up the samples, but this detail didn't prevent the police from reaching a conclusion.
"All in all!" At the case discussion meeting, the captain said, "This is a case of a cheetah escaping and killing someone. We can close it as an accident. Well - done, everyone!"
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Someone asked, "What will happen to that cheetah?"
The captain said, "After the cheetah returned to the zoo, its mood was quite unstable, and it bit another cheetah yesterday. This is the only case in the past thirty years where a cheetah escaped from the zoo and killed someone. There have been quite a few media reports, and you all know something about it. The online discussion has been very heated. From the perspectives of urban safety, calming the public impact, and eliminating future risks, the police and the Forestry Bureau have jointly decided to perform Euthanasia on this cheetah!"
"Ah!?" There was a murmur of voices below. Many policemen thought it was too cruel.
The captain said with a hint of helplessness, "Certain experts have pointed out that this leopard hasn't given birth to offspring yet. Once it does, it might pass on this habit, which would be very dangerous! Just imagine this man - eating leopard staying in the park. Every time a tourist sees it, they'll say, 'Look, that leopard has killed someone.' Even a dog that bites a child to death is put down. Should a leopard be an exception? Although leopards are endangered protected animals, human lives are invaluable! There's a consensus among the public and professionals that animals that kill people can't be kept."
Amid the murmur of discussion, the captain announced, "If there are no problems, this case is closed."
"Wait a minute!" Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) stood up instinctively, and everyone's eyes turned towards him in unison.
Naturally, he also believed in the conclusions of the forensic department and forensic science. But when he heard that the case was about to be closed, he felt a bit uncomfortable because someone had told him in person a few days ago that there were doubts in this case.
"Lao Gong, what do you want to say?" the captain asked.
"The guy who was in the detention room two days ago told me that there were doubts in this case..."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of mocking laughter below. "If there were doubts, could forensic science not find them?" "That guy is just being pretentious!" "You actually take the words of a person under administrative detention seriously?"
Like everyone else, Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) believed in science. But what if, just what if, Di Zhen had really discovered something?
At least he wanted to hear it before the case was officially closed.
"What did Di Zhen say?" The captain looked rather serious.
"I didn't ask. Can you give me a few minutes? I'll go and ask him now! That guy thinks differently from us. Maybe the on - looker sees more clearly. Anyway, I'll feel bad if I don't ask..."
"Then go quickly!"
Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) went to find Di Zhen. Di Zhen was still lying lazily on the iron bed, lost in a daydream.
Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) knocked on the fence. "Hey, what exactly do you have to say?"
Di Zhen looked up at him. "What's up?"
"The case is about to be closed. What are these so - called doubts you mentioned? Tell me!"
Di Zhen sneered. Weren't you so confident before?
"Then just close the case! You'll save some trouble, and the murderer can go scot - free (unpunished). It's a win - win!"
Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) got angry at his annoying attitude. "You're talking nonsense! All the body fluids and hairs at the scene belong to the leopard, and the shape of the wounds matches the leopard's teeth. This can't possibly be a man - made case!"
Di Zhen looked at the ceiling and said, "Then let me ask you, why did the leopard target that family? There were glass shards on the wall!"
"Is this what you've found?" Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) suddenly felt like he'd been tricked. "There were glass shards on the wall, but there weren't any on the lintel. And there were bloody footprints on it. The leopard jumped over by stepping on the lintel."
"Do you still remember the square water stains on the ground?"
"That might just be left by something."
"Something. What is it? What thing could be square? Think about what was hanging on the compound wall. Why was it next to the door?"
Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) was completely confused. "What!?"
Di Zhen looked at him as if he were a teacher looking at a slow - witted student who can't remember the multiplication tables. "A ladder!"
"A ladder!?" Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) vaguely remembered that there was indeed a ladder hanging on the compound wall.
"Don't you guys notice that the line of bloody footprints is too straight?"
Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) frowned, recalling the scene.
Di Zhen had long recreated the scene in his mind and re - examined it day and night. He knew the scene better than any policeman. That's why he was confident enough to say there were doubts in this case.
Di Zhen's next words hit Gong Jingfan (Lao Gong) hard. Each word struck a chord in his heart. "A leopard attacks because it feels threatened. Once it has killed someone, it should stay at the scene to eliminate that sense of threat. It might continue to eat the lamb leg [that was at the scene] or explore the house. But it just walked straight away. It fled right after the killing. This isn't how a leopard thinks. That's how a human would think!"